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Urso C. Spitz Tumors and Melanoma in the Genomic Age: A Retrospective Look at Ackerman's Conundrum. Cancers (Basel) 2023; 15:5834. [PMID: 38136379 PMCID: PMC10741987 DOI: 10.3390/cancers15245834] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/07/2023] [Revised: 12/08/2023] [Accepted: 12/11/2023] [Indexed: 12/24/2023] Open
Abstract
After 25 years, "Ackerman's conundrum", namely, the distinction of benign from malignant Spitz neoplasms, remains challenging. Genomic studies have shown that most Spitz tumors harbor tyrosine and serine/threonine kinase fusions, including ALK, ROS1, NTRK1, NTRK2, NTRK3, BRAF and MAP3K8, or some mutations, such as HRAS and MAP3K8. These chromosomal abnormalities act as drivers, initiating the oncogenetic process and conferring basic bio-morphological features. Most Spitz tumors show no additional genomic alterations or few ones; others harbor a variable number of mutations, capable of conferring characteristics related to clinical behavior, including CDKN2A deletion and TERT-p mutation. Since the accumulation of mutations is gradual and progressive, tumors appear to form a bio-morphologic spectrum, in which they show a progressive increase of clinical risk and histological atypia. In this context, a binary classification Spitz nevus-melanoma appears as no longer adequate, not corresponding to the real genomic substrate of lesions. A ternary classification Spitz nevus-Spitz melanocytoma-Spitz melanoma is more adherent to the real neoplastic pathway, but some cases with intermediate ambiguous features remain difficult to diagnose. A prognostic stratification of Spitz tumors, based on the morphologic and genomic characteristics, as a complement to the diagnosis, may contribute to better treatment plans for patients.
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Affiliation(s)
- Carmelo Urso
- Dermatopathology Study Center of Florence, I-50129 Florence, Italy
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Ram T, Singh AK, Kumar A, Singh H, Pathak P, Grishina M, Khalilullah H, Jaremko M, Emwas AH, Verma A, Kumar P. MEK inhibitors in cancer treatment: structural insights, regulation, recent advances and future perspectives. RSC Med Chem 2023; 14:1837-1857. [PMID: 37859720 PMCID: PMC10583825 DOI: 10.1039/d3md00145h] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/28/2023] [Accepted: 07/12/2023] [Indexed: 10/21/2023] Open
Abstract
MEK1/2 are critical components of the RAS-RAF-MEK-ERK or MAPK signalling pathway that regulates a variety of cellular functions including proliferation, survival, and differentiation. In 1997, a lung cancer cell line was first found to have a MEK mutation (encoding MEK2P298L). MEK is involved in various human cancers such as non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), spurious melanoma, and pancreatic, colorectal, basal, breast, and liver cancer. To date, 4 MEK inhibitors i.e., trametinib, cobimetinib, selumetinib, and binimetinib have been approved by the FDA and several are under clinical trials. In this review, we have highlighted structural insights into the MEK1/2 proteins, such as the αC-helix, catalytic loop, P-loop, F-helix, hydrophobic pocket, and DFG motif. We have also discussed current issues with all FDA-approved MEK inhibitors or drugs under clinical trials and combination therapies to improve the efficacy of clinical drugs. Finally, this study addressed recent developments on synthetic MEK inhibitors (from their discovery in 1997 to 2022), their unique properties, and their relevance to MEK mutant inhibition.
