BioScience Trends. 2020;14(2):96-103. (DOI: 10.5582/bst.2019.01302)

Novel conjugates of endoperoxide and 4-anilinoquinazoline induce myeloma cell apoptosis by inhibiting the IGF1-R/AKT/ mTOR signaling pathway

Xu Y, Zeng K, Wang X, Zhang J, Cao B, Zhang Z, Qiao C, Xu X, Wang Q, Zeng Y, Mao X

4-anilinoquinazoline-containing inhibitors of the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) are widely used in non-small cell lung cancer patients with mutated EGFR, but they are less effective in multiple myeloma (MM), a fatal malignancy derived from plasma cells. The present study designed a series of novel compounds by conjugating a peroxide bridge to the 4-anilinoquinazoline pharmacophore. Further studies showed that these agents such as 4061 and 4065B displayed potent activity to induce MM cell apoptosis by upregulating pro-apoptotic p53 and Bax while downregulating pro-survival Bcl-2. The mechanistic analysis revealed that both 4061 and 4065B inhibited IGF1-R, AKT and mTOR activation in a concentration dependent manner but had no effects on the expression of their total proteins, suggesting the conjugates of endoperoxide and 4-anilinoquinazoline may exert its anti-myeloma activity by targeting the IGF1-R/AKT/mTOR pathway.

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