1
|
Manoharan S, Ying Ying L. Pyrimethamine reduced tumour growth in pre-clinical cancer models: a systematic review to identify potential pre-clinical studies for subsequent human clinical trials. Biol Methods Protoc 2024; 9:bpae021. [PMID: 38618181 PMCID: PMC11014785 DOI: 10.1093/biomethods/bpae021] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/09/2024] [Revised: 03/12/2024] [Accepted: 03/27/2024] [Indexed: 04/16/2024] Open
Abstract
Pyrimethamine (PYR), a STAT3 inhibitor, has been shown to reduce tumour burden in mouse cancer models. It is unclear how much of a reduction occurred or whether the PYR dosages and route of administration used in mice were consistent with the FDA's recommendations for drug repurposing. Search engines such as ScienceDirect, PubMed/MEDLINE, and other databases, including Google Scholar, were thoroughly searched, as was the reference list. The systematic review includes fourteen (14) articles. The risk of bias (RoB) was assessed using SYRCLE's guidelines. Due to the heterogeneity of the data, no meta-analysis was performed. According to the RoB assessment, 13/14 studies fall into the moderate RoB category, with one study classified as high RoB. None adhered to the ARRIVE guideline for transparent research reporting. Oral (FDA-recommended) and non-oral routes of PYR administration were used in mice, with several studies reporting very high PYR dosages that could lead to myelosuppression, while oral PYR dosages of 30 mg/kg or less are considered safe. Direct human equivalent dose translation is probably not the best strategy for comparing whether the used PYR dosages in mice are in line with FDA-approved strength because pharmacokinetic profiles, particularly PYR's half-life (t1/2), between humans (t1/2 = 96 h) and mice (t1/2 = 6 h), must also be considered. Based on the presence of appropriate control and treatment groups, as well as the presence of appropriate clinically proven chemotherapy drug(s) for comparison purposes, only one study (1/14) involving liver cancer can be directed into a clinical trial. Furthermore, oesophageal cancer too can be directed into clinical trials, where the indirect effect of PYR on the NRF2 gene may suppress oesophageal cancer in patients, but this must be done with caution because PYR is an investigational drug for oesophageal cancer, and combining it with proven chemotherapy drug(s) is recommended.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Sivananthan Manoharan
- Molecular Pathology Unit, Cancer Research Centre, Institute for Medical Research, National Institutes of Health, Ministry of Health Malaysia, Shah Alam 40170, Selangor, Malaysia
| | - Lee Ying Ying
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, Asia Metropolitan University, Johor Bahru 81750, Johor, Malaysia
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
Wang J, Su Q, Chen K, Wu Q, Ren J, Tang W, Hu Y, Zhu Z, Cheng C, Tu K, He H, Zhang Y. Pyrimethamine upregulates BNIP3 to interfere SNARE-mediated autophagosome-lysosomal fusion in hepatocellular carcinoma. J Pharm Anal 2024; 14:211-224. [PMID: 38464783 PMCID: PMC10921246 DOI: 10.1016/j.jpha.2023.05.014] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/07/2023] [Revised: 05/13/2023] [Accepted: 05/29/2023] [Indexed: 03/12/2024] Open
Abstract
Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the most common tumor types and remains a major clinical challenge. Increasing evidence has revealed that mitophagy inhibitors can enhance the effect of chemotherapy on HCC. However, few mitophagy inhibitors have been approved for clinical use in humans. Pyrimethamine (Pyr) is used to treat infections caused by protozoan parasites. Recent studies have reported that Pyr may be beneficial in the treatment of various tumors. However, its mechanism of action is still not clearly defined. Here, we found that blocking mitophagy sensitized cells to Pyr-induced apoptosis. Mechanistically, Pyr potently induced the accumulation of autophagosomes by inhibiting autophagosome-lysosome fusion in human HCC cells. In vitro and in vivo studies revealed that Pyr blocked autophagosome-lysosome fusion by upregulating BNIP3 to inhibit synaptosomal-associated protein 29 (SNAP29)-vesicle-associated membrane protein 8 (VAMP8) interaction. Moreover, Pyr acted synergistically with sorafenib (Sora) to induce apoptosis and inhibit HCC proliferation in vitro and in vivo. Pyr enhances the sensitivity of HCC cells to Sora, a common chemotherapeutic, by inhibiting mitophagy. Thus, these results provide new insights into the mechanism of action of Pyr and imply that Pyr could potentially be further developed as a novel mitophagy inhibitor. Notably, Pyr and Sora combination therapy could be a promising treatment for malignant HCC.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Jingjing Wang
