Combinatorial inhibition of Plk1 and PKCβ in cancer cells with different p53 status

PLK1 inhibition-based combination therapies for cancer management

Polo-like kinase I (PLK1), a cell cycle regulating kinase, has been shown to have oncogenic function in several cancers. Although PLK1 inhibitors, such as BI2536, BI6727 (volasertib) and NMS-1286937 (onvansertib) are generally well-tolerated with a favorable pharmacokinetic profile, clinical successes are limited due to partial responses in cancer patients, especially those in advanced stages. Recently, combination therapies targeting multiple pathways are being tested for cancer management. In this review, we first discuss structure and function of PLK1, role of PLK1 in cancers, PLK1 specific inhibitors, and advantages of using combination therapy versus monotherapy followed by a critical account on PLK1-based combination therapies in cancer treatments, especially highlighting recent advancements and challenges. PLK1 inhibitors in combination with chemotherapy drugs and targeted small molecules have shown superior effects against cancer both in vitro and in vivo. PLK1-based combination therapies have shown increased apoptosis, disrupted cell cycle, and potential to overcome resistance in cancer cells/tissues over monotherapies. Further, with successes in preclinical experiments, researchers are validating such approaches in clinical trials. Although PLK1-based combination therapies have achieved initial success in clinical studies, there are examples where they have failed to improve patient survival. Therefore, further research is needed to identify and validate novel biologically informed co-targets for PLK1-based combinatorial therapies. Employing a network-based analysis, we identified potential PLK1 co-targets that could be examined further. In addition, understanding the mechanisms of synergism between PLK1 inhibitors and other agents may lead to a better approach on which agents to pair with PLK1 inhibition for optimum cancer treatment.

PKCβ1 regulates meiotic cell cycle in mouse oocyte

PKCβI, a member of the classical protein kinase C family, plays key roles in regulating cell cycle transition. Here, we report the expression, localization and functions of PKCβI in mouse oocyte meiotic maturation. PKCβI and p-PKCβI (phosphor-PKCβI) were expressed from germinal vesicle (GV) stage to metaphase II (MII) stage. Confocal microscopy revealed that PKCβI was localized in the GV and evenly distributed in the cytoplasm after GV breakdown (GVBD), and it was concentrated at the midbody at telophase in meiotic oocytes. While, p-PKCβI was concentrated at the spindle poles at the metaphase stages and associated with midbody at telophase. Depletion of PKCβI by specific siRNA injection resulted in defective spindles, accompanied with spindle assembly checkpoint activation, metaphase I arrest and failure of first polar body (PB1) extrusion. Live cell imaging analysis also revealed that knockdown of PKCβI resulted in abnormal spindles, misaligned chromosomes, and meiotic arrest of oocytes arrest at the Pro-MI/MI stage. PKCβI depletion did not affect the G2/M transition, but its overexpression delayed the G2/M transition through regulating Cyclin B1 level and Cdc2 activity. Our findings reveal that PKCβI is a critical regulator of meiotic cell cycle progression in oocytes. Abbreviations: PKC, protein kinase C; COC, cumulus-oocyte complexes; GV, germinal vesicle; GVBD, germinal vesicle breakdown; Pro-MI, first pro-metaphase; MI, first metaphase; Tel I, telophase I; MII, second metaphase; PB1, first polar body; SAC, spindle assembly checkpoint.

Status quo of p53 in the treatment of tumors

The p53 gene is pivotal for oncogenesis in a combination of mutations in oncogenes and antioncogenes. The ubiquitous loss of the p53 pathway in human cancers has generated considerable interest in developing p53-targeted cancer therapies, but current ideas and approaches targeting p53 are conflicting. Current researches focus on cancer-selective drugs with therapeutic strategies that both activate and inhibit p53. As p53 is ubiquitously lost in human cancers, the strategy of exogenous p53 addition is reasonable. However, p53 acts not equally in all cell types; thus, individualized p53 therapy is the direction of future research. To clarify the controversies on p53 for improvement of future antitumor studies, the review focuses on the available technological protocols, including their advantages and limitations in terms of future therapeutic use of p53 in the management of tumors.

