Strategy For Anticancer Drug Discovery Research Articles

Activation of PKC supports the anticancer activity of tigilanol tiglate and related epoxytiglianes

The long-standing perception of Protein Kinase C (PKC) as a family of oncoproteins has increasingly been challenged by evidence that some PKC isoforms may act as tumor suppressors. To explore the hypothesis that activation, rather than inhibition, of these isoforms is critical for anticancer activity, we isolated and characterized a family of 16 novel phorboids closely-related to tigilanol tiglate (EBC-46), a PKC-activating epoxytigliane showing promising clinical safety and efficacy for intratumoral treatment of cancers. While alkyl branching features of the C12-ester influenced potency, the 6,7-epoxide structural motif and position was critical to PKC activation in vitro. A subset of the 6,7-epoxytiglianes were efficacious against established tumors in mice; which generally correlated with in vitro activation of PKC. Importantly, epoxytiglianes without evidence of PKC activation showed limited antitumor efficacy. Taken together, these findings provide a strong rationale to reassess the role of PKC isoforms in cancer, and suggest in some situations their activation can be a promising strategy for anticancer drug discovery.

Repurposing of antipsychotic trifluoperazine for treating brain metastasis, lung metastasis and bone metastasis of melanoma by disrupting autophagy flux

Targeted therapies and immunotherapy have brought substantial benefits to patients with melanoma. However, brain metastases remain the biggest threat to the survival and quality of life of melanoma patients. One of the major challenges to an effective therapy is the inability of drugs to penetrate the blood-brain barrier (BBB). Anti-schizophrenic drugs can cross the BBB, and many of them have demonstrated anti-cancer effects. Repurposing existing drugs for new clinical indications is an alluring strategy for anticancer drug discovery. Herein, we applied this strategy and screened a small collection of existing anti-schizophrenic drugs to use as anti-melanoma agents. Among them, trifluoperazine dihydrochloride (TFP) exhibited promising potencies for suppressing the growth and metastasis of melanoma, both in vitro and in vivo. TFP obviously suppressed the viability of melanoma cells within the micromolar range and inhibited the growth of melanoma in the subcutaneous mice models. Notably, intraperitoneal (i.p.) administration of TFP (40 mg/kg/day) obviously inhibited the growth of intra-carotid-injection established melanoma brain metastasis and extended the survival of brain metastasis-bearing mice. Moreover, TFP significantly suppressed lung metastasis and bone metastasis of melanoma in preclinical metastasis models. Mechanistically, TFP caused G0/G1 cell cycle arrest and mitochondrial-dependent intrinsic apoptosis of melanoma cells. In addition, TFP treatment increased the expression of microtubule associated protein 1 light chain 3 beta-II (LC3B-II) and p62 in vitro, suggesting an inhibition of autophagic flux. TFP decreased LysoTracker Red uptake after treatment, indicating impaired acidification of lysosomes. Moreover, the colocalization of LC3 with lysosomal-associated membrane protein 1 (LAMP1), a lysosome marker, was also suppressed after TFP treatment, suggesting that TFP might block the fusion of autophagosomes with lysosomes, which led to autophagosome accumulation. Taken together, our data highlight the potential of repurposing TFP as a new adjuvant drug for treating melanoma patients with brain, lung, and bone metastases.

Synthesis, Biological Evaluation and In Silico Studies of Certain Oxindole-Indole Conjugates as Anticancer CDK Inhibitors.

On account of their overexpression in a wide range of human malignancies, cyclin-dependent kinases (CDKs) are among the most validated cancer targets, and their inhibition has been featured as a valuable strategy for anticancer drug discovery. In this study, a hybrid pharmacophore approach was adopted to develop two series of oxindole–indole conjugates (6a–i and 9a–f) and carbocycle–indole conjugates (11a,b) as efficient antitumor agents with potential inhibitory action toward CDK4. All oxindole–indole conjugates, except 6i, 9b, and 9c efficiently affected the growth of the human breast cancer MCF-7 (IC50: 0.39 ± 0.05–21.40 ± 1.58 μM) and/or MDA-MB-231 (IC50: 1.03 ± 0.04–22.54 ± 1.67 μM) cell lines, whereas bioisosteric replacement of the oxindole nucleus with indane or tetralin rings (compounds 11a,b) diminished the anti-proliferative activity. In addition, hybrids 6e and 6f displayed effective cell cycle disturbance and proapoptotic capabilities in MCF-7 cells. Furthermore, the efficient anti-proliferative agents towards MCF-7 and/or MDA-MB-231 cell lines (6a–h, 9a, and 9e) were investigated for their potential inhibitory action toward CDK4. Hybrids 6a and 6e displayed good CDK4 inhibitory activity with IC50s equal 1.82 and 1.26 µM, respectively. The molecular docking study revealed that oxindole moiety is implicated in two H-bonding interactions via both (NH) and (C=O) groups with the key amino acids Glu94 and Val96, respectively, whereas the indole framework is stably accommodated in a hydrophobic sub-pocket establishing hydrophobic interactions with the amino acid residues of Ile12, Val20, and Gln98 lining this sub-pocket. Collectively, these results highlighted hybrids 6a and 6e as good leads for further optimization as promising antitumor drugs toward breast malignancy and CDK inhibitors.

