Robin L. Goode

The Protein Kinase Cβ–Selective Inhibitor, Enzastaurin (LY317615.HCl), Suppresses Signaling through the AKT Pathway, Induces Apoptosis, and Suppresses Growth of Human Colon Cancer and Glioblastoma Xenografts

Activation of protein kinase Cbeta (PKCbeta) has been repeatedly implicated in tumor-induced angiogenesis. The PKCbeta-selective inhibitor, Enzastaurin (LY317615.HCl), suppresses angiogenesis and was advanced for clinical development based upon this antiangiogenic activity. Activation of PKCbeta has now also been implicated in tumor cell proliferation, apoptosis, and tumor invasiveness. Herein, we show that Enzastaurin has a direct effect on human tumor cells, inducing apoptosis and suppressing the proliferation of cultured tumor cells. Enzastaurin treatment also suppresses the phosphorylation of GSK3betaser9, ribosomal protein S6(S240/244), and AKT(Thr308). Oral dosing with Enzastaurin to yield plasma concentrations similar to those achieved in clinical trials significantly suppresses the growth of human glioblastoma and colon carcinoma xenografts. As in cultured tumor cells, Enzastaurin treatment suppresses the phosphorylation of GSK3beta in these xenograft tumor tissues. Enzastaurin treatment also suppresses GSK3beta phosphorylation to a similar extent in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) from these treated mice. These data show that Enzastaurin has a direct antitumor effect and that Enzastaurin treatment suppresses GSK3beta phosphorylation in both tumor tissue and in PBMCs, suggesting that GSK3beta phosphorylation may serve as a reliable pharmacodynamic marker for Enzastaurin activity. With previously published reports, these data support the notion that Enzastaurin suppresses tumor growth through multiple mechanisms: direct suppression of tumor cell proliferation and the induction of tumor cell death coupled to the indirect effect of suppressing tumor-induced angiogenesis.

Therapeutic suppression of translation initiation factor eIF4E expression reduces tumor growth without toxicity

Expression of eukaryotic translation initiation factor 4E (eIF4E) is commonly elevated in human and experimental cancers, promoting angiogenesis and tumor growth. Elevated eIF4E levels selectively increase translation of growth factors important in malignancy (e.g., VEGF, cyclin D1) and is thereby an attractive anticancer therapeutic target. Yet to date, no eIF4E-specific therapy has been developed. Herein we report development of eIF4E-specific antisense oligonucleotides (ASOs) designed to have the necessary tissue stability and nuclease resistance required for systemic anticancer therapy. In mammalian cultured cells, these ASOs specifically targeted the eIF4E mRNA for destruction, repressing expression of eIF4E-regulated proteins (e.g., VEGF, cyclin D1, survivin, c-myc, Bcl-2), inducing apoptosis, and preventing endothelial cells from forming vessel-like structures. Most importantly, intravenous ASO administration selectively and significantly reduced eIF4E expression in human tumor xenografts, significantly suppressing tumor growth. Because these ASOs also target murine eIF4E, we assessed the impact of eIF4E reduction in normal tissues. Despite reducing eIF4E levels by 80% in mouse liver, eIF4E-specific ASO administration did not affect body weight, organ weight, or liver transaminase levels, thereby providing the first in vivo evidence that cancers may be more susceptible to eIF4E inhibition than normal tissues. These data have prompted eIF4E-specific ASO clinical trials for the treatment of human cancers.

Uterine bioassay of tamoxifen, trioxifene and a new estrogen antagonist (LY117018) in rats and mice

Abstract Dose response uterotrophic and antiuterotrophic activity of antiestrogens was examined in immature rats, immature mice and adult ovariectomized mice. LY117018 was the most active antagonist and the least estrogenic, while tamoxifen induced the greatest uterine growth and the weakest antagonism. The reported estrogenic activity of tamoxifen in mice (1) was found to be related to maturity. All compounds caused uterotrophic changes in immature mice similar to those observed in immature rats. However, in adult mice tamoxifen was devoid of antagonism, and trioxifene was active only at a very high dose as both were extremely estrogenic in this model. LY117018 activity in adult mice was comparable to that observed in immature rats and mice. Results depict significant agonist and antagonist advantages of LY117018 over tamoxifen and trioxifene.

