10058-F4

10058-F4 is a novel small-molecule inhibitor of c-Myc. 10058-F4 prevented the binding of c-Myc/Max dimers to its DNA targets, inhibited leukemic proliferation, and induced apoptosis through mitochondrial pathway, such as downregulation of Bcl-2, upregulation of Bax and release of cytoplasmic cytochrome C. [1]

10058-F4 blocks the C-MYC/Max heterodimerization which is required for c-Myc activity as a transcription factor. 10058-F4 efficiently inhibits the induction of PGC-1β mRNA by both HRG and IGF-1 and also abolishes the induction of PGC-1β protein levels by HRG and IGF-1, confirming that the induction of PGC-1b protein by these growth factors is a transcriptional event requiring C-MYC activity.[2] 10058-F4 acts not only to block c-Myc function through the mechanism of c-Myc/Max heterodimer dissociation, but it also resulted in decreased c-Myc mRNA levels (65%, n = 3) in lymphoma cells.[3]

References:
[1] Huang MJ, Cheng YC, Liu CR, Lin SF, Liu H. E. A small-molecule c-Myc inhibitor, 10058-F4, induces cell-cycle arrest, apoptosis, and myeloid differentiation of human acute myeloid leukemia. Experimental Hematology. 2006; 34: 1480–1489.
[2] Ching-yi Chang, Dmitri Kazmin, Jeff S. Jasper, Rebecca Kunder, William J. Zuercher, Donald P. McDonnell. The Metabolic Regulator ERRα, a Downstream Target of HER2/IGF-1R, as a Therapeutic Target in Breast Cancer. Cancer Cell. 18 October 2011. 20(4): 500-510.
[3] Ilsa Gomez-Curet, R. Serene Perkins, Ryan Bennett, Katherine L. Feidler, Stephen P. Dunn, Leslie J. Krueger. c-Myc inhibition negatively impacts lymphoma growth. Journal of Pediatric Surgery. January 2006. 41(1): 207-211.

Small-molecule c-Myc inhibitor, 10058-F4, inhibits proliferation, downregulates human telomerase reverse transcriptase and enhances chemosensitivity in human hepatocellular carcinoma cells.[Pubmed:17159602]

Anticancer Drugs. 2007 Feb;18(2):161-70.

c-Myc oncogene is critical for the development of hepatocellular carcinoma. Given the successful use of small-molecule inhibitors on cancers, targeting c-Myc with small-molecule inhibitors represents a promising approach. The potential of using small-molecule c-Myc inhibitor, 10058-F4, was evaluated on hepatocellular carcinoma cell lines, HepG2 and Hep3B cells. HepG2 cells were more sensitive to 10058-F4 than Hep3B cells, as demonstrated by reduced cell viability, marked morphological changes and decreased c-Myc levels. 10058-F4 arrested the cell cycle (at G0/G1 phase) and induced apoptosis upon extended treatment. These observations might be attributable to the increased cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor, p21, and decreased cyclin D3 levels. Besides, 10058-F4 also significantly decreased the alpha-fetoprotein levels, an indicator for hepatocellular carcinoma differentiation. We further found that 10058-F4 inhibited the transactivation of human telomerase reverse transcriptase, downregulated human telomerase reverse transcriptase expression and abrogated telomerase activity. In addition, pretreatment with 10058-F4 increased the chemosensitivity of HepG2 cells to low-dose doxorubicin, 5-fluorouracil and cisplatin. Therefore, small-molecule c-Myc inhibitors might represent a novel agent, alone or in combination with conventional chemotherapeutic agents, for anti-hepatocellular carcinoma therapy.

Efficacy, pharmacokinetics, tisssue distribution, and metabolism of the Myc-Max disruptor, 10058-F4 [Z,E]-5-[4-ethylbenzylidine]-2-thioxothiazolidin-4-one, in mice.[Pubmed:18509642]

Cancer Chemother Pharmacol. 2009 Mar;63(4):615-25.