A Reporter System Evaluates Tumorigenesis, Metastasis, β-catenin/MMP Regulation, and Druggability.

Cancer invasion, metastasis, and therapy resistance are the crucial phenomena in cancer malignancy. The high expression of matrix metalloproteinase 9 (MMP9) is a biomarker as well as a causal factor of cancer invasiveness and metastatic activity. However, a regulatory mechanism underlying MMP9 expression in cancer is not clarified yet. In addition, a new strategy for anticancer drug discovery is becoming an important clue. In the present study, we aimed (i) to develop a novel reporter system evaluating tumorigenesis, invasiveness, metastasis, and druggability with a combination of three-dimensional tumoroid model and Mmp9 promoter and (ii) to examine pharmacological actions of anticancer medications using this reporter system. High expression and genetic amplification of MMP9 were found in colon cancer cases. We found that proximal promoter sequences of MMP9 in murine and human contained conserved binding sites for transcription factors β-catenin/TCF/LEF, glucocorticoid receptor (GR), and nuclear factor kappa-B (NF-κB). The murine Mmp9 promoter (-569 to +19) was markedly activated in metastatic colon cancer cells and additionally activated by tumoroid formation and by β-catenin signaling stimulator lithium chloride. The Mmp9 promoter-driven fluorescent reporter cells enabled the monitoring of activities of MMP9/gelatinase, tumorigenesis, invasion, and metastasis in syngeneic transplantation experiments. We also demonstrated pharmacological actions as follows: dexamethasone and hydrocortisone, steroidal medications binding to GR, inhibited the Mmp9 promoter but did not inhibit tumorigenesis. On the contrary, antimetabolite 5-fluorouracil, a gold standard for colon cancer chemotherapy, inhibited tumoroid formation but did not inhibit Mmp9 promoter activity. Notably, antimalaria medication artesunate inhibited both tumorigenesis and the Mmp9 promoter in vitro, potentially through inhibition of β-catenin/TCF/LEF signaling. Thus, this novel reporter system enabled monitoring tumorigenesis, invasiveness, metastasis, key regulatory signalings such as β-catenin/MMP9 axis, and druggability. Impact Statement Cancer invasion and metastasis have been shown to be driven by matrix metalloproteinase 9 (MMP9), whose expression mechanism is not clarified yet. In addition, a new strategy for anticancer drug discovery is becoming important. We established a novel reporter system evaluating tumorigenesis, invasiveness, metastasis, and druggability with a combination of three-dimensional (3D) tumoroid model and Mmp9 promoter. Using this reporter system, we demonstrated pharmacological actions of anticancer medications such as antimetabolite 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) and antimalaria medication artesunate (ART), which inhibited both tumorigenesis and β-catenin/MMP regulatory signaling. Our study impacts the translational fields of oncology, drug discovery, and organoid model.

Discovery of SCY45, a Natural Small-Molecule MDM2-p53 Interaction Inhibitor.

The disruption of the MDM2-p53 interaction has been regarded as an attractive strategy for anticancer drug discovery. Here, the natural small-molecule SCY45 was identified as a potent MDM2-p53 interaction inhibitor based on fluorescence polarization and molecular modeling. SCY45 inhibited the MDM2-p53 interaction with an IC50 value of 4.93±0.08 μm. The structural modeling results showed that SCY45 not only had high structural similarity with nutlin-3a, a well-reported MDM2-P53 interaction inhibitor, but also bound to the p53 binding pocket of MDM2 with a binding mode similar to that of nutlin-3a. Moreover, SCY45 reduced the cell viability in cancer cells with MDM2 gene amplification. SCY45 showed the highest inhibition for SJSA-1 cells, which exhibit excessive MDM2 gene amplification, with an IC50 value of 7.54±0.29 μm, whereas SCY45 showed a weaker inhibition for 22Rv1 cells and A549 cells, which have a single copy of the MDM2 gene, with IC50 values of 18.47±0.75 μm and 31.62±1.96 μm, respectively.

Molecular Docking Analysis of Caspase-3 Activators as Potential Anticancer Agents.

