PG545, a dual heparanase and angiogenesis inhibitor, induces potent anti-tumour and anti-metastatic efficacy in preclinical models

Background:

PG545 is a heparan sulfate (HS) mimetic that inhibits tumour angiogenesis by sequestering angiogenic growth factors in the extracellular matrix (ECM), thus limiting subsequent binding to receptors. Importantly, PG545 also inhibits heparanase, the only endoglycosidase which cleaves HS chains in the ECM. The aim of the study was to assess PG545 in various solid tumour and metastasis models.

Methods:

The anti-angiogenic, anti-tumour and anti-metastatic properties of PG545 were assessed using in vivo angiogenesis, solid tumour and metastasis models. Pharmacokinetic (PK) data were also generated in tumour-bearing mice to gain an understanding of optimal dosing schedules and regimens.

Results:

PG545 was shown to inhibit angiogenesis in vivo and induce anti-tumour or anti-metastatic effects in murine models of breast, prostate, liver, lung, colon, head and neck cancers and melanoma. Enhanced anti-tumour activity was also noted when used in combination with sorafenib in a liver cancer model. PK data revealed that the half-life of PG545 was relatively long, with pharmacologically relevant concentrations of radiolabeled PG545 observed in liver tumours.

Conclusion:

PG545 is a new anti-angiogenic clinical candidate for cancer therapy. The anti-metastatic property of PG545, likely due to the inhibition of heparanase, may prove to be a critical attribute as the compound enters phase I clinical trials.

Lewis-Base Adducts of Lead(II) Compounds. XIII. Synthetic, Structural and Theoretical Studies of Some 2:1 Adducts of 1,10-Phenanthroline With Lead(II) Oxoanion Salts

Syntheses and room-temperature single-crystal X-ray structure determinations are recorded for 2 : 1 adducts of the N,N′- bidentate aromatic base 1,10-phenanthroline (' phen ') with lead(II) nitrate and perchlorate . [( phen )2Pb(NO3)2] is monoclinic, P21/n, a 18.104(4), b 7.733(2), c 16.688(3) Ǻ, β 98.17(2)′, Z = 4, R being 0.036 for No = 3381 independent 'observed' reflections, while [( phen )2Pb(ClO4)2] is triclinic, Pī , a 13.134(4), b 12.342(4), c 7.771(3) Ǻ, α 94.34(3), β 101.49(3), γ 93.91(2)′, Z = 2, R being 0.056 for No 3473. The two systems are mononuclear with eight-coordinate PbN4O4 coordination environments incorporating a pair of O,O'- bidentate anions. Stereochemical calculations, based on valence shell electron pair repulsion (VSEPR) theory, have been performed for coordination complexes of the general type [M( bidentate A)n( bidentate B)4-n] (n = 1 or 2) and for several types of lead(II) complex thought to contain sterically active lone pairs of electrons. Expected deviations from ideal stereochemistry have been successfully predicted and for many of the complexes studied there is good agreement between the observed and calculated stereochemistry. In the particular case of these lead(II)/ phen complexes it appears to be necessary to invoke steric interactions of the a-hydrogen atoms in addition to a sterically active lone pair.