A Preclinical Evaluation of Minnelide as a Therapeutic Agent Against Pancreatic Cancer

作者：Chugh Rohit; Sangwan Veena; Patil Satish P; Dudeja Vikas; Dawra Rajinder K; Banerjee Sulagna; Schumacher Robert J; Blazar Bruce R; Georg Gunda I; Vickers Selwyn M; Saluja Ashok K^*

来源：Science Translational Medicine, 2012, 4(156): 156ra139.

DOI：10.1126/scitranslmed.3004334

Pancreatic cancer is one of the most lethal human malignancies with an all-stage 5-year survival frequency of <5%, which highlights the urgent need for more effective therapeutic strategies. We have previously shown that triptolide, a diterpenoid, is effective against pancreatic cancer cells in vitro as well as in vivo. However, triptolide is poorly soluble in water, limiting its clinical use. We therefore synthesized a water-soluble analog of triptolide, named Minnelide. The efficacy of Minnelide was tested both in vitro and in multiple independent yet complementary in vivo models of pancreatic cancer: an orthotopic model of pancreatic cancer using human pancreatic cancer cell lines in athymic nude mice, a xenograft model where human pancreatic tumors were transplanted into severe combined immunodeficient mice, and a spontaneous pancreatic cancer mouse model (KRas(G12D); Trp53(R172H); Pdx-1Cre). In these multiple complementary models of pancreatic cancer, Minnelide was highly effective in reducing pancreatic tumor growth and spread, and improving survival. Together, our results suggest that Minnelide shows promise as a potent chemotherapeutic agent against pancreatic cancer, and support the evaluation of Minnelide in clinical trials against this deadly disease.

• 出版日期2012-10-17