1
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Wu H, Liu Y, Zhou J, Meng X, Jiang H, Shi W, Qian H. Discovery of novel HER2 targeting peptide-camptothecin conjugates with effective suppression for selective cancer treatment. Bioorg Chem 2024; 147:107371. [PMID: 38643564 DOI: 10.1016/j.bioorg.2024.107371] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/07/2024] [Revised: 04/07/2024] [Accepted: 04/12/2024] [Indexed: 04/23/2024]
Abstract
Due to the strong selectivity and permeability of tumor tissue, anti-cancer peptide-drug conjugates (PDCs) can accumulate high concentration of toxic payloads at the target, effectively killing tumor cells. This approach holds great promise for tumor-targeted treatment. In our previous study, we identified the optimal peptide P1 (NPNWGRSWYNQRFK) targeting HER2 from pertuzumab, a monoclonal antibody that blocks the HER2 signaling pathway. Here, a series of PDCs were constructed through connecting P1 and CPT with different linkers. Among these, Z8 emerged as the optimal compound, demonstrating good antitumor activity and targeting ability in biological activity tests. Z8 exhibited IC50 values of 1.04 ± 0.24 μM and 1.91 ± 0.71 μM against HER2-positive SK-BR-3 and NCI-N87 cells, respectively. Moreover, superior antitumor activity and higher biosafety of Z8 were observed compared to the positive control CPT in vivo, suggesting a novel idea for the construction of PDCs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hanyu Wu
- Centre of Drug Discovery, State Key Laboratory of Natural Medicines, China Pharmaceutical University, Nanjing 210009, China
| | - Yunxiao Liu
- Centre of Drug Discovery, State Key Laboratory of Natural Medicines, China Pharmaceutical University, Nanjing 210009, China
| | - Jiaqi Zhou
- Centre of Drug Discovery, State Key Laboratory of Natural Medicines, China Pharmaceutical University, Nanjing 210009, China
| | - Xiqi Meng
- Centre of Drug Discovery, State Key Laboratory of Natural Medicines, China Pharmaceutical University, Nanjing 210009, China
| | - Hongyu Jiang
- Centre of Drug Discovery, State Key Laboratory of Natural Medicines, China Pharmaceutical University, Nanjing 210009, China
| | - Wei Shi
- Centre of Drug Discovery, State Key Laboratory of Natural Medicines, China Pharmaceutical University, Nanjing 210009, China.
| | - Hai Qian
- Centre of Drug Discovery, State Key Laboratory of Natural Medicines, China Pharmaceutical University, Nanjing 210009, China; Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Drug Discovery for Metabolic Disease, China Pharmaceutical University, Nanjing 210009, China.
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2
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Veiga RN, de Azevedo ALK, de Oliveira JC, Gradia DF. Targeting EphA2: a promising strategy to overcome chemoresistance and drug resistance in cancer. J Mol Med (Berl) 2024; 102:479-493. [PMID: 38393661 DOI: 10.1007/s00109-024-02431-x] [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: 03/29/2023] [Revised: 01/24/2024] [Accepted: 02/11/2024] [Indexed: 02/25/2024]
Abstract
Erythropoietin-producing hepatocellular A2 (EphA2) is a vital member of the Eph tyrosine kinase receptor family and has been associated with developmental processes. However, it is often overexpressed in tumors and correlates with cancer progression and worse prognosis due to the activation of its noncanonical signaling pathway. Throughout cancer treatment, the emergence of drug-resistant tumor cells is relatively common. Since the early 2000s, researchers have focused on understanding the role of EphA2 in promoting drug resistance in different types of cancer, as well as finding efficient and secure EphA2 inhibitors. In this review, the current knowledge regarding induced resistance by EphA2 in cancer treatment is summarized, and the types of cancer that lead to the most cancer-related deaths are highlighted. Some EphA2 inhibitors were also investigated. Regardless of whether the cancer treatment has reached a drug-resistance stage in EphA2-overexpressing tumors, once EphA2 is involved in cancer progression and aggressiveness, targeting EphA2 is a promising therapeutic strategy, especially in combination with other target-drugs for synergistic effect. For that reason, monoclonal antibodies against EphA2 and inhibitors of this receptor should be investigated for efficacy and drug toxicity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rafaela Nasser Veiga
- Laboratory of Human Cytogenetics and Oncogenetics, Postgraduate Program in Genetics. Department of Genetics, Universidade Federal Do Paraná, Rua Coronel Francisco Heráclito Dos Santos, 100, Jardim das AméricasCuritiba, CEP, 81531-980, Brazil
| | - Alexandre Luiz Korte de Azevedo
- Laboratory of Human Cytogenetics and Oncogenetics, Postgraduate Program in Genetics. Department of Genetics, Universidade Federal Do Paraná, Rua Coronel Francisco Heráclito Dos Santos, 100, Jardim das AméricasCuritiba, CEP, 81531-980, Brazil
| | - Jaqueline Carvalho de Oliveira
- Laboratory of Human Cytogenetics and Oncogenetics, Postgraduate Program in Genetics. Department of Genetics, Universidade Federal Do Paraná, Rua Coronel Francisco Heráclito Dos Santos, 100, Jardim das AméricasCuritiba, CEP, 81531-980, Brazil
| | - Daniela Fiori Gradia
- Laboratory of Human Cytogenetics and Oncogenetics, Postgraduate Program in Genetics. Department of Genetics, Universidade Federal Do Paraná, Rua Coronel Francisco Heráclito Dos Santos, 100, Jardim das AméricasCuritiba, CEP, 81531-980, Brazil.
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3
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Kashyap D, Salman H. Targeting Interleukin-13 Receptor α2 and EphA2 in Aggressive Breast Cancer Subtypes with Special References to Chimeric Antigen Receptor T-Cell Therapy. Int J Mol Sci 2024; 25:3780. [PMID: 38612592 PMCID: PMC11011362 DOI: 10.3390/ijms25073780] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/15/2024] [Revised: 03/24/2024] [Accepted: 03/25/2024] [Indexed: 04/14/2024] Open
Abstract
Breast cancer (BCA) remains the leading cause of cancer-related mortality among women worldwide. This review delves into the therapeutic challenges of BCA, emphasizing the roles of interleukin-13 receptor α2 (IL-13Rα2) and erythropoietin-producing hepatocellular receptor A2 (EphA2) in tumor progression and resistance. Highlighting their overexpression in BCA, particularly in aggressive subtypes, such as Her-2-enriched and triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC), we discuss the potential of these receptors as targets for chimeric antigen receptor T-cell (CAR-T) therapies. We examine the structural and functional roles of IL-13Rα2 and EphA2, their pathological significance in BCA, and the promising therapeutic avenues their targeting presents. With an in-depth analysis of current immunotherapeutic strategies, including the limitations of existing treatments and the potential of dual antigen-targeting CAR T-cell therapies, this review aims to summarize potential future novel, more effective therapeutic interventions for BCA. Through a thorough examination of preclinical and clinical studies, it underlines the urgent need for targeted therapies in combating the high mortality rates associated with Her-2-enriched and TNBC subtypes and discusses the potential role of IL-13Rα2 and EphA2 as promising candidates for the development of CAR T-cell therapies.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Huda Salman
- Brown Center for Immunotherapy, Melvin and Bren Simon Comprehensive Cancer Center, Division of Hematology and Oncology, School of Medicine, Indiana University, Indianapolis, IN 46202, USA;
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4
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Zhou L, Lu Y, Liu W, Wang S, Wang L, Zheng P, Zi G, Liu H, Liu W, Wei S. Drug conjugates for the treatment of lung cancer: from drug discovery to clinical practice. Exp Hematol Oncol 2024; 13:26. [PMID: 38429828 PMCID: PMC10908151 DOI: 10.1186/s40164-024-00493-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/06/2024] [Accepted: 02/21/2024] [Indexed: 03/03/2024] Open
Abstract
A drug conjugate consists of a cytotoxic drug bound via a linker to a targeted ligand, allowing the targeted delivery of the drug to one or more tumor sites. This approach simultaneously reduces drug toxicity and increases efficacy, with a powerful combination of efficient killing and precise targeting. Antibody‒drug conjugates (ADCs) are the best-known type of drug conjugate, combining the specificity of antibodies with the cytotoxicity of chemotherapeutic drugs to reduce adverse reactions by preferentially targeting the payload to the tumor. The structure of ADCs has also provided inspiration for the development of additional drug conjugates. In recent years, drug conjugates such as ADCs, peptide‒drug conjugates (PDCs) and radionuclide drug conjugates (RDCs) have been approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The scope and application of drug conjugates have been expanding, including combination therapy and precise drug delivery, and a variety of new conjugation technology concepts have emerged. Additionally, new conjugation technology-based drugs have been developed in industry. In addition to chemotherapy, targeted therapy and immunotherapy, drug conjugate therapy has undergone continuous development and made significant progress in treating lung cancer in recent years, offering a promising strategy for the treatment of this disease. In this review, we discuss recent advances in the use of drug conjugates for lung cancer treatment, including structure-based drug design, mechanisms of action, clinical trials, and side effects. Furthermore, challenges, potential approaches and future prospects are presented.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ling Zhou
- Department of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, National Health Commission (NHC) Key Laboratory of Respiratory Disease, Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China
| | - Yunlong Lu
- Jiangsu Collaborative Innovation Center of Chinese Medicinal Resources Industrialization, School of Medicine, Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, Nanjing, 210023, China
| | - Wei Liu
- Department of Geriatrics, Key Laboratory of Vascular Aging, Ministry of Education, Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, 430030, China
| | - Shanglong Wang
- Jiangsu Collaborative Innovation Center of Chinese Medicinal Resources Industrialization, School of Medicine, Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, Nanjing, 210023, China
| | - Lingling Wang
- Department of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, National Health Commission (NHC) Key Laboratory of Respiratory Disease, Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China
| | - Pengdou Zheng
- Department of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, National Health Commission (NHC) Key Laboratory of Respiratory Disease, Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China
| | - Guisha Zi
- Department of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, National Health Commission (NHC) Key Laboratory of Respiratory Disease, Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China
| | - Huiguo Liu
- Department of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, National Health Commission (NHC) Key Laboratory of Respiratory Disease, Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China
| | - Wukun Liu
- Jiangsu Collaborative Innovation Center of Chinese Medicinal Resources Industrialization, School of Medicine, Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, Nanjing, 210023, China.
- Department of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, Shanxi Bethune Hospital, Shanxi Academy of Medical Sciences, Tongji Shanxi Hospital, Third Hospital of Shanxi Medical University, Taiyuan, 030000, China.
| | - Shuang Wei
- Department of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, National Health Commission (NHC) Key Laboratory of Respiratory Disease, Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China.
- Department of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, Shanxi Bethune Hospital, Shanxi Academy of Medical Sciences, Tongji Shanxi Hospital, Third Hospital of Shanxi Medical University, Taiyuan, 030000, China.
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5
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Tröster A, Jores N, Mineev KS, Sreeramulu S, DiPrima M, Tosato G, Schwalbe H. Targeting EPHA2 with Kinase Inhibitors in Colorectal Cancer. ChemMedChem 2023; 18:e202300420. [PMID: 37736700 PMCID: PMC10843416 DOI: 10.1002/cmdc.202300420] [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: 08/07/2023] [Revised: 09/18/2023] [Accepted: 09/19/2023] [Indexed: 09/23/2023]
Abstract
The ephrin type-A 2 receptor tyrosine kinase (EPHA2) is involved in the development and progression of various cancer types, including colorectal cancer (CRC). There is also evidence that EPHA2 plays a key role in the development of resistance to the endothelial growth factor receptor (EGFR) monoclonal antibody Cetuximab used clinically in CRC. Despite the promising pharmacological potential of EPHA2, only a handful of specific inhibitors are currently available. In this concept paper, general strategies for EPHA2 inhibition with molecules of low molecular weight (small molecules) are described. Furthermore, available examples of inhibiting EPHA2 in CRC using small molecules are summarized, highlighting the potential of this approach.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alix Tröster
- Center for Biomolecular Magnetic Resonance, Institute for Organic Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Johann Wolfgang Goethe University, Max-von-Laue-Straße 7, 60438, Frankfurt am Main, Germany
| | - Nathalie Jores
- Center for Biomolecular Magnetic Resonance, Institute for Organic Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Johann Wolfgang Goethe University, Max-von-Laue-Straße 7, 60438, Frankfurt am Main, Germany
| | - Konstantin S Mineev
- Center for Biomolecular Magnetic Resonance, Institute for Organic Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Johann Wolfgang Goethe University, Max-von-Laue-Straße 7, 60438, Frankfurt am Main, Germany
| | - Sridhar Sreeramulu
- Center for Biomolecular Magnetic Resonance, Institute for Organic Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Johann Wolfgang Goethe University, Max-von-Laue-Straße 7, 60438, Frankfurt am Main, Germany
| | - Michael DiPrima
- Laboratory of Cellular Oncology, Center for Cancer Research (CCR), National Cancer Institute (NCI), 37 Convent Drive, NIH Bethesda Campus Building 37, Room 4124, Bethesda, MD, 20892, USA
| | - Giovanna Tosato
- Laboratory of Cellular Oncology, Center for Cancer Research (CCR), National Cancer Institute (NCI), 37 Convent Drive, NIH Bethesda Campus Building 37, Room 4124, Bethesda, MD, 20892, USA
| | - Harald Schwalbe
- Center for Biomolecular Magnetic Resonance, Institute for Organic Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Johann Wolfgang Goethe University, Max-von-Laue-Straße 7, 60438, Frankfurt am Main, Germany
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6
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Alamdari-Palangi V, Jaberi KR, Shahverdi M, Naeimzadeh Y, Tajbakhsh A, Khajeh S, Razban V, Fallahi J. Recent advances and applications of peptide-agent conjugates for targeting tumor cells. J Cancer Res Clin Oncol 2023; 149:15249-15273. [PMID: 37581648 DOI: 10.1007/s00432-023-05144-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/23/2023] [Accepted: 07/08/2023] [Indexed: 08/16/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Cancer, being a complex disease, presents a major challenge for the scientific and medical communities. Peptide therapeutics have played a significant role in different medical practices, including cancer treatment. METHOD This review provides an overview of the current situation and potential development prospects of anticancer peptides (ACPs), with a particular focus on peptide vaccines and peptide-drug conjugates for cancer treatment. RESULTS ACPs can be used directly as cytotoxic agents (molecularly targeted peptides) or can act as carriers (guiding missile) of chemotherapeutic agents and radionuclides by specifically targeting cancer cells. More than 60 natural and synthetic cationic peptides are approved in the USA and other major markets for the treatment of cancer and other diseases. Compared to traditional cancer treatments, peptides exhibit anticancer activity with high specificity and the ability to rapidly kill target cancer cells. ACP's target and kill cancer cells via different mechanisms, including membrane disruption, pore formation, induction of apoptosis, necrosis, autophagy, and regulation of the immune system. Modified peptides have been developed as carriers for drugs, vaccines, and peptide-drug conjugates, which have been evaluated in various phases of clinical trials for the treatment of different types of solid and leukemia cancer. CONCLUSIONS This review highlights the potential of ACPs as a promising therapeutic option for cancer treatment, particularly through the use of peptide vaccines and peptide-drug conjugates. Despite the limitations of peptides, such as poor metabolic stability and low bioavailability, modified peptides show promise in addressing these challenges. Various mechanism of action of anticancer peptides. Modes of action against cancer cells including: inducing apoptosis by cytochrome c release, direct cell membrane lysis (necrosis), inhibiting angiogenesis, inducing autophagy-mediated cell death and immune cell regulation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Vahab Alamdari-Palangi
- Department of Molecular Medicine, School of Advanced Medical Sciences and Technologies, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, 7133654361, Iran
| | - Khojaste Rahimi Jaberi
- Department of Neuroscience, School of Advanced Medical Sciences and Technologies, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran
| | - Mahshid Shahverdi
- Medical Biotechnology Research Center, Arak University of Medical Sciences, Arak, Iran
| | - Yasaman Naeimzadeh
- Department of Molecular Medicine, School of Advanced Medical Sciences and Technologies, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, 7133654361, Iran
| | - Amir Tajbakhsh
- Department of Molecular Medicine, School of Advanced Medical Sciences and Technologies, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, 7133654361, Iran
- Pharmaceutical Sciences Research Center, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran
| | - Sahar Khajeh
- Bone and Joint Diseases Research Center, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran
| | - Vahid Razban
- Department of Molecular Medicine, School of Advanced Medical Sciences and Technologies, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, 7133654361, Iran.
