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We report the development of a nanotechnology to co-deliver chemocoxib A with a reactive oxygen species (ROS)-activatable and COX-2 targeted pro-fluorescent probe, fluorocoxib Q (FQ) enabling real time visualization of COX-2 and CA drug delivery into solid cancers, using a di-block PPS 135 - b -POEGA 17 copolymer, selected for its intrinsic responsiveness to elevated reactive oxygen species (ROS), a key trait of the tumor microenvironment. FQ and CA were synthesized independently, then co-encapsulated within micellar PPS 135 - b -POEGA 17 co-polymeric nanoparticles (FQ-CA-NPs), and were assessed for cargo concentration, hydrodynamic diameter, zeta potential, and ROS-dependent cargo release. The uptake of FQ-CA-NPs in mouse mammary cancer cells and cargo release was assessed by fluorescence microscopy. Intravenous delivery of FQ-CA-NPs to mice harboring orthotopic mammary tumors, followed by vital optimal imaging, was used to assess delivery to tumors in vivo . The CA-FQ-NPs exhibited a hydrodynamic diameter of 109.2 ± 4.1 nm and a zeta potential (σ) of -1.59 ± 0.3 mV. Fluorescence microscopy showed ROS-dependent cargo release by FQ-CA-NPs in 4T1 cells, decreasing growth of 4T1 breast cancer cells, but not affecting growth of primary human mammary epithelial cells (HMECs). NP-derived fluorescence was detected in mammary tumors, but not in healthy organs. Tumor LC-MS/MS analysis identified both CA (2.38 nmol/g tumor tissue) and FQ (0.115 nmol/g tumor tissue), confirming the FQ-mediated image guidance of CA delivery in solid tumors. Thus, co-encapsulation of FQ and CA into micellar nanoparticles (FQ-CA-NPs) enabled ROS-sensitive drug release and COX-2-targeted visualization of solid tumors.
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The high potential of siRNAs to silence oncogenic drivers remains largely untapped due to the challenges of tumor cell delivery. Here, divalent lipid-conjugated siRNAs are optimized for in situ binding to albumin to improve pharmacokinetics and tumor delivery. Systematic variation of the siRNA conjugate structure reveals that the location of the linker branching site dictates tendency toward albumin association versus self-assembly, while the lipid hydrophobicity and reversibility of albumin binding also contribute to siRNA intracellular delivery. The lead structure increases tumor siRNA accumulation 12-fold in orthotopic triple negative breast cancer (TNBC) tumors over the parent siRNA. This structure achieves approximately 80% silencing of the anti-apoptotic oncogene MCL1 and yields better survival outcomes in three TNBC models than an MCL-1 small molecule inhibitor. These studies provide new structure-function insights on siRNA-lipid conjugate structures that are intravenously injected, associate in situ with serum albumin, and improve pharmacokinetics and tumor treatment efficacy.
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Antineoplásicos , Neoplasias de Mama Triplo Negativas , Humanos , RNA Interferente Pequeno , Proteína de Sequência 1 de Leucemia de Células Mieloides/genética , Neoplasias de Mama Triplo Negativas/tratamento farmacológico , Neoplasias de Mama Triplo Negativas/genética , Linhagem Celular Tumoral , Inativação Gênica , Lipídeos/química , Albuminas/genéticaRESUMO
Osteoarthritis (OA) and rheumatoid arthritis (RA) are joint diseases that are associated with pain and lost quality of life. No disease modifying OA drugs are currently available. RA treatments are better established but are not always effective and can cause immune suppression. Here, an MMP13-selective siRNA conjugate was developed that, when delivered intravenously, docks onto endogenous albumin and promotes preferential accumulation in articular cartilage and synovia of OA and RA joints. MMP13 expression was diminished upon intravenous delivery of MMP13 siRNA conjugates, consequently decreasing multiple histological and molecular markers of disease severity, while also reducing clinical manifestations such as swelling (RA) and joint pressure sensitivity (RA and OA). Importantly, MMP13 silencing provided more comprehensive OA treatment efficacy than standard of care (steroids) or experimental MMP inhibitors. These data demonstrate the utility of albumin 'hitchhiking' for drug delivery to arthritic joints, and establish the therapeutic utility of systemically delivered anti-MMP13 siRNA conjugates in OA and RA. Editorial summary: Lipophilic siRNA conjugates optimized for albumin binding and "hitchhiking" can be leveraged to achieve preferential delivery to and gene silencing activity within arthritic joints. Chemical stabilization of the lipophilic siRNA enables intravenous siRNA delivery without lipid or polymer encapsulation. Using siRNA sequences targeting MMP13, a key driver of arthritis-related inflammation, albumin hitchhiking siRNA diminished MMP13, inflammation, and manifestations of osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis at molecular, histological, and clinical levels, consistently outperforming clinical standards of care and small molecule MMP antagonists.
