COX-2/sEH Dual Inhibitor PTUPB Potentiates the Anti-tumor Efficacy of Cisplatin.

Fuli Wang
Hongyong Zhang
Ai-Hong Ma
Weimin Yu
Maike Zimmermann
Jun Yang
Sung Hee Hwang
Daniel Zhu
Tzu-Yin Lin
Michael Malfatti
Kenneth W Turteltaub
Paul T Henderson
Susan Airhart, The Jackson Laboratory
Bruce D Hammock
Jianlin Yuan
Ralph W de Vere White
Chong-Xian Pan

Abstract

Cisplatin-based therapy is highly toxic, but moderately effective in most cancers. Concurrent inhibition of cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) and soluble epoxide hydrolase (sEH) results in anti-tumor activity, and has organ protective effects. The goal of this study was to determine the anti-tumor activity of PTUPB, an orally bioavailable COX-2/sEH dual inhibitor, in combination with cisplatin and gemcitabine (GC) therapy. NSG mice bearing bladder cancer patient-derived xenografts were treated with vehicle, PTUPB, cisplatin, GC or combinations thereof. Mouse experiments were performed with two different PDX models. PTUPB potentiated cisplatin and GC therapy, resulting in significantly reduced tumor growth and prolonged survival. PTUPB plus cisplatin was no more toxic than cisplatin single agent treatment as assessed by body weight, histochemical staining of major organs, blood counts and chemistry. The combination of PTUPB and cisplatin increased apoptosis and decreased phosphorylation in the MAPK/ERK and PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathways compared to controls. PTUPB treatment did not alter platinum-DNA adduct levels, which is the most critical step in platinum-induced cell death. The in vitro study using the combination index method showed modest synergy between PTUPB and platinum agents only in 5637 cell line among several cell lines examined. However, PTUPB is very active in vivo by inhibiting angiogenesis. In conclusion, PTUPB potentiated the anti-tumor activity of cisplatin-based treatment without increasing toxicity in vivo, and has potential for further development as a combination chemotherapy partner. Mol Cancer Ther 2017 Dec 28 [Epub ahead of print]