US20110312984A1 - Stat3 inhibitors - Google Patents

Stat3 inhibitors Download PDF

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US20110312984A1
US20110312984A1 US12/996,073 US99607309A US2011312984A1 US 20110312984 A1 US20110312984 A1 US 20110312984A1 US 99607309 A US99607309 A US 99607309A US 2011312984 A1 US2011312984 A1 US 2011312984A1
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stat3
cancer
methyl
benzoic acid
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David J. Tweardy
Wanzhi Huang
Moses M. Kasembeli
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Baylor College of Medicine
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Definitions

  • the present invention generally concerns at least the fields of computational biology, cell biology, molecular biology, cancer biology, and medicine.
  • Signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 is an oncogene (Bromberg et al., 1999) and one of seven members of the STAT protein family, which are signaling intermediates that mediate the actions of many cytokines and growth factors.
  • Stat3 is constitutively active in many different cancers including prostate, breast, lung, squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck, multiple myeloma, colon cancer, hepatocellular carcinomas and large granular lymphocytic leukemia (Turkson and Jove 2000; Dong et al., 2003; Kortylewski et al., 2005; Lin et al., 2005; Tweardy and Redell 2005; Redell and Tweardy 2006).
  • Stat3 results in decreased tumor growth and improved animal survival (Redell and Tweardy 2006) by inducing apoptosis in tumor cells, inhibiting angiogenesis (Kato et al., 2004) and enhancing anti-tumor immune-mediated cytotoxicity (Dunn et al., 2002; Kortylewski et al., 2005).
  • Stat3 has been identified as a potentially high-yield target for drug development to treat many cancers (Yu and Jove 2004; Darnell 2005).
  • Stat1 is anti-oncogenic; it is a potent inhibitor of tumor growth and promoter of apoptosis (Bromberg et al., 1999). Also, because tumors from carcinogen-treated wild-type animals grow more rapidly when transplanted into the Stat1-deficient animals than they do in a wild-type host, Stat1 contributes to tumor surveillance (Kaplan et al., 1998). Consequently, a highly desirable goal in the development of drugs that target Stat3 is selectivity for Stat3 vs. Stat1, for example.
  • Stat3 is an oncogene constitutively activated in many cancer systems where it contributes to carcinogenesis.
  • This approach identified for the first time novel lead compounds that competitively inhibit Stat3 binding to its pY-peptide ligand, that are selective for Stat3 vs. Stat1, and that also induce apoptosis preferentially of exemplary breast cancer cells lines with constitutively activated Stat3.
  • One compound (Cpd188) was active in the nanomolar range.
  • the invention is useful for identifying selective, chemical probes of other members of the STAT protein family, notably Stat5A/B, for example, which also has been implicated in carcinogenesis.
  • the inventive approach is useful for identifying selective, chemical probes of other members of the STAT protein family
  • the present invention is particularly useful given the number of tumor systems in which Stat3 contributes to oncogenesis, as well as recent demonstrations that multiple receptor-associated and non-receptor associated tyrosine kinases are activated in a single tumor.
  • Agents that target Stat3, a point of signaling convergence for multiple oncogenic kinases, is more broadly useful in cancer treatment than agents targeting individual oncogenic kinases, in certain embodiments.
  • the methods and/or compositions of the invention are useful for inhibiting Stat3 activity.
  • the methods and/or compositions of the invention are employed to induce apoptosis in a cancer cell, inhibit angiogenesis in a tumor, enhance anti-tumor immune-mediated cytotoxicity, decrease tumor growth, improve animal survival, inhibit Stat3 phosphorylation and/or nuclear-to-cytoplasmic translocation of Stat3.
  • Stat3 inhibitors inhibit Stat3 but fail to inhibit Stat1.
  • Stat3 inhibitors of the invention interact with the Stat3 SH2 domain, competitively inhibit recombinant Stat3 binding to its immobilized pY-peptide ligand, and/or inhibit IL-6-mediated tyrosine phosphorylation of Stat3, for example.
  • the Stat3 inhibitor of the invention fulfills the criteria of interaction analysis (CIA): 1) global minimum energy score ⁇ 30; 2) formation of a salt-bridge and/or H-bond network within the pY-residue binding site of Stat3; and/or 3) formation of a H-bond with or blocking access to the amide hydrogen of E638 of Stat3, for example.
  • the Stat3 inhibitor interacts with a hydrophobic binding pocket with the Stat3 SH2 domain.
