RESUMEN
Since the first application of natural quinine as an anti-malarial drug, cinchona alkaloids and their derivatives have been exhaustively studied for their biological activity. In our work, we tested 13 cinchona alkaloid organocatalysts, synthesised from quinine. These derivatives were screened against MES-SA and Dx5 uterine sarcoma cell lines for in vitro anticancer activity and to investigate their potential to overcome P-glycoprotein (P-gp) mediated multidrug resistance (MDR). Decorating quinine with hydrogen-bond donor units, such as thiourea and (thio)squaramide, resulted in decreased half-maximal growth inhibition values on both cell lines (1.3-21 µM) compared to quinine and other cinchona alcohols (47-111 µM). Further cytotoxicity studies conducted in the presence of the P-gp inhibitor tariquidar indicated that several analogues, especially cinchona amines and squaramides, but not thiosquaramide, were expelled from MDR cells by P-gp. Similarly to the established P-gp inhibitor quinine, 6 cinchona analogues were shown to inhibit calcein-AM efflux. Interestingly, quinine and didehydroquinine exhibited a marginally increased toxicity against the multidrug resistant Dx5 cells. Collateral sensitivity of the MDR cell line was more pronounced when the cinchona thiosquaramide was complexed with Cu(II) acetate. Based on the results, cinchona derivatives are good anticancer candidates for further drug development.
Asunto(s)
Alcaloides de Cinchona , Sarcoma , Neoplasias de los Tejidos Blandos , Neoplasias Uterinas , Miembro 1 de la Subfamilia B de Casetes de Unión a ATP/metabolismo , Línea Celular Tumoral , Alcaloides de Cinchona/farmacología , Doxorrubicina/farmacología , Resistencia a Antineoplásicos , Femenino , Humanos , Quinina/farmacología , Sarcoma/metabolismo , Neoplasias Uterinas/tratamiento farmacológico , Neoplasias Uterinas/metabolismoRESUMEN
Breast cancer is the most commonly occurring cancer in women and the second most common cancer overall. By the age of 80, the estimated risk for breast cancer for women with germline BRCA1 or BRCA2 mutations is around 80%. Genetically engineered BRCA1-deficient mouse models offer a unique opportunity to study the pathogenesis and therapy of triple negative breast cancer. Here we present a newly established Brca1-/-, p53-/- mouse mammary tumor cell line, designated as CST. CST shows prominent features of BRCA1-mutated triple-negative breast cancers including increased motility, high proliferation rate, genome instability and sensitivity to platinum chemotherapy and PARP inhibitors (olaparib, veliparib, rucaparib and talazoparib). Genomic instability of CST cells was confirmed by whole genome sequencing, which also revealed the presence of COSMIC (Catalogue of Somatic Mutations in Cancer) mutation signatures 3 and 8 associated with homologous recombination (HR) deficiency. In vitro sensitivity of CST cells was tested against 11 chemotherapy agents. Tumors derived from orthotopically injected CST-mCherry cells in FVB-GFP mice showed sensitivity to cisplatin, providing a new model to study the cooperation of BRCA1-KO, mCherry-positive tumor cells and the GFP-expressing stromal compartment in therapy resistance and metastasis formation. In summary, we have established CST cells as a new model recapitulating major characteristics of BRCA1-negative breast cancers.
Asunto(s)
Proteína BRCA1/genética , Neoplasias Mamarias Animales/genética , Neoplasias de la Mama Triple Negativas/genética , Proteína p53 Supresora de Tumor/genética , Animales , Línea Celular Tumoral , Proliferación Celular , Femenino , Eliminación de Gen , Inestabilidad Genómica , Neoplasias Mamarias Animales/patología , Ratones , Neoplasias de la Mama Triple Negativas/patologíaRESUMEN
Anticancer compounds are typically identified in in vitro screens. Unfortunately, the in vitro drug sensitivity of cell lines does not reflect treatment efficiency in animal models, and neither show acceptable correlation to clinical results. While cell lines and laboratory animals can be readily "cured", the treatment of malignancies remains hampered by the multidrug resistance (MDR) of tumors. Genetically engineered mouse models (GEMMs) giving rise to spontaneous tumors offer a new possibility to characterize the evolution of drug resistance mechanisms and to target multidrug resistant cancer.
