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8,9-Dimethoxy-5-(2-N,N-dimethylaminoethyl)-2,3-methylenedioxy-5H-dibenzo[c,h][1,6] naphthyridin-6-one (ARC-111, topovale) is a new synthetic antitumor agent. In the current study, we show that ARC-111 is highly potent in scid mice carrying human tumor xenografts. ARC-111 was shown to be as active as camptothecin (CPT)-11 in the HCT-8 colon tumor model, and compared favorably with CPT-11 and topotecan in the SKNEP anaplastic Wilms' tumor model. In tissue culture models, ARC-111 exhibited low nM cytotoxicity against a panel of cancer cells. ARC-111 cytotoxicity as well as ARC-111-induced apoptosis was reduced100-fold in CPT-resistant topoisomerase I (TOP1)-deficient P388/CPT45 cells as compared with P388 cells. Similarly, ARC-111 cytotoxicity was greatly reduced in CPT-resistant CPT-K5 and U937/CR cells, which express CPT-resistant mutant TOP1, suggesting that the cytotoxic target of ARC-111 is TOP1. Indeed, ARC-111, like CPT, was shown to induce reversible TOP1 cleavage complexes in tumor cells as evidenced by specific reduction of the TOP1 immunoreactive band in a band depletion assay, as well as elevation of small ubiquitin modifier-TOP1 conjugate levels and activation of 26S proteasome-mediated degradation of TOP1. Unlike CPT, ARC-111 is not a substrate for the ATP-binding cassette transporter breast cancer resistance protein. In addition, ARC-111 cytotoxicity was not significantly reduced in the presence of human serum albumin. These results suggest that ARC-111 is a promising new TOP1-targeting antitumor drug with a different drug resistance profile than CPT.

Activated inflammatory leukocytes generate a variety of reactive nitrogen and species (RNOS) which have been proposed to contribute to genome instability and cancer development. We previously reported that oxidative stress induces topoisomerase II (TOP2)-mediated DNA breaks via TOP2 cleavable complex (TOP2cc) formation. Moreover, drug-induced TOP2αcc and TOP2βcc are suggested to be anti-cancer and carcinogenic, respectively. Here we show that either inflammation-produced or chemical-released nitric oxide (NO), like TOP2-targeting etoposide (VP-16), induce TOP2cc-meidated DNA breakage, mutagenesis and carcinogenesis: (i) NO-releaser S-nitrosoglutathione (GSNO) induces formation of skin melanomas in 9,10-dimethyl-1,2-benzanthracene (DMBA)-initiated mice; (ii) the co-culture experiments revealed that inflamed macrophages causes activation of DNA damage response and chromosome DNA breakage in target cells (iii) NO production and two TOP2 isozymes are responsible for the generation of chromosome DNA breaks; (iv) consistently, treatment of a NO releaser GSNO induces hTOP2αcc and hTOP2βcc formation; (v) GSNO also increases mutation rate and kill cells in TOP2-dependent manner; and (vi) the incidences of GSNO- and VP-16-induced melanomas are found to be lower in skin-specific top2β-knockout mice. Thus, our results provide the first demonstration for the functional role of TOP2 in the NO-caused DNA damage, mutagenesis and carcinogenesis. The TOP2 involvement in pathological settings such as chronic inflammation-associated mutagenesis and subsequent cancer development were discussed. Citation Format: {Authors}. {Abstract title} [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 103rd Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2012 Mar 31-Apr 4; Chicago, IL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2012;72(8 Suppl):Abstract nr LB-394. doi:1538-7445.AM2012-LB-394

Growth factor receptor bound protein-7 (Grb7) regulates diverse cellular functions as a result of its multi-domain functionality in protein-protein interactions. A number of reports have indicated that Grb7 is essential for EGFR-mediated tumorigenesis and cancer progression. However, it remains unclear how Grb7 potentiates tumor progression. To understand the underlying mechanisms by which Grb7 participates in EGFR-mediated tumorigenesis, we utilized microarray analyses and yeast two-hybrid screening to explore Grb7-mediated signaling. Of which, a migration related protein, EphA4, was markedly up-regulated in associated with Grb7 overexpression but down-regulated while knocking down Grb7. Eventually, in response to EGF stimulation, we found that Grb7 was trans-located into the nucleus from the cytoplasm, which in turn promoted STAT3 transcriptional activity on EphA4 gene expression. The significance of this finding is further highlighted by the co-upregulation of Grb7 and EphA4 is concurrent with the highly invasive capability of lung adenocarcinoma. Moreover, we found that EphA4 could also potentiate EGF-induced reorganization of cytoskeleton, ERK1/2 phosphorylation, and cancer cell functions such as proliferation, migration and anchorage-independent growth. Based on these findings, we hypothesize that EphA4 can act as an amplifier involved EGF-mediated cancer progression in an EGF/Grb7/Stat3-mediated transcriptional manner. This study reveals a novel mechanism by which Grb7 regulates tumor progression through the EGF- by triggering EphA4 expression and then prolonging EGFR signaling in regulation of diverse cellular functions involved in cancer progression, thereby highlighting the potential strategy to target Grb7 for anti-cancer therapy. Citation Format: {Authors}. {Abstract title} [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 103rd Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2012 Mar 31-Apr 4; Chicago, IL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2012;72(8 Suppl):Abstract nr LB-28. doi:1538-7445.AM2012-LB-28