Polo-like kinase 1 expression is suppressed by CCAAT/enhancer-binding protein α to mediate colon carcinoma cell differentiation and apoptosis

BACKGROUND

Human polo-like kinase 1 (PLK1), a highly conserved serine/threonine kinase is a key player in several essential cell-cycle events. PLK1 is considered an oncogene and its overexpression often correlates with poor prognosis of cancers, including colorectal cancer (CRC). However, regulation of PLK1 expression in colorectal cells was never studied earlier and it is currently unknown if PLK1 regulates differentiation and apoptosis of CRC.

METHODS

PLK1 expression was analyzed by real-time PCR and western blotting. Transcriptional regulation was studied by reporter assay, gene knock-down, EMSA and ChIP.

RESULTS

PLK1 expression was down-regulated during butyrate-induced differentiation of HT-29 and other CRC cells. Also, PLK1 down-regulation mediated the role of butyrate in CRC differentiation and apoptosis. We report here a novel transcriptional regulation of PLK1 by butyrate. Transcription factors CCAAT/enhancer-binding protein α (C/EBPα) and Oct-1 share an overlapping binding site over the PLK1 promoter. Elevated levels of C/EBPα by butyrate treatment of CRC cells competed out the activator protein Oct-1 from binding to the PLK1 promoter and sequestered it. Binding of C/EBPα was associated with increased deacetylation near the transcription start site (TSS) of the PLK1 promoter, which abrogated transcription through reduced recruitment of RNA polymerase II. We also found a synergistic role between the synthetic PLK1-inhibitor SBE13 and butyrate on the apoptosis of CRC cells.

CONCLUSION

This study offered a novel p53-independent regulation of PLK1 during CRC differentiation and apoptosis.

GENERAL SIGNIFICANCE

Down-regulation of PLK1 is one of the mechanisms underlying the anti-cancer role of dietary fibre-derived butyrate in CRC.

Impact of Polo-like kinase 1 inhibitors on human adipose tissue-derived mesenchymal stem cells

Polo-like kinase 1 (Plk1) has been established as one of the most promising targets for molecular anticancer intervention. In fact, various Plk1 inhibitors have been identified and characterized. While the data derived from the bench are prospective, the clinical outcomes are less encouraging by showing modest efficacy. One of the explanations for this discrepancy could be unintendedly targeting of non-malignant cells by Plk1 inhibitors. In this work, we have addressed the effect of Plk1 inhibition in adipose tissue-derived mesenchymal stem cells (ASCs). We show that both visceral and subcutaneous ASCs display monopolar spindles, reduced viability and strong apoptosis induction upon treatment with BI 2536 and BI 6727, the Plk1 kinase domain inhibitors, and with Poloxin, the regulatory Polo-box domain inhibitor. While Poloxin triggers quickly apoptosis, BI 2536 and BI 6727 result in mitotic arrest in ASCs. Importantly, survived ASCs exhibit DNA damage and a pronounced senescent phenotype. In addition, Plk1 inhibition impairs ASCs' motility and homing ability. These results show that Plk1 inhibitors target slowly proliferating ASCs, an important population of anti-inflammation and immune modulation. The toxic effects on primary cells like ASCs could be partially responsible for the reported moderate antitumor activity in patients treated with Plk1 inhibitors.

