Nutlin-3, the small-molecule inhibitor of MDM2, promotes senescence and radiosensitises laryngeal carcinoma cells harbouring wild-type p53 (original) (raw)

Adaptation of cancer cells from different entities to the MDM2 inhibitor nutlin-3 results in the emergence of p53-mutated multi-drug-resistant cancer cells

Cell death & disease, 2011

Six p53 wild-type cancer cell lines from infrequently p53-mutated entities (neuroblastoma, rhabdomyosarcoma, and melanoma) were continuously exposed to increasing concentrations of the murine double minute 2 inhibitor nutlin-3, resulting in the emergence of nutlin-3-resistant, p53-mutated sublines displaying a multi-drug resistance phenotype. Only 2 out of 28 sublines adapted to various cytotoxic drugs harboured p53 mutations. Nutlin-3-adapted UKF-NB-3 cells (UKF-NB-3(r)Nutlin(10 μM), harbouring a G245C mutation) were also radiation resistant. Analysis of UKF-NB-3 and UKF-NB-3(r)Nutlin(10 μM) cells by RNA interference experiments and lentiviral transduction of wild-type p53 into p53-mutated UKF-NB-3(r)Nutlin(10 μM) cells revealed that the loss of p53 function contributes to the multi-drug resistance of UKF-NB-3(r)Nutlin(10 μM) cells. Bioinformatics PANTHER pathway analysis based on microarray measurements of mRNA abundance indicated a substantial overlap in the signalling pathways d...

The MDM2-inhibitor Nutlin-3 synergizes with cisplatin to induce p53 dependent tumor cell apoptosis in non-small cell lung cancer

Oncotarget, 2015

The p53/MDM2 interaction has been a well-studied target for new drug design leading to the development of the small molecule inhibitor Nutlin-3. Our objectives were to combine Nutlin-3 with cisplatin (CDDP), a well-known activator of the p53 pathway, in a series of non-small cell lung cancer cell lines in order to increase the cytotoxic response to CDDP. We report that sequential treatment (CDDP followed by Nutlin-3), but not simultaneous treatment, resulted in strong synergism. Combination treatment induced p53's transcriptional activity, resulting in increased mRNA and protein levels of MDM2, p21, PUMA and BAX. In addition we report the induction of a strong p53 dependent apoptotic response and induction of G2/M cell cycle arrest. The strongest synergistic effect was observed at low doses of both CDDP and Nutlin-3, which could result in fewer (off-target) side effects while maintaining a strong cytotoxic effect. Our results indicate a promising preclinical potential, emphasizi...

Anticancer effects of the p53 activator nutlin-3 in Ewing’s sarcoma cells

European Journal of Cancer, 2011

Mutation of p53 is rare in Ewing's sarcoma (ES), suggesting that targeting and activation of wild-type p53 may be an effective therapeutic strategy for ES. The recently developed small-molecule MDM2 inhibitor nutlin-3 restores wild-type p53 function, resulting in the inhibition of cancer cell growth and the induction of apoptosis. In the present study, we explored the responsiveness of ES cell lines with wild-type or mutated p53 to nutlin-3. We found that treatment with nutlin-3 increased p53 level and induced p53 target gene expression (MDM2, p21, PUMA) in ES cells with wild-type p53, but not in ES cells with mutated p53. Consistently, nutlin-3 elicited apoptosis only in wild-type p53 cells, as assessed by caspase-3 activity assay and flow cytometric analyses of mitochondrial depolarisation and DNA fragmentation. In addition, we found nutlin-3 to evoke cellular senescence, indicating that nutlin-3 induces pleiotropic anticancer effects in ES. Furthermore, combined treatment with nutlin-3 and an inhibitor of NF-κB produced synergistic antineoplastic activity in ES cells. Our findings suggest that the direct activation of p53 by nutlin-3 treatment may be a useful new therapeutic approach for patients with ES.