The FAPα-activated prodrug Z-GP-DAVLBH inhibits the growth and pulmonary metastasis of osteosarcoma cells by suppressing the AXL pathway

• Published in: Acta pharmaceutica Sinica. B 2022-03, Vol.12 (3), p.1288-1304
• Main Authors: Ye, Geni, Huang, Maohua, Li, Yong, Ouyang, Jie, Chen, Minfeng, Wen, Qing, Li, Xiaobo, Zeng, Huhu, Long, Pei, Fan, Zepei, Yin, Junqiang, Ye, Wencai, Zhang, Dongmei
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: AXL; Fibroblast activation protein alpha; Growth; Original; Osteosarcoma; Pulmonary metastasis; Vinblastine prodrug; β-Catenin
• ISSN: 2211-3835; 2211-3843
• DOI: 10.1016/j.apsb.2021.08.015

Osteosarcoma is a kind of bone tumor with highly proliferative and invasive properties, a high incidence of pulmonary metastasis and a poor prognosis. Chemotherapy is the mainstay of treatment for osteosarcoma. Currently, there are no molecular targeted drugs approved for osteosarcoma treatment, particularly effective drugs for osteosarcoma with pulmonary metastases. It has been reported that fibroblast activation protein alpha (FAPα) is upregulated in osteosarcoma and critically associated with osteosarcoma progression and metastasis, demonstrating that FAPα-targeted agents might be a promising therapeutic strategy for osteosarcoma. In the present study, we reported that the FAPα-activated vinblastine prodrug Z-GP-DAVLBH exhibited potent antitumor activities against FAPα-positive osteosarcoma cells in vitro and in vivo. Z-GP-DAVLBH inhibited the growth and induced the apoptosis of osteosarcoma cells. Importantly, it also decreased the migration and invasion capacities and reversed epithelial–mesenchymal transition (EMT) of osteosarcoma cells in vitro and suppressed pulmonary metastasis of osteosarcoma xenografts in vivo. Mechanistically, Z-GP-DAVLBH suppressed the AXL/AKT/GSK-3β/β-catenin pathway, leading to inhibition of the growth and metastatic spread of osteosarcoma cells. These findings demonstrate that Z-GP-DAVLBH is a promising agent for the treatment of FAPα-positive osteosarcoma, particularly osteosarcoma with pulmonary metastases. The FAPα-activated vinblastine prodrug Z-GP-DAVLBH inhibited the activation of the AXL/AKT/GSK-3β/β-catenin pathway and consequently suppressed the growth, epithelial–mesenchymal transition, and pulmonary metastasis of FAPα-positive osteosarcoma cells. [Display omitted]