| | - Jafar Fallahi
- Department of Molecular Medicine, School of Advanced Medical Sciences and Technologies, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, 7133654361, Iran.
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Ziaei E, de Paiva IM, Yao SJ, Sarrami N, Mehinrad P, Lai J, Lavasanifar A, Kaur K. Peptide-Drug Conjugate Targeting Keratin 1 Inhibits Triple-Negative Breast Cancer in Mice. Mol Pharm 2023; 20:3570-3577. [PMID: 37307328 PMCID: PMC10699791 DOI: 10.1021/acs.molpharmaceut.3c00189] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
Selective delivery of chemotherapy to the tumor site while sparing healthy cells and tissues is an attractive approach for cancer treatment. Carriers such as peptides can facilitate selective tumor targeting and payload delivery. Peptides with specific affinity for the overexpressed cell-surface receptors in cancer cells are conjugated to chemotherapy to afford peptide-drug conjugates (PDCs) that show selective uptake by cancer cells. Using a 10-mer linear peptide (WxEAAYQrFL) called 18-4 that targets and binds breast cancer cells, we designed a peptide 18-4-doxorubicin (Dox) conjugate with high specific toxicity toward triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) MDA-MB-231 cells and 30-fold lower toxicity to normal breast MCF10A epithelial cells. Here, we elucidate the in vivo activity of this potent and tumor-selective peptide 18-4-Dox conjugate in mice bearing orthotopic MDA-MB-231 tumors. Mice treated with four weekly injections of the conjugate showed significantly lower tumor volumes compared to mice treated with free Dox at an equivalent Dox dose. Immunohistochemical (IHC) analysis of mice tissues revealed that treatment with a low dose of PDC (2.5 mg/kg of Dox equiv) reduced the expression of proliferation markers (PCNA and Ki-67) and increased apoptosis (evidenced by increased caspase-3 expression). At the same dose of free Dox (2.5 mg/kg), the expression of these markers was similar to that of saline treatment. Accordingly, significantly more Dox accumulated in tumors of conjugate-treated mice (7-fold) compared to the Dox-treated mice, while lower levels of Dox were observed in the liver, heart, and lungs of peptide-Dox conjugate-treated mice (up to 3-fold less) than Dox-treated mice. The IHC analysis of keratin 1 (K1), the receptor for peptide 18-4, revealed K1 upregulation in tumors and low levels in normal mammary fat pad and liver tissues from mice, suggesting preferential uptake of PDCs by TNBC to be K1 receptor-mediated. Taken together, our data support the use of a PDC approach to deliver chemotherapy selectively to the TNBC to inhibit tumor growth.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elmira Ziaei
- Chapman University School of Pharmacy (CUSP), Harry and Diane Rinker Health Science Campus, Chapman University, Irvine, CA, 92618-1908, USA
| | - Igor Moura de Paiva
- Faculty of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, T6G 2E1, Canada
| | - Shih-Jing Yao
- Chapman University School of Pharmacy (CUSP), Harry and Diane Rinker Health Science Campus, Chapman University, Irvine, CA, 92618-1908, USA
| | - Nasim Sarrami
- Faculty of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, T6G 2E1, Canada
| | - Parnian Mehinrad
- Faculty of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, T6G 2E1, Canada
| | - Justine Lai
- Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, T6G 2E1, Canada
| | - Afsaneh Lavasanifar
- Faculty of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, T6G 2E1, Canada
| | - Kamaljit Kaur
- Chapman University School of Pharmacy (CUSP), Harry and Diane Rinker Health Science Campus, Chapman University, Irvine, CA, 92618-1908, USA
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Nordin ML, Azemi AK, Nordin AH, Nabgan W, Ng PY, Yusoff K, Abu N, Lim KP, Zakaria ZA, Ismail N, Azmi F. Peptide-Based Vaccine against Breast Cancer: Recent Advances and Prospects. Pharmaceuticals (Basel) 2023; 16:923. [PMID: 37513835 PMCID: PMC10386531 DOI: 10.3390/ph16070923] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/16/2023] [Revised: 06/07/2023] [Accepted: 06/15/2023] [Indexed: 07/30/2023] Open
Abstract
Breast cancer is considered the second-leading cancer after lung cancer and is the most prevalent cancer among women globally. Currently, cancer immunotherapy via vaccine has gained great attention due to specific and targeted immune cell activity that creates a potent immune response, thus providing long-lasting protection against the disease. Despite peptides being very susceptible to enzymatic degradation and poor immunogenicity, they can be easily customized with selected epitopes to induce a specific immune response and particulate with carriers to improve their delivery and thus overcome their weaknesses. With advances in nanotechnology, the peptide-based vaccine could incorporate other components, thereby modulating the immune system response against breast cancer. Considering that peptide-based vaccines seem to show remarkably promising outcomes against cancer, this review focuses on and provides a specific view of peptide-based vaccines used against breast cancer. Here, we discuss the benefits associated with a peptide-based vaccine, which can be a mainstay in the prevention and recurrence of breast cancer. Additionally, we also report the results of recent trials as well as plausible prospects for nanotechnology against breast cancer.
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Affiliation(s)
- Muhammad Luqman Nordin
- Centre for Drug Delivery Technology, Faculty of Pharmacy, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) Kuala Lumpur Campus, Jalan Raja Muda Abdul Aziz, Kuala Lumpur 50300, Malaysia
- Department of Veterinary Clinical Studies, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Universiti Malaysia Kelantan (UMK), Pengkalan Chepa, Kota Bharu 16100, Kelantan, Malaysia
| | - Ahmad Khusairi Azemi
- Institute of Marine Biotechnology, Universiti Malaysia Terengganu, Kuala Terengganu 21030, Malaysia
| | - Abu Hassan Nordin
- Faculty of Applied Sciences, Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM), Arau 02600, Malaysia
| | - Walid Nabgan
- Departament d'Enginyeria Química, Universitat Rovira I Virgili, Av. Països Catalans 26, 43007 Tarragona, Spain
| | - Pei Yuen Ng
- Drug and Herbal Research Centre, Faculty of Pharmacy, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM), Jalan Raja Muda Abdul Aziz, Kuala Lumpur 50300, Malaysia
| | - Khatijah Yusoff
- National Institutes of Biotechnology, Malaysia Genome and Vaccine Institute, Jalan Bangi, Kajang 43000, Malaysia
| | - Nadiah Abu
- UKM Medical Molecular Biology Institute (UMBI), UKM Medical Centre, Jalan Ya'acob Latiff, Bandar Tun Razak, Cheras, Kuala Lumpur 56000, Malaysia
| | - Kue Peng Lim
- Cancer Immunology & Immunotherapy Unit, Cancer Research Malaysia, No. 1 Jalan SS12/1A, Subang Jaya 47500, Malaysia
| | - Zainul Amiruddin Zakaria
- Borneo Research on Algesia, Inflammation and Neurodegeneration (BRAIN) Group, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Universiti Malaysia Sabah, Jalan UMS, Kota Kinabalu 88400, Malaysia
| | - Noraznawati Ismail
- Institute of Marine Biotechnology, Universiti Malaysia Terengganu, Kuala Terengganu 21030, Malaysia
| | - Fazren Azmi
- Centre for Drug Delivery Technology, Faculty of Pharmacy, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) Kuala Lumpur Campus, Jalan Raja Muda Abdul Aziz, Kuala Lumpur 50300, Malaysia
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9
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Modi A, Pandey P, Uniyal A, Chouhan D, Agrawal S, Allani M, Singh AK, Kumar S, Tiwari V. Disentangling the enigmatic role of ephrin signaling in chronic pain: Moving towards future anti-pain therapeutics. Life Sci 2023:121796. [PMID: 37230378 DOI: 10.1016/j.lfs.2023.121796] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/08/2023] [Revised: 05/08/2023] [Accepted: 05/18/2023] [Indexed: 05/27/2023]
Abstract
Chronic pain is a common and debilitating condition with a huge social and economic burden worldwide. Currently, available drugs in clinics are not adequately effective and possess a variety of severe side effects leading to treatment withdrawal and poor quality of life. The ongoing search for new therapeutics with minimal side effects for chronic pain management remains a high research priority. Erythropoietin-producing human hepatocellular carcinoma cell receptor (Eph) is a tyrosine kinase receptor that is involved in neurodegenerative disorders, including pain. The Eph receptor interacts with several molecular switches, such as N methyl d-aspartate receptor (NMDAR), mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK), calpain 1, caspase 3, protein kinase a (PKA), and protein kinase Cy (PKCy), which in turn regulates pathophysiology of chronic pain. Here we highlight the emerging evidence of the Ephs/ephrin system as a possible near-future therapeutic target for the treatment of chronic pain and discuss the various mechanism of its involvement. We critically analyse the present status of Eph receptor system and conclude that extrapolating the pharmacological and genetic approaches using a strong therapeutic development framework could serve as next-generation analgesics for the management of chronic pain.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ajay Modi
- Neuroscience and Pain Research Laboratory, Department of Pharmaceutical Engineering and Technology, Indian Institute of Technology (BHU), Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India
| | - Priyanka Pandey
- Neuroscience and Pain Research Laboratory, Department of Pharmaceutical Engineering and Technology, Indian Institute of Technology (BHU), Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India
| | - Ankit Uniyal
- Neuroscience and Pain Research Laboratory, Department of Pharmaceutical Engineering and Technology, Indian Institute of Technology (BHU), Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India
| | - Deepak Chouhan
- Neuroscience and Pain Research Laboratory, Department of Pharmaceutical Engineering and Technology, Indian Institute of Technology (BHU), Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India
| | - Somesh Agrawal
- Neuroscience and Pain Research Laboratory, Department of Pharmaceutical Engineering and Technology, Indian Institute of Technology (BHU), Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India
| | - Meghana Allani
- Neuroscience and Pain Research Laboratory, Department of Pharmaceutical Engineering and Technology, Indian Institute of Technology (BHU), Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India
| | - Anurag Kumar Singh
- Neuroscience and Pain Research Laboratory, Department of Pharmaceutical Engineering and Technology, Indian Institute of Technology (BHU), Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India
| | - Sonu Kumar
- Neuroscience and Pain Research Laboratory, Department of Pharmaceutical Engineering and Technology, Indian Institute of Technology (BHU), Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India
| | - Vinod Tiwari
- Neuroscience and Pain Research Laboratory, Department of Pharmaceutical Engineering and Technology, Indian Institute of Technology (BHU), Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India.
