1
|
Tolomeo M, Meli M, Grimaudo S. STAT5 and STAT5 Inhibitors in Hematological Malignancies. Anticancer Agents Med Chem 2019; 19:2036-2046. [PMID: 31490767 DOI: 10.2174/1871520619666190906160848] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/13/2019] [Revised: 07/09/2019] [Accepted: 07/18/2019] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
Abstract
The JAK-STAT pathway is an important physiologic regulator of different cellular functions including proliferation, apoptosis, differentiation, and immunological responses. Out of six different STAT proteins, STAT5 plays its main role in hematopoiesis and constitutive STAT5 activation seems to be a key event in the pathogenesis of several hematological malignancies. This has led many researchers to develop compounds capable of inhibiting STAT5 activation or interfering with its functions. Several anti-STAT5 molecules have shown potent STAT5 inhibitory activity in vitro. However, compared to the large amount of clinical studies with JAK inhibitors that are currently widely used in the clinics to treat myeloproliferative disorders, the clinical trials with STAT5 inhibitors are very limited. At present, a few STAT5 inhibitors are in phase I or II clinical trials for the treatment of leukemias and graft vs host disease. These studies seem to indicate that such compounds could be well tolerated and useful in reducing the occurrence of resistance to tyrosine kinase inhibitors in chronic myeloid leukemia. Of interest, STAT5 seems to play an important role in the regulation of hematopoietic stem cell self-renewal suggesting that combination therapies including STAT5 inhibitors can erode the cancer stem cell pool and possibly open the way for the complete cancer eradication. In this review, we discuss the implication of STAT5 in hematological malignancies and the results obtained with the novel STAT5 inhibitors.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Manlio Tolomeo
- Department of Health Promotion Sciences, Maternal and Infant Care, Internal Medicine and Medical Specialties, University of Palermo, Palermo, Italy
| | - Maria Meli
- Department of Health Promotion Sciences, Maternal and Infant Care, Internal Medicine and Medical Specialties, University of Palermo, Palermo, Italy
| | - Stefania Grimaudo
- Department of Health Promotion Sciences, Maternal and Infant Care, Internal Medicine and Medical Specialties, University of Palermo, Palermo, Italy
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
Rondanin R, Simoni D, Maccesi M, Romagnoli R, Grimaudo S, Pipitone RM, Meli M, Cascio A, Tolomeo M. Effects of Pimozide Derivatives on pSTAT5 in K562 Cells. ChemMedChem 2017; 12:1183-1190. [PMID: 28657677 DOI: 10.1002/cmdc.201700234] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/11/2017] [Revised: 06/26/2017] [Indexed: 11/10/2022]
Abstract
STAT5 is a transcription factor, a member of the STAT family of signaling proteins. STAT5 is involved in many types of cancer, including chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML), in which this protein is found constitutively activated as a consequence of BCR-ABL expression. The neuroleptic drug pimozide was recently reported to act as an inhibitor of STAT5 phosphorylation and is capable of inducing apoptosis in CML cells in vitro. Our research group has synthesized simple derivatives of pimozide with cytotoxic activity and that are able to decrease the levels of phosphorylated STAT5. In this work we continued the search for novel STAT5 inhibitors, synthesizing compounds in which the benzoimidazolinone ring of pimozide is either maintained or modified, in order to obtain further structure-activity relationship information for this class of STAT5 inhibitors. Two compounds of the series showed potent cytotoxic activity against BCR-ABL-positive and pSTAT5-overexpressing K562 cells and were able to markedly decrease the levels of phosphorylated STAT5.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Riccardo Rondanin
- Dipartimento di Scienze Chimiche e Farmaceutiche, Università di Ferrara, via Fossato di Mortara 17, 44121, Ferrara, Italy
| | - Daniele Simoni
- Dipartimento di Scienze Chimiche e Farmaceutiche, Università di Ferrara, via Fossato di Mortara 17, 44121, Ferrara, Italy
| | - Martina Maccesi
- Dipartimento di Scienze Chimiche e Farmaceutiche, Università di Ferrara, via Fossato di Mortara 17, 44121, Ferrara, Italy
| | - Romeo Romagnoli
- Dipartimento di Scienze Chimiche e Farmaceutiche, Università di Ferrara, via Fossato di Mortara 17, 44121, Ferrara, Italy
| | - Stefania Grimaudo
- Dipartimento Biomedico di Medicina Interna e Specialistica, Università di Palermo, via del Vespro 129, 90127, Palermo, Italy
| | - Rosaria Maria Pipitone
