Dysregulated Wnt signaling is associated with malignant oncogenic transformation, especially in colon cancer. Recently, numerous drugs have been developed based on tumorigenesis biomarkers, thus having high potential as drug targets. Likewise, WNT/β-catenin pathway members are attractive therapeutic targets for colon cancer and are currently in various stages of development. However, although inhibitors of proteins regulating the WNT/β-catenin signaling pathway have been extensively studied, they have yet to be clinically approved, and the underlying molecular mechanism(s) of their anticancer effects remain poorly understood. Herein, we show that a novel WNT/β-catenin inhibitor, DGG-300273, inhibits colon cancer cell growth in a Wnt-dependent manner due to upregulation of the BCL2-family protein Bim and caspase-dependent apoptotic cell death. Additionally, DGG-300273-mediated cell death occurs by increased reactive oxygen species (ROS), as shown by abrogation of apoptotic cell death and ROS production following pretreatment with the antioxidant N-acetylcysteine. These results suggest that DGG-300273 represents a promising investigational drug for the treatment of Wnt-associated cancer, thus warranting further characterization and study.
WNT信号传导失调与恶性肿瘤转化有关,尤其是结肠癌。最近,基于肿瘤
生物标志物开发了许多药物,因此具有很高的药物靶点潜力。同样,WNT/β-catenin通路成员也是结肠癌极具吸引力的治疗靶点,目前正处于不同的开发阶段。然而,尽管调节WNT/β-catenin信号传导通路的蛋白
抑制剂已经过广泛研究,但尚未获得临床批准,其抗癌作用的潜在分子机制仍不为人所知。在此,我们展示了新型WNT/β-catenin
抑制剂DGG-300273通过上调BC
L2家族蛋白Bim和依赖半胱天冬酶的细胞凋亡,以WNT依赖性方式抑制结肠癌细胞的生长。此外,DGG-300273介导的
细胞死亡是通过增加活性氧(ROS)发生的,如用
抗氧化剂N-乙酰半胱
氨酸预处理后,细胞凋亡和ROS的产生被抑制。这些结果表明,DGG-300273是一种治疗WNT相关癌症的有前景的研究药物,因此需要进一步表征和研究。