Evidence map›Paper›PMID 35057107›Full record

ArticlePharmaceutics2022

Anticancer Activity of Urease Mimetic Cobalt (III) Complexes on A549-Lung Cancer Cells: Targeting the Acidic Microenvironment.

Bhawna Uprety, Rahul Chandran, Charmaine Arderne, Heidi Abrahamse

Open access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Pharmaceutics, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 7 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
7citing papers in PubMed
1.2field-weighted citation impact, top 22% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

7 citing papers in PubMed, 15 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Cobalt complexes in biology and medicine: enzymatic functions, pharmacological applications, and health challenges.Journal of biological inorganic chemistry : JBIC : a publication of the Society of Biological Inorganic Chemistry · 2026
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

4 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.

Bhawna UpretyLaser Research Centre, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Johannesburg, P.O. Box 17011, Johannesburg 2028, South Africa.ORCID 0000-0002-5305-3726
Rahul ChandranLaser Research Centre, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Johannesburg, P.O. Box 17011, Johannesburg 2028, South Africa.ORCID 0000-0001-6807-5621
Charmaine ArderneResearch Centre for Synthesis and Catalysis, Department of Chemical Sciences, University of Johannesburg, P.O. Box 524, Johannesburg 2092, South Africa.ORCID 0000-0001-6617-1011
Heidi AbrahamseLaser Research Centre, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Johannesburg, P.O. Box 17011, Johannesburg 2028, South Africa.ORCID 0000-0001-5002-827X
University of Johannesburg · ZA

Funding

National Research Foundation Thuthuka Program 117946South African Research Chairs Initiative of the Department of Science and Technology and Na-tional Research Foundation of South Africa 98337
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Tumour cells maintain a local hypoxic and acidic microenvironment which plays a crucial role in cancer progression and drug resistance. Urease is a metallohydrolases that catalyses the hydrolysis of urea into ammonia and carbon dioxide, causing an abrupt increase of pH. This enzymatic activity can be employed to target the acidic tumour microenvironment. In this study, we present the anticancer activities of urease mimetic cobalt (III) complexes on A549 cells. The cells were treated with different doses of cobalt (III) complexes to observe the cytotoxicity. The change in cellular morphology was observed using an inverted microscope. The cell death induced by these complexes was analysed through ATP proliferation, LDH release and caspase 3/7 activity. The effect of extracellular alkalinization by the cobalt (III) complexes on the efficacy of the weakly basic drug, doxorubicin (dox) was also evaluated. This combination therapy of dox with cobalt (III) complexes resulted in enhanced apoptosis in A549 cells, as evidenced by elevated caspase 3/7 activity in treated groups. The study confirms the urease mimicking anticancer activity of cobalt (III) complexes by neutralizing the tumour microenvironment. This study will motivate the applications of transition metal-based enzyme mimics in targeting the tumour microenvironment for effective anticancer treatments.

Indexed as

cobalt (III) complexestumour microenvironmenturease mimetic activity

Identifiers

PMID35057107
PMCPMC8780642
OpenAlexW4205966667

What OpenQuestion holds

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Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.