- School of Pharmacy, Health Science Center, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, 710061, China
| | - Qi Su
- School of Pharmacy, Health Science Center, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, 710061, China
| | - Kun Chen
- School of Pharmacy, Health Science Center, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, 710061, China
| | - Qing Wu
- School of Pharmacy, Health Science Center, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, 710061, China
| | - Jiayan Ren
- School of Pharmacy, Health Science Center, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, 710061, China
| | - Wenjuan Tang
- School of Pharmacy, Health Science Center, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, 710061, China
| | - Yu Hu
- School of Pharmacy, Health Science Center, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, 710061, China
| | - Zeren Zhu
- School of Pharmacy, Health Science Center, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, 710061, China
| | - Cheng Cheng
- School of Pharmacy, Health Science Center, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, 710061, China
| | - Kaihui Tu
- School of Pharmacy, Health Science Center, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, 710061, China
| | - Huaizhen He
- School of Pharmacy, Health Science Center, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, 710061, China
| | - Yanmin Zhang
- School of Pharmacy, Health Science Center, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, 710061, China
| |
Collapse
|
3
|
Kast RE, Alfieri A, Assi HI, Burns TC, Elyamany AM, Gonzalez-Cao M, Karpel-Massler G, Marosi C, Salacz ME, Sardi I, Van Vlierberghe P, Zaghloul MS, Halatsch ME. MDACT: A New Principle of Adjunctive Cancer Treatment Using Combinations of Multiple Repurposed Drugs, with an Example Regimen. Cancers (Basel) 2022; 14:2563. [PMID: 35626167 PMCID: PMC9140192 DOI: 10.3390/cancers14102563] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/19/2022] [Revised: 05/11/2022] [Accepted: 05/17/2022] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
In part one of this two-part paper, we present eight principles that we believe must be considered for more effective treatment of the currently incurable cancers. These are addressed by multidrug adjunctive cancer treatment (MDACT), which uses multiple repurposed non-oncology drugs, not primarily to kill malignant cells, but rather to reduce the malignant cells' growth drives. Previous multidrug regimens have used MDACT principles, e.g., the CUSP9v3 glioblastoma treatment. MDACT is an amalgam of (1) the principle that to be effective in stopping a chain of events leading to an undesired outcome, one must break more than one link; (2) the principle of Palmer et al. of achieving fractional cancer cell killing via multiple drugs with independent mechanisms of action; (3) the principle of shaping versus decisive operations, both being required for successful cancer treatment; (4) an idea adapted from Chow et al., of using multiple cytotoxic medicines at low doses; (5) the idea behind CUSP9v3, using many non-oncology CNS-penetrant drugs from general medical practice, repurposed to block tumor survival paths; (6) the concept from chess that every move creates weaknesses and strengths; (7) the principle of mass-by adding force to a given effort, the chances of achieving the goal increase; and (8) the principle of blocking parallel signaling pathways. Part two gives an example MDACT regimen, gMDACT, which uses six repurposed drugs-celecoxib, dapsone, disulfiram, itraconazole, pyrimethamine, and telmisartan-to interfere with growth-driving elements common to cholangiocarcinoma, colon adenocarcinoma, glioblastoma, and non-small-cell lung cancer. gMDACT is another example of-not a replacement for-previous multidrug regimens already in clinical use, such as CUSP9v3. MDACT regimens are designed as adjuvants to be used with cytotoxic drugs.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
| | - Alex Alfieri
- Department of Neurosurgery, Cantonal Hospital of Winterthur, 8400 Winterthur, Switzerland; (A.A.); (M.-E.H.)
