Precision therapeutic targeting of human cancer cell motility.

Increased cancer cell motility constitutes a root cause of end organ destruction and mortality, but its complex regulation represents a barrier to precision targeting. We use the unique characteristics of small molecules to probe and selectively modulate cell motility. By coupling efficient chemical synthesis routes to multiple upfront in parallel phenotypic screens, we identify that KBU2046 inhibits cell motility and cell invasion in vitro. Across three different murine models of human prostate and breast cancer, KBU2046 inhibits metastasis, decreases bone destruction, and prolongs survival at nanomolar blood concentrations after oral administration. Comprehensive molecular, cellular and systemic-level assays all support a high level of selectivity. KBU2046 binds chaperone heterocomplexes, selectively alters binding of client proteins that regulate motility, and lacks all the hallmarks of classical chaperone inhibitors, including toxicity. We identify a unique cell motility regulatory mechanism and synthesize a targeted therapeutic, providing a platform to pursue studies in humans.

Mitogen-activated protein kinase kinase 4 (MAP2K4) promotes human prostate cancer metastasis.

Prostate cancer (PCa) is the second leading cause of cancer death in the US. Death from PCa primarily results from metastasis. Mitogen-activated protein kinase kinase 4 (MAP2K4) is overexpressed in invasive PCa lesions in humans, and can be inhibited by small molecule therapeutics that demonstrate favorable activity in phase II studies. However, MAP2K4's role in regulating metastatic behavior is controversial and unknown. To investigate, we engineered human PCa cell lines which overexpress either wild type or constitutive active MAP2K4. Orthotopic implantation into mice demonstrated MAP2K4 increases formation of distant metastasis. Constitutive active MAP2K4, though not wild type, increases tumor size and circulating tumor cells in the blood and bone marrow. Complementary in vitro studies establish stable MAP2K4 overexpression promotes cell invasion, but does not affect cell growth or migration. MAP2K4 overexpression increases the expression of heat shock protein 27 (HSP27) protein and protease production, with the largest effect upon matrix metalloproteinase 2 (MMP-2), both in vitro and in mouse tumor samples. Further, MAP2K4-mediated increases in cell invasion are dependent upon heat shock protein 27 (HSP27) and MMP-2, but not upon MAP2K4's immediate downstream targets, p38 MAPK or JNK. We demonstrate that MAP2K4 increases human PCa metastasis, and prolonged over expression induces long term changes in cell signaling pathways leading to independence from p38 MAPK and JNK. These findings provide a mechanistic explanation for human studies linking increases in HSP27 and MMP-2 to progression to metastatic disease. MAP2K4 is validated as an important therapeutic target for inhibiting human PCa metastasis.

Heat shock protein 27 regulates human prostate cancer cell motility and metastatic progression.

Prostate cancer (PCa) is the most common form of cancer in American men. Mortality from PCa is caused by the movement of cancer cells from the primary organ to form metastatic tumors at distant sites. Heat shock protein 27 (HSP27) is known to increase human PCa cell invasion and its overexpression is associated with metastatic disease. The role of HSP27 in driving PCa cell movement from the prostate to distant metastatic sites is unknown. Increased HSP27 expression increased metastasis as well as primary tumor mass. In vitro studies further examined the mechanism of HSP27-induced metastatic behavior. HSP27 did not affect cell detachment, adhesion, or migration, but did increase cell invasion. Cell invasion was dependent upon matrix metalloproteinase 2 (MMP-2), whose expression was increased by HSP27. In vivo, HSP27 induced commensurate changes in MMP-2 expression in tumors. These findings demonstrate that HSP27 drives metastatic spread of cancer cells from the prostate to distant sites, does so across a continuum of expression levels, and identifies HSP27-driven increases in MMP-2 expression as functionally relevant. These findings add to prior studies demonstrating that HSP27 increases PCa cell motility, growth and survival. Together, they demonstrate that HSP27 plays an important role in PCa progression.