Assuntos
Carcinoma Pulmonar de Células não Pequenas/tratamento farmacológico , Carcinoma Pulmonar de Células não Pequenas/genética , Neoplasias Pulmonares/tratamento farmacológico , Neoplasias Pulmonares/genética , Inibidores de Proteínas Quinases/uso terapêutico , Proteínas Proto-Oncogênicas p21(ras)/genética , Carcinoma Pulmonar de Células não Pequenas/enzimologia , Humanos , Neoplasias Pulmonares/enzimologia , Modelos Moleculares , Terapia de Alvo Molecular , Mutação , Inibidores de Proteínas Quinases/farmacologia , Proteínas Proto-Oncogênicas p21(ras)/antagonistas & inibidores , Proteínas Proto-Oncogênicas p21(ras)/química , Proteínas Proto-Oncogênicas p21(ras)/metabolismoRESUMO
The research and treatment of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) have achieved some important advances in recent years. Nonetheless, the overall survival rates for NSCLC remain low, indicating the importance to effectively develop new therapies and improve current approaches. The understanding of the function of different biomarkers involved in NSCLC progression, survival and response to therapy are important for the development of early detection tools and treatment options. Epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) and Kirsten rat sarcoma viral oncogene homolog (K-RAS) are two of the main significant biomarkers for the management of NSCLC. Mutations in these genes were associated with development and response to therapies. For example, the use of small molecule tyrosine kinase (TK) inhibitors and immunotherapy has led to benefits in some, but not all patients with altered EGFR. In contrast, there is still no effective approved drug to act upon patients harbouring K-RAS mutations. In addition, K-RAS mutations have been associated with lack of activity of TK inhibitors. However, promising approaches aimed to inhibit mutant K-RAS are currently under study. Therefore, this review will discuss these approaches and also EGFR therapies, and hopefully, it will draw attention to the need of continued research in the field in order to improve the outcomes in NSCLC patients.
Assuntos
Antineoplásicos/farmacologia , Biomarcadores Tumorais , Carcinoma Pulmonar de Células não Pequenas/metabolismo , Neoplasias Pulmonares/metabolismo , Inibidores de Proteínas Quinases/farmacologia , Proteínas Proto-Oncogênicas p21(ras)/antagonistas & inibidores , Animais , Antineoplásicos/uso terapêutico , Carcinoma Pulmonar de Células não Pequenas/tratamento farmacológico , Carcinoma Pulmonar de Células não Pequenas/genética , Resistencia a Medicamentos Antineoplásicos/genética , Receptores ErbB/antagonistas & inibidores , Receptores ErbB/química , Receptores ErbB/genética , Receptores ErbB/metabolismo , Humanos , Neoplasias Pulmonares/tratamento farmacológico , Neoplasias Pulmonares/genética , Terapia de Alvo Molecular , Inibidores de Proteínas Quinases/uso terapêutico , Proteínas Proto-Oncogênicas p21(ras)/química , Proteínas Proto-Oncogênicas p21(ras)/genética , Proteínas Proto-Oncogênicas p21(ras)/metabolismo , Transdução de Sinais/efeitos dos fármacos , Relação Estrutura-AtividadeRESUMO
BACKGROUND: The GTPase KRas4B has been utilized as a principal target in the development of anticancer drugs. PDE6δ transports KRas4B to the plasma membrane, where it is released to activate various signaling pathways required for the initiation and maintenance of cancer. Therefore, identifying new small molecules that prevent activation of this GTPase by stabilizing the KRas4B-PDE6δ molecular complex is a practical strategy to fight against cancer. METHODS: The crystal structure of the KRas4B-PDE6δ heterodimer was employed to locate possible specific binding sites at the protein-protein interface region. Virtual screening of Enamine-database compounds was performed on the located potential binding sites to identify ligands able to simultaneously bind to the KRas4B-PDE6δ heterodimer. A molecular dynamics approach was used to estimate