| | - Hazem I. Assi
- Naef K. Basile Cancer Center, American University of Beirut, Beirut 1100, Lebanon;
| | - Terry C. Burns
- Department of Neurological Surgery, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN 55905, USA;
| | - Ashraf M. Elyamany
- Oncology Unit, Hemato-Oncology Department, SECI Assiut University Egypt/King Saud Medical City, Riyadh 7790, Saudi Arabia;
| | - Maria Gonzalez-Cao
- Translational Cancer Research Unit, Dexeus University Hospital, 08028 Barcelona, Spain;
| | | | - Christine Marosi
- Clinical Division of Medical Oncology, Medical University of Vienna, Waehringer Guertel 18-20, 1090 Vienna, Austria;
| | - Michael E. Salacz
- Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey, New Brunswick, NJ 08901, USA;
| | - Iacopo Sardi
- Department of Pediatric Oncology, Meyer Children’s Hospital, Viale Pieraccini 24, 50139 Florence, Italy;
| | - Pieter Van Vlierberghe
- Department of Biomolecular Medicine, Ghent University Hospital, Corneel Heymanslaan 10, 9000 Ghent, Belgium;
| | - Mohamed S. Zaghloul
- Children’s Cancer Hospital & National Cancer Institute, Cairo University, Cairo 11796, Egypt;
| | - Marc-Eric Halatsch
- Department of Neurosurgery, Cantonal Hospital of Winterthur, 8400 Winterthur, Switzerland; (A.A.); (M.-E.H.)
| |
Collapse
|
4
|
Ramchandani S, Mohan CD, Mistry JR, Su Q, Naz I, Rangappa KS, Ahn KS. The multifaceted antineoplastic role of pyrimethamine against different human malignancies. IUBMB Life 2021; 74:198-212. [PMID: 34921584 DOI: 10.1002/iub.2590] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/15/2021] [Revised: 12/03/2021] [Accepted: 12/15/2021] [Indexed: 12/17/2022]
Abstract
Cancer accounted for nearly 10 million deaths in 2020 and is the second leading cause of death worldwide. The chemotherapeutic agents that are in clinical practice possess a broad range of severe adverse effects towards vital organs which emphasizes the importance of the discovery of new therapeutic agents or repurposing of existing drugs for the treatment of human cancers. Pyrimethamine is an antiparasitic drug used for the treatment of malaria and toxoplasmosis with a well-documented excellent safety profile. In the last five years, numerous efforts have been made to explore the anticancer potential of pyrimethamine in in vitro and in vivo preclinical models and to repurpose it as an anticancer agent. The studies have demonstrated that pyrimethamine inhibits oncogenic proteins such as STAT3, NF-κB, DX2, MAPK, DHFR, thymidine phosphorylase, telomerase, and many more in a different types of cancer models. Moreover, pyrimethamine has been reported to work in synergy with other anticancer agents, such as temozolomide, to induce apoptosis of tumor cells. Recently, the results of phase-1/2 clinical trials demonstrated that pyrimethamine administration reduces the expression of STAT3 signature genes in tumor tissues of chronic lymphocytic leukemia patients with a good therapeutic response. In the present article, we have reviewed most of the published papers related to the antitumor effects of pyrimethamine in malignancies of breast, liver, lung, skin, ovary, prostate, pituitary, and leukemia in in vitro and in vivo settings. We have also discussed the pharmacokinetic profile and results of clinical trials obtained after pyrimethamine treatment. From these studies, we believe that pyrimethamine has the potential to be repurposed as an anticancer drug. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Shanaya Ramchandani
- Department of Pharmacology and Biochemistry, University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC, Australia
| | | | - Jenaifer Rustom Mistry
- Jenaifer Rustom Mistry, Department of Biological Sciences, Nanyang Technological University, 50 Nanyang Ave, 639798, Singapore
| | - Qi Su
- Qi Su, Department of Pharmacy, National University of Singapore, 21 Lower Kent Ridge Rd, Singapore
| | - Irum Naz
- Irum Naz, Qaid-i-Azam, University of Islamabad & Institute of Biochemistry, Biotechnology and Bioinformatics, The Islamia University, Bahawalpur, Pakistan
| | | | - Kwang Seok Ahn
- Department of Science in Korean Medicine, College of Korean Medicine, Kyung Hee University, 24 Kyungheedae-ro, Dongdaemun-gu, Seoul, Republic of Korea
| |
Collapse
|
5
|
Fasouli ES, Katsantoni E. JAK-STAT in Early Hematopoiesis and Leukemia. Front Cell Dev Biol 2021; 9:669363. [PMID: 34055801 PMCID: PMC8160090 DOI: 10.3389/fcell.2021.669363] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/18/2021] [Accepted: 04/20/2021] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) produce all the terminally differentiated blood cells and are controlled by extracellular signals from the microenvironment, the bone marrow (BM) niche, as well as intrinsic cell signals. Intrinsic signals include the tightly controlled action of signaling pathways, as the Janus kinase-signal transducer and activator of transcription (JAK-STAT) pathway. Activation of JAK-STAT leads to phosphorylation of members of the STAT family to regulate proliferation, survival, and self-renewal of HSCs. Mutations in components of the JAK-STAT pathway are linked with defects in HSCs and hematologic malignancies. Accumulating mutations in HSCs and aging contribute to leukemia transformation. Here an overview of hematopoiesis, and the role of the JAK-STAT pathway in HSCs and in the promotion of leukemic transformation is presented. Therapeutic targeting of JAK-STAT and clinical implications of the existing research findings are also discussed.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Eirini Sofia Fasouli
