S. Honore - Academia.edu (original) (raw)
Papers by S. Honore
Le Pharmacien Hospitalier et Clinicien, 2012
Le Pharmacien Hospitalier et Clinicien, 2012
Cellular and molecular biology (Noisy-le-Grand, France), 2001
Using an original microcalorimetric method, we previously showed that in erythrocytes from cancer... more Using an original microcalorimetric method, we previously showed that in erythrocytes from cancer patients, the sodium pump activity was decreased and returned to normal in patient in remission. In addition we suggested that a plasma-borne factor probably secreted by cancer cells accounted for this impairment of the sodium transporter. In the present study we sought to identify this factor as well as its mechanism of action. First we determined the effect of culture media from undifferentiated and differentiated colon cancer cell lines (Caco-2 and HT29-D4) on the sodium pump activity of normal human erythrocytes. The inhibitory powers of culture media from undifferentiated cells were higher than those of differentiated cells (38.6 +/- 3.5% vs 6.9 +/- 4.6%, p<0.05 for Caco-2 and 45.8 +/- 6.2% vs 9.0 +/- 5.0%, <0.05 for HT29-D4). The use of alpha difluoro-methylomithine (2 mM) to inhibit ornithine decarboxylase, the rate-limiting enzyme for polyamine biosynthesis, dramatically r...
Le Pharmacien Hospitalier et Clinicien, 2014
Le Pharmacien Hospitalier et Clinicien, 2014
International journal of cancer. Journal international du cancer, 2000
High epidermal growth factor (EGF) concentration (10(-8) M) induces inhibition of A431 cell proli... more High epidermal growth factor (EGF) concentration (10(-8) M) induces inhibition of A431 cell proliferation, resulting in part from an apoptotic process. For some cells escaping this process, proliferation was associated with a decrease in apoptosis. Moreover, these surviving cells displayed marked morphological changes consisting of filopodia formation and cell aggregation. Disrupting cell-cell contacts by lowering extracellular calcium concentration reversed the resistance process, suggesting that apoptosis protection by aggregation may involve intercellular adhesion and cell-cell survival signals probably mediated by calcium-requiring molecules such as integrins. From a panel of integrins tested, only alpha 2 beta 1 integrin cell-surface expression was up-regulated after high apoptotic EGF treatment, and this up-regulation was not observed under a growth-stimulatory EGF concentration (10(-11) M). Double-labeling analysis (alpha 2 beta 1/DNA) implicated alpha 2 beta 1 integrin in th...
Journal of clinical oncology : official journal of the American Society of Clinical Oncology, 2001
Most primary oligodendrogliomas and mixed gliomas (oligoastrocytoma) respond to treatment with pr... more Most primary oligodendrogliomas and mixed gliomas (oligoastrocytoma) respond to treatment with procarbazine, lomustine, and vincristine (PCV), with response rates of approximately 80%. However, limited data on second-line treatments are available in patients with recurrent tumors. A novel second-generation alkylating agent, temozolomide, has recently demonstrated efficacy and safety in patients with recurrent glioblastoma multiforme and anaplastic astrocytoma. This study describes the effects of temozolomide in patients with recurrent anaplastic oligodendroglioma (AO) and anaplastic mixed oligoastrocytoma (AOA). Forty-eight patients with histologically confirmed AO or AOA who had received previous PCV chemotherapy were treated with temozolomide (150 to 200 mg/m2/d for 5 days per 28-day cycle). The primary end point was objective response. Secondary end points included progression-free survival (PFS), time to progression, overall survival (OS), safety, and tolerability. Eight patient...