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Gene silencing with siRNA nanoparticles (si-NPs) is promising but still clinically unrealized for inhibition of tumor driver genes. Ternary si-NPs containing siRNA, a single block NP core-forming polymer poly[(2-(dimethylamino)ethyl methacrylate)-co-(butyl methacrylate)] (DMAEMA-co-BMA, 50B), and an NP surface-forming diblock polymer 20 kDa poly(ethylene glycol)-block-50B (20kPEG-50B) have the potential to improve silencing activity in tumors due to the participation of both 50B and 20kPEG-50B in siRNA electrostatic loading and endosome disruptive activity. Functionally, single block 50B provides more potent endosomolytic activity, while 20kPEG-50B colloidally stabilizes the si-NPs. Here, we systematically explored the role of the molecular weight (MW) of the core polymer and of the core:surface polymer ratio on ternary si-NP performance. A library of ternary si-NPs was formulated with variation in the MW of the 50B polymer and in the ratio of the core and surface forming polymeric components. Increasing 50B core polymer MW and ratio improved si-NP in vitro gene silencing potency, endosome disruptive activity, and stability, but these features also correlated with cytotoxicity. Concomitant optimization of 50B size and ratio resulted in the identification of lead ternary si-NPs 50B4-DP100, 50B8-DP100, and 50B12-DP25, with potent activity and minimal toxicity. Following intravenous treatment in vivo, all lead si-NPs displayed negligible toxicological effects and enhanced pharmacokinetics and tumor gene silencing relative to more canonical binary si-NPs. Critically, a single 1 mg/kg intravenous injection of 50B8-DP100 si-NPs silenced the tumor driver gene Rictor at the protein level by 80% in an orthotopic breast tumor model. 50B8-DP100 si-NPs delivering siRictor were assessed for therapeutic efficacy in an orthotopic HCC70 mammary tumor model. This formulation significantly inhibited tumor growth compared to siControl-NP treatment. 50B8-DP100 si-NPs were also evaluated for safety and were well-tolerated following a multi-dose treatment scheme. This work provides new insight on ternary si-NP structure-function relationships and identifies core polymer optimization strategies that can yield safe si-NP formulations with potent oncogene silencing.
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Nanopartículas , Polímeros , RNA Interferente Pequeno , Linhagem Celular Tumoral , Inativação GênicaRESUMO
The high potential for therapeutic application of siRNAs to silence traditionally undruggable oncogenic drivers remains largely untapped due to the challenges of tumor cell delivery. Here, siRNAs were optimized for in situ binding to albumin through C18 lipid modifications to improve pharmacokinetics and tumor delivery. Systematic variation of siRNA conjugates revealed a lead structure with divalent C18 lipids each linked through three repeats of hexaethylene glycol connected by phosphorothioate bonds. Importantly, we discovered that locating the branch site of the divalent lipid structure proximally (adjacent to the RNA) rather than at a more distal site (after the linker segment) promotes association with albumin, while minimizing self-assembly and lipoprotein association. Comparison to higher albumin affinity (diacid) lipid variants and siRNA directly conjugated to albumin underscored the importance of conjugate hydrophobicity and reversibility of albumin binding for siRNA delivery and bioactivity in tumors. The lead conjugate increased tumor siRNA accumulation 12-fold in orthotopic mouse models of triple negative breast cancer over the parent siRNA. When applied for silencing of the anti-apoptotic oncogene MCL-1, this structure achieved approximately 80% MCL1 silencing in orthotopic breast tumors. Furthermore, application of the lead conjugate structure to target MCL1 yielded better survival outcomes in three independent, orthotopic, triple negative breast cancer models than an MCL1 small molecule inhibitor. These studies provide new structure-function insights on optimally leveraging siRNA-lipid conjugate structures that associate in situ with plasma albumin for molecular-targeted cancer therapy.
