Preclinical validation of 3-phosphoinositide-dependent protein kinase 1 inhibition in pancreatic cancer

Journal of Experimental & Clinical Cancer Research

Tania Maffucci¹  Chanse A. Fyffe¹  Charlotte E. Edling¹  Riccardo Ferro¹  Emily Capone²  Rossano Lattanzio²  Gianluca Sala²  Stefano Iacobelli³  Aikaterini Emmanouilidi⁴  Marco Falasca⁵  Simona Sestito⁶  Simona Rapposelli⁶ 

[1] 0000 0001 2171 1133, grid.4868.2, Queen Mary University of London, Barts and The London School of Medicine and Dentistry, Blizard Institute, Centre for Cell Biology and Cutaneous Research, E1 2AT, London, UK;0000 0001 2181 4941, grid.412451.7, Dipartimento di Scienze Mediche, Orali e Biotecnologiche, University G. d’Annunzio di Chieti-Pescara, Centro Studi sull Invecchiamento, CeSI-MeT, 66100, Chieti, Italy;0000 0001 2181 4941, grid.412451.7, Dipartimento di Scienze Mediche, Orali e Biotecnologiche, University G. d’Annunzio di Chieti-Pescara, Centro Studi sull Invecchiamento, CeSI-MeT, 66100, Chieti, Italy;MediaPharma Srl, Via della Colonnetta, 50/A, 66100, Chieti, Italy;0000 0004 0375 4078, grid.1032.0, Metabolic Signalling Group, School of Pharmacy and Biomedical Sciences, Curtin Health Innovation Research Institute, Curtin University, 6102, Perth, Western Australia, Australia;0000 0004 0375 4078, grid.1032.0, Metabolic Signalling Group, School of Pharmacy and Biomedical Sciences, Curtin Health Innovation Research Institute, Curtin University, 6102, Perth, Western Australia, Australia;0000 0001 2171 1133, grid.4868.2, Queen Mary University of London, Barts and The London School of Medicine and Dentistry, Blizard Institute, Centre for Cell Biology and Cutaneous Research, E1 2AT, London, UK;0000 0004 1757 3729, grid.5395.a, Department of Pharmacy, University of Pisa, Via Bonanno, 6, 56126, Pisa, Italy;

关键词: Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma;    Signal transduction;    Targeted therapy;    Phosphoinositide 3-kinase;    3-phosphoinositide-dependent protein kinase 1;    Serum/glucocorticoid regulated kinase family member 3;   

DOI  :  10.1186/s13046-019-1191-2

来源: publisher

【 摘 要 】

BackgroundThe very aggressive nature and low survival rate of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) dictates the necessity to find novel efficacious therapies. Recent evidence suggests that phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K) and 3-phosphoinositide-dependent protein kinase 1 (PDK1) are key effectors of oncogenic KRAS in PDAC. Herein, we report the role and mechanism of action of PDK1, a protein kinase of the AGC family, in PDAC.MethodsPDAC cell lines were treated with selective PDK1 inhibitors or transfected with specific PDK1-targeting siRNAs. In vitro and in vivo assays were performed to investigate the functional role of PDK1 in PDAC. Specifically, anchorage-dependent and anchorage-independent growth was assessed in PDAC cells upon inhibition or downregulation of PDK1. Detailed investigation of the effect of PDK1 inhibition/downregulation on specific signalling pathways was also performed by Western blotting analysis. A xenograft tumour mouse model was used to determine the effect of pharmacological inhibition of PDK1 on PDAC cells growth in vivo.ResultsTreatment with specific inhibitors of PDK1 impaired anchorage-dependent and anchorage-independent growth of pancreatic cancer cell lines, as well as pancreatic tumour growth in a xenograft model. Mechanistically, inhibition or downregulation of PDK1 resulted in reduced activation of the serum/glucocorticoid regulated kinase family member 3 and subsequent reduced phosphorylation of its target N-Myc downstream regulated 1. Additionally, we found that combination of sub-optimal concentrations of inhibitors selective for PDK1 and the class IB PI3K isoform p110γ inhibits pancreatic cancer cell growth and colonies formation more potently than each single treatment.ConclusionsOur data indicate that PDK1 is a suitable target for therapeutic intervention in PDAC and support the clinical development of PDK1 inhibitors for PDAC.

【 授权许可】

CC BY