vtRNA2-1 is a vault RNA initially classified as microRNA precursor hsa-mir-886 and recently propo... more vtRNA2-1 is a vault RNA initially classified as microRNA precursor hsa-mir-886 and recently proposed as “nc886”, a new type of non-coding RNA involved in cancer progression acting as an oncogene and tumor suppressor gene in different tissues. We have shown that vtRNA2-1/nc886 is epigenetically repressed in neoplastic cells, increasing cell proliferation and invasion in prostate tissue. Here we investigate the ability of vtRNA2-1/nc886 to produce small-RNAs and their biological effect in prostate cells. The interrogation of public small-RNA transcriptomes of prostate and other tissues uncovered two small RNAs, snc886-3p and snc886-5p, derived from vtRNA2-1/nc886 (previously hsa-miR-886-3p and hsa-miR-886-5p). Re-analysis of PAR-CLIP and knockout of microRNA biogenesis enzymes data showed that these small RNAs are products of DICER, independent of DROSHA, and associate with Argonaute proteins, satisfying microRNA attributes. In addition, the overexpression of snc886-3p provokes the do...
An in-depth, comparative look at the effects of two structurally related organometallic Pd and Pt... more An in-depth, comparative look at the effects of two structurally related organometallic Pd and Pt compounds on the global gene expression pattern of T. cruzi epimastigotes. This parasite is the causative agent of Chagas disease.
Treatment for Chagas disease, a parasitosis caused by Trypanosoma cruzi, has always been based on... more Treatment for Chagas disease, a parasitosis caused by Trypanosoma cruzi, has always been based on two drugs, nifurtimox and benznidazole, despite the toxic side effects described after prolonged prescription. In this work, we study a new prospective antitrypanosomal drug based on vanadium, here named VIVO(5Brsal)(aminophen). We found a good IC50 value, (3.76 ± 0.08) μM, on CL Brener epimastigotes. The analysis of cell death mechanism allowed us to rule out the implication of a mechanism based on early apoptosis or necrosis. Recovery assays revealed a trypanostatic effect, accompanied by cell shape and motility alterations. An uptake mostly associated with the insoluble fraction of the parasites was deduced through vanadium determinations. Concordantly, no drastic changes of the parasite transcriptome were detected after 6 h of treatment. Instead, proteomic analysis uncovered the modulation of proteins involved in different processes such as energy and redox metabolism, transport sys...
Nc886 is a 102 bp non-coding RNA transcript initially classified as a microRNA precursor (Pre-miR... more Nc886 is a 102 bp non-coding RNA transcript initially classified as a microRNA precursor (Pre-miR-886), later as a divergent homologue of the vault RNAs (vtRNA 2-1) and more recently as a novel type of RNA (nc886). Although nc886/vtRNA2-1/Pre-miR-886 identity is still controversial, it was shown to be epigenetically controlled, presenting both tumor suppressor and oncogenic function in different cancers. Here, we study for the first time the role of nc886 in prostate cancer. Nc886 promoter methylation status and its correlation with patient clinical parameters or DNMTs levels were evaluated in TCGA and specific GEO prostate tissue datasets. Nc886 level was measured by RT-qPCR to compare normal/neoplastic prostate cells from radical prostatectomies and cell lines, and to assess nc886 response to demethylating agents. The effect of nc886 recovery in cell proliferation (in vitro and in vivo) and invasion (in vitro) was evaluated using lentiviral transduced DU145 and LNCaP cell lines. T...
Trypanosoma cruzi is the protozoan parasite causing American trypanosomiasis or Chagas disease, a... more Trypanosoma cruzi is the protozoan parasite causing American trypanosomiasis or Chagas disease, a neglected parasitosis with important human health impact in Latin America. The efficacy of current therapy is limited, and its toxicity is high. Since parasite proliferation is a fundamental target for rational drug design, we sought to progress into its understanding by applying a genome-wide approach. Treating a TcI linage strain with hydroxyurea, we isolated epimastigotes in late G1, S and G2/M cell cycle stages at 70% purity. The sequencing of each phase identified 305 stage-specific transcripts (1.5-fold change, p≤0.01), coding for conserved cell cycle regulated proteins and numerous proteins whose cell cycle dependence has not been recognized before. Comparisons with the parasite T. brucei and the human host reveal important differences. The meta-analysis of T. cruzi transcriptomic and ribonomic data indicates that cell cycle regulated mRNAs are subject to sub-cellular compartment...
