A Highly Potent TACC3 Inhibitor as a Novel Anticancer Drug Candidate

Structural characterization and inhibition of the interaction between ch-TOG and TACC3

The mitotic spindle is a bipolar array of microtubules, radiating from the poles which each contain a centrosome, embedded in pericentriolar material. Two proteins, ch-TOG and TACC3, have multiple functions at the mitotic spindle due to operating either alone, together, or in complex with other proteins. To distinguish these activities, we need new molecular tools to dissect their function. Here, we present the structure of the α-helical bundle domain of ch-TOG that mediates its interaction with TACC3 and a structural model describing the interaction, supported by biophysical and biochemical data. We have isolated Affimer tools to precisely target the ch-TOG-binding site on TACC3 in live cells, which displace ch-TOG without affecting the spindle localization of other protein complex components. Inhibition of the TACC3-ch-TOG interaction led unexpectedly to fragmentation of the pericentriolar material in metaphase cells and delayed mitotic progression, uncovering a novel role of TACC3-ch-TOG in maintaining pericentriolar material integrity during mitosis to ensure timely cell division.

Isoxazole-pyrimidine derivatives as TACC3 inhibitors: A novel modality to targeted cancer therapy

Inhibiting the function of transforming acidic coiled-coil 3 (TACC3) offers a promising therapeutic approach for various cancers, such as breast, ovarian, and lung cancers.Our previous work introduced BO-264 as a novel chemotype for inhibiting TACC3 function, though it exhibited relatively low metabolic stability. In this study, sixty-two compounds were designed and synthesized to modify the structure of BO-264 to improve its metabolic stability while maintaining its potency. The tractable SAR results obtained by these novel analogs indicated that appropriate substitutions on the left-end phenyl-isoxazole and right-end morpholine groups improved metabolic stability while preserving potency. Among these, compound 13b exhibited approximately sevenfold improvement in metabolic stability and bioavailability while maintaining strong potency and a favorable safety profile. 13b markedly increased the levels of p-Histone H3 (Ser10), cleaved PARP, and p-H2AX (Ser139), indicative of mitotic arrest, apoptosis, and DNA damage, respectively. In addition, the protein-drug binding assay, DARTS, identified TACC3 as a biologically significant target of 13b, positioning it as an advanced lead compound for further development of clinically relevant TACC3 inhibitors in cancers with elevated TACC3 expression.

Oncofusions - shaping cancer care

Cancer manifests through a spectrum of mutations, including gene fusions termed oncofusions. These structural alterations influence tumorigenesis across various cancer types. Oncofusions arise primarily from genomic rearrangements and operate through deregulation or hybrid gene formation mechanisms. Notable examples such as BCR::ABL and EWS::FLI1 underscore their clinical significance. Several case studies exemplify the role of identifying and targeting oncofusions in guiding treatment decisions and improving patient outcomes. However, challenges persist in discerning drivers from passenger mutations and addressing acquired resistance. Despite advancements, the complexity of oncofusions warrants further exploration of their full potential as therapeutic targets, requiring a multidisciplinary approach integrating genomics, functional studies, and innovative drug discovery strategies to achieve precision in medicine.

A highly potent bi-thiazole inhibitor of LOX rewires collagen architecture and enhances chemoresponse in triple-negative breast cancer

Lysyl oxidase (LOX) is upregulated in highly stiff aggressive tumors, correlating with metastasis, resistance, and worse survival; however, there are currently no potent, safe, and orally bioavailable small molecule LOX inhibitors to treat these aggressive desmoplastic solid tumors in clinics. Here we discovered bi-thiazole derivatives as potent LOX inhibitors by robust screening of drug-like molecules combined with cell/recombinant protein-based assays. Structure-activity relationship analysis identified a potent lead compound (LXG6403) with ∼3.5-fold specificity for LOX compared to LOXL2 while not inhibiting LOXL1 with a competitive, time- and concentration-dependent irreversible mode of inhibition. LXG6403 shows favorable pharmacokinetic properties, globally changes ECM/collagen architecture, and reduces tumor stiffness. This leads to better drug penetration, inhibits FAK signaling, and induces ROS/DNA damage, G1 arrest, and apoptosis in chemoresistant triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) cell lines, PDX organoids, and in vivo. Overall, our potent and tolerable bi-thiazole LOX inhibitor enhances chemoresponse in TNBC, the deadliest breast cancer subtype.