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10
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Zhang Q, Liu N, Wang J, Liu Y, Wang K, Zhang J, Pan X. The Recent Advance of Cell-Penetrating and Tumor-Targeting Peptides as Drug Delivery Systems Based on Tumor Microenvironment. Mol Pharm 2023; 20:789-809. [PMID: 36598861 DOI: 10.1021/acs.molpharmaceut.2c00629] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/05/2023]
Abstract
Cancer has become the primary reason for industrial countries death. Although first-line treatments have achieved remarkable results in inhibiting tumors, they could have serious side effects because of insufficient selectivity. Therefore, specific localization of tumor cells is currently the main desire for cancer treatment. In recent years, cell-penetrating peptides (CPPs), as a kind of promising delivery vehicle, have attracted much attention because they mediate the high-efficiency import of large quantities of cargos in vivo and vitro. Unfortunately, the poor targeting of CPPs is still a barrier to their clinical application. In order to solve this problem, researchers use the various characteristics of tumor microenvironment and multiple receptors to improve the specificity toward tumors. This review focuses on the characteristics of the tumor microenvironment, and introduces the development of strategies and peptides based on these characteristics as drug delivery system in the tumor-targeted therapy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Qingqing Zhang
- School of Pharmacy, Health Science Center, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an 710061, China
| | - Nanxin Liu
- School of Pharmacy, Health Science Center, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an 710061, China
| | - Jin Wang
- School of Pharmacy, Health Science Center, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an 710061, China
| | - Yuying Liu
- School of Pharmacy, Health Science Center, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an 710061, China
| | - Kai Wang
- School of Pharmacy, Health Science Center, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an 710061, China
| | - Jie Zhang
- School of Pharmacy, Health Science Center, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an 710061, China
| | - Xiaoyan Pan
- School of Pharmacy, Health Science Center, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an 710061, China
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11
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Baggio C, Udompholkul P, Gambini L, Pellecchia M. Targefrin: A Potent Agent Targeting the Ligand Binding Domain of EphA2. J Med Chem 2022; 65:15443-15456. [PMID: 36331527 PMCID: PMC9706575 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jmedchem.2c01391] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/24/2022] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
Abstract
Overexpression of the receptor tyrosine kinase EphA2 is invariably associated with poor prognosis and development of aggressive metastatic cancers. Guided by our recently solved X-ray structure of the complex between an agonistic peptide and EphA2-LBD, we report on a novel agent, targefrin, that binds to EphA2-LBD with a 21 nM dissociation constant by isothermal titration calorimetry and presents an IC50 value of 10.8 nM in a biochemical assay. In cell-based assays, a dimeric version of the agent is as effective as the natural dimeric ligands (ephrinA1-Fc) in inducing cellular receptor internalization and degradation in several pancreatic cancer cell lines. When conjugated with chemotherapy, the agents can effectively deliver paclitaxel to pancreatic cancers in a mouse xenograft study. Given the pivotal role of EphA2 in tumor progression, we are confident that the agents reported could be further developed into innovative EphA2-targeting therapeutics.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Luca Gambini
- Division of Biomedical Sciences,
School of Medicine, University of California
Riverside, 900 University
Avenue, Riverside, California 92521, United States
| | - Maurizio Pellecchia
- Division of Biomedical Sciences,
School of Medicine, University of California
Riverside, 900 University
Avenue, Riverside, California 92521, United States
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12
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Chavda VP, Solanki HK, Davidson M, Apostolopoulos V, Bojarska J. Peptide-Drug Conjugates: A New Hope for Cancer Management. Molecules 2022; 27:7232. [PMID: 36364057 PMCID: PMC9658517 DOI: 10.3390/molecules27217232] [Citation(s) in RCA: 35] [Impact Index Per Article: 17.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/31/2022] [Revised: 09/29/2022] [Accepted: 10/18/2022] [Indexed: 08/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Cancer remains the leading cause of death worldwide despite advances in treatment options for patients. As such, safe and effective therapeutics are required. Short peptides provide advantages to be used in cancer management due to their unique properties, amazing versatility, and progress in biotechnology to overcome peptide limitations. Several appealing peptide-based therapeutic strategies have been developed. Here, we provide an overview of peptide conjugates, the better equivalents of antibody-drug conjugates, as the next generation of drugs for required precise targeting, enhanced cellular permeability, improved drug selectivity, and reduced toxicity for the efficient treatment of cancers. We discuss the basic components of drug conjugates and their release action, including the release of cytotoxins from the linker. We also present peptide-drug conjugates under different stages of clinical development as well as regulatory and other challenges.
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Affiliation(s)
- Vivek P. Chavda
- Department of Pharmaceutics and Pharmaceutical Technology, L M College of Pharmacy, Ahmedabad 380008, Gujarat, India
| | - Hetvi K. Solanki
- Department of Pharmaceutics and Pharmaceutical Technology, L M College of Pharmacy, Ahmedabad 380008, Gujarat, India
| | - Majid Davidson
- Institute for Health and Sport, Victoria University, Melbourne, VIC 3030, Australia
| | - Vasso Apostolopoulos
- Institute for Health and Sport, Victoria University, Melbourne, VIC 3030, Australia
- Immunology Program, Australian Institute for Musculoskeletal Science, Melbourne, VIC 3021, Australia
| | - Joanna Bojarska
- Institute of General and Ecological Chemistry, Faculty of Chemistry, Lodz University of Technology, 116 Zeromskiego Street, 90-924 Lodz, Poland
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13
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Zapata-Mercado E, Biener G, McKenzie DM, Wimley WC, Pasquale EB, Raicu V, Hristova K. The efficacy of receptor tyrosine kinase EphA2 autophosphorylation increases with EphA2 oligomer size. J Biol Chem 2022; 298:102370. [PMID: 35970390 PMCID: PMC9512837 DOI: 10.1016/j.jbc.2022.102370] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/04/2022] [Revised: 08/09/2022] [Accepted: 08/10/2022] [Indexed: 11/30/2022] Open
Abstract
The receptor tyrosine kinase (RTK) EphA2 is expressed in epithelial and endothelial cells and controls the assembly of cell-cell junctions. EphA2 has also been implicated in many diseases, including cancer. Unlike most RTKs, which signal predominantly as dimers, EphA2 readily forms high-order oligomers upon ligand binding. Here, we investigated if a correlation exists between EphA2 signaling properties and the size of the EphA2 oligomers induced by multiple ligands, including the widely used ephrinA1-Fc ligand, the soluble monomeric m-ephrinA1, and novel engineered peptide ligands. We used fluorescence intensity fluctuation (FIF) spectrometry to characterize the EphA2 oligomer populations induced by the different ligands. Interestingly, we found that different monomeric and dimeric ligands induce EphA2 oligomers with widely different size distributions. Our comparison of FIF brightness distribution parameters and EphA2 signaling parameters reveals that the efficacy of EphA2 phosphorylation on tyrosine 588, an autophosphorylation response contributing to EphA2 activation, correlates with EphA2 mean oligomer size. However, we found that other characteristics, such as the efficacy of AKT inhibition and ligand bias coefficients, appear to be independent of EphA2 oligomer size. Taken together, this work highlights the utility of FIF in RTK signaling research and demonstrates a quantitative correlation between the architecture of EphA2 signaling complexes and signaling features.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elmer Zapata-Mercado
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland, USA
| | - Gabriel Biener
- Department of Physics, University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA
| | - Daniel M McKenzie
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland, USA
| | - William C Wimley
- Tulane University School of Medicine, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, New Orleans, Louisiana, USA
| | - Elena B Pasquale
- Cancer Center, Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute, La Jolla, California, USA.
| | - Valerica Raicu
- Department of Physics, University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA; Department of Biological Sciences, University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA.
| | - Kalina Hristova
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland, USA.
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14
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Hao D, Meng Q, Jiang B, Lu S, Xiang X, Pei Q, Yu H, Jing X, Xie Z. Hypoxia-Activated PEGylated Paclitaxel Prodrug Nanoparticles for Potentiated Chemotherapy. ACS NANO 2022; 16:14693-14702. [PMID: 36112532 DOI: 10.1021/acsnano.2c05341] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
Developing controlled drug-release systems is imperative and valuable for increasing the therapeutic index. Herein, we synthesized hypoxia-responsive PEGylated (PEG = poly(ethylene glycol)) paclitaxel prodrugs by utilizing azobenzene (Azo) as a cleavable linker. The as-fabricated prodrugs could self-assemble into stable nanoparticles (PAP NPs) with high drug content ranging from 26 to 44 wt %. The Azo group in PAP NPs could be cleaved at the tumorous hypoxia microenvironment and promoted the release of paclitaxel for exerting cytotoxicity toward cancer cells. In addition, comparative researches revealed that the PAP NPs with the shorter methoxy-PEG chain (molecular weight = 750) possessed enhanced tumor suppression efficacy and alleviated off-target toxicity. Our work demonstrates a promising tactic to develop smart and simple nanomaterials for disease treatment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dengyuan Hao
- State Key Laboratory of Polymer Physics and Chemistry, Changchun Institute of Applied Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Changchun 130022, Jilin, P. R. China
- School of Applied Chemistry and Engineering, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei 230026, Anhui, P. R. China
| | - Qian Meng
- State Key Laboratory of Polymer Physics and Chemistry, Changchun Institute of Applied Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Changchun 130022, Jilin, P. R. China
| | - Bowen Jiang
- State Key Laboratory of Polymer Physics and Chemistry, Changchun Institute of Applied Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Changchun 130022, Jilin, P. R. China
- School of Applied Chemistry and Engineering, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei 230026, Anhui, P. R. China
| | - Shaojin Lu
- State Key Laboratory of Polymer Physics and Chemistry, Changchun Institute of Applied Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Changchun 130022, Jilin, P. R. China
- School of Applied Chemistry and Engineering, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei 230026, Anhui, P. R. China
| | - Xiujuan Xiang
- State Key Laboratory of Polymer Physics and Chemistry, Changchun Institute of Applied Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Changchun 130022, Jilin, P. R. China
- School of Applied Chemistry and Engineering, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei 230026, Anhui, P. R. China
| | - Qing Pei
- State Key Laboratory of Polymer Physics and Chemistry, Changchun Institute of Applied Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Changchun 130022, Jilin, P. R. China
| | - Haijun Yu
- State Key Laboratory of Drug Research, Shanghai Institute of Materia Medica, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 201203, P. R. China
| | - Xiabin Jing
- State Key Laboratory of Polymer Physics and Chemistry, Changchun Institute of Applied Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Changchun 130022, Jilin, P. R. China
| | - Zhigang Xie
- State Key Laboratory of Polymer Physics and Chemistry, Changchun Institute of Applied Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Changchun 130022, Jilin, P. R. China
- School of Applied Chemistry and Engineering, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei 230026, Anhui, P. R. China
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15
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Hunting for Novel Routes in Anticancer Drug Discovery: Peptides against Sam-Sam Interactions. Int J Mol Sci 2022; 23:ijms231810397. [PMID: 36142306 PMCID: PMC9499636 DOI: 10.3390/ijms231810397] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/08/2022] [Revised: 09/02/2022] [Accepted: 09/02/2022] [Indexed: 01/10/2023] Open
Abstract
Among the diverse protein binding modules, Sam (Sterile alpha motif) domains attract attention due to their versatility. They are present in different organisms and play many functions in physiological and pathological processes by binding multiple partners. The EphA2 receptor contains a Sam domain at the C-terminus (EphA2-Sam) that is able to engage protein regulators of receptor stability (including the lipid phosphatase Ship2 and the adaptor Odin). Ship2 and Odin are recruited by EphA2-Sam through heterotypic Sam-Sam interactions. Ship2 decreases EphA2 endocytosis and consequent degradation, producing chiefly pro-oncogenic outcomes in a cellular milieu. Odin, through its Sam domains, contributes to receptor stability by possibly interfering with ubiquitination. As EphA2 is upregulated in many types of tumors, peptide inhibitors of Sam-Sam interactions by hindering receptor stability could function as anticancer therapeutics. This review describes EphA2-Sam and its interactome from a structural and functional perspective. The diverse design strategies that have thus far been employed to obtain peptides targeting EphA2-mediated Sam-Sam interactions are summarized as well. The generated peptides represent good initial lead compounds, but surely many efforts need to be devoted in the close future to improve interaction affinities towards Sam domains and consequently validate their anticancer properties.
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16
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Peptide-Based Bioconjugates and Therapeutics for Targeted Anticancer Therapy. Pharmaceutics 2022; 14:pharmaceutics14071378. [PMID: 35890274 PMCID: PMC9320687 DOI: 10.3390/pharmaceutics14071378] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/29/2022] [Revised: 06/15/2022] [Accepted: 06/26/2022] [Indexed: 11/25/2022] Open
Abstract
With rapidly growing knowledge in bioinformatics related to peptides and proteins, amino acid-based drug-design strategies have recently gained importance in pharmaceutics. In the past, peptide-based biomedicines were not widely used due to the associated severe physiological problems, such as low selectivity and rapid degradation in biological systems. However, various interesting peptide-based therapeutics combined with drug-delivery systems have recently emerged. Many of these candidates have been developed for anticancer therapy that requires precisely targeted effects and low toxicity. These research trends have become more diverse and complex owing to nanomedicine and antibody–drug conjugates (ADC), showing excellent therapeutic efficacy. Various newly developed peptide–drug conjugates (PDC), peptide-based nanoparticles, and prodrugs could represent a promising therapeutic strategy for patients. In this review, we provide valuable insights into rational drug design and development for future pharmaceutics.