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AIM: Deregulated signaling pathways are a hallmark feature of oncogenesis and driver of tumor progression. Dual specificity protein phosphatase 4 (DUSP4) is a critical negative regulator of the mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) pathway and is often deleted or epigenetically silenced in tumors. DUSP4 alterations lead to hyperactivation of MAPK signaling in many cancers, including breast cancer, which often harbor mutations in cell cycle checkpoint genes, particularly in TP53. METHODS: Using a genetically engineered mouse model, we generated mammary-specific Dusp4-deleted primary epithelial cells to investigate the necessary conditions in which DUSP4 loss may drive breast cancer oncogenesis. RESULTS: We found that Dusp4 loss alone is insufficient in mediating tumorigenesis, but alternatively converges with loss in Trp53 and MYC amplification to induce tumorigenesis primarily through chromosome 5 amplification, which specifically upregulates Dbf4, a cell cycle gene that promotes cellular replication by mediating cell cycle checkpoint escape. CONCLUSIONS: This study identifies a novel mechanism for breast tumorigenesis implicating Dusp4 loss and p53 mutations in cellular acquisition of Dbf4 upregulation as a driver of cellular replication and cell cycle checkpoint escape.
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Proteínas de Ciclo Celular/metabolismo , Fosfatases da Proteína Quinase Ativada por Mitógeno , Proteína Supressora de Tumor p53 , Animais , Ciclo Celular/genética , Transformação Celular Neoplásica/genética , Fosfatases de Especificidade Dupla/genética , Fosfatases de Especificidade Dupla/metabolismo , Camundongos , Fosfatases da Proteína Quinase Ativada por Mitógeno/genética , Fosfatases da Proteína Quinase Ativada por Mitógeno/metabolismo , Transdução de Sinais , Proteína Supressora de Tumor p53/genética , Proteína Supressora de Tumor p53/metabolismoRESUMO
Vascular procedures, such as stenting, angioplasty, and bypass grafting, often fail due to intimal hyperplasia (IH), wherein contractile vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) dedifferentiate to synthetic VSMCs, which are highly proliferative, migratory, and fibrotic. Previous studies suggest MAPK-activated protein kinase 2 (MK2) inhibition may limit VSMC proliferation and IH, although the molecular mechanism underlying the observation remains unclear. We demonstrated here that MK2 inhibition blocked the molecular program of contractile to synthetic dedifferentiation and mitigated IH development. Molecular markers of the VSMC contractile phenotype were sustained over time in culture in rat primary VSMCs treated with potent, long-lasting MK2 inhibitory peptide nanopolyplexes (MK2i-NPs), a result supported in human saphenous vein specimens cultured ex vivo. RNA-Seq of MK2i-NP-treated primary human VSMCs revealed programmatic switching toward a contractile VSMC gene expression profile, increasing expression of antiinflammatory and contractile-associated genes while lowering expression of proinflammatory, promigratory, and synthetic phenotype-associated genes. Finally, these results were confirmed using an in vivo rabbit vein graft model where brief, intraoperative treatment with MK2i-NPs decreased IH and synthetic phenotype markers while preserving contractile proteins. These results support further development of MK2i-NPs as a therapy for blocking VSMC phenotype switch and IH associated with cardiovascular procedures.
