[EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitor HS-10296 induces autophagy and apoptosis in triplenegative breast cancer MDA-MB-231 cells]

[Aumolertinib inhibits proliferation, invasion and migration and promotes apoptosis of neuroblastoma cells by downregulating MMP2 and MMP9 expression]

OBJECTIVE

To investigate the effects of aumolertinib, an epidermal growth factor receptor tyrosine kinase inhibitor (EGFR-TKI), on biological behaviors of neuroblastoma SH-SY5Y cells.

METHODS

CCK-8 assay, colony-forming assay, Transwell assay and flow cytometry were used to assess the effects of 2, 4 and 8 μmol/L aumolertinib on proliferation, survival, migration, invasion and apoptosis of SH-SY5Y cells, and the changes in ultrastructure of the cells were observed using transmission electron microscopy. The protein expressions of Bax, Bcl-2, E-cadherin, vimentin, MMP2, and MMP9 in the treated cells were detected using Western blotting. A nude mouse model bearing subcutaneous SH-SY5Y cell xenograft were treated with aumolertinib (15 mg/kg) or cyclophosphamide (20 mg/kg), and the tumor volume and body mass changes was measured. HE staining was used to observe adverse effects of the treatment on the heart, liver, spleen, lungs and kidneys.

RESULTS

Aumolertinib significantly inhibited the proliferation and viability of SH-SY5Y cells (P<0.05) with IC50 of 5.004, 3.728 and 3.228 µmol/L at 24, 48 and 72 h, respectively. Aumolertinib treatment induced obvious apoptosis of the cells, which showed characteristic morphological changes of apoptosis under transmission electron microscope. The treatment also inhibited the invasion and migration abilities of SH-SY5Y cells (P<0.01), up-regulated the expression levels of E-cadherin and Bax and lowered the expression levels of Bcl-2, vimentin, MMP2 and MMP9 (P<0.05). In the nude mouse models, treatment with aumolertinib effectively inhibited the growth of neuroblastoma without causing significant toxicity to the vital organs.

CONCLUSION

Aumolertinib inhibits proliferation, survival, invasion and migration and induces apoptosis in SH-SY5Y cells by downregulating MMP2 and MMP9 expression.

Downregulated miR-150-5p in the Tissue of Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma

The clinical significance and potential targets of miR-150-5p have not been elucidated in nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC). The pooled analysis based on 539 NPC samples and 75 non-NPC nasopharyngeal samples demonstrated that the expression of miR-150-5p was down-regulated in NPC, with the area under the curve being 0.89 and the standardized mean difference being -0.66. Subsequently, we further screened the differentially expressed genes (DEGs) of 14 datasets, including 312 NPC samples and 70 non-NPC nasopharyngeal samples. After the DEGs were narrowed down with the predicted targets from the miRWalk database, 1316 prospective target genes of miR-150-5p were identified. The enrichment analysis suggested that "pathways in cancer" was the most significant pathway. Finally, six hub genes of "pathways in cancer", including EGFR, TP53, HRAS, CCND1, CDH1, and FGF2, were screened out through the STRING database. In conclusion, the down-regulation of miR-150-5p modulates the tumorigenesis and progression of NPC.

Drug Repositioning and Subgroup Discovery for Precision Medicine Implementation in Triple Negative Breast Cancer

Simple Summary

The heterogeneity of complicated diseases like cancer negatively affects patients’ responses to treatment. Finding homogeneous subgroups of patients within the cancer population and finding the appropriate treatment for each subgroup will improve patients’ survival. In this study, we focus on triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC), where approximately 80% of patients do not entirely respond to chemotherapy. Our aim is to find subgroups of TNBC patients and identify drugs that have the potential to tailor treatments for each group through drug repositioning. After applying our method to TNBC, we found that different targeted mechanisms were suggested for different groups of patients. Our findings could help the research community to gain a better understanding of different subgroups within the TNBC population and can help the drugs to be repurposed with explainable results regarding the targeted mechanism.

Abstract

Breast cancer (BC) is the leading cause of death among female patients with cancer. Patients with triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) have the lowest survival rate. TNBC has substantial heterogeneity within the BC population. This study utilized our novel patient stratification and drug repositioning method to find subgroups of BC patients that share common genetic profiles and that may respond similarly to the recommended drugs. After further examination of the discovered patient subgroups, we identified five homogeneous druggable TNBC subgroups. A drug repositioning algorithm was then applied to find the drugs with a high potential for each subgroup. Most of the top drugs for these subgroups were chemotherapy used for various types of cancer, including BC. After analyzing the biological mechanisms targeted by these drugs, ferroptosis was the common cell death mechanism induced by the top drugs in the subgroups with neoplasm subdivision and race as clinical variables. In contrast, the antioxidative effect on cancer cells was the common targeted mechanism in the subgroup of patients with an age less than 50. Literature reviews were used to validate our findings, which could provide invaluable insights to streamline the drug repositioning process and could be further studied in a wet lab setting and in clinical trials.