- Basic Research Center, Biomedical Research Foundation, Academy of Athens, Athens, Greece
| | - Eleni Katsantoni
- Basic Research Center, Biomedical Research Foundation, Academy of Athens, Athens, Greece
| |
Collapse
|
6
|
OPALS: A New Osimertinib Adjunctive Treatment of Lung Adenocarcinoma or Glioblastoma Using Five Repurposed Drugs. Cells 2021; 10:cells10051148. [PMID: 34068720 PMCID: PMC8151869 DOI: 10.3390/cells10051148] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/08/2021] [Revised: 04/30/2021] [Accepted: 05/07/2021] [Indexed: 12/11/2022] Open
Abstract
Background: Pharmacological targeting aberrant activation of epidermal growth factor receptor tyrosine kinase signaling is an established approach to treating lung adenocarcinoma. Osimertinib is a tyrosine kinase approved and effective in treating lung adenocarcinomas that have one of several common activating mutations in epidermal growth factor receptor. The emergence of resistance to osimertinib after a year or two is the rule. We developed a five-drug adjuvant regimen designed to increase osimertinib’s growth inhibition and thereby delay the development of resistance. Areas of Uncertainty: Although the assembled preclinical data is strong, preclinical data and the following clinical trial results can be discrepant. The safety of OPALS drugs when used individually is excellent. We have no data from humans on their tolerability when used as an ensemble. That there is no data from the individual drugs to suspect problematic interaction does not exclude the possibility. Data Sources: All relevant PubMed.org articles on the OPALS drugs and corresponding pathophysiology of lung adenocarcinoma and glioblastoma were reviewed. Therapeutic Opinion: The five drugs of OPALS are in wide use in general medicine for non-oncology indications. OPALS uses the anti-protozoal drug pyrimethamine, the antihistamine cyproheptadine, the antibiotic azithromycin, the antihistamine loratadine, and the potassium sparing diuretic spironolactone. We show how these inexpensive and generically available drugs intersect with and inhibit lung adenocarcinoma growth drive. We also review data showing that both OPALS adjuvant drugs and osimertinib have data showing they may be active in suppressing glioblastoma growth.
Collapse
|
7
|
Zhou Y, Takacs GP, Lamba JK, Vulpe C, Cogle CR. Functional Dependency Analysis Identifies Potential Druggable Targets in Acute Myeloid Leukemia. Cancers (Basel) 2020; 12:cancers12123710. [PMID: 33321907 PMCID: PMC7764352 DOI: 10.3390/cancers12123710] [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: 11/03/2020] [Revised: 11/30/2020] [Accepted: 12/07/2020] [Indexed: 12/22/2022] Open
Abstract
Refractory disease is a major challenge in treating patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML). Whereas the armamentarium has expanded in the past few years for treating AML, long-term survival outcomes have yet to be proven. To further expand the arsenal for treating AML, we searched for druggable gene targets in AML by analyzing screening data from a lentiviral-based genome-wide pooled CRISPR-Cas9 library and gene knockout (KO) dependency scores in 15 AML cell lines (HEL, MV411, OCIAML2, THP1, NOMO1, EOL1, KASUMI1, NB4, OCIAML3, MOLM13, TF1, U937, F36P, AML193, P31FUJ). Ninety-four gene KOs met the criteria of (A) specifically essential to AML cell survival, (B) non-essential in non-AML cells, and (C) druggable according to three-dimensional (3D) modeling or ligand-based druggability scoring. Forty-four of 94 gene-KOs (47%) had an already-approved drug match and comprised a drug development list termed "deKO." Fifty of 94 gene-KOs (53%) had no drug in development and comprised a drug discovery list termed "disKO." STRING analysis and gene ontology categorization of the disKO targets preferentially cluster in the metabolic processes of UMP biosynthesis, IMP biosynthesis, dihydrofolate metabolism, pyrimidine nucleobase biosynthesis, vitellogenesis, and regulation of T cell differentiation and hematopoiesis. Results from this study serve as a testable compendium of AML drug targets that, after validation, may be translated into new therapeutics.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Yujia Zhou
- Division of Hematology and Oncology, Department of Medicine, College of Medicine, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32610-0278, USA; (Y.Z.); (G.P.T.)
