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Chu Y, Tian Z, Yang M, Li W. Conformation and energy investigation of microtubule longitudinal dynamic instability induced by natural products. Chem Biol Drug Des 2023; 102:444-456. [PMID: 36509697 DOI: 10.1111/cbdd.14189] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/11/2022] [Revised: 08/29/2022] [Accepted: 11/28/2022] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
Abstract
The natural products plinabulin, docetaxel, and vinblastine are microtubule targeting agents (MTAs). They have been used alone or in combination in cancer treatment. However, the exact nature of their effects on microtubule (MT) polymerization dynamics is poorly understood. To elucidate the longitudinal conformational and energetic changes during MT dynamics, a total of 140 ns molecular dynamic simulations combined with binding free energy calculations were performed on seven tubulin models. The results indicated that the drugs disrupted MT polymerization by altering both MT conformation and binding free energy of the neighboring tubulin subunits. The combination of plinabulin and docetaxel destabilized MT polymerization due to bending MT and weakening the polarity of tubulin polymerization. The new combination of docetaxel and vinblastine synergistically enhanced MT depolymerization and bending, while plinabulin and vinblastine had no synergistic inhibitory effects. The results were verified by the tubulin assembly assay. Our study obtained a comprehensive understanding of the action mechanisms of three natural drugs and their combinations on MT dynamic, provided theoretical guidance for new MTA combinations, and would promote the optimal use of MTA and contribute to developing new MTAs as anticancer agents.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yanyan Chu
- School of Medicine and Pharmacy, Ocean University of China, Qingdao, China
- Innovation Center for Marine Drug Screening and Evaluation, Qingdao National Laboratory for Marine Science and Technology, Qingdao, China
| | - Zhenhua Tian
- School of Medicine and Pharmacy, Ocean University of China, Qingdao, China
| | - Mengke Yang
- School of Medicine and Pharmacy, Ocean University of China, Qingdao, China
| | - Wenbao Li
- School of Medicine and Pharmacy, Ocean University of China, Qingdao, China
- Innovation Center for Marine Drug Screening and Evaluation, Qingdao National Laboratory for Marine Science and Technology, Qingdao, China
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Xu Y, Lv J, Shen N, Tang Z, Chen X. A self-activating nanoized vascular disrupting agent for selective anti-tumor therapy. Biomaterials 2022; 288:121736. [PMID: 35995623 DOI: 10.1016/j.biomaterials.2022.121736] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/11/2022] [Revised: 07/23/2022] [Accepted: 08/06/2022] [Indexed: 12/29/2022]
Abstract
Vascular disrupting agents (VDAs) have great potential in antitumor therapy, while the efficiency is limited by cardiovascular toxicity. In this study, a self-activating nanoized plinabulin (poly (l-glutamic acid) grafted Azo-Plinabulin, AzoP-NP) was constructed. The AzoP-NPs can selectively be activated to an amino derivative of plinabulin (AmP) by intrinsic tumor hypoxia, disrupting tumor vessels and amplifying hypoxia, whilst be activated by self-amplified tumor hypoxia, then selectively inhibit tumor growth. In 4T1 tumor model, the AzoP-NPs had a selective biodistribution in tumor, as the free AmP in tumors at 24 h after AzoP-NPs treatment was 18.6 fold of that after AmP treatment and significantly higher than that in other tissues. Accordingly, AzoP-NPs resulted in no obvious acute cardiovascular toxicity (plasma von Willebrand factor in PBS, AzoP-NPs and AmP group: 143.1, 184.0 and 477.6 ng/mL) and a significantly stronger tumor inhibition than AmP. And the sustained release of drug in AzoP-NPs led to a higher maximum tolerated dose (MTD) (MTD of AzoP-NPs and AmP: > 80 vs 20 mg/kg). In addition, AzoP-NPs amplified tumor hypoxic, and synergized the anti-tumor effect of Tirapazamine (TPZ), a hypoxia-activated drug in clinical trials, with an inhibition rate of 97.7% and Q value of 1.89. Therefore, our findings provide new insights into next generation VDAs and their application in tumor therapy.
