mkt-077 and Neoplasms

Over the past few decades, panels of human cancer cell lines have made a significant contribution to the discovery and development of anticancer drugs. The National Cancer Institute 60 (NCI60), which consists of 60 cell lines from various human cancer types, remains the most powerful human cancer cell line panel for high throughput screening of anticancer drugs. The development of JFCR39, comprising a panel of 39 human cancer cell lines coupled with a drug-activity database, was based on NCI60. Like NCI60, JFCR39 not only provides disease-oriented information but can also predict the action mechanism or molecular target of a given antitumor agent by utilizing the COMPARE algorithm. The molecular targets of ZSTK474 as well as several other antitumor agents have been identified by using JFCR39 and some of these compounds have since entered clinical trials. In this review, we will describe human cancer cell line panels particularly JFCR39 and its application in the discovery and/or development of anticancer drug candidates.

Topics: Algorithms; Animals; Antineoplastic Agents; Cell Line, Tumor; Drug Discovery; Drug Screening Assays, Antitumor; Humans; National Cancer Institute (U.S.); Neoplasms; Triazines; United States

Topics: Adenosine Triphosphatases; Animals; Apoptosis; HSP70 Heat-Shock Proteins; Humans; Immunity; Infections; Neoplasms; Neurodegenerative Diseases; Protein Binding; Protein Folding

As Jessani et al.,(1) point out development of cell and animal models that accurately depict human tumorigenesis remains a major goal of cancer research. Clam cancer offers significant advantages over traditional models for genotoxic and non-genotoxic preclinical analysis of treatments for human cancers with a similar molecular basis. The naturally occurring clam model closely resembles an outbreeding, human clinical population and provides both in vitro and in vivo alternatives to those generated from inbred mouse strains or by intentional exposure to known tumor viruses. Fly and worm in vivo models for adult human somatic cell cancers do not exist because their adult somatic cells do not divide. Clam cancer is the best characterized, naturally occurring malignancy with a known molecular basis remarkably similar to those observed in several unrelated human cancers where both genotoxic and non-genotoxic strategies can restore the function of wild-type p53. To further emphasize this point of view, we here demonstrate a p53-induced, mitochondrial-directed mechanism for promoting apoptosis in the clam cancer model that is similar to one recently identified in mammals. Discerning the molecular basis for naturally occurring diseases in non-traditional models and correlating these with related molecular mechanisms responsible for human diseases is a virtually unexplored aspect of toxico-proteomics and genomics and related drug discovery.

Topics: Animal Diseases; Animals; Antineoplastic Agents; Apoptosis; Brachyura; Disease; Disease Models, Animal; DNA Damage; Drug Evaluation, Preclinical; HSP70 Heat-Shock Proteins; Humans; Molecular Sequence Data; Neoplasms; Pyridines; Signal Transduction; Thiazoles; Tumor Suppressor Protein p53

This Phase I study was performed to evaluate the tolerability and pharmacokinetic behavior of MKT-077, a water soluble rhodacyanine dye analogue, which partitions into tumor cell mitochondria where it is thought to act as a metabolic poison, leading to G1 arrest and apoptosis. Thirteen patients with advanced solid malignancies were treated with MKT-077 administered as a 30-min i.v. infusion weekly for 4 weeks every 6 weeks at doses ranging from 42 to 126 mg/m2/week. The principal toxicity was renal magnesium wasting, which was dose-limiting (grade 3) in one patient at each of the 84- and 126-mg/m2 dose levels. The other three patients at the 126-mg/m2 dose level developed grade 2 hypomagnesemia, which was cumulative in nature, improved with i.v. magnesium supplementation, and was controlled in two patients by the administration of prophylactic magnesium before and after treatment with MKT-077. Given the requirement for extensive monitoring of serum magnesium levels, dose escalation >126 mg/m2 was not considered feasible. Thus, the recommended dose for disease-oriented studies with this schedule of MKT-077 is 126 mg/m2/week. Pharmacokinetic studies revealed a prolonged terminal half-life (37 +/- 17 h) and a large volume of distribution (685 +/- 430 liters/m2). Clearance averaged 39 +/- 13 liters/h/m2. Peak MKT-077 plasma concentrations (1.2 +/-0.31 to 6.3 +/- 5.3 microg/ml) exceeded the IC50 concentrations required for human CX-1 colon, MCF-breast, CRL-1420 pancreas, EJ bladder, and LOX melanoma tumor cell lines in vitro (0.15-0.5 microg/ml). These results indicate that at the recommended dose level of 126 mg/m2/week of MKT-077, the toxicity profile was consistent with the preferential accumulation of the agent within tumor cell mitochondria, and biologically relevant plasma concentrations were achieved.