European Journal of Cancer, 2012
European Journal of Cancer Supplements, 2008
Molecular cancer therapeutics, 2003
Discodermolide is a new microtubule-targeted drug in Phase I clinical trials that inhibits tumor ... more Discodermolide is a new microtubule-targeted drug in Phase I clinical trials that inhibits tumor growth and induces G(2)-M cell cycle arrest. It is effective against paclitaxel-resistant cell lines and acts synergistically in combination with paclitaxel. Suppression of microtubule dynamics by microtubule-targeted drugs has been hypothesized to be responsible for their ability to inhibit mitotic progression and cell proliferation. To determine whether discodermolide blocks mitosis by an effect on microtubule dynamics, we analyzed the effects of discodermolide on microtubule dynamics in living A549 human lung cancer cells during interphase at concentrations that block mitosis and inhibit cell proliferation. We found that discodermolide (7-166 nM) significantly suppressed microtubule dynamic instability. At the IC(50) for proliferation (7 nM discodermolide, 72 h), overall dynamicity was reduced by 23%. The principal parameters of dynamic instability suppressed by discodermolide were th...
Parasite Immunology, 2000
C.B-17 SCID and congenic BALB/C mice were used to examine Leishmania infantum strain pathogenicit... more C.B-17 SCID and congenic BALB/C mice were used to examine Leishmania infantum strain pathogenicity independently of host genetic factors. While parasite loads were significantly higher in immunodeficient mice than in immunocompetent mice, the kinetics of infection during a long-term follow-up were similar, suggesting that intrinsic parasitic factors also influence the outcome of L. infantum infection.
Molecular Cancer Therapeutics, 2008
The motile behavior of endothelial cells is a crucial event for neoangiogenesis. We previously sh... more The motile behavior of endothelial cells is a crucial event for neoangiogenesis. We previously showed that noncytotoxic concentrations of vinflunine inhibit capillary-like tube formation on Matrigel and endothelial cell migration with a concomitant increase in interphase microtubule dynamic instability. In this article, we further investigated the effects of vinflunine on migration and cytoskeleton interaction dynamics in HMEC-1 endothelial cells. We confirmed that vinflunine, at low and noncytotoxic concentrations (0.01-1 nmol/L), inhibited endothelial cell random motility by 54%. This effect was associated with a decrease in the percentage of stable microtubules and in the mean duration of pauses for dynamic ones. Moreover, we found that vinflunine altered adhesion site targeting by microtubules and suppressed the microtubule (+) end pause that occurs at adhesion sites during cell migration (from 151 +/- 20 seconds in control cells to 38 +/- 7 seconds in vinflunine-treated cells, P &amp;amp;amp;lt; 0.001). This effect was associated with the inhibition of adhesion site dynamics and the formation of long-lived stress fibers. Importantly, we found that vinflunine altered EB1 localization at microtubule (+) ends. These results highlight a new mechanism of action of vinflunine, which act by disrupting the mutual control between microtubule and adhesion site dynamics and strengthen the role of +TIPs proteins such as EB1 as key regulators of endothelial cell motility.
Experimental Cell Research, 2007
ADP ribosylation factor like 2 (Arl2) protein is involved in the folding of tubulin peptides. Var... more ADP ribosylation factor like 2 (Arl2) protein is involved in the folding of tubulin peptides. Variants of the human adenocarcinoma line MCF7 cells with increased or reduced content of Arl2 protein were produced and characterized. Western blot analysis performed after separation of the different fractions of tubulins showed that the content in polymerizable soluble heterodimers was significantly increased in cells with the highest Arl2 expression level (MA+) and reduced in cells with the lowest Arl2 expression level (MA−) in comparison to control cells (MP). Microtubule dynamic instability, measured after microinjection of rhodamine-labelled tubulin in living cells, was significantly enhanced in MA+ cells and reduced in MA− cells. These alterations involved modifications of the microtubule growth and shortening rates, duration of attenuation phases, percentage of time spent in each
Drug Resistance Updates, 2006
Angiogenesis is a key event of tumor progression and metastasis and hence a target for cancer che... more Angiogenesis is a key event of tumor progression and metastasis and hence a target for cancer chemotherapy. Therapeutic strategies focused on angiogenesis include the discovery of new, targeted anti-angiogenic agents and the re-evaluation of conventional anti-cancer drugs. Here, we review the most recent studies investigating the molecular and cellular mechanisms responsible for the anti-angiogenic activity of microtubule-targeting agents (MTAs). These agents include some of the most widely used and effective antitumor drugs that are also among the most anti-angiogenic. In addition, we summarize the latest results of pre-clinical and clinical studies involving MTAs administered at low metronomic doses and in anti-angiogenic combination strategies. Finally, we discuss the future development of these agents, their clinical potential and their limitations.