RESUMEN
There are about 14 million new cancer cases and 8 million deaths every year. Every second man and one in every three women will get cancer during their lifetimes. Following decades of steady increase, death rates have stabilized due to increased awareness and prevention, early detection, and the emergence of more effective therapy. Yet despite all the advances cancer remains a major killer. Despite improved therapies, nearly all current treatments face the same problem: for many patients, they ultimately stop working. Therapy resistance is the ultimate challenge facing cancer researchers and patients today. In this review we present an overview of the most important resistance mechanisms, discussing progress in therapies designed to prevent or overcome anticancer therapy resistance. Finally, we present recent findings from our own laboratory on the development of new experimental models and new therapeutic approaches to combat multidrug resistant cancer.
Asunto(s)
Neoplasias , Preparaciones Farmacéuticas , Resistencia a Múltiples Medicamentos , Resistencia a Antineoplásicos , Femenino , Humanos , Masculino , Neoplasias/tratamiento farmacológicoRESUMEN
Epithelial to mesenchymal transition (EMT) is a multipurpose process involved in wound healing, development, and certain pathological processes, such as metastasis formation. The Tks4 scaffold protein has been implicated in cancer progression; however, its role in oncogenesis is not well defined. In this study, the function of Tks4 was investigated in HCT116 colon cancer cells by knocking the protein out using the CRISPR/Cas9 system. Surprisingly, the absence of Tks4 induced significant changes in cell morphology, motility, adhesion and expression, and localization of E-cadherin, which are all considered as hallmarks of EMT. In agreement with these findings, the marked appearance of fibronectin, a marker of the mesenchymal phenotype, was also observed in Tks4-KO cells. Analysis of the expression of well-known EMT transcription factors revealed that Snail2 was strongly overexpressed in cells lacking Tks4. Tks4-KO cells showed increased motility and decreased cell-cell attachment. Collagen matrix invasion assays demonstrated the abundance of invasive solitary cells. Finally, the reintroduction of Tks4 protein in the Tks4-KO cells restored the expression levels of relevant key transcription factors, suggesting that the Tks4 scaffold protein has a specific and novel role in EMT regulation and cancer progression.
Asunto(s)
Proteínas Adaptadoras Transductoras de Señales/fisiología , Neoplasias del Colon/genética , Transición Epitelial-Mesenquimal/genética , Proteínas Adaptadoras Transductoras de Señales/genética , Movimiento Celular/genética , Transformación Celular Neoplásica/genética , Neoplasias del Colon/patología , Regulación Neoplásica de la Expresión Génica , Técnicas de Inactivación de Genes , Células HCT116 , Humanos , Invasividad Neoplásica , Transducción de Señal/genéticaRESUMEN
Success of cancer treatment is often hampered by the emergence of multidrug resistance (MDR) mediated by P-glycoprotein (ABCB1/Pgp). Doxorubicin (DOX) is recognized by Pgp and therefore it can induce therapy resistance in breast cancer patients. In this study our aim was to evaluate the susceptibility of the pegylated liposomal formulation of doxorubicin (PLD/Doxil®/Caelyx®) to MDR. We show that cells selected to be resistant to DOX are cross-resistant to PLD and PLD is also ineffective in an allograft model of doxorubicin-resistant mouse B-cell leukemia. In contrast, PLD was far more efficient than DOX as reflected by a significant increase of both relapse-free and overall survival of Brca1-/-;p53-/- mammary tumor bearing mice. Increased survival could be explained by the delayed onset of drug resistance. Consistent with the higher Pgp levels needed to confer resistance, PLD administration was able to overcome doxorubicin insensitivity of the mouse mammary tumors. Our results indicate that the favorable pharmacokinetics achieved with PLD can effectively overcome Pgp-mediated resistance, suggesting that PLD therapy could be a promising strategy for the treatment of therapy-resistant breast cancer patients.