Targeting TACC3 Induces Immunogenic Cell Death and Enhances T-DM1 Response in HER2-Positive Breast Cancer

Trastuzumab emtansine (T-DM1) was the first and one of the most successful antibody-drug conjugates (ADC) approved for treating refractory HER2-positive breast cancer. Despite its initial clinical efficacy, resistance is unfortunately common, necessitating approaches to improve response. Here, we found that in sensitive cells, T-DM1 induced spindle assembly checkpoint (SAC)-dependent immunogenic cell death (ICD), an immune-priming form of cell death. The payload of T-DM1 mediated ICD by inducing eIF2α phosphorylation, surface exposure of calreticulin, ATP and HMGB1 release, and secretion of ICD-related cytokines, all of which were lost in resistance. Accordingly, ICD-related gene signatures in pretreatment samples correlated with clinical response to T-DM1-containing therapy, and increased infiltration of antitumor CD8+ T cells in posttreatment samples was correlated with better T-DM1 response. Transforming acidic coiled-coil containing 3 (TACC3) was overexpressed in T-DM1-resistant cells, and T-DM1 responsive patients had reduced TACC3 protein expression whereas nonresponders exhibited increased TACC3 expression during T-DM1 treatment. Notably, genetic or pharmacologic inhibition of TACC3 restored T-DM1-induced SAC activation and induction of ICD markers in vitro. Finally, TACC3 inhibition in vivo elicited ICD in a vaccination assay and potentiated the antitumor efficacy of T-DM1 by inducing dendritic cell maturation and enhancing intratumoral infiltration of cytotoxic T cells. Together, these results illustrate that ICD is a key mechanism of action of T-DM1 that is lost in resistance and that targeting TACC3 can restore T-DM1-mediated ICD and overcome resistance.

SIGNIFICANCE

Loss of induction of immunogenic cell death in response to T-DM1 leads to resistance that can be overcome by targeting TACC3, providing an attractive strategy to improve the efficacy of T-DM1.

Cellular senescence gene TACC3 associated with colorectal cancer risk via genetic and DNA methylated alteration

Cell senescence genes play a vital role in the pathogenesis of colorectal cancer, a process that may involve the triggering of genetic variations and reversible phenotypes caused by epigenetic modifications. However, the specific regulatory mechanisms remain unclear. Using CellAge and The Cancer Genome Atlas databases and in-house RNA-seq data, DNA methylation-modified cellular senescence genes (DMCSGs) were validated by Support Vector Machine and correlation analyses. In 1150 cases and 1342 controls, we identified colorectal cancer risk variants in DMCSGs. The regulatory effects of gene, variant, and DNA methylation were explored through dual-luciferase and 5-azacytidine treatment experiments, complemented by multiple database analyses. Biological functions of key gene were evaluated via cell proliferation assays, SA-β-gal staining, senescence marker detection, and immune infiltration analyses. The genetic variant rs4558926 in the downstream of TACC3 was significantly associated with colorectal cancer risk (OR = 1.35, P = 3.22 × 10-4). TACC3 mRNA expression increased due to rs4558926 C > G and decreased DNA methylation levels. The CpG sites in the TACC3 promoter region were regulated by rs4558926. TACC3 knockdown decreased proliferation and senescence in colorectal cancer cells. In addition, subjects with high-TACC3 expression presented an immunosuppressive microenvironment. These findings provide insights into the involvement of genetic variants of cellular senescence genes in the development and progression of colorectal cancer.