  • a method of inhibiting Stat3 in a cell comprises delivering to the cell a compound selected from the group consisting of 4-[3-(2,3-dihydro-1,4-benzodioxin-6-yl)-3-oxo-1-propen-1-yl]benzoic acid; 4- ⁇ 5-[(3-ethyl-4-oxo-2-thioxo-1,3-thiazolidin-5-ylidene)methyl]-2-furyl ⁇ benzoic acid; 4-[( ⁇ 3-[(carboxymethyl)thio]-4-hydroxy-1-naphthyl ⁇ amino)sulfonyl]benzoic acid; 3-(2-chloro-4-[(1,3-dioxo-1,3-dihydro-2H-inden-2-ylidene)methyl[-6-ethoxyphenoxy ⁇ methyl)benzoic acid; methyl 4-( ⁇ [3-(2-methyoxy-2-oxo
  • the inhibitor comprises the general formula:
  • R 1 and R 2 may be the same or different and are selected from the group consisting of hydrogen, carbon, sulfur, nitrogen, oxygen, flourine, chlorine, bromine, iodine, alkanes, cyclic alkanes, alkane-based derivatives, alkenes, cyclic alkenes, alkene-based derivatives, alkynes, alkyne-based derivative, ketones, ketone-based derivatives, aldehydes, aldehyde-based derivatives, carboxylic acids, carboxylic acid-based derivatives, ethers, ether-based derivatives, esters and ester-based derivatives, amines, amino-based derivatives, amides, amide-based derivatives, monocyclic or polycyclic arene, heteroarenes, arene-based derivatives, heteroarene-based derivatives, phenols, phenol-based derivatives, benzoic acid, and benzoic acid-based derivatives.
  • the inhibitor comprises the general formula:
  • R 1 , and R 3 may be the same or different and are selected from the group consisting of hydrogen, carbon, nitrogen, sulfur, oxygen, flouring, chlorine, bromine, iodine, alkanes, cyclic alkanes, alkane-based derivatives, alkenes, cyclic alkenes, alkene-based derivatives, alkynes, alkyne-based derivative, ketones, ketone-based derivatives, aldehydes, aldehyde-based derivatives, carboxylic acids, carboxylic acid-based derivatives, ethers, ether-based derivatives, esters and ester-based derivatives, amines, amino-based derivatives, amides, amide-based derivatives, monocyclic or polycyclic arene, heteroarenes, arene-based derivatives, heteroarene-based derivatives, phenols, phenol-based derivatives, benzoic acid, and benzoic acid-based derivatives; and R 2 and R 4 may be the same or different
  • the inhibitor comprises the general formula:
  • R 1 , R 2 , and R 3 may be the same or different and are selected from the group consisting of hydrogen, carbon, nitrogen, sulfur, oxygen, flourine, chlorine, bromine, iodine, carboxyl, alkanes, cyclic alkanes, alkane-based derivatives, alkenes, cyclic alkenes, alkene-based derivatives, alkynes, alkyne-based derivative, ketones, ketone-based derivatives, aldehydes, aldehyde-based derivatives, carboxylic acids, carboxylic acid-based derivatives, ethers, ether-based derivatives, esters and ester-based derivatives, amines, amino-based derivatives, amides, amide-based derivatives, monocyclic or polycyclic arene, heteroarenes, arene-based derivatives, heteroarene-based derivatives, phenols, phenol-based derivatives, benzoic acid, and benzoic acid-based derivatives.
  • the cancer treated by the invention may be any type of cancer, although in specific embodiments the cancer comprises cells having constitutively phosphorylated Stat3 or increased Stat3 protein expression.
  • the cancer may be of the lung, breast, skin, liver, kidney, testes, ovary, cervix, bone, spleen, gall bladder, brain, pancreas, stomach, anus, prostate, colon or blood, for example; the inhibitor may inhibit Stat3 in a cancer stem cell of any of these cancers.
  • Mammals may be treated with the methods and/or compositions of the invention, including humans, dogs, cats, horses, cows, pigs, sheep, and goats, for example.
  • a hyperproliferative disease such as post-transplant lympoproliferative disease or restenosis is treated.
  • a chronic viral infection such as hepatitis c or epstein-barr virus, is treated by the invention.
  • pulmonary fibrosis, myelofibrosis, myelodysplastic syndrome, or acute myelogenous leukemia (AML) is treated.
