Title
Efficacy of Rac and Cdc42 inhibitor MBQ-167 in triple-negative breast cancer
Date Issued
01 December 2021
Access level
open access
Resource Type
research article
Author(s)
Cruz-Collazo A.
Ruiz-Calderon J.F.
Picon H.
Borrero-Garcia L.D.
Lopez I.
Castillo-Pichardo L.
del Mar Maldonado M.
Duconge J.
Medina J.I.
Hernandez-O'Farrill E.
Vlaar C.P.
Dharmawardhane S.
University of Puerto Rico
Abstract
Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) is an aggressive form of breast cancer, with a high predisposition for locally invasive and metastatic cancer. With the objective to reduce cancer metastasis, we developed small molecule inhibitors to target the drivers of metastasis, the Rho GTPases Rac and Cdc42. Of these, MBQ-167 inhibits both Rac and Cdc42 with IC50s of 103 and 78 nmol/L, respectively; and consequently, inhibits p21-activated kinase (PAK) signaling, metastatic cancer cell proliferation, migration, and mammosphere growth; induces cell-cycle arrest and apoptosis; and decreases HER2-type mammary fatpad tumor growth and metastasis (Humphries-Bickley and colleagues, 2017). Herein, we used nuclear magnetic resonance to show that MBQ-167 directly interacts with Rac1 to displace specific amino acids, and consequently inhibits Rac.GTP loading and viability in TNBC cell lines. Phosphokinome arrays in the MDA-MB-231 human TNBC cells show that phosphorylation status of kinases independent of the Rac/Cdc42/PAK pathway are not significantly changed following 200 nmol/L MBQ-167 treatment. Western blotting shows that initial increases in phospho-c-Jun and phospho-CREB in response to MBQ-167 are not sustained with prolonged exposure, as also confirmed by a decrease in their transcriptional targets. MBQ-167 inhibits tumor growth, and spontaneous and experimental metastasis in immunocompromised (human TNBC) and immunocompetent (mouse TNBC) models. Moreover, per oral administration of MBQ-167 at 100 mg/kg body weight is not toxic to immunocompetent BALB/c mice and has a half-life of 4.6 hours in plasma. These results highlight the specificity, potency, and bioavailability of MBQ-167, and support its clinical potential as a TNBC therapeutic.
Start page
2420
End page
2432
Volume
20
Issue
12
Language
English
OCDE Knowledge area
Oncología
Subjects
Scopus EID
2-s2.0-85120898656
PubMed ID
Source
Molecular Cancer Therapeutics
ISSN of the container
15357163
Sponsor(s)
This study was partially funded by MBQ Pharma, Inc. Additional support was provided by NIH/NIGMS P20GM103475 to J.F. Ruiz-Calderon, UPR RCM NIH/ NIMHHD R25GM061838 (to A. Cruz-Collazo, M. del Mar Maldonado, J. I. Medina), NIH/NIGMS SC3GM116713 (to C.P. Vlaar), NIH/NIGMS SC3GM084824, US Army Breast Cancer Research Program W81XWH2010041, NIH/NCI U54 CA096297, Susan Komen for the Cure OGI70023, and Puerto Rico Science, Technology, and Research Trust (PRSTRT) grants (to S. Dharmawardhane), and PRSTRT award 2020-00128 (to M.J. Bayro), and the UPR Institutional Funds for Research (FIPI) Program (to M.J. Bayro). We wish to thank Mariano de Socarraz, MD (Core Plus Labs) for the blood chemistry services.
This study was partially funded by MBQ Pharma, Inc. Additional support was provided by NIH/NIGMS P20GM103475 to J.F. Ruiz-Calderon, UPR RCM NIH/NIMHHD R25GM061838 (to A. Cruz-Collazo, M. del Mar Maldonado, J. I. Medina), NIH/NIGMS SC3GM116713 (to C.P. Vlaar), NIH/NIGMS SC3GM084824, US Army Breast Cancer Research Program W81XWH2010041, NIH/NCI U54 CA096297, Susan Komen for the Cure OGI70023, and Puerto Rico Science, Technology, and Research Trust (PRSTRT) grants (to S. Dharmawardhane), and PRSTRT award 2020-00128 (to M.J. Bayro), and the UPR Institutional Funds for Research (FIPI) Program (to M.J. Bayro). We wish to thank Mariano de Socarraz, MD (Core Plus Labs) for the blood chemistry services.
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