INK 128 (MLN0128)

INK 128 (MLN0128) is a selective inhibitor of mTOR with IC50 value of 1 nM [3].

mTOR (mammalian target of rapamycin) is an evolutionarily conserved serine/threonine kinase which combined PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathway and plays an important role in regulating many fundamental features of cell growth and division [1].

INK 128 (MLN0128) is a potent mTOR inhibitor. When tested with human pancreatic cancer cells, INK-128 treatment inhibited cell growth and survival via inhibiting mTOR in a time- and concentration- dependent manner [2]. In HER2-positive breast cell lines, INK 128 treatment significantly delayed cell cycle and inhibited cell proliferation through inhibiting mTOR [1].

In a ZR-75-1 breast cancer xenograft model, INK128 treatment in a dose of 0.3mg/Kg/day significantly inhibited tumor growth. When combined with other standard targeted therapy or chemotherapy such as sorafenib, sutent and paclitaxel, enhanced anti-tumor growth activity was observed. INK128 is reported to have excellent physiochemical properties and is currently undergoing preclinical evaluation [3]. When tested with MDA-MB361 mouse model, administration of INK 128 showed a resistance after 20 days, and combined with lapatinib resulted in long-lasting tumor regression [1].

References:
[1].  Garcia-Garcia, C., et al., Dual mTORC1/2 and HER2 blockade results in antitumor activity in preclinical models of breast cancer resistant to anti-HER2 therapy. Clin Cancer Res, 2012. 18(9): p. 2603-12.
[2].  Lou, H.Z., et al., The novel mTORC1/2 dual inhibitor INK-128 suppresses survival and proliferation of primary and transformed human pancreatic cancer cells. Biochem Biophys Res Commun, 2014. 450(2): p. 973-8.
[3].  Jessen K, et al. INK128 is a potent and selective TORC1/2 inhibitor with broad oral anti-tumor activity. AACR 2009 Molecular targets and cancer therapeutics meeting poster; Boston: 2009.

Dual targeting of mTORC1 and mTORC2 by INK-128 potently inhibits human prostate cancer cell growth in vitro and in vivo.[Pubmed:25990456]

Tumour Biol. 2015 Sep;36(10):8177-84.

Both mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) complexes 1 and 2 (mTORC1/2) are often over-activated in prostate cancer cells and are associated with cancer progression. In the current study, we evaluated the potential anti-prostate cancer activity of INK-128, an ATP-competitive mTORC1/2 dual inhibitor, both in vitro and in vivo. Our results showed that INK-128 exerted potent anti-proliferative activity in established (PC-3 and LNCaP lines) and primary (patient-derived) human prostate cancer cells by inducing cell apoptosis. The latter was evidenced by increase of annexin V percentage, formation of cytoplasmic histone-associated DNA fragments, and cleavage of caspase-3. INK-128-induced prostate cancer cell apoptosis and cytotoxicity were alleviated upon pretreatment of cells with the pan-caspase inhibitor z-VAD-FMK or the specific caspase-3 inhibitor z-DVED-FMK. At the molecular level, INK-18 blocked mTORC1/2 activation in PC-3 cells and LNCaP cells and downregulated mTOR-regulated genes including cyclin D1, hypoxia-inducible factor 1alpha (HIF-1alpha), and HIF-2alpha. ERK-MAPK activation and androgen receptor expression were, however, not affected by INK-128 treatment. In vivo, oral administration of INK-128 significantly inhibited growth of PC-3 xenografts in nude mice. The preclinical results of this study suggest that INK-128 could be further investigated as a promising anti-prostate cancer agent.

Dual mTORC1/2 and HER2 blockade results in antitumor activity in preclinical models of breast cancer resistant to anti-HER2 therapy.[Pubmed:22407832]

Clin Cancer Res. 2012 May 1;18(9):2603-12.

PURPOSE: The PI3K/Akt/mTOR pathway is an attractive target in HER2-positive breast cancer that is refractory to anti-HER2 therapy. The hypothesis is that the suppression of this pathway results in sensitization to anti-HER2 agents. However, this combinatorial strategy has not been comprehensively tested in models of trastuzumab and lapatinib resistance. EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN: We analyzed in vitro cell viability and induction of apoptosis in five different cell lines resistant to trastuzumab and lapatinib. Inhibition of HER2/HER3 phosphorylation, PI3K/Akt/mTOR, and extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) signaling pathways was evaluated by Western blotting. Tumor growth inhibition after treatment with lapatinib, INK-128, or the combination of both agents was evaluated in three different animal models: two cell-based xenograft models refractory to both trastuzumab and lapatinib and a xenograft derived from a patient who relapsed on trastuzumab-based therapy. RESULTS: The addition of lapatinib to INK-128 prevented both HER2 and HER3 phosphorylation induced by INK-128, resulting in inhibition of both PI3K/Akt/mTOR and ERK pathways. This dual blockade produced synergistic induction of cell death in five different HER2-positive cell lines resistant to trastuzumab and lapatinib. In vivo, both cell line-based and patient-derived xenografts showed exquisite sensitivity to the antitumor activity of the combination of lapatinib and INK-128, which resulted in durable tumor shrinkage and exhibited no signs of toxicity in these models. CONCLUSIONS: The simultaneous blockade of both PI3K/Akt/mTOR and ERK pathways obtained by combining lapatinib with INK-128 acts synergistically in inducing cell death and tumor regression in breast cancer models refractory to anti-HER2 therapy.