  • asthma, psoriasis or inflammatory bowel disease is treated.
  • psoriasis inflammatory bowel disease, uveitis, scleritis, multiple sclerosis, graft-versus-host diseases, pancreatitis, pulmonary lymphangioleiomyomatosis, age-related macular degeneration or amyloidosis are treated with the present invention.
  • STAT1 STAT2, STAT3, STAT4, STAT5 (STAT5A and STAT5B), and STAT6, for example.
  • FIG. 1 demonstrates inhibition of Stat3 binding to immobilized phosphopeptide ligand by compounds.
  • Binding of recombinant Stat3 (500 nM) to a BiaCore sensor chip coated with a phosphododecapeptide based on the amino acid sequence surrounding Y1068 within the EGFR was measured in real time by SPR (Response Units) in the absence (0 ⁇ M) or presence of increasing concentrations (0.1 to 1,000 ⁇ M) of Cpd3 (panel A), Cpd30 (panel B), Cpd188 (panel C), Cpd3-2 (panel D), Cpd3-7 (panel E) and Cpd30-12 (panel F). Data shown are representative of 2 or more experiments.
  • FIG. 2 demonstrates inhibition of IL-6-mediated activation of Stat3 by compounds.
  • HepG2 cells were pretreated with DMSO alone or DMSO containing Cpd3 (panel A), Cpd188 (panel B), Cpd30 (panel C), Cpd3-2 (panel D), Cpd3-7 (panel E) or Cpd30-12 (panel F) at the indicated concentration for 60 min.
  • Cells were then stimulated with IL-6 (30 ng/ml) for 30 min
  • Protein extracts of cells were separated by SDS-PAGE, blotted and developed serially with antibodies to pStat3, total Stat3 and ⁇ -actin. Blots were stripped between each antibody probing. The bands intensities of immunoblot were quantified by densitometry.
  • each pStat3 band's intensity was divided by each corresponding value of total Stat3 band intensity and the results normalized to the DMSO-treated control value and plotted as a function of the log compound concentration.
  • the best-fit curves were generated based on 4 Parameter Logistic Model/Dose Response One Site/XLfit 4.2, IDBS. Each panel is representative of 3 or more experiments.
  • FIG. 3 provides exemplary chemical formulas and names of compounds. The chemical formulas and names are indicated for Cpd3 (panel A), Cpd30 (panel B), Cpd188 (panel C), Cpd3-2 (panel D), Cpd3-7 (panel E) and Cpd30-12 (panel F).
  • FIG. 4 shows effect of compounds on Stat1 activation.
  • HepG2 cells were pretreated with DMSO alone or DMSO containing each of the compounds at a concentration of 300 ⁇ M for 60 min Cells were then stimulated with IFN- ⁇ (30 ng/ml) for 30 min. Protein extracts of cells were separated by SDS-PAGE and immunoblotted serially with antibodies to pStat1, total Stat1 and ⁇ -actin. Blots were stripped between each immunoblotting. The results shown are representative of 2 or more experiments.
  • FIG. 5 provides comparisons of the Stat3 and Stat1 SH2 domain sequences, 3-D structures and van der Waals energies of compound binding. Sequence alignment of Stat3 and Stat1 SH2 domains is shown in panel A. The residues that bind the pY residue are highlighted in and pointed to by a solid arrow, the residue (E638) that binds to the +3 residue highlighted and pointed to by a dotted arrow and Loop ⁇ C ⁇ D and Loop ⁇ B- ⁇ C , which comprise the hydrophobic binding site consisting, are highlighted and pointed to by dot-dashed and dashed arrows, respectively.
  • Panel B shows an overlay of a tube-and-fog van der Waals surface model of the Stat3 SH2 domain and a tube-and-fog van der Waals surface model of the Stat1 SH2.
  • the residues of the Stat3 SH2 domain represents Loop ⁇ C ⁇ D are highlighted and shown by dotted circles and the residues represent Loop ⁇ B- ⁇ C are highlighted and shown by a dotted-dashed circle; the corresponding loop residues within the Stat1 SH2 domain are shown in a light fog surrounding the circles.
  • This overlay is shown bound by Cpd3-7 as it would bind to the Stat3 SH2 domain.
  • the van der Waals energy of each compound bound to the Stat1 SH2 domain or the Stat3 SH2 domain was calculated, normalized to the value for Stat1 and depicted in panel C.
  • FIG. 6 shows a computer model of each compound bound by the Stat3 SH2 domain.
