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Zalcman N, Larush L, Ovadia H, Charbit H, Magdassi S, Lavon I. Intracranial Assessment of Androgen Receptor Antagonists in Mice Bearing Human Glioblastoma Implants. Int J Mol Sci 2023; 25:332. [PMID: 38203506 PMCID: PMC10779261 DOI: 10.3390/ijms25010332] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/27/2023] [Revised: 12/20/2023] [Accepted: 12/25/2023] [Indexed: 01/12/2024] Open
Abstract
The median survival time of patients with an aggressive brain tumor, glioblastoma, is still poor due to ineffective treatment. The discovery of androgen receptor (AR) expression in 56% of cases offers a potential breakthrough. AR antagonists, including bicalutamide and enzalutamide, induce dose-dependent cell death in glioblastoma and glioblastoma-initiating cell lines (GIC). Oral enzalutamide at 20 mg/kg reduces subcutaneous human glioblastoma xenografts by 72% (p = 0.0027). We aimed to further investigate the efficacy of AR antagonists in intracranial models of human glioblastoma. In U87MG intracranial models, nude mice administered Xtandi (enzalutamide) at 20 mg/kg and 50 mg/kg demonstrated a significant improvement in survival compared to the control group (p = 0.24 and p < 0.001, respectively), confirming a dose-response relationship. Additionally, we developed a newly reformulated version of bicalutamide, named "soluble bicalutamide (Bic-sol)", with a remarkable 1000-fold increase in solubility. This reformulation significantly enhanced bicalutamide levels within brain tissue, reaching 176% of the control formulation's area under the curve. In the U87MG intracranial model, both 2 mg/kg and 4 mg/kg of Bic-sol exhibited significant efficacy compared to the vehicle-treated group (p = 0.0177 and p = 0.00364, respectively). Furthermore, combination therapy with 8 mg/kg Bic-sol and Temozolomide (TMZ) demonstrated superior efficacy compared to either Bic-sol or TMZ as monotherapies (p = 0.00706 and p = 0.0184, respectively). In the ZH-161 GIC mouse model, the group treated with 8 mg/kg Bic-sol as monotherapy had a significantly longer lifespan than the groups treated with TMZ or the vehicle (p < 0.001). Our study demonstrated the efficacy of androgen receptor antagonists in extending the lifespan of mice with intracranial human glioblastoma, suggesting a promising approach to enhance patient outcomes in the fight against this challenging disease.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nomi Zalcman
- Leslie and Michael Gaffin Center for Neuro-Oncology, Hadassah Medical Center, Faculty of Medicine, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem 91120, Israel; (N.Z.)
- Agnes Ginges Center for Human Neurogenetics, Department of Neurology, Hadassah Medical Center, Faculty of Medicine, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem 91120, Israel;
| | - Liraz Larush
- Casali Center, Institute of Chemistry, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem 91120, Israel; (L.L.); (S.M.)
| | - Haim Ovadia
- Agnes Ginges Center for Human Neurogenetics, Department of Neurology, Hadassah Medical Center, Faculty of Medicine, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem 91120, Israel;
| | - Hanna Charbit
- Leslie and Michael Gaffin Center for Neuro-Oncology, Hadassah Medical Center, Faculty of Medicine, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem 91120, Israel; (N.Z.)
- Agnes Ginges Center for Human Neurogenetics, Department of Neurology, Hadassah Medical Center, Faculty of Medicine, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem 91120, Israel;
| | - Shlomo Magdassi
- Casali Center, Institute of Chemistry, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem 91120, Israel; (L.L.); (S.M.)
| | - Iris Lavon
- Leslie and Michael Gaffin Center for Neuro-Oncology, Hadassah Medical Center, Faculty of Medicine, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem 91120, Israel; (N.Z.)
- Agnes Ginges Center for Human Neurogenetics, Department of Neurology, Hadassah Medical Center, Faculty of Medicine, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem 91120, Israel;
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