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Hsieh Y, Du J, Yang P. Repositioning VU-0365114 as a novel microtubule-destabilizing agent for treating cancer and overcoming drug resistance. Mol Oncol 2024; 18:386-414. [PMID: 37842807 PMCID: PMC10850822 DOI: 10.1002/1878-0261.13536] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/19/2023] [Revised: 09/26/2023] [Accepted: 10/12/2023] [Indexed: 10/17/2023] Open
Abstract
Microtubule-targeting agents represent one of the most successful classes of anticancer agents. However, the development of drug resistance and the appearance of adverse effects hamper their clinical implementation. Novel microtubule-targeting agents without such limitations are urgently needed. By employing a gene expression-based drug repositioning strategy, this study identifies VU-0365114, originally synthesized as a positive allosteric modulator of human muscarinic acetylcholine receptor M5 (M5 mAChR), as a novel type of tubulin inhibitor by destabilizing microtubules. VU-0365114 exhibits a broad-spectrum in vitro anticancer activity, especially in colorectal cancer cells. A tumor xenograft study in nude mice shows that VU-0365114 slowed the in vivo colorectal tumor growth. The anticancer activity of VU-0365114 is not related to its original target, M5 mAChR. In addition, VU-0365114 does not serve as a substrate of multidrug resistance (MDR) proteins, and thus, it can overcome MDR. Furthermore, a kinome analysis shows that VU-0365114 did not exhibit other significant off-target effects. Taken together, our study suggests that VU-0365114 primarily targets microtubules, offering potential for repurposing in cancer treatment, although more studies are needed before further drug development.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yao‐Yu Hsieh
- Division of Hematology and OncologyTaipei Medical University Shuang Ho HospitalNew Taipei CityTaiwan
- Division of Hematology and Oncology, Department of Internal Medicine, School of Medicine, College of MedicineTaipei Medical UniversityTaipeiTaiwan
- Taipei Cancer CenterTaipei Medical UniversityTaipeiTaiwan
- TMU and Affiliated Hospitals Pancreatic Cancer GroupsTaipei Medical UniversityTaipeiTaiwan
| | - Jia‐Ling Du
- Graduate Institute of Cancer Biology and Drug Discovery, College of Medical Science and TechnologyTaipei Medical UniversityNew Taipei CityTaiwan
| | - Pei‐Ming Yang
- Taipei Cancer CenterTaipei Medical UniversityTaipeiTaiwan
- TMU and Affiliated Hospitals Pancreatic Cancer GroupsTaipei Medical UniversityTaipeiTaiwan
- Graduate Institute of Cancer Biology and Drug Discovery, College of Medical Science and TechnologyTaipei Medical UniversityNew Taipei CityTaiwan
- Ph.D. Program for Cancer Molecular Biology and Drug Discovery, College of Medical Science and TechnologyTaipei Medical UniversityNew Taipei CityTaiwan
- TMU Research Center of Cancer Translational MedicineTaipeiTaiwan
- Cancer Center, Wan Fang HospitalTaipei Medical UniversityTaipeiTaiwan
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Abolarinwa BA, Ibrahim RB, Huang YH. Conceptual Development of Immunotherapeutic Approaches to Gastrointestinal Cancer. Int J Mol Sci 2019; 20:E4624. [PMID: 31540435 PMCID: PMC6769557 DOI: 10.3390/ijms20184624] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/08/2019] [Revised: 09/14/2019] [Accepted: 09/16/2019] [Indexed: 02/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Gastrointestinal (GI) cancer is one of the common causes of cancer-related death worldwide. Chemotherapy and/or immunotherapy are the current treatments, but some patients do not derive clinical benefits. Recently, studies from cancer molecular subtyping have revealed that tumor molecular biomarkers may predict the immunotherapeutic response of GI cancer patients. However, the therapeutic response of patients selected by the predictive biomarkers is suboptimal. The tumor immune-microenvironment apparently plays a key role in modulating these molecular-determinant predictive biomarkers. Therefore, an understanding of the development and recent advances in immunotherapeutic pharmacological intervention targeting tumor immune-microenvironments and their potential predictive biomarkers will be helpful to strengthen patient immunotherapeutic efficacy. The current review focuses on an understanding of how the host-microenvironment interactions and the predictive biomarkers can determine the efficacy of immune checkpoint inhibitors. The contribution of environmental pathogens and host immunity to GI cancer is summarized. A discussion regarding the clinical evidence of predictive biomarkers for clinical trial therapy design, current immunotherapeutic strategies, and the outcomes to GI cancer patients are highlighted. An understanding of the underlying mechanism can predict the immunotherapeutic efficacy and facilitate the future development of personalized therapeutic strategies targeting GI cancers.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bilikis Aderonke Abolarinwa
- International PhD Program for Cell Therapy and Regeneration Medicine, College of Medicine, Taipei Medical University, Taipei 11031, Taiwan.
| | - Ridwan Babatunde Ibrahim
- Institute of Brain Science, School of Medicine, National Yang-Ming University, Taipei 11221, Taiwan.
