Liu Zhen-zhen,Liu Xiao-ning,Fan Rui-cheng,Jia Yu-ping,Zhang Qing-ke,Gao Xin-qing,Wang Yu-qing,Yang Meng-qing,Ji Li-zhen,Zhou Yong-qing,Li Hong-li,Li Ping,Tang Bo
Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) is the most common and malignant type of primary brain tumor, and 95% of patients die within 2 years after diagnosis. In this study, aiming to overcome chemoresistance to the first-line drug temozolomide (TMZ), we carried out research to discover a novel alternative drug targeting the oncogenic NFAT signaling pathway for GBM therapy. To accelerate the drug’s clinical application, we took advantage of a drug repurposing strategy to identify novel NFAT signaling pathway inhibitors. After screening a set of 93 FDA-approved drugs with simple structures, we identified pimavanserin tartrate (PIM), an effective 5-HT 2A receptor inverse agonist used for the treatment of Parkinson’s disease-associated psychiatric symptoms, as having the most potent inhibitory activity against the NFAT signaling pathway. Further study revealed that PIM suppressed STIM1 puncta formation to inhibit store-operated calcium entry (SOCE) and subsequent NFAT activity. In cellula, PIM significantly suppressed the proliferation, migration, division, and motility of U87 glioblastoma cells, induced G1/S phase arrest and promoted apoptosis. In vivo, the growth of subcutaneous and orthotopic glioblastoma xenografts was markedly suppressed by PIM. Unbiased omics studies revealed the novel molecular mechanism of PIM’s antitumor activity, which included suppression of the ATR/CDK2/E2F axis, MYC, and AuroraA/B signaling. Interestingly, the genes upregulated by PIM were largely associated with cholesterol homeostasis, which may contribute to PIM’s side effects and should be given more attention. Our study identified store-operated calcium channels as novel targets of PIM and was the first to systematically highlight the therapeutic potential of pimavanserin tartrate for glioblastoma.
A highly efficient synthesis of structurally diverse ortho-acylphenol–diindolylmethane hybrids 3 using carboxylic acid-activated chromones as versatile synthetic building blocks is reported here for the first time, through 1,4-nucleophilic addition and followed by a decarboxylation and pyrone ring opening reaction process. The newly synthesized compounds were evaluated for their in vitro anticancer activity, and most of the compounds displayed good anticancer activities against four tested tumor cells (A549, PC-3, NCI-H1299, Caco-2). Among these compounds, compound 3t displayed the most potent and broad-spectrum anti-proliferative inhibition against the tested cell lines, especially A549 cells, and was more potent than arundine and cisplatin drugs, and had selectivity in cancer cells compared to MRC-5 and HK-2 normal cells. Preliminary mechanism studies showed that compound 3t exerted an anti-tumor effect in A549 cells by inhibiting the proliferation, colony formation and migration of A549 cells, and inducing cycle arrest at the G0/G1 phase and apoptosis. Furthermore, treatment of A549 cells with compound 3t caused increased ROS content and induced MMP collapse; western blot analysis showed that the expression level of p53 was significantly increased; Bax/Bcl-2 ratio and Cyt c were increased, and caspase-9, -3, and PARP were cleaved. These studies showed that compound 3t could induce apoptosis of A549 cells through the mitochondrial pathway, which was related to the activation of p53 and the generation of ROS. Thus, our results indicate that compound 3t may be used as a promising skeleton for the development of new anti-tumour drugs.
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