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Takchi R, Prudner BC, Gong Q, Hagi T, Newcomer KF, Jin LX, Vangveravong S, Van Tine BA, Hawkins WG, Spitzer D. Cytotoxic sigma-2 ligands trigger cancer cell death via cholesterol-induced-ER-stress. Cell Death Dis 2024; 15:309. [PMID: 38697978 PMCID: PMC11066049 DOI: 10.1038/s41419-024-06693-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/25/2023] [Revised: 04/15/2024] [Accepted: 04/18/2024] [Indexed: 05/05/2024]
Abstract
Sigma-2-ligands (S2L) are characterized by high binding affinities to their cognate sigma-2 receptor, overexpressed in rapidly proliferating tumor cells. As such, S2L were developed as imaging probes (ISO1) or as cancer therapeutics, alone (SV119 [C6], SW43 [C10]) and as delivery vehicles for cytotoxic drug cargoes (C6-Erastin, C10-SMAC). However, the exact mechanism of S2L-induced cytotoxicity remains to be fully elucidated. A series of high-affinity S2L were evaluated regarding their cytotoxicity profiles across cancer cell lines. While C6 and C10 displayed distinct cytotoxicities, C0 and ISO1 were essentially non-toxic. Confocal microscopy and lipidomics analysis in cellular and mouse models revealed that C10 induced increases in intralysosomal free cholesterol and in cholesterol esters, suggestive of unaltered intracellular cholesterol trafficking. Cytotoxicity was caused by cholesterol excess, a phenomenon that contrasts the effects of NPC1 inhibition. RNA-sequencing revealed gene clusters involved in cholesterol homeostasis and ER stress response exclusively by cytotoxic S2L. ER stress markers were confirmed by qPCR and their targeted modulation inhibited or enhanced cytotoxicity of C10 in a predicted manner. Moreover, C10 increased sterol regulatory element-binding protein 2 (SREBP2) and low-density lipoprotein receptor (LDLR), both found to be pro-survival factors activated by ER stress. Furthermore, inhibition of downstream processes of the adaptive response to S2L with simvastatin resulted in synergistic treatment outcomes in combination with C10. Of note, the S2L conjugates retained the ER stress response of the parental ligands, indicative of cholesterol homeostasis being involved in the overall cytotoxicity of the drug conjugates. Based on these findings, we conclude that S2L-mediated cell death is due to free cholesterol accumulation that leads to ER stress. Consequently, the cytotoxic profiles of S2L drug conjugates are proposed to be enhanced via concurrent ER stress inducers or simvastatin, strategies that could be instrumental on the path toward tumor eradication.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rony Takchi
- Department of Surgery, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, USA
| | - Bethany C Prudner
- Department of Medical Oncology, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, USA
| | - Qingqing Gong
- Department of Surgery, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, USA
| | - Takaomi Hagi
- Department of Surgery, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, USA
| | - Kenneth F Newcomer
- Department of Surgery, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, USA
| | - Linda X Jin
- Department of Surgery, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, USA
| | - Suwanna Vangveravong
- Department of Surgery, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, USA
| | - Brian A Van Tine
- Department of Medical Oncology, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, USA
- Department of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology, St. Louis Children's Hospital, St. Louis, MO, USA
- Alvin J Siteman Cancer Center, Barnes-Jewish Hospital and Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, USA
| | - William G Hawkins
- Department of Surgery, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, USA.
- Alvin J Siteman Cancer Center, Barnes-Jewish Hospital and Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, USA.
| | - Dirk Spitzer
- Department of Surgery, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, USA.
- Alvin J Siteman Cancer Center, Barnes-Jewish Hospital and Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, USA.
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Hagi T, Vangveravong S, Takchi R, Gong Q, Goedegebuure SP, Tiriac H, Van Tine BA, Powell MA, Hawkins WG, Spitzer D. The novel drug candidate S2/IAPinh improves survival in models of pancreatic and ovarian cancer. Sci Rep 2024; 14:6373. [PMID: 38493257 PMCID: PMC10944456 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-56928-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/24/2023] [Accepted: 03/12/2024] [Indexed: 03/18/2024] Open
Abstract
Cancer selective apoptosis remains a therapeutic challenge and off-target toxicity has limited enthusiasm for this target clinically. Sigma-2 ligands (S2) have been shown to enhance the cancer selectivity of small molecule drug candidates by improving internalization. Here, we report the synthesis of a novel drug conjugate, which was created by linking a clinically underperforming SMAC mimetic (second mitochondria-derived activator of caspases; LCL161), an inhibitor (antagonist) of inhibitor of apoptosis proteins (IAPinh) with the sigma-2 ligand SW43, resulting in the new chemical entity S2/IAPinh. Drug potency was assessed via cell viability assays across several pancreatic and ovarian cancer cell lines in comparison with the individual components (S2 and IAPinh) as well as their equimolar mixtures (S2 + IAPinh) both in vitro and in preclinical models of pancreatic and ovarian cancer. Mechanistic studies of S2/IAPinh-mediated cell death were investigated in vitro and in vivo using syngeneic and xenograft mouse models of murine pancreatic and human ovarian cancer, respectively. S2/IAPinh demonstrated markedly improved pharmacological activity in cancer cell lines and primary organoid cultures when compared to the controls. In vivo testing demonstrated a marked reduction in tumor growth rates and increased survival rates when compared to the respective control groups. The predicted mechanism of action of S2/IAPinh was confirmed through assessment of apoptosis pathways and demonstrated strong target degradation (cellular inhibitor of apoptosis proteins-1 [cIAP-1]) and activation of caspases 3 and 8. Taken together, S2/IAPinh demonstrated efficacy in models of pancreatic and ovarian cancer, two challenging malignancies in need of novel treatment concepts. Our data support an in-depth investigation into utilizing S2/IAPinh for the treatment of cancer.
