Antitumor activity of TY-011 against gastric cancer by inhibiting Aurora A, Aurora B and VEGFR2 kinases.

Abstract

BACKGROUND:

Overexpression of Aurora A and B has been reported in a wide range of tumor types, including gastric cancer. Anti-angiogenesis has been considered as an important therapeutic modality in advanced gastric cancer. Here we identified a novel compound TY-011 with promising antitumor activity by targeting mitotic kinases (Aurora A and B) and angiogenic receptor tyrosine kinase (VEGFR2).

METHODS:

HTRF® KinEASE™ assay was used to detect the effect of TY-011 against Aurora A, Aurora B and VEGFR2 activities. Docking simulation study was performed to predict the binding mode of TY-011 with Aurora A and B kinases. CCK-8 assay was used to test cell growth. Cell cycle and cell apoptosis was analyzed by flow cytometry. Gastric cancer cell xenograft mouse models were used for in vivo study. TUNEL kit was used to determine the apoptosis of tumor tissues. Immunohistochemistry analysis and HUVEC tube formation assay were performed to determine the anti-angiogenesis ability. Immunofluorescence and western blot were used to test protein expression.

RESULTS:

TY-011 was identified as a potential Aurora A and B inhibitor by HTRF® KinEASE™ assay. It effectively inhibited cellular Aurora A and B activities in a concentration-dependent manner. TY-011 occupied the ATP-binding site of both Aurora A and B kinases. TY-011 demonstrated prominent inhibitory effects on proliferation of gastric cancer cells. TY-011 treatment induced an obvious accumulation of cells at G2/M phase and a modest increase of cells with >4 N DNA content, which then underwent apoptosis. Meaningfully, orally administration of TY-011 demonstrated superior efficacy against the tumor growth in gastric cancer cell xenograft, with ~90% inhibition rate and 100% tumor regression at 9 mg/kg dose, and TY-011 did not affect the body weight of mice. Interestingly, we observed that TY-011 also antagonized tumor angiogenesis by targeting VEGFR2 kinase.

CONCLUSIONS:

These results indicate that TY-011 is a well-tolerated, orally active compound that targets mitosis and angiogenesis in tumor growth, and provides strong preclinical support for use as a therapeutic for human gastric cancers.

• Authors: Wang Liu, Yu Lu, Xiaoping Chai, Xiao Liu, Tong Zhu, Xihan Wu, Yanfen Fang, Xuan Liu, Xiongwen Zhang
• Journal: Journal of experimental & clinical cancer research : CR (J Exp Clin Cancer Res) Vol. 35 Issue 1 Pg. 183 (11 25 2016) ISSN: 1756-9966 [Electronic] England
• PMID: 27887633 (Publication Type: Journal Article, Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't)

Chemical References

• Antineoplastic Agents
• Heterocyclic Compounds, 3-Ring
• Small Molecule Libraries
• TY-011
• KDR protein, human
• Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor Receptor-2
• AURKA protein, human
• AURKB protein, human
• Aurora Kinase A
• Aurora Kinase B

Topics

• Animals
• Antineoplastic Agents (administration & dosage, pharmacology)
• Aurora Kinase A (antagonists & inhibitors, chemistry)
• Aurora Kinase B (antagonists & inhibitors, chemistry)
• Binding Sites
• Cell Cycle (drug effects)
• Cell Line, Tumor
• Cell Proliferation (drug effects)
• Cell Survival (drug effects)
• Dose-Response Relationship, Drug
• Drug Screening Assays, Antitumor
• Heterocyclic Compounds, 3-Ring (administration & dosage, chemical synthesis, pharmacology)
• Humans
• Mice
• Models, Molecular
• Molecular Docking Simulation
• Small Molecule Libraries (administration & dosage, chemical synthesis, pharmacology)
• Stomach Neoplasms (drug therapy, metabolism)
• Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor Receptor-2 (antagonists & inhibitors)
• Xenograft Model Antitumor Assays