Differentiation, 1998
The aim of this work was to show in serumfree medium a convergent effect of physiological factors... more The aim of this work was to show in serumfree medium a convergent effect of physiological factors and extracellular matrix proteins on the differentiation process of enterocytes by taking as a model the HT29-D4 clone that has the feature of differentiating when subcultured in fetal bovine serum glucose-free medium. We show that triiodothyronine (T3) as well as insulin promotes limited cell growth and differentiation, whereas fibronectin or bovine serum albumin (BSA) induces cell growth and a low level of differentiation. However, insulin, T3, fibronectin, and BSA together with epidermal growth factor and transferrin promoted satisfactory growth and enterocyte morphology with epithelial electrophysiological properties in HT29-D4 cells. With these factors adequate protein targeting was achieved since cells apically expressed the carcinoembryonic antigen, and basolaterally transferrin and insulin receptors, β1 and αvβ6 integrins, talin, vinculin, and focal adhesion kinase (FAK). Talin, vinculin, FAK, and αvβ6 integrin, the fibronectin receptor, were clustered in focal contacts, which agrees with a possible role of fibronectin in final cell growth, the latter process mediating the final phase of differentiation. This level of differentiation can be maintained for a long time. Thus HT29-D4 cells appear to be a suitable model to study the implication of integrins in the differentiation process of human enterocytes.& b d y :
Cellular and Molecular Life Sciences, 2005
Microtubules (MTs), key components of the cytoskeleton, are dynamic polymers of tubulin that form... more Microtubules (MTs), key components of the cytoskeleton, are dynamic polymers of tubulin that form a well-organized network of polarized tube filaments. MT dynamics are highly regulated both spacially and temporally by several MT-related proteins, themselves regulated by several kinases and phosphatases via signaling cascades, and also by coordinated interactions with actin cytoskeleton and adhesion sites. Regulation of MT dynamics is crucial for mitosis, cell migration, cell signaling and trafficking. MT-targeted drugs (MTDs), which constitute a major anticancer drug family with antimitotic and antiangiogenic properties, inhibit tumor progression mainly by altering MT dynamics in both cancer and endothelial cells. Identification of proteins regulating the MT network will lead to a better understanding of tumor progression regulators and will be helpful in improving cancer therapy.
Cancer Research, 2013
Metastasis, a fatal complication of breast cancer, does not fully benefit from available therapie... more Metastasis, a fatal complication of breast cancer, does not fully benefit from available therapies. In this study, we investigated whether ATIP3, the major product of 8p22 MTUS1 gene, may be a novel biomarker and therapeutic target for metastatic breast tumors. We show that ATIP3 is a prognostic marker for overall survival among patients with breast cancer. Notably, among metastatic tumors, low ATIP3 levels associate with decreased survival of the patients. By using a well-defined experimental mouse model of cancer metastasis, we show that ATIP3 expression delays the time-course of metastatic progression and limits the number and size of metastases in vivo. In functional studies, ATIP3 silencing increases breast cancer cell migration, whereas ATIP3 expression significantly reduces cell motility and directionality. We report here that ATIP3 is a potent microtubule-stabilizing protein whose depletion increases microtubule dynamics. Our data support the notion that by decreasing microtubule dynamics, ATIP3 controls the ability of microtubule tips to reach the cell cortex during migration, a mechanism that may account for reduced cancer cell motility and metastasis. Of interest, we identify a functional ATIP3 domain that associates with microtubules and recapitulates the effects of ATIP3 on microtubule dynamics, cell proliferation, and migration. Our study is a major step toward the development of new personalized treatments against metastatic breast tumors that have lost ATIP3 expression. Cancer Res; 73(9); 2905-15. Ó2013 AACR.
