kd-5170 and Prostatic-Neoplasms

Combination therapy is often an effective strategy to treat cancer. In this study, we examined the growth-inhibitory effects of Am80 (tamibarotene), a specific retinoic acid receptor (RAR) α/β agonist, in combination with a histone deacetylase (HDAC) inhibitor, suberoylanilide hydroxamic acid (SAHA), or a DNA methyl transferase (DNMT) inhibitor, 5-aza-2'-deoxycytidine, on androgen receptor (AR)-positive and AR-negative prostate cancer cell lines (LNCaP and PC-3, respectively). We found that the combination therapy of SAHA and Am80 showed an enhanced growth-inhibitory effect on LNCaP cells. Further studies with various HDAC isotype-selective inhibitors showed that SAHA and KD5170 (a selective class I and II HDAC inhibitor) each increased the RARα protein level in LNCaP cells. Our results indicate that the target of the enhancing effect belongs to the Class IIb HDACs, especially HDAC6. Dual targeting of Class IIb HDAC and RARα may be a candidate therapeutic strategy for prostate cancer.

Topics: Antineoplastic Agents; Benzoates; Cell Line, Tumor; Decitabine; Drug Synergism; Drug Therapy, Combination; Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic; Histone Deacetylase Inhibitors; Humans; Male; Prostatic Neoplasms; Pyridines; Receptors, Retinoic Acid; Sulfonamides; Tetrahydronaphthalenes; Vorinostat

Histone deacetylase (HDAC) inhibitors have garnered significant attention as cancer drugs. These therapeutic agents have recently been clinically validated with the market approval of vorinostat (SAHA, Zolinza) for treatment of cutaneous T-cell lymphoma. Like vorinostat, most of the small-molecule HDAC inhibitors in clinical development are hydroxamic acids, whose inhibitory activity stems from their ability to coordinate the catalytic Zn2+ in the active site of HDACs. We sought to identify novel, nonhydroxamate-based HDAC inhibitors with potentially distinct pharmaceutical properties via an ultra-high throughput small molecule biochemical screen against the HDAC activity in a HeLa cell nuclear extract. An alpha-mercaptoketone series was identified and chemically optimized. The lead compound, KD5170, exhibits HDAC inhibitory activity with an IC50 of 0.045 micromol/L in the screening biochemical assay and an EC50 of 0.025 micromol/L in HeLa cell-based assays that monitor histone H3 acetylation. KD5170 also exhibits broad spectrum classes I and II HDAC inhibition in assays using purified recombinant human isoforms. KD5170 shows significant antiproliferative activity against a variety of human tumor cell lines, including the NCI-60 panel. Significant tumor growth inhibition was observed after p.o. dosing in human HCT-116 (colorectal cancer), NCI-H460 (non-small cell lung carcinoma), and PC-3 (prostate cancer) s.c. xenografts in nude mice. In addition, a significant increase in antitumor activity and time to end-point occurred when KD5170 was combined with docetaxel in xenografts of the PC-3 prostate cancer cell line. The biological and pharmaceutical profile of KD5170 supports its continued preclinical and clinical development as a broad spectrum anticancer agent.

Topics: Animals; Antineoplastic Agents; Cell Line, Tumor; Colorectal Neoplasms; Drug Screening Assays, Antitumor; Enzyme Inhibitors; Female; Histone Deacetylase Inhibitors; Humans; Inhibitory Concentration 50; Male; Mice; Mice, Inbred BALB C; Mice, Nude; Prostatic Neoplasms; Pyridines; Sulfonamides; Xenograft Model Antitumor Assays