- Dipartimento Biomedico di Medicina Interna e Specialistica, Università di Palermo, via del Vespro 129, 90127, Palermo, Italy
| | - Maria Meli
- Dipartimento di Scienze per la Promozione della Salute e Materno Infantile, Università di Palermo, via del Vespro 129, 90127, Palermo, Italy
| | - Antonio Cascio
- Dipartimento di Scienze per la Promozione della Salute e Materno Infantile, Università di Palermo, via del Vespro 129, 90127, Palermo, Italy
| | - Manlio Tolomeo
- Dipartimento di Scienze per la Promozione della Salute e Materno Infantile, Centro Interdipartimentale di Ricerca in Oncologia Clinica, Università di Palermo, via del Vespro 129, 902127, Palermo, Italy
| |
Collapse
|
3
|
Lin Z, Jiang J, Liu XS. Ursolic acid-mediated apoptosis of K562 cells involves Stat5/Akt pathway inhibition through the induction of Gfi-1. Sci Rep 2016; 6:33358. [PMID: 27634378 PMCID: PMC5025887 DOI: 10.1038/srep33358] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/28/2016] [Accepted: 08/25/2016] [Indexed: 02/05/2023] Open
Abstract
Ursolic acid (UA) is a promising natural compound for cancer prevention and therapy. We previously reported that UA induced apoptosis in CML-derived K562 cells. Here we show that the apoptotic process is accompanied by down-regulation of Bcl-xL and Mcl-1 expression and dephosphorylation of Bad. These events are associated with Stat5 inhibition, which is partially mediated through elevated expression of transcriptional repressor Gfi-1. Gfi-1 knockdown using siRNA abrogates the ability of UA to decrease Stat5b expression and attenuates apoptosis induction by UA. We also demonstrate that UA suppresses the Akt kinase activity by inhibiting Akt1/2 expression, which correlates with Stat5 inhibition. Stat5 activity inhibited by a chemical inhibitor or siRNA, Akt1/2 mRNA expression is suppressed. Moreover, we show that UA exerts growth-inhibition in Imatinib-resistant K562/G01. UA has synergistic effects when used in combination with Imatinib in both K562 and K562/G01. Altogether, the data provide evidence that UA's pro-apoptotic effect in K562 cells is associated with the Gfi-1/Stat5/Akt pathway. The findings indicate that UA could potentially be a useful agent in the treatment of CML.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Ze Lin
- Department of Biochemistry, Shantou University Medical College, No. 22 Xinlin Road, Jinping District, Shantou, 510451, China
| | - Jikai Jiang
- Department of Biochemistry, Shantou University Medical College, No. 22 Xinlin Road, Jinping District, Shantou, 510451, China
| | - Xiao-Shan Liu
- Department of Biochemistry, Guangzhou Medical University, Xinzao Town, Panyu District, Guangzhou 511436, China
| |
Collapse
|
4
|
Romagnoli R, Baraldi PG, Prencipe F, Lopez-Cara C, Rondanin R, Simoni D, Hamel E, Grimaudo S, Pipitone RM, Meli M, Tolomeo M. Novel iodoacetamido benzoheterocyclic derivatives with potent antileukemic activity are inhibitors of STAT5 phosphorylation. Eur J Med Chem 2016; 108:39-52. [PMID: 26629859 PMCID: PMC4724257 DOI: 10.1016/j.ejmech.2015.11.022] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/28/2015] [Revised: 11/06/2015] [Accepted: 11/16/2015] [Indexed: 12/29/2022]
Abstract
Signal Transducer and Activator of Transcription 5 (STAT5) protein, a component of the STAT family of signaling proteins, is considered to be an attractive therapeutic target because of its involvement in the progression of acute myeloid leukemia. In an effort to discover potent molecules able to inhibit the phosphorylation-activation of STAT5, twenty-two compounds were synthesized and evaluated on the basis of our knowledge of the activity of 2-(3',4',5'-trimethoxybenzoyl)-3-iodoacetamido-6-methoxy benzo[b]furan derivative 1 as a potent STAT5 inhibitor. Most of these molecules, structurally related to compound 1, were characterized by the presence of a common 3',4',5'-trimethoxybenzoyl moiety at the 2-position of different benzoheterocycles such as benzo[b]furan, benzo[b]thiophene, indole and N-methylindole. Effects on biological activity of the iodoacetamido group and of different moieties (methyl and methoxy) at the C-3 to C-7 positions were examined. In the series of benzo[b]furan derivatives, moving the iodoacetylamino group from the C-4 to the C-5 or C-6 positions did not significantly affect antiproliferative activity. Compounds 4, 15, 20 and 23 blocked STAT5 signals and induced apoptosis of K562 BCR-ABL positive cells. For compound 23, the trimethoxybenzoyl moiety at the 2-position of the benzo[b]furan core was not essential for potent inhibition of STAT5 activation.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Romeo Romagnoli
- Dipartimento di Scienze Chimiche e Farmaceutiche, Università di Ferrara, 44121 Ferrara, Italy.
