Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
Pivot Concepts:   Target Concepts:
Query: UMLS:C0376358 (prostate cancer)
 59,338 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

The positive impact on survival of traditional chemotherapeutic agents has renewed interest in developing newer cytotoxic agents and orally active compounds with improved therapeutic indices. In addition, new insights into the pathways of human tumorigenesis have led to novel approaches aimed at specific mechanism-based targets. The taxane class, of which paclitaxel was the first member, has the unique ability to promote and stabilize microtubule function directly, thereby inhibiting mitotic progression and inducing apoptotic cell death. Paclitaxel provides treatment benefit in a broad range of solid tumors including breast, ovarian, and lung cancer. The success with paclitaxel stimulated interest in the microtubule as a new therapeutic target. Taxane analogues with improved preclinical efficacy have been identified and are entering clinical trials. The enthusiasm for oral anticancer agents and the therapeutic importance of platinum compounds has led to the development of JM216 (satraplatin), a novel platinum IV coordination complex with oral activity in cisplatin-resistant cell lines, which is now in phase III trials in prostate cancer. Another compound in late development is DPPE, a chemopotentiator that enhances the in vivo antitumor effects of cytotoxic agents such as doxorubicin, cyclophosphamide, and cisplatin. Agents that inhibit topoisomerase I and II have also been of interest. TAS-103 is a dual topoisomerase I and II inhibitor with preclinical efficacy in a broad spectrum of tumors and in multidrug-resistant tumor cell lines. Vaccination strategies represent a rational therapeutic approach in the minimal residual disease or high-risk adjuvant therapy setting. The GMK and MGV vaccines utilizing ganglioside antigens overexpressed on human tumors such as melanoma and small cell lung cancer appear to induce antibody production reliably at tolerable doses and are under further clinical investigation. Inhibition of matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) is another attractive target for intervention in several aspects of tumor progression. Local production of MMPs with subsequent degradation of the extracellular matrix is implicated in supporting tumor growth, invasion, and angiogenesis. The development of orally active, nontoxic MMP inhibitors is critical since these compounds will likely require chronic administration in conjunction with other therapies. Oncogenes and tumor suppressor genes are appealing targets for therapy since they are thought to be responsible for a significant number of cancers. Mutations in the Ras oncogene occur with great frequency in a number of human cancers including lung, pancreas, and colon cancer. Clinical development of potent and selective inhibitors of farnesyltransferase, the Ras-processing enzyme, is ongoing. These compounds uncouple Ras activity, affect tumor growth, and have demonstrated significant antitumor activity against experimental models of human cancer. The exciting compounds and novel therapeutic approaches currently under investigation by Bristol-Myers Squibb Pharmaceutical Research Institute offer great potential as effective cancer chemotherapy agents for the near future.
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PMID:Promising new developments in cancer chemotherapy. 1035 61

Because of the unavailability of effective therapies to block or reverse the progression of androgen-independent prostate cancer, it seems obvious to target growth signaling pathways for which frequently recurring mutations have been identified. Acquired mutations of the PTEN gene have been reported in several tumor types, including up to 30% - 60% of prostate cancer tumors. This results in constitutive activation of the PI3K/Akt pathway which then represents a major target to prevent dysfunctions in cell growth, survival and motility. Our experience and, therefore, our own tools allow us to design new inhibitors of growth factor receptor tyrosine kinase, PDK-1 and farnesyltransferase activities. These original compounds could selectively switch off one or several steps of the multifunctional pathway and constitute lead compounds in the design of new classes of potent drugs.
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PMID:[Involvement of PI3K/Akt pathway in prostate cancer. Potential strategies for developing targeted therapies]. 1580 3

This review presents some therapeutic interventions actually considered in prostate cancer therapy to compensate constitutive activation of the PI3K/Akt signalling pathway induced, particularly, by mutations of PTEN gene. Special emphasis is placed on applicability of EGF-R tyrosine kinase, COX-2, PDK-1, mTOR and farnesyltransferase inhibitors.
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PMID:Involvement of PI3K/Akt pathway in prostate cancer--potential strategies for developing targeted therapies. 1637 58

Zoledronic acid (ZOL) has proved activity in bone metastases from prostate cancer through inhibition of mevalonate pathway and of prenylation of intracellular proteins. We have reported that ZOL synergizes with R115777 farnesyltransferase inhibitor (FTI, Zarnestra) in inducing apoptosis and growth inhibition on epidermoid cancer cells. Here, we have studied the effects of the combination of these agents in prostate adenocarcinoma models and, specifically, on androgen-independent (PC3 and DU145) and -dependent (LNCaP) prostate cancer cell lines. We have found that ZOL and R115777 were synergistic in inducing both growth inhibition and apoptosis in prostate adenocarcinoma cells. These effects were paralleled by disruption of Ras-->Erk and Akt survival pathways, consequent decreased phosphorylation of both mitochondrial bcl-2 and bad proteins, and caspase activation. Finally, ZOL/R115777 combination induced cooperative effects also in vivo on tumor growth inhibition of prostate cancer xenografts in nude mice with a significant survival increase. These effects were paralleled by enhanced apoptosis and inactivation of both Erk and Akt. In conclusions, the combination between ZOL and FTI leads to enhanced anti-tumor activity in human prostate adenocarcinoma cells likely through a more efficacious inhibition of ras-dependent survival pathways and consequent bcl-related proteins-dependent apoptosis.
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PMID:R115777 (Zarnestra)/Zoledronic acid (Zometa) cooperation on inhibition of prostate cancer proliferation is paralleled by Erk/Akt inactivation and reduced Bcl-2 and bad phosphorylation. 1719 46