Molecular Targeting of the Fibroblast Growth Factor Receptor Pathway across Various Cancers

Fibroblast growth factor receptors (FGFRs) are a family of receptor tyrosine kinases that are involved in the regulation of cell proliferation, survival, and development. FGFR alterations including amplifications, fusions, rearrangements, and mutations can result in the downstream activation of tyrosine kinases, leading to tumor development. Targeting these FGFR alterations has shown to be effective in treating cholangiocarcinoma, urothelial carcinoma, and myeloid/lymphoid neoplasms, and there are currently four FGFR inhibitors approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). There have been developments in multiple agents targeting the FGFR pathway, including selective FGFR inhibitors, ligand traps, monoclonal antibodies, and antibody-drug conjugates. However, most of these agents have variable and low responses, with some intolerable toxicities and acquired resistances. This review will summarize previous clinical experiences and current developments in agents targeting the FGFR pathway, and will also discuss future directions for FGFR-targeting agents.

TACC3: a multi-functional protein promoting cancer cell survival and aggressiveness

TACC3 is the most oncogenic member of the transforming acidic coiled-coil domain-containing protein (TACC) family. It is one of the major recruitment factors of distinct multi-protein complexes. TACC3 is localized to spindles, centrosomes, and nucleus, and regulates key oncogenic processes, including cell proliferation, migration, invasion, and stemness. Recently, TACC3 inhibition has been identified as a vulnerability in highly aggressive cancers, such as cancers with centrosome amplification (CA). TACC3 has spatiotemporal functions throughout the cell cycle; therefore, targeting TACC3 causes cell death in mitosis and interphase in cancer cells with CA. In the clinics, TACC3 is highly expressed and associated with worse survival in multiple cancers. Furthermore, TACC3 is a part of one of the most common fusions of FGFR, FGFR3-TACC3 and is important for the oncogenicity of the fusion. A detailed understanding of the regulation of TACC3 expression, its key partners, and molecular functions in cancer cells is vital for uncovering the most vulnerable tumors and maximizing the therapeutic potential of targeting this highly oncogenic protein. In this review, we summarize the established and emerging interactors and spatiotemporal functions of TACC3 in cancer cells, discuss the potential of TACC3 as a biomarker in cancer, and therapeutic potential of its inhibition.

Toxic PARP trapping upon cAMP-induced DNA damage reinstates the efficacy of endocrine therapy and CDK4/6 inhibitors in treatment-refractory ER+ breast cancer

Resistance to endocrine therapy and CDK4/6 inhibitors, the standard of care (SOC) in estrogen receptor-positive (ER+) breast cancer, greatly reduces patient survival. Therefore, elucidating the mechanisms of sensitivity and resistance to SOC therapy and identifying actionable targets are urgently needed. Here, we show that SOC therapy causes DNA damage and toxic PARP1 trapping upon generation of a functional BRCAness (i.e., BRCA1/2 deficiency) phenotype, leading to increased histone parylation and reduced H3K9 acetylation, resulting in transcriptional blockage and cell death. Mechanistically, SOC therapy downregulates phosphodiesterase 4D (PDE4D), a novel ER target gene in a feedforward loop with ER, resulting in increased cAMP, PKA-dependent phosphorylation of mitochondrial COXIV-I, ROS generation and DNA damage. However, during SOC resistance, an ER-to-EGFR switch induces PDE4D overexpression via c-Jun. Notably, combining SOC with inhibitors of PDE4D, EGFR or PARP1 overcomes SOC resistance irrespective of the BRCA1/2 status, providing actionable targets for restoring SOC efficacy.