  • the results of computer docking to the Stat3 SH2 domain is shown for Cpd3 (panel A), Cpd30 (panel B), Cpd188 (panel C), Cpd3-2 (panel D), Cpd3-7 (panel E) and Cpd30-12 (panel F).
  • the image on the left of each panel shows the compound binding to a spacefilling model of the Stat3 SH2 domain.
  • the pY-residue binding site is represented by dashed circle
  • the +3 residue binding site is represented by a solid circle
  • loop Loop ⁇ C ⁇ D is represented by dotted circle
  • loop Loop ⁇ B- ⁇ C is represented by dot-dashed circle.
  • Residues R609 and K591 critical for binding pY are shown within a dashed circle, residue E638 that binds the +3 residue shown within a solid circle and the hydrophobic binding site consisting of Loop ⁇ C ⁇ D and Loop ⁇ B- ⁇ C is shown within a dash-dot and dotted circle, respectively.
  • the image on the right side of each panel is a closer view of this interaction with hydrogen bonds indicated by dotted lines.
  • the negatively charged benzoic acid moiety of Cpd3 has electrostatic interactions with the positively-charge pY residue binding site consisting mainly of the guanidinium cation group of R609 and the basic ammonium group of K591.
  • the benzoic acid group also forms a hydrogen-bond network consisting of double H-bonds between the carboxylic oxygen and the ammonium hydrogen of R609 and the amide hydrogen of E612. H-bond formation also occurs between the benzoic acid carbonyl oxygen and the side chain hydroxyl hydrogen of Serine 611.
  • the oxygen atom of 1,4-benzodioxin forms a hydrogen bond with the amide hydrogen of E638.
  • the 2,3-dihydro-1,4-benzodioxin of Cpd3 interacts with the loops forming the hydrophobic binding site.
  • the carboxylic terminus of the benzoic acid moiety of Cpd30 which is negatively charged under physiological conditions, forms a salt bridge with the guanidinium group of R609 within the pY residue binding site.
  • the oxygen of the thiazolidin group forms a H-bond with the peptide backbone amide hydrogen of E638.
  • the thiazolidin moiety plunges into the hydrophobic binding site.
  • FIG. 6C there is an electrostatic interaction between the (carboxymethyl) thio moiety of Cpd188 carrying a negative charge and the pY-residue binding site consisting of R609 and K591 carrying positive charge under physiological conditions.
  • the benzoic acid group of Cpd3-2 has significant electrostatic interactions with the pY-residue binding site pocket, mainly contributed by R609 and K591, and forms two H bonds; the carboxylic oxygen of the benzoic acid group binds the guanidinium hydrogen of R609, and the carbonyl oxygen of the benzoic acid group binds to the carbonyl hydrogen of S611.
  • oxygen within the 1,3-dihydro-2H-inden-2-ylidene group forms an H bond to the backbone amide-hydrogen of E638.
  • the 1,3-dihydro-2H-inden-2-ylidene group plunges into the hydrophobic binding site.
  • 6E H-bonds are formed between the carbonyl-oxygen of the methyl 4-benzoate moiety of Cpd 3-7 and the side chain guanidinium of R609 and between the methoxy-oxygen and the hydrogen of the ammonium terminus of K591.
  • the (2-methoxy-2-oxoethyl)-4,8-dimethyl-2-oxo-2H-chromen group of Cpd3-7 blocks access to the amide hydrogen of E638 within the +3 residue-binding site. In addition, this group plunges into the hydrophobic binding site.
  • FIG. 6F there are electrostatic interactions between the benzoic acid derivative group of Cpd30-12 and R609 and 591 within the pY-residue binding site.
  • H-bonds are formed between the hydroxyl-oxygen of Cpd30-12 and the guanidinium-hydrogen of R609, between the carboxyl-oxygen of Cpd30-12 and the hydroxyl-hydrogen of S611 and between the furyl group of Cpd30-12 and the hydrogen of ammonium of K591.
  • the 1,3-diethyl-4,6-dioxo-2-thioxotetrahydro-5(2H)-pyrimidinylidene groups blocks access to the +3 residue binding site; however, it extends into the groove between the pY-residue binding site and Loop ⁇ C- ⁇ D, while sparing the hydrophobic binding site.
  • FIG. 7 shows inhibition of cytoplasmic-to-nuclear translocation of Stat3 assessed by confocal and high-throughput fluorescence microscopy.