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Affiliation(s)
- Teja Ram
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences and Natural Products, Central University of Punjab Ghudda Bathinda 151401 India
| | - Ankit Kumar Singh
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences and Natural Products, Central University of Punjab Ghudda Bathinda 151401 India
| | - Adarsh Kumar
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences and Natural Products, Central University of Punjab Ghudda Bathinda 151401 India
| | - Harshwardhan Singh
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences and Natural Products, Central University of Punjab Ghudda Bathinda 151401 India
| | - Prateek Pathak
- Laboratory of Computational Modeling of Drugs, Higher Medical and Biological School, South Ural State University Chelyabinsk 454008 Russia
- Pharmaceutical Analysis and Quality Assurance and Pharmaceutical Chemistry, GITAM School of Pharmacy at "Hyderabad Campus", GITAM (Deemed to be University) India
| | - Maria Grishina
- Laboratory of Computational Modeling of Drugs, Higher Medical and Biological School, South Ural State University Chelyabinsk 454008 Russia
| | - Habibullah Khalilullah
- Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry and Pharmacognosy, Unaizah College of Pharmacy, Qassim University Unayzah 51911 Saudi Arabia
| | - Mariusz Jaremko
- Smart-Health Initiative (SHI) and Red Sea Research Center (RSRC), Division of Biological and Environmental Sciences and Engineering (BESE), King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) Thuwal 23955-6900 Saudi Arabia
| | - Abdul-Hamid Emwas
- Core Labs, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) Thuwal 23955-6900 Saudi Arabia
| | - Amita Verma
- Bioorganic and Med. Chem. Res., Laboratory, Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Sam Higginbottom University of Agriculture, Technology and Sciences Prayagraj 211007 India
| | - Pradeep Kumar
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences and Natural Products, Central University of Punjab Ghudda Bathinda 151401 India
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Poddutoori R, Aardalen K, Aithal K, Barahagar SS, Belliappa C, Bock M, Chelur S, Gerken A, Gopinath S, Gruenenfelder B, Kiffe M, Krishnaswami M, Langowski J, Madapa S, Narayanan K, Pandit C, Panigrahi SK, Perrone M, Potakamuri RK, Ramachandra M, Ramanathan A, Ramos R, Sager E, Samajdar S, Subramanya HS, Thimmasandra DS, Venetsanakos E, Möbitz H. Discovery of MAP855, an Efficacious and Selective MEK1/2 Inhibitor with an ATP-Competitive Mode of Action. J Med Chem 2022; 65:4350-4366. [PMID: 35195996 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jmedchem.1c02192] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Mutations in MEK1/2 have been described as a resistance mechanism to BRAF/MEK inhibitor treatment. We report the discovery of a novel ATP-competitive MEK1/2 inhibitor with efficacy in wildtype (WT) and mutant MEK12 models. Starting from a HTS hit, we obtained selective, cellularly active compounds that showed equipotent inhibition of WT MEK1/2 and a panel of MEK1/2 mutant cell lines. Using a structure-based approach, the optimization addressed the liabilities by systematic analysis of molecular matched pairs (MMPs) and ligand conformation. Addition of only three heavy atoms to early tool compound 6 removed Cyp3A4 liabilities and increased the cellular potency by 100-fold, while reducing log P by 5 units. Profiling of MAP855, compound 30, in pharmacokinetic-pharmacodynamic and efficacy studies in BRAF-mutant models showed comparable efficacy to clinical MEK1/2 inhibitors. Compound 30 is a novel highly potent and selective MEK1/2 kinase inhibitor with equipotent inhibition of WT and mutant MEK1/2, whose drug-like properties allow further investigation in the mutant MEK setting upon BRAF/MEK therapy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ramulu Poddutoori
- Aurigene Discovery Technologies Ltd, 39-40 KIADB Industrial Area, Electronic City Phase II, Bengaluru 560100, India
| | - Kimberly Aardalen
- Novartis Institutes for BioMedical Research, 5300 Chiron Way, Emeryville, California 94608, United States
| | - Kiran Aithal
- Aurigene Discovery Technologies Ltd, 39-40 KIADB Industrial Area, Electronic City Phase II, Bengaluru 560100, India
| | | | - Charamanna Belliappa
- Aurigene Discovery Technologies Ltd, 39-40 KIADB Industrial Area, Electronic City Phase II, Bengaluru 560100, India
| | - Mark Bock
- Novartis Institutes for BioMedical Research, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, United States
| | - Shekar Chelur
- Aurigene Discovery Technologies Ltd, 39-40 KIADB Industrial Area, Electronic City Phase II, Bengaluru 560100, India
| | - Andrea Gerken
- Novartis Institutes for BioMedical Research, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, United States
| | - Sreevalsam Gopinath
- Aurigene Discovery Technologies Ltd, 39-40 KIADB Industrial Area, Electronic City Phase II, Bengaluru 560100, India
| | | | - Michael Kiffe