Regulation and signaling pathways in cancer stem cells: implications for targeted therapy for cancer

Cancer stem cells (CSCs), initially identified in leukemia in 1994, constitute a distinct subset of tumor cells characterized by surface markers such as CD133, CD44, and ALDH. Their behavior is regulated through a complex interplay of networks, including transcriptional, post-transcriptional, epigenetic, tumor microenvironment (TME), and epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) factors. Numerous signaling pathways were found to be involved in the regulatory network of CSCs. The maintenance of CSC characteristics plays a pivotal role in driving CSC-associated tumor metastasis and conferring resistance to therapy. Consequently, CSCs have emerged as promising targets in cancer treatment. To date, researchers have developed several anticancer agents tailored to specifically target CSCs, with some of these treatment strategies currently undergoing preclinical or clinical trials. In this review, we outline the origin and biological characteristics of CSCs, explore the regulatory networks governing CSCs, discuss the signaling pathways implicated in these networks, and investigate the influential factors contributing to therapy resistance in CSCs. Finally, we offer insights into preclinical and clinical agents designed to eliminate CSCs.

Reviving immunogenic cell death upon targeting TACC3 enhances T-DM1 response in HER2-positive breast cancer

Immunogenic cell death (ICD), an immune-priming form of cell death, has been shown to be induced by several different anti-cancer therapies. Despite being the first and one of the most successful antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) approved for refractory HER2-positive breast cancer, little is known if response and resistance to trastuzumab emtansine (T-DM1) involves ICD modulation that can be leveraged to enhance T-DM1 response. Here, we report that T-DM1 induces spindle assembly checkpoint (SAC)-dependent ICD in sensitive cells by inducing eIF2α phosphorylation, surface exposure of calreticulin, ATP and HMGB1 release, and secretion of ICD-related cytokines, all of which are lost in resistance. Accordingly, an ICD-related gene signature correlates with clinical response to T-DM1-containing therapy. We found that transforming acidic coiled-coil containing 3 (TACC3) is overexpressed in T-DM1 resistant cells, and that T-DM1 responsive patients have reduced TACC3 protein while the non-responders exhibited increased TACC3 expression during T-DM1 treatment. Notably, genetic or pharmacological inhibition of TACC3 revives T-DM1-induced SAC activation and induction of ICD markers in vitro. Finally, TACC3 inhibition elicits ICD in vivo shown by vaccination assay, and it potentiates T-DM1 by inducing dendritic cell (DC) maturation and enhancing infiltration of cytotoxic T cells in the human HER2-overexpressing MMTV.f.huHER2#5 (Fo5) transgenic model. Together, our results show that ICD is a key mechanism of action of T-DM1 which is lost in resistance, and that targeting TACC3 restores T-DM1-mediated ICD and overcomes resistance.

TACC3 is an independent prognostic marker, and knockdown of TACC3 enhances the efficacy of CDK1 inhibitor RO3306 in liver cancer cells

The drug resistance of single-target therapy has gradually become an intractable clinical problem. Combination therapy may be an effective treatment to overcome or postpone drug resistance in cancer. Herein, we discussed the synergistic effect of transforming acidic coiled-coil containing protein 3 (TACC3) suppression and cyclin-dependent kinase 1 (CDK1) in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). The Cancer Genome Atlas database and bioinformatics methods were implemented to analyze the expression of CDK1 and TACC3, and predict the biological function of TACC3-related genes in HCC. In addition, in vitro experiments, including cell counting kit 8, transwell and flow cytometry were utilized to evaluate cell proliferation, migration, invasion, cell cycle arrest and apoptosis of HCC cells. Our results demonstrated that TACC3 is an unfavorable and independent prognostic factor to predict poor overall survival (OS) in HCC patients. Genetic inhibition of TACC3 exhibited a remarkable antineoplastic activity of HCC cell lines. Bioinformatic prediction proposed that CDK1 may be the main regulator of TACC3-related genes in HCC. In vitro experimental measurements suggested that a combination of si-TACC3 and CDK1 inhibitor synergistically inhibited cell proliferation and migration, and induced G2 cell cycle arrest and apoptosis of HepG2 or MHCC97H cells. In conclusion, our results revealed a prospective dual-target, TACC3 and CDK1, therapeutic strategy to improve the treatment of HCC.