  • MEF/GFP-Stat3 cells grown on coverslips were pretreated with DMSO that either contained (row four) or did not contain (row three) Cpd3 (300 ⁇ M) for 60 min before being stimulated without (row one) or with IL-6 (200 ng/ml) and IL-6sR (250 ng/ml) for 30 minutes (rows two, three and four).
  • Coverslips were examined by confocal fluorescent microscopy using filters to detect GFP (column one), DAPI (column two) or both (merge; column three).
  • MEF-GFP-Stat3 cells were grown in 96-well plates with optical glass bottoms and pretreated with the indicated compound at the indicated concentrations in quadruplicate for 1 hour then stimulated with IL-6 (200 ng/ml) and IL-6sR (250 ng/ml) for 30 minutes. Cells were fixed and the plates were examined by high-throughput microscopy to determine the fluorescence intensity in the nucleus (FLIN) and the % ⁇ FLIN Max was calculated as described in Example 1. Data shown are mean ⁇ SD and are representative of 2 or more studies. Best-fit curves were generated based on 4 Parameter Logistic Model/Dose Response One Site/XLfit 4.2, IDBS and were used to calculate IC 50 (Table 1).
  • FIG. 8 demonstrates inhibition of Stat3 DNA binding by compounds. Electrophoretic mobility shift assays were performed using whole-cell extracts prepared from HepG2 cells without and with stimulation with IL-6 (30 ng/ml) for 30 min Protein (20 ⁇ g) was incubated with radiolabeled duplex oligonucleotide (hSIE) and DMSO without or with the indicated compounds (300 uM) for 60 minutes at 37° C. then separated by PAGE. The gel was dried and autoradiographed; the portion of the gel corresponding to the Stat3-bound hSIE band is shown. Data shown are representative of 2 studies.
  • hSIE radiolabeled duplex oligonucleotide
  • FIG. 9 demonstrates apoptosis induction of breast cancer cell lines by compounds; selective apoptosis of cell lines that are Stat3 dependent.
  • MDA-MB-468 panel A
  • MDA-MB-231 panel B
  • MDA-MB-435 panel C
  • MCF7 panel D
  • MDA-MB-453 panel E
  • the percent maximum nucleosome level was calculated (nucleosome level ⁇ maximum nucleosome level achieved in the assay ⁇ 100) and plotted as a function of the log compound concentration and the best-fitting curve generated using 4-Parameter Logistic Model/Dose Response One Site/XLfit 4.2, IDBS software. This curve was used to calculate the EC 50 .
  • FIG. 10 shows Cpd3, Cpd30 and Cpd188 and the hydrophobicity or hydrophilicity of the surface of the molecule.
  • the dashed arrows point to hydrophilic surfaces, and the solid arrows point to hydrophobic surfaces.
  • FIG. 11 illustrates exemplary compound 3 (Cpd3).
  • the top-left picture of FIG. 11 shows Cpd3 docked into Stat3 and the interaction between Cpd3 and the surface of the protein and derivatives of Cpd3 that can fit into the surface of the protein.
  • Stars represent atoms and chemical groups that can be replaced with other atoms or chemical groups to create one or more functional derivatives.
  • the hydrophobic/hydrophilic surfaces of Cpd3 are also demonstrated on the top-right picture.
  • the dashed arrows point to hydrophilic surfaces, and the solid arrows point to hydrophobic surfaces.
  • R 1 and R 2 could be identical or different and may comprise hydrogen, carbon, sulfur, nitrogen, oxygen, alkanes, cyclic alkanes, alkane-based derivatives, alkenes, cyclic alkenes, alkene-based derivatives, alkynes, alkyne-based derivative, ketones, ketone-based derivatives, aldehydes, aldehyde-based derivatives, carboxylic acids, carboxylic acid-based derivatives, ethers, ether-based derivatives, esters and ester-based derivatives, amines, amino-based derivatives, amides, amide-based derivatives, monocyclic or polycyclic arene, heteroarenes, arene-based derivatives, heteroarene-based derivatives, phenols, phenol-based derivatives, benzoic acid, or benzoic acid-based derivatives.
  • FIG. 12 illustrates exemplary compound 30 (Cpd30).
  • the top-left picture of FIG. 12 shows Cpd30 docked into Stat3 and the interaction between Cpd30 and the surface of the protein, and derivatives of Cpd30 that fit into the surface of the protein.
