Metastases rather than primary
cancers determine nowadays the survival of patients. One of the most common primary
malignancies is
colorectal cancer and this type of
tumor is characterized by a high tendency to spread
metastases to the lung and liver. CD26/DPP4 is a transmembrane molecule with enzymatic functions which cleaves biologically active
peptides. Recently, CD26/DPP4 has become the focus of
cancer research and it was shown that CD26/DPP4-positive
cancer cells display increased metastatic activity. Here, we tested if the CD26/
DPP4-inhibitor Vildagliptin suppresses the development and growth of mouse colorectal lung
metastases. This inhibitor of CD26/DPP4 was employed on mouse (C57BL/6) colorectal lung
metastases, established by
intravenous injection of the syngeneic cell line MC38. For mechanistic analysis, a subcutaneous
tumor model was used. The treatment with
Vildagliptin significantly suppressed both, the incidence and growth of lung
metastases. Autophagy markers (LC3, p62, and ATF4) decreased, apoptosis increased (TUNEL, pH3/Ki-76), and the cell cycle regulator pCDC2 was inhibited. In conclusion, we here showed an anti-
tumor effect of
Vildagliptin via downregulation of autophagy resulting in increased apoptosis and modulation of the cell cycle. We therefore propose
Vildagliptin for the evaluation as a new therapeutic approach for the treatment of
colorectal cancer lung
metastases.