Treatment of prostate cancer (CaP) patients frequently involves androgen ablation, but resistance often develops and androgen-insensitive tumors emerge. The molecular basis for the development of refractory CaP that grows in an androgen-independent manner is poorly understood, but alterations in growth factor signaling pathways are likely to be involved. We examined the growth factor modulation of androgen-receptor element (ARE)-inducible luciferase reporter gene activity and consequent DNA synthesis as a measure of proliferative growth in androgen-dependent LNCaP or androgen-independent PC3 or DU145 CaP cells. The synthetic androgen R1881 stimulated ARE-inducible reporter gene activity and prostate-specific antigen expression in LNCaP cells and the MEK/ERK inhibitor U0126 or the anti-androgen bicalutamide (casodex) prevented both of these responses. Activated V12-Ha-Ras expression in LNCaP cells also stimulated ARE-inducible gene transcription, and U0126 or the farnesyltransferase inhibitor FTI-277 but not bicalutamide blocked this. ARE-inducible reporter gene activity was elevated already in PC3 cells, and ERK was constitutively activated in serum-starved LNCaP or DU145 cells. U0126 inhibited each of these responses and also inhibited DNA synthesis in all 3 CaP cell lines. These results demonstrate that chronic stimulation of the Ras-MEK-ERK signaling pathway can sustain ARE-inducible gene transcription and growth of CaP cells, and suggests that components of this pathway may offer targets for cancer therapy.
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PMID:Ras-MEK-ERK signaling cascade regulates androgen receptor element-inducible gene transcription and DNA synthesis in prostate cancer cells. 1741 12

Lonafarnib is a potent, selective farnesyltransferase inhibitor (FTI) undergoing clinical studies for the treatment of solid tumors and hematological malignancies. Preclinically, a number of FTIs, including lonafarnib, interact with taxanes to inhibit cancer cell growth in an additive/synergistic manner. These observations provided rationale for investigating the effects of combining lonafarnib and docetaxel on preclinical prostate cancer models. To date, docetaxel is the only chemotherapeutic agent in clinical use for hormone-refractory prostate cancer. In vitro experiments with 22Rv1, LNCaP, DU-145, PC3 and PC3-M prostate cancer cell lines showed significantly enhanced inhibition of cell proliferation and apoptosis when lonafarnib was added to docetaxel. In human tumor xenograft models, continuous coadministration of lonafarnib with docetaxel caused marked tumor regressions (24-47%) in tumors from all of the cell types as well as parental CWR22 xenografts. Intermittent dosing of lonafarnib (5 days on then 5 days off) coadministered with docetaxel produced similar regressions in hormone-refractory 22Rv1 tumors. 22Rv1 tumors progressing on docetaxel treatment also responded to treatment with intermittent lonafarnib (5 days on then 5 days off). Moreover, animals did not exhibit any signs of toxicity during coadministration of lonafarnib and docetaxel. In conclusion, coadministration of continuous and intermittent lonafarnib enhanced the antitumor activity of docetaxel in a panel of prostate cancer models. An intermittent dosing schedule of lonafarnib coadministered with docetaxel may allow enhanced efficacy to that of continuous dosing by improving the tolerability of higher doses of lonafarnib.
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PMID:Continuous and intermittent dosing of lonafarnib potentiates the therapeutic efficacy of docetaxel on preclinical human prostate cancer models. 1953 Feb 53

The mevalonate synthesis pathway produces intermediates for isoprenylation of small GTPases, which are involved in the regulation of actin cytoskeleton and cell motility. Here, we investigated the role of the prenylation transferases in the regulation of the cytoskeletal organization and motility of PC-3 prostate cancer cells. This was done by using FTI-277, GGTI-298 or NE-10790, the specific inhibitors of FTase (farnesyltransferase), GGTase (geranylgeranyltransferase)-I and -II, respectively. Treatment of PC-3 cells with GGTI-298 and FTI-277 inhibited migration and invasion in a time- and dose-dependent manner. This was associated with disruption of F-actin organization and decreased recovery of GFP-actin. Immunoblot analysis of various cytoskeleton-associated proteins showed that the most striking change in GGTI-298- and FTI-277-treated cells was a markedly decreased level of total and phosphorylated cofilin, whereas the level of cofilin mRNA was not decreased. The treatment of PC-3 cells with GGTI-298 also affected the dynamics of GFP-paxillin and decreased the levels of total and phosphorylated paxillin. The levels of phosphorylated FAK (focal adhesion kinase) and PAK (p-21-associated kinase)-2 were also lowered by GGTI-298, but levels of paxillin or FAK mRNAs were not affected. In addition, GGTI-298 had a minor effect on the activity of MMP-9. RNAi knockdown of GGTase-Ibeta inhibited invasion, disrupted F-actin organization and decreased the level of cofilin in PC-3 cells. NE-10790 did not have any effect on PC-3 prostate cancer cell motility or on the organization of the cytoskeleton. In conclusion, our results demonstrate the involvement of GGTase-I- and FTase-catalysed prenylation reactions in the regulation of cytoskeletal integrity and motility of prostate cancer cells and suggest them as interesting drug targets for development of inhibitors of prostate cancer metastasis.
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PMID:Inhibition of GGTase-I and FTase disrupts cytoskeletal organization of human PC-3 prostate cancer cells. 2044 22