1
|
Malekan M, Haass NK, Rokni GR, Gholizadeh N, Ebrahimzadeh MA, Kazeminejad A. VEGF/VEGFR axis and its signaling in melanoma: Current knowledge toward therapeutic targeting agents and future perspectives. Life Sci 2024; 345:122563. [PMID: 38508233 DOI: 10.1016/j.lfs.2024.122563] [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: 01/20/2024] [Revised: 03/10/2024] [Accepted: 03/13/2024] [Indexed: 03/22/2024]
Abstract
Melanoma is responsible for most skin cancer-associated deaths globally. The progression of melanoma is influenced by a number of pathogenic processes. Understanding the VEGF/VEGFR axis, which includes VEGF-A, PlGF, VEGF-B, VEGF-C, and VEGF-D and their receptors, VEGFR-1, VEGFR-2, and VEGFR-3, is of great importance in melanoma due to its crucial role in angiogenesis. This axis generates multifactorial and complex cellular signaling, engaging the MAPK/ERK, PI3K/AKT, PKC, PLC-γ, and FAK signaling pathways. Melanoma cell growth and proliferation, migration and metastasis, survival, and acquired resistance to therapy are influenced by this axis. The VEGF/VEGFR axis was extensively examined for their potential as diagnostic/prognostic biomarkers in melanoma patients and results showed that VEGF overexpression can be associated with unfavorable prognosis, higher level of tumor invasion and poor response to therapy. MicroRNAs linking to the VEGF/VEGFR axis were identified and, in this review, divided into two categories according to their functions, some of them promote melanoma angiogenesis (promotive group) and some restrict melanoma angiogenesis (protective group). In addition, the approach of treating melanoma by targeting the VEGF/VEGFR axis has garnered significant interest among researchers. These agents can be divided into two main groups: anti-VEGF and VEGFR inhibitors. These therapeutic options may be a prominent step along with the modern targeting and immune therapies for better coverage of pathological processes leading to melanoma progression and therapy resistance.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Mohammad Malekan
- Student Research Committee, School of Medicine, Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences, Sari, Iran.
| | | | - Ghasem Rahmatpour Rokni
- Department of Dermatology, Faculty of Medicine, Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences, Sari, Iran
| | - Nasim Gholizadeh
- Department of Dermatology, Faculty of Medicine, Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences, Sari, Iran
| | - Mohammad Ali Ebrahimzadeh
- Pharmaceutical Sciences Research Center, School of Pharmacy, Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences, Sari, Iran
| | - Armaghan Kazeminejad
- Department of Dermatology, Antimicrobial Resistance Research Center, Communicable Diseases Institute, Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences,Sari, Iran
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
Optimizing the Sunitinib for cardio-toxicity and thyro-toxicity by scaffold hopping approach. In Silico Pharmacol 2022; 10:10. [PMID: 35791431 DOI: 10.1007/s40203-022-00125-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/02/2021] [Accepted: 05/16/2022] [Indexed: 10/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Sunitinib is a potent anti-cancer scaffold that acts as a VEGFR-2 inhibitor. Although the scaffold exhibits potent anti-cancer activity, it is cardiotoxic and also induces hypothyroidism. The current research aims to optimize the Sunitinib for cardio-toxicity and thyro-toxicity by scaffold hopping approach using the admetSAR server. The server has optimized the physico-chemical properties of Sunitinib, which were contributing to the cardiotoxicity and thyro-toxicity. The library of the optimized compounds was further screened by the molecular docking studies and results were validated by the MD simulation and DFT analysis for VEGFR-2 inhibition. Compounds 163 and 432 exhibited the highest affinity to VEGFR-2 receptor with minimal cardiotoxicity and thyro-toxicity. These two compounds could be the starting point for the further discovery of angiogenic inhibitors. Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s40203-022-00125-1.
