Histone deacetylase (HDAC) inhibitors have demonstrated clinical benefits in subtypes of hematological malignancies. However, the efficacy of HDAC inhibitors in solid tumors remains uncertain. This study takes breast cancer as a model to understand mechanisms accounting for limited response of HDAC inhibitors in solid tumors and to seek combination solutions. We discover that feedback activation of leukemia inhibitory factor receptor (LIFR) signaling in breast cancer limits the response to HDAC inhibition. Mechanistically, HDAC inhibition increases histone acetylation at the LIFR gene promoter, which recruits bromodomain protein BRD4, upregulates LIFR expression, and activates JAK1-STAT3 signaling. Importantly, JAK1 or BRD4 inhibition sensitizes breast cancer to HDAC inhibitors, implicating combination inhibition of HDAC with JAK1 or BRD4 as potential therapies for breast cancer.
One of the biggest hurdles for the development of metabolism-targeted therapies is to identify the responsive tumor subsets. However, the metabolic vulnerabilities for most human cancers remain unclear. Establishing the link between metabolic signatures and the oncogenic alterations of receptor tyrosine kinases (RTK), the most well-defined cancer genotypes, may precisely direct metabolic intervention to a broad patient population. By integrating metabolomics and transcriptomics, we herein show that oncogenic RTK activation causes distinct metabolic preference. Specifically, EGFR activation branches glycolysis to the serine synthesis for nucleotide biosynthesis and redox homeostasis, whereas FGFR activation recycles lactate to fuel oxidative phosphorylation for energy generation. Genetic alterations of
EGFR
and
FGFR
stratify the responsive tumors to pharmacological inhibitors that target serine synthesis and lactate fluxes, respectively. Together, this study provides the molecular link between cancer genotypes and metabolic dependency, providing basis for patient stratification in metabolism-targeted therapies.
Five new pentasaccharide resin glycosides, named merremins A-E (1-5), two new pentasaccharide resin glycoside methyl esters, named merremins F and G (6, 7), and four known resin glycosides, murucoidin IV, murucoidin V, stoloniferin IV, and murucoidin XVII, were obtained from the aerial parts of Merremia hederacea. This is the first report of resin glycosides obtained from M. hederacea. In addition, the new compounds can be divided into three types: those possessing an 18-membered ring (1-4), compound 5 with a 20-membered ring, and those with an acyclic core (6, 7). Furthermore, the different types of resin glycosides were evaluated for their multidrug resistance reversal activities. Compounds 1, 5, 6, and murucoidin V were noncytotoxic and enhanced the cytotoxicity of vinblastine by 2.3-142.5-fold at 25 μM. Compound 5 and murucoidin V, with 20-membered rings, were more active than compound 1, with an 18-membered ring.
Being the rate-limiting enzyme within the serine biosynthesis
pathway,
phosphoglycerate dehydrogenase (PHGDH) is abnormally overexpressed
in numerous malignant tumor cells and is a promising target for cancer
treatment. Here, we report a series of novel PHGDH inhibitors using
a focused compound screening and structural optimization approach.
The lead compound D8 displayed good enzymatic inhibitory
activity (IC50 = 2.8 ± 0.1 μM), high binding
affinity (K
d = 2.33 μM), and sensitivity
to the cell lines with the PHGDH gene amplification
or overexpression. Furthermore, D8 was proven to restrict
the de novo serine synthesis from glucose within
MDA-MB-468 cells. X-ray crystallographic analysis, molecular dynamics
simulations, and mutagenesis experiments on PHGDH revealed the binding
site at D175 inside the NAD+-binding pocket. Finally, D8 exhibited excellent in vivo pharmacokinetic
properties (F = 82.0%) and exerted evident antitumor
efficacy in the PC9 xenograft mouse model.
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