| | - Gregory P. Takacs
- Division of Hematology and Oncology, Department of Medicine, College of Medicine, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32610-0278, USA; (Y.Z.); (G.P.T.)
| | - Jatinder K. Lamba
- Department of Pharmacotherapy and Translational Research, College of Pharmacy, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32610-0278, USA;
| | - Christopher Vulpe
- Department of Physiological Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32610-0278, USA;
| | - Christopher R. Cogle
- Division of Hematology and Oncology, Department of Medicine, College of Medicine, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32610-0278, USA; (Y.Z.); (G.P.T.)
- Correspondence: ; Tel.: +1-(352)-273-7493; Fax: +1-(352)-273-5006
| |
Collapse
|
8
|
Pyrimethamine exerts significant antitumor effects on human ovarian cancer cells both in vitro and in vivo. Anticancer Drugs 2020; 30:571-578. [PMID: 30614834 DOI: 10.1097/cad.0000000000000740] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
Abstract
Pyrimethamine has been used principally to treat infections from protozoan parasites. Although previous studies have shown that pyrimethamine exhibited anticancer activity by inducing cellular apoptosis, there are none that show that pyrimethamine possesses anticancer activity with respect to ovarian cancer. We examined the roles of pyrimethamine on apoptosis and proliferation, DNA damage, and cell cycle distribution of human ovarian cancer cell lines in vitro. To investigate the antitumor efficacy of pyrimethamine in vivo, we established two intraperitoneal ovarian carcinoma models in nude mice. Pyrimethamine significantly induced apoptosis of ovarian cancer cells via growth inhibition, cell cycle arrest, and nuclear DNA damage in vitro and manifested antitumor activity by inhibiting tumor growth, thereby prolonging the survival time of tumor-bearing mice. We also demonstrated that pyrimethamine increased the expression of caspase-9 and decreased the expression of X-linked inhibitor of apoptosis protein. In conclusion, the antitumor effects of pyrimethamine were associated with enhanced apoptosis of tumor cells and inhibition of the growth of intratumoral microvessels. Our results indicate that pyrimethamine may provide an effective approach toward inhibiting the growth of ovarian cancer with minimal adverse effects.
Collapse
|
9
|
Valli D, Gruszka AM, Alcalay M. Has Drug Repurposing Fulfilled its Promise in Acute Myeloid Leukaemia? J Clin Med 2020; 9:E1892. [PMID: 32560371 PMCID: PMC7356362 DOI: 10.3390/jcm9061892] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/11/2020] [Revised: 06/11/2020] [Accepted: 06/15/2020] [Indexed: 12/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Drug repurposing is a method of drug discovery that consists of finding a new therapeutic context for an old drug. Compound identification arises from screening of large libraries of active compounds, through interrogating databases of cell line gene expression response upon treatment or by merging several types of information concerning disease-drug relationships. Although, there is a general consensus on the potential and advantages of this drug discovery modality, at the practical level to-date no non-anti-cancer repurposed compounds have been introduced into standard acute myeloid leukaemia (AML) management, albeit that preclinical validation yielded several candidates. The review presents the state-of-the-art drug repurposing approach in AML and poses the question of what has to be done in order to take a full advantage of it, both at the stage of screening design and later when progressing from the preclinical to the clinical phases of drug development. We argue that improvements are needed to model and read-out systems as well as to screening technologies, but also to more funding and trust in drug repurposing strategies.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Debora Valli
- Department of Experimental Oncology, Istituto Europeo di Oncologia IRCCS, Via Adamello 16, 20 139 Milan, Italy; (D.V.); (M.A.)
| | - Alicja M. Gruszka
- Department of Experimental Oncology, Istituto Europeo di Oncologia IRCCS, Via Adamello 16, 20 139 Milan, Italy; (D.V.); (M.A.)
| | - Myriam Alcalay
- Department of Experimental Oncology, Istituto Europeo di Oncologia IRCCS, Via Adamello 16, 20 139 Milan, Italy; (D.V.); (M.A.)