Caspase-3 plays a leading role in apoptosis and on activation, it cleaves many protein substrates in cells and causes cell death. Since many chemotherapeutics are known to induce apoptosis in cancer cells, promotion or activation of apoptosis via targeting apoptosis regulators has been suggested as a promising strategy for anticancer drug discovery. In this paper, we studied the interaction of 1,2,4-Oxadiazoles derivatives with anticancer drug target enzymes (PDB ID 3SRC). Molecular docking studies were performed on a series of 1,2,4-Oxadiazoles derivatives to find out molecular arrangement and spatial requirements for their binding potential for caspase-3 enzyme agonistic affinity to treat cancer. The Autodock 4.2 and GOLD 5.2 molecular modeling suites were used for the molecular docking analysis to provide information regarding important drug receptor interaction. Both suites explained the spatial disposition of the drug with the active amino acid in the ligand binding domain of the enzyme. The amino acid asparagine 273 (ASN 273) of target has shown hydrogen bond interaction with the top ranked ligand.

W09, a novel autophagy enhancer, induces autophagy-dependent cell apoptosis via activation of the EGFR-mediated RAS-RAF1-MAP2K-MAPK1/3 pathway

ABSTRACTThe EGFR (epidermal growth factor receptor) signaling pathway is frequently deregulated in many malignancies. Therefore, targeting the EGFR pathway is regarded as a promising strategy for anticancer drug discovery. Herein, we identified a 2-amino-nicotinonitrile compound (w09) as a novel autophagy enhancer, which potently induced macroautophagy/autophagy and consequent apoptosis in gastric cancer cells. Mechanistic studies revealed that EGFR-mediated activation of the RAS-RAF1-MAP2K-MAPK1/3 signaling pathway played a critical role in w09-induced autophagy and apoptosis of gastric cancer cells. Inhibition of the MAPK1/3 pathway with U0126 or blockade of autophagy by specific chemical inhibitors markedly attenuated the effect of w09-mediated growth inhibition and caspase-dependent apoptosis. Furthermore, these conclusions were supported by knockdown of ATG5 or knockout of ATG5 and/or ATG7. Notably, w09 increased the expression of SQSTM1 by transcription, and knockout of SQSTM1 or deleting the LC3-interaction region domain of SQSTM1, significantly inhibited w09-induced PARP1 cleavage, suggesting the central role played by SQSTM1 in w09-induced apoptosis. In addition, in vivo administration of w09 effectively inhibited tumor growth of SGC-7901 xenografts. Hence, our findings not only suggested that activation of the EGFR-RAS-RAF1-MAP2K-MAPK1/3 signaling pathway may play a critical role in w09-induced autophagy and apoptosis, but also imply that induction of autophagic cancer cell death through activation of the EGFR pathway may be a potential therapeutic strategy for EGFR-disregulated gastric tumors.

Constituents from Entada scandens with TRAIL-resistance Overcoming Activity

Tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-related apoptosis-inducing ligand (TRAIL) has emerged as a promising anticancer agent because of its ability to selectively kill tumor cells. But TRAIL-resistance is a major problem of its therapy. A search for compounds for abrogating TRAIL-resistance has, thus, become an important strategy for anticancer drug discovery. In search of bioactive natural products for overcoming TRAIL-resistance, we previously reported some compounds with TRAIL-resistance overcoming activity. Bioassay guided fractionation of Entada scandens led to the isolation of four compounds (1-4). Of the isolates, compounds 1 and 3 showed moderate TRAIL-resistance overcoming activity in TRAIL-resistant human gastric adenocarcinoma (AGS) cells.

Discovery of anti-cancer activity for benzo[1,2,4]triazin-7-ones: Very strong correlation to pleurotin and thioredoxin reductase inhibition

The thioredoxin (Trx)–thioredoxin reductase (TrxR) system plays a key role in maintaining the cellular redox balance with Trx being over-expressed in a number of cancers. Inhibition of TrxR is an important strategy for anti-cancer drug discovery. The natural product pleurotin is a well-known irreversible inhibitor of TrxR. The cytotoxicity data for benzo[1,2,4]triazin-7-ones showed very strong correlation (Pearson correlation coefficients ∼0.8) to pleurotin using National Cancer Institute COMPARE analysis. A new 3-CF3 substituted benzo[1,2,4]triazin-7-one gave submicromolar inhibition of TrxR, although the parent compound 1,3-diphenylbenzo[1,2,4]triazin-7-one was more cytotoxic against cancer cell lines. Benzo[1,2,4]triazin-7-ones exhibited different types of reversible inhibition of TrxR, and cyclic voltammetry showed characteristic quasi-reversible redox processes. Cell viability studies indicated strong dependence of cytotoxicity on substitution at the 6-position of the 1,3-diphenylbenzo[1,2,4]triazin-7-one ring.

