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Projeto de investigação
Gold4TME: Modulation of tumor microenvironment via combinatorial gold nanomedicines
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In Vitro and In Vivo Biological Activities of Dipicolinate Oxovanadium(IV) Complexes
Publication . Choroba, Katarzyna; Filipe, Beatriz; Świtlicka, Anna; Penkala, Mateusz; Machura, Barbara; Bieńko, Alina; Cordeiro, Sandra; Baptista, Pedro V.; Fernandes, Alexandra R.; DCV - Departamento de Ciências da Vida; UCIBIO - Applied Molecular Biosciences Unit; ACS - American Chemical Society
The work is focused on anticancer properties of dipicolinate (dipic)-based vanadium(IV) complexes [VO(dipic)(N∩N)] bearing different diimines (2-(1H-imidazol-2-yl)pyridine, 2-(2-pyridyl)benzimidazole, 1,10-phenanthroline-5,6-dione, 1,10-phenanthroline, and 2,2′-bipyridine), as well as differently 4,7-substituted 1,10-phenanthrolines. The antiproliferative effect of V(IV) systems was analyzed in different tumors (A2780, HCT116, and HCT116-DoxR) and normal (primary human dermal fibroblasts) cell lines, revealing a high cytotoxic effect of [VO(dipic)(N∩N)] with 4,7-dimethoxy-phen (5), 4,7-diphenyl-phen (6), and 1,10-phenanthroline (8) against HCT116-DoxR cells. The cytotoxicity differences between these complexes can be correlated with their different internalization by HCT116-DoxR cells. Worthy of note, these three complexes were found to (i) induce cell death through apoptosis and autophagy pathways, namely, through ROS production; (ii) not to be cytostatic; (iii) to interact with the BSA protein; (iv) do not promote tumor cell migration or a pro-angiogenic capability; (v) show a slight in vivo anti-angiogenic capability, and (vi) do not show in vivo toxicity in a chicken embryo.
Synthesis, characterization and biological activity of methotrexate-derived salts in lung cancer cells
Publication . Silva, Dário; Cordeiro, Sandra; Baptista, Pedro V.; Fernandes, Alexandra R.; Branco, Luis C.; Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia (FCT); UCIBIO - Applied Molecular Biosciences Unit; DCV - Departamento de Ciências da Vida; LAQV@REQUIMTE; RSC - Royal Society of Chemistry
Lung cancer is one of the deadliest types of cancer, and is a public health problem worldwide. Methotrexate (MTX), a class IV drug in the biopharmaceutical classification system, is a folate antagonist that has demonstrated efficacy in cancer treatment. A suitable combination of MTX as a di-anion and biocompatible counter ions allowed the modulation of their physicochemical properties. In this work, twelve MTX salts were prepared and characterized by 1H NMR, 13C NMR, and elemental analysis. The antiproliferative effects of MTX salts were studied in A459 and H1975 (lung cancer cell lines) with three promising results: [C12mim]2[MTX] (IC50 = 0.55 ± 0.25) > [C10-3-picoline]2[MTX] (IC50 = 0.94 ± 0.03) > [C10mim]2[MTX] (IC50 = 1.71 ± 0.23) in A549. These three MTX salts also demonstrated intrinsic apoptosis, avoiding necrosis and the formation of reactive oxygen species.
Breaking the mold
Publication . Cordeiro, Sandra; Oliveira, Beatriz B.; Valente, Ruben; Ferreira, Daniela; Luz, André; Baptista, Pedro V.; Fernandes, Alexandra R.; DCV - Departamento de Ciências da Vida; UCIBIO - Applied Molecular Biosciences Unit; Frontiers Media
Despite extensive efforts to unravel tumor behavior and develop anticancer therapies, most treatments fail when advanced to clinical trials. The main challenge in cancer research has been the absence of predictive cancer models, accurately mimicking the tumoral processes and response to treatments. The tumor microenvironment (TME) shows several human-specific physical and chemical properties, which cannot be fully recapitulated by the conventional 2D cell cultures or the in vivo animal models. These limitations have driven the development of novel in vitro cancer models, that get one step closer to the typical features of in vivo systems while showing better species relevance. This review introduces the main considerations required for developing and exploiting tumor spheroids and organoids as cancer models. We also detailed their applications in drug screening and personalized medicine. Further, we show the transition of these models into novel microfluidic platforms, for improved control over physiological parameters and high-throughput screening. 3D culture models have provided key insights into tumor biology, more closely resembling the in vivo TME and tumor characteristics, while enabling the development of more reliable and precise anticancer therapies.
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2021.08629.BD