Targeting TACC3 represents a novel vulnerability in highly aggressive breast cancers with centrosome amplification

Centrosome amplification (CA) is a hallmark of cancer that is strongly associated with highly aggressive disease and worse clinical outcome. Clustering extra centrosomes is a major coping mechanism required for faithful mitosis of cancer cells with CA that would otherwise undergo mitotic catastrophe and cell death. However, its underlying molecular mechanisms have not been fully described. Furthermore, little is known about the processes and players triggering aggressiveness of cells with CA beyond mitosis. Here, we identified Transforming Acidic Coiled-Coil Containing Protein 3 (TACC3) to be overexpressed in tumors with CA, and its high expression is associated with dramatically worse clinical outcome. We demonstrated, for the first time, that TACC3 forms distinct functional interactomes regulating different processes in mitosis and interphase to ensure proliferation and survival of cancer cells with CA. Mitotic TACC3 interacts with the Kinesin Family Member C1 (KIFC1) to cluster extra centrosomes for mitotic progression, and inhibition of this interaction leads to mitotic cell death via multipolar spindle formation. Interphase TACC3 interacts with the nucleosome remodeling and deacetylase (NuRD) complex (HDAC2 and MBD2) in nucleus to inhibit the expression of key tumor suppressors (e.g., p21, p16 and APAF1) driving G1/S progression, and its inhibition blocks these interactions and causes p53-independent G1 arrest and apoptosis. Notably, inducing CA by p53 loss/mutation increases the expression of TACC3 and KIFC1 via FOXM1 and renders cancer cells highly sensitive to TACC3 inhibition. Targeting TACC3 by guide RNAs or small molecule inhibitors strongly inhibits growth of organoids and breast cancer cell line- and patient-derived xenografts with CA by induction of multipolar spindles, mitotic and G1 arrest. Altogether, our results show that TACC3 is a multifunctional driver of highly aggressive breast tumors with CA and that targeting TACC3 is a promising approach to tackle this disease.

High Expression of TACC3 Is Associated with the Poor Prognosis and Immune Infiltration in Lung Adenocarcinoma Patients

Background

Lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD) has been recognized as one of the commonest aggressive malignant tumors occurring in humans. The transforming acidic coiled-coil-containing protein 3 (TACC3) seems to be a probable prognostic marker and treatment target for non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Nevertheless, there exist no reports on the association between TACC3 and immunotherapy or other therapeutic interventions in LUAD.

Methods

Premised on the data accessed from The Cancer Genome Atlas- (TCGA-) LUAD, we carried out bioinformatics analysis. The TACC3 expression in LUAD was analyzed utilizing the GEPIA. A survival module was constructed to evaluate the effect of TACC3 on the survival of patients with LUAD. Logistic regression was undertaken to examine the relationship between TACC3 expression and clinical factors. Protein-protein interaction analysis was performed in the GeneMANIA database, and enrichment analysis and identification of predicted signaling pathways were performed using Gene Ontology and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes. Additionally, the Cox regression was used to assess the clinicopathologic features linked to the overall survival in TCGA patients. Lastly, we investigated the link between TACC3 and tumor-infiltrating immune cells (TIICs) through CIBERSORT and the “Correlation” module of GEPIA. The association between TACC3 gene expression and drug response was analyzed using the CellMiner database to predict drug sensitivity.

