Preclinical Evaluation of Discorhabdins in Antiangiogenic and Antitumor Models

Authors:
Harris EM1, Strope JD2, Beedie SL3, Huang PA4, Goey AKL5, Cook KM6, Schofield CJ7, Chau CH8, Cadelis MM9, Copp BR10, Gustafson KR11, Figg WD12
In:
Source: Mar Drugs
Publication Date: (2018)
Issue: 16: E241
Cells used in publication:
Endothelial, umbilical vein, human (HUVEC)
Species: human
Tissue Origin: vein
Experiment


Abstract

Elements of the hypoxia inducible factor (HIF) transcriptional system, a key regulator of the cellular hypoxic response, are up-regulated in a range of cancer cells. HIF is fundamentally involved in tumor angiogenesis, invasion, and energy metabolism. Inhibition of the transcriptional activity of HIF may be of therapeutic benefit to cancer patients. We recently described the identification of two marine pyrroloiminoquinone alkaloids with potent activity in inhibiting the interaction between the oncogenic transcription factor HIF-1a and the coactivator protein p300. Herein, we present further characterization data for these two screening hits: discorhabdin H (1) and discorhabdin L (2), with a specific focus on their anti-angiogenic and anti-tumor effects. We demonstrated that only discorhabdin L (2) possesses excellent anti-angiogenic activity in inhibiting endothelial cell proliferation and tube formation, as well as decreasing microvessel outgrowth in the ex vivo rat aortic ring assay. We further showed that discorhabdin L (2) significantly inhibits in vivo prostate tumor growth in a LNCaP xenograft model. In conclusion, our findings suggest that discorhabdin L (2) represents a promising HIF-1a inhibitor worthy of further drug development