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Cao PHA, Dominic A, Lujan FE, Senthilkumar S, Bhattacharya PK, Frigo DE, Subramani E. Unlocking ferroptosis in prostate cancer - the road to novel therapies and imaging markers. Nat Rev Urol 2024:10.1038/s41585-024-00869-9. [PMID: 38627553 DOI: 10.1038/s41585-024-00869-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 03/04/2024] [Indexed: 04/19/2024]
Abstract
Ferroptosis is a distinct form of regulated cell death that is predominantly driven by the build-up of intracellular iron and lipid peroxides. Ferroptosis suppression is widely accepted to contribute to the pathogenesis of several tumours including prostate cancer. Results from some studies reported that prostate cancer cells can be highly susceptible to ferroptosis inducers, providing potential for an interesting new avenue of therapeutic intervention for advanced prostate cancer. In this Perspective, we describe novel molecular underpinnings and metabolic drivers of ferroptosis, analyse the functions and mechanisms of ferroptosis in tumours, and highlight prostate cancer-specific susceptibilities to ferroptosis by connecting ferroptosis pathways to the distinctive metabolic reprogramming of prostate cancer cells. Leveraging these novel mechanistic insights could provide innovative therapeutic opportunities in which ferroptosis induction augments the efficacy of currently available prostate cancer treatment regimens, pending the elimination of major bottlenecks for the clinical translation of these treatment combinations, such as the development of clinical-grade inhibitors of the anti-ferroptotic enzymes as well as non-invasive biomarkers of ferroptosis. These biomarkers could be exploited for diagnostic imaging and treatment decision-making.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pham Hong Anh Cao
- Department of Cancer Systems Imaging, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, USA
- The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center UTHealth Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Houston, TX, USA
| | - Abishai Dominic
- Department of Cancer Systems Imaging, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, USA
| | - Fabiola Ester Lujan
- Department of Cancer Systems Imaging, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, USA
- The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center UTHealth Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Houston, TX, USA
| | - Sanjanaa Senthilkumar
- Department of Cancer Systems Imaging, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, USA
- Mayo Clinic Alix School of Medicine, Rochester, MN, USA
| | - Pratip K Bhattacharya
- Department of Cancer Systems Imaging, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, USA
| | - Daniel E Frigo
- Department of Cancer Systems Imaging, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, USA.
- Department of Genitourinary Medical Oncology, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, USA.
- Center for Nuclear Receptors and Cell Signalling, University of Houston, Houston, TX, USA.
- Department of Biology and Biochemistry, University of Houston, Houston, TX, USA.
| | - Elavarasan Subramani
- Department of Cancer Systems Imaging, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, USA.
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Zhou Y, Liao M, Li Z, Ye J, Wu L, Mou Y, Fu L, Zhen Y. Flubendazole Enhances the Inhibitory Effect of Paclitaxel via HIF1α/PI3K/AKT Signaling Pathways in Breast Cancer. Int J Mol Sci 2023; 24:15121. [PMID: 37894802 PMCID: PMC10606573 DOI: 10.3390/ijms242015121] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/09/2023] [Revised: 09/27/2023] [Accepted: 10/04/2023] [Indexed: 10/29/2023] Open
Abstract
Paclitaxel, a natural anticancer drug, is widely recognized and extensively utilized in the treatment of breast cancer (BC). However, it may lead to certain side effects or drug resistance. Fortunately, combination therapy with another anti-tumor agent has been explored as an option to improve the efficacy of paclitaxel in the treatment of BC. Herein, we first evaluated the synergistic effects of paclitaxel and flubendazole through combination index (CI) calculations. Secondly, flubendazole was demonstrated to synergize paclitaxel-mediated BC cell killing in vitro and in vivo. Moreover, we discovered that flubendazole could reverse the drug resistance of paclitaxel-resistant BC cells. Mechanistically, flubendazole was demonstrated to enhance the inhibitory effect of paclitaxel via HIF1α/PI3K/AKT signaling pathways. Collectively, our findings demonstrate the effectiveness of flubendazole in combination with paclitaxel for treating BC, providing an insight into exploiting more novel combination therapies for BC in the future.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yuxin Zhou
- Department of Biotherapy, Cancer Center and State Key Laboratory of Biotherapy, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu 610041, China; (Y.Z.); (M.L.); (J.Y.); (L.W.); (Y.M.)
| | - Minru Liao
- Department of Biotherapy, Cancer Center and State Key Laboratory of Biotherapy, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu 610041, China; (Y.Z.); (M.L.); (J.Y.); (L.W.); (Y.M.)
| | - Zixiang Li
- Sichuan Engineering Research Center for Biomimetic Synthesis of Natural Drugs, School of Life Science and Engineering, Southwest Jiaotong University, Chengdu 610031, China;
| | - Jing Ye
- Department of Biotherapy, Cancer Center and State Key Laboratory of Biotherapy, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu 610041, China; (Y.Z.); (M.L.); (J.Y.); (L.W.); (Y.M.)
| | - Lifeng Wu
- Department of Biotherapy, Cancer Center and State Key Laboratory of Biotherapy, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu 610041, China; (Y.Z.); (M.L.); (J.Y.); (L.W.); (Y.M.)
| | - Yi Mou
- Department of Biotherapy, Cancer Center and State Key Laboratory of Biotherapy, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu 610041, China; (Y.Z.); (M.L.); (J.Y.); (L.W.); (Y.M.)
| | - Leilei Fu
- Sichuan Engineering Research Center for Biomimetic Synthesis of Natural Drugs, School of Life Science and Engineering, Southwest Jiaotong University, Chengdu 610031, China;
| | - Yongqi Zhen
- Department of Biotherapy, Cancer Center and State Key Laboratory of Biotherapy, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu 610041, China; (Y.Z.); (M.L.); (J.Y.); (L.W.); (Y.M.)