Results

The outcomes illustrated that TACC3 was upregulated and considerably correlated with dismal prognosis in LUAD patients. Moreover, the multivariate Cox regression analysis depicted TACC3 as an independent prognostic marker in LUAD patients. It was also revealed that the expression of TACC3 was related to clinical stage (P = 0.014), age (P = 0.002), and T classification (P ≤ 0.018). Moreover, we discovered that the expression of TACC3 was considerably linked to a wide range of TIICs, especially the T cells and NK cells. Single-cell results found that TACC3 was mainly expressed in the immune cells (especially tprolif cells) and malignant cells. TACC3 gene expression was positively correlated with TMB and MSI, and TACC3 may provide a prediction of the efficacy of immunotherapy. Moreover, the correlation analysis between TACC3 gene expression and immune checkpoint gene expression revealed that TACC3 may coordinate the activities of these ICP genes in different signal transduction pathways. TACC3 is related to biological progress (BP), cellular component (CC), and molecular function (MF). The pathways involved in the interaction network involving TACC3 include nonhomologous end-joining, RNA transport, pantothenate and CoA biosynthesis, homologous recombination, and nucleotide excision repair. Furthermore, we investigated the association between the expression of TACC3 and the use of antitumor drugs, and TACC3 was positively correlated with response to most drugs.

Conclusion

The findings from this research offer robust proof that the expression of TACC3 could be a prognostic marker correlated with TIICs in LUAD. TACC3 can also provide new ideas for immunotherapy as a potential therapeutic target.

Signaling Pathway and Small-Molecule Drug Discovery of FGFR: A Comprehensive Review

Targeted therapy is a groundbreaking innovation for cancer treatment. Among the receptor tyrosine kinases, the fibroblast growth factor receptors (FGFRs) garnered substantial attention as promising therapeutic targets due to their fundamental biological functions and frequently observed abnormality in tumors. In the past 2 decades, several generations of FGFR kinase inhibitors have been developed. This review starts by introducing the biological basis of FGF/FGFR signaling. It then gives a detailed description of different types of small-molecule FGFR inhibitors according to modes of action, followed by a systematic overview of small-molecule-based therapies of different modalities. It ends with our perspectives for the development of novel FGFR inhibitors.

Comprehensive Analysis Uncovers Prognostic and Immunogenic Characteristics of Cellular Senescence for Lung Adenocarcinoma

Cellular senescence plays a crucial role in tumorigenesis, development and immune modulation in cancers. However, to date, a robust and reliable cellular senescence-related signature and its value in clinical outcomes and immunotherapy response remain unexplored in lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD) patients. Through exploring the expression profiles of 278 cellular senescence-related genes in 936 LUAD patients, a cellular senescence-related signature (SRS) was constructed and validated as an independent prognostic predictor for LUAD patients. Notably, patients with high SRS scores exhibited upregulation of senescence-associated secretory phenotype (SASP) and an immunosuppressive phenotype. Further analysis showed that SRS combined with immune checkpoint expression or TMB served as a good predictor for patients’ clinical outcomes, and patients with low SRS scores might benefit from immunotherapy. Collectively, our findings demonstrated that SRS involved in the regulation of the tumor immune microenvironment through SASP was a robust biomarker for the immunotherapeutic response and prognosis in LUAD.

Fibroblast growth factor receptor fusions in cancer: opportunities and challenges

Fibroblast growth factors (FGFs) and their receptors (FGFRs) play critical roles in many biological processes and developmental functions. Chromosomal translocation of FGFRs result in the formation of chimeric FGFR fusion proteins, which often cause aberrant signaling leading to the development and progression of human cancer. Due to the high recurrence rate and carcinogenicity, oncogenic FGFR gene fusions have been identified as promising therapeutic targets. Erdafitinib and pemigatinib, two FGFR selective inhibitors targeting FGFR fusions, have been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to treat patients with urothelial cancer and cholangiocarcinoma, respectively. Futibatinib, a third-generation FGFR inhibitor, is under phase III clinical trials in patients with FGFR gene rearrangements. Herein, we review the current understanding of the FGF/FGFRs system and the oncogenic effect of FGFR fusions, summarize promising inhibitors under clinical development for patients with FGFR fusions, and highlight the challenges in this field.