- Taiwan International Graduate Program (TIGP) in Interdisciplinary Neuroscience, National Yang-Ming University and Academia Sinica, Taipei 11529, Taiwan.
| | - Yen-Hua Huang
- International PhD Program for Cell Therapy and Regeneration Medicine, College of Medicine, Taipei Medical University, Taipei 11031, Taiwan.
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Cell Biology, School of Medicine, College of Medicine, Taipei Medical University, Taipei 11031, Taiwan.
- Graduate Institute of Medical Sciences, College of Medicine, Taipei Medical University, Taipei 11031, Taiwan.
- TMU Research Center for Cell Therapy and Regeneration Medicine, Taipei Medical University, Taipei 11031, Taiwan.
- Center for Reproductive Medicine, Taipei Medical University Hospital, Taipei 11031, Taiwan.
- Comprehensive Cancer Center of Taipei Medical University, Taipei 11031, Taiwan.
- TMU Research Center of Cancer Translational Medicine, Taipei Medical University, Taipei 11031, Taiwan.
- Ph.D. Program for Translational Medicine, College of Medical Science and Technology, Taipei Medical University, Taipei 11031, Taiwan.
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Tsai YC, Zeng T, Abou-Kheir W, Yeh HL, Yin JJ, Lee YC, Chen WY, Liu YN. Disruption of ETV6 leads to TWIST1-dependent progression and resistance to epidermal growth factor receptor tyrosine kinase inhibitors in prostate cancer. Mol Cancer 2018; 17:42. [PMID: 29455655 PMCID: PMC5817720 DOI: 10.1186/s12943-018-0785-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/12/2017] [Accepted: 02/01/2018] [Indexed: 01/21/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND ETS variant gene 6 (ETV6) is a putative tumor suppressor and repressed by epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) signaling in prostate cancer. Since EGFR antagonists seem ineffective in castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC), we aim to study the role of ETV6 in the development of drug resistance. METHODS Etv6 target gene was validated by ChIP and promoter reporter assays. Correlation of ETV6 and TWIST1 was analyzed in human clinical datasets and tissue samples. Migration, invasion, and metastasis assays were used to measure the cellular responses after perturbation of ETV6 -TWIST1 axis. Proliferation and tumor growth in xenograft model were performed to evaluate the drug sensitivities of EGFR-tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs). RESULTS ETV6 inhibits TWIST1 expression and disruption of ETV6 promotes TWIST1-dependent malignant phenotypes. Importantly, ETV6 is required to the anti-proliferation effects of EGFR-TKIs, partly due to the inhibitory function of ETV6 on TWIST1. We also found that EGFR-RAS signaling is tightly controlled by ETV6, supporting its role in TKI sensitivity. CONCLUSIONS Our study demonstrates that disruption of ETV6 contributes to EGFR-TKI resistance, which is likely due to derepression of TWIST1 and activation of EGFR-RAS signaling. Our results implicate ETV6 as a potential marker for predicting efficacy of an EGFR-targeted anticancer approach. Combination treatment of TWIST1 inhibitors could sensitize the anti-proliferation effects of EGFR-TKIs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yuan-Chin Tsai
- Graduate Institute of Cancer Biology and Drug Discovery, College of Medical Science and Technology, Taipei Medical University, 250 Wu-Hsing Street, Taipei, 11031, Taiwan
| | - Tao Zeng
- Department of Urology, The People's Hospital of Jiangxi Province, Nanchang, People's Republic of China
| | - Wassim Abou-Kheir
- Department of Anatomy, Cell Biology and Physiological Sciences Faculty of Medicine, American University of Beirut, Beirut, Lebanon
| | - Hsiu-Lien Yeh
- Institute of Information System and Applications, National Tsing Hua University, Hsinchu, Taiwan
| | - Juan Juan Yin
- Laboratory of Genitourinary Cancer Pathogenesis, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA
| | - Yi-Chao Lee
- Ph.D. Program for Neural Regenerative Medicine, College of Medical Science and Technology, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan
- Center for Neurotrauma and Neuroregeneration, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Wei-Yu Chen
- Department of Pathology, School of Medicine, College of Medicine, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan.
