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Alqahtani T, Kumarasamy V, Alghamdi SS, Suliman RS, Bin Saleh K, Alrashed MA, Aldhaeefi M, Sun D. Adefovir Dipivoxil as a Therapeutic Candidate for Medullary Thyroid Carcinoma: Targeting RET and STAT3 Proto-Oncogenes. Cancers (Basel) 2023; 15:cancers15072163. [PMID: 37046823 PMCID: PMC10093259 DOI: 10.3390/cancers15072163] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/08/2023] [Revised: 04/02/2023] [Accepted: 04/03/2023] [Indexed: 04/08/2023] Open
Abstract
Aberrant gene expression is often linked to the progression of various cancers, making the targeting of oncogene transcriptional activation a potential strategy to control tumor growth and development. The RET proto-oncogene’s gain-of-function mutation is a major cause of medullary thyroid carcinoma (MTC), which is part of multiple endocrine neoplasia type 2 (MEN2) syndrome. In this study, we used a cell-based bioluminescence reporter system driven by the RET promoter to screen for small molecules that potentially suppress the RET gene transcription. We identified adefovir dipivoxil as a transcriptional inhibitor of the RET gene, which suppressed endogenous RET protein expression in MTC TT cells. Adefovir dipivoxil also interfered with STAT3 phosphorylation and showed high affinity to bind to STAT3. Additionally, it inhibited RET-dependent TT cell proliferation and increased apoptosis. These results demonstrate the potential of cell-based screening assays in identifying transcriptional inhibitors for other oncogenes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tariq Alqahtani
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, College of Pharmacy, Ministry of National Guard Health Affairs, King Saud bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences, Riyadh 11481, Saudi Arabia
- Medical Research Core Facility and Platforms, King Abdullah International Medical Research Center (KAIMRC), Ministry of National Guard Health Affairs, Riyadh 11426, Saudi Arabia
- Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, College of Pharmacy, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85721, USA
| | - Vishnu Kumarasamy
- Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, College of Pharmacy, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85721, USA
- Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, Roswell Park Cancer Center, Buffalo, NY 14203, USA
- Department of Cancer Genetics and Genomics, Roswell Park Cancer Center, Buffalo, NY 14203, USA
| | - Sahar Saleh Alghamdi
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, College of Pharmacy, Ministry of National Guard Health Affairs, King Saud bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences, Riyadh 11481, Saudi Arabia
- Medical Research Core Facility and Platforms, King Abdullah International Medical Research Center (KAIMRC), Ministry of National Guard Health Affairs, Riyadh 11426, Saudi Arabia
| | - Rasha Saad Suliman
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, College of Pharmacy, Ministry of National Guard Health Affairs, King Saud bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences, Riyadh 11481, Saudi Arabia
- Medical Research Core Facility and Platforms, King Abdullah International Medical Research Center (KAIMRC), Ministry of National Guard Health Affairs, Riyadh 11426, Saudi Arabia
- Pharmacy Department, Fatima College of Health Sciences, Almafrag, Abu Dhabi P.O. Box 3798, United Arab Emirates
| | - Khalid Bin Saleh
- Medical Research Core Facility and Platforms, King Abdullah International Medical Research Center (KAIMRC), Ministry of National Guard Health Affairs, Riyadh 11426, Saudi Arabia
- Department of pharmacy practice, College of Pharmacy, King Saud bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences, Riyadh 11481, Saudi Arabia
| | - Mohammed A. Alrashed
- Medical Research Core Facility and Platforms, King Abdullah International Medical Research Center (KAIMRC), Ministry of National Guard Health Affairs, Riyadh 11426, Saudi Arabia
- Department of pharmacy practice, College of Pharmacy, King Saud bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences, Riyadh 11481, Saudi Arabia
| | - Mohammed Aldhaeefi
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, College of Pharmacy, Ministry of National Guard Health Affairs, King Saud bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences, Riyadh 11481, Saudi Arabia
- Medical Research Core Facility and Platforms, King Abdullah International Medical Research Center (KAIMRC), Ministry of National Guard Health Affairs, Riyadh 11426, Saudi Arabia
- Department of pharmacy practice, College of Pharmacy, King Saud bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences, Riyadh 11481, Saudi Arabia
| | - Daekyu Sun
- Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, College of Pharmacy, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85721, USA
- Pharmacy Department, Fatima College of Health Sciences, Almafrag, Abu Dhabi P.O. Box 3798, United Arab Emirates
- Department of Clinical and Administrative Pharmacy Sciences, College of Pharmacy, Howard University, Washington, DC 20059, USA
- The BIO5 Institute, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85721, USA
- Department of Cancer Biology, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85724, USA
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