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Peptídeos e Proteínas de Sinalização Intracelular/antagonistas & inibidores , Músculo Liso Vascular/efeitos dos fármacos , Miócitos de Músculo Liso/efeitos dos fármacos , Neointima/genética , Inibidores de Proteínas Quinases/farmacologia , Proteínas Serina-Treonina Quinases/antagonistas & inibidores , Animais , Movimento Celular/efeitos dos fármacos , Movimento Celular/genética , Proliferação de Células/efeitos dos fármacos , Proliferação de Células/genética , Proliferação de Células/fisiologia , Reprogramação Celular , Proteínas Contráteis/genética , Humanos , Hiperplasia , Inflamação/genética , Músculo Liso Vascular/citologia , Músculo Liso Vascular/fisiopatologia , Miócitos de Músculo Liso/metabolismo , Miócitos de Músculo Liso/fisiologia , Nanoestruturas , Neointima/fisiopatologia , Peptídeos , Fenótipo , Cultura Primária de Células , Coelhos , Ratos , Transcriptoma , Túnica Íntima/patologiaRESUMO
BACKGROUND: Cancer resequencing studies have revealed epigenetic enzymes as common targets for recurrent mutations. The monomethyltransferase MLL3 is among the most recurrently mutated enzymes in ER+ breast cancer. The H3K4me1 marks created by MLL3 can define enhancers. In ER+ breast cancer, ERα genome-binding sites are primarily distal enhancers. Thus, we hypothesize that mutation of MLL3 will alter the genomic binding and transcriptional regulatory activity of ERα. METHODS: We investigated the genomic consequences of knocking down MLL3 in an MLL3/PIK3CA WT ER+ breast cancer cell line. RESULTS: Loss of MLL3 led to a large loss of H3K4me1 across the genome, and a shift in genomic location of ERα-binding sites, which was accompanied by a re-organization of the breast cancer transcriptome. Gene set enrichment analyses of ERα-binding sites in MLL3 KD identified endocrine therapy resistance terms, and we showed that MLL3 KD cells are resistant to tamoxifen and fulvestrant. Many differentially expressed genes are controlled by the small collection of new locations of H3K4me1 deposition and ERα binding, suggesting that loss of functional MLL3 leads to new transcriptional regulation of essential genes. Motif analysis of RNA-seq and ChIP-seq data highlighted SP1 as a critical transcription factor in the MLL3 KD cells. Differentially expressed genes that display a loss of ERα binding upon MLL3 KD also harbor increased SP1 binding. CONCLUSIONS: Our data show that a decrease in functional MLL3 leads to endocrine therapy resistance. This highlights the importance of genotyping patient tumor samples for MLL3 mutation upon initial resection, prior to deciding upon treatment plans.
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Antineoplásicos Hormonais/uso terapêutico , Neoplasias da Mama/tratamento farmacológico , Neoplasias da Mama/genética , Proteínas de Ligação a DNA/genética , Resistencia a Medicamentos Antineoplásicos/genética , Regulação Neoplásica da Expressão Gênica , Mutação , Sítios de Ligação , Neoplasias da Mama/metabolismo , Linhagem Celular Tumoral , Receptor alfa de Estrogênio/metabolismo , Feminino , Fulvestranto/uso terapêutico , Humanos , Tamoxifeno/uso terapêuticoRESUMO
We report here the effects of targeted p120-catenin (encoded by CTNND1; hereafter denoted p120) knockout (KO) in a PyMT mouse model of invasive ductal (mammary) cancer (IDC). Mosaic p120 ablation had little effect on primary tumor growth but caused significant pro-metastatic alterations in the tumor microenvironment, ultimately leading to a marked increase in the number and size of pulmonary metastases. Surprisingly, although early effects of p120-ablation included decreased cell-cell adhesion and increased invasiveness, cells lacking p120 were almost entirely unable to colonized distant metastatic sites in vivo The relevance of this observation to human IDC was established by analysis of a large clinical dataset of 1126 IDCs. As reported by others, p120 downregulation in primary IDC predicted worse overall survival. However, as in the mice, distant metastases were almost invariably p120 positive, even in matched cases where the primary tumors were p120 negative. Collectively, our results demonstrate a strong positive role for p120 (and presumably E-cadherin) during metastatic colonization of distant sites. On the other hand, downregulation of p120 in the primary tumor enhanced metastatic dissemination indirectly via pro-metastatic conditioning of the tumor microenvironment.
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Neoplasias da Mama , Animais , Neoplasias da Mama/genética , Caderinas/genética , Cateninas/genética , Adesão Celular , Feminino , Humanos , Camundongos , Microambiente Tumoral , delta CateninaRESUMO
Rapidly proliferating tumor and immune cells need metabolic programs that support energy and biomass production. The amino acid glutamine is consumed by effector T cells and glutamine-addicted triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) cells, suggesting that a metabolic competition for glutamine may exist within the tumor microenvironment, potentially serving as a therapeutic intervention strategy. Here, we report that there is an inverse correlation between glutamine metabolic genes and markers of T cell-mediated cytotoxicity in human basal-like breast cancer (BLBC) patient data sets, with increased glutamine metabolism and decreased T cell cytotoxicity associated with poor survival. We found that tumor cell-specific loss of glutaminase (GLS), a key enzyme for glutamine metabolism, improved antitumor T cell activation in both a spontaneous mouse TNBC model and orthotopic grafts. The glutamine transporter inhibitor V-9302 selectively blocked glutamine uptake by TNBC cells but not CD8+ T cells, driving synthesis of glutathione, a major cellular antioxidant, to improve CD8+ T cell effector function. We propose a "glutamine steal" scenario, in which cancer cells deprive tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes of needed glutamine, thus impairing antitumor immune responses. Therefore, tumor-selective targeting of glutamine metabolism may be a promising therapeutic strategy in TNBC.