Oncogenic FGFR Fusions Produce Centrosome and Cilia Defects by Ectopic Signaling

A single primary cilium projects from most vertebrate cells to guide cell fate decisions. A growing list of signaling molecules is found to function through cilia and control ciliogenesis, including the fibroblast growth factor receptors (FGFR). Aberrant FGFR activity produces abnormal cilia with deregulated signaling, which contributes to pathogenesis of the FGFR-mediated genetic disorders. FGFR lesions are also found in cancer, raising a possibility of cilia involvement in the neoplastic transformation and tumor progression. Here, we focus on FGFR gene fusions, and discuss the possible mechanisms by which they function as oncogenic drivers. We show that a substantial portion of the FGFR fusion partners are proteins associated with the centrosome cycle, including organization of the mitotic spindle and ciliogenesis. The functions of centrosome proteins are often lost with the gene fusion, leading to haploinsufficiency that induces cilia loss and deregulated cell division. We speculate that this complements the ectopic FGFR activity and drives the FGFR fusion cancers.

Synthesis and biological evaluation of novel isoxazole-piperazine hybrids as potential anti-cancer agents with inhibitory effect on liver cancer stem cells

In our effort for the development of novel anticancer therapeutics, a series of isoxazole-piperazine analogues were prepared, and primarily screened for their antiproliferative potential against hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC; Huh7/Mahlavu) and breast (MCF-7) cancer cells. All compounds demonstrated potent to moderate cytotoxicity on all cell lines with IC₅₀ values in the range of 0.09-11.7 μM. Further biological studies with 6a and 13d in HCC cells have shown that both compounds induced G1 or G2/M arrests resulting in apoptotic cell death. Subsequent analysis of proteins involved in cell cycle progression as well as proliferation of HCC cells revealed that 6a and 13d may affect cellular survival pathways differently depending on the mutation profiles of cells (p53 and PTEN), epidermal/mesenchymal characteristics, and activation of cell mechanisms through p53 dependent/independent pathways. Lastly, we have demonstrated the potential anti-stemness properties of these compounds in which the proportion of liver CSCs in Huh7 cells (CD133+/EpCAM+) were significantly reduced by 6a and 13d. Furthermore, both compounds caused a significant reduction in expression of stemness markers, NANOG or OCT4 proteins, in Mahlavu and Huh7 cells, as well as resulted in a decreased sphere formation capacity in Huh7 cells. Together, these novel isoxazole-piperazine derivatives may possess potential as leads for development of effective anti-cancer drugs against HCC cells with stem cell-like properties.

Genetic and epigenetic landscape of IDH-wildtype glioblastomas with FGFR3-TACC3 fusions

A subset of glioblastomas (GBMs) harbors potentially druggable oncogenic FGFR3-TACC3 (F3T3) fusions. However, their associated molecular and clinical features are poorly understood. Here we analyze the frequency of F3T3-fusion positivity, its associated genetic and methylation profiles, and its impact on survival in 906 IDH-wildtype GBM patients. We establish an F3T3 prevalence of 4.1% and delineate its associations with cancer signaling pathway alterations. F3T3-positive GBMs had lower tumor mutational and copy-number alteration burdens than F3T3-wildtype GBMs. Although F3T3 fusions were predominantly mutually exclusive with other oncogenic RTK pathway alterations, they did rarely co-occur with EGFR amplification. They were less likely to harbor TP53 alterations. By methylation profiling, they were more likely to be assigned the mesenchymal or RTK II subclass. Despite being older at diagnosis and having similar frequencies of MGMT promoter hypermethylation, patients with F3T3-positive GBMs lived about 8 months longer than those with F3T3-wildtype tumors. While consistent with IDH-wildtype GBM, F3T3-positive GBMs exhibit distinct biological features, underscoring the importance of pursuing molecular studies prior to clinical trial enrollment and targeted treatment.