| | - Pier Giovanni Baraldi
- Dipartimento di Scienze Chimiche e Farmaceutiche, Università di Ferrara, 44121 Ferrara, Italy
| | - Filippo Prencipe
- Dipartimento di Scienze Chimiche e Farmaceutiche, Università di Ferrara, 44121 Ferrara, Italy
| | - Carlota Lopez-Cara
- Dipartimento di Scienze Chimiche e Farmaceutiche, Università di Ferrara, 44121 Ferrara, Italy
| | - Riccardo Rondanin
- Dipartimento di Scienze Chimiche e Farmaceutiche, Università di Ferrara, 44121 Ferrara, Italy
| | - Daniele Simoni
- Dipartimento di Scienze Chimiche e Farmaceutiche, Università di Ferrara, 44121 Ferrara, Italy
| | - Ernest Hamel
- Screening Technologies Branch, Developmental Therapeutics Program, Division of Cancer Treatment and Diagnosis, Frederick National Laboratory for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Frederick, MD 21702, USA
| | - Stefania Grimaudo
- Dipartimento Biomedico di Medicina Interna e Specialistica, Università di Palermo, 90125 Palermo, Italy
| | - Rosaria Maria Pipitone
- Dipartimento Biomedico di Medicina Interna e Specialistica, Università di Palermo, 90125 Palermo, Italy
| | - Maria Meli
- Dipartimento di Scienze per la Promozione della Salute e Materno Infantile, Area di Farmacologia, Università di Palermo, 90125 Palermo, Italy
| | - Manlio Tolomeo
- Centro Interdipartimentale di Ricerca in Oncologia Clinica e Dipartimento Biomedico di Medicina Interna e Specialistica, Sezione di Malattie Infettive, Università di Palermo, 90125 Palermo, Italy
| |
Collapse
|
5
|
Liu DD, Ye YL, Zhang J, Xu JN, Qian XD, Zhang Q. Distinct Pro-Apoptotic Properties of Zhejiang Saffron against Human Lung Cancer Via a Caspase-8-9-3 Cascade. Asian Pac J Cancer Prev 2014; 15:6075-80. [DOI: 10.7314/apjcp.2014.15.15.6075] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
|
6
|
Inhibition of activated STAT5 in Bcr/Abl expressing leukemia cells with new pimozide derivatives. Bioorg Med Chem Lett 2014; 24:4568-4574. [PMID: 25131537 DOI: 10.1016/j.bmcl.2014.07.069] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/11/2014] [Accepted: 07/25/2014] [Indexed: 11/23/2022]
Abstract
STATs are transcription factors acting as intracellular signaling after stimulation with cytokines, growth factors and hormones. STAT5 is also constitutively active in many forms of cancers, including chronic myelogenous leukemia, acute lymphoblastic leukemia and Hodgkin's lymphoma. Recently, literature reported that the neuroleptic drug pimozide inhibits STAT5 phosphorylation inducing apoptosis in CML cells. We undertook an investigation from pimozide structure, obtaining simple derivatives with cytotoxic and STAT5-inhibitory activity, two of them markedly more potent than pimozide.
Collapse
|