Collapse
|
3
|
Malekan M, Ebrahimzadeh MA. Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor Receptors [VEGFR] as Target in Breast Cancer Treatment: Current Status in Preclinical and Clinical Studies and Future Directions. Curr Top Med Chem 2022; 22:891-920. [PMID: 35260067 DOI: 10.2174/1568026622666220308161710] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/19/2021] [Revised: 01/11/2022] [Accepted: 01/20/2022] [Indexed: 12/09/2022]
Abstract
Breast cancer [BC] is one of the most common cancers among women, one of the leading causes of a considerable number of cancer-related death globally. Among all procedures leading to the formation of breast tumors, angiogenesis has an important role in cancer progression and outcomes. Therefore, various anti-angiogenic strategies have developed so far to enhance treatment's efficacy in different types of BC. Vascular endothelial growth factors [VEGFs] and their receptors are regarded as the most well-known regulators of neovascularization. VEGF binding to vascular endothelial growth factor receptors [VEGFRs] provides cell proliferation and vascular tissue formation by the subsequent tyrosine kinase pathway. VEGF/VEGFR axis displays an attractive target for anti-angiogenesis and anti-cancer drug design. This review aims to describe the existing literature regarding VEGFR inhibitors, focusing on BC treatment reported in the last two decades.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Mohammad Malekan
- Student Research Committee, School of Medicine, Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences, Sari, Iran
| | - Mohammad Ali Ebrahimzadeh
- Pharmaceutical Sciences Research Center, School of Pharmacy, Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences, Sari, Iran
| |
Collapse
|
4
|
Das SS, Alkahtani S, Bharadwaj P, Ansari MT, ALKahtani MDF, Pang Z, Hasnain MS, Nayak AK, Aminabhavi TM. Molecular insights and novel approaches for targeting tumor metastasis. Int J Pharm 2020; 585:119556. [PMID: 32574684 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijpharm.2020.119556] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/22/2020] [Revised: 06/01/2020] [Accepted: 06/14/2020] [Indexed: 12/18/2022]
Abstract
In recent years, due to the effective drug delivery and preciseness of tumor sites or microenvironment, the targeted drug delivery approaches have gained ample attention for tumor metastasis therapy. The conventional treatment approaches for metastasis therapy have reported with immense adverse effects because they exhibited maximum probability of killing the carcinogenic cells along with healthy cells. The tumor vasculature, comprising of vasculogenic impressions and angiogenesis, greatly depends upon the growth and metastasis in the tumors. Therefore, various nanocarriers-based delivery approaches for targeting to tumor vasculature have been attempted as efficient and potential approaches for the treatment of tumor metastasis and the associated lesions. Furthermore, the targeted drug delivery approaches have found to be most apt way to overcome from all the limitations and adverse effects associated with the conventional therapies. In this review, various approaches for efficient targeting of pharmacologically active chemotherapeutics against tumor metastasis with the cohesive objectives of prognosis, tracking and therapy are summarized.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Sabya Sachi Das
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences and Technology, Birla Institute of Technology, Mesra, Ranchi 835 215, Jharkhand, India
| | - Saad Alkahtani
- Department of Zoology, College of Science, King Saud University, P.O. Box 2455, Riyadh 11451, Saudi Arabia
| | - Priyanshu Bharadwaj
- UFR des Sciences de Santé, Université de Bourgogne Franche-Comté, Dijon 21000, France
| | - Mohammed Tahir Ansari
- School of Pharmacy, University of Nottingham Malaysia, Jalan Broga, Semenyih, Kajang, Selangor 43500, Malaysia
| | - Muneera D F ALKahtani
- Biology Department, College of Science, Princess Nourah bint Abdulrahman University, P.O. Box 102275, Riyadh 11675, Saudi Arabia
| | - Zhiqing Pang
- School of Pharmacy, Fudan University, Key Laboratory of Smart Drug Delivery, Ministry of Education, 826 Zhangheng Road, Shanghai 201203, China
| | - Md Saquib Hasnain
- Department of Pharmacy, Shri Venkateshwara University, NH-24, Rajabpur, Gajraula, Amroha 244236, U.P., India.
| | - Amit Kumar Nayak
- Department of Pharmaceutics, Seemanta Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Mayurbhanj 757086, Odisha, India.
| | | |
Collapse
|
5
|
Ishimoto K, Sawai Y, Fukuda N, Nagata T, Ikemoto T. Convergent and streamlined synthesis of 6-etherified imidazo[1,2-b]pyridazine-2-amine derivatives possessing VEGFR-2 kinase inhibitory activity. Tetrahedron 2013. [DOI: 10.1016/j.tet.2013.07.087] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/26/2022]
|
6
|
Mohamedali KA, Cao Y, Cheung LH, Hittelman WN, Rosenblum MG. The functionalized human serine protease granzyme B/VEGF₁₂₁ targets tumor vasculature and ablates tumor growth. Mol Cancer Ther 2013; 12:2055-66. [PMID: 23858102 DOI: 10.1158/1535-7163.mct-13-0165] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/27/2022]
Abstract
The serine protease granzyme B (GrB) induces apoptosis through both caspase-dependent and -independent multiple-cascade mechanisms. VEGF₁₂₁ binds to both VEGF receptor (VEGFR)-1 and VEGFR-2 receptors. We engineered a unique GrB/VEGF₁₂₁ fusion protein and characterized its properties in vitro and in vivo. Endothelial and tumor cell lines showed varying levels of sensitivity to GrB/VEGF₁₂₁ that correlated closely to total VEGFR-2 expression. GrB/VEGF₁₂₁ localized efficiently into VEGFR-2-expressing cells, whereas the internalization into VEGFR-1-expressing cells was significantly reduced. Treatment of VEGFR-2(+) cells caused mitochondrial depolarization in 48% of cells by 48 hours. Exposure to GrB/VEGF₁₂₁ induced apoptosis in VEGFR-2(+), but not in VEGFR-1(+), cells and rapid caspase activation was observed that could not be inhibited by treatment with a pan-caspase inhibitor. In vivo, GrB/VEGF₁₂₁ localized in perivascular tumor areas adjacent to microvessels and in other areas in the tumor less well vascularized, whereas free GrB did not specifically localize to tumor tissue. Administration (intravenous) of GrB/VEGF₁₂₁ to mice at doses up to 40 mg/kg showed no toxicity. Treatment of mice bearing established PC-3 tumor xenografts with GrB/VEGF₁₂₁ showed significant antitumor effect versus treatment with GrB or saline. Treatment with GrB/VEGF₁₂₁ at 27 mg/kg resulted in the regression of four of five tumors in this group. Tumors showed a two-fold lower Ki-67-labeling index compared with controls. Our results show that targeted delivery of GrB to tumor vascular endothelial cells or to tumor cells activates apoptotic cascades and this completely human construct may have significant therapeutic potential.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Khalid A Mohamedali
- Corresponding Author: Michael G. Rosenblum, Department of Experimental Therapeutics, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Unit 1950, 1515 Holcombe Blvd., Houston, TX 77030.