Casiopeínas® are mixed-chelate copper complexes with antitumor tested potential. Their activity, ... more Casiopeínas® are mixed-chelate copper complexes with antitumor tested potential. Their activity, both in vitro and in vivo, as antiproliferative, cytotoxic, and genotoxic drugs has been assessed. Biological results of these copper compounds have deserved some of them entering clinical trials. Significant efforts have been devoted to the in-depth identification of their mechanism of action. Using gel electrophoresis analysis, we have previously shown that the interaction of the Casiopeínas® Cas II-gly, [Cu(4,7-dimethyl-1,10-phenanthroline)(glycinate)]NO3 with DNA, triggers the cleavage of the biomolecule by a free radical mechanism. In this work, we further study the behavior of different complexes of the same Casiopeínas® series also including glycinate as co-ligand {Cas VI-gly (5,6 dimethyl-1,10-phenanthroline glycinato copper(II) nitrate), Cas VII-gly (1,10-phenanthroline glycinato copper(II) nitrate), and Cas IX-gly (2,2'-bipyridine glycinato copper(II) nitrate)} and of a Cas...
The mixed-chelate copper(II) complexes Casiopeínas® have been tested in several models in vitro a... more The mixed-chelate copper(II) complexes Casiopeínas® have been tested in several models in vitro and in vivo, showing promising antitumoral results. However, their mechanism of action remains to be defined. Trying to get a deeper insight into their molecular mode of action, further analyses, including gel electrophoresis, atomic force microscopy and circular dichroism were carried out to study their interaction with DNA and some cytoskeleton proteins. Our results revealed that the interaction of Casiopeínas triggers DNA cleavage by a free radical mechanism. The tested complexes showed a differential response to reducing and scavenger agents. Differences on target preference were also evident using double stranded oligonucleotides as sequence competitors. Surprisingly, distamycin A, a minor groove binder, enhanced the Casiopeínas' action on DNA. On the other hand, the tested Casiopeínas produce strong changes in protein structure of tubulin, integrin and fibronectin. All together these results suggest a multiple mode of action for these metal-based drugs. In addition, since it has been proposed that antitumor drugs efficiently interacting with DNA could also show activity against Trypanosoma cruzi, etiologic agent of Chagas disease, we evaluated the activity of these compounds on this protozoan parasite. The tested complexes showed in vitro anti-T. cruzi activity similar to the anti-trypanosomal reference drug Nifurtimox.
The mixed-chelate copper (II) complexes Casiope??nas?? have been tested in several models in vitr... more The mixed-chelate copper (II) complexes Casiope??nas?? have been tested in several models in vitro and in vivo, showing promising antitumoral results. However, their mechanism of action remains to be defined. Trying to get a deeper insight into their ...
vtRNA2-1 is a vault RNA initially classified as microRNA precursor hsa-mir-886 and recently propo... more vtRNA2-1 is a vault RNA initially classified as microRNA precursor hsa-mir-886 and recently proposed as “nc886”, a new type of non-coding RNA involved in cancer progression acting as an oncogene and tumor suppressor gene in different tissues. We have shown that vtRNA2-1/nc886 is epigenetically repressed in neoplastic cells, increasing cell proliferation and invasion in prostate tissue. Here we investigate the ability of vtRNA2-1/nc886 to produce small-RNAs and their biological effect in prostate cells. The interrogation of public small-RNA transcriptomes of prostate and other tissues uncovered two small RNAs, snc886-3p and snc886-5p, derived from vtRNA2-1/nc886 (previously hsa-miR-886-3p and hsa-miR-886-5p). Re-analysis of PAR-CLIP and knockout of microRNA biogenesis enzymes data showed that these small RNAs are products of DICER, independent of DROSHA, and associate with Argonaute proteins, satisfying microRNA attributes. In addition, the overexpression of snc886-3p provokes the do...
An in-depth, comparative look at the effects of two structurally related organometallic Pd and Pt... more An in-depth, comparative look at the effects of two structurally related organometallic Pd and Pt compounds on the global gene expression pattern of T. cruzi epimastigotes. This parasite is the causative agent of Chagas disease.
Treatment for Chagas disease, a parasitosis caused by Trypanosoma cruzi, has always been based on... more Treatment for Chagas disease, a parasitosis caused by Trypanosoma cruzi, has always been based on two drugs, nifurtimox and benznidazole, despite the toxic side effects described after prolonged prescription. In this work, we study a new prospective antitrypanosomal drug based on vanadium, here named VIVO(5Brsal)(aminophen). We found a good IC50 value, (3.76 ± 0.08) μM, on CL Brener epimastigotes. The analysis of cell death mechanism allowed us to rule out the implication of a mechanism based on early apoptosis or necrosis. Recovery assays revealed a trypanostatic effect, accompanied by cell shape and motility alterations. An uptake mostly associated with the insoluble fraction of the parasites was deduced through vanadium determinations. Concordantly, no drastic changes of the parasite transcriptome were detected after 6 h of treatment. Instead, proteomic analysis uncovered the modulation of proteins involved in different processes such as energy and redox metabolism, transport sys...