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Tonra JR, Lloyd GK, Mohanlal R, Huang L. Plinabulin ameliorates neutropenia induced by multiple chemotherapies through a mechanism distinct from G-CSF therapies. Cancer Chemother Pharmacol 2019; 85:461-468. [PMID: 31811421 PMCID: PMC7015961 DOI: 10.1007/s00280-019-03998-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/23/2019] [Accepted: 11/22/2019] [Indexed: 01/22/2023]
Abstract
PURPOSE Chemotherapy-induced neutropenia (CIN) increases the risk of infections and mortality in cancer patients. G-CSF therapies are approved for the treatment of CIN, but non-G-CSF therapies are needed to increase efficacy and minimize side effects. Plinabulin is an inhibitor of tubulin polymerization that ameliorates CIN caused in patients by the microtubule stabilizer docetaxel. The present study evaluates the potential of plinabulin to reduce neutropenia induced by chemotherapies of different classes in a manner not dependent on increasing G-CSF. METHODS The anti-CIN benefits of plinabulin were tested in rodents co-treated with docetaxel, cyclophosphamide or doxorubicin. Effects on G-CSF levels were evaluated in tissues by immunoassay. Flow cytometry was utilized to test treatment effects on femur bone marrow cell counts from immunocompetent mice-bearing orthotopic 4T1 breast cancer tumors. RESULTS Plinabulin alleviated neutropenia induced by microtubule stabilizing, DNA cross-linking and DNA intercalating chemotherapies, yet did not affect bone marrow or blood G-CSF levels. The number of lineage-/Sca1+/c-Kit+ (LSK) hematopoietic stem/progenitor cells (HSPC) in murine bone marrow collected 2 days after treatment was not affected by docetaxel monotherapy despite increased plasma G-CSF in this group. LSK cell number was, however, increased when plinabulin was combined with docetaxel, without affecting G-CSF. CONCLUSIONS Results support the clinical testing of plinabulin as a non-G-CSF-based treatment for CIN associated with chemotherapies of different mechanisms. Results also support HSPC as a focal point for future mechanism-of-action work aimed at understanding the ability of plinabulin to reduce this serious side effect of cytotoxic therapy in cancer patients.
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Affiliation(s)
- James R Tonra
- BeyondSpring Pharmaceuticals, 28 Liberty Street, 39th Floor, New York, NY, USA.
| | - G Kenneth Lloyd
- BeyondSpring Pharmaceuticals, 28 Liberty Street, 39th Floor, New York, NY, USA
| | - Ramon Mohanlal
- BeyondSpring Pharmaceuticals, 28 Liberty Street, 39th Floor, New York, NY, USA
| | - Lan Huang
- BeyondSpring Pharmaceuticals, 28 Liberty Street, 39th Floor, New York, NY, USA
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Ding Z, Ma M, Zhong C, Wang S, Fu Z, Hou Y, Liu Y, Zhong L, Chu Y, Li F, Song C, Wang Y, Yang J, Li W. Development of novel phenoxy-diketopiperazine-type plinabulin derivatives as potent antimicrotubule agents based on the co-crystal structure. Bioorg Med Chem 2019; 28:115186. [PMID: 31759826 DOI: 10.1016/j.bmc.2019.115186] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/04/2019] [Revised: 10/14/2019] [Accepted: 10/25/2019] [Indexed: 02/05/2023]
Abstract
The co-crystal structure of Compound 6b with tubulin was prepared and solved for indicating the binding mode and for further optimization. Based on the co-crystal structures of tubulin with plinabulin and Compound 6b, a total of 27 novel A/B/C-rings plinabulin derivatives were designed and synthesized. Their biological activities were evaluated against human lung cancer NCI-H460 cell line. The optimum phenoxy-diketopiperazine-type Compound 6o exhibited high potent cytotoxicity (IC50 = 4.0 nM) through SAR study of three series of derivatives, which was more potent than plinabulin (IC50 = 26.2 nM) and similar to Compound 6b (IC50 = 3.8 nM) against human lung cancer NCI-H460 cell line. Subsequently, the Compound 6o was evaluated against other four human cancer cell lines. Both tubulin polymerization assay and immunofluorescence assay showed that Compound 6o could inhibit microtubule polymerization efficiently. Furthermore, theoretical calculation of the physical properties and molecular docking were elucidated for these plinabulin derivatives. The binding mode of Compound 6o was similar to Compound 6b based on the result of molecular docking. The theoretical calculated LogPo/w and PCaco of Compound 6o were better than Compound 6b, which could enhance its cytostatic activity. Therefore, Compound 6o might be developed as a novel potent anti-microtubule agent.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhongpeng Ding