Effect of almonertinib on the proliferation, invasion, and migration in non-small cell lung cancer cells

OBJECTIVES

Lung cancer is one of the most common malignant tumors in the world, and its lethality ranks the first among many malignant tumors. For non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients, due to the high mortality rate, the overall 5-year survival rate is less than 15%. When NSCLC undergoes local invasion, the 5-year survival rate is only 20%, and it is even lower when distant metastasis occurs up to 4%. Almonertinib is an innovative drug independently researched and developed by China with independent intellectual property rights. As an epidermal growth factor receptor tyrosine kinase inhibitor, almonertinib is mainly used for locally advanced or metastatic NSCLC patients with epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) T790M mutation. This study aims to investigate the effects of almonertinib on the proliferation, invasion and migration of NSCLC cells in vitro.

METHODS

NSCLC cells H1975 and PC-9 were cultured in vitro. The effects of almonertinib on the proliferation, apoptosis, invasion, and migration of H1975 and PC-9 cells were detected by CCK-8 assay, apoptotic assay and Transwell assay. The expression of invasion and migration related proteins was detected by Western blotting.

RESULTS

The CCK-8 experiment showed that almonertinib inhibited the proliferation of H1975 and PC-9 cells in a time- and dose-dependent manner. The IC50 values in PC-9 cells at 24 and 48 h were 5.422 and 1.302 µmol/L, respectively. The IC50 values in H1975 cells at 24 and 48 h were 4.803 and 2.094 µmol/L, respectively. Almonertinib (1, 2, 4, 8 µmol/L)-treated PC-9 and H1975 cells for 24 h resulted in apoptosis rate at (8.82±3.22)%, (9.53±4.24)%, (13.62±3.69)%, (42.10±1.76)% and (9.81±0.90)%, (10.51±1.49)%, (15.34±3.50)%, (28.97±2.57)%, respectively. The transwell experiment showed that almonertinib inhibited the invasion and migration of H1975 and PC-9 cells. Western blotting showed that compared with the control group, the expression levels of MMP-9, MMP-2 and vimentin protein in PC-9 and H1975 cells in 1, 2 and 4 µmol/L almonertinib treatment group were significantly lower, and the expression level of E-cadherin protein was significantly higher (all P<0.05). The experimental results of nude mice showed that compared with the control group and the positive control ositinib (AZD9291) group, the tumor growth was significantly inhibited, the weight of nude mice, the tumor volume and the tumor mass were significantly reduced in the almonertinib treatment group (all P<0.05).

CONCLUSIONS

Almonertinib can inhibit the proliferation, invasion, and migration of NSCLCH1975 and PC-9 cells in vitro and vivo, and promote the apoptosis of H1975 and PC-9 cells. The underlying mechanism may be related to the inhibition of tumor cell epithelial mesenchymal transformation and metalloproteinase expression.

Absorption, metabolism, excretion, and safety of [14C]almonertinib in healthy Chinese subjects

Background

Almonertinib Mesilate Tablets (HS-10296, Hansoh Pharma, Shanghai, China) is a novel and selective third-generation epidermal growth factor receptor tyrosine kinase inhibitor (EGFR-TKI). A phase I study of almonertinib in patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) demonstrated a linear metabolic trend, a good tolerability/safety profile, and preliminary antitumor activity. However, the metabolism, excretion, and substance balance of almonertinib has not been clearly determined. Here, we investigated the pharmacokinetic characteristics and safety profile of almonertinib following a single oral dose (110 mg/50 µCi) in healthy Chinese male participants.

Methods

Total radioactivity (TRA) in whole blood, plasma, urine, and feces was measured by utilizing a liquid scintillation counter to obtain almonertinib substance balance data. The pharmacokinetic parameters of [¹⁴C]almonertinib and the parent drug almonertinib in whole blood and plasma were analyzed with noncompartmental analysis in the WinNonlin software (Pharsight Corp). The major metabolites in plasma, urine, and feces were analyzed by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) coupled with an online or offline isotope detector. The safety of the drug was evaluated after administration.

Results

The safety and tolerability of a single oral dose of 110 mg/50 µCi [¹⁴C] almonertinib suspension were good in healthy Chinese male participants. There was no significant abnormality or special adverse reaction. TRA peaked quickly in plasma, with a T_max of 4.0 h; however, TRA was cleared slowly in vivo, with a mean terminal elimination phase (half-life, T_1/2) of up to 863 h. In addition to the parent drug, a total of 26 metabolites in blood, urine, and feces were analyzed. In plasma, parent drug was the major drug-related component, accounting for 69.97% of TRA, and M440 (almonertinib-M2 demethyl product) was the major metabolite, accounting for 5.08% of TRA; in urine, parent drug accounted for 0.48% of the dose administered and HAS-719 was the major metabolite, accounting for 1.20% of the administered dose; in feces, parent drug was about 8.61% of the dose administered and HAS-719 was the major metabolite, accounting for 12.33% of the administered dose, which was followed by M541a/M470a and M617/M575, accounting for 11.8% and 6.76% of the administered dose, respectively.

Conclusions

Almonertinib has a good safety profile, with parent drug as its main circulating component. almonertinib is extensively metabolized in vivo before excretion and is excreted as a parent drug and metabolites mainly via feces.

Trial registration

The trial registration number: CTR20192291.