ABSTRACT
Isolated limb perfusion (ILP) with melphalan and tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α is used to treat bulky, locally advanced melanoma and sarcoma. However, TNF toxicity suggests a need for better-tolerated drugs. Cilengitide (EMD 121974), a novel cyclic inhibitor of alpha-V integrins, has both anti-angiogenic and direct anti-tumor effects and is a possible alternative to TNF in ILP. In this study, rats bearing a hind limb soft tissue sarcoma underwent ILP using different combinations of melphalan, TNF and cilengitide in the perfusate. Further groups had intra-peritoneal (i.p.) injections of cilengitide or saline 2 hr before and 3 hr after ILP. A 77% response rate (RR) was seen in animals treated i.p. with cilengitide and perfused with melphalan plus cilengitide. The RR was 85% in animals treated i.p. with cilengitide and ILP using melphalan plus both TNF and cilengitide. Both RRs were significantly greater than those seen with melphalan or cilengitide alone. Histopathology showed that high RRs were accompanied by disruption of tumor vascular endothelium and tumor necrosis. Compared with ILP using melphalan alone, the addition of cilengitide resulted in a three to sevenfold increase in melphalan concentration in tumor but not in muscle in the perfused limb. Supportive in vitro studies indicate that cilengitide both inhibits tumor cell attachment and increases endothelial permeability. Since cilengitide has low toxicity, these data suggest the agent is a good alternative to TNF in the ILP setting.
Subject(s)
Antineoplastic Agents, Alkylating/therapeutic use , Chemotherapy, Cancer, Regional Perfusion , Limb Salvage , Melphalan/therapeutic use , Receptors, Vitronectin/antagonists & inhibitors , Sarcoma, Experimental/prevention & control , Snake Venoms/therapeutic use , Animals , Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols , Disease Models, Animal , Drug Synergism , Male , Rats , Rats, Inbred BN , Sarcoma, Experimental/metabolismABSTRACT
RAF kinase plays a critical role in the RAF-MEK-ERK signaling pathway and inhibitors of RAF could be of use for the treatment of various cancer types. We have designed potent RAF-1 inhibitors bearing novel bicyclic heterocycles as key structural elements for the interaction with the hinge region. In both series exploration of the SAR was focussed on the substitution of the phenyl ring, which binds to the induced fit pocket. Overall, it was confirmed that incorporation of lipophilic substituents was needed for potent Raf inhibition and a number of potent analogues were obtained.
Subject(s)
Benzimidazoles/chemistry , Isoquinolines/chemistry , Protein Kinase Inhibitors/chemical synthesis , raf Kinases/antagonists & inhibitors , Benzimidazoles/chemical synthesis , Benzimidazoles/pharmacology , Binding Sites , Catalytic Domain , Computer Simulation , Drug Design , Isoquinolines/chemical synthesis , Isoquinolines/pharmacology , Protein Kinase Inhibitors/chemistry , Protein Kinase Inhibitors/pharmacology , Signal Transduction , Structure-Activity Relationship , raf Kinases/metabolismABSTRACT
Macrophage migration inhibitory factor (MIF) is a pleiotropic cytokine for which a receptor has not been identified. That MIF has intracellular functions has been suggested by its enzymatic activity and constitutive expression profile. The discovery of functional MIF-c-Jun activation domain binding protein 1 (JAB1) binding has confirmed this notion and indicated that nonreceptor-based signaling mechanisms are important for MIF function. Here, we have generated and tested several biologically active labeled MIF derivatives to further define target protein binding by MIF and its cellular uptake characteristics. (35)S-MIF, biotinylated MIF, and fluoresceinated MIF were demonstrated to exhibit full biologic activity. Neither by applying a standard iodinated MIF preparation nor by using the biologically active (35)S-MIF derivative in receptor-binding studies were we able to measure any receptor-binding activity on numerous cells, confirming that uptake of MIF into target cells and MIF signaling can occur by receptor-independent pathways. When MIF derivatives were applied in cellular uptake studies, MIF was found to be endocytosed into both immune and nonimmune cells and targeted to the cytosol and lysosomes. The entry of MIF was temperature and energy dependent and was inhibited by monodansylcadaverine but not by ouabain. Endocytosed biotin-MIF bound JAB1 not only in macrophages, as shown previously, but also in nonimmune cells. A tagged MIF construct, MIF-enhanced green fluorescent protein (EGFP), was shown to be a valuable tool, as EGFP constructs of critical MIF cysteine mutants exhibited identical cellular localization properties to those of wild-type MIF (wtMIF). Our results indicate that MIF membrane receptors are not widely expressed, if at all, and suggest that the cellular uptake of MIF occurs by nonreceptor-mediated endocytosis rather than penetration. All the derivatives investigated, except for iodinated MIF, represent valuable tools for further MIF target protein and cellular studies.