- School of Medicine and Pharmacy, Ocean University of China, Qingdao 266003, China
| | - Mingxu Ma
- School of Medicine and Pharmacy, Ocean University of China, Qingdao 266003, China
| | - Changjiang Zhong
- School of Medicine and Pharmacy, Ocean University of China, Qingdao 266003, China
| | - Shixiao Wang
- Marine Biomedical Research Institute of Qingdao, Qingdao 266071, China
| | - Zhangyu Fu
- School of Medicine and Pharmacy, Ocean University of China, Qingdao 266003, China
| | - Yingwei Hou
- School of Medicine and Pharmacy, Ocean University of China, Qingdao 266003, China; Marine Biomedical Research Institute of Qingdao, Qingdao 266071, China
| | - Yuqian Liu
- School of Medicine and Pharmacy, Ocean University of China, Qingdao 266003, China
| | - Lili Zhong
- School of Medicine and Pharmacy, Ocean University of China, Qingdao 266003, China
| | - Yanyan Chu
- Marine Biomedical Research Institute of Qingdao, Qingdao 266071, China
| | - Feng Li
- School of Medicine and Pharmacy, Ocean University of China, Qingdao 266003, China; Marine Biomedical Research Institute of Qingdao, Qingdao 266071, China
| | - Cai Song
- Shenzhen Institute, Guangdong Ocean University, Shenzhen 518116, China
| | - Yuxi Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Biotherapy and Cancer Center, West China Hospital of Sichuan University and Collaborative Innovation Center of Biotherapy and Cancer, Chengdu 610041, China
| | - Jinliang Yang
- State Key Laboratory of Biotherapy and Cancer Center, West China Hospital of Sichuan University and Collaborative Innovation Center of Biotherapy and Cancer, Chengdu 610041, China.
| | - Wenbao Li
- School of Medicine and Pharmacy, Ocean University of China, Qingdao 266003, China; Innovation Center for Marine Drug Screening and Evaluation, Qingdao National Laboratory for Marine Science and Technology, Qingdao 266071, China; Marine Biomedical Research Institute of Qingdao, Qingdao 266071, China.
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Cimino PJ, Huang L, Du L, Wu Y, Bishop J, Dalsing-Hernandez J, Kotlarczyk K, Gonzales P, Carew J, Nawrocki S, Jordan MA, Wilson L, Lloyd GK, Wirsching HG. Plinabulin, an inhibitor of tubulin polymerization, targets KRAS signaling through disruption of endosomal recycling. Biomed Rep 2019; 10:218-224. [PMID: 30972217 PMCID: PMC6439430 DOI: 10.3892/br.2019.1196] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/27/2018] [Accepted: 02/02/2019] [Indexed: 01/05/2023] Open
Abstract
Constitutive activation of Kirsten rat sarcoma viral oncogene homolog (KRAS) is the most common oncogenic event in certain types of human cancer and is associated with poor patient survival. Small molecule signaling inhibitors have improved the clinical outcomes of patients with various cancer types but attempts to target KRAS have been unsuccessful. Plinabulin represents a novel class of agents that inhibit tubulin polymerization with a favorable safety profile in clinical trials. In the present study, the potency of plinabulin to inhibit tubulin polymerization and growth of KRAS-driven cancer cells was characterized. In vivo efficacy of plinabulin was tested in two different mouse models; one being the RCAS/t-va gene transfer system and the other being a xenograft model. In vitro cell culture tubulin polymerization assays were used to complement the mouse models. There was improved survival in a KRAS-driven mouse gene transfer glioma model, but lack of benefit in a similar model, without constitutively active KRAS, which supports the notion of a KRAS-specific effect. This survival benefit was mediated, at least in part, by the ability of plinabulin to inhibit tubulin polymerization and disrupt endosomal recycling. It was proposed a mechanism of compromised endosomal recycling of displaced KRAS through targeting microtubules that yields inhibition of protein kinase B, but not extracellular signal regulated kinase (ERK) signaling, therefore lending rationale to combination treatments of tubulin- and ERK-targeting agents in KRAS-driven cancer.
