GDC-0941 sensitizes breast cancer to ABT-737 in vitro and in vivo through promoting the degradation of Mcl-1

Cancer Lett. 2011 Oct 1;309(1):27-36. doi: 10.1016/j.canlet.2011.05.011. Epub 2011 Jun 12.

Abstract

The present study showed that GDC-0941 potently sensitized breast cancer to ABT-737 in vitro and in vivo. ABT-737 exhibited limited lethality in breast cancer cells; however, when combined with GDC-0941, it displayed strong synergistic cytotoxicity and enhanced caspase-mediated apoptosis. GDC-0941 promoted proteasomal degradation of Mcl-1, of which the overexpression has been validated to confer ABT-737 resistance, thereby enhanced the anticancer efficacy of ABT-737. Furthermore, the combination of GDC-0941 and ABT-737 exerted increased anti-tumor efficacy on MDA-MB-231 xenograft models. Overall, our data described unprecedentedly the promising therapeutic potential and underlying mechanisms of combining GDC-0941 with ABT-737 in treating breast cancer.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Antineoplastic Agents / pharmacology
  • Apoptosis / drug effects
  • Biphenyl Compounds / pharmacology*
  • Breast Neoplasms* / drug therapy
  • Breast Neoplasms* / metabolism
  • Breast Neoplasms* / pathology
  • Caspases / metabolism
  • Cell Line, Tumor
  • Drug Synergism
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Indazoles / pharmacology*
  • Mice
  • Mice, Nude
  • Myeloid Cell Leukemia Sequence 1 Protein
  • Neoplasm Transplantation
  • Nitrophenols / pharmacology*
  • Phosphoinositide-3 Kinase Inhibitors
  • Piperazines / pharmacology
  • Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-bcl-2 / metabolism*
  • Sulfonamides / pharmacology*

Substances

  • 2-(1H-indazol-4-yl)-6-(4-methanesulfonylpiperazin-1-ylmethyl)-4-morpholin-4-ylthieno(3,2-d)pyrimidine
  • ABT-737
  • Antineoplastic Agents
  • Biphenyl Compounds
  • Indazoles
  • Mcl1 protein, mouse
  • Myeloid Cell Leukemia Sequence 1 Protein
  • Nitrophenols
  • Phosphoinositide-3 Kinase Inhibitors
  • Piperazines
  • Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-bcl-2
  • Sulfonamides
  • Caspases