Department of Oncology, Istituto di Ricerche Farmacologiche Mario Negri, and E.O.S. S.p.A., Milan, Italy.
Cancer Res. 2011 Feb 15;71(4):1396-405. doi: 10.1158/0008-5472.CAN-10-2700. Epub 2011 Jan 6.
Tumor angiogenesis is a degenerate process regulated by a complex network of proangiogenic factors. Existing antiangiogenic drugs used in clinic are characterized by selectivity for specific factors. Antiangiogenic properties might be improved in drugs that target multiple factors and thereby address the inherent mechanistic degeneracy in angiogenesis. Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and fibroblast growth factor (FGF) family members and their cognate receptors are key players in promoting tumor angiogenesis. Here we report the pharmacologic profile of E-3810, a novel dual inhibitor of the VEGF and FGF receptors. E-3810 potently and selectively inhibited VEGF receptor (VEGFR)-1, -2, and -3 and FGF receptor (FGFR)-1 and -2 kinases in the nanomolar range. Ligand-dependent phosphorylation of VEGFR-2 and FGFR-1 was suppressed along with human vascular endothelial cell growth at nanomolar concentrations. In contrast, E-3810 lacked cytotoxic effects on cancer cell lines under millimolar concentrations. In a variety of tumor xenograft models, including early- or late-stage subcutaneous and orthotopic models, E-3810 exhibited striking antitumor properties at well-tolerated oral doses administered daily. We found that E-3810 remained active in tumors rendered nonresponsive to the general kinase inhibitor sunitinib resulting from a previous cycle of sunitinib treatment. In Matrigel plug assays performed in nude mice, E-3810 inhibited basic FGF-induced angiogenesis and reduced blood vessel density as assessed by histologic analysis. Dynamic contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging analysis confirmed that E-3810 reduced the distribution of angiogenesis-sensitive contrast agents after only 5 days of treatment. Taken together, our findings identify E-3810 as a potent antiangiogenic small molecule with a favorable pharmacokinetic profile and broad spectrum antitumor activity, providing a strong rationale for its clinical evaluation.
肿瘤血管生成是一个受复杂的促血管生成因子网络调控的退化过程。目前临床上使用的抗血管生成药物的特点是对特定因子具有选择性。针对多种因子的药物可能会提高抗血管生成特性,从而解决血管生成中固有的机制退化问题。血管内皮生长因子(VEGF)和成纤维细胞生长因子(FGF)家族成员及其同源受体是促进肿瘤血管生成的关键因素。在这里,我们报告了一种新型的 VEGF 和 FGF 受体双重抑制剂 E-3810 的药理特性。E-3810 能在纳摩尔范围内强力且选择性地抑制 VEGF 受体(VEGFR)-1、-2 和 -3 以及 FGF 受体(FGFR)-1 和 -2 激酶。在纳摩尔浓度下,配体依赖性 VEGFR-2 和 FGFR-1 磷酸化以及人血管内皮细胞生长被抑制。相比之下,E-3810 在毫摩尔浓度下对癌细胞系没有细胞毒性作用。在各种肿瘤异种移植模型中,包括早期或晚期皮下和原位模型,E-3810 在每日口服耐受剂量下表现出显著的抗肿瘤特性。我们发现,E-3810 在先前接受过舒尼替尼治疗的肿瘤中仍然对舒尼替尼这一通用激酶抑制剂产生耐药性。在裸鼠的 Matrigel plugs 实验中,E-3810 抑制碱性成纤维细胞生长因子诱导的血管生成,并通过组织学分析减少血管密度。动态对比增强磁共振成像分析证实,E-3810 在治疗仅 5 天后即可减少血管生成敏感对比剂的分布。综上所述,我们的研究结果表明 E-3810 是一种具有强大抗肿瘤活性的有效抗血管生成小分子药物,具有良好的药代动力学特征,为其临床评估提供了有力的依据。