Calcium-activated chloride channel ANO1 promotes breast cancer progression by activating EGFR and CAMK signaling.

The calcium-activated chloride channel anoctamin 1 (ANO1) is located within the 11q13 amplicon, one of the most frequently amplified chromosomal regions in human cancer, but its functional role in tumorigenesis has remained unclear. The 11q13 region is amplified in ∼15% of breast cancers. Whether ANO1 is amplified in breast tumors, the extent to which gene amplification contributes to ANO1 overexpression, and whether overexpression of ANO1 is important for tumor maintenance have remained unknown. We have found that ANO1 is amplified and highly expressed in breast cancer cell lines and primary tumors. Amplification of ANO1 correlated with disease grade and poor prognosis. Knockdown of ANO1 in ANO1-amplified breast cancer cell lines and other cancers bearing 11q13 amplification inhibited proliferation, induced apoptosis, and reduced tumor growth in established cancer xenografts. Moreover, ANO1 chloride channel activity was important for cell viability. Mechanistically, ANO1 knockdown or pharmacological inhibition of its chloride-channel activity reduced EGF receptor (EGFR) and calmodulin-dependent protein kinase II (CAMKII) signaling, which subsequently attenuated AKT, v-src sarcoma viral oncogene homolog (SRC), and extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) activation in vitro and in vivo. Our results highlight the involvement of the ANO1 chloride channel in tumor progression and provide insights into oncogenic signaling in human cancers with 11q13 amplification, thereby establishing ANO1 as a promising target for therapy in these highly prevalent tumor types.

1,3-disubstituted-4-aminopyrazolo [3, 4-d] pyrimidines, a new class of potent inhibitors for phospholipase D.

Phospholipase D enzymes cleave lipid substrates to produce phosphatidic acid, an important precursor for many essential cellular molecules. Phospholipase D is a target to modulate cancer-cell invasiveness. This study reports synthesis of a new class of phospholipase D inhibitors based on 1,3-disubstituted-4-amino-pyrazolopyrimidine core structure. These molecules were synthesized and used to perform initial screening for the inhibition of purified bacterial phospholipase D, which is highly homologous to the human PLD1 . Initially tested with the bacterial phospholipase D enzyme, then confirmed with the recombinant human PLD1 and PLD2 enzymes, the molecules presented here exhibited inhibition of phospholipase D activity (IC50 ) in the low-nanomolar to low-micromolar range with both monomeric substrate diC4 PC and phospholipid vesicles and micelles. The data strongly indicate that these inhibitory molecules directly block enzyme/vesicle substrate binding. Preliminary activity studies using recombinant human phospholipase Ds in in vivo cell assays measuring both transphosphatidylation and head-group cleavage indicate inhibition in the mid- to low-nanomolar range for these potent inhibitory novel molecules in a physiological environment.

Copper-mediated N-heteroarylation of primary sulfonamides: synthesis of mono-N-heteroaryl sulfonamides.

We describe the coupling of primary sulfonamides and various halogenated heterocyclic cores, with an emphasis on 2-heteroaryl halides, via copper catalysis. These studies enabled the synthesis of many new mono-N-heteroaryl sulfonamides. The electronic factors that influence the course of the reaction have also been investigated.