Rucaparib: A Poly(ADP-Ribose) Polymerase Inhibitor for BRCA-Mutated Relapsed Ovarian Cancer

Ovarian cancer: Diagnosis and treatment strategies (Review)

Ovarian cancer is a malignant tumor that seriously endangers health. Early ovarian cancer symptoms are frequently challenging to detect, resulting in a large proportion of patients reaching an advanced stage when diagnosed. Conventional diagnosis relies heavily on serum biomarkers and pathological examination, but their sensitivity and specificity require improvement. Targeted therapy inhibits tumor growth by targeting certain characteristics of tumor cells, such as signaling pathways and gene mutations. However, the effectiveness of targeted therapy varies among individuals due to differences in their unique biological characteristics and requires individualized strategies. Immunotherapy is a promising treatment for ovarian cancer due to its long-lasting antitumor effect. Nevertheless, issues such as variable efficacy, immune-associated adverse effects and drug resistance remain to be resolved. The present review discusses the diagnostic strategies, rationale, treatment strategies and prospects of targeted therapy and immunotherapy for ovarian cancer.

3D-QSAR, molecular docking, and molecular dynamics analysis of dihydrodiazaindolone derivatives as PARP-1 inhibitors

CONTEXT

PARP-1 plays an important role in DNA repair and apoptosis, and PARP-1 inhibitors have shown to be effective in the treatment of several malignancies. To evaluate the function of new PARP-1 inhibitors as anticancer adjuvant medicines, 3D-QSAR, molecular docking, and molecular dynamics (MD) simulations of a sequence of dihydrodiazepinoindolone derivatives PARP-1 inhibitors were undertaken in this study.

METHODS

In this paper, 43 PARP-1 inhibitors were studied in a three-dimensional quantitative structure-activity relationship (3D-QSAR) using comparative molecular field analysis (CoMFA) and comparative molecular similarity index analysis (CoMSIA). CoMFA with q2 of 0.675 and r2 of 0.981 was achieved, as was CoMSIA with q2 of 0.755 and r2 of 0.992. The changed areas of these compounds are shown by steric, electrostatic, hydrophobic, and hydrogen-bonded acceptor field contour maps. Subsequently, molecular docking, and molecular dynamics simulations further confirmed that key residues Gly863 and Ser904 of PARP-1 are vital residues for protein interactions and their binding affinity. The effects of 3D-QSAR, molecular docking and molecular dynamics simulations supply a new route for the search of new PARP-1 inhibitors. Finally, we designed eight new compounds with exact activity and ADME/T properties.

Phase I Pharmacokinetic Study of Niraparib in Chinese Patients with Epithelial Ovarian Cancer

LESSONS LEARNED

Pharmacokinetics characteristics of niraparib in Chinese patients were similar to those in white patients. Niraparib could be well tolerated by Chinese patients, and adverse events were manageable in this study. Population pharmacokinetics analysis indicated that baseline body weight had a modest impact on pharmacokinetics parameters of niraparib; however, it was not considered clinically important.

BACKGROUND

This randomized, open-label, single-arm, phase I study was designed to investigate the pharmacokinetics (PK) and safety of niraparib in Chinese patients with epithelial ovarian cancer.

METHODS

Eligible patients were randomized in a 1:1:1 ratio to receive 100, 200, or 300 mg of niraparib once daily. PK parameters were analyzed after single and multiple dose administrations.

RESULTS

Thirty-six Chinese patients were enrolled in total. Niraparib was rapidly absorbed after administration, and median time-to-peak (Tmax ) was 3 hours. The long terminal elimination half-life (T1/2 ∼ 35 hours) supports once-daily dosing regimen. The exposure to niraparib showed linear and dose-proportional pharmacokinetics, whereas other PK parameters such as Tmax , T1/2 , and accumulation ratio were dose independent. Population PK analysis indicated that there was no effect of race on niraparib PK parameters, whereas baseline body weight had a modest impact on niraparib exposure. Grade 3/4 treatment-emergent adverse events (TEAEs; reported in ≥10% of patients) included platelet count decreased (a total of five patients who were all from the 300-mg group) and neutrophil count decreased. The TEAEs were manageable after dose modification.

CONCLUSION

The PK profile of niraparib in Chinese patients is consistent with that in white patients. Niraparib is safe and well tolerated in Chinese patients with ovarian cancer.

Discovery of a novel DNA polymerase inhibitor and characterization of its antiproliferative properties

Chromosomal duplication is targeted by various chemotherapeutic agents for the treatment of cancer. However, there is no specific inhibitor of DNA polymerases that is viable for cancer management. Through structure-based in silico screening of the ZINC database, we identified a specific inhibitor of DNA polymerase δ. The discovered inhibitor, Zelpolib, is projected to bind to the active site of Pol δ when it is actively engaged in DNA replication through interactions with DNA template and primer. Zelpolib shows robust inhibition of Pol δ activity in reconstituted DNA replication assays. Under cellular conditions, Zelpolib is taken up readily by cancer cells and inhibits DNA replication in assays to assess global DNA synthesis or single-molecule bases by DNA fiber fluorography. In addition, we show that Zelpolib displays superior antiproliferative properties to methotrexate, 5-flourouracil, and cisplatin in triple-negative breast cancer cell line, pancreatic cancer cell line and platinum-resistant pancreatic cancer cell line. Pol δ is not only involved in DNA replication, it is also a key component in many DNA repair pathways. Pol δ is the key enzyme responsible for D-loop extension during homologous recombination. Indeed, Zelpolib shows robust inhibition of homologous recombination repair of DNA double-strand breaks and induces "BRCAness" in HR-proficient cancer cells and enhances their sensitivity to PARP inhibitors.

Identification of Novel Target for Osteosarcoma by Network Analysis

Background

Osteosarcoma (OS) is a highly complicated bone cancer involving imbalance of signaling transduction networks in cells. Development of new anti-osteosarcoma drugs is very challenging, mainly due to lack of known key targets.

Material/Method

In this study, we attempted to reveal more promising targets for drug design by “Target-Pathway” network analysis, providing the new therapeutic strategy of osteosarcoma. The potential targets used for the treatment of OS were selected from 4 different sources: DrugBank, TCRD database, dbDEMC database, and recent scientific literature papers. Cytoscape was used for the establishment of the “Target-Pathway” network.

Results

The obtained results suggest that tankyrase 2 (TNKS2) might be a very good potential protein target for the treatment of osteosarcoma. An in vitro MTT assay proved that it is an available option against OS by targeting the TNKS2 protein. Subsequently, cell cycle and apoptosis assay by flow cytometry showed the TNKS2 inhibitor can obviously induce cell cycle arrest, apoptosis, and mitotic cell death.

Conclusions

Tankyrase 2 (TNKS2), a member of the multifunctional poly(ADP-ribose) polymerases (PARPs), could be a very useful protein target for the treatment of osteosarcoma.