A novel AMPK activator reduces glucose uptake and inhibits tumor progression in a mouse xenograft model of colorectal cancer

Regulation and role of CAMKK2 in prostate cancer

In 2011, CAMKK2, the gene encoding calcium/calmodulin-dependent kinase kinase 2 (CAMKK2), was demonstrated to be a direct target of the androgen receptor and a driver of prostate cancer progression. Results from multiple independent studies have confirmed these findings and demonstrated the potential role of CAMKK2 as a clinical biomarker and therapeutic target in advanced prostate cancer using a variety of preclinical models. Drug development efforts targeting CAMKK2 have begun accordingly. CAMKK2 regulation can vary across disease stages, which might have important implications in the use of CAMKK2 as a biomarker. Moreover, new non-cell-autonomous roles for CAMKK2 that could affect tumorigenesis, metastasis and possible comorbidities linked to disease and treatment have emerged and could present novel treatment opportunities for prostate cancer.

Molecular and Cellular Complexity of Glioma. Focus on Tumour Microenvironment and the Use of Molecular and Imaging Biomarkers to Overcome Treatment Resistance

This review highlights the importance and the complexity of tumour biology and microenvironment in the progression and therapy resistance of glioma. Specific gene mutations, the possible functions of several non-coding microRNAs and the intra-tumour and inter-tumour heterogeneity of cell types contribute to limit the efficacy of the actual therapeutic options. In this scenario, identification of molecular biomarkers of response and the use of multimodal in vivo imaging and in particular the Positron Emission Tomography (PET) based molecular approach, can help identifying glioma features and the modifications occurring during therapy at a regional level. Indeed, a better understanding of tumor heterogeneity and the development of diagnostic procedures can favor the identification of a cluster of patients for personalized medicine in order to improve the survival and their quality of life.

Recent Advances in β-lactam Derivatives as Potential Anticancer Agents

Cancer, accounts for around 10 million deaths annually, is the second leading cause of death globally. The continuous emergency of drug-resistant cancers and the low specificity of anticancer agents are the main challenges in the control and eradication of cancers, so it is imperative to develop novel anticancer agents. Immense efforts have been made in developing new lead compounds and novel chemotherapeutic strategies for the treatment of various forms of cancers in recent years. β-Lactam derivatives constitute versatile and attractive scaffolds for the drug discovery since these kinds of compounds possess a variety of pharmacological properties, and some of them exhibited promising potency against both drug-sensitive and drug-resistant cancer cell lines. Thus, β-lactam moiety is a useful template for the development of novel anticancer agents. This review will provide an overview of β-lactam derivatives with the potential therapeutic application for the treatment of cancers covering articles published between 2000 and 2020. The mechanisms of action, the critical aspects of design and structureactivity relationships are also discussed.

β-Lactams with antiproliferative and antiapoptotic activity in breast and chemoresistant colon cancer cells

A series of novel 1,4-diaryl-2-azetidinone analogues of combretastatin A-4 (CA-4) have been designed, synthesised and evaluated in vitro for antiproliferative activity, antiapoptotic activity and inhibition of tubulin polymerisation. Glucuronidation of CA-4 by uridine 5-diphosphoglucuronosyl transferase enzymes (UGTs) has been identified as a mechanism of resistance in cancer cells. Potential sites of ring B glucuronate conjugation are removed by replacing the B ring meta-hydroxy substituent of selected series of β-lactams with alternative substituents e.g. F, Cl, Br, I, CH₃. The 3-phenyl-β-lactam 11 and 3-hydroxy-β-lactam 46 demonstrate improved activity over CA-4 in CA-4 resistant HT-29 colon cancer cells (IC₅₀ = 9 nM and 3 nM respectively compared with IC₅₀ = 4.16 μM for CA-4), while retaining potency in MCF-7 breast cancer cells (IC₅₀ = 17 nM and 22 nM respectively compared with IC₅₀ = for 4 nM for CA-4). Compound 46 binds at the colchicine site of tubulin, and strongly inhibits tubulin assembly at micromolar concentrations comparable to CA-4. In addition, compound 46 induced mitotic arrest at low concentration in both cell lines MCF-7 and HT-29 together with downregulation of expression of antiapoptotic proteins Mcl-1, Bcl-2 and survivin in MCF-7 cells. These novel antiproliferative and antiapoptotic β-lactams are potentially useful scaffolds in the development of tubulin-targeting agents for the treatment of breast cancers and chemoresistant colon cancers.

Novel chemotherapeutic agent, FND-4b, activates AMPK and inhibits colorectal cancer cell proliferation

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is the second leading cause of cancer deaths in the US with the majority of deaths due to metastatic disease. Current chemotherapeutic regimens involve highly toxic agents, which limits their utility; therefore, more effective and less toxic agents are required to see a reduction in CRC mortality. Novel fluorinated N,N’-diarylureas (FND) were developed and characterized by our group as potent activators of adenosine monophosphate-activated kinase (AMPK) that inhibit cell cycle progression. The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of a lead FND compound, FND-4b, either alone or combined with PI-103 (a dual PI3K/mTOR inhibitor) or SN-38 (active metabolite of irinotecan) on cell cycle arrest and apoptosis of CRC cell lines (both commercially-available and novel lines established from our patient population). Treatment with FND-4b for 24h resulted in a marked induction of phosphorylated AMPK expression and a concomitant reduction in markers of cell proliferation, such as cyclin D1, in all CRC cell lines. Apoptosis was also notably increased in CRC cells treated with FND-4b. Regardless of the genetic profile of the CRC cells, FND-4b treatment alone resulted in decreased cell proliferation. Moreover, the combination of FND-4b with PI-103 resulted in increased cell death in all cell lines, while the combination of FND-4b with SN-38 resulted in increased cell death in select cell lines. Our findings identify FND-4b, which activates AMPK at micromolar concentrations, as a novel and effective inhibitor of CRC growth either alone or in combination with PI-103 and SN-38.