Differential interaction of antiestrogens with cytosol estrogen receptors

Interaction of tamoxifen, trioxifene and LY117018 with cytosol-estrogen receptors from immature rat uteri was compared. Determination of relative binding affinity (RBA) by competition with [3H] estradiol under various assay conditions revealed that the RBA of LY117018 increased with temperature while that of trioxifene declined. Furthermore, the RBA values of tamoxifen and trioxifene observed after 24 h of incubation at 4 degrees C were significantly lower than those obtained with 1-h incubations. However RBA values obtained with 1- or 24-h incubations of LY117018 at 4 degrees C were similar. The complex formed by estradiol or LY117018 at 4 degrees was relatively stable for 24 h, while significant dissociation of tamoxifen and trioxifene was detected under these conditions. At 30 degrees C estradiol displayed a biphasic pattern of dissociation, but tamoxifen and trioxifene dissociated rapidly and little evidence of a stable phase was apparent. By contrast, the complex formed by LY117018 exhibited greater stability than that of estradiol at 30 degrees C. These results establish a relationship between shifts in competition curves (RBA) and rates of dissociation relative to estradiol; and clearly reveal that LY117018 has different binding characteristics than tamoxifen and trioxifene.

Correlation of the in vivo anticoagulant, antithrombotic, and antimetastatic efficacy of warfarin in the rat

Fibrin formation has been hypothesized to be an element of the metastatic process in cancer, and pharmacological interference with such fibrin formation has been proposed as a means of antimetastatic therapy. We have tested this hypothesis through an in vivo study of warfarin in two independent rat disease models--a model of chemical-injury-induced arterial thrombosis, and a model of spontaneous metastasis. We found 0.50 mg/kg-day warfarin to be uniformly lethal after two weeks treatment. The chronic dose of 0.25 mg/kg-day was non-toxic and produced effective anticoagulation and marked antithrombotic and antimetastatic activity. The 0.125 mg/kg-day dose produced a reduction in factor IIc (50%) and factor VIIc (70%), and resulted in statistically significant antithrombotic and antimetastatic activity. The 0.0625 mg/kg-day dose failed to reduce the vitamin K-dependent clotting factors, and failed to produce any antithrombotic or antimetastatic effects. The substantial correlation (very similar dose-response effects) among the anticoagulant, antithrombotic and antimetastatic efficacies of warfarin in the rat suggests that anticoagulation provides the pharmacological mechanism underlying both the antithrombotic and the antimetastatic effects. The poor therapeutic index we observed in the rat may be the attribute which limits the efficacy of warfarin in the treatment of human cancer.

Characterization of type I 5α-reductase activity in DU145 human prostatic adenocarcinoma cells

Abstract The conversion of testosterone (T) to dihydrotestosterone (DHT) has been demonstrated to be catalysed by at least two isoforms of human steroid 5α-reductase, designated types I and II. Type II 5α-reductase expression predominates in human accessory sex tissues, localized to the fibromuscular stromal compartment. The type I isoform predominates in skin, prostatic epithelia and, to a lesser extent, in prostatic fibromuscular stroma. The significance of the type I isoform to prostatic cellular growth and function remains undefined. In cultured DU145 cells, we evaluated the metabolism of [ 14 C]-T and demonstrated the time-dependent formation of [ 14 C]-DHT. Oxidative metabolism (conversion of [ 14 C]-T to [ 14 C]-androstenedione) and the formation of conjugated androgen metabolites occurred at a relatively low rate in the DU145 cells. Using human type I 5α-reductase cDNA, Northern blot analysis of DU145 cell mRNA revealed high levels of type I isoform expression. Analogous probing of the DU145 cells with a human 5α-reductase II cDNA failed to reveal expression of the type II isoform. The expression of functional type I activity has been confirmed pharmacologically using isoformselective 5α-reductase inhibitors. Reductive metabolism of [ 3 H]-T in the DU145 cells was inhibited in a concentration-dependent manner by LY306089, a potent non-steroidal type I-selective inhibitor (IC 50 = 10.0 nM). SKF105657, a steroidal type II-specific inhibitor was distinctly less active at inhibiting [ 3 H]-DHT formation. LY306089 was a non-competitive inhibitor of type I 5α-reductase in DU145 cellular homogenates with an apparent K i value of 4.0 nM. These studies have identified and pharmacologically defined type I 5α-reductase activity in an androgen-insensitive prostatic cancer cell line and provide the basis for additional investigations into the significance of type I 5α-reductase to human prostatic pathophysiology.