Topics: Adult; Aged; Antineoplastic Agents; Area Under Curve; Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; Drug Administration Schedule; Female; Humans; Infusions, Intravenous; Magnesium; Male; Metabolic Clearance Rate; Middle Aged; Mitochondria; Neoplasms; Proteinuria; Pyridines; Thiazoles; Tissue Distribution

MKT077 is a rhodacyanine dye analogue which preferentially accumulates in tumour cell mitochondria. It is cytotoxic to a range of tumours. In this phase I study, MKT077 was administered as a five-day infusion once every three weeks.. Ten patients, median age 59 (38-70) years, with advanced solid cancers were treated at three dose levels: 30, 40 and 50 mg/m2/day for a total of 18 cycles. 31Phosphorus magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) was used to evaluate the effect of MKT077 on skeletal muscle mitochondrial function.. The predominant toxicity was recurrent reversible functional renal impairment (grade 2, two patients). One patient with renal cancer attained stable disease and the remainder progressive disease. There were no MRS changes in the first or second treatment cycles but one patient received 11 treatment cycles and developed changes consistent with a mitochondrial myopathy. Mean values for all pharmacokinetic parameters were at sub micromolar levels and did not exceed IC50 values (> or = 1 microM).. Because of the renal toxicity, and animal studies showing MKT077 causes eventual irreversible renal toxicity, further recruitment was halted. The study shows, however, that it is feasible to target mitochondria with rhodacyanine analogues, if drugs with higher therapeutic indices could be developed.

Topics: Adult; Aged; Antineoplastic Agents; Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; Drug Monitoring; Drug Resistance, Neoplasm; Female; Follow-Up Studies; Humans; Infusions, Intravenous; Male; Middle Aged; Mitochondria; Neoplasm Staging; Neoplasms; Pyridines; Severity of Illness Index; Thiazoles; Treatment Outcome

Mortalin/mtHsp70 is a member of Hsp70 family of proteins. Enriched in a large variety of cancers, it has been shown to contribute to the process of carcinogenesis by multiple ways including inactivation of tumor suppressor p53 protein, deregulation of apoptosis and activation of EMT signaling. In this study, we report that upregulation of mortalin contributes to cancer cell stemness. Several cancer cell stemness markers, such as ABCG2, OCT-4, CD133, ALDH1, CD9, MRP1 and connexin were upregulated in mortalin-overexpressing cells that showed higher ability to form spheroids. These cells also showed higher migration, and were less responsive to a variety of cancer chemotherapeutic drugs. Of note, knockdown of mortalin by specific shRNA sensitized these cells to all the drugs used in this study. We report that low doses of anti-mortalin molecules, MKT-077 and CAPE, also caused similar sensitization of cancer cells to chemotherapeutic drugs and hence are potential candidates for effective cancer chemotherapy.

Topics: Antineoplastic Agents; Biomarkers, Tumor; Caffeic Acids; Cell Line; Cell Line, Tumor; HSP70 Heat-Shock Proteins; Humans; Neoplasms; Neoplastic Stem Cells; Phenylethyl Alcohol; Pyridines; RNA, Small Interfering; Thiazoles; Up-Regulation

In nature the soft shell clam Mya arenaria develops a fatal neoplasm that shares molecular similarity with an unrelated group of human cancers. In leukemic clam hemocytes, wild-type p53 and mortalin proteins co-localize in the cytoplasm. A similar phenotype, characterized by cytoplasmic sequestration of wild-type p53 protein, has been observed in several human cancers (undifferentiated neuroblastoma, retinoblastoma, colorectal and hepatocellular carcinomas, and glioblastoma). In some of these cancers p53 is tethered in the cytoplasm by mortalin when the latter protein is overexpressed. Using co-immunoprecipitation we have demonstrated that mortalin and p53 proteins are complexed in the cytoplasm of leukemic clam hemocytes (and not in normal hemocytes). In addition, treatment of leukemic clam hemocytes with MKT-077, a cationic inhibitor of mortalin, disrupts the interaction of mortalin and p53 proteins, resulting in translocation of some p53 to the nucleus. Based on these data, we introduce leukemic clam hemocytes as novel and easily accessible, in vivo and in vitro models for human cancers displaying a similar mortalin-based phenotype. Treatment of these models with novel chemotherapeutics may help reveal the molecular mechanism(s) involved in inactivating p53 by this form of cytoplasmic sequestration.

