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A preclinical evaluation of thiostrepton, a natural antibiotic, in nasopharyngeal carcinoma

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Summary

Background Thiostrepton, a natural antibiotic, has recently been shown to be a potential anticancer drug for certain cancers, but its study in nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) is still limited. The aims of this study were to investigate the anticancer effect of thiostrepton on NPC cells and to explore its underlying mechanism. Methods The effects of thiostrepton on the proliferation, migration, and invasion of NPC cells were investigated by a WST-1 assay, wound healing assay, and cell invasion assay, respectively. Microarrays were conducted and further analyzed by Ingenuity Pathways Analysis (IPA) to determine the molecular mechanism by which thiostrepton affects NPC cells. Results Our results showed that thiostrepton reduced NPC cell viability in a dose-dependent manner. Thiostrepton inhibited the migration and invasion of NPC cells in wound healing and cell invasion assays. The microarray data analyzed by IPA indicated the top 5 ingenuity canonical pathways, which were unfolded protein response, NRF2-mediated oxidative stress response, retinoate biosynthesis I, choline biosynthesis III, and pancreatic adenocarcinoma signaling. Conclusion Thiostrepton effectively suppressed NPC cell proliferation, migration, and invasion, likely by several mechanisms. Thiostrepton may be a potential therapeutic agent for treating NPC in the future.

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Acknowledgements

The authors thank Clinical Research Core Laboratory at Taipei Veterans General Hospital for the facility support.

Funding

This research was supported by grants from the Taipei Veterans General Hospital (V105-B–022 and V108C-088), and Ministry of Science and Technology, Taiwan (MOST 106–2314-B-075-035-MY3 and MOST 107–2320-B-010-040-MY3).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Taipei Veterans General Hospital, No.201, Sec.2, Shipai Road, Taipei, 112, Taiwan

    Yen-Bin Hsu & Ming-Ying Lan

  2. Institute of Clinical Medicine, National Yang-Ming University, Taipei, Taiwan

    Yen-Bin Hsu & Chi-Ying F. Huang

  3. Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Buddhist Tzu Chi Medical Foundation, Taipei Tzu Chi Hospital, New Taipei City, Taiwan

    Ming-Chin Lan

  4. School of Medicine, Tzu Chi University, Hualien, Taiwan

    Ming-Chin Lan

  5. Biotools, Co., Ltd, New Taipei City, Taiwan

    Yu-Lun Kuo

  6. Institute of Biopharmaceutical Sciences, National Yang-Ming University, No.155, Sec.2, Linong Street, Taipei, 112, Taiwan

    Chi-Ying F. Huang

  7. School of Medicine, National Yang-Ming University, Taipei, Taiwan

    Ming-Ying Lan

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  1. Yen-Bin Hsu
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Correspondence to Chi-Ying F. Huang or Ming-Ying Lan.

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Hsu, YB., Lan, MC., Kuo, YL. et al. A preclinical evaluation of thiostrepton, a natural antibiotic, in nasopharyngeal carcinoma. Invest New Drugs 38, 264–273 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10637-019-00779-3

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