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17
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Gomez-Soler M, Gehring MP, Lechtenberg BC, Zapata-Mercado E, Ruelos A, Matsumoto MW, Hristova K, Pasquale EB. Ligands with different dimeric configurations potently activate the EphA2 receptor and reveal its potential for biased signaling. iScience 2022; 25:103870. [PMID: 35243233 PMCID: PMC8858996 DOI: 10.1016/j.isci.2022.103870] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/08/2021] [Revised: 12/13/2021] [Accepted: 02/01/2022] [Indexed: 12/03/2022] Open
Abstract
The EphA2 receptor tyrosine kinase activates signaling pathways with different, and sometimes opposite, effects in cancer and other pathologies. Thus, highly specific and potent biased ligands that differentially control EphA2 signaling responses could be therapeutically valuable. Here, we use EphA2-specific monomeric peptides to engineer dimeric ligands with three different geometric configurations to combine a potential ability to differentially modulate EphA2 signaling responses with the high potency and prolonged receptor residence time characteristic of dimeric ligands. The different dimeric peptides readily induce EphA2 clustering, autophosphorylation and signaling, the best with sub-nanomolar potency. Yet, there are differences in two EphA2 signaling responses induced by peptides with different configurations, which exhibit distinct potency and efficacy. The peptides bias signaling when compared with the ephrinA1-Fc ligand and do so via different mechanisms. These findings provide insights into Eph receptor signaling, and proof-of-principle that different Eph signaling responses can be distinctly modulated.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maricel Gomez-Soler
- Cancer Center, Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute, La Jolla, CA 92037, USA
| | - Marina P. Gehring
- Cancer Center, Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute, La Jolla, CA 92037, USA
| | - Bernhard C. Lechtenberg
- Ubiquitin Signalling Division, The Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research, Parkville Victoria 3052, Australia and Department of Medical Biology, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria 3010, Australia
| | - Elmer Zapata-Mercado
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD 21218, USA
| | - Alyssa Ruelos
- Cancer Center, Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute, La Jolla, CA 92037, USA
| | - Mike W. Matsumoto
- Cancer Center, Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute, La Jolla, CA 92037, USA
| | - Kalina Hristova
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD 21218, USA
| | - Elena B. Pasquale
- Cancer Center, Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute, La Jolla, CA 92037, USA
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18
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Wang L, Chen H, Wang F, Zhang X. The development of peptide-drug conjugates (PDCs) strategies for paclitaxel. Expert Opin Drug Deliv 2022; 19:147-161. [PMID: 35130795 DOI: 10.1080/17425247.2022.2039621] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/04/2022]
Abstract
INTRODUCTION Paclitaxel is a powerful and effective anti-tumor drug with wide clinical application. However, there are still some limitations, including poor water solubility, low specificity, and susceptibility to drug resistance. The peptide-drug conjugates (PDCs) represent a rising class of therapeutic drugs, which combines small-molecule chemotherapeutic drugs with highly flexible peptides through a cleavable or non-cleavable linker. When this strategy is applied, the therapeutic effects of paclitaxel can be improved. AREAS COVERED In this review, we discuss the application of the PDCs strategy in paclitaxel, including two parts: the tumor targeting peptide-paclitaxel conjugates and the cell penetrating peptide-paclitaxel conjugates. EXPERT OPINION Combining drugs with multifunctional peptides covalently is an effective strategy for delivering paclitaxel to tumors. Depending on different functional peptides, conjugates can increase the water solubility of paclitaxel, tumor permeability of paclitaxel, the accumulation of paclitaxel in tumor tissues, and enhance the antitumor effect of paclitaxel. In addition, due to the change of cell entry mechanism, partial conjugates can restore the therapeutic activity of paclitaxel against resistant tumors. Notably, in order to better translate into the clinical field in the future, more research should be conducted to ensure the safety and effectiveness of peptide-paclitaxel conjugates.
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Affiliation(s)
- Longkun Wang
- Key Laboratory of Chemical Biology (Ministry of Education), NMPA Key Laboratory for Quality Research and Evaluation of Carbohydrate-based Medicine, Institute of Biochemical and Biotechnological Drug, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Cheeloo College of Medicine, Shandong University, Jinan 250012, People's Republic of China
| | - Hongyuan Chen
- Department of General Surgery, Shandong Provincial Hospital Affiliated to Shandong First Medical University, Shandong University, Jinan 250012, People's Republic of China
| | - Fengshan Wang
- Key Laboratory of Chemical Biology (Ministry of Education), NMPA Key Laboratory for Quality Research and Evaluation of Carbohydrate-based Medicine, Institute of Biochemical and Biotechnological Drug, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Cheeloo College of Medicine, Shandong University, Jinan 250012, People's Republic of China
| | - Xinke Zhang
- Key Laboratory of Chemical Biology (Ministry of Education), Department of Pharmacology, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Cheeloo College of Medicine, Shandong University, Jinan 250012, People's Republic of China
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19
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Kui L, Kong Q, Yang X, Pan Y, Xu Z, Wang S, Chen J, Wei K, Zhou X, Yang X, Wu T, Mastan A, Liu Y, Miao J. High-Throughput In Vitro Gene Expression Profile to Screen of Natural Herbals for Breast Cancer Treatment. Front Oncol 2021; 11:684351. [PMID: 34490085 PMCID: PMC8418118 DOI: 10.3389/fonc.2021.684351] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/23/2021] [Accepted: 07/23/2021] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Breast cancer has surpassed lung cancer as the most commonly diagnosed cancer in women worldwide. Some therapeutic drugs and approaches could cause side effects and weaken the immune system. The combination of conventional therapies and traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) significantly improves treatment efficacy in breast cancer. However, the chemical composition and underlying anti-tumor mechanisms of TCM still need to be investigated. The primary aim of this study is to provide unique insights to screen the natural components for breast cancer therapy using high-throughput transcriptome analysis. Differentially expressed genes were identified based on two conditions: single samples and groups were classified according to their pharmaceutical effect. Subsequently, the sample treated with E. cochinchinensis Lour. generated the most significant DEGs set, including 1,459 DEGs, 805 upregulated and 654 downregulated. Similarly, group 3 treatment contained the most DEGs (414 DEGs, 311 upregulated and 103 downregulated). KEGG pathway analyses showed five significant pathways associated with the inflammatory and metastasis processes in cancer, which include the TNF, IL−17, NF-kappa B, MAPK signaling pathways, and transcriptional misregulation in cancer. Samples were classified into 13 groups based on their pharmaceutical effects. The results of the KEGG pathway analyses remained consistent with signal samples; group 3 presents a high significance. A total of 21 genes were significantly regulated in these five pathways, interestingly, IL6, TNFAIP3, and BRIC3 were enriched on at least two pathways, seven genes (FOSL1, S100A9, CXCL12, ID2, PRS6KA3, AREG, and DUSP6) have been reported as the target biomarkers and even the diagnostic tools in cancer therapy. In addition, weighted correlation network analysis (WGCNA) was used to identify 18 modules. Among them, blue and thistle2 were the most relevant modules. A total of 26 hub genes in blue and thistle2 modules were identified as the hub genes. In conclusion, we screened out three new TCM (R. communis L., E. cochinchinensis Lour., and B. fruticosa) that have the potential to develop natural drugs for breast cancer therapy, and obtained the therapeutic targets.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ling Kui
- Shenzhen Qianhai Shekou Free Trade Zone Hospital, Shenzhen, China.,Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, United States.,School of Pharmacy, Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang, China
| | - Qinghua Kong
- State Key Laboratory of Phytochemistry and Plant Resources in West China, Kunming Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming, China
| | - Xiaonan Yang
- Guangxi Key Laboratory of Medicinal Resources Protection and Genetic Improvement, Guangxi Medicinal Botanical Garden, Nanning, China.,Guangxi Engineering Research Center of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) Resource Intelligent Creation, Guangxi Botanical Garden of Medicinal Plants, Nanning, China
| | - Yunbing Pan
- Nowbio Biotechnology Company, Kunming, China
| | - Zetan Xu
- Nowbio Biotechnology Company, Kunming, China
| | | | - Jian Chen
- International Genome Center, Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang, China
| | - Kunhua Wei
- Guangxi Key Laboratory of Medicinal Resources Protection and Genetic Improvement, Guangxi Medicinal Botanical Garden, Nanning, China.,Guangxi Engineering Research Center of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) Resource Intelligent Creation, Guangxi Botanical Garden of Medicinal Plants, Nanning, China
| | - Xiaolei Zhou
- Guangxi Key Laboratory of Medicinal Resources Protection and Genetic Improvement, Guangxi Medicinal Botanical Garden, Nanning, China.,Guangxi Engineering Research Center of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) Resource Intelligent Creation, Guangxi Botanical Garden of Medicinal Plants, Nanning, China
| | - Xingzhi Yang
- State Key Laboratory of Phytochemistry and Plant Resources in West China, Kunming Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming, China
| | - Tingqin Wu
- Department of Cell Biology, Zhongshan School of Medicine, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Anthati Mastan
- Research Center, Microbial Technology Laboratory, Council of Scientific & Industrial Research (CSIR)-Central Institute of Medicinal and Aromatic Plants, Bangalore, India
| | - Yao Liu
- Baoji High-tech Hospital , Baoji, China
| | - Jianhua Miao
- Guangxi Key Laboratory of Medicinal Resources Protection and Genetic Improvement, Guangxi Medicinal Botanical Garden, Nanning, China.,School of Pharmacy, Guangxi Medical University, Nanning, China
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20
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Zhou J, Li Y, Huang W, Shi W, Qian H. Source and exploration of the peptides used to construct peptide-drug conjugates. Eur J Med Chem 2021; 224:113712. [PMID: 34303870 DOI: 10.1016/j.ejmech.2021.113712] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/24/2021] [Revised: 07/12/2021] [Accepted: 07/17/2021] [Indexed: 12/16/2022]
Abstract
Peptide-drug conjugates (PDCs) are a class of novel molecules widely designed and synthesized for delivering payload drugs. The peptide part plays a vital role in the whole molecule, because they determine the ability of the molecules to penetrate the membrane and target to the specific targets. Here, we introduce the source of different kinds of cell-penetrating peptides (CPPs) and cell-targeting peptides (CTPs) that have been used or could be used in constructing PDCs as well as their latest application in delivering drugs. What's more, the approaches of developing CPPs and CTPs and the techniques to discover novel peptides are focused on and summarized in the review. This review aims to help relevant researchers fast understand the research status of peptides in PDCs and carry forward the process of novel peptides discovery.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jiaqi Zhou
- Centre of Drug Discovery, State Key Laboratory of Natural Medicines, China Pharmaceutical University, Nanjing, 210009, PR China
| | - Yuanyuan Li
- Centre of Drug Discovery, State Key Laboratory of Natural Medicines, China Pharmaceutical University, Nanjing, 210009, PR China
| | - Wenlong Huang
- Centre of Drug Discovery, State Key Laboratory of Natural Medicines, China Pharmaceutical University, Nanjing, 210009, PR China; Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Drug Discovery for Metabolic Disease, China Pharmaceutical University, 24 Tongjiaxiang, Nanjing, 210009, PR China
| | - Wei Shi
- Centre of Drug Discovery, State Key Laboratory of Natural Medicines, China Pharmaceutical University, Nanjing, 210009, PR China.
| | - Hai Qian
- Centre of Drug Discovery, State Key Laboratory of Natural Medicines, China Pharmaceutical University, Nanjing, 210009, PR China; Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Drug Discovery for Metabolic Disease, China Pharmaceutical University, 24 Tongjiaxiang, Nanjing, 210009, PR China.
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21
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Ma Y, Chen L, Li X, Hu A, Wang H, Zhou H, Tian B, Dong J. Rationally integrating peptide-induced targeting and multimodal therapies in a dual-shell theranostic platform for orthotopic metastatic spinal tumors. Biomaterials 2021; 275:120917. [PMID: 34182327 DOI: 10.1016/j.biomaterials.2021.120917] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/18/2020] [Revised: 05/15/2021] [Accepted: 05/20/2021] [Indexed: 12/17/2022]
Abstract
Metastatic tumors present great challenges in diagnosis and treatment. Herein, a proof-of-concept theranostic nanoplatform composed of an Au nanoparticle core and a double-shell of metal-organic framework (MOF) and mesoporous silica (MS) is developed for combating spinal metastasis of lung cancer in an orthotopic model. Two drugs, Alpelisib (BYL719) as an inhibitor and cisplatin as a chemotherapeutic drug, are separately loaded into the double-shell with high loading content. A targeting peptide called dYNH and indocyanine green (ICG) are conjugated onto the outmost MS layer for specifically targeting metastatic tumor cells and enhancing photothermal effect. The resultant Au@MOF@MS-ICG -dYNH-PAA (AMMD) shows enhanced cellular uptake on tumor cells and accumulation at metastatic spinal tumors, as evidenced by fluorescent and photoacoustic imaging. Benefiting from this ultra-high affinity to tumor cells and the photothermal effect of ICG, the dual-drug-loaded AMMD (BCAMMD) modified with ICG exhibits superior therapeutic efficacy on spinal tumors. More importantly, bone destruction, which frequently occurs in bone-related tumors, is effectively suppressed by BYL719 in BCAMMD. Hence, by rationally integrating multiple functions, including excellent targeting ability, dual-drug loading, photothermal therapy, and photoacoustic imaging, the developed all-in-one theranostic nanoplatform provides a useful paradigm of employing nanomedicine to treat metastatic spinal tumors efficiently.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yiqun Ma
- Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Zhongshan Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai, 200032, PR China; Cancer Center, Zhongshan Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai, 200032, PR China
| | - Liang Chen
- Materdicine Lab, School of Life Sciences, Shanghai University, Shanghai, 200444, PR China.
| | - Xilei Li
- Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Zhongshan Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai, 200032, PR China; Cancer Center, Zhongshan Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai, 200032, PR China
| | - Annan Hu
- Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Zhongshan Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai, 200032, PR China; Cancer Center, Zhongshan Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai, 200032, PR China
| | - Huiren Wang
- Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Zhongshan Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai, 200032, PR China; Cancer Center, Zhongshan Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai, 200032, PR China
| | - Hao Zhou
- Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Shanghai Xuhui Central Hospital, Zhongshan-Xuhui Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai, 200031, PR China
| | - Bo Tian
- Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Zhongshan Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai, 200032, PR China; Cancer Center, Zhongshan Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai, 200032, PR China.
| | - Jian Dong
- Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Zhongshan Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai, 200032, PR China; Cancer Center, Zhongshan Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai, 200032, PR China; Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Shanghai Baoshan District Wusong Central Hospital, Zhongshan Hospital Wusong Branch, Fudan University, Shanghai, 200940, PR China.