- Department of Oncology and Hemato-Oncology, University of Milan, Via Festa del Perdono 7, 20 122 Milan, Italy
| |
Collapse
|
10
|
Zhou X, Zhang J, Hu X, He P, Guo J, Li J, Lan T, Liu J, Peng L, Li H. Pyrimethamine Elicits Antitumor Effects on Prostate Cancer by Inhibiting the p38-NF-κB Pathway. Front Pharmacol 2020; 11:758. [PMID: 32523533 PMCID: PMC7261869 DOI: 10.3389/fphar.2020.00758] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/15/2019] [Accepted: 05/06/2020] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Since incurable castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC) inevitably develops following treatment with androgen deprivation therapy, there is an urgent need to devise new therapeutic strategies to treat this cancer. Pyrimethamine, an FDA-approved antimalarial drug, is known to exert an antitumor activity in various types of human cancer cells. However, whether pyrimethamine can inhibit prostate cancer is not well established. Hence, the present study aimed to characterize the mechanism of action of pyrimethamine on prostate cancer. We investigated the potential effect of pyrimethamine on cell proliferation, cell cycle, and apoptosis in metastatic DU145 and PC3 prostate cancer cells. We found that pyrimethamine inhibited cell proliferation, induced cell cycle arrest in the S phase, and promoted cell apoptosis of prostate cells in vitro; it also suppressed tumor growth in xenograft models. In addition, we observed that pyrimethamine suppressed prostate cancer growth by inhibiting the p38-NF-κB axis in vitro and in vivo. Thus, this study demonstrates that pyrimethamine is a novel p38 inhibitor that can exert antiproliferative and proapoptotic effects in prostate cancer by affecting cell cycle and intrinsic apoptotic signaling, thereby providing a novel strategy for using pyrimethamine in CRPC treatment.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Xumin Zhou
- Department of Pathogen Biology and Experimental Teaching Center of Preventive Medicine, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Tropical Disease, School of Public Health, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, China.,Department of Urology, Zhujiang Hospital, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Jinming Zhang
- Department of Respiration, Nanfang Hospital, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Xiaoping Hu
- Department of Pharmacy, Affiliated Tumor Hospital, Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Peiqing He
- Department of Pathogen Biology and Experimental Teaching Center of Preventive Medicine, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Tropical Disease, School of Public Health, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Jianyu Guo
- Department of Pathogen Biology and Experimental Teaching Center of Preventive Medicine, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Tropical Disease, School of Public Health, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Jun Li
- Department of Pathogen Biology and Experimental Teaching Center of Preventive Medicine, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Tropical Disease, School of Public Health, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Tian Lan
- Department of Pathogen Biology and Experimental Teaching Center of Preventive Medicine, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Tropical Disease, School of Public Health, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Jumei Liu
- Department of Pathogen Biology and Experimental Teaching Center of Preventive Medicine, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Tropical Disease, School of Public Health, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Lilan Peng
- Department of Pathogen Biology and Experimental Teaching Center of Preventive Medicine, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Tropical Disease, School of Public Health, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Hua Li
- Department of Pathogen Biology and Experimental Teaching Center of Preventive Medicine, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Tropical Disease, School of Public Health, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, China
| |
Collapse
|
11
|
Kaushik I, Ramachandran S, Prasad S, Srivastava SK. Drug rechanneling: A novel paradigm for cancer treatment. Semin Cancer Biol 2020; 68:279-290. [PMID: 32437876 DOI: 10.1016/j.semcancer.2020.03.011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/16/2019] [Revised: 01/15/2020] [Accepted: 03/18/2020] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
Cancer continues to be one of the leading contributors towards global disease burden. According to NIH, cancer incidence rate per year will increase to 23.6 million by 2030. Even though cancer continues to be a major proportion of the disease burden worldwide, it has the lowest clinical trial success rate amongst other diseases. Hence, there is an unmet need for novel, affordable and effective anti-neoplastic medications. As a result, a growing interest has sparkled amongst researchers towards drug repurposing. Drug repurposing follows the principle of polypharmacology, which states, "any drug with multiple targets or off targets can present several modes of action". Drug repurposing also known as drug rechanneling, or drug repositioning is an economic and reliable approach that identifies new disease treatment of already approved drugs. Repurposing guarantees expedited access of drugs to the patients as these drugs are already FDA approved and their safety and toxicity profile is completely established. Epidemiological studies have identified the decreased occurrence of oncological or non-oncological conditions in patients undergoing treatment with FDA approved drugs. Data from multiple experimental studies and clinical observations have depicted that several non-neoplastic drugs have potential anticancer activity. In this review, we have summarized the potential anti-cancer effects of anti-psychotic, anti-malarial, anti-viral and anti-emetic drugs with a brief overview on their mechanism and pathways in different cancer types. This review highlights promising evidences for the repurposing of drugs in oncology.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Itishree Kaushik
- Department of Immunotherapeutics and Biotechnology, and Center for Tumor Immunology and Targeted Cancer Therapy, Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center, Abilene, TX 79601, USA
| | - Sharavan Ramachandran
- Department of Immunotherapeutics and Biotechnology, and Center for Tumor Immunology and Targeted Cancer Therapy, Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center, Abilene, TX 79601, USA
| | - Sahdeo Prasad
- Department of Immunotherapeutics and Biotechnology, and Center for Tumor Immunology and Targeted Cancer Therapy, Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center, Abilene, TX 79601, USA
| | - Sanjay K Srivastava
- Department of Immunotherapeutics and Biotechnology, and Center for Tumor Immunology and Targeted Cancer Therapy, Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center, Abilene, TX 79601, USA.