Nc886 is a 102 bp non-coding RNA transcript initially classified as a microRNA precursor (Pre-miR... more Nc886 is a 102 bp non-coding RNA transcript initially classified as a microRNA precursor (Pre-miR-886), later as a divergent homologue of the vault RNAs (vtRNA 2-1) and more recently as a novel type of RNA (nc886). Although nc886/vtRNA2-1/Pre-miR-886 identity is still controversial, it was shown to be epigenetically controlled, presenting both tumor suppressor and oncogenic function in different cancers. Here, we study for the first time the role of nc886 in prostate cancer. Nc886 promoter methylation status and its correlation with patient clinical parameters or DNMTs levels were evaluated in TCGA and specific GEO prostate tissue datasets. Nc886 level was measured by RT-qPCR to compare normal/neoplastic prostate cells from radical prostatectomies and cell lines, and to assess nc886 response to demethylating agents. The effect of nc886 recovery in cell proliferation (in vitro and in vivo) and invasion (in vitro) was evaluated using lentiviral transduced DU145 and LNCaP cell lines. T...
Trypanosoma cruzi is the protozoan parasite causing American trypanosomiasis or Chagas disease, a... more Trypanosoma cruzi is the protozoan parasite causing American trypanosomiasis or Chagas disease, a neglected parasitosis with important human health impact in Latin America. The efficacy of current therapy is limited, and its toxicity is high. Since parasite proliferation is a fundamental target for rational drug design, we sought to progress into its understanding by applying a genome-wide approach. Treating a TcI linage strain with hydroxyurea, we isolated epimastigotes in late G1, S and G2/M cell cycle stages at 70% purity. The sequencing of each phase identified 305 stage-specific transcripts (1.5-fold change, p≤0.01), coding for conserved cell cycle regulated proteins and numerous proteins whose cell cycle dependence has not been recognized before. Comparisons with the parasite T. brucei and the human host reveal important differences. The meta-analysis of T. cruzi transcriptomic and ribonomic data indicates that cell cycle regulated mRNAs are subject to sub-cellular compartment...
Casiopeínas® are mixed-chelate copper complexes with antitumor tested potential. Their activity, ... more Casiopeínas® are mixed-chelate copper complexes with antitumor tested potential. Their activity, both in vitro and in vivo, as antiproliferative, cytotoxic, and genotoxic drugs has been assessed. Biological results of these copper compounds have deserved some of them entering clinical trials. Significant efforts have been devoted to the in-depth identification of their mechanism of action. Using gel electrophoresis analysis, we have previously shown that the interaction of the Casiopeínas® Cas II-gly, [Cu(4,7-dimethyl-1,10-phenanthroline)(glycinate)]NO3 with DNA, triggers the cleavage of the biomolecule by a free radical mechanism. In this work, we further study the behavior of different complexes of the same Casiopeínas® series also including glycinate as co-ligand {Cas VI-gly (5,6 dimethyl-1,10-phenanthroline glycinato copper(II) nitrate), Cas VII-gly (1,10-phenanthroline glycinato copper(II) nitrate), and Cas IX-gly (2,2'-bipyridine glycinato copper(II) nitrate)} and of a Cas...
The mixed-chelate copper(II) complexes Casiopeínas® have been tested in several models in vitro a... more The mixed-chelate copper(II) complexes Casiopeínas® have been tested in several models in vitro and in vivo, showing promising antitumoral results. However, their mechanism of action remains to be defined. Trying to get a deeper insight into their molecular mode of action, further analyses, including gel electrophoresis, atomic force microscopy and circular dichroism were carried out to study their interaction with DNA and some cytoskeleton proteins. Our results revealed that the interaction of Casiopeínas triggers DNA cleavage by a free radical mechanism. The tested complexes showed a differential response to reducing and scavenger agents. Differences on target preference were also evident using double stranded oligonucleotides as sequence competitors. Surprisingly, distamycin A, a minor groove binder, enhanced the Casiopeínas' action on DNA. On the other hand, the tested Casiopeínas produce strong changes in protein structure of tubulin, integrin and fibronectin. All together these results suggest a multiple mode of action for these metal-based drugs. In addition, since it has been proposed that antitumor drugs efficiently interacting with DNA could also show activity against Trypanosoma cruzi, etiologic agent of Chagas disease, we evaluated the activity of these compounds on this protozoan parasite. The tested complexes showed in vitro anti-T. cruzi activity similar to the anti-trypanosomal reference drug Nifurtimox.
The mixed-chelate copper (II) complexes Casiope??nas?? have been tested in several models in vitr... more The mixed-chelate copper (II) complexes Casiope??nas?? have been tested in several models in vitro and in vivo, showing promising antitumoral results. However, their mechanism of action remains to be defined. Trying to get a deeper insight into their ...
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Papers by Beatriz Garat