  • Stars represent atoms and chemical groups that can be replaced with other atoms or chemical groups to create one or more functional derivatives.
  • the hydrophobic/hydrophilic surfaces of Cpd30 are also demonstrated on the top-right picture.
  • the dashed arrows point to hydrophilic surfaces, and the solid arrows point to hydrophobic surfaces.
  • R 1 , R 2 R 3 and R 4 could identical or different and may comprise be hydrogen, carbon, sulfur, nitrogen, oxygen, alkanes, cyclic alkanes, alkane-based derivatives, alkenes, cyclic alkenes, alkene-based derivatives, alkynes, alkyne-based derivative, ketones, ketone-based derivatives, aldehydes, aldehyde-based derivatives, carboxylic acids, carboxylic acid-based derivatives, ethers, ether-based derivatives, esters and ester-based derivatives, amines, amino-based derivatives, amides, amide-based derivatives, monocyclic or polycyclic arene, heteroarenes, arene-based derivatives, heteroarene-based derivatives, phenols, phenol-based derivatives, benzoic acid, aor benzoic acid-based derivatives.
  • FIG. 13 illustrates exemplary compound 188 (Cpd188).
  • the top picture of FIG. 13 shows Cpd188 docked into Stat3 SH2 domain and the interaction between Cpd188 and the surface of the protein, and derivatives of Cpd188 that fit into the surface of the protein.
  • Stars represent atoms and chemical groups that can be replaced with other atoms or chemical groups to create one ore more functional derivative.
  • the hydrophobic/hydrophilic surfaces of Cpd188 are also demonstrated on the left picture on the bottom.
  • the dashed arrows point to hydrophilic surfaces, and the solid arrows point to hydrophobic surfaces.
  • R 1 and R 2 could be identical or different and may comprise hydrogen, carbon, sulfur, nitrogen, oxygen, alkanes, cyclic alkanes, alkane-based derivatives, alkenes, cyclic alkenes, alkene-based derivatives, alkynes, alkyne-based derivative, ketones, ketone-based derivatives, aldehydes, aldehyde-based derivatives, carboxylic acids, carboxylic acid-based derivatives, ethers, ether-based derivatives, esters and ester-based derivatives, amines, amino-based derivatives, amides, amide-based derivatives, monocyclic or polycyclic arene, heteroarenes, arene-based derivatives, heteroarene-based derivatives, phenols, phenol-based derivatives, benzoic acid, or benzoic acid-based derivatives.
  • FIG. 14 illustrates schematic diagrams of Stat1 and Stat3.
  • FIG. 15 demonstrates that SPR IC 50 of 2nd generation Stat3 chemical probes is inversely correlated with 3-D pharmacophore score.
  • FIG. 16 shows SPR IC 50 and AML apoptosis EC 50 of parent Cpd188 and two 2nd generation 188-like Stat3 chemical probes.
  • FIG. 17 provides an illustration of structure-activity relationships of 38 Cpd188-like, 2nd generation Stat3 probes.
  • FIG. 18 shows an exemplary modification scheme for 3rd generation Stat3 probe development using Cpd188-15 as a scaffold.
  • FIG. 19 provides illustration of the electrostatic surface of Stat3 SH2 domain (positive area in blue, neutral in white and negative in red in a color figure) and 20 docking poses of 5 (R ⁇ CH 2 PO 3 2 ⁇ ), showing strong interactions between phosphonate groups (in purple and red) and K591/R609.
  • FIG. 20 shows an exemplary schema for testing of candidate Stat3 probes in normal CFU-GM assay.
  • FIG. 21 provides illustration of exemplary pMSCV-neo/puro constructs.
  • FIG. 22 provides an exemplary schema of testing Stat3 probes in the RTTA assay.
  • FIG. 23 shows RTTA assay results using representative fusion proteins.
  • FIG. 24 demonstrates that Cpd188-9 did not effect normal CFUGM colony formation.
  • FIG. 25 shows an effect of Cpd188-9 on leukemic CFU-GM induced by pMSCV-neo/R1ARAR ⁇ - ⁇ RII. Provided are photographs of representative plates (upper panel) and the total number of colonies within plates (lower panel).
  • Stat3 inhibitors are described herein, both by structure, and by the method of development. At least some of these were developed from a screen of 920,000 small drug like compounds against the phosphotyrosine (pY) peptide binding pocket of the Stat3 SH2 domain.