Cancer Research, 2004
Discodermolide is a new microtubule-targeted antimitotic drug in Phase I clinical trials that, li... more Discodermolide is a new microtubule-targeted antimitotic drug in Phase I clinical trials that, like paclitaxel, stabilizes microtubule dynamics and enhances microtubule polymer mass in vitro and in cells. Despite their apparently similar binding sites on microtubules, discodermolide acts synergistically with paclitaxel to inhibit proliferation of A549 human lung cancer cells (L. Martello et al., Clin. Cancer Res., 6: 1978 -1987. To understand their synergy, we examined the effects of the two drugs singly and in combination in A549 cells and found that, surprisingly, their antiproliferative synergy is related to their ability to synergistically inhibit microtubule dynamic instability and mitosis. The combination of discodermolide and paclitaxel at their antiproliferative IC 50 s (7 nM for discodermolide and 2 nM for paclitaxel) altered all of the parameters of dynamic instability synergistically except the time-based rescue frequency. For example, together the drugs inhibited overall microtubule dynamicity by 71%, but each drug individually inhibited dynamicity by only 24%, giving a combination index (CI) of 0.23. Discodermolide and paclitaxel also synergistically blocked cell cycle progression at G 2 -M (41, 9.6, and 16% for both drugs together, for discodermolide alone, and for paclitaxel alone, respectively; CI ؍ 0.59), and they synergistically enhanced apoptosis (CI ؍ 0.85). Microtubules are unique receptors for drugs. The results suggest that ligands that bind to large numbers of binding sites on an individual microtubule can interact in a poorly understood manner to synergistically suppress microtubule dynamic instability and inhibit both mitosis and cell proliferation, with important consequences for combination clinical therapy with microtubule-targeted drugs.
Le Pharmacien Hospitalier et Clinicien, 2012
Le Pharmacien Hospitalier et Clinicien, 2012
Cellular and molecular biology (Noisy-le-Grand, France), 2001
Using an original microcalorimetric method, we previously showed that in erythrocytes from cancer... more Using an original microcalorimetric method, we previously showed that in erythrocytes from cancer patients, the sodium pump activity was decreased and returned to normal in patient in remission. In addition we suggested that a plasma-borne factor probably secreted by cancer cells accounted for this impairment of the sodium transporter. In the present study we sought to identify this factor as well as its mechanism of action. First we determined the effect of culture media from undifferentiated and differentiated colon cancer cell lines (Caco-2 and HT29-D4) on the sodium pump activity of normal human erythrocytes. The inhibitory powers of culture media from undifferentiated cells were higher than those of differentiated cells (38.6 +/- 3.5% vs 6.9 +/- 4.6%, p<0.05 for Caco-2 and 45.8 +/- 6.2% vs 9.0 +/- 5.0%, <0.05 for HT29-D4). The use of alpha difluoro-methylomithine (2 mM) to inhibit ornithine decarboxylase, the rate-limiting enzyme for polyamine biosynthesis, dramatically r...
Le Pharmacien Hospitalier et Clinicien, 2014
Le Pharmacien Hospitalier et Clinicien, 2014
International journal of cancer. Journal international du cancer, 2000
High epidermal growth factor (EGF) concentration (10(-8) M) induces inhibition of A431 cell proli... more High epidermal growth factor (EGF) concentration (10(-8) M) induces inhibition of A431 cell proliferation, resulting in part from an apoptotic process. For some cells escaping this process, proliferation was associated with a decrease in apoptosis. Moreover, these surviving cells displayed marked morphological changes consisting of filopodia formation and cell aggregation. Disrupting cell-cell contacts by lowering extracellular calcium concentration reversed the resistance process, suggesting that apoptosis protection by aggregation may involve intercellular adhesion and cell-cell survival signals probably mediated by calcium-requiring molecules such as integrins. From a panel of integrins tested, only alpha 2 beta 1 integrin cell-surface expression was up-regulated after high apoptotic EGF treatment, and this up-regulation was not observed under a growth-stimulatory EGF concentration (10(-11) M). Double-labeling analysis (alpha 2 beta 1/DNA) implicated alpha 2 beta 1 integrin in th...