| | | | | | | | | |
Collapse
|
7
|
Robles Irizarry L, Hambardzumyan D, Nakano I, Gladson CL, Ahluwalia MS. Therapeutic targeting of VEGF in the treatment of glioblastoma. Expert Opin Ther Targets 2012; 16:973-84. [PMID: 22876981 DOI: 10.1517/14728222.2012.711817] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/05/2022]
Abstract
INTRODUCTION Glioblastoma (GBM) is the most common and aggressive type of primary malignant brain tumor in adults. Despite therapy with maximal safe surgical resection, radiation and temozolomide, prognosis remains poor at 14.6 months. Hence, there is an urgent need for developing novel therapeutic agents. In GBMs, the balance of angiogenic growth factors is skewed toward pro-angiogenesis and VEGF is identified as the key growth factor responsible for neovasculature. Targeting angiogenesis is hypothesized to arrest tumor growth and hence VEGF is an attractive therapeutic target. AREAS COVERED The purpose of this review is to discuss VEGF pathway inhibitors, their efficacy as monotherapy or in combination with other drugs, the effects on the radiographic response/assessment for GBMs, mechanisms of resistance and associated biomarkers. A short summary of angiogenesis and of the biological characteristics of angiogenesis will also be provided to enhance the understanding of VEGF pathway inhibitors. EXPERT OPINION Therapeutic targeting of VEGF has lead to improvements in progression-free survival in GBM patients without any change in the overall survival. VEGF-targeted therapy remains a promising therapeutic opportunity if improvements in biomarkers, imaging techniques and rational combination therapy are used to help advance the clinical efficacy of this approach.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Lizbeth Robles Irizarry
- Neurological Institute, Cleveland Clinic, The Rose Ella Burkhardt Brain Tumor and Neuro-Oncology Center, Cleveland, OH, USA
| | | | | | | | | |
Collapse
|
8
|
Modeling and predicting clinical efficacy for drugs targeting the tumor milieu. Nat Biotechnol 2012; 30:648-57. [DOI: 10.1038/nbt.2286] [Citation(s) in RCA: 91] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
|
9
|
Freeman R, Girsh J, Jou AFJ, Ho JAA, Hug T, Dernedde J, Willner I. Optical aptasensors for the analysis of the vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF). Anal Chem 2012; 84:6192-8. [PMID: 22746189 DOI: 10.1021/ac3011473] [Citation(s) in RCA: 146] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/11/2023]
Abstract
The vascular endothelial growth factor, VEGF, is an important biomarker for different diseases and clinical disorders. We present a series of optical aptasensor-based sensing platforms for VEGF that include the following: (i) A FRET-based sensor that involves the VEGF-induced separation of aptamer-functionalized quantum dots blocked by a quencher nucleic acid (detection limit 1 nM). (ii) A FRET-based sensor based on the VEGF-induced assembly of the aptamer subunits functionalized with QDs and a dye acceptor (Cy5), respectively (detection limit 12 nM). (iii) A chemiluminescence aptasensor based on VEGF-induced assembly of a hemin/G-quadruplex catalyst (detection limit 18 nM). (iv) A chemiluminescence aptasensor based on the VEGF-stimulated assembly of two aptamer subunits into the hemin/G-quadruplex catalyst (detection limit 2.6 nM). (v) A chemiluminescence resonance energy transfer (CRET) aptasensor based on the VEGF-induced assembly of a semiconductor QDs-hemin/G-quadruplex supramolecular structure (detection limit 875 pM). Furthermore, an amplified optical aptasensor system based on the Exonuclease III (Exo III) recycling of the VEGF analyte was developed. In this system, one aptamer subunit is modified at its 5' and 3' ends with QDs and a black hole quencher, respectively. The VEGF-induced self-assembly of the aptamer subunits result in the digestion of the quencher units and the autonomous recycling of the analyte, while triggering-on the luminescence of the QDs (detection limit 5 pM). The system was implemented to analyze VEGF in human sera samples.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Ronit Freeman
- Institute of Chemistry, The Center for Nanoscience and Nanotechnology, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel
| | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Collapse
|
10
|
Zhang J, Li H, Wang X, Qi H, Miao X, Zhang T, Chen G, Wang M. Phage-derived fully human antibody scFv fragment directed against human vascular endothelial growth factor receptor 2 blocked its interaction with VEGF. Biotechnol Prog 2012; 28:981-9. [DOI: 10.1002/btpr.1559] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/19/2011] [Revised: 04/12/2012] [Indexed: 11/10/2022]
|