Synthesis and biological evaluation of new 3-amino-2-azetidinone derivatives as anti-colorectal cancer agents

Several synthetic combretastatin A4 (CA-4) derivatives were recently prepared to increase the drug efficacy and stability of the natural product isolated from the South African tree Combretum caffrum. A group of ten 3-amino-2-azetidinone derivatives, as combretastatin A4 analogues, was selected through docking experiments, synthesized and tested for their anti-proliferative activity against the colon cancer SW48 cell line. These molecules, through the formation of amide bonds in position 3, allow the synthesis of various derivatives that can modulate the activity with great resistance to hydrolytic conditions. The cyclization to obtain the 3-aminoazetidinone ring is highly diastereoselective and provides a trans biologically active isomer under mild reaction conditions with better yields than the 3-hydroxy-2-azetidinone synthesis. All compounds showed IC₅₀ values ranging between 14.0 and 564.2 nM, and the most active compound showed inhibitory activity against tubulin polymerization in vitro, being a potential therapeutic agent against colon cancer.

Fluorinated N,N'-Diarylureas As Novel Therapeutic Agents Against Cancer Stem Cells

Colorectal cancer is the second-leading cause of cancer-related mortality in the United States. More than 50% of patients with colorectal cancer will develop local recurrence or distant organ metastasis. Cancer stem cells play a major role in the survival and metastasis of cancer cells. In this study, we examined the effects of novel AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) activating compounds on colorectal cancer metastatic and stem cell lines as potential candidates for chemotherapy. We found that activation of AMPK by all fluorinated N,N-diarylureas (FND) compounds at micromolar levels significantly inhibited the cell-cycle progression and subsequent cellular proliferation. In addition, we demonstrated that select FNDs significantly increased apoptosis in colorectal cancer metastatic and cancer stem cells. Therefore, FNDs hold considerable promise in the treatment of metastatic colorectal cancer, through elimination of both regular cancer cells and cancer stem cells. Mol Cancer Ther; 16(5); 831-7. ©2017 AACR.

A spatiotemporal hypothesis for the regulation, role, and targeting of AMPK in prostate cancer

The 5'-AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) is a master regulator of cellular homeostasis. Despite AMPK's known function in physiology, its role in pathological processes such as prostate cancer is enigmatic. However, emerging evidence is now beginning to decode the paradoxical role of AMPK in cancer and, therefore, inform clinicians if - and how - AMPK could be therapeutically targeted. Spatiotemporal regulation of AMPK complexes could be one of the mechanisms that governs this kinase's role in cancer. We hypothesize that different upstream stimuli will activate select subcellular AMPK complexes. This hypothesis is supported by the distinct subcellular locations of the various AMPK subunits. Each of these unique AMPK complexes regulates discrete downstream processes that can be tumour suppressive or oncogenic. AMPK's final biological output is then determined by the weighted net function of these downstream signalling events, influenced by additional prostate-specific signalling.

β-Lactam analogues of combretastatin A-4 prevent metabolic inactivation by glucuronidation in chemoresistant HT-29 colon cancer cells

Glucuronidation by uridine 5-diphosphoglucuronosyl transferase enzymes (UGTs) is a cause of intrinsic drug resistance in cancer cells. Glucuronidation of combretastatin A-4 (CA-4) was previously identified as a mechanism of resistance in hepatocellular cancer cells. Herein, we propose chemical manipulation of β-lactam bridged analogues of Combretastatin A-4 as a novel means of overcoming drug resistance associated with glucuronidation due to the expression of UGTs in the CA-4 resistant human colon cancer HT-29 cells. The alkene bridge of CA-4 is replaced with a β-lactam ring to circumvent potential isomerisation while the potential sites of glucuronate conjugation are deleted in the novel 3-substituted-1,4-diaryl-2-azetidinone analogues of CA-4. We hypothesise that glucuronidation of CA-4 is the mechanism of drug resistance in HT-29 cells. Ring B thioether containing 2-azetidinone analogues of CA-4 such as 4-(4-(methylthio)phenyl)-3-phenyl-1-(3,4,5-trimethoxyphenyl)azetidin-2-one (27) and 3-hydroxy-4-(4-(methylthio)phenyl)-1-(3,4,5-trimethoxyphenyl)azetidin-2-one (45) were identified as the most potent inhibitors of tumour cell growth, independent of UGT status, displaying antiproliferative activity in the low nanomolar range. These compounds also disrupted the microtubular structure in MCF-7 and HT-29 cells, and caused G₂/M arrest and apoptosis. Taken together, these findings highlight the potential of chemical manipulation as a means of overcoming glucuronidation attributed drug resistance in CA-4 resistant human colon cancer HT-29 cells, allowing the development of therapeutically superior analogues.

Dissecting the Dual Role of AMPK in Cancer: From Experimental to Human Studies

The precise role of 5'AMP-activated kinase (AMPK) in cancer and its potential as a therapeutic target is controversial. Although it is well established that activation of this energy sensor inhibits the main anabolic processes that sustain cancer cell proliferation and growth, AMPK activation can confer on cancer cells the plasticity to survive under metabolic stress such as hypoxia and glucose deprivation, which are commonly observed in fast growing tumors. Thus, AMPK is referred to as both a "conditional" tumor suppressor and "contextual" oncogene. To add a further layer of complexity, AMPK activation in human cancer tissues and its correlation with tumor aggressiveness and progression appears to vary in different contexts. The current review discusses the different faces of this metabolic regulator, the therapeutic implications of its modulation, and provides an overview of the most relevant data available on AMPK activation and AMPK-activating drugs in human studies.