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Antineoplásicos/farmacologia , Linfócitos T CD8-Positivos/imunologia , Proteínas de Transporte/antagonistas & inibidores , Glutamina/imunologia , Imunidade Celular , Linfócitos do Interstício Tumoral/imunologia , Neoplasias de Mama Triplo Negativas/imunologia , Animais , Linfócitos T CD8-Positivos/metabolismo , Linfócitos T CD8-Positivos/patologia , Proteínas de Transporte/imunologia , Proteínas de Transporte/metabolismo , Linhagem Celular Tumoral , Feminino , Glutamina/metabolismo , Xenoenxertos , Humanos , Linfócitos do Interstício Tumoral/metabolismo , Linfócitos do Interstício Tumoral/patologia , Camundongos , Camundongos Transgênicos , Transplante de Neoplasias , Neoplasias de Mama Triplo Negativas/tratamento farmacológico , Neoplasias de Mama Triplo Negativas/metabolismo , Neoplasias de Mama Triplo Negativas/patologiaRESUMO
Although new drug discoveries are revolutionizing cancer treatments, repurposing existing drugs would accelerate the timeline and lower the cost for bringing treatments to cancer patients. Our goal was to repurpose CPI211, a potent and selective antagonist of the thromboxane A2-prostanoid receptor (TPr), a G-protein-coupled receptor that regulates coagulation, blood pressure, and cardiovascular homeostasis. To identify potential new clinical indications for CPI211, we performed a phenome-wide association study (PheWAS) of the gene encoding TPr, TBXA2R, using robust deidentified health records and matched genomic data from more than 29,000 patients. Specifically, PheWAS was used to identify clinical manifestations correlating with a TBXA2R single-nucleotide polymorphism (rs200445019), which generates a T399A substitution within TPr that enhances TPr signaling. Previous studies have correlated 200445019 with chronic venous hypertension, which was recapitulated by this PheWAS analysis. Unexpectedly, PheWAS uncovered an rs200445019 correlation with cancer metastasis across several cancer types. When tested in several mouse models of metastasis, TPr inhibition using CPI211 potently blocked spontaneous metastasis from primary tumors, without affecting tumor cell proliferation, motility, or tumor growth. Further, metastasis following intravenous tumor cell delivery was blocked in mice treated with CPI211. Interestingly, TPr signaling in vascular endothelial cells induced VE-cadherin internalization, diminished endothelial barrier function, and enhanced transendothelial migration by tumor cells, phenotypes that were decreased by CPI211. These studies provide evidence that TPr signaling promotes cancer metastasis, supporting the study of TPr inhibitors as antimetastatic agents and highlighting the use of PheWAS as an approach to accelerate drug repurposing.
