Small molecules inhibit growth of human tumor cells

(Press-News.org) Researchers from the Cancer Institute at NYU Langone Medical Center have identified three novel small molecules that interrupt a crucial cellular communication pathway that regulates many aspects of development and cancer. The finding, published in the April 12, 2011 issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences and featured on its cover, could provide the basis for innovative therapies for colorectal cancer and other diseases associated with aberrations in this pathway.

"Our study demonstrates that the three newly identified compounds are capable of blocking cell proliferation in cancerous human tumor biopsy cells," said Ramanuj DasGupta, PhD, assistant professor of Pharmacology at NYU School of Medicine and the NYU Cancer Institute, and the scientific director of the NYU RNAi Core Screening Facility.

Dr. DasGupta and his colleagues identified the molecules as inhibitors of the Wnt signaling pathway. This pathway is of special interest to scientists because it controls many biological processes by promoting cell-to-cell communication. Many previous studies have shown that cancers in the liver, breast, skin, and especially the colon, are associated with abnormal signaling activity in this pathway. However, it has been difficult to find potential therapeutic agents aimed at the Wnt pathway.

"These molecules hold a lot of promise towards future Wnt-based drug development for cancer treatments," says Dr. DasGupta. "They may allow the compounds to be used for specific therapeutic purposes in humans to induce the death of Wnt-dependent or Wnt –addicted cancer cells and tumor tissues without affecting the growth and proliferation of normal healthy cells."

The scientists demonstrated that the molecules suppressed the activity of the Wnt signaling pathway—without disrupting other cellular functions—in human colon cancers from biopsies, in colon cancer cell lines, and in a mouse tumor-xenograft model. In all instances, the inhibitors stopped the proliferation of cancerous cells in the laboratory dish or in the mouse.

"To date, no therapies for the control of Wnt-driven tumors have been available for colon cancer, lung cancer, leukemia, and other forms of the disease caused by mutations in the Wnt pathway," said Robert A. Nagourney, MD, of Rational Therapeutics in Long Beach, California, who is one of the study's authors. "The findings in our human tissue model give us real hope that these compounds will have important implications in future clinical therapy and the development of an effective Wnt inhibitor."

The Wnt pathway is complex and only partially understood. Wnt genes bind to receptors on the surface of cells, provoking a reaction (or a "signaling cascade") within the cell that ultimately allows various "downstream effector proteins" to go into action. One of these proteins, called β catenin, moves into the nucleus and oversees the activation of genes often associated with cell proliferation and other processes.

In the study, the researchers used an innovative, integrated screening platform combining RNA interference (RNAi) -technology and high-throughput chemical genetic screening to examine the potency of 14,977 compounds on the activity of the Wnt pathway. This targeted screening methodology helped identify the three promising novel inhibitors capable of blocking Wnt target genes in various mammalian cancer cell lines including human colon and breast cancer cells. Foster C. Gonsalves, PhD, first author of the study and post-doctoral fellow in Dr. DasGupta's lab, helped develop this technique.

"While more exploratory research of these promising compounds is needed, these small molecules identified in the RNAi screens can serve as prototypes for the development of future antitumor drugs targeting the Wnt signaling pathway in different Wnt-associated cancers," says Dr. DasGupta. "Similar RNAi-based integrated screening technology should be widely applicable to a variety of other signaling pathways implicated in human disease."

This study highlights the strength of high-throughput RNAi-based genome-wide or genome-scale modifier screens currently being performed at NYU's RNAi Screening Facility, according to Dr. DasGupta. The state-of-the-art functional genomic approach continues to help answer basic biological questions in cellular signaling and better define the Wnt pathway, he says.



INFORMATION:

Along with Dr. DasGupta and Dr. Gonsalves, the authors of the study include Keren Klein, Shauna Katz and Timothy Cardozo from NYU School of Medicine, and Brittany B. Carson and Anthony C. Brown from Weill Cornell Medical College.

The study was supported by grants from the National Institutes of Health, the Department of Defense, and The Helen L. and Martin S. Kimmel Center for Stem Cell Biology at NYU School of Medicine.

About the NYU Cancer Institute

The NYU Cancer Institute is an NCI-designated cancer center. Its mission is to discover the origins of human cancer and to use that knowledge to eradicate the personal and societal burden of cancer in our community, the nation and the world. The center and its multidisciplinary team of experts provide access to the latest treatment options and clinical trials along with a variety of programs in cancer prevention, screening, diagnostics, genetic counseling and supportive services. For additional information, please visit: www.nyuci.org.

About NYU Langone Medical Center

NYU Langone Medical Center, a world-class patient-centered integrated academic medical center, is one of the nation's premier centers for excellence in health care, biomedical research, and medical education. Located in the heart of Manhattan, NYU Langone is comprised of three hospitals—Tisch Hospital, a 705-bed acute-care tertiary facility, Rusk Institute of Rehabilitation Medicine, the first rehabilitation hospital in the world, with 174 beds and extensive outpatient rehabilitation programs, and the 190-bed Hospital for Joint Diseases, one of only five hospitals in the world dedicated to orthopaedics and rheumatology—plus the NYU School of Medicine, one of the nation's preeminent academic institutions. For more information, visit http://www.med.nyu.edu/.