Workgroup 2: Human Xenograft Models of Prostate Cancer

Mark E. Stearns (Chairperson),1* Joy L. Ware (Rapporteur),2 David B. Agus,3 Ching-Jer Chang,4 Isaiah J. Fidler,5 Rose S. Fife,6 Robin Goode,7 Eric Holmes,8 Michael S. Kinch,9 Donna M. Peehl,10 Thomas G. Pretlow II,11 and George N. Thalmann12 1Department of Pathology, Medical College of Pennsylvania and Hahnemann University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 2Department of Pathology, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, Virginia 3Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, New York, New York 4Department of Medicinal Chemistry, Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana 5Department of Cell Biology, University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas 6Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, Indiana 7Lilly Research Laboratories, Indianapolis, Indiana 8Pacific Northwest Cancer Foundation, Seattle, Washington 9Department of Basic Medical Sciences, Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana 10Department of Urology, Stanford University, Stanford, California 11Institute of Pathology, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio 12Universitat Bern, Bern, Switzerland

Inhibitory Effect of Warfarin on the Metastasis of the PAIII Prostatic Adenocarcinoma in the Rat

The PAIII rodent metastatic prostatic adenocarcinoma model was employed to evaluate the effects of dietary warfarin, a prototypic antagonist of thrombin generation on the lymphatic and pulmonary metastases of the tumor from the tail site of subcutaneous transplantation in male Lobund Wistar (LW) rats. In addition, the anticoagulant effects of warfarin were determined in the same animals. Warfarin, administered in the diet at concentrations equivalent to 0.063, 0.125 or 0.250 mg./kg. b.w. for 30 days had no effect on final body weight, gluteal or iliac lymph node weights. Significant (p less than 0.05) dose-dependent extensions of whole blood prothrombin (WBPT), activated partial thromboplastin (WBAPTT) and clotting times (WBCT) over control values were observed with warfarin treatment. Preliminary studies demonstrated that the 0.500 mg./kg. dose produced 50 per cent mortality at +14 days. Warfarin produced significant (p less than 0.05) dose-dependent decreases in the number of PAIII pulmonary metastases as indicated by reductions in dry lung weights and lung colony numbers when compared to untreated tumor-bearing controls. While the therapeutic index of warfarin is a limiting factor in clinical use as an antimetastatic agent, these results suggest that compounds capable of altering hemostatic mechanisms may be potential inhibitors of tumor metastasis. The PAIII prostatic adenocarcinoma model may be a useful system to quantitatively evaluate potential antimetastatic and cytotoxic agents.

Synthesis and 5α-reductase inhibitory activity of 8-substituted benzo[ƒ]quinolinones derived from palladium mediated coupling reactions

Benzoquinolinones have been shown to be potent, selective inhibitors of the Type I 5 alpha-reductase enzyme, which is responsible for the production of dihydrotestosterone from testosterone localized in the scalp. In an effort to identify compounds that demonstrate inhibition of both 5 alpha-reductase isozymes, we have employed 8-bromobenzoquinolinone as an advanced intermediate for participation in a variety of palladium mediated carbon-carbon bond forming reactions. By varying the 8-substituent it is possible to alter the selectivity profile of the series.

Endocrine effects of a new histamine H2-receptor antagonist, nizatidine (LY139037), in the male rat

A new orally active histamine H2-receptor antagonist, nizatidine (LY139037), was evaluated in male rats for effects on mechanisms regulating accessory sex organ growth and function. Cimetidine antagonized androgen binding to cytosolic receptors in vitro while nizatidine had no effect. Nizatidine and cimetidine were administered at the ED50, 5 X ED50, or 10 X ED50 doses for inhibition of gastric acid secretion previously determined using in vivo dog and rat models. The relative potencies of both agents to antagonize histamine H2-receptor-mediated gastric acid secretory responses have been confirmed in human clinical trials. Neither nizatidine nor cimetidine antagonized the in vivo uptake or nuclear translocation of radiolabeled androgen into the hypothalamic-preoptic-amygdala, pituitary, or ventral prostate. Nizatidine, given at doses equal to and 10 X the ED50 gastric acid secretion inhibitory values, and cimetidine (10 X ED50 value) had no effect on the response of male accessory sex organs to a submaximally stimulating dose of androgen in castrated rats. High doses of dietary nizatidine (greater than 500 mg/kg-day) administered for 6 months did not alter intact rat male accessory sex organ weights or circulating androgen levels relative to untreated controls. Acute administration of either nizatidine or cimetidine produced transient elevations in plasma prolactin (PRL) levels. Cimetidine was more potent and consistent than nizatidine in producing these increases in circulating PRL. The data described herein support the contention that unlike cimetidine, nizatidine is not a pharmacological antagonist of androgen action and has less of a stimulatory effect upon plasma prolactin. Taken together, these studies indicate that in the male rat, nizatidine exhibits a large therapeutic index between its gastric antisecretory activity and potential endocrinological effects.