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Affiliation(s)
- Patrick J Cimino
- Department of Pathology, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98104, USA
| | - Lan Huang
- BeyondSpring Pharmaceuticals Inc., New York City, NY 10005, USA
| | - Lihua Du
- BeyondSpring Pharmaceuticals Inc., New York City, NY 10005, USA
| | - Yanping Wu
- BeyondSpring Pharmaceuticals Inc., New York City, NY 10005, USA
| | - Jamie Bishop
- Biomolecular Science and Engineering, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA 93106, USA
| | | | - Kari Kotlarczyk
- Translational Drug Development Inc., Scottsdale, AZ 85259, USA
| | - Paul Gonzales
- Translational Drug Development Inc., Scottsdale, AZ 85259, USA
| | - Jennifer Carew
- Institute for Drug Development, University of Texas, San Antonio, TX 78249, USA
| | - Steffan Nawrocki
- Institute for Drug Development, University of Texas, San Antonio, TX 78249, USA
| | - Mary Ann Jordan
- Biomolecular Science and Engineering, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA 93106, USA
| | - Leslie Wilson
- Biomolecular Science and Engineering, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA 93106, USA
| | - G Kenneth Lloyd
- BeyondSpring Pharmaceuticals Inc., New York City, NY 10005, USA
| | - Hans-Georg Wirsching
- Department of Neurology, University Hospital Zurich, CH-8091 Zurich, Switzerland
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Ding Z, Cheng H, Wang S, Hou Y, Zhao J, Guan H, Li W. Development of MBRI-001, a deuterium-substituted plinabulin derivative as a potent anti-cancer agent. Bioorg Med Chem Lett 2017; 27:1416-1419. [PMID: 28228362 DOI: 10.1016/j.bmcl.2017.01.096] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/12/2016] [Revised: 01/19/2017] [Accepted: 01/31/2017] [Indexed: 01/02/2023]
Abstract
Plinabulin, a drug targeting microtubule of cancer cells, has been currently tried in its phase III clinical study. However, low efficacy caused by poor pharmacokinetic (PK) properties has been considered to be the main obstacle to approved by the Food and Drug Administration. Herein, we introduced a deuterium atom as an isostere in its structure to become a new compound named (MBRI-001, No. 9 in a series of deuterium-substituted compounds). The structure of MBRI-001 was characterized by HRMS, NMR, IR and a single crystal analysis. MBRI-001 exhibited better pharmacokinetic characteristics than that of plinabulin. Additionally, its antitumor activity is in a low nanomolar level for a variety of cancer cell lines and high activity against human NCI-H460 xenograted in mice intravenous administration. Importantly, continuous administration of MBRI-001 exhibited lower toxicity compared to docetaxel. We thus suggest that MBRI-001 could be developed as a promising anti-cancer agent in near future.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhongpeng Ding
- Key Laboratory of Marine Drugs of Ministry of Education of China, School of Medicine and Pharmacy, Ocean University of China, Qingdao 266003, People's Republic of China
| | - Hejuan Cheng
- Key Laboratory of Marine Drugs of Ministry of Education of China, School of Medicine and Pharmacy, Ocean University of China, Qingdao 266003, People's Republic of China
| | - Shixiao Wang
- Marine Biomedical Research Institute of Qingdao, Qingdao 266071, People's Republic of China
| | - Yingwei Hou
- Key Laboratory of Marine Drugs of Ministry of Education of China, School of Medicine and Pharmacy, Ocean University of China, Qingdao 266003, People's Republic of China; Marine Biomedical Research Institute of Qingdao, Qingdao 266071, People's Republic of China
| | - Jianchun Zhao
- Key Laboratory of Marine Drugs of Ministry of Education of China, School of Medicine and Pharmacy, Ocean University of China, Qingdao 266003, People's Republic of China; Marine Biomedical Research Institute of Qingdao, Qingdao 266071, People's Republic of China
| | - Huashi Guan
- Key Laboratory of Marine Drugs of Ministry of Education of China, School of Medicine and Pharmacy, Ocean University of China, Qingdao 266003, People's Republic of China; Marine Biomedical Research Institute of Qingdao, Qingdao 266071, People's Republic of China
| | - Wenbao Li
- Key Laboratory of Marine Drugs of Ministry of Education of China, School of Medicine and Pharmacy, Ocean University of China, Qingdao 266003, People's Republic of China; Marine Biomedical Research Institute of Qingdao, Qingdao 266071, People's Republic of China.
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