The transforming growth factor beta (TGFβ) signaling cascade is considered as one of the pivotal oncogenic pathways in most advanced cancers. Inhibition of the TGFβ signaling pathway by specific antagonists, neutralizing antibodies, or small molecules is considered as an effective strategy for the treatment of tumor growth and metastasis. Here we demonstrated the identification of a series of tetrahydro-β-carboline derivatives from virtual screening which potentially inhibit the TGFβ signaling pathway. Optimization of the initial hit compound 2-benzoyl-1,3,4,9-tetrahydro-β-carboline (8a) through substitution at different positions to define the structure-activity relationship resulted in the discovery of potent inhibitors of the TGFβ signaling pathway. Among them, compound 8d, one of the tested compounds, not only showed potent inhibition of lung cancer cell proliferation and migration in vitro but also strongly suppressed growth of lung cancer and breast cancer in vivo.
Cell migration and invasion are key processes in the metastasis of cancer, and suppression of these steps is a promising strategy for cancer therapeutics. The aim of this study was to explore small molecules for treating colorectal cancer (CRC) and to investigate their anti-metastatic mechanisms. In this study, six CRC cell lines were used. We showed that YH-306 significantly inhibited the migration and invasion of CRC cells in a dose-dependent manner. In addition, YH-306 inhibited cell adhesion and protrusion formation of HCT116 and HT-29 CRC cells. Moreover, YH-306 potently suppressed uninhibited proliferation in all six CRC cell lines tested and induced cell apoptosis in four cell lines. Furthermore, YH-306 inhibited CRC colonization in vitro and suppressed CRC growth in a xenograft mouse model, as well as hepatic/pulmonary metastasis in vivo. YH-306 suppressed the activation of focal adhesion kinase (FAK), c-Src, paxillin, and phosphatidylinositol 3-kinases (PI3K), Rac1 and the expression of matrix metalloproteases (MMP) 2 and MMP9. Meanwhile, YH-306 also inhibited actin-related protein (Arp2/3) complex-mediated actin polymerization. Taken together, YH-306 is a candidate drug in preventing growth and metastasis of CRC by modulating FAK signalling pathway.
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