Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor (EGFR) is amplified in over 50% of glioblastomas and promotes tumor formation and progression. However, attempts to treat glioblastoma with EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitors have been unsuccessful thus far. The current standard of care is especially poor in patients with a constitutively active form of EGFR, EGFRvIII, which is associated with shorter survival time. This study examined the effect of GZ17-6.02, a novel anti-cancer agent undergoing phase 1 studies, on two EGFRvIII+ glioblastoma stem cells: D10-0171 and D317. In vitro analyses showed that GZ17-6.02 inhibited the growth of both D10-0171 and D317 cells with IC50 values of 24.84 and 28.28 µg/mL respectively. RNA sequencing and reverse phase protein array analyses revealed that GZ17-6.02 downregulates pathways primarily related to steroid synthesis and cell cycle progression. Interestingly, G17-6.02’s mechanism of action involves the downregulation of the recently identified glioblastoma super-enhancer genes WSCD1, EVOL2, and KLHDC8A. Finally, a subcutaneous xenograft model showed that GZ17-6.02 inhibits glioblastoma growth in vivo. We conclude that GZ17-6.02 is a promising combination drug effective at inhibiting the growth of a subset of glioblastomas and our data warrants further preclinical studies utilizing xenograft models to identify patients that may respond to this drug.
Actinic keratoses (AKs) are premalignant intraepidermal neoplasms that occur as a result of cumulative sun damage. AKs commonly relapse, and up to 16% undergo malignant transformation into cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma (cSCC). There is a need for novel therapies that reduce the quantity and surface area of AKs as well as prevent malignant transformation to cSCCs. We recently showed that GZ17-6.02, an anti-cancer agent composed of curcumin, haramine, and isovanillin, inhibited the growth of H297.T cells. The present study evaluated the efficacy of a novel topical formulation of GZ17-6.02, known as GZ21T, in a murine model of AK generated by exposing SKH1 mice to ultraviolet irradiation. Treatment of mice with topical GZ21T inhibited the growth of AKs by decreasing both lesion count (p=.028) and surface area occupied by tumor (p=.026). GZ21T also suppressed the progression of AKs to cSCC by decreasing the count (p=.047) and surface area (p=.049) of lesions more likely to represent cSCC. RNA sequencing and proteomic analyses revealed that GZ21T suppressed several pathways, including MAPK (p=.026), Pi3K-Akt (p=.028), HIF-1α (p=.030), Wnt (p=.031), insulin (p=.011), and ErbB (p=.006) signaling. GZ21T also upregulated the autophagy-promoting protein AMPK, while suppressing proteins such as PD-L1, glutaminase, pAkt1 S473, and eEF2K.
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