Enzastaurin inhibits ABCB1-mediated drug efflux independently of effects on protein kinase C signalling and the cellular p53 status

The PKCβ inhibitor enzastaurin was tested in parental neuroblastoma and rhabdomyosarcoma cell lines, their vincristine-resistant sub-lines, primary neuroblastoma cells, ABCB1-transduced, ABCG2-transduced, and p53-depleted cells. Enzastaurin IC₅₀s ranged from 3.3 to 9.5 μM in cell lines and primary cells independently of the ABCB1, ABCG2, or p53 status. Enzastaurin 0.3125 μM interfered with ABCB1-mediated drug transport. PKCα and PKCβ may phosphorylate and activate ABCB1 under the control of p53. However, enzastaurin exerted similar effects on ABCB1 in the presence or absence of functional p53. Also, enzastaurin inhibited PKC signalling only in concentrations ≥ 1.25 μM. The investigated cell lines did not express PKCβ. PKCα depletion reduced PKC signalling but did not affect ABCB1 activity. Intracellular levels of the fluorescent ABCB1 substrate rhodamine 123 rapidly decreased after wash-out of extracellular enzastaurin, and enzastaurin induced ABCB1 ATPase activity resembling the ABCB1 substrate verapamil. Computational docking experiments detected a direct interaction of enzastaurin and ABCB1. These data suggest that enzastaurin directly interferes with ABCB1 function. Enzastaurin further inhibited ABCG2-mediated drug transport but by a different mechanism since it reduced ABCG2 ATPase activity. These findings are important for the further development of therapies combining enzastaurin with ABC transporter substrates.

A novel DAG-dependent mechanism links PKCɑ and Cyclin B1 regulating cell cycle progression

Through the years, different studies showed the involvement of Protein Kinase C (PKC) in cell cycle control, in particular during G1/S transition. Little is known about their role at G2/M checkpoint. In this study, using K562 human erythroleukemia cell line, we found a novel and specific mechanism through which the conventional isoform PKC⍺ positively affects Cyclin B1 modulating G2/M progression of cell cycle. Since the kinase activity of this PKC isoform was not necessary in this process, we demonstrated that PKC⍺, physically interacting with Cyclin B1, avoided its degradation and stimulated its nuclear import at mitosis. Moreover, the process resulted to be strictly connected with the increase in nuclear diacylglycerol levels (DAG) at G2/M checkpoint, due to the activity of nuclear Phospholipase C β1 (PLCβ1), the only PLC isoform mainly localized in the nucleus of K562 cells. Taken together, our findings indicated a novel DAG dependent mechanism able to regulate the G2/M progression of the cell cycle.

Inhibition of polo like kinase 1 in sarcomas induces apoptosis that is dependent on Mcl-1 suppression

Sarcomas are rare cancers and the current treatments in inoperable or metastatic disease have not been shown to prolong survival. In order to develop novel targeted therapies, we tested the efficacy of polo-like kinase 1 (PLK-1) inhibitor (TAK-960) in sarcoma. All the sarcoma cell lines were sensitive to TAK-960 with IC50s in the low nanomolar range. We chose MPNST, CHP100 and LS141 for our studies and of which MPNST cells exclusively underwent polyploidy after a delay in mitosis for about 18 hours; CHP100 cells, after a 24h mitotic delay, died of apoptosis; LS141, after a delay in mitosis stayed at 4N with mild apoptosis. Apoptosis induced by TAK-960 in CHP100 was associated with down-regulation of Mcl-1 and the effect was recapitulated by down-regulating PLK1 by siRNA, confirming that the effect of TAK-960 on Mcl-1 expression is target specific. With suppression of Mcl-1 by siRNA, TAK-960 induced apoptosis in MPNST cells as well. These effects were confirmed in vivo, such that TAK-960 more effectively inhibited CHP100 than MPNST xenografts. In the setting of PLK-1 inhibition, Mcl-1 down regulation is shown to be an important determinant of apoptosis. Collectively, the net effect of this is to drive cells to apoptosis, resulting in a greater anti-tumor effect in vivo. Therefore, targeting PLK-1 should have a greater impact in treating sarcomas provided there is concomitant suppression of Mcl-1. These results further indicate that Mcl-1 could be an important biomarker to predict sensitivity to the induction of apoptosis by PLK-1 targeted therapy in sarcoma.