OBJECTIVES: c-Myc is commonly activated in many human tumors and is functionally important in cellular proliferation, differentiation, apoptosis and cell cycle progression. The activity of c-Myc requires noncovalent interaction with its client protein Max. In vitro studies indicate the thioxothiazolidinone, 10058-F4, inhibits c-Myc/Max dimerization. In this study, we report the efficacy, pharmacokinetics and metabolism of this novel protein-protein disruptor in mice. METHODS: SCID mice bearing DU145 or PC-3 human prostate cancer xenografts were treated with either 20 or 30 mg/kg 10058-F4 on a qdx5 schedule for 2 weeks for efficacy studies. For pharmacokinetics and metabolism studies, mice bearing PC-3 or DU145 xenografts were treated with 20 mg/kg of 10058-F4 i.v. Plasma and tissues were collected 5-1440 min after dosing. The concentration of 10058-F4 in plasma and tissues was determined by HPLC, and metabolites were characterized by LC-MS/MS. RESULTS: Following a single iv dose, peak plasma 10058-F4 concentrations of approximately 300 muM were seen at 5 min and declined to below the detection limit at 360 min. Plasma concentration versus time data were best approximated by a two-compartment, open, linear model. The highest tissue concentrations of 10058-F4 were found in fat, lung, liver, and kidney. Peak tumor concentrations of 10058-F4 were at least tenfold lower than peak plasma concentrations. Eight metabolites of 10058-F4 were identified in plasma, liver, and kidney. The terminal half-life of 10058-F4 was approximately 1 h, and the volume of distribution was >200 ml/kg. No significant inhibition of tumor growth was seen after i.v. treatment of mice with either 20 or 30 mg/kg 10058-F4. CONCLUSION: The lack of significant antitumor activity of 10058-F4 in tumor-bearing mice may have resulted from its rapid metabolism and low concentration in tumors.

10058-F4, a c-Myc inhibitor, markedly increases valproic acid-induced cell death in Jurkat and CCRF-CEM T-lymphoblastic leukemia cells.[Pubmed:25120723]

Oncol Lett. 2014 Sep;8(3):1355-1359.

Adult T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (T-ALL) has a poor prognosis. Although it has been found that activation of Notch1 signaling occurs in >50% T-ALL patients, gamma-secretase inhibitors that target Notch1 signaling are of limited efficacy. However, c-Myc is an important direct target of Notch1 and, thus, c-Myc is another potential therapeutic target for T-ALL. Valproic acid (VPA), a histone deacetylase inhibitor, has been reported to treat various hematological malignancies. In the present study, we showed that c-Myc expression, at a transcriptional level, was dose-dependently downregulated in VPA-induced growth inhibition in T-ALL cell lines, Jurkat and CCRF-CEM cells. 10058-F4, a small molecule c-Myc inhibitor, could increase the downregulation of c-Myc and markedly increase the growth inhibition and cell death induced by VPA in Jurkat and CCRF-CEM cells, which was accompanied by obvious cleavage of capase-3. Z-VAD-FMK, a caspase inhibitor, partially prevented the anti-leukemic effect. The results of the present study suggest that c-Myc inhibitors increase cell death induced by VPA in a caspase-dependent and -independent manner, and their combination could be a potent therapeutic strategy for adult T-ALL patients.

Inhibition of c-Myc by 10058-F4 induces growth arrest and chemosensitivity in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma.[Pubmed:26211592]

Biomed Pharmacother. 2015 Jul;73:123-8.

Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is a formidable medical challenge due to its malignancies and the absence of effective treatment. c-Myc, as an important transcription factor, plays crucial roles in cell cycle progression, apoptosis and cellular transformation. The c-Myc inhibitor, 10058-F4, has been reported act as a tumor suppressor in several different tumors. In current study, the tumor-suppressive roles of 10058-F4 was observed in human pancreatic cancer cells in vitro as demonstrated by decreased cell viability, cell cycle arrest at the G1/S transition and increased caspase3/7 activity. And tumor responses to gemcitabine were also significantly enhanced by 10058-F4 in PANC-1 and SW1990 cells. In a subcutaneous xenograft model, however, 10058-F4 showed no significant influence on pancreatic tumorigenesis. When combined with gemcitabine, tumorigenesis was drastically attenuated compared with gemcitabine group or 10058-F4 group; this synergistic effect was accompanied with decreased PCNA-positive cells and reduced TUNEL-positive cells in the combined treated group. Subsequent studies revealed that decreased glycolysis may be involved in the inhibitory effect of 10058-F4 on PDAC. Taken together, this study demonstrates the roles of 10058-F4 in PDAC and provides evidence that 10058-F4 in combination with gemcitabine showed significant clinical benefit over the usage of gemcitabine alone.

A small-molecule c-Myc inhibitor, 10058-F4, induces cell-cycle arrest, apoptosis, and myeloid differentiation of human acute myeloid leukemia.[Pubmed:17046567]

Exp Hematol. 2006 Nov;34(11):1480-9.

OBJECTIVE: The protooncogene c-Myc plays an important role in the control of cell proliferation, apoptosis, and differentiation, and its aberrant expression is frequently seen in multiple human cancers, including acute myeloid leukemia (AML). As c-Myc heterodimerizes with Max to transactivate downstream target genes in leukemogenesis. Inhibition of the c-Myc/Max heterodimerization by the recently identified small-molecule compound, 10058-F4, might be a novel antileukemic strategy. MATERIALS AND METHODS: HL-60, U937, and NB4 cells and primary AML cells were used to examine the effects of 10058-F4 on apoptosis and myeloid differentiation. RESULTS: We showed that 10058-F4 arrested AML cells at G0/G1 phase, downregulated c-Myc expression and upregulated CDK inhibitors, p21 and p27. Meanwhile, 10058-F4 induced apoptosis through activation of mitochondrial pathway shown by downregulation of Bcl-2, upregulation of Bax, release of cytoplasmic cytochrome C, and cleavage of caspase 3, 7, and 9. Furthermore, 10058-F4 also induced myeloid differentiation, possibly through activation of multiple transcription factors. Similarly, 10058-F4-induced apoptosis and differentiation could also be observed in primary AML cells. CONCLUSION: Our study has shown that inhibition of c-Myc/Max dimerization with small-molecule inhibitors affects multiple cellular activities in AML cells and represents a potential antileukemic approach.

Low molecular weight inhibitors of Myc-Max interaction and function.[Pubmed:13679853]

Oncogene. 2003 Sep 18;22(40):6151-9.

c-Myc is helix-loop-helix-leucine zipper (HLH-ZIP) oncoprotein that is frequently deregulated in human cancers. In order to bind DNA, regulate target gene expression, and function in a biological context, c-Myc must dimerize with another HLH-ZIP protein, Max. A large number of c-Myc target genes have been identified, and many of the encoded proteins are transforming. Such functional redundancy, however, complicates therapeutic strategies aimed at inhibiting any single target gene product. Given this consideration, we have instead attempted to identify ways by which c-Myc itself could be effectively disabled. We have used a yeast two-hybrid approach to identify low-molecular-weight compounds that inhibit c-Myc-Max association. All of the compounds prevented transactivation by c-Myc-Max heterodimers, inhibited cell cycle progression, and prevented the in vitro growth of fibroblasts in a c-Myc-dependent manner. Several of the compounds also inhibited tumor growth in vivo. These results show that the yeast two-hybrid screen is useful for identifying compounds that can be exploited in mammalian cells. More specifically, they provide a means by which structural analogs, based upon these first-generation Myc-Max inhibitors, can be developed to enhance antitumor efficacy.