Topics: Animals; Cytosol; Disease Models, Animal; Hemocytes; HSP70 Heat-Shock Proteins; Immunohistochemistry; Immunoprecipitation; Leukemia; Molecular Sequence Data; Mya; Neoplasms; Pyridines; Subcellular Fractions; Thiazoles; Tumor Suppressor Protein p53

MKT-077, a cationic rhodacyanine dye analogue, causes selective toxicity to cancer cells. Its cellular targets elucidated thus far include oncogenic Ras, F-actin, mortalin (hmot-2)/mthsp70, and telomerase. Here we report that MKT-077 causes growth arrest of cancer cells in culture independent of their Ras, p53, or telomerase status. Telomerase activity is inhibited in vitro by MKT-077 in the telomerase assay used. However, the in vivo toxicity seen in telomerase-positive cancer cells was not accompanied by inhibition of telomerase activity or telomere shortening. Furthermore, cells with an alternative mechanism for lengthening of telomeres were also sensitive to MKT-077 and showed enhanced formation of alternative mechanism for lengthening of telomeres-associated PML bodies in their nuclei. The data suggested that inhibition of telomerase activity is unlikely to be a prime cause of MKT-077-induced toxicity in cancer cells.

Topics: Cell Division; Cell Line, Transformed; Coloring Agents; Enzyme Inhibitors; HSP70 Heat-Shock Proteins; Humans; Mitochondrial Proteins; Neoplasms; Pyridines; ras Proteins; Telomerase; Telomere; Thiazoles; Tumor Suppressor Protein p53

MKT-077 (formerly known as FJ-776) is a newly synthesized, highly water-soluble ( > 200 mg/ml) rhodacyanine dye that exhibits significant antitumor activity in a variety of model systems. In culture, MKT-077 inhibits the growth of five human cancer cell lines (colon carcinoma CX-1, breast carcinoma MCF-7, pancreatic carcinoma (CRL 1420, bladder transitional cell carcinoma EJ, and melanoma LOX) but not monkey kidney CV-1, an indicator cell line for normal epithelial cells. In nude mice, MKT-077 inhibits the growth of s.c. implanted human renal carcinoma A498 and human prostate carcinoma DU145 and prolongs the survival of mice bearing i.p. implanted human melanoma LOX (tumor:control = 344%). Subcellular localization indicates that MKT-077 is taken up and retained by mitochondria, and flow cytometric analysis suggests that CX-1 cells take up MKT-077 to a much greater extent than CV-1 cells. Quantitation of MKT-077 uptake by ethanol extraction shows that CX-1 cells accumulate 65-fold more MKT-077 than do CV-1 cells. MKT-077 is the first delocalized lipophilic cation with a favorable pharmacological and toxicological profile in preclinical studies. MKT-077 is now being investigated in Phase I clinical trials.

Topics: Animals; Antineoplastic Agents; Cell Division; Cell Line; Chlorocebus aethiops; Cisplatin; Doxorubicin; Drug Screening Assays, Antitumor; Ethanol; Female; Flow Cytometry; Humans; Kidney; Male; Mice; Mice, Nude; Microscopy, Confocal; Microscopy, Video; Mitochondria; Neoplasm Transplantation; Neoplasms; Pyridines; Solubility; Thiazoles; Tumor Cells, Cultured

We investigated the mitochondrial toxicity of the lipophilic cation, MKT-077, and the role of mitochondria in selective malignant cell killing by this compound by examining the effect of MKT-077 on mitochondrial structure and function in treated cells and in isolated organelles. Results of this study demonstrate changes in mitochondrial ultrastructure that are induced by MKT-077 treatment in carcinoma cells but not in similarly treated normal epithelial cells. In addition, MKT-077 was found to inhibit respiratory activity in isolated intact mitochondria and electron transport activity in freeze-thawed mitochondrial membrane fragments in a dose-dependent manner. The concentration of MKT-077 necessary to obtain half-maximal inhibition of ADP-stimulated respiration was approximately 4-fold greater in mitochondria isolated from cells of the normal epithelial cell line, CV-1 (15 micrograms MKT-077/mg protein), as compared to the human colon carcinoma cell line, CX-1 (4 micrograms MKT-077/mg protein). Further, the data show a selective loss of mitochondrial DNA in CX-1 and CRL1420 cells (carcinoma) but not CV-1 cells (normal epithelial) treated with 3 microgram/ml MKT-077 for up to 3 days. Under the same conditions, nuclear DNA was unaffected in all three cell lines. The sensitivity of the cell lines tested to mitochondrial damage by MKT-077 correlates well with their sensitivity to cytotoxicity by MKT-077. These results demonstrate selective mitochondrial damage by MKT-077 at the cellular, biochemical, and molecular levels and suggest that selective effects on mitochondrial structure and function may provide a basis for the selective malignant cell killing exhibited by this compound.

Topics: Animals; Antineoplastic Agents; Cells, Cultured; Chlorocebus aethiops; DNA, Mitochondrial; Electron Transport; Epithelium; Humans; Male; Microscopy, Electron; Mitochondria, Liver; Neoplasms; Oxygen Consumption; Pyridines; Rats; Rats, Sprague-Dawley; Thiazoles; Tumor Cells, Cultured