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22
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Udompholkul P, Baggio C, Gambini L, Sun Y, Zhao M, Hoffman RM, Pellecchia M. Effective Tumor Targeting by EphA2-Agonist-Biotin-Streptavidin Conjugates. Molecules 2021; 26:3687. [PMID: 34204178 PMCID: PMC8235110 DOI: 10.3390/molecules26123687] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/16/2021] [Revised: 06/04/2021] [Accepted: 06/07/2021] [Indexed: 11/22/2022] Open
Abstract
We recently reported on a potent synthetic agent, 135H11, that selectively targets the receptor tyrosine kinase, EphA2. While 135H11 possesses a relatively high binding affinity for the ligand-binding domain of EphA2 (Kd~130 nM), receptor activation in the cell required the synthesis of dimeric versions of such agent (namely 135H12). This was expected given that the natural ephrin ligands also need to be dimerized or clustered to elicit agonistic activity in cell. In the present report we investigated whether the agonistic activity of 135H11 could be enhanced by biotin conjugation followed by complex formation with streptavidin. Therefore, we measured the agonistic EphA2 activity of 135H11-biotin (147B5) at various agent/streptavidin ratios, side by side with 135H12, and a scrambled version of 147B5 in pancreatic- and breast-cancer cell lines. The (147B5)n-streptavidin complexes (when n = 2, 3, 4, but not when n = 1) induced a strong receptor degradation effect in both cell lines compared to 135H12 or the (scrambled-147B5)4-streptavidin complex as a control, indicating that multimerization of the targeting agent resulted in an increased ability to cause receptor clustering and internalization. Subsequently, we prepared an Alexa-Fluor-streptavidin conjugate to demonstrate that (147B5)4-AF-streptavidin, but not the scrambled equivalent complex, concentrates in pancreatic and breast cancers in orthotopic nude-mouse models. Hence, we conclude that these novel targeting agents, with proper derivatization with imaging reagents or chemotherapy, can be used as diagnostics, and/or to deliver chemotherapy selectively to EphA2-expressing tumors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Parima Udompholkul
- Division of Biomedical Sciences, School of Medicine, University of California Riverside, 900 University Avenue, Riverside, CA 92521, USA; (P.U.); (C.B.); (L.G.)
| | - Carlo Baggio
- Division of Biomedical Sciences, School of Medicine, University of California Riverside, 900 University Avenue, Riverside, CA 92521, USA; (P.U.); (C.B.); (L.G.)
| | - Luca Gambini
- Division of Biomedical Sciences, School of Medicine, University of California Riverside, 900 University Avenue, Riverside, CA 92521, USA; (P.U.); (C.B.); (L.G.)
| | - Yu Sun
- AntiCancer Inc., 7917 Ostrow St., San Diego, CA 92111, USA; (Y.S.); (M.Z.); (R.M.H.)
- Department of Surgery, University of California, 9300 Campus Point Dr #7220, La Jolla, San Diego, CA 92037, USA
| | - Ming Zhao
- AntiCancer Inc., 7917 Ostrow St., San Diego, CA 92111, USA; (Y.S.); (M.Z.); (R.M.H.)
| | - Robert M. Hoffman
- AntiCancer Inc., 7917 Ostrow St., San Diego, CA 92111, USA; (Y.S.); (M.Z.); (R.M.H.)
- Department of Surgery, University of California, 9300 Campus Point Dr #7220, La Jolla, San Diego, CA 92037, USA
| | - Maurizio Pellecchia
- Division of Biomedical Sciences, School of Medicine, University of California Riverside, 900 University Avenue, Riverside, CA 92521, USA; (P.U.); (C.B.); (L.G.)
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23
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Saghaeidehkordi A, Chen S, Yang S, Kaur K. Evaluation of a Keratin 1 Targeting Peptide-Doxorubicin Conjugate in a Mouse Model of Triple-Negative Breast Cancer. Pharmaceutics 2021; 13:661. [PMID: 34063098 PMCID: PMC8148172 DOI: 10.3390/pharmaceutics13050661] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/28/2021] [Revised: 04/21/2021] [Accepted: 04/30/2021] [Indexed: 12/11/2022] Open
Abstract
Chemotherapy is the main treatment for triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC), a subtype of breast cancer that is aggressive with a poor prognosis. While chemotherapeutics are potent, these agents lack specificity and are equally toxic to cancer and nonmalignant cells and tissues. Targeted therapies for TNBC treatment could lead to more safe and efficacious drugs. We previously engineered a breast cancer cell targeting peptide 18-4 that specifically binds cell surface receptor keratin 1 (K1) on breast cancer cells. A conjugate of peptide 18-4 and doxorubicin (Dox) containing an acid-sensitive hydrazone linker showed specific toxicity toward TNBC cells. Here, we report the in vivo evaluation of the K1 targeting peptide-Dox conjugate (PDC) in a TNBC cell-derived xenograft mouse model. Mice treated with the conjugate show significantly improved antitumor efficacy and reduced off-target toxicity compared to mice treated with Dox or saline. After six weekly treatments, on day 35, the mice treated with PDC (2.5 mg Dox equivalent/kg) showed significant reduction (1.5 times) in tumor volume compared to mice treated with Dox (2.5 mg/kg). The mice treated with the conjugate showed significantly higher (1.4 times) levels of Dox in tumors and lower (1.3-2.2 times) levels of Dox in other organs compared to mice treated with Dox. Blood collected at 15 min showed 3.6 times higher concentration of the drug (PDC and Dox) in mice injected with PDC compared to the drug (Dox) in mice injected with Dox. The study shows that the K1 targeting PDC is a promising novel modality for treatment of TNBC, with a favorable safety profile, and warrants further investigation of K1 targeting conjugates as TNBC therapeutics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Azam Saghaeidehkordi
- Chapman University School of Pharmacy (CUSP), Harry and Diane Rinker Health Science Campus, Chapman University, Irvine, CA 92618-1908, USA; (A.S.); (S.Y.)
| | - Shiuan Chen
- Department of Cancer Biology, Beckman Research Institute of the City of Hope, Duarte, CA 91010, USA;
| | - Sun Yang
- Chapman University School of Pharmacy (CUSP), Harry and Diane Rinker Health Science Campus, Chapman University, Irvine, CA 92618-1908, USA; (A.S.); (S.Y.)
| | - Kamaljit Kaur
- Chapman University School of Pharmacy (CUSP), Harry and Diane Rinker Health Science Campus, Chapman University, Irvine, CA 92618-1908, USA; (A.S.); (S.Y.)
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24
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Zheng R, Yang J, Mamuti M, Hou D, An H, Zhao Y, Wang H. Controllable Self‐Assembly of Peptide‐Cyanine Conjugates In Vivo as Fine‐Tunable Theranostics. Angew Chem Int Ed Engl 2021. [DOI: 10.1002/ange.202015126] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/19/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Rui Zheng
- CAS Center for Excellence in Nanoscience CAS Key Laboratory for Biomedical Effects of Nanomaterials and Nanosafety National Center for Nanoscience and Technology (NCNST) No. 11 Beiyitiao, Zhongguancun, Haidian District Beijing 100190 China
- School of Nanoscience and Technology University of Chinese Academy of Sciences (UCAS) Beijing 100049 China
| | - Jia Yang
- CAS Center for Excellence in Nanoscience CAS Key Laboratory for Biomedical Effects of Nanomaterials and Nanosafety National Center for Nanoscience and Technology (NCNST) No. 11 Beiyitiao, Zhongguancun, Haidian District Beijing 100190 China
- School of Future Technology University of Chinese Academy of Sciences (UCAS) Beijing 100049 China
| | - Muhetaerjiang Mamuti
- CAS Center for Excellence in Nanoscience CAS Key Laboratory for Biomedical Effects of Nanomaterials and Nanosafety National Center for Nanoscience and Technology (NCNST) No. 11 Beiyitiao, Zhongguancun, Haidian District Beijing 100190 China
- Center of Materials Science and Optoelectronics Engineering University of Chinese Academy of Sciences Beijing 100049 P. R. China
| | - Da‐Yong Hou
- CAS Center for Excellence in Nanoscience CAS Key Laboratory for Biomedical Effects of Nanomaterials and Nanosafety National Center for Nanoscience and Technology (NCNST) No. 11 Beiyitiao, Zhongguancun, Haidian District Beijing 100190 China
| | - Hong‐Wei An
- CAS Center for Excellence in Nanoscience CAS Key Laboratory for Biomedical Effects of Nanomaterials and Nanosafety National Center for Nanoscience and Technology (NCNST) No. 11 Beiyitiao, Zhongguancun, Haidian District Beijing 100190 China
- Center of Materials Science and Optoelectronics Engineering University of Chinese Academy of Sciences Beijing 100049 P. R. China
- GBA Research Innovation Institute for Nanotechnology Guangdong 510700 P. R. China
| | - Yuliang Zhao
- CAS Center for Excellence in Nanoscience CAS Key Laboratory for Biomedical Effects of Nanomaterials and Nanosafety National Center for Nanoscience and Technology (NCNST) No. 11 Beiyitiao, Zhongguancun, Haidian District Beijing 100190 China
- Center of Materials Science and Optoelectronics Engineering University of Chinese Academy of Sciences Beijing 100049 P. R. China
- GBA Research Innovation Institute for Nanotechnology Guangdong 510700 P. R. China
| | - Hao Wang
- CAS Center for Excellence in Nanoscience CAS Key Laboratory for Biomedical Effects of Nanomaterials and Nanosafety National Center for Nanoscience and Technology (NCNST) No. 11 Beiyitiao, Zhongguancun, Haidian District Beijing 100190 China
- Center of Materials Science and Optoelectronics Engineering University of Chinese Academy of Sciences Beijing 100049 P. R. China
- GBA Research Innovation Institute for Nanotechnology Guangdong 510700 P. R. China
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25
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Zhao P, Jiang D, Huang Y, Chen C. EphA2: A promising therapeutic target in breast cancer. J Genet Genomics 2021; 48:261-267. [PMID: 33962882 DOI: 10.1016/j.jgg.2021.02.011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/26/2021] [Revised: 02/24/2021] [Accepted: 02/28/2021] [Indexed: 10/21/2022]
Abstract
Ephrin type-A receptor 2 (EphA2), a receptor tyrosine kinase, is overexpressed in human breast cancers often linked to poor patient prognosis. Accumulating evidence demonstrates that EphA2 plays important roles in several critical processes associated with malignant breast progression, such as proliferation, survival, migration, invasion, drug resistance, metastasis, and angiogenesis. As its inhibition through multiple approaches can inhibit the growth of breast cancer and restore drug sensitivity, EphA2 has become a promising therapeutic target for breast cancer treatment. Here, we summarize the expression, functions, mechanisms of action, and regulation of EphA2 in breast cancer. We also list the potential therapeutic strategies targeting EphA2. Furthermore, we discuss the future directions of studying EphA2 in breast cancer.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ping Zhao
- Department of the First Breast Surgery, The Third Affiliated Hospital of Kunming Medical University, Kunming, Yunnan 650118, China
| | - Dewei Jiang
- Key Laboratory of Animal Models and Human Disease Mechanisms of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and Yunnan Province, Kunming Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming 650223, China
| | - Yunchao Huang
- Department of Thoracic Surgery, The Third Affiliated Hospital of Kunming Medical University, Kunming, Yunnan 650118, China.
| | - Ceshi Chen
- Key Laboratory of Animal Models and Human Disease Mechanisms of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and Yunnan Province, Kunming Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming 650223, China; KIZ-CUHK Joint Laboratory of Bioresources and Molecular Research in Common Diseases, Kunming Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming 650223, China; Affiliated Cancer Hospital & Institute of Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou 510095, China.
