CUDC-907 displays potent antitumor activity against human pancreatic adenocarcinoma in vitro and in vivo through inhibition of HDAC6 to downregulate c-Myc expression

Acta Pharmacol Sin. 2019 May;40(5):677-688. doi: 10.1038/s41401-018-0108-5. Epub 2018 Sep 17.

Abstract

Pancreatic adenocarcinoma is a highly malignant cancer that often involves a deregulation of c-Myc. It has been shown that c-Myc plays a pivotal role in the regulation of a variety of physiological processes and is involved in early neoplastic development, resulting in poor progression. Hence, suppression of c-Myc overexpression is a potential strategy for pancreatic cancer therapy. CUDC-907 is a novel dual-acting inhibitor of phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K) and histone deacetylase (HDAC). It has shown potential efficiency in patients with lymphoma, multiple myeloma, or thyroid cancer, as well as in solid tumors with c-Myc alterations, but the evidence is lacking for how CUDC-907 regulates c-Myc. In this study, we investigated the effect of CUDC-907 on human pancreatic cancer cells in vitro and in vivo. Our results showed that CUDC-907 potently inhibited the proliferation of 9 pancreatic cancer cell lines in vitro with IC50 values ranging from 6.7 to 54.5 nM. Furthermore, we revealed the antitumor mechanism of CUDC-907 in Aspc-1, PANC-1, and Capan-1 pancreatic cancer cells: it suppressed the HDAC6 subunit, thus downregulating c-Myc protein levels, which was a mode of action distinct from the existing mechanisms. Consistently, the extraordinary antitumor activity of CUDC-907 accompanied by downregulation of c-Myc and Ki67 expression in tumor tissue was observed in a human pancreatic cancer Aspc-1 xenograft nude mouse model in vivo. Our results suggest that CUDC-907 can be a valuable therapeutic option for treating pancreatic adenocarcinoma.

MeSH terms

  • Adenocarcinoma / drug therapy*
  • Animals
  • Antineoplastic Agents / pharmacology
  • Antineoplastic Agents / therapeutic use*
  • Apoptosis / drug effects
  • Cell Line, Tumor
  • Cell Proliferation / drug effects
  • Down-Regulation
  • G2 Phase Cell Cycle Checkpoints / drug effects
  • Histone Deacetylase 6 / antagonists & inhibitors*
  • Histone Deacetylase Inhibitors / pharmacology
  • Histone Deacetylase Inhibitors / therapeutic use
  • Humans
  • Ki-67 Antigen / metabolism
  • Male
  • Mice, Inbred BALB C
  • Morpholines / pharmacology
  • Morpholines / therapeutic use*
  • Pancreatic Neoplasms / drug therapy*
  • Phosphoinositide-3 Kinase Inhibitors
  • Protein Kinase Inhibitors / pharmacology
  • Protein Kinase Inhibitors / therapeutic use
  • Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-myc / metabolism*
  • Pyrimidines / pharmacology
  • Pyrimidines / therapeutic use*
  • Xenograft Model Antitumor Assays

Substances

  • Antineoplastic Agents
  • CUDC-907
  • Histone Deacetylase Inhibitors
  • Ki-67 Antigen
  • MKI67 protein, human
  • MYC protein, human
  • Morpholines
  • Phosphoinositide-3 Kinase Inhibitors
  • Protein Kinase Inhibitors
  • Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-myc
  • Pyrimidines
  • HDAC6 protein, human
  • Histone Deacetylase 6