| |
Collapse
|
12
|
Brachet-Botineau M, Polomski M, Neubauer HA, Juen L, Hédou D, Viaud-Massuard MC, Prié G, Gouilleux F. Pharmacological Inhibition of Oncogenic STAT3 and STAT5 Signaling in Hematopoietic Cancers. Cancers (Basel) 2020; 12:E240. [PMID: 31963765 PMCID: PMC7016966 DOI: 10.3390/cancers12010240] [Citation(s) in RCA: 34] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/06/2019] [Revised: 01/10/2020] [Accepted: 01/13/2020] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Signal Transducer and Activator of Transcription (STAT) 3 and 5 are important effectors of cellular transformation, and aberrant STAT3 and STAT5 signaling have been demonstrated in hematopoietic cancers. STAT3 and STAT5 are common targets for different tyrosine kinase oncogenes (TKOs). In addition, STAT3 and STAT5 proteins were shown to contain activating mutations in some rare but aggressive leukemias/lymphomas. Both proteins also contribute to drug resistance in hematopoietic malignancies and are now well recognized as major targets in cancer treatment. The development of inhibitors targeting STAT3 and STAT5 has been the subject of intense investigations during the last decade. This review summarizes the current knowledge of oncogenic STAT3 and STAT5 functions in hematopoietic cancers as well as advances in preclinical and clinical development of pharmacological inhibitors.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Marie Brachet-Botineau
- Leukemic Niche and Oxidative metabolism (LNOx), CNRS ERL 7001, University of Tours, 37000 Tours, France;
| | - Marion Polomski
- Innovation Moléculaire et Thérapeutique (IMT), EA 7501, University of Tours, 37000 Tours, France; (M.P.); (L.J.); (D.H.); (M.-C.V.-M.); (G.P.)
| | - Heidi A. Neubauer
- Institute of Animal Breeding and Genetics, University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna, A-1210 Vienna, Austria;
| | - Ludovic Juen
- Innovation Moléculaire et Thérapeutique (IMT), EA 7501, University of Tours, 37000 Tours, France; (M.P.); (L.J.); (D.H.); (M.-C.V.-M.); (G.P.)
| | - Damien Hédou
- Innovation Moléculaire et Thérapeutique (IMT), EA 7501, University of Tours, 37000 Tours, France; (M.P.); (L.J.); (D.H.); (M.-C.V.-M.); (G.P.)
| | - Marie-Claude Viaud-Massuard
- Innovation Moléculaire et Thérapeutique (IMT), EA 7501, University of Tours, 37000 Tours, France; (M.P.); (L.J.); (D.H.); (M.-C.V.-M.); (G.P.)
| | - Gildas Prié
- Innovation Moléculaire et Thérapeutique (IMT), EA 7501, University of Tours, 37000 Tours, France; (M.P.); (L.J.); (D.H.); (M.-C.V.-M.); (G.P.)
