Identification of Nuclear Export Inhibitors with Potent Anticancer Activity in Vivo

Overview

Journal Cancer Res

Specialty Oncology

Date 2009 Jan 17

PMID 19147564

Citations 108

Authors

Sarah C Mutka

Wen Qing Yang

Steven D Dong

Shannon L Ward

Darren A Craig

Pieter B M W M Timmermans

Sumati Murli

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

The export protein CRM1 is required for the nuclear export of a wide variety of cancer-related "cargo" proteins including p53, c-Abl, and FOXO-3A. Leptomycin B (LMB) is a highly specific inhibitor of CRM1 with significant in vitro potency but limited in vivo efficacy due to toxicity. We now report a series of semisynthetic LMB derivatives showing substantially improved therapeutic windows. Exposure of cancer cells to these compounds leads to a rapid and prolonged block of nuclear export and apoptosis. In contrast to what is observed in cancer cells, these agents induce cell cycle arrest, but not apoptosis, in normal lung fibroblasts. These new nuclear export inhibitors (NEI) maintain the high potency of LMB, are up to 16-fold better tolerated than LMB in vivo, and show significant efficacy in multiple mouse xenograft models. These NEIs show the potential of CRM1 inhibitors as novel and potent anticancer agents.

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