1. Academic Validation
  2. Anti-metastatic action of FAK inhibitor OXA-11 in combination with VEGFR-2 signaling blockade in pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors

Anti-metastatic action of FAK inhibitor OXA-11 in combination with VEGFR-2 signaling blockade in pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors

  • Clin Exp Metastasis. 2015 Dec;32(8):799-817. doi: 10.1007/s10585-015-9752-z.
Ingrid Moen 1 2 3 Matthew Gebre 1 4 Vanesa Alonso-Camino 1 5 Debbie Chen 1 6 David Epstein 7 Donald M McDonald 8
Affiliations

Affiliations

  • 1 UCSF Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center, Cardiovascular Research Institute, and Department of Anatomy, University of California - San Francisco, 513 Parnassus Avenue, Room S1349, San Francisco, CA, 94143-0452, USA.
  • 2 Department of Biomedicine, University of Bergen, Bergen, Norway.
  • 3 Oxy Solutions, Parkveien 33B, Oslo, Norway.
  • 4 School of Medicine, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY, USA.
  • 5 Department of Molecular Medicine, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, USA.
  • 6 School of Medicine, University of California - Davis, Sacramento, CA, USA.
  • 7 Cancer & Stem Cell Biology Program, Duke-NUS Graduate Medical School, Singapore, Singapore.
  • 8 UCSF Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center, Cardiovascular Research Institute, and Department of Anatomy, University of California - San Francisco, 513 Parnassus Avenue, Room S1349, San Francisco, CA, 94143-0452, USA. donald.mcdonald@ucsf.edu.
Abstract

The present study sought to determine the anti-tumor effects of OXA-11, a potent, novel small-molecule amino pyrimidine inhibitor (1.2 pM biochemical IC(50)) of focal adhesion kinase (FAK). In studies of Cancer cell lines, OXA-11 inhibited FAK phosphorylation at phospho-tyrosine 397 with a mechanistic IC(50) of 1 nM in TOV21G tumor cells, which translated into functional suppression of proliferation in 3-dimensional culture with an EC(50) of 9 nM. Studies of OXA-11 activity in TOV21G tumor-cell xenografts in mice revealed a pharmacodynamic EC(50) of 1.8 nM, indicative of mechanistic inhibition of pFAK [Y397] in these tumors. OXA-11 inhibited TOV21G tumor growth in a dose-dependent manner and also potentiated effects of cisplatin on tumor cell proliferation and Apoptosis in vitro and on tumor growth in mice. Studies of pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors in RIP-Tag2 transgenic mice revealed OXA-11 suppression of pFAK [Y397] and pFAK [Y861] in tumors and liver. OXA-11 given daily from age 14 to 17 weeks reduced tumor vascularity, invasion, and when given together with the anti-VEGFR-2 antibody DC101 reduced the incidence, abundance, and size of liver metastases. Liver micrometastases were found in 100 % of mice treated with vehicle, 84 % of mice treated with OXA-11, and 79 % of mice treated with DC101 (19-24 mice per group). In contrast, liver micrometastases were found in only 52 % of 21 mice treated with OXA-11 plus DC101, and those present were significantly smaller and less numerous. Together, these findings indicate that OXA-11 is a potent and selective inhibitor of FAK phosphorylation in vitro and in vivo. OXA-11 slows tumor growth, potentiates the anti-tumor actions of cisplatin and--when combined with VEGFR-2 blockade--reduces metastasis of pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors in RIP-Tag2 mice.

Keywords

Cisplatin; Focal adhesion kinase; Liver metastasis; Pancreatic islet cell tumors; RIP-Tag2 transgenic mice; Vascular endothelial growth factor receptor-2.

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Products
  • Cat. No.
    Product Name
    Description
    Target
    Research Area
  • HY-117836
    FAK Inhibitor
    FAK