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Vítovcová B, Skarková V, Havelek R, Soukup J, Pande A, Caltová K, Rudolf E. Flubendazole exhibits anti-glioblastoma effect by inhibiting STAT3 and promoting cell cycle arrest. Sci Rep 2023; 13:5993. [PMID: 37045903 PMCID: PMC10097688 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-33047-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/02/2022] [Accepted: 04/06/2023] [Indexed: 04/14/2023] Open
Abstract
Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) belongs to most aggressive and invasive primary brain tumor in adults whose prognosis and survival remains poor. Potential new treatment modalities include targeting the cytoskeleton. In our study, we demonstrated that repurposed drug flubendazole (FLU) significantly inhibits proliferation and survival of GBM cells. FLU exerted its effect by affecting microtubule structure and our results also suggest that FLU influences tubulins expression to a certain degree. Moreover, FLU effects decreased activation of STAT3 and also partially inhibited its expression, leading to upregulation of p53 signaling pathway and subsequent cell cycle arrest at G2/M phase as well as caspase-dependent cell death in GBM cells. These results suggest FLU as a promising agent to be used in GBM treatment and prompting further testing of its effects on GBM.
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Affiliation(s)
- Barbora Vítovcová
- Department of Medical Biology and Genetics, Faculty of Medicine in Hradec Králové, Charles University, Šimkova 870, 500 03, Hradec Králové, Czech Republic.
| | - Veronika Skarková
- Department of Medical Biology and Genetics, Faculty of Medicine in Hradec Králové, Charles University, Šimkova 870, 500 03, Hradec Králové, Czech Republic
| | - Radim Havelek
- Department of Medical Biochemistry, Faculty of Medicine in Hradec Králové, Charles University, Šimkova 870, 500 03, Hradec Králové, Czech Republic
| | - Jiří Soukup
- The Fingerland Department of Pathology, Faculty of Medicine and University Hospital in Hradec Králové, Charles University, Sokolská 581, 500 05, Hradec Králové, Czech Republic
| | - Ananya Pande
- Department of Medical Biology and Genetics, Faculty of Medicine in Hradec Králové, Charles University, Šimkova 870, 500 03, Hradec Králové, Czech Republic
| | - Kateřina Caltová
- Department of Medical Biology and Genetics, Faculty of Medicine in Hradec Králové, Charles University, Šimkova 870, 500 03, Hradec Králové, Czech Republic
| | - Emil Rudolf
- Department of Medical Biology and Genetics, Faculty of Medicine in Hradec Králové, Charles University, Šimkova 870, 500 03, Hradec Králové, Czech Republic
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Vasilev NA, Voronin AP, Surov AO, Perlovich GL. Influence of Co-amorphization on the Physical Stability and Dissolution Performance of an Anthelmintic Drug Flubendazole. Mol Pharm 2023; 20:1657-1669. [PMID: 36732935 DOI: 10.1021/acs.molpharmaceut.2c00873] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/04/2023]
Abstract
In this work, the co-amorphization approach was applied to flubendazole (FluBZ), resulting in the formation of two novel solid forms of FluBZ with l-phenylalanine (Phe) and l-tryptophan (Trp). A variety of physicochemical techniques have been used to describe new systems, including powder X-ray diffraction, thermal methods, infrared spectroscopy, and scanning electron microscopy. Co-amorphization has been shown to suppress crystallization tendency and considerably increase the shelf-life storage of amorphous flubendazole solid across a wide range of relative humidities. The dissolution behavior of the amorphous forms in biorelevant media at pH = 1.6, pH = 6.5, and 37 °C has been studied in terms of Cmax (maximum FluBZ concentration), Tmax (time to attain peak drug concentration), and AUC (concentration area under the curve during dissolution). At pH = 6.5, a continuous supersaturation and the highest AUC value of all examined systems were observed for the FluBZ-Phe (1:1) system. The phase solubility diagrams revealed that the reason for the better dissolution performance of FluBZ-Phe (1:1) at pH = 6.5 is a complexation between the components in a solution. This work highlights the applicability of co-amorphous systems in improving the physical stability and dissolution performance of drug compounds with poor biopharmaceutical characteristics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nikita A Vasilev
- G.A. Krestov Institute of Solution Chemistry RAS, 153045Ivanovo, Russia
| | | | - Artem O Surov
- G.A. Krestov Institute of Solution Chemistry RAS, 153045Ivanovo, Russia
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Bernal L, Pinzi L, Rastelli G. Identification of Promising Drug Candidates against Prostate Cancer through Computationally-Driven Drug Repurposing. Int J Mol Sci 2023; 24:ijms24043135. [PMID: 36834548 PMCID: PMC9964599 DOI: 10.3390/ijms24043135] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/29/2022] [Revised: 02/02/2023] [Accepted: 02/03/2023] [Indexed: 02/08/2023] Open
Abstract
Prostate cancer (PC) is one of the most common types of cancer in males. Although early stages of PC are generally associated with favorable outcomes, advanced phases of the disease present a significantly poorer prognosis. Moreover, currently available therapeutic options for the treatment of PC are still limited, being mainly focused on androgen deprivation therapies and being characterized by low efficacy in patients. As a consequence, there is a pressing need to identify alternative and more effective therapeutics. In this study, we performed large-scale 2D and 3D similarity analyses between compounds reported in the DrugBank database and ChEMBL molecules with reported anti-proliferative activity on various PC cell lines. The analyses included also the identification of biological targets of ligands with potent activity on PC cells, as well as investigations on the activity annotations and clinical data associated with the more relevant compounds emerging from the ligand-based similarity results. The results led to the prioritization of a set of drugs and/or clinically tested candidates potentially useful in drug repurposing against PC.
