Combined inhibition of Wee1 and Hsp90 activates intrinsic apoptosis in cancer cells

Cell Cycle. 2012 Oct 1;11(19):3649-55. doi: 10.4161/cc.21926. Epub 2012 Aug 30.

Abstract

Heat shock protein 90 (Hsp90) is an essential, evolutionarily conserved molecular chaperone. Cancer cells rely on Hsp90 to chaperone mutated and/or activated oncoproteins, and its involvement in numerous signaling pathways makes it an attractive target for drug development. Surprisingly, however, the impact of Hsp90 inhibitors on cancer cells is frequently cytostatic in nature, and efforts to enhance the antitumor activity of Hsp90 inhibitors in the clinic remain a significant challenge. In agreement with previous data obtained using Wee1 siRNA, we show that dual pharmacologic inhibition of Wee1 tyrosine kinase and Hsp90 causes cancer cells to undergo apoptosis in vitro and in vivo. Gene expression profiling revealed that induction of the intrinsic apoptotic pathway by this drug combination coincided with transcriptional downregulation of Survivin and Wee1, an outcome not seen in cells treated separately with either agent. At the translational level, expression of these two proteins, as well as activated Akt, was completely abrogated. These data support the hypothesis that Wee1 inhibition sensitizes cancer cells to Hsp90 inhibitors; they establish combined Wee1/Hsp90 inhibition as a novel therapeutic strategy; and they provide a mechanistic rationale for enhancing the pro-apoptotic activity of Hsp90 inhibitors.

Publication types

  • Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Apoptosis* / drug effects
  • Benzoquinones / pharmacology
  • Cell Cycle Proteins / antagonists & inhibitors*
  • Cell Cycle Proteins / metabolism
  • Cell Line, Tumor
  • Gene Deletion
  • HSP90 Heat-Shock Proteins / antagonists & inhibitors*
  • HSP90 Heat-Shock Proteins / metabolism
  • Humans
  • Lactams, Macrocyclic / pharmacology
  • Male
  • Mice
  • Nuclear Proteins / antagonists & inhibitors*
  • Nuclear Proteins / metabolism
  • Phosphorylation / drug effects
  • Prostatic Neoplasms / enzymology*
  • Prostatic Neoplasms / pathology*
  • Protein-Tyrosine Kinases / antagonists & inhibitors*
  • Protein-Tyrosine Kinases / metabolism
  • Saccharomyces cerevisiae Proteins / antagonists & inhibitors
  • Saccharomyces cerevisiae Proteins / metabolism
  • Survival Analysis
  • Xenograft Model Antitumor Assays

Substances

  • Benzoquinones
  • Cell Cycle Proteins
  • HSP82 protein, S cerevisiae
  • HSP90 Heat-Shock Proteins
  • HSP90AA1 protein, human
  • Lactams, Macrocyclic
  • Nuclear Proteins
  • Saccharomyces cerevisiae Proteins
  • tanespimycin
  • SWE1 protein, S cerevisiae
  • Protein-Tyrosine Kinases
  • WEE1 protein, human