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Cimino PJ, Huang L, Du L, Wu Y, Bishop J, Dalsing-Hernandez J, Kotlarczyk K, Gonzales P, Carew J, Nawrocki S, Jordan MA, Wilson L, Lloyd GK, Wirsching HG. Plinabulin, an inhibitor of tubulin polymerization, targets KRAS signaling through disruption of endosomal recycling. Biomed Rep 2019; 10:218-224. [PMID: 30972217 PMCID: PMC6439430 DOI: 10.3892/br.2019.1196] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/27/2018] [Accepted: 02/02/2019] [Indexed: 01/05/2023] Open
Abstract
Constitutive activation of Kirsten rat sarcoma viral oncogene homolog (KRAS) is the most common oncogenic event in certain types of human cancer and is associated with poor patient survival. Small molecule signaling inhibitors have improved the clinical outcomes of patients with various cancer types but attempts to target KRAS have been unsuccessful. Plinabulin represents a novel class of agents that inhibit tubulin polymerization with a favorable safety profile in clinical trials. In the present study, the potency of plinabulin to inhibit tubulin polymerization and growth of KRAS-driven cancer cells was characterized. In vivo efficacy of plinabulin was tested in two different mouse models; one being the RCAS/t-va gene transfer system and the other being a xenograft model. In vitro cell culture tubulin polymerization assays were used to complement the mouse models. There was improved survival in a KRAS-driven mouse gene transfer glioma model, but lack of benefit in a similar model, without constitutively active KRAS, which supports the notion of a KRAS-specific effect. This survival benefit was mediated, at least in part, by the ability of plinabulin to inhibit tubulin polymerization and disrupt endosomal recycling. It was proposed a mechanism of compromised endosomal recycling of displaced KRAS through targeting microtubules that yields inhibition of protein kinase B, but not extracellular signal regulated kinase (ERK) signaling, therefore lending rationale to combination treatments of tubulin- and ERK-targeting agents in KRAS-driven cancer.
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Affiliation(s)
- Patrick J. Cimino
- Department of Pathology, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98104, USA
| | - Lan Huang
- BeyondSpring Pharmaceuticals Inc., New York City, NY 10005, USA
| | - Lihua Du
- BeyondSpring Pharmaceuticals Inc., New York City, NY 10005, USA
| | - Yanping Wu
- BeyondSpring Pharmaceuticals Inc., New York City, NY 10005, USA
| | - Jamie Bishop
- Biomolecular Science and Engineering, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA 93106, USA
| | | | - Kari Kotlarczyk
- Translational Drug Development Inc., Scottsdale, AZ 85259, USA
| | - Paul Gonzales
- Translational Drug Development Inc., Scottsdale, AZ 85259, USA
| | - Jennifer Carew
- Institute for Drug Development, University of Texas, San Antonio, TX 78249, USA
| | - Steffan Nawrocki
- Institute for Drug Development, University of Texas, San Antonio, TX 78249, USA
| | - Mary Ann Jordan
- Biomolecular Science and Engineering, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA 93106, USA
| | - Leslie Wilson
- Biomolecular Science and Engineering, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA 93106, USA
| | | | - Hans-Georg Wirsching
- Department of Neurology, University Hospital Zurich, CH-8091 Zurich, Switzerland
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