The novel dithiocarbamate, DpdtC suppresses HER2-overexpressed cancer cells by up-regulating NDRG1 via inactivation of HER2-ERK 1/2 signaling

Sci Rep. 2018 Feb 21;8(1):3398. doi: 10.1038/s41598-018-21768-1.

Abstract

Dithiocarbamate has been tested for its effective anti-tumor activity, but the underlying mechanism remains unclear. We previously prepared a novel diththiocarbamate derivative, DpdtC with an ability of catalase inhibition. Here, we for the first time investigated the growth inhibition effects of DpdtC on HER2-amplified cancer cells and elucidated its mechanism of action. Results showed that DpdtC exerted the potent anti-tumor effects against HER2-overexpressed SK-OV-3 and SK-BR-3 cells, especially on SK-OV-3 cells with a higher NDRG1 level, which was also confirmed in the SK-OV-3 xenograft model. Interestingly, we observed that NDRG1 was up-regulated, while membrane expression of HER2 was regressed in SK-OV-3 cells upon DpdtC treatment. In agreement, silencing endogenous NDRG1 also increased the expression of HER2 in SK-OV-3 cells, while overexpressing NDRG1 decreased HER2 expression in SK-BR-3 cells. Furthermore, our results showed the formation of the EGFR/HER2 heterodimer was attenuated and phosphorylation of ERK1/2 was inhibited in SK-OV-3 cells when treated with DpdtC. Collectively, these observations demonstrated that NDRG1 plays an important role in mediating the inhibition effects of DpdtC in HER2-overexpressed cancer cells via selective targeting of the HER2-ERK1/2 pathway. Hence, our investigation suggests that up-regulation of NDRG1 by DpdtC is a promising therapeutic approach in HER2-overexpressed cancers.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Breast Neoplasms / drug therapy
  • Breast Neoplasms / genetics
  • Cell Cycle Proteins / genetics*
  • Cell Line, Tumor
  • Cell Proliferation / drug effects
  • Ditiocarb / analogs & derivatives*
  • Ditiocarb / pharmacology
  • Female
  • Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic / drug effects
  • Humans
  • Intracellular Signaling Peptides and Proteins / genetics*
  • MAP Kinase Signaling System / drug effects*
  • Mice
  • Mice, Inbred BALB C
  • Mice, Nude
  • Ovarian Neoplasms / drug therapy
  • Ovarian Neoplasms / genetics
  • Phosphorylation / drug effects
  • Receptor, ErbB-2 / genetics*
  • Signal Transduction / drug effects*
  • Up-Regulation / drug effects*

Substances

  • Cell Cycle Proteins
  • Intracellular Signaling Peptides and Proteins
  • N-myc downstream-regulated gene 1 protein
  • di-n-propyldithiocarbamate
  • Ditiocarb
  • ERBB2 protein, human
  • Receptor, ErbB-2