A coumarin derivative (RKS262) inhibits cell-cycle progression, causes pro-apoptotic signaling and cytotoxicity in ovarian cancer cells.

Coumarin derivative RKS262 belongs to a new class of potential anti-tumor agents. RKS262 was identified by structural optimization of Nifurtimox which is currently undergoing phase II clinical trials to treat high-risk neuroblastoma. In a NCI(60) cell-line assay RKS262 exhibited significant cytotoxicity in ovarian cancer cells and a variety of other cell lines exceeding effects of commercial drugs such as cisplatin, 5-FU, cyclophosphamide or sapacitabine. Various leukemia cell-lines were most sensitive (GI(50): ~ 10 nM) while several non-small cell lung cancer cell lines and few cell lines from other tissues were relatively resistant (GI(50) > 1 µM) to RKS262 treatment. The mechanism of cytotoxicity was examined using ovarian cancer cell-line OVCAR-3 as a model. RKS262 treatment resulted in a reduced mitochondria-transmembrane-depolarization potential. RKS262 effects included up-regulation of apoptotic markers and were not correlated with activation of pro-apoptotic MAP-Kinases (p38, SAP/JNK). RKS262 exerted strong inhibitory effects on oncogene ras, down-regulated DNA-pk KU-80 subunit expression and caused activation of Akt. A signature effect of RKS262 is the regulation of the mitochondrial Bcl2-family pathway. Pro-apoptotic factors Bid, Bad and Bok were up-regulated while expression of pro-survival factors Bcl-xl and Mcl-1 was inhibited. Moreover, at sub-cytotoxic doses RKS262 delayed OVCAR-3 cell-cycle progression through G2 phase and up-regulated p27 while cyclin-D1 and Cdk-6 were down-regulated, indicating that RKS262 is a specific cyclin/CDK inhibitor. In summary, RKS262 has been identified as a molecule belonging to a new class of potential chemotherapeutic agents affecting the viability of multiple cancer cell-lines and causing selective adverse effects on the viability of ovarian cancer cells.