Berberine interfered with breast cancer cells metabolism, balancing energy homeostasis.

Berberine exerted anti-cancer effect in various cancer cell lines, and was also implied in the treatment of metabolic related diseases. Given the metabolic modulation, we hypothesized that berberine possessed anti-cancer effect under the assistance of metabolic interference. Working as a modulator, metabolic enzyme inhibitor or complex network regulator in energy metabolism, berberine was highlighted in current cancer research. A reasonable cross talk between Chinese medicine and energy homeostasis provided a solid foundation for berberine interference on cancer cells reprogramming metabolism. Our result showed that berberine regulated the reprogramming metabolism through three aspects simultaneously, including mitochondrial oxidative phosphorylation, glycolysis and macromolecular synthesis. This interference with reprogramming metabolism was a continuous, simultaneous and sustainable approach in a moderate mode. And it could be regarded as a gentle and virtuous cycle from a multi-level perspective, indicating an integrated approach in cancer therapy. Meanwhile, we thought that Chinese medicine could link cancer and metabolic related diseases from a dynamic perspective through integrated network pharmacology. This cross talk would be a realistic and significant strategy for anti-cancer drug discovery and needs further investigation in future.

Identification of Agents that Induce Apoptosis of Multicellular Tumour Spheroids: Enrichment for Mitotic Inhibitors with Hydrophobic Properties

Cell-based anticancer drug screening generally utilizes rapidly proliferating tumour cells grown as monolayer cultures. Hit compounds from such screens are not necessarily effective on hypoxic and slowly proliferating cells in 3-D tumour tissue. The aim of this study was to examine the potential usefulness of 3-D cultured tumour cells for anticancer drug screening. We used colon carcinoma multicellular spheroids containing hypoxic and quiescent cells in core areas for this purpose. Three libraries (∼11 000 compounds) were screened using antiproliferative activity and/or apoptosis as end-points. Screening of monolayer and spheroid cultures was found to identify different sets of hit compounds. Spheroid screening enriched for hydrophobic compounds: median XLogP values of 4.3 and 4.4 were observed for the hits in two independent screening campaigns. Mechanistic analysis revealed that the majority of spheroid screening hits were microtubuli inhibitors. One of these inhibitors was examined in detail and found to be effective against non-dividing cells in the hypoxic centres of spheroids. Spheroid screening represents a conceptually new strategy for anticancer drug discovery. Our findings have implications for drug library design and hit selection in projects aimed to develop drugs for the treatment of solid tumours.

Abstract 736: Novel, potent MEK inhibitor CIP-1374 for the treatment of cancer

Abstract Mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPKs) are clinically validated, well-established targets for seeking anti-cancer therapy. MAPKs specifically phosphorylate serine/threonine residues of proteins, which are activated by variety of external stimuli (for example mitogens and growth factors) to manifest its actions inside the cell. The activation of MAPKs regulates many functions of the cells with profound physiological implications such as cell growth, survival, apoptosis, differentiation, proliferation and gene expression. MEK 1 and 2 are two human kinases presented in the middle of the classical MAPK-cascade involving upstream RAS-RAF and downstream ERKs. This signal transduction cascade ending in phophorylation of ERKs is extensively studied in cancer pathology. The phosphorylated-ERK upon its translocation to nucleus activates several transcription factors to induce the expression of many genes required for cell survival and proliferation. Because of very high selectivity conferred on MEKs to phophorylate only ERK1 and ERK2, targeting its inhibition offers a very attractive strategy for anti-cancer drug discovery. In addition, the mechanism of action of the known MEK inhibitors such as PD98059 and U0126 is non ATP-competitive (binding to allosteric site) and thus may have least side effects in clinical utility sets in high priority to discover new inhibitors. Currently there are few MEK inhibitors undergoing clinical studies, these includes ARRY-162 (Array Biopharma), RDEA-119 (Ardea biosciences) in combination with sorafenib displaying significant response in sorafenib resistant hepatoma cells and XL-518 (Exelixis) for solid tumors. We present here the discovery of a potent novel MEK inhibitor CIP-1374 for the treatment of cancer. The preliminary in vitro data including inhibition of ERK phophorylation, and whole cell anti-proliferation assays in variety of cancer cell lines will be presented. CIP-1374 exhibited MEK-1 IC50 21.0 nM. In the presence of 1.0 mM ATP, CIP-1374 retained inhibitory activity indicating allosteric mode of binding in ATP non-competitive fashion. The selectivity for MEK inhibition leading to non-proliferation will be presented from the cells without RAS mutation. Citation Format: {Authors}. {Abstract title} [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 101st Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2010 Apr 17-21; Washington, DC. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2010;70(8 Suppl):Abstract nr 736.