Aurora kinase inhibitor PHA-739358 suppresses growth of hepatocellular carcinoma in vitro and in a xenograft mouse model.

Abstract

Patients with advanced stages of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) face a poor prognosis. Although encouraging clinical results have been obtained with multikinase inhibitor sorafenib, the development of improved therapeutic strategies for HCC remains an urgent goal. Aurora kinases are key regulators of the cell cycle, and their uncontrolled expression promotes aneuploidy and tumor development. In tissue microarray analyses, we detected aurora-A kinase expression in all of the examined 93 human HCC samples, whereas aurora-B kinase expression levels significantly correlated with the proliferation index of HCCs. In addition, two human HCC cell lines (Huh-7 and HepG2) were tested positive for aurora-A and -B and revealed Ser10 phosphorylation of histone H3, indicating an increased aurora-B kinase activity. The antiproliferative features of a novel aurora kinase inhibitor, PHA-739358, currently under investigation in phase 2 clinical trials for other solid tumors, were examined in vitro and in vivo. At concentrations exceeding 50 nM, PHA-739358 completely suppressed tumor cell proliferation in cell culture experiments and strongly decreased histone H3 phosphorylation. Cell cycle inhibition and endoreduplication were observed at 50 nM, whereas higher concentrations led to a complete G(2)/M-phase arrest. In vivo, administration of PHA-739358 resulted in significant tumor growth inhibition at a well-tolerated dose. In combination with sorafenib, additive effects were observed. Remarkably, when tumors restarted to grow under sorafenib monotherapy, subsequent treatment with PHA-739358 induced tumor shrinkage by up to 81%. Thus, targeting aurora kinases with PHA-739358 is a promising therapeutic strategy administered alone or in combination with sorafenib for patients with advanced stages of HCC.

• Authors: Daniel Benten, Gunhild Keller, Alexander Quaas, Jorg Schrader, Artur Gontarewicz, Stefan Balabanov, Melanie Braig, Henning Wege, Jurgen Moll, Ansgar W Lohse, Tim H Brummendorf
• Journal: Neoplasia (New York, N.Y.) (Neoplasia) Vol. 11 Issue 9 Pg. 934-44 (Sep 2009) ISSN: 1476-5586 [Electronic] United States
• PMID: 19724687 (Publication Type: Journal Article, Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't)

Chemical References

• Benzamides
• Benzenesulfonates
• Phenylurea Compounds
• Protein Kinase Inhibitors
• Pyrazoles
• Pyridines
• Niacinamide
• Sorafenib
• Receptors, Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor
• AURKB protein, human
• Aurka protein, mouse
• Aurkb protein, mouse
• Aurora Kinase A
• Aurora Kinase B
• Aurora Kinases
• Protein Serine-Threonine Kinases
• danusertib

Topics

• Animals
• Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols
• Apoptosis (drug effects)
• Aurora Kinase A
• Aurora Kinase B
• Aurora Kinases
• Benzamides (therapeutic use)
• Benzenesulfonates (therapeutic use)
• Carcinoma, Hepatocellular (drug therapy, metabolism, pathology)
• Cell Line, Tumor
• Cell Proliferation (drug effects)
• G2 Phase (drug effects)
• Humans
• Immunoenzyme Techniques
• In Vitro Techniques
• Liver Neoplasms (drug therapy, metabolism, pathology)
• Mice
• Mice, Inbred NOD
• Mice, SCID
• Niacinamide (analogs & derivatives)
• Phenylurea Compounds
• Phosphorylation (drug effects)
• Protein Kinase Inhibitors (therapeutic use)
• Protein Serine-Threonine Kinases (antagonists & inhibitors)
• Pyrazoles (therapeutic use)
• Pyridines (therapeutic use)
• Receptors, Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor (antagonists & inhibitors)
• Sorafenib
• Tissue Array Analysis
• Xenograft Model Antitumor Assays