Winardi Daniel, Chu Pei-Yi, Chen Guan-Yu, Wang Ke, Hsu Wei-Yu, Hsieh Ching-Liang, Chen Yung-Hsiang, Wu Yang-Chang, Yang Juan-Cheng
Graduate Institute of Integrated Medicine, College of Chinese Medicine, China Medical University, Taichung 404, Taiwan.
Chinese Medicine Research and Development Center, China Medical University Hospital, Taichung 404, Taiwan.
Int J Mol Sci. 2022 Feb 7;23(3):1868. doi: 10.3390/ijms23031868.
Aurora A kinase (Aurora A) is a serine/threonine kinase regulating control of multiple events during cell-cycle progression. Playing roles in promoting proliferation and inhibiting cell death in cancer cells leads Aurora A to become a target for cancer therapy. It is overexpressed and associated with a poor prognosis in ovarian cancer. Improving cisplatin therapy outcomes remains an important issue for advanced-stage ovarian cancer treatment, and Aurora A inhibitors may improve it. In the present study, we identified natural compounds with higher docking scores than the known Aurora A ligand through structure-based virtual screening, including the natural compound fangchinoline, which has been associated with anticancer activities but not yet investigated in ovarian cancer. The binding and inhibition of Aurora A by fangchinoline were verified using cellular thermal shift and enzyme activity assays. Fangchinoline reduced viability and proliferation in ovarian cancer cell lines. Combination fangchinoline and cisplatin treatment enhanced cisplatin-DNA adduct levels, and the combination index revealed synergistic effects on cell viability. An in vivo study showed that fangchinoline significantly enhanced cisplatin therapeutic effects in OVCAR-3 ovarian cancer-bearing mice. Fangchinoline may inhibit tumor growth and enhance cisplatin therapy in ovarian cancer. This study reveals a novel Aurora A inhibitor, fangchinoline, as a potentially viable adjuvant for ovarian cancer therapy.
极光激酶A(Aurora A)是一种丝氨酸/苏氨酸激酶,在细胞周期进程中调控多个事件。Aurora A在促进癌细胞增殖和抑制细胞死亡方面发挥作用,这使其成为癌症治疗的靶点。它在卵巢癌中过度表达且与预后不良相关。改善顺铂治疗效果仍然是晚期卵巢癌治疗的一个重要问题,而Aurora A抑制剂可能会改善这一情况。在本研究中,我们通过基于结构的虚拟筛选,鉴定出了对接分数高于已知Aurora A配体的天然化合物,包括天然化合物粉防己碱,它已被证明具有抗癌活性,但尚未在卵巢癌中进行研究。通过细胞热迁移和酶活性测定验证了粉防己碱对Aurora A的结合和抑制作用。粉防己碱降低了卵巢癌细胞系的活力和增殖能力。粉防己碱与顺铂联合治疗提高了顺铂-DNA加合物水平,联合指数显示对细胞活力有协同作用。一项体内研究表明,粉防己碱显著增强了顺铂对携带OVCAR-3卵巢癌小鼠的治疗效果。粉防己碱可能会抑制卵巢癌的肿瘤生长并增强顺铂治疗效果。本研究揭示了一种新型的Aurora A抑制剂——粉防己碱,作为卵巢癌治疗的一种潜在可行的辅助药物。