  • the binding-pocket consists of the pY-residue binding site, the +3 residue-binding site and a hydrophobic binding site, which served as a selectivity filter.
  • Three more Stat3 inhibiting compounds were identified from a similarity screen of 2.47 million compounds. In addition, five of the six compounds were also found not to be inhibitory to Stat1.
  • One embodiment of the invention is a method of inhibiting Stat3 comprising delivering to the cell a compound selected from the group consisting of 4-[3-(2,3-dihydro-1,4-benzodioxin-6-yl)-3-oxo-1-propen-1-yl]benzoic acid; 4 ⁇ 5-[(3-ethyl-4-oxo-2-thioxo-1,3-thiazolidin-5-ylidene)methyl]-2-furyl ⁇ benzoic acid; 4-[ ⁇ 3-[(carboxymethyl)thio]-4-hydroxy-1-naphthyl ⁇ amino)sulfonyl]benzoic acid; 3-( ⁇ 2-chloro-4-[(1,3-dioxo-1,3-dihydro-2H-inden-2-ylidene)methyl]-6-ethoxyphenoxy ⁇ methyl)benzoic acid; methyl 4-( ⁇ [3-(2-methyoxy-2-oxoethyl)-4,
  • the cell to which the Stat3 inhibitor is delivered is in vivo in a mammal.
  • the mammal is a human.
  • the human is known to have cancer, is suspected of having cancer, or is at risk for developing cancer.
  • the human is known to have cancer and is receiving an additional therapy.
  • the cancer therapy is chemotherapy, surgery, radiation, or a combination thereof.
  • the mammal is known to have, suspected of having, or at risk for developing cancer, a hyperproliferative disease, or a chronic viral infection.
  • a” or “an” may mean one or more.
  • the words “a” or “an” when used in conjunction with the word “comprising”, the words “a” or “an” may mean one or more than one.
  • another may mean at least a second or more.
  • the terms “having”, “including”, “containing” and “comprising” are interchangeable and one of skill in the art is cognizant that these terms are open ended terms.
  • Some embodiments of the invention may consist of or consist essentially of one or more elements, method steps, and/or methods of the invention. It is contemplated that any method or composition described herein can be implemented with respect to any other method or composition described herein.
  • inhibitor refers to one or more molecules that interfere at least in part with the activity of Stat3 to perform one or more activities, including the ability of Stat3 to bind to a molecule and/or the ability to be phosphorylated.
  • therapeutically effective amount means that amount of a compound, material, or composition comprising a compound of the present invention that is effective for producing some desired therapeutic effect, e.g., treating (i.e., preventing and/or ameliorating) cancer in a subject, or inhibiting protein-protein interactions mediated by an SH2 domain in a subject, at a reasonable benefit/risk ratio applicable to any medical treatment.
  • the therapeutically effective amount is enough to reduce or eliminate at least one symptom.
  • an amount may be considered therapeutically effective even if the cancer is not totally eradicated but improved partially. For example, the spread of the cancer may be halted or reduced, a side effect from the cancer may be partially reduced or completed eliminated, life span of the subject may be increased, the subject may experience less pain, and so forth.
  • phrases “pharmaceutically acceptable” is employed herein to refer to those compounds, materials, compositions, and/or dosage forms which are, within the scope of sound medical judgment, suitable for use in contact with the tissues of human beings and animals without excessive toxicity, irritation, allergic response, or other problem or complication, commensurate with a reasonable benefit/risk ratio.
  • the phrase “at risk for having cancer” is used herein to refer to patients that have a chance to have cancer because of past, present, or future factors. These factors can include but are not limited to: patient history, family history, identification of markers of generic or tissue-specific cancer such as BRACA-1 or CEA, age, race, diet, being a smoker, or certain exposures such as chemical or radiation exposure.
  • binding affinity refers to the strength of an interaction between two entities, such as a protein-protein interaction. Binding affinity is sometimes referred to as the K a , or association constant, which describes the likelihood of the two separate entities to be in the bound state.
  • association constant is determined by a variety of methods in which two separate entities are mixed together, the unbound portion is separated from the bound portion, and concentrations of unbound and bound are measured.
  • the unbound and bound portions may be separated from one another through adsorption, precipitation, gel filtration, dialysis, or centrifugation, for example.
  • the measurement of the concentrations of bound and unbound portions may be accomplished, for example, by measuring radioactivity or fluorescence, for example.
  • the binding affinity of a Stat3 inhibitor for the SH2