- Novartis Institutes for BioMedical Research, Basel 4002, Switzerland
| | - Maithreyi Krishnaswami
- Aurigene Discovery Technologies Ltd, 39-40 KIADB Industrial Area, Electronic City Phase II, Bengaluru 560100, India
| | - John Langowski
- Novartis Institutes for BioMedical Research, 5300 Chiron Way, Emeryville, California 94608, United States
| | - Sudharshan Madapa
- Aurigene Discovery Technologies Ltd, 39-40 KIADB Industrial Area, Electronic City Phase II, Bengaluru 560100, India
| | - Kishore Narayanan
- Aurigene Discovery Technologies Ltd, 39-40 KIADB Industrial Area, Electronic City Phase II, Bengaluru 560100, India
| | - Chetan Pandit
- Aurigene Discovery Technologies Ltd, 39-40 KIADB Industrial Area, Electronic City Phase II, Bengaluru 560100, India
| | - Sunil Kumar Panigrahi
- Aurigene Discovery Technologies Ltd, 39-40 KIADB Industrial Area, Electronic City Phase II, Bengaluru 560100, India
| | - Mark Perrone
- Novartis Institutes for BioMedical Research, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, United States
| | - Ravi Kumar Potakamuri
- Aurigene Discovery Technologies Ltd, 39-40 KIADB Industrial Area, Electronic City Phase II, Bengaluru 560100, India
| | - Murali Ramachandra
- Aurigene Discovery Technologies Ltd, 39-40 KIADB Industrial Area, Electronic City Phase II, Bengaluru 560100, India
| | - Anuradha Ramanathan
- Aurigene Discovery Technologies Ltd, 39-40 KIADB Industrial Area, Electronic City Phase II, Bengaluru 560100, India
| | - Rita Ramos
- Global Drug Discovery, Novartis Pharma AG, Basel 4002, Switzerland
| | - Emine Sager
- Novartis Institutes for BioMedical Research, Basel 4002, Switzerland
| | - Susanta Samajdar
- Aurigene Discovery Technologies Ltd, 39-40 KIADB Industrial Area, Electronic City Phase II, Bengaluru 560100, India
| | - Hosahalli S Subramanya
- Aurigene Discovery Technologies Ltd, 39-40 KIADB Industrial Area, Electronic City Phase II, Bengaluru 560100, India
| | | | - Eleni Venetsanakos
- Novartis Institutes for BioMedical Research, 5300 Chiron Way, Emeryville, California 94608, United States
| | - Henrik Möbitz
- Novartis Institutes for BioMedical Research, Basel 4002, Switzerland
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Thirunavukkarasu MK, Suriya U, Rungrotmongkol T, Karuppasamy R. In Silico Screening of Available Drugs Targeting Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer Targets: A Drug Repurposing Approach. Pharmaceutics 2021; 14:59. [PMID: 35056955 PMCID: PMC8778223 DOI: 10.3390/pharmaceutics14010059] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/30/2021] [Revised: 12/16/2021] [Accepted: 12/20/2021] [Indexed: 01/03/2023] Open
Abstract
The RAS-RAF-MEK-ERK pathway plays a key role in malevolent cell progression in many tumors. The high structural complexity in the upstream kinases limits the treatment progress. Thus, MEK inhibition is a promising strategy since it is easy to inhibit and is a gatekeeper for the many malignant effects of its downstream effector. Even though MEK inhibitors are under investigation in many cancers, drug resistance continues to be the principal limiting factor to achieving cures in patients with cancer. Hence, we accomplished a high-throughput virtual screening to overcome this bottleneck by the discovery of dual-targeting therapy in cancer treatment. Here, a total of 11,808 DrugBank molecules were assessed through high-throughput virtual screening for their activity against MEK. Further, the Glide docking, MLSF and prime-MM/GBSA methods were implemented to extract the potential lead compounds from the database. Two compounds, DB012661 and DB07642, were outperformed in all the screening analyses. Further, the study results reveal that the lead compounds also have a significant binding capability with the co-target PIM1. Finally, the SIE-based free energy calculation reveals that the binding of compounds was majorly affected by the van der Waals interactions with MEK receptor. Overall, the in silico binding efficacy of these lead compounds against both MEK and PIM1 could be of significant therapeutic interest to overcome drug resistance in the near future.
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Affiliation(s)
- Muthu Kumar Thirunavukkarasu
- Department of Biotechnology, School of Bio Sciences and Technology, Vellore Institute of Technology, Vellore 632014, India;
| | - Utid Suriya
- Program in Biotechnology, Faculty of Science, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok 10330, Thailand;
| | - Thanyada Rungrotmongkol
- Biocatalyst and Environmental Biotechnology Research Unit, Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Science, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok 10330, Thailand
- Program in Bioinformatics and Computational Biology, Graduate School, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok 10330, Thailand
| | - Ramanathan Karuppasamy
- Department of Biotechnology, School of Bio Sciences and Technology, Vellore Institute of Technology, Vellore 632014, India;
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