Research Paper Volume 13, Issue 5 pp 6982—6998
Discovery of a novel AR/HDAC6 dual inhibitor for prostate cancer treatment
- 1 Department of Oncology, NHC Key Laboratory of Cancer Proteomics, State Local Joint Engineering Laboratory for Anticancer Drugs, National Center for Geriatrics Clinical Research, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha 410008, Hunan, China
- 2 Key Laboratory of Chemical Biology and Traditional Chinese Medicine, Ministry of Educational of China, Key Laboratory of the Assembly and Application of Organic Functional Molecules of Hunan Province, Hunan Normal University, Changsha 410081, Hunan, China
- 3 Zeta Pharma, Changsha 410000, Hunan, China
Received: June 15, 2020 Accepted: December 23, 2020 Published: February 17, 2021
https://doi.org/10.18632/aging.202554How to Cite
Copyright: © 2021 Zhou et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY 3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
Abstract
Androgen receptor (AR) and histone deacetylase 6 (HDAC6) are important targets for cancer therapy. Given that both AR antagonists and HDAC6 inhibitors modulate AR signaling, a novel AR/HDAC6 dual inhibitor is investigated for its anticancer effects in castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC). Zeta55 inhibits nuclear translocation of AR and suppresses androgen-induced PSA and TMPRSS2 expression. Meanwhile, Zeta55 selectively inhibits HDAC6 activity, leading to AR degradation. Zeta55 reduces the growth of AR-overexpressing VCaP prostate cancer cells both in vitro and in a CRPC xenograft model. These results provide preclinical proof of principle for Zeta55 as a promising therapeutic in prostate cancer treatment.
Abbreviations
AR: Androgen receptor; HDACs: histone deacetylases; CRPC: castration-resistant prostate cancer; HDACi: histone deacetylase inhibitors; HSP90: heat shock protein 90; DHT: dihydrotestosterone; DMSO: dimethyl sulfoxide; DMEM: Dulbecco's modified Eagle's medium; PSA: Prostate-specific antigen; DAPI: 4’,6-diamidine-2’-phenylindole.