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Antineoplásicos/farmacologia , Reposicionamento de Medicamentos , Estudo de Associação Genômica Ampla/métodos , Receptores de Tromboxanos/antagonistas & inibidores , Receptores de Tromboxanos/genética , Linhagem Celular Tumoral , Ensaios de Seleção de Medicamentos Antitumorais/métodos , Regulação Neoplásica da Expressão Gênica/efeitos dos fármacos , Humanos , Metástase Neoplásica , Fenótipo , Polimorfismo de Nucleotídeo Único , Receptores de Tromboxanos/metabolismoRESUMO
Triple-negative breast cancers (TNBCs) are heterogeneous and aggressive, with high mortality rates. TNBCs frequently respond to chemotherapy, yet many patients develop chemoresistance. The molecular basis and roles for tumor cell-stromal crosstalk in establishing chemoresistance are complex and largely unclear. Here we report molecular studies of paired TNBC patient-derived xenografts (PDXs) established before and after the development of chemoresistance. Interestingly, the chemoresistant model acquired a distinct KRASQ61R mutation that activates K-Ras. The chemoresistant KRAS-mutant model showed gene expression and proteomic changes indicative of altered tumor cell metabolism. Specifically, KRAS-mutant PDXs exhibited increased redox ratios and decreased activation of AMPK, a protein involved in responding to metabolic homeostasis. Additionally, the chemoresistant model exhibited increased immunosuppression, including expression of CXCL1 and CXCL2, cytokines responsible for recruiting immunosuppressive leukocytes to tumors. Notably, chemoresistant KRAS-mutant tumors harbored increased numbers of granulocytic myeloid-derived suppressor cells (gMDSCs). Interestingly, previously established Ras/MAPK-associated gene expression signatures correlated with myeloid/neutrophil-recruiting CXCL1/2 expression and negatively with T cell-recruiting chemokines (CXCL9/10/11) across patients with TNBC, even in the absence of KRAS mutations. MEK inhibition induced tumor suppression in mice while reversing metabolic and immunosuppressive phenotypes, including chemokine production and gMDSC tumor recruitment in the chemoresistant KRAS-mutant tumors. These results suggest that Ras/MAPK pathway inhibitors may be effective in some breast cancer patients to reverse Ras/MAPK-driven tumor metabolism and immunosuppression, particularly in the setting of chemoresistance.
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Antineoplásicos/farmacologia , Glicólise , MAP Quinase Quinase 1/metabolismo , Células Supressoras Mieloides/patologia , Neoplasias de Mama Triplo Negativas/patologia , Proteínas ras/metabolismo , Animais , Apoptose , Biomarcadores Tumorais/genética , Biomarcadores Tumorais/metabolismo , Proliferação de Células , Resistencia a Medicamentos Antineoplásicos , Feminino , Regulação Neoplásica da Expressão Gênica , Humanos , MAP Quinase Quinase 1/antagonistas & inibidores , MAP Quinase Quinase 1/genética , Camundongos , Camundongos Nus , Células Supressoras Mieloides/efeitos dos fármacos , Células Supressoras Mieloides/metabolismo , Neoplasias de Mama Triplo Negativas/tratamento farmacológico , Neoplasias de Mama Triplo Negativas/metabolismo , Células Tumorais Cultivadas , Ensaios Antitumorais Modelo de Xenoenxerto , Proteínas ras/antagonistas & inibidores , Proteínas ras/genéticaRESUMO
INTRODUCTION: Nucleic acids have gained recognition as promising immunomodulatory therapeutics. However, their potential is limited by several drug delivery barriers, and there is a need for technologies that enhance intracellular delivery of nucleic acid drugs. Furthermore, controlled and sustained release is a significant concern, as the kinetics and localization of immunomodulators can influence resultant immune responses. Here, we describe the design and initial evaluation of poly(lactic-co-glycolic) acid (PLGA) microparticle (MP) depots for enhanced retention and sustained release of endosomolytic nanoparticles that enable the cytosolic delivery of nucleic acids. METHODS: Endosomolytic p[DMAEMA]10kD-bl-[PAA0.3-co-DMAEMA0.3-co-BMA0.4]25kD diblock copolymers were synthesized by reversible addition-fragmentation chain transfer polymerization. Polymers were electrostatically complexed with nucleic acids and resultant nanoparticles (NPs) were encapsulated in PLGA MPs. To modulate release kinetics, ammonium bicarbonate was added as a porogen. Release profiles were quantified in vitro and in vivo via quantification of fluorescently-labeled nucleic acid. Bioactivity of released NPs was assessed using small interfering RNA (siRNA) targeting luciferase as a representative nucleic acid cargo. MPs were incubated with luciferase-expressing 4T1 (4T1-LUC) breast cancer cells in vitro or administered intratumorally to 4T1-LUC breast tumors, and silencing via RNA interference was quantified via longitudinal luminescence imaging. RESULTS: Endosomolytic NPs complexed to siRNA were effectively loaded into PLGA MPs and release kinetics could be modulated in vitro and in vivo via control of MP porosity, with porous MPs exhibiting faster cargo release. In vitro, release of NPs from porous MP depots enabled sustained luciferase knockdown in 4T1 breast cancer cells over a five-day treatment period. Administered intratumorally, MPs prolonged the retention of nucleic acid within the injected tumor, resulting in enhanced and sustained silencing of luciferase relative to a single bolus administration of NPs at an equivalent dose. CONCLUSION: This work highlights the potential of PLGA MP depots as a platform for local release of endosomolytic polymer NPs that enhance the cytosolic delivery of nucleic acid therapeutics.