- Department of Pathology, Wan Fang Hospital, Taipei Medical University, 250 Wu-Hsing Street, Taipei, 11031, Taiwan.
| | - Yen-Nien Liu
- Graduate Institute of Cancer Biology and Drug Discovery, College of Medical Science and Technology, Taipei Medical University, 250 Wu-Hsing Street, Taipei, 11031, Taiwan.
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Huang TC, Lee PT, Wu MH, Huang CC, Ko CY, Lee YC, Lin DY, Cheng YW, Lee KH. Distinct roles and differential expression levels of Wnt5a mRNA isoforms in colorectal cancer cells. PLoS One 2017; 12:e0181034. [PMID: 28859077 PMCID: PMC5578641 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0181034] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/04/2017] [Accepted: 06/26/2017] [Indexed: 12/27/2022] Open
Abstract
The canonical Wnt/β-catenin pathway is constitutively activated in more than 90% of colorectal cancer (CRC) cases in which β-catenin contributes to CRC cell growth and survival. In contrast to the Wnt/β-catenin pathway, the non-canonical Wnt pathway can antagonize functions of the canonical Wnt/β-catenin pathway. Wnt5a is a key factor in the non-canonical Wnt pathway, and it plays diverse roles in different types of cancers. It was shown that reintroducing Wnt5a into CRC cells resulted in inhibited cell proliferation and impaired cell motility. However, contradictory results were reported describing increased Wnt5a expression being associated with a poor prognosis of CRC patients. Recently, it was shown that the diverse roles of Wnt5a are due to two distinct roles of Wnt5a isoforms. However, the exact roles and functions of the Wnt5a isoforms in CRC remain largely unclear. The present study for the first time showed the ambiguous role of Wnt5a in CRC was due to the encoding of distinct roles of the various Wnt5a mRNA isoforms. A relatively high expression level of the Wnt5a-short (S) isoform transcript and a low expression level of the Wnt5a-long (L) isoform transcript were detected in CRC cell lines and specimens. In addition, high expression levels of the Wnt5a-S mRNA isoform and low expression levels of the Wnt5a-L mRNA isoform were significantly positively correlated with tumor depth of CRC patients. Furthermore, knockdown of the endogenous expression of the Wnt5a-S mRNA isoform in HCT116 cells drastically inhibited their growth ability by inducing apoptosis through induction of FASLG expression and reduction of TNFRSF11B expression. Moreover, reactivation of methylation inactivation of the Wnt5a-L mRNA isoform by treatment with 5-azacytidine (5-Aza) enhanced the siWnt5a-S isoform's ability to induce apoptosis. Finally, we showed that the simultaneous reactivation of Wnt5a-L mRNA isoform and knockdown of Wnt5a-S mRNA isoform expression enhanced siWnt5a-S isoform-induced apoptosis and siWnt5a-L isoform-regulated suppression of β-catenin expression in vitro. High expression levels of the Wnt5a-S mRNA isoform and low expression levels of the Wnt5a-L mRNA isoform were significantly positively correlated with high mRNA levels of β-catenin detection in vivo. Altogether, our study showed that, for the first time, different Wnt5a mRNA isoforms play distinct roles in CRC and can be used as novel prognostic markers for CRC in the future.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tsui-Chin Huang
- Graduate Institute of Cancer Biology and Drug Discovery, College of Medical Science and Technology, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Pin-Tse Lee
- Cellular Pathobiology Section, Intramural Research Program, National Institute on Drug Abuse, Rockville, Maryland, United States of America
| | - Ming-Heng Wu
- Graduate Institute of Translational Medicine, College of Medical Science and Technology, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Chi-Chen Huang
- Graduate Institute of Neural Regenerative Medicine, College of Medical Science and Technology, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Chiung-Yuan Ko
- Graduate Institute of Neural Regenerative Medicine, College of Medical Science and Technology, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Yi-Chao Lee
- Graduate Institute of Neural Regenerative Medicine, College of Medical Science and Technology, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Ding-Yen Lin
- Graduate Institute of Cancer Biology and Drug Discovery, College of Medical Science and Technology, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan
- Institute of Bioinformatics and Biosignal Transduction, College of Bioscience and Biotechnology, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, Taiwan
| | - Ya-Wen Cheng
- Graduate Institute of Cancer Biology and Drug Discovery, College of Medical Science and Technology, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan
- Cancer Center, Taipei Medical University Hospital, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan
- * E-mail: (YWC); (KHL)
| | - Kuen-Haur Lee
- Graduate Institute of Cancer Biology and Drug Discovery, College of Medical Science and Technology, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan
- Cancer Center, Taipei Medical University Hospital, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan
- * E-mail: (YWC); (KHL)
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