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Affiliation(s)
- Takaomi Hagi
- Department of Surgery, Washington University School of Medicine, S. Euclid Avenue, St. Louis, MO, 63110, USA
| | - Suwanna Vangveravong
- Department of Surgery, Washington University School of Medicine, S. Euclid Avenue, St. Louis, MO, 63110, USA
| | - Rony Takchi
- Department of Surgery, Washington University School of Medicine, S. Euclid Avenue, St. Louis, MO, 63110, USA
| | - Qingqing Gong
- Department of Surgery, Washington University School of Medicine, S. Euclid Avenue, St. Louis, MO, 63110, USA
| | - S Peter Goedegebuure
- Department of Surgery, Washington University School of Medicine, S. Euclid Avenue, St. Louis, MO, 63110, USA
- Alvin J. Siteman Cancer Center, Barnes-Jewish Hospital, and Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, USA
| | - Herve Tiriac
- Division of Surgical Oncology, Department of Surgery, Moores Cancer Center, University of California San Diego, San Diego, CA, USA, San Diego, USA
| | - Brian A Van Tine
- Alvin J. Siteman Cancer Center, Barnes-Jewish Hospital, and Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, USA
- Division of Medical Oncology, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, USA
| | - Matthew A Powell
- Alvin J. Siteman Cancer Center, Barnes-Jewish Hospital, and Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, USA
- Division of Gynecologic Oncology, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, USA
| | - William G Hawkins
- Department of Surgery, Washington University School of Medicine, S. Euclid Avenue, St. Louis, MO, 63110, USA.
- Alvin J. Siteman Cancer Center, Barnes-Jewish Hospital, and Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, USA.
| | - Dirk Spitzer
- Department of Surgery, Washington University School of Medicine, S. Euclid Avenue, St. Louis, MO, 63110, USA.
- Alvin J. Siteman Cancer Center, Barnes-Jewish Hospital, and Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, USA.
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Near-Infrared Fluorescent Imaging for Monitoring of Treatment Response in Endometrial Carcinoma Patient-Derived Xenograft Models. Cancers (Basel) 2020; 12:cancers12020370. [PMID: 32041116 PMCID: PMC7072497 DOI: 10.3390/cancers12020370] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/16/2020] [Revised: 02/03/2020] [Accepted: 02/05/2020] [Indexed: 01/16/2023] Open
Abstract
Imaging of clinically relevant preclinical animal models is critical to the development of personalized therapeutic strategies for endometrial carcinoma. Although orthotopic patient-derived xenografts (PDXs) reflecting heterogeneous molecular subtypes are considered the most relevant preclinical models, their use in therapeutic development is limited by the lack of appropriate imaging modalities. Here, we describe molecular imaging of a near-infrared fluorescently labeled monoclonal antibody targeting epithelial cell adhesion molecule (EpCAM) as an in vivo imaging modality for visualization of orthotopic endometrial carcinoma PDX. Application of this near-infrared probe (EpCAM-AF680) enabled both spatio-temporal visualization of development and longitudinal therapy monitoring of orthotopic PDX. Notably, EpCAM-AF680 facilitated imaging of multiple PDX models representing different subtypes of the disease. Thus, the combined implementation of EpCAM-AF680 and orthotopic PDX models creates a state-of-the-art preclinical platform for identification and validation of new targeted therapies and corresponding response predicting markers for endometrial carcinoma.
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Kazan F, Yagci ZB, Bai R, Ozkirimli E, Hamel E, Ozkirimli S. Synthesis and biological evaluation of indole-2-carbohydrazides and thiazolidinyl-indole-2-carboxamides as potent tubulin polymerization inhibitors. Comput Biol Chem 2019; 80:512-523. [DOI: 10.1016/j.compbiolchem.2019.05.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/16/2018] [Revised: 02/12/2019] [Accepted: 05/06/2019] [Indexed: 12/31/2022]
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