the binding free-energy of the complex. Cell viability and apoptosis were measured by flow cytometry. G-LISA was used to measure Ras inactivation. Western blot was used to measure AKT and ERK activation. MIA PaCa-2 cells implanted subcutaneously into nude mice were treated with D14 or C22 and tumor volumes were recorded. RESULTS: According to the binding affinity estimation, D14 and C22 stabilized the protein-protein interaction in the KRas4B-PDE6δ complex based on in vitro evaluation of the 38 compounds showing antineoplastic activity against pancreatic MIA PaCa-2 cancer cells. In this work, we further investigated the antineoplastic cellular properties of two of them, termed D14 and C22, which reduced the viability in the human pancreatic cancer cells lines MIA PaCa-2, PanC-1 and BxPC-3, but not in the normal pancreatic cell line hTERT-HPNE. Compounds D14 and C22 induced cellular death via apoptosis. D14 and C22 significantly decreased Ras-GTP activity by 33% in MIA PaCa-2 cells. Moreover, D14 decreased AKT phosphorylation by 70% and ERK phosphorylation by 51%, while compound C22 reduced AKT phosphorylation by 60% and ERK phosphorylation by 36%. In addition, compounds C22 and D14 significantly reduced tumor growth by 88.6 and 65.9%, respectively, in a mouse xenograft model. CONCLUSIONS: We identified two promising compounds, D14 and C22, that might be useful as therapeutic drugs for pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma treatment.
Assuntos
Antineoplásicos/farmacologia , Carcinoma Ductal Pancreático/tratamento farmacológico , Nucleotídeo Cíclico Fosfodiesterase do Tipo 6/metabolismo , Neoplasias Pancreáticas/tratamento farmacológico , Proteínas Proto-Oncogênicas p21(ras)/metabolismo , Animais , Antineoplásicos/química , Antineoplásicos/uso terapêutico , Apoptose/efeitos dos fármacos , Carcinoma Ductal Pancreático/patologia , Linhagem Celular Tumoral , Proliferação de Células/efeitos dos fármacos , Sobrevivência Celular/efeitos dos fármacos , Nucleotídeo Cíclico Fosfodiesterase do Tipo 6/química , Descoberta de Drogas/métodos , Humanos , Masculino , Camundongos , Camundongos Nus , Simulação de Dinâmica Molecular , Neoplasias Pancreáticas/patologia , Multimerização Proteica/efeitos dos fármacos , Proteínas Proto-Oncogênicas p21(ras)/química , Transdução de Sinais/efeitos dos fármacos , Resultado do Tratamento , Ensaios Antitumorais Modelo de XenoenxertoRESUMO
BACKGROUND: Colorectal cancer is the third most common cancer worldwide; and in 40% of all cases, KRAS4b-activating mutations occur. KRAS4b is transported by phosphodiesterase-6δ (PDEδ) to the plasma membrane, where it gets activated. PDEδ downregulation prevents redistribution and activation of KRAS4b. Thus, targeting the KRAS4b-PDEδ complex is a treatment strategy for colorectal cancer. METHODS: Using docking and molecular dynamics simulations coupled to molecular mechanics, the generalized born model and solvent accessibility (MMGBSA) approach to explore protein-ligand stability, we found that the compound ((2S)-N-(2,5-diclorofenil)-2-[(3,4-dimetoxifenil)metilamino]-propanamida), termed C19, bound and stabilized the KRAS4b-PDEδ complex. We investigated whether C19 decreases the viability and proliferation of colorectal cancer cells, in addition to knowing the type of cell death that it causes and if C19 decreases the activation of KRAS4b and their effectors. RESULTS: C19 showed high cytotoxicity in the colorectal cancer cell lines HCT116 and LoVo, with a stronger effect in KRAS-dependent LoVo cells. Importantly, C19 significantly decreased tumor size in a xenograft mouse model and showed lower side effects than 5-fluorouracil that is currently used as colorectal cancer treatment. CONCLUSIONS: Mechanistically, the cytotoxic effect was due to increased apoptosis of tumor cells and decreased phosphorylation of Erk and Akt. Therefore, our results suggest that C19 may serve as a promising new treatment for colorectal cancer.