Pharmacological inhibition of ABCC3 slows tumour progression in animal models of pancreatic cancer

• Published in: Journal of experimental & clinical cancer research 2019-08, Vol.38 (1), p.312-312, Article 312
• Main Authors: Adamska, Aleksandra, Domenichini, Alice, Capone, Emily, Damiani, Verena, Akkaya, Begum Gokcen, Linton, Kenneth J, Di Sebastiano, Pierluigi, Chen, Xi, Keeton, Adam B, Ramirez-Alcantara, Veronica, Maxuitenko, Yulia, Piazza, Gary A, De Laurenzi, Vincenzo, Sala, Gianluca, Falasca, Marco
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: ABC transporters; ABCC3; Adenocarcinoma; Animals; Antineoplastic Agents - pharmacology; Apoptosis; Biomarkers; Care and treatment; Cell Line, Tumor; Cell Proliferation - drug effects; Cells (Biology); Cellular Reprogramming - genetics; Development and progression; Disease Models, Animal; Disease Progression; Female; Gene expression; Humans; Laboratory rats; Mice; Mice, Transgenic; Multidrug Resistance-Associated Proteins - antagonists & inhibitors; Pancreatic cancer; Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma; Pancreatic Neoplasms - drug therapy; Pancreatic Neoplasms - metabolism; Pancreatic Neoplasms - mortality; Pancreatic Neoplasms - pathology; Patient outcomes; PDAC therapy; Prognosis; Signal Transduction - drug effects; STAT3 Transcription Factor - metabolism; Stromal Cells - metabolism; Tumor proteins; Tumors; Tumour stroma; Xenograft Model Antitumor Assays
• ISSN: 1756-9966; 0392-9078; 1756-9966
• DOI: 10.1186/s13046-019-1308-7

Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is an aggressive and lethal disease, lacking effective therapeutic approaches. Available therapies only marginally prolong patient survival and are frequently coupled with severe adverse events. It is therefore pivotal to investigate novel and safe pharmacological approaches. We have recently identified the ABC transporter, ABCC3, whose expression is dependent on mutation of TP53, as a novel target in PDAC. ABCC3-mediated regulation of PDAC cell proliferation and tumour growth in vivo was demonstrated and was shown to be conferred by upregulation of STAT3 signalling and regulation of apoptosis. To verify the potential of ABCC3 as a pharmacological target, a small molecule inhibitor of ABCC3, referred to here as MCI-715, was designed. In vitro assays were performed to assess the effects of ABCC3 inhibition on anchorage-dependent and anchorage-independent PDAC cell growth. The impact of ABCC3 inhibition on specific signalling pathways was verified by Western blotting. The potential of targeting ABCC3 with MCI-715 to counteract PDAC progression was additionally tested in several animal models of PDAC, including xenograft mouse models and transgenic mouse model of PDAC. Using both mouse models and human cell lines of PDAC, we show that the pharmacological inhibition of ABCC3 significantly decreased PDAC cell proliferation and clonal expansion in vitro and in vivo, remarkably slowing tumour growth in mice xenografts and patient-derived xenografts and increasing the survival rate in a transgenic mouse model. Furthermore, we show that stromal cells in pancreatic tumours, which actively participate in PDAC progression, are enriched for ABCC3, and that its inhibition may contribute to stroma reprogramming. Our results indicate that ABCC3 inhibition with MCI-715 demonstrated strong antitumor activity and is well tolerated, which leads us to conclude that ABCC3 inhibition is a novel and promising therapeutic strategy for a considerable cohort of patients with pancreatic cancer.