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Cancers often overexpress anti-apoptotic Bcl-2 proteins for cell death evasion, a recognized hallmark of cancer progression. While estrogen receptor (ER)-α+ breast cancers express high levels of three anti-apoptotic Bcl-2 family members (Bcl-2, Bcl-xL, and Mcl-1), pharmacological inhibition of Bcl-2 and/or Bcl-xL fails to induce cell death in ERα+ breast cancer cell lines, due to rapid and robust Mcl-1 upregulation. The mechanisms of acute Mcl-1 upregulation in response to Bcl-2/Bcl-xL inhibition remain undefined in in ERα+ breast cancers. We report here that blockade of Bcl-2 or Bcl-xL, alone or together, rapidly induced mTOR signaling in ERα+ breast cancer cells, rapidly increasing cap-dependent Mcl-1 translation. Cells treated with a pharmacological inhibitor of cap-dependent translation, or with the mTORC1 inhibitor RAD001/everolimus, displayed reduced protein levels of Mcl-1 under basal conditions, and failed to upregulate Mcl-1 protein expression following treatment with ABT-263, a pharmacological inhibitor of Bcl-2 and Bcl-xL. Although treatment with ABT-263 alone did not sustain apoptosis in tumor cells in culture or in vivo, ABT-263 plus RAD001 increased apoptosis to a greater extent than either agent used alone. Similarly, combined use of the selective Mcl-1 inhibitor VU661013 with ABT-263 resulted in tumor cell apoptosis and diminished tumor growth in vivo. These findings suggest that rapid Mcl-1 translation drives ABT-263 resistance, but can be combated directly using emerging Mcl-1 inhibitors, or indirectly through existing and approved mTOR inhibitors.
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mTOR is a serine/threonine kinase that acts in two distinct complexes, mTORC1 and mTORC2, and is dysregulated in many diseases including cancer. mLST8 is a shared component of both mTORC1 and mTORC2, yet little is known regarding how mLST8 contributes to assembly and activity of the mTOR complexes. Here we assessed mLST8 loss in a panel of normal and cancer cells and observed little to no impact on assembly or activity of mTORC1. However, mLST8 loss blocked mTOR association with mTORC2 cofactors RICTOR and SIN1, thus abrogating mTORC2 activity. Similarly, a single pair of mutations on mLST8 with a corresponding mutation on mTOR interfered with mTORC2 assembly and activity without affecting mTORC1. We also discovered a direct interaction between mLST8 and the NH2-terminal domain of the mTORC2 cofactor SIN1. In PTEN-null prostate cancer xenografts, mLST8 mutations disrupting the mTOR interaction motif inhibited AKT S473 phosphorylation and decreased tumor cell proliferation and tumor growth in vivo. Together, these data suggest that the scaffolding function of mLST8 is critical for assembly and activity of mTORC2, but not mTORC1, an observation that could enable therapeutic mTORC2-selective inhibition as a therapeutic strategy. SIGNIFICANCE: These findings show that mLST8 functions as a scaffold to maintain mTORC2 integrity and kinase activity, unveiling a new avenue for development of mTORC2-specific inhibitors.