Journal of clinical oncology : official journal of the American Society of Clinical Oncology, 2001
Most primary oligodendrogliomas and mixed gliomas (oligoastrocytoma) respond to treatment with pr... more Most primary oligodendrogliomas and mixed gliomas (oligoastrocytoma) respond to treatment with procarbazine, lomustine, and vincristine (PCV), with response rates of approximately 80%. However, limited data on second-line treatments are available in patients with recurrent tumors. A novel second-generation alkylating agent, temozolomide, has recently demonstrated efficacy and safety in patients with recurrent glioblastoma multiforme and anaplastic astrocytoma. This study describes the effects of temozolomide in patients with recurrent anaplastic oligodendroglioma (AO) and anaplastic mixed oligoastrocytoma (AOA). Forty-eight patients with histologically confirmed AO or AOA who had received previous PCV chemotherapy were treated with temozolomide (150 to 200 mg/m2/d for 5 days per 28-day cycle). The primary end point was objective response. Secondary end points included progression-free survival (PFS), time to progression, overall survival (OS), safety, and tolerability. Eight patient...
European Journal of Cancer, 2012
European Journal of Cancer Supplements, 2008
Molecular cancer therapeutics, 2003
Discodermolide is a new microtubule-targeted drug in Phase I clinical trials that inhibits tumor ... more Discodermolide is a new microtubule-targeted drug in Phase I clinical trials that inhibits tumor growth and induces G(2)-M cell cycle arrest. It is effective against paclitaxel-resistant cell lines and acts synergistically in combination with paclitaxel. Suppression of microtubule dynamics by microtubule-targeted drugs has been hypothesized to be responsible for their ability to inhibit mitotic progression and cell proliferation. To determine whether discodermolide blocks mitosis by an effect on microtubule dynamics, we analyzed the effects of discodermolide on microtubule dynamics in living A549 human lung cancer cells during interphase at concentrations that block mitosis and inhibit cell proliferation. We found that discodermolide (7-166 nM) significantly suppressed microtubule dynamic instability. At the IC(50) for proliferation (7 nM discodermolide, 72 h), overall dynamicity was reduced by 23%. The principal parameters of dynamic instability suppressed by discodermolide were th...
Parasite Immunology, 2000
C.B-17 SCID and congenic BALB/C mice were used to examine Leishmania infantum strain pathogenicit... more C.B-17 SCID and congenic BALB/C mice were used to examine Leishmania infantum strain pathogenicity independently of host genetic factors. While parasite loads were significantly higher in immunodeficient mice than in immunocompetent mice, the kinetics of infection during a long-term follow-up were similar, suggesting that intrinsic parasitic factors also influence the outcome of L. infantum infection.
Molecular Cancer Therapeutics, 2008
The motile behavior of endothelial cells is a crucial event for neoangiogenesis. We previously sh... more The motile behavior of endothelial cells is a crucial event for neoangiogenesis. We previously showed that noncytotoxic concentrations of vinflunine inhibit capillary-like tube formation on Matrigel and endothelial cell migration with a concomitant increase in interphase microtubule dynamic instability. In this article, we further investigated the effects of vinflunine on migration and cytoskeleton interaction dynamics in HMEC-1 endothelial cells. We confirmed that vinflunine, at low and noncytotoxic concentrations (0.01-1 nmol/L), inhibited endothelial cell random motility by 54%. This effect was associated with a decrease in the percentage of stable microtubules and in the mean duration of pauses for dynamic ones. Moreover, we found that vinflunine altered adhesion site targeting by microtubules and suppressed the microtubule (+) end pause that occurs at adhesion sites during cell migration (from 151 +/- 20 seconds in control cells to 38 +/- 7 seconds in vinflunine-treated cells, P &amp;amp;amp;lt; 0.001). This effect was associated with the inhibition of adhesion site dynamics and the formation of long-lived stress fibers. Importantly, we found that vinflunine altered EB1 localization at microtubule (+) ends. These results highlight a new mechanism of action of vinflunine, which act by disrupting the mutual control between microtubule and adhesion site dynamics and strengthen the role of +TIPs proteins such as EB1 as key regulators of endothelial cell motility.
