Browsing by Author "Jiaang, Weir-Torn"

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Evaluation of the Antitumor Effects of BPR1J-340, a Potent and Selective FLT3 Inhibitor, Alone or in Combination with an HDAC Inhibitor, Vorinostat, in AML Cancer
(2014-01-08)
Lin, Wen-Hsing
;
Yeh, Teng-Kuang
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Jiaang, Weir-Torn
;
Yen, Kuei-Jung
;
Chen, Chun-Hwa
Overexpression or/and activating mutation of FLT3 kinase play a major driving role in the pathogenesis of acute myeloid leukemia (AML). Hence, pharmacologic inhibitors of FLT3 are of therapeutic potential for AML treatment. In this study, BPR1J-340 was identified as a novel potent FLT3 inhibitor by biochemical kinase activity (IC50 approximately 25 nM) and cellular proliferation (GC(50) approximately 5 nM) assays. BPR1J-340 inhibited the phosphorylation of FLT3 and STAT5 and triggered apoptosis in FLT3-ITD+ AML cells. The pharmacokinetic parameters of BPR1J-340 in rats were determined. BPR1J-340 also demonstrated pronounced tumor growth inhibition and regression in FLT3-ITD+ AML murine xenograft models. The combination treatment of the HDAC inhibitor vorinostat (SAHA) with BPR1J-340 synergistically induced apoptosis via Mcl-1 down-regulation in MOLM-13 AML cells, indicating that the combination of selective FLT3 kinase inhibitors and HDAC inhibitors could exhibit clinical benefit in AML therapy. Our results suggest that BPR1J-340 may be further developed in the preclinical and clinical studies as therapeutics in AML treatments.
Identification of Novel Anti-Liver Cancer Small Molecules with Better Therapeutic Index Than Sorafenib via Zebrafish Drug Screening Platform
(2019-06-01)
Lin, Han-Syuan
;
Huang, Yi-Luen
;
Wang, Yi-Rui Stefanie
;
Hsiao, Eugene
;
Hsu, Tsu-An
Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) ranks as the fourth leading cause of cancer-related deaths worldwide. Sorafenib was the only U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved drug for treating advanced HCC until recently, so development of new target therapy is urgently needed. In this study, we established a zebrafish drug screening platform and compared the therapeutic effects of two multiple tyrosine kinase inhibitors, 419S1 and 420S1, with Sorafenib. All three compounds exhibited anti-angiogenesis abilities in immersedflil:EGFP transgenic embryos and the half inhibition concentration (IC50) was determined. 419S1 exhibited lower hepatoxicity and embryonic toxicity than 420S1 and Sorafenib, and the half lethal concentration (LC50) was determined. The therapeutic index (LC50/IC50) for 419S1 was much higher than for Sorafenib and 420S1. The compounds were either injected retro-orbitally or by oral gavage to adult transgenic zebrafish with HCC. The compounds not only rescued the pathological feature, but also reversed the expression levels of cell-cycle-related genes and protein levels of a proliferation marker. Using a patient-derived-xenograft assay, we found that the effectiveness of 419S1 and 420S1 in preventing liver cancer proliferation is better than that of Sorafenib. With integrated efforts and the advantage of the zebrafish platform, we can find more effective and safe drugs for HCC treatment and screen for personalized medicine.