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Biomarcadores Tumorais/metabolismo , Alvo Mecanístico do Complexo 2 de Rapamicina/metabolismo , Neoplasias da Próstata/patologia , Homólogo LST8 da Proteína Associada a mTOR/metabolismo , Animais , Apoptose , Biomarcadores Tumorais/genética , Proliferação de Células , Regulação Neoplásica da Expressão Gênica , Humanos , Masculino , Alvo Mecanístico do Complexo 1 de Rapamicina/genética , Alvo Mecanístico do Complexo 1 de Rapamicina/metabolismo , Alvo Mecanístico do Complexo 2 de Rapamicina/genética , Camundongos , Camundongos Nus , Fosforilação , Neoplasias da Próstata/genética , Neoplasias da Próstata/metabolismo , Proteínas Proto-Oncogênicas c-akt/genética , Proteínas Proto-Oncogênicas c-akt/metabolismo , Transdução de Sinais , Células Tumorais Cultivadas , Ensaios Antitumorais Modelo de Xenoenxerto , Homólogo LST8 da Proteína Associada a mTOR/genéticaRESUMO
Heterogeneous populations within a tumor have varying metabolic profiles, which can muddle the interpretation of bulk tumor imaging studies of treatment response. Although methods to study tumor metabolism at the cellular level are emerging, these methods provide a single time point "snapshot" of tumor metabolism and require a significant time and animal burden while failing to capture the longitudinal metabolic response of a single tumor to treatment. Here, we investigated a novel method for longitudinal, single-cell tracking of metabolism across heterogeneous tumor cell populations using optical metabolic imaging (OMI), which measures autofluorescence of metabolic coenzymes as a report of metabolic activity. We also investigated whether in vivo cellular metabolic heterogeneity can be accurately captured using tumor-derived three-dimensional organoids in a genetically engineered mouse model of breast cancer. OMI measurements of response to paclitaxel and the phosphatidylinositol-3-kinase inhibitor XL147 in tumors and organoids taken at single cell resolution revealed parallel shifts in metaboltruic heterogeneity. Interestingly, these previously unappreciated heterogeneous metabolic responses in tumors and organoids could not be attributed to tumor cell fate or varying leukocyte content within the microenvironment, suggesting that heightened metabolic heterogeneity upon treatment is largely due to heterogeneous metabolic shifts within tumor cells. Together, these studies show that OMI revealed remarkable heterogeneity in response to treatment, which could provide a novel approach to predict the presence of potentially unresponsive tumor cell subpopulations lurking within a largely responsive bulk tumor population, which might otherwise be overlooked by traditional measurements.
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Neoplasias da Mama/diagnóstico por imagem , Neoplasias da Mama/tratamento farmacológico , Organoides/diagnóstico por imagem , Análise de Célula Única , Animais , Antineoplásicos/farmacologia , Neoplasias da Mama/metabolismo , Neoplasias da Mama/patologia , Linhagem Celular Tumoral , Proliferação de Células/genética , Modelos Animais de Doenças , Feminino , Humanos , Camundongos , Imagem Óptica , Organoides/metabolismo , Quinoxalinas/farmacologia , Sulfonamidas/farmacologia , Microambiente Tumoral/genéticaRESUMO
Overexpression of myeloid cell leukemia-1 (Mcl-1) in cancers correlates with high tumor grade and poor survival. Additionally, Mcl-1 drives intrinsic and acquired resistance to many cancer therapeutics, including B cell lymphoma 2 family inhibitors, proteasome inhibitors, and antitubulins. Therefore, Mcl-1 inhibition could serve as a strategy to target cancers that require Mcl-1 to evade apoptosis. Herein, we describe the use of structure-based design to discover a novel compound (42) that robustly and specifically inhibits Mcl-1 in cell culture and animal xenograft models. Compound 42 binds to Mcl-1 with picomolar affinity and inhibited growth of Mcl-1-dependent tumor cell lines in the nanomolar range. Compound 42 also inhibited the growth of hematological and triple negative breast cancer xenografts at well-tolerated doses. These findings highlight the use of structure-based design to identify small molecule Mcl-1 inhibitors and support the use of 42 as a potential treatment strategy to block Mcl-1 activity and induce apoptosis in Mcl-1-dependent cancers.
Assuntos
Antineoplásicos/química , Proteína de Sequência 1 de Leucemia de Células Mieloides/antagonistas & inibidores , Bibliotecas de Moléculas Pequenas/química , Animais , Antineoplásicos/metabolismo , Antineoplásicos/farmacologia , Antineoplásicos/uso terapêutico , Azepinas/química , Sítios de Ligação , Linhagem Celular Tumoral , Sobrevivência Celular/efeitos dos fármacos , Cristalografia por Raios X , Avaliação Pré-Clínica de Medicamentos , Feminino , Humanos , Camundongos , Camundongos Endogâmicos NOD , Camundongos SCID , Simulação de Dinâmica Molecular , Proteína de Sequência 1 de Leucemia de Células Mieloides/metabolismo , Neoplasias/tratamento farmacológico , Neoplasias/patologia , Estrutura Terciária de Proteína , Bibliotecas de Moléculas Pequenas/metabolismo , Bibliotecas de Moléculas Pequenas/farmacologia , Bibliotecas de Moléculas Pequenas/uso terapêutico , Relação Estrutura-Atividade , Ensaios Antitumorais Modelo de XenoenxertoRESUMO
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