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26
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Zheng R, Yang J, Mamuti M, Hou D, An H, Zhao Y, Wang H. Controllable Self‐Assembly of Peptide‐Cyanine Conjugates In Vivo as Fine‐Tunable Theranostics. Angew Chem Int Ed Engl 2021; 60:7809-7819. [DOI: 10.1002/anie.202015126] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/12/2020] [Revised: 01/03/2021] [Indexed: 12/27/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Rui Zheng
- CAS Center for Excellence in Nanoscience CAS Key Laboratory for Biomedical Effects of Nanomaterials and Nanosafety National Center for Nanoscience and Technology (NCNST) No. 11 Beiyitiao, Zhongguancun, Haidian District Beijing 100190 China
- School of Nanoscience and Technology University of Chinese Academy of Sciences (UCAS) Beijing 100049 China
| | - Jia Yang
- CAS Center for Excellence in Nanoscience CAS Key Laboratory for Biomedical Effects of Nanomaterials and Nanosafety National Center for Nanoscience and Technology (NCNST) No. 11 Beiyitiao, Zhongguancun, Haidian District Beijing 100190 China
- School of Future Technology University of Chinese Academy of Sciences (UCAS) Beijing 100049 China
| | - Muhetaerjiang Mamuti
- CAS Center for Excellence in Nanoscience CAS Key Laboratory for Biomedical Effects of Nanomaterials and Nanosafety National Center for Nanoscience and Technology (NCNST) No. 11 Beiyitiao, Zhongguancun, Haidian District Beijing 100190 China
- Center of Materials Science and Optoelectronics Engineering University of Chinese Academy of Sciences Beijing 100049 P. R. China
| | - Da‐Yong Hou
- CAS Center for Excellence in Nanoscience CAS Key Laboratory for Biomedical Effects of Nanomaterials and Nanosafety National Center for Nanoscience and Technology (NCNST) No. 11 Beiyitiao, Zhongguancun, Haidian District Beijing 100190 China
| | - Hong‐Wei An
- CAS Center for Excellence in Nanoscience CAS Key Laboratory for Biomedical Effects of Nanomaterials and Nanosafety National Center for Nanoscience and Technology (NCNST) No. 11 Beiyitiao, Zhongguancun, Haidian District Beijing 100190 China
- Center of Materials Science and Optoelectronics Engineering University of Chinese Academy of Sciences Beijing 100049 P. R. China
- GBA Research Innovation Institute for Nanotechnology Guangdong 510700 P. R. China
| | - Yuliang Zhao
- CAS Center for Excellence in Nanoscience CAS Key Laboratory for Biomedical Effects of Nanomaterials and Nanosafety National Center for Nanoscience and Technology (NCNST) No. 11 Beiyitiao, Zhongguancun, Haidian District Beijing 100190 China
- Center of Materials Science and Optoelectronics Engineering University of Chinese Academy of Sciences Beijing 100049 P. R. China
- GBA Research Innovation Institute for Nanotechnology Guangdong 510700 P. R. China
| | - Hao Wang
- CAS Center for Excellence in Nanoscience CAS Key Laboratory for Biomedical Effects of Nanomaterials and Nanosafety National Center for Nanoscience and Technology (NCNST) No. 11 Beiyitiao, Zhongguancun, Haidian District Beijing 100190 China
- Center of Materials Science and Optoelectronics Engineering University of Chinese Academy of Sciences Beijing 100049 P. R. China
- GBA Research Innovation Institute for Nanotechnology Guangdong 510700 P. R. China
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27
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Qu F, Song Y, Wu Y, Huang Y, Zhong Q, Zhang Y, Fan Z, Xu C. The protective role of Ephrin-B2/EphB4 signaling in osteogenic differentiation under inflammatory environment. Exp Cell Res 2021; 400:112505. [PMID: 33516666 DOI: 10.1016/j.yexcr.2021.112505] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/02/2020] [Revised: 01/21/2021] [Accepted: 01/24/2021] [Indexed: 12/01/2022]
Abstract
Inflammation and alveolar bone destruction constitute the main pathological process of periodontitis. However, the molecular mechanisms of bone destruction under the inflammation environment remain unclear. This study aims to explore the role of Ephrin-B2/EphB4 signaling in osteogenic differentiation under the inflammation environment. Mouse pre-osteoblasts MC3T3-E1 were pretreated with lipopolysaccharide of Porphyromonas gingivalis (Pg-LPS). The Ephrin-B2/EphB4 signaling was activated, and the osteogenic differentiation of cells was examined. The results showed that activation of Ephrin-B2/EphB4 signaling promoted the expression levels of osteogenic differentiation-related genes, and also relieved the inhibitory effect of Pg-LPS on osteogenesis. Noticeably, the effect of Ephrin-B2/EphB4 signaling might be related to the mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) pathway. While applying Ephrin-B2-Fc and EphB4-Fc to periodontitis mice, we observed the reduction of alveolar crest destruction. The current study revealed the possible role of Ephrin-B2/EphB4 signaling in reducing bone destruction in periodontitis and suggested its potential values for further research.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fang Qu
- Department of Prosthodontics, Shanghai Ninth People's Hospital, College of Stomatology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, No.639 Zhizaoju Road, Shanghai, 200011, China; National Clinical Research Center for Oral Diseases, No.639 Zhizaoju Road, Shanghai, 200011, China; Shanghai Key Laboratory of Stomatology & Shanghai Research Institute of Stomatology, No.639 Zhizaoju Road, Shanghai, 200011, China
| | - Yingshuang Song
- Department of Prosthodontics, Shanghai Ninth People's Hospital, College of Stomatology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, No.639 Zhizaoju Road, Shanghai, 200011, China; National Clinical Research Center for Oral Diseases, No.639 Zhizaoju Road, Shanghai, 200011, China; Shanghai Key Laboratory of Stomatology & Shanghai Research Institute of Stomatology, No.639 Zhizaoju Road, Shanghai, 200011, China
| | - Yaqin Wu
- Department of Prosthodontics, Shanghai Ninth People's Hospital, College of Stomatology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, No.639 Zhizaoju Road, Shanghai, 200011, China; National Clinical Research Center for Oral Diseases, No.639 Zhizaoju Road, Shanghai, 200011, China; Shanghai Key Laboratory of Stomatology & Shanghai Research Institute of Stomatology, No.639 Zhizaoju Road, Shanghai, 200011, China
| | - Yujie Huang
- Department of Prosthodontics, Shanghai Ninth People's Hospital, College of Stomatology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, No.639 Zhizaoju Road, Shanghai, 200011, China; National Clinical Research Center for Oral Diseases, No.639 Zhizaoju Road, Shanghai, 200011, China; Shanghai Key Laboratory of Stomatology & Shanghai Research Institute of Stomatology, No.639 Zhizaoju Road, Shanghai, 200011, China
| | - Qi Zhong
- Department of Prosthodontics, Shanghai Ninth People's Hospital, College of Stomatology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, No.639 Zhizaoju Road, Shanghai, 200011, China; National Clinical Research Center for Oral Diseases, No.639 Zhizaoju Road, Shanghai, 200011, China; Shanghai Key Laboratory of Stomatology & Shanghai Research Institute of Stomatology, No.639 Zhizaoju Road, Shanghai, 200011, China
| | - Yifan Zhang
- Department of Prosthodontics, Shanghai Ninth People's Hospital, College of Stomatology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, No.639 Zhizaoju Road, Shanghai, 200011, China; National Clinical Research Center for Oral Diseases, No.639 Zhizaoju Road, Shanghai, 200011, China; Shanghai Key Laboratory of Stomatology & Shanghai Research Institute of Stomatology, No.639 Zhizaoju Road, Shanghai, 200011, China
| | - Zhen Fan
- Department of Oral Implantology, School & Hospital of Stomatology, Tongji University, Shanghai Engineering Research Center of Tooth Restoration and Regeneration, No. 399 Yanchang Middle Road, Shanghai, 200072, China.
| | - Chun Xu
- Department of Prosthodontics, Shanghai Ninth People's Hospital, College of Stomatology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, No.639 Zhizaoju Road, Shanghai, 200011, China; National Clinical Research Center for Oral Diseases, No.639 Zhizaoju Road, Shanghai, 200011, China; Shanghai Key Laboratory of Stomatology & Shanghai Research Institute of Stomatology, No.639 Zhizaoju Road, Shanghai, 200011, China.
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28
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Zhou M, Han S, Aras O, An F. Recent Advances in Paclitaxel-based Self-Delivery Nanomedicine for Cancer Therapy. Curr Med Chem 2021; 28:6358-6374. [PMID: 33176629 PMCID: PMC9878464 DOI: 10.2174/0929867327666201111143725] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/30/2020] [Revised: 08/30/2020] [Accepted: 09/07/2020] [Indexed: 01/28/2023]
Abstract
Paclitaxel (PTX) is the first natural plant-derived chemotherapeutic drug approved by the Food and Drug Administration. However, the clinical applications of PTX are limited by some drawbacks, such as poor water solubility, rapid blood clearance, nonspecific distribution, and adverse side effects. Nanocarriers have made important contributions to drug delivery and cancer therapy in recent years. However, low drug loading capacity, nanocarrier excipients-induced toxicity or immunogenicity, and complicated synthesis technologies pose a challenge for the clinical application of nanocarriers. To address these issues, the self-delivery nanomedicine (SDNs), in which pure drug molecules directly self-assemble into nanomedicine, have been developed for drug delivery and enhancing antitumor efficacy. In this review, we comprehensively summarize the recent advances in PTX-based SDNs for cancer therapy. First, the self-assembly strategies to develop pure PTX nanodrugs are discussed. Then, the emerging strategies of co-assembly PTX and other therapeutic agents for effective combination therapy are presented, composing of combination chemotherapy, chemo-photothermal therapy, chemo-photodynamic therapy, chemo-immunotherapy, and chemo-gene therapy. Finally, the limitations and future outlook of SDNs are discussed. The rational design of these unique nanoplatforms may make a new direction to develop highly efficient drug delivery systems for cancer therapy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mengjiao Zhou
- Department of Pharmacology, School of Pharmacy, Nantong University, Nantong, 226000, Jiangsu, PR China
| | - Shupeng Han
- Institute of Medical Engineering, Department of Biophysics, School of Basic Medical Science, Health Science Center, Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an, 710061, Shaanxi, PR China
| | - Omer Aras
- Department of Radiology, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer, New York, NY, USA, 10065,Address correspondence to this author at the Department of Biophysics, School of Basic Medical Science, Health Science Center, Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an, 710061, Shaanxi, China; ; Or at Department of Radiology, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, New York 10065, United States;
| | - Feifei An
- Institute of Medical Engineering, Department of Biophysics, School of Basic Medical Science, Health Science Center, Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an, 710061, Shaanxi, PR China,Address correspondence to this author at the Department of Biophysics, School of Basic Medical Science, Health Science Center, Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an, 710061, Shaanxi, China; ; Or at Department of Radiology, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, New York 10065, United States;
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29
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Alas M, Saghaeidehkordi A, Kaur K. Peptide-Drug Conjugates with Different Linkers for Cancer Therapy. J Med Chem 2020; 64:216-232. [PMID: 33382619 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jmedchem.0c01530] [Citation(s) in RCA: 107] [Impact Index Per Article: 26.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Abstract
Drug conjugates are chemotherapeutic or cytotoxic agents covalently linked to targeting ligands such as an antibody or a peptide via a linker. While antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) are now clinically established for cancer therapy, peptide-drug conjugates (PDCs) are gaining recognition as a new modality for targeted drug delivery with improved efficacy and reduced side effects for cancer treatment. The linker in a drug conjugate plays a key role in the circulation time of the conjugate and release of the drug for full activity at the target site. Herein, we highlight the main linker chemistries utilized in the design of PDCs and discuss representative examples of PDCs with different linker chemistries with the related outcome in cell and animal studies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mona Alas
- Chapman University School of Pharmacy (CUSP), Harry and Diane Rinker Health Science Campus, Chapman University, Irvine, California 92618-1908, United States
| | - Azam Saghaeidehkordi
- Chapman University School of Pharmacy (CUSP), Harry and Diane Rinker Health Science Campus, Chapman University, Irvine, California 92618-1908, United States
| | - Kamaljit Kaur
- Chapman University School of Pharmacy (CUSP), Harry and Diane Rinker Health Science Campus, Chapman University, Irvine, California 92618-1908, United States
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30
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Integration of Molecular Docking and In Vitro Studies: A Powerful Approach for Drug Discovery in Breast Cancer. APPLIED SCIENCES-BASEL 2020. [DOI: 10.3390/app10196981] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
Molecular docking in the pharmaceutical industry is a powerful in silico approach for discovering novel therapies for unmet medical needs predicting drug–target interactions. It not only provides binding affinity between drugs and targets at the atomic level, but also elucidates the fundamental pharmacological properties of specific drugs. The purpose of this review was to illustrate newer and emergent uses of docking when combined with in vitro techniques for drug discovery in metastatic breast cancer. We grouped the selected articles into five main categories; namely, systematic repositioning of drugs, natural drugs, new synthesized molecules, combinations of drugs, and drug latentiation. We focused on new promising drugs that have a good affinity with their targets, thus inducing a favorable biological response. This review suggests that the integration of molecular docking and in vitro studies can accelerate cancer drug discovery showing a good consistency of the results between the two approaches.
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31
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Salem AF, Gambini L, Billet S, Sun Y, Oshiro H, Zhao M, Hoffman RM, Bhowmick NA, Pellecchia M. Prostate Cancer Metastases Are Strongly Inhibited by Agonistic Epha2 Ligands in an Orthotopic Mouse Model. Cancers (Basel) 2020; 12:cancers12102854. [PMID: 33023262 PMCID: PMC7600344 DOI: 10.3390/cancers12102854] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/29/2020] [Revised: 09/27/2020] [Accepted: 09/28/2020] [Indexed: 11/29/2022] Open
Abstract
Simple Summary We demonstrate that pro-oncogenic EphA2 (ephrin type-A receptor 2) expression is activated in aggressive prostate cancers, and in mouse models of prostate cancers that are treated with enzalutamide. We also demonstrate in mouse models, that agonistic EphA2 targeting agents are very effective in suppressing cell migration and tumor metastases, hence anticipating the possible use of such agents in innovative anti-metastatic therapeutic modalities. Abstract The EphA2 tyrosine kinase receptor is highly expressed in several types of solid tumors. In our recent studies, we targeted EphA2 in pancreatic cancer with agonistic agents and demonstrated that suppression of EphA2 significantly reduced cancer-cell migration in cell-based assays. In the present study, we focused on targeting EphA2 in prostate cancer. While not all prostate cancers express EphA2, we showed that enzalutamide induced EphA2 expression in prostate cancer cells and in a patient-derived xenograft (PDX) animal model, which provides further impetus to target EphA2 in prostate cancer. Western blot studies showed that agonistic dimeric synthetic (135H12) and natural (ephrinA1-Fc) ligands effectively degraded EphA2 receptor in the prostate cancer cell line PC-3. The agents also delayed cell migration of prostate cancer (PC-3) cells, while an in vivo PC-3 orthotopic metastatic nude-mouse model also revealed that administration of ephrinA1-Fc or 135H12 strongly reduced metastases. The present study further validates EphA2 as an important target in metastatic prostate cancer treatment. Our results should incentivize further efforts aimed at developing potent and effective EphA2 synthetic agonistic agents for the treatment of EphA2-driven aggressive metastatic tumors including prostate, pancreatic, and breast cancer.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ahmed F. Salem
- Division of Biomedical Sciences, School of Medicine, University of California Riverside, 900 University Avenue, Riverside, CA 92521, USA; (A.F.S.); (L.G.)
| | - Luca Gambini
- Division of Biomedical Sciences, School of Medicine, University of California Riverside, 900 University Avenue, Riverside, CA 92521, USA; (A.F.S.); (L.G.)
| | - Sandrine Billet
- Department of Medicine, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, 8700 Beverly Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA 90048, USA; (S.B.); (N.A.B.)
| | - Yu Sun
- AntiCancer Inc., 7917 Ostrow St., San Diego, CA 92111, USA; (Y.S.); (H.O.); (M.Z.); (R.M.H.)
- Department of Surgery, University of California, San Diego, CA 92037, USA
| | - Hiromichi Oshiro
- AntiCancer Inc., 7917 Ostrow St., San Diego, CA 92111, USA; (Y.S.); (H.O.); (M.Z.); (R.M.H.)
| | - Ming Zhao
- AntiCancer Inc., 7917 Ostrow St., San Diego, CA 92111, USA; (Y.S.); (H.O.); (M.Z.); (R.M.H.)
| | - Robert M. Hoffman
- AntiCancer Inc., 7917 Ostrow St., San Diego, CA 92111, USA; (Y.S.); (H.O.); (M.Z.); (R.M.H.)