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Affiliation(s)
- Leonardo Bernal
- Department of Life Sciences, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, Via Giuseppe Campi 103, 41125 Modena, Italy
- Clinical and Experimental Medicine PhD Program, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, 41125 Modena, Italy
| | - Luca Pinzi
- Department of Life Sciences, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, Via Giuseppe Campi 103, 41125 Modena, Italy
| | - Giulio Rastelli
- Department of Life Sciences, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, Via Giuseppe Campi 103, 41125 Modena, Italy
- Correspondence: ; Tel.: +39-059-2058564
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Thuru X, Magnez R, El-Bouazzati H, Vergoten G, Quesnel B, Bailly C. Drug Repurposing to Enhance Antitumor Response to PD-1/PD-L1 Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors. Cancers (Basel) 2022; 14:cancers14143368. [PMID: 35884428 PMCID: PMC9322126 DOI: 10.3390/cancers14143368] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/11/2022] [Revised: 06/26/2022] [Accepted: 07/04/2022] [Indexed: 12/10/2022] Open
Abstract
Monoclonal antibodies targeting the PD-1/PD-L1 immune checkpoint have considerably improved the treatment of some cancers, but novel drugs, new combinations, and treatment modalities are needed to reinvigorate immunosurveillance in immune-refractory tumors. An option to elicit antitumor immunity against cancer consists of using approved and marketed drugs known for their capacity to modulate the expression and functioning of the PD-1/PD-L1 checkpoint. Here, we have reviewed several types of drugs known to alter the checkpoint, either directly via the blockade of PD-L1 or indirectly via an action on upstream effectors (such as STAT3) to suppress PD-L1 transcription or to induce its proteasomal degradation. Specifically, the repositioning of the approved drugs liothyronine, azelnidipine (and related dihydropyridine calcium channel blockers), niclosamide, albendazole/flubendazole, and a few other modulators of the PD-1/PD-L1 checkpoint (repaglinide, pimozide, fenofibrate, lonazolac, propranolol) is presented. Their capacity to bind to PD-L1 or to repress its expression and function offer novel perspectives for combination with PD-1 targeted biotherapeutics. These known and affordable drugs could be useful to improve the therapy of cancer.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xavier Thuru
- University of Lille, CNRS, Inserm, CHU Lille, UMR9020-UMR1277—Canther—Cancer Heterogeneity Plasticity and Resistance to Therapies, F-59000 Lille, France; (X.T.); (R.M.); (H.E.-B.); (B.Q.)
| | - Romain Magnez
- University of Lille, CNRS, Inserm, CHU Lille, UMR9020-UMR1277—Canther—Cancer Heterogeneity Plasticity and Resistance to Therapies, F-59000 Lille, France; (X.T.); (R.M.); (H.E.-B.); (B.Q.)
| | - Hassiba El-Bouazzati
- University of Lille, CNRS, Inserm, CHU Lille, UMR9020-UMR1277—Canther—Cancer Heterogeneity Plasticity and Resistance to Therapies, F-59000 Lille, France; (X.T.); (R.M.); (H.E.-B.); (B.Q.)
| | - Gérard Vergoten
- Institut de Chimie Pharmaceutique Albert Lespagnol (ICPAL), Faculté de Pharmacie, University of Lille, Inserm, INFINITE—U1286, 3 Rue du Professeur Laguesse, BP-83, F-59006 Lille, France;
| | - Bruno Quesnel
- University of Lille, CNRS, Inserm, CHU Lille, UMR9020-UMR1277—Canther—Cancer Heterogeneity Plasticity and Resistance to Therapies, F-59000 Lille, France; (X.T.); (R.M.); (H.E.-B.); (B.Q.)
| | - Christian Bailly
- Oncowitan, Scientific Consulting Office, F-59290 Lille, France
- Correspondence:
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