VX-680, a potent and selective small-molecule inhibitor of the Aurora kinases, suppresses tumor growth in vivo.

The Aurora kinases are essential for the regulation of chromosome segregation and cytokinesis during mitosis. Aberrant expression and activity of these kinases occur in a wide range of human tumors, and lead to aneuploidy and tumorigenesis. Here we report the discovery of a highly potent and selective small-molecule inhibitor of Aurora kinases, VX-680, that blocks cell-cycle progression and induces apoptosis in a diverse range of human tumor types. This compound causes profound inhibition of tumor growth in a variety of in vivo xenograft models, leading to regression of leukemia, colon and pancreatic tumors at well-tolerated doses. Our data indicate that Aurora kinase inhibition provides a new approach for the treatment of multiple human malignancies.

GTL001, A Therapeutic Vaccine for Women Infected with Human Papillomavirus 16 or 18 and Normal Cervical Cytology: Results of a Phase I Clinical Trial.

PURPOSE: Women infected with human papillomavirus (HPV) with normal cytology to mild abnormalities currently have no treatment options other than watchful waiting or surgery if high-grade cervical lesions or cancer develop. A therapeutic vaccine would offer the possibility of preventing high-grade lesions in HPV-infected women. GTL001 is a therapeutic vaccine composed of recombinant HPV16 and HPV18 E7 proteins fused to catalytically inactive Bordetella pertussis CyaA. This study examined the tolerability and immunogenicity of GTL001 in women infected with HPV16 or HPV18 with normal cytology. EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN: This was a phase I trial (EudraCT No. 2010-018629-21). In an open-label part, subjects received two intradermal vaccinations 6 weeks apart of 100 or 600 µg GTL001 + topical 5% imiquimod cream at the injection site. In a double-blind part, subjects were randomized 2:1:1 to two vaccinations 6 weeks apart of 600 µg GTL001 + imiquimod, 600 µg GTL001 + placebo cream, or placebo + imiquimod. RESULTS: Forty-seven women were included. No dropouts, treatment-related serious adverse events, or dose-limiting toxicities occurred. Local reactions were transient and mostly mild or moderate. HPV16/18 viral load decreased the most in the 600 µg GTL001 + imiquimod group. In post hoc analyses, the 600 µg GTL001 + imiquimod group had the highest rates of initial and sustained HPV16/18 clearance. Imiquimod increased antigen-specific T-cell response rates but not rates of solicited reactions. All subjects seroconverted to CyaA. CONCLUSIONS: For women infected with HPV16 or HPV18 with normal cervical cytology, GTL001 was immunogenic and had acceptable safety profile. Clin Cancer Res; 22(13); 3238-48. ©2016 AACR.

CD45neg but not CD45pos human myeloma cells are sensitive to the inhibition of IGF-1 signaling by a murine anti-IGF-1R monoclonal antibody, mAVE1642.

Insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1) is a well-known growth factor for myeloma cells. Thus, therapeutic strategies targeting IGF-1R have been proposed for multiple myeloma treatment. In this study, we investigated the effect of the antagonistic anti-IGF-1R murineAVE1642 Ab (mAVE1642). We show that mAVE1642 selectively inhibits IGF-1R but not insulin signaling in human myeloma cell lines. Since we have previously shown the functional relevance of CD45 expression in the growth of myeloma cells and the association of CD45-negative (CD45neg) status with a less favorable clinical outcome, both CD45-positive (CD45pos) and CD45neg myeloma cell lines were selected for our study. We found that mAVE1642 strongly inhibits the growth of CD45neg myeloma cell lines, leading to a G1 growth arrest, whereas it has almost no effect on the growth of CD45pos myeloma cell lines. Furthermore, mAVE1642 binding induced a significant reduction of IGF-1R expression. We next demonstrated that the overexpression of IGF-1R in the CD45pos myeloma cell line increased Akt phosphorylation but was not sufficient to sensitize these cells to mAVE1642. In contrast, we generated a stable CD45-silencing XG-1 cell line and showed that it became sensitive to mAVE1642. Thus, for the first time, we provided direct evidence that the expression of CD45 renders cells resistant to mAVE1642. Taken together, these results support that therapy directed against IGF-1R can be beneficial in treating CD45neg patients.