Experimental Cell Research, 2007
ADP ribosylation factor like 2 (Arl2) protein is involved in the folding of tubulin peptides. Var... more ADP ribosylation factor like 2 (Arl2) protein is involved in the folding of tubulin peptides. Variants of the human adenocarcinoma line MCF7 cells with increased or reduced content of Arl2 protein were produced and characterized. Western blot analysis performed after separation of the different fractions of tubulins showed that the content in polymerizable soluble heterodimers was significantly increased in cells with the highest Arl2 expression level (MA+) and reduced in cells with the lowest Arl2 expression level (MA−) in comparison to control cells (MP). Microtubule dynamic instability, measured after microinjection of rhodamine-labelled tubulin in living cells, was significantly enhanced in MA+ cells and reduced in MA− cells. These alterations involved modifications of the microtubule growth and shortening rates, duration of attenuation phases, percentage of time spent in each
Drug Resistance Updates, 2006
Angiogenesis is a key event of tumor progression and metastasis and hence a target for cancer che... more Angiogenesis is a key event of tumor progression and metastasis and hence a target for cancer chemotherapy. Therapeutic strategies focused on angiogenesis include the discovery of new, targeted anti-angiogenic agents and the re-evaluation of conventional anti-cancer drugs. Here, we review the most recent studies investigating the molecular and cellular mechanisms responsible for the anti-angiogenic activity of microtubule-targeting agents (MTAs). These agents include some of the most widely used and effective antitumor drugs that are also among the most anti-angiogenic. In addition, we summarize the latest results of pre-clinical and clinical studies involving MTAs administered at low metronomic doses and in anti-angiogenic combination strategies. Finally, we discuss the future development of these agents, their clinical potential and their limitations.
Differentiation, 1998
The aim of this work was to show in serumfree medium a convergent effect of physiological factors... more The aim of this work was to show in serumfree medium a convergent effect of physiological factors and extracellular matrix proteins on the differentiation process of enterocytes by taking as a model the HT29-D4 clone that has the feature of differentiating when subcultured in fetal bovine serum glucose-free medium. We show that triiodothyronine (T3) as well as insulin promotes limited cell growth and differentiation, whereas fibronectin or bovine serum albumin (BSA) induces cell growth and a low level of differentiation. However, insulin, T3, fibronectin, and BSA together with epidermal growth factor and transferrin promoted satisfactory growth and enterocyte morphology with epithelial electrophysiological properties in HT29-D4 cells. With these factors adequate protein targeting was achieved since cells apically expressed the carcinoembryonic antigen, and basolaterally transferrin and insulin receptors, β1 and αvβ6 integrins, talin, vinculin, and focal adhesion kinase (FAK). Talin, vinculin, FAK, and αvβ6 integrin, the fibronectin receptor, were clustered in focal contacts, which agrees with a possible role of fibronectin in final cell growth, the latter process mediating the final phase of differentiation. This level of differentiation can be maintained for a long time. Thus HT29-D4 cells appear to be a suitable model to study the implication of integrins in the differentiation process of human enterocytes.& b d y :
Cellular and Molecular Life Sciences, 2005
Microtubules (MTs), key components of the cytoskeleton, are dynamic polymers of tubulin that form... more Microtubules (MTs), key components of the cytoskeleton, are dynamic polymers of tubulin that form a well-organized network of polarized tube filaments. MT dynamics are highly regulated both spacially and temporally by several MT-related proteins, themselves regulated by several kinases and phosphatases via signaling cascades, and also by coordinated interactions with actin cytoskeleton and adhesion sites. Regulation of MT dynamics is crucial for mitosis, cell migration, cell signaling and trafficking. MT-targeted drugs (MTDs), which constitute a major anticancer drug family with antimitotic and antiangiogenic properties, inhibit tumor progression mainly by altering MT dynamics in both cancer and endothelial cells. Identification of proteins regulating the MT network will lead to a better understanding of tumor progression regulators and will be helpful in improving cancer therapy.