The preclinical evaluation of the dual mTORC1/2 inhibitor INK-128 as a potential anti-colorectal cancer agent.[Pubmed:25692620]

Cancer Biol Ther. 2015;16(1):34-42.

The colorectal cancer is the leading contributor of cancer-related mortality. Mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR), existing in 2 complexes (mTORC1/2), is frequently dysregulated and constitutively activated in colorectal cancers. It represents an important drug target. Here we found that INK-128, the novel ATP-competitive kinase inhibitor of mTOR, blocked both mTORC1 and mTORC2 activation in colorectal cancer cells (both primary and transformed cells). The immunoprecipitation results showed that the assembly of mTORC1 (mTOR-Raptor association) and mTORC2 (mTOR-Rictor-Sin1 association) was also disrupted by INK-128. INK-128 inhibited colorectal cancer cell growth and survival, and induced both apoptotic and non-apoptotic cancer cell death. Further, INK-128 showed no effect on Erk/MAPK activation, while MEK/Erk inhibition by MEK-162 enhanced INK-128-induced cytotoxicity in colorectal cancer cells. Meanwhile, INK-128 downregulated Fascin1 (FSCN1)/E-Cadherin expressions and inhibited HT-29 cell in vitro migration. In vivo, daily INK-128 oral administration inhibited HT-29 xenograft growth in mice, which was further enhanced by MEK-162 administration. Finally, we found that INK-128 sensitized 5-fluorouracil-(5-FU)-mediated anti-HT-29 activity in vivo and in vitro. Thus, our preclinical studies strongly suggest that INK-128 might be investigated for colorectal cancer treatment in clinical trials.

Dual mTORC1/2 inhibition by INK-128 results in antitumor activity in preclinical models of osteosarcoma.[Pubmed:26514724]

Biochem Biophys Res Commun. 2015 Dec 4-11;468(1-2):255-61.

Existing evidence has shown that mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) overactivation is an important contributor of osteosarcoma (OS) progression. Here, we studied the potential anti-OS activity of a potent mTOR kinase inhibitor: INK-128 (MLN0128). We demonstrated that INK-128 induced potent cytotoxic effects against several human OS cell lines (U2OS, MG-63 and SaOs-2), yet same INK-128 treatment was safe (non-cytotoxic) to OB-6 human osteoblastic cells and MLO-Y4 human osteocytic cells. INK-128 induced caspase-dependent apoptosis in OS cells, but not in MLO-Y4/OB-6 cells. The caspase-3 specific inhibitor (z-DVED-fmk) or the pan caspase inhibitor (z-VAD-fmk) dramatically attenuated INK-128-exerted cytotoxicity against OS cells. Molecularly, INK-128 inhibited activation of mTORC1 (S6K1 and S6 phosphorylations) and mTORC2 (AKT Ser-473 phosphorylation), without affecting AKT Thr-308 phosphorylation in U2OS cells. Significantly, AKT inhibition by MK-2206 (an AKT inhibitor), or AKT1/2 stable knockdown by targeted-shRNA, remarkably sensitized INK-128-induced activity in OS cells. In vivo, oral administration of INK-128 potently inhibited U2OS xenograft growth in severe combined immuno-deficient (SCID) mice. mTORC1/2 activation in xenograft tumors was also suppressed with INK-128 administration. In summary, we show that INK-128 exerts potent anti-OS activity in vitro and in vivo. INK-128 might be further investigated as a novel anti-OS agent.

The novel mTORC1/2 dual inhibitor INK-128 suppresses survival and proliferation of primary and transformed human pancreatic cancer cells.[Pubmed:24971544]

Biochem Biophys Res Commun. 2014 Jul 25;450(2):973-8.

Pancreatic cancer has one of worst prognosis among all human malignancies around the world, the development of novel and more efficient anti-cancer agents against this disease is urgent. In the current study, we tested the potential effect of INK-128, a novel mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) complex 1 and 2 (mTORC1/2) dual inhibitor, against pancreatic cancer cells in vitro. Our results demonstrated that INK-128 concentration- and time-dependently inhibited the survival and growth of pancreatic cancer cells (both primary cells and transformed cells). INK-128 induced pancreatic cancer cell apoptosis and necrosis simultaneously. Further, INK-128 dramatically inhibited phosphorylation of 4E-binding protein 1 (4E-BP1), ribosomal S6 kinase 1 (S6K1) and Akt at Ser 473 in pancreatic cancer cells. Meanwhile, it downregulated cyclin D1 expression and caused cell cycle arrest. Finally, we found that a low concentration of INK-128 significantly increased the sensitivity of pancreatic cancer cells to gemcitabine. Together, our in vitro results suggest that INK-128 might be further investigated as a novel anti-cancer agent or chemo-adjuvant for pancreatic cancer treatment.

Sapanisertib (INK-128; MLN0128; TAK-228) is an orally available, ATP-dependent mTOR1/2 inhibitor with an IC50 of 1 nM for mTOR kinase.

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