- Department of Surgery, University of California, San Diego, CA 92037, USA
| | - Neil A. Bhowmick
- Department of Medicine, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, 8700 Beverly Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA 90048, USA; (S.B.); (N.A.B.)
| | - Maurizio Pellecchia
- Division of Biomedical Sciences, School of Medicine, University of California Riverside, 900 University Avenue, Riverside, CA 92521, USA; (A.F.S.); (L.G.)
- Correspondence: ; Tel.: +1-951-8277829
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London M, Gallo E. The EphA2 and cancer connection: potential for immune-based interventions. Mol Biol Rep 2020; 47:8037-8048. [PMID: 32990903 DOI: 10.1007/s11033-020-05767-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/31/2020] [Accepted: 08/28/2020] [Indexed: 12/18/2022]
Abstract
The Eph (erythropoietin-producing human hepatocellular) receptors form the largest known subfamily of receptor tyrosine kinases. These receptors interact with membrane-bound ephrin ligands via direct cell-cell interactions resulting in bi-directional activation of signal pathways. Importantly, the Eph receptors play critical roles in embryonic tissue organization and homeostasis, and in the maintenance of adult processes such as long-term potentiation, angiogenesis, and stem cell differentiation. The Eph receptors also display properties of both tumor promoters and suppressors depending on the cellular context. Characterization of EphA2 receptor in regard to EphA2 dysregulation has revealed associations with various pathological processes, especially cancer. The analysis of various tumor types generally identify EphA2 receptor as overexpressed and/or mutated, and for certain types of cancers EphA2 is linked with poor prognosis and decreased patient survival. Thus, here we highlight the role of EphA2 in malignant tissues that are specific to cancer; these include glioblastoma multiforme, prostate cancer, ovarian and uterine cancers, gastric carcinoma, melanoma, and breast cancer. Due to its large extracellular domain, therapeutic targeting of EphA2 with monoclonal antibodies (mAbs), which may function as inhibitors of ligand activation or as molecular agonists, has been an oft-attempted strategy. Therefore, we review the most current mAb-based therapies against EphA2 expressing cancers currently in pre-clinical and/or clinical stages. Finally, we discuss the latest peptides and cyclical-peptides that function as selective agonists for EphA2 receptor.
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Affiliation(s)
- Max London
- Department of Molecular Genetics, University of Toronto, Donnelly Centre, 160 College Street, Toronto, ON, M5S 3E1, Canada
| | - Eugenio Gallo
- Department of Molecular Genetics, University of Toronto, Donnelly Centre, 160 College Street, Toronto, ON, M5S 3E1, Canada.
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Zheng K, Li Q, Lin D, Zong X, Luo X, Yang M, Yue X, Ma S. Peptidomic analysis of pilose antler and its inhibitory effect on triple-negative breast cancer at multiple sites. Food Funct 2020; 11:7481-7494. [PMID: 32789330 DOI: 10.1039/d0fo01531h] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/16/2022]
Abstract
Pilose antler (PA) is a traditional Chinese functional food that has been reported to inhibit breast cancer; however, the specific substances that exert this effect and the underlying mechanisms remain unknown. This study aims to identify the specific proteins in PA water-soluble polypeptides (PAWPs) that are involved in cancer inhibition and determine the effects of PAWPs on triple-negative breast cancer in mice. In this study, peptidomic analysis of 105 varieties of polypeptides from PAWPs was carried out using LC-MS, 22 of which had functions that could potentially suppress tumors, including endopeptidase inhibitors, metal ion-binding proteins, angiogenesis inhibitors, intercellular adhesion proteins, and extracellular matrix repair proteins. Furthermore, we showed that intragastric administration of PAWPs into mice inhibited the growth and metastasis of triple-negative 4T1 breast tumors. PAWPs activated the expression of cleaved-caspase3 and increased tumor apoptosis, resulting in the reduction of platelet-endothelial cell adhesion molecule (PECAM-1/CD31) expression and the number of blood vessels, as well as the inhibition of matrix metalloproteinase (MMP) 2 and 9, increasing the ratio of Cadherin-1 (CDH1)/Cadherin-2 (CDH2) and inhibiting epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) in these tumors. Therefore, PAWPs inhibit the progression and metastasis of triple-negative 4T1 breast cancer at multiple key sites in mice and contain various tumor suppressor proteins that are potentially involved in these processes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kexin Zheng
- College of Food Science and Technology, Shenyang Agricultural University, Shenyang, Liaoning 110866, China.
| | - Qilong Li
- College of Bioscience and Biotechnology, Shenyang Agricultural University, Shenyang, Liaoning 110866, China
| | - Dongdong Lin
- College of Food Science and Technology, Shenyang Agricultural University, Shenyang, Liaoning 110866, China.
| | - Xiaoyan Zong
- College of Bioscience and Biotechnology, Shenyang Agricultural University, Shenyang, Liaoning 110866, China
| | - Xue Luo
- College of Food Science and Technology, Shenyang Agricultural University, Shenyang, Liaoning 110866, China.
| | - Mei Yang
- College of Food Science and Technology, Shenyang Agricultural University, Shenyang, Liaoning 110866, China.
| | - Xiqing Yue
- College of Food Science and Technology, Shenyang Agricultural University, Shenyang, Liaoning 110866, China.
| | - Shiliang Ma
- College of Food Science and Technology, Shenyang Agricultural University, Shenyang, Liaoning 110866, China. and College of Bioscience and Biotechnology, Shenyang Agricultural University, Shenyang, Liaoning 110866, China
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Baudet S, Bécret J, Nicol X. Approaches to Manipulate Ephrin-A:EphA Forward Signaling Pathway. Pharmaceuticals (Basel) 2020; 13:ph13070140. [PMID: 32629797 PMCID: PMC7407804 DOI: 10.3390/ph13070140] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/22/2020] [Revised: 06/19/2020] [Accepted: 06/28/2020] [Indexed: 02/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Erythropoietin-producing hepatocellular carcinoma A (EphA) receptors and their ephrin-A ligands are key players of developmental events shaping the mature organism. Their expression is mostly restricted to stem cell niches in adults but is reactivated in pathological conditions including lesions in the heart, lung, or nervous system. They are also often misregulated in tumors. A wide range of molecular tools enabling the manipulation of the ephrin-A:EphA system are available, ranging from small molecules to peptides and genetically-encoded strategies. Their mechanism is either direct, targeting EphA receptors, or indirect through the modification of intracellular downstream pathways. Approaches enabling manipulation of ephrin-A:EphA forward signaling for the dissection of its signaling cascade, the investigation of its physiological roles or the development of therapeutic strategies are summarized here.
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Harnessing the Power of Eph/ephrin Biosemiotics for Theranostic Applications. Pharmaceuticals (Basel) 2020; 13:ph13060112. [PMID: 32492868 PMCID: PMC7345574 DOI: 10.3390/ph13060112] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/11/2020] [Revised: 05/26/2020] [Accepted: 05/27/2020] [Indexed: 02/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Comprehensive basic biological knowledge of the Eph/ephrin system in the physiologic setting is needed to facilitate an understanding of its role and the effects of pathological processes on its activity, thereby paving the way for development of prospective therapeutic targets. To this end, this review briefly addresses what is currently known and being investigated in order to highlight the gaps and possible avenues for further investigation to capitalize on their diverse potential.
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Salem AF, Gambini L, Udompholkul P, Baggio C, Pellecchia M. Therapeutic Targeting of Pancreatic Cancer via EphA2 Dimeric Agonistic Agents. Pharmaceuticals (Basel) 2020; 13:ph13050090. [PMID: 32397624 PMCID: PMC7281375 DOI: 10.3390/ph13050090] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/16/2020] [Revised: 04/30/2020] [Accepted: 05/05/2020] [Indexed: 01/05/2023] Open
Abstract
Recently, we reported on potent EphA2 targeting compounds and demonstrated that dimeric versions of such agents can exhibit remarkably increased agonistic activity in cellular assays compared to the monomers. Here we further characterize the activity of dimeric compounds at the structural, biochemical, and cellular level. In particular, we propose a structural model for the mechanism of receptor activation by dimeric agents and characterize the effect of most potent compounds in inducing EphA2 activation and degradation in a pancreatic cancer cell line. These cellular studies indicate that the pro-migratory effects induced by the receptor can be reversed in EphA2 knockout cells, by treatment with either a dimeric natural ligand (ephrinA1-Fc), or by our synthetic agonistic dimers. Based on these data we conclude that the proposed agents hold great potential as possible therapeutics in combination with standard of care, where these could help suppressing a major driver for cell migration and tumor metastases. Finally, we also found that, similar to ephrinA1-Fc, dimeric agents cause a sustained internalization of the EphA2 receptor, hence, with proper derivatizations, these could also be used to deliver chemotherapy selectively to pancreatic tumors.
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Baghban R, Roshangar L, Jahanban-Esfahlan R, Seidi K, Ebrahimi-Kalan A, Jaymand M, Kolahian S, Javaheri T, Zare P. Tumor microenvironment complexity and therapeutic implications at a glance. Cell Commun Signal 2020; 18:59. [PMID: 32264958 PMCID: PMC7140346 DOI: 10.1186/s12964-020-0530-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 797] [Impact Index Per Article: 199.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/05/2019] [Accepted: 02/05/2020] [Indexed: 02/07/2023] Open
Abstract
The dynamic interactions of cancer cells with their microenvironment consisting of stromal cells (cellular part) and extracellular matrix (ECM) components (non-cellular) is essential to stimulate the heterogeneity of cancer cell, clonal evolution and to increase the multidrug resistance ending in cancer cell progression and metastasis. The reciprocal cell-cell/ECM interaction and tumor cell hijacking of non-malignant cells force stromal cells to lose their function and acquire new phenotypes that promote development and invasion of tumor cells. Understanding the underlying cellular and molecular mechanisms governing these interactions can be used as a novel strategy to indirectly disrupt cancer cell interplay and contribute to the development of efficient and safe therapeutic strategies to fight cancer. Furthermore, the tumor-derived circulating materials can also be used as cancer diagnostic tools to precisely predict and monitor the outcome of therapy. This review evaluates such potentials in various advanced cancer models, with a focus on 3D systems as well as lab-on-chip devices. Video abstract.