Cancer Research, 2013
Metastasis, a fatal complication of breast cancer, does not fully benefit from available therapie... more Metastasis, a fatal complication of breast cancer, does not fully benefit from available therapies. In this study, we investigated whether ATIP3, the major product of 8p22 MTUS1 gene, may be a novel biomarker and therapeutic target for metastatic breast tumors. We show that ATIP3 is a prognostic marker for overall survival among patients with breast cancer. Notably, among metastatic tumors, low ATIP3 levels associate with decreased survival of the patients. By using a well-defined experimental mouse model of cancer metastasis, we show that ATIP3 expression delays the time-course of metastatic progression and limits the number and size of metastases in vivo. In functional studies, ATIP3 silencing increases breast cancer cell migration, whereas ATIP3 expression significantly reduces cell motility and directionality. We report here that ATIP3 is a potent microtubule-stabilizing protein whose depletion increases microtubule dynamics. Our data support the notion that by decreasing microtubule dynamics, ATIP3 controls the ability of microtubule tips to reach the cell cortex during migration, a mechanism that may account for reduced cancer cell motility and metastasis. Of interest, we identify a functional ATIP3 domain that associates with microtubules and recapitulates the effects of ATIP3 on microtubule dynamics, cell proliferation, and migration. Our study is a major step toward the development of new personalized treatments against metastatic breast tumors that have lost ATIP3 expression. Cancer Res; 73(9); 2905-15. Ó2013 AACR.
Cancer Research, 2004
Discodermolide is a new microtubule-targeted antimitotic drug in Phase I clinical trials that, li... more Discodermolide is a new microtubule-targeted antimitotic drug in Phase I clinical trials that, like paclitaxel, stabilizes microtubule dynamics and enhances microtubule polymer mass in vitro and in cells. Despite their apparently similar binding sites on microtubules, discodermolide acts synergistically with paclitaxel to inhibit proliferation of A549 human lung cancer cells (L. Martello et al., Clin. Cancer Res., 6: 1978 -1987. To understand their synergy, we examined the effects of the two drugs singly and in combination in A549 cells and found that, surprisingly, their antiproliferative synergy is related to their ability to synergistically inhibit microtubule dynamic instability and mitosis. The combination of discodermolide and paclitaxel at their antiproliferative IC 50 s (7 nM for discodermolide and 2 nM for paclitaxel) altered all of the parameters of dynamic instability synergistically except the time-based rescue frequency. For example, together the drugs inhibited overall microtubule dynamicity by 71%, but each drug individually inhibited dynamicity by only 24%, giving a combination index (CI) of 0.23. Discodermolide and paclitaxel also synergistically blocked cell cycle progression at G 2 -M (41, 9.6, and 16% for both drugs together, for discodermolide alone, and for paclitaxel alone, respectively; CI ؍ 0.59), and they synergistically enhanced apoptosis (CI ؍ 0.85). Microtubules are unique receptors for drugs. The results suggest that ligands that bind to large numbers of binding sites on an individual microtubule can interact in a poorly understood manner to synergistically suppress microtubule dynamic instability and inhibit both mitosis and cell proliferation, with important consequences for combination clinical therapy with microtubule-targeted drugs.