| | - Fabrice Gouilleux
- Leukemic Niche and Oxidative metabolism (LNOx), CNRS ERL 7001, University of Tours, 37000 Tours, France;
| |
Collapse
|
13
|
Sharma A, Jyotsana N, Gabdoulline R, Heckl D, Kuchenbauer F, Slany RK, Ganser A, Heuser M. Meningioma 1 is indispensable for mixed lineage leukemia-rearranged acute myeloid leukemia. Haematologica 2019; 105:1294-1305. [PMID: 31413090 PMCID: PMC7193500 DOI: 10.3324/haematol.2018.211201] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/06/2018] [Accepted: 08/08/2019] [Indexed: 12/31/2022] Open
Abstract
Mixed lineage leukemia (MLL/KMT2A) rearrangements (MLL-r) are one of the most frequent chromosomal aberrations in acute myeloid leukemia. We evaluated the function of Meningioma 1 (MN1), a co-factor of HOXA9 and MEIS1, in human and murine MLL-rearranged leukemia by CRISPR-Cas9 mediated deletion of MN1. MN1 was required for in vivo leukemogenicity of MLL positive murine and human leukemia cells. Loss of MN1 inhibited cell cycle and proliferation, promoted apoptosis and induced differentiation of MLL-rearranged cells. Expression analysis and chromatin immunoprecipitation with sequencing from previously reported data sets demonstrated that MN1 primarily maintains active transcription of HOXA9 and HOXA10, which are critical downstream genes of MLL, and their target genes like BCL2, MCL1 and Survivin. Treatment of MLL-rearranged primary leukemia cells with anti-MN1 siRNA significantly reduced their clonogenic potential in contrast to normal CD34+ hematopoietic progenitor cells, suggesting a therapeutic window for MN1 targeting. In summary, our findings demonstrate that MN1 plays an essential role in MLL fusion leukemias and serve as a therapeutic target in MLL-rearranged acute myeloid leukemia.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Amit Sharma
- Department of Hematology, Hemostasis, Oncology and Stem Cell Transplantation, Hannover Medical School, Hannover, Germany
| | - Nidhi Jyotsana
- Department of Hematology, Hemostasis, Oncology and Stem Cell Transplantation, Hannover Medical School, Hannover, Germany
| | - Razif Gabdoulline
- Department of Hematology, Hemostasis, Oncology and Stem Cell Transplantation, Hannover Medical School, Hannover, Germany
| | - Dirk Heckl
- Department of Pediatric Hematology and Oncology, Hannover Medical School, Hannover, Germany
| | | | - Robert K Slany
- Department of Genetics, Friedrich-Alexander-University Erlangen-Nürnberg, Erlangen, Germany
| | - Arnold Ganser
- Department of Hematology, Hemostasis, Oncology and Stem Cell Transplantation, Hannover Medical School, Hannover, Germany
| | - Michael Heuser
- Department of Hematology, Hemostasis, Oncology and Stem Cell Transplantation, Hannover Medical School, Hannover, Germany
| |
Collapse
|
14
|
Two decades of research in discovery of anticancer drugs targeting STAT3, how close are we? Pharmacol Ther 2018; 191:74-91. [DOI: 10.1016/j.pharmthera.2018.06.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 88] [Impact Index Per Article: 14.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/07/2023]
|
15
|
Personalizing Chinese medicine by integrating molecular features of diseases and herb ingredient information: application to acute myeloid leukemia. Oncotarget 2018; 8:43579-43591. [PMID: 28454110 PMCID: PMC5522171 DOI: 10.18632/oncotarget.16983] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/05/2017] [Accepted: 03/06/2017] [Indexed: 11/30/2022] Open
Abstract
Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) has been widely used as a complementary medicine in Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML) treatment. In this study, we proposed a new classification of Chinese Medicines (CMs) by integrating the latest discoveries in disease molecular mechanisms and traditional medicine theory. We screened out a set of chemical compounds on basis of AML differential expression genes and chemical-protein interactions and then mapped them to Traditional Chinese Medicine Integrated Database. 415 CMs contain those compounds and they were categorized into 8 groups according to the Traditional Chinese Pharmacology. Pathway analysis and synthetic lethality gene pairs were applied to analyze the dissimilarity, generality and intergroup relations of different groups. We defined hub CM pairs and alternative CM groups based on the analysis result and finally proposed a formula to form an effective anti-AML prescription which combined the hub CM pairs with alternative CMs according to patients’ molecular features. Our method of formulating CMs based on patients’ stratification provides novel insights into the new usage of conventional CMs and will promote TCM modernization.
Collapse
|