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Affiliation(s)
- Roghayyeh Baghban
- Drug Applied Research Center, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran
- Department of Medical Biotechnology, School of Advanced Medical Sciences, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran
| | - Leila Roshangar
- Stem Cell Research Center, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran
| | - Rana Jahanban-Esfahlan
- Department of Medical Biotechnology, School of Advanced Medical Sciences, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran
| | - Khaled Seidi
- Biotechnology Research Center, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran
- Student Research Committees, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran
| | - Abbas Ebrahimi-Kalan
- Department of Neurosciences and Cognitive, School of Advanced Medical Sciences, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran
| | - Mehdi Jaymand
- Nano Drug Delivery Research Center, Health Technology Institute, Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences, Kermanshah, Iran
| | - Saeed Kolahian
- Department of Experimental and Clinical Pharmacology and Pharmacogenomics, University Hospital Tuebingen, Tuebingen, Germany
| | - Tahereh Javaheri
- Health Informatics Lab, Metropolitan College, Boston University, Boston, USA
| | - Peyman Zare
- Dioscuri Center of Chromatin Biology and Epigenomics, Nencki Institute of Experimental Biology, Polish Academy of Sciences, Warsaw, Poland
- Faculty of Medicine, Cardinal Stefan Wyszyński University in Warsaw, 01-938 Warsaw, Poland
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38
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Mudd GE, Brown A, Chen L, van Rietschoten K, Watcham S, Teufel DP, Pavan S, Lani R, Huxley P, Bennett GS. Identification and Optimization of EphA2-Selective Bicycles for the Delivery of Cytotoxic Payloads. J Med Chem 2020; 63:4107-4116. [PMID: 32202781 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jmedchem.9b02129] [Citation(s) in RCA: 38] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/08/2023]
Abstract
Bicycles are constrained bicyclic peptides that represent a promising binding modality for use in targeted drug conjugates. A phage display screen against EphA2, a receptor tyrosine kinase highly expressed in a number of solid tumors, identified a number of Bicycle families with low nanomolar affinity. A Bicycle toxin conjugate (BTC) was generated by derivatization of one of these Bicycles with the potent cytotoxin DM1 via a cleavable linker. This BTC demonstrated potent antitumor activity in vivo but was poorly tolerated, which was hypothesized to be the result of undesired liver uptake caused by poor physicochemical properties. Chemical optimization of a second Bicycle, guided by structural biology, provided a high affinity, metabolically stable Bicycle with improved physicochemical properties. A BTC incorporating this Bicycle also demonstrated potent antitumor activity and was very well tolerated when compared to the initial BTC. Phage display selection followed by chemical optimization of Bicycles can deliver potent drug conjugates with favorable pharmaceutical properties.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gemma E Mudd
- BicycleTx Limited, Building 900, Babraham Research Campus, Cambridge CB22 3AT, United Kingdom
| | - Amy Brown
- BicycleTx Limited, Building 900, Babraham Research Campus, Cambridge CB22 3AT, United Kingdom
| | - Liuhong Chen
- BicycleTx Limited, Building 900, Babraham Research Campus, Cambridge CB22 3AT, United Kingdom
| | | | - Sophie Watcham
- BicycleTx Limited, Building 900, Babraham Research Campus, Cambridge CB22 3AT, United Kingdom
| | - Daniel P Teufel
- BicycleTx Limited, Building 900, Babraham Research Campus, Cambridge CB22 3AT, United Kingdom
| | - Silvia Pavan
- BicycleTx Limited, Building 900, Babraham Research Campus, Cambridge CB22 3AT, United Kingdom
| | - Rachid Lani
- BicycleTx Limited, Building 900, Babraham Research Campus, Cambridge CB22 3AT, United Kingdom
| | - Philip Huxley
- BicycleTx Limited, Building 900, Babraham Research Campus, Cambridge CB22 3AT, United Kingdom
| | - Gavin S Bennett
- BicycleTx Limited, Building 900, Babraham Research Campus, Cambridge CB22 3AT, United Kingdom
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39
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Biomimetic nanovesicles made from iPS cell-derived mesenchymal stem cells for targeted therapy of triple-negative breast cancer. NANOMEDICINE-NANOTECHNOLOGY BIOLOGY AND MEDICINE 2020; 24:102146. [DOI: 10.1016/j.nano.2019.102146] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/29/2019] [Revised: 11/05/2019] [Accepted: 12/11/2019] [Indexed: 12/28/2022]
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Ziaei E, Saghaeidehkordi A, Dill C, Maslennikov I, Chen S, Kaur K. Targeting Triple Negative Breast Cancer Cells with Novel Cytotoxic Peptide-Doxorubicin Conjugates. Bioconjug Chem 2019; 30:3098-3106. [PMID: 31715102 DOI: 10.1021/acs.bioconjchem.9b00755] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/17/2022]
Abstract
In this study, we have designed and synthesized two novel peptide-drug conjugates (PDCs) where the drug, doxorubicin (Dox), is linked to the peptide via a succinimidyl thioether bond or a hydrazone linker. A highly specific and proteolytically stable breast cancer cell targeting peptide (WxEAAYQrFL) is conjugated to Dox to synthesize peptide-Dox thioether (1) or hydrazone (2) conjugate. The evaluation of the stability in water, media, and human serum showed that the conjugate 1 with the succinimidyl thioether linkage is more stable compared to the acid-sensitive hydrazone containing conjugate 2. The cytotoxicity studies showed that the two PDCs were as toxic as free Dox toward the triple negative breast cancer (TNBC) cells and were 7-30 times less toxic (IC50 1.2-4.7 μM for TNBC cells versus 15-39 μM for noncancerous cells) toward the noncancerous breast cells compared to the free doxorubicin (IC50 0.35-1.5 μM for TNBC cells versus 0.24 μM for noncancerous cells). The results from the comparative study of the two PDCs suggest that both may have translational potential for TNBC treatment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elmira Ziaei
- Chapman University School of Pharmacy (CUSP), Harry and Diane Rinker Health Science Campus , Chapman University , Irvine , California 92618-1908 , United States
| | - Azam Saghaeidehkordi
- Chapman University School of Pharmacy (CUSP), Harry and Diane Rinker Health Science Campus , Chapman University , Irvine , California 92618-1908 , United States
| | - Cassandra Dill
- Chapman University School of Pharmacy (CUSP), Harry and Diane Rinker Health Science Campus , Chapman University , Irvine , California 92618-1908 , United States
| | - Innokentiy Maslennikov
- Chapman University School of Pharmacy (CUSP), Harry and Diane Rinker Health Science Campus , Chapman University , Irvine , California 92618-1908 , United States
| | - Shiuan Chen
- Department of Cancer Biology , Beckman Research Institute of the City of Hope , Duarte , California 91010 , United States
| | - Kamaljit Kaur
- Chapman University School of Pharmacy (CUSP), Harry and Diane Rinker Health Science Campus , Chapman University , Irvine , California 92618-1908 , United States
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41
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Zhou Y, Yu F, Luo B, Luo H, Liu C. Cytrarabine (Ara-c) promotes cell apoptosis by inhibiting the phosphorylation of Protein Kinase B (AKT/PKB). Process Biochem 2019. [DOI: 10.1016/j.procbio.2019.04.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/01/2022]
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42
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Gomez-Soler M, Petersen Gehring M, Lechtenberg BC, Zapata-Mercado E, Hristova K, Pasquale EB. Engineering nanomolar peptide ligands that differentially modulate EphA2 receptor signaling. J Biol Chem 2019; 294:8791-8805. [PMID: 31015204 DOI: 10.1074/jbc.ra119.008213] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/26/2019] [Revised: 04/18/2019] [Indexed: 11/06/2022] Open
Abstract
The EPH receptor A2 (EphA2) tyrosine kinase plays an important role in a plethora of biological and disease processes, ranging from angiogenesis and cancer to inflammation and parasitic infections. EphA2 is therefore considered an important drug target. Two short peptides previously identified by phage display, named YSA and SWL, are widely used as EphA2-targeting agents owing to their high specificity for this receptor. However, these peptides have only modest (micromolar) potency. Lack of structural information on the binding interactions of YSA and SWL with the extracellular EphA2 ligand-binding domain (LBD) has for many years precluded structure-guided improvements. We now report the high-resolution (1.53-2.20 Å) crystal structures of the YSA peptide and several of its improved derivatives in complex with the EphA2 LBD, disclosing that YSA targets the ephrin-binding pocket of EphA2 and mimics binding features of the ephrin-A ligands. The structural information obtained enabled iterative peptide modifications conferring low nanomolar potency. Furthermore, contacts observed in the crystal structures shed light on how C-terminal features can convert YSA derivatives from antagonists to agonists that likely bivalently interact with two EphA2 molecules to promote receptor oligomerization, autophosphorylation, and downstream signaling. Consistent with this model, quantitative FRET measurements in live cells revealed that the peptide agonists promote the formation of EphA2 oligomeric assemblies. Our findings now enable rational strategies to differentially modify EphA2 signaling toward desired outcomes by using appropriately engineered peptides. Such peptides could be used as research tools to interrogate EphA2 function and to develop pharmacological leads.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maricel Gomez-Soler
- From the Cancer Center, Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute, La Jolla, California 92037 and
| | - Marina Petersen Gehring
- From the Cancer Center, Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute, La Jolla, California 92037 and
| | - Bernhard C Lechtenberg
- From the Cancer Center, Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute, La Jolla, California 92037 and
| | - Elmer Zapata-Mercado
- the Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland 21218
| | - Kalina Hristova
- the Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland 21218
| | - Elena B Pasquale
- From the Cancer Center, Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute, La Jolla, California 92037 and
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43
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Giorgio C, Incerti M, Pala D, Russo S, Chiodelli P, Rusnati M, Cantoni A, Di Lecce R, Barocelli E, Bertoni S, Ravassard P, Manenti F, Piemonti L, Ferlenghi F, Lodola A, Tognolini M. Inhibition of Eph/ephrin interaction with the small molecule UniPR500 improves glucose tolerance in healthy and insulin-resistant mice. Pharmacol Res 2019; 141:319-330. [DOI: 10.1016/j.phrs.2019.01.011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/12/2018] [Revised: 11/05/2018] [Accepted: 01/04/2019] [Indexed: 01/22/2023]
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Saha N, Robev D, Mason EO, Himanen JP, Nikolov DB. Therapeutic potential of targeting the Eph/ephrin signaling complex. Int J Biochem Cell Biol 2018; 105:123-133. [PMID: 30343150 DOI: 10.1016/j.biocel.2018.10.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/01/2018] [Revised: 10/09/2018] [Accepted: 10/16/2018] [Indexed: 12/27/2022]
Abstract
The Eph-ephrin signaling pathway mediates developmental processes and the proper functioning of the adult human body. This distinctive bidirectional signaling pathway includes a canonical downstream signal cascade inside the Eph-bearing cells, as well as a reverse signaling in the ephrin-bearing cells. The signaling is terminated by ADAM metalloproteinase cleavage, internalization, and degradation of the Eph/ephrin complexes. Consequently, the Eph-ephrin-ADAM signaling cascade has emerged as a key target with immense therapeutic potential particularly in the context of cancer. An interesting twist was brought forth by the emergence of ephrins as the entry receptors for the pathological Henipaviruses, which has spurred new studies to target the viral entry. The availability of high-resolution structures of the multi-modular Eph receptors in complexes with ephrins and other binding partners, such as peptides, small molecule inhibitors and antibodies, offers a wealth of information for the structure-guided development of therapeutic intervention. Furthermore, genomic data mining of Eph mutants involved in cancer provides information for targeted drug development. In this review we summarize the distinct avenues for targeting the Eph-ephrin signaling pathway, including its termination by ADAM proteinases. We highlight the latest developments in Eph-related pharmacology in the context of Eph-ephrin-ADAM-based antibodies and small molecules. Finally, the future prospects of genomics- and proteomics-based medicine are discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nayanendu Saha
- Sloan-Kettering Institute for Cancer Research, Structural Biology Program, 1275 York Avenue, New York, NY 10065, United States
| | - Dorothea Robev
- Sloan-Kettering Institute for Cancer Research, Structural Biology Program, 1275 York Avenue, New York, NY 10065, United States
| | - Emilia O Mason
- Sloan-Kettering Institute for Cancer Research, Structural Biology Program, 1275 York Avenue, New York, NY 10065, United States
| | - Juha P Himanen
- Sloan-Kettering Institute for Cancer Research, Structural Biology Program, 1275 York Avenue, New York, NY 10065, United States.
| | - Dimitar B Nikolov
- Sloan-Kettering Institute for Cancer Research, Structural Biology Program, 1275 York Avenue, New York, NY 10065, United States
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45
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Tsuchie R, Shimosato M, Hamasaki K. Hydrophobic Association of a Side Chains Induces Reversible Helix Folding in a Dual Aromatic Ring Tagged Short Peptide. CHEM LETT 2018. [DOI: 10.1246/cl.180601] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Ryusuke Tsuchie
- Department of Applied Chemistry, Shibaura Institute of Technology, 3-5-7 Toyosu, Koto-ku, Tokyo 135-8548, Japan
| | - Mayu Shimosato
- Department of Applied Chemistry, Shibaura Institute of Technology, 3-5-7 Toyosu, Koto-ku, Tokyo 135-8548, Japan
| | - Keita Hamasaki
- Department of Applied Chemistry, Shibaura Institute of Technology, 3-5-7 Toyosu, Koto-ku, Tokyo 135-8548, Japan
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46
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Gambini L, Salem AF, Udompholkul P, Tan XF, Baggio C, Shah N, Aronson A, Song J, Pellecchia M. Structure-Based Design of Novel EphA2 Agonistic Agents with Nanomolar Affinity in Vitro and in Cell. ACS Chem Biol 2018; 13:2633-2644. [PMID: 30110533 DOI: 10.1021/acschembio.8b00556] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/30/2023]
Abstract
EphA2 overexpression is invariably associated with poor prognosis and development of aggressive metastatic cancers in pancreatic, prostate, lung, ovarian, and breast cancers and melanoma. Recent efforts from our laboratories identified a number of agonistic peptides targeting the ligand-binding domain of the EphA2 receptor. The individual agents, however, were still relatively weak in affinities (micromolar range) that precluded detailed structural studies on the mode of action. Using a systematic optimization of the 12-mer peptide mimetic 123B9, we were able to first derive an agent that displayed a submicromolar affinity for the receptor. This agent enabled cocrystallization with the EphA2 ligand-binding domain providing for the first time the structural basis for their agonistic mechanism of action. In addition, the atomic coordinates of the complex enabled rapid iterations of structure-based optimizations that resulted in a novel agonistic agent, named 135H11, with a nanomolar affinity for the receptor, as demonstrated by in vitro binding assays (isothermal titration calorimetry measurements), and a biochemical displacement assay. As we have recently demonstrated, the cellular activity of these agents is further increased by synthesizing dimeric versions of the compounds. Hence, we report that a dimeric version of 135H11 is extremely effective at low nanomolar concentrations to induce cellular receptor activation, internalization, and inhibition of cell migration in a pancreatic cancer cell line. Given the pivotal role of EphA2 in tumor growth, angiogenesis, drug resistance, and metastasis, these agents, and the associated structural studies, provide significant advancements in the field for the development of novel EphA2-targeting therapeutics or diagnostics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Luca Gambini
- Division of Biomedical Sciences, School of Medicine, University of California Riverside, 900 University Avenue, Riverside, California 92521, United States
| | - Ahmed F. Salem
- Division of Biomedical Sciences, School of Medicine, University of California Riverside, 900 University Avenue, Riverside, California 92521, United States
| | - Parima Udompholkul
- Division of Biomedical Sciences, School of Medicine, University of California Riverside, 900 University Avenue, Riverside, California 92521, United States
| | - Xiao-Feng Tan
- Department of Biochemistry, College of Natural and Agricultural Sciences, University of California Riverside, 900 University Avenue, Riverside, California 92521, United States
| | - Carlo Baggio
- Division of Biomedical Sciences, School of Medicine, University of California Riverside, 900 University Avenue, Riverside, California 92521, United States
| | - Neh Shah
- Division of Biomedical Sciences, School of Medicine, University of California Riverside, 900 University Avenue, Riverside, California 92521, United States
| | - Alexander Aronson
- Division of Biomedical Sciences, School of Medicine, University of California Riverside, 900 University Avenue, Riverside, California 92521, United States
| | - Jikui Song
- Department of Biochemistry, College of Natural and Agricultural Sciences, University of California Riverside, 900 University Avenue, Riverside, California 92521, United States
| | - Maurizio Pellecchia
- Division of Biomedical Sciences, School of Medicine, University of California Riverside, 900 University Avenue, Riverside, California 92521, United States
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Viewing the Eph receptors with a focus on breast cancer heterogeneity. Cancer Lett 2018; 434:160-171. [PMID: 30055288 DOI: 10.1016/j.canlet.2018.07.030] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/12/2018] [Revised: 07/18/2018] [Accepted: 07/23/2018] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
Abstract
Aberrant expression of different family members of the Eph/ephrin system, which comprises the Eph receptors (Ephs) and their ligands (ephrins), has been implicated in various malignancies including breast cancer. The latter presents as a heterogeneous disease with diverse molecular, morphologic and clinical behavior signatures. This review reflects the existing Eph/ephrin literature while focusing on breast cancer heterogeneity. Hormone positive, HER2 positive and triple negative breast cancer (TNBC) cell lines, xenografts/mutant animal models and patient samples are examined separately as, in humans, they represent entities with differences in prognosis and treatment. EphA2, EphB4 and EphB6 are the members most extensively studied in breast cancer. Existing research points to the potential use of various Eph/ephrin members as biomarkers for assessing prognosis and selecting the most suitable therapeutic strategies in variable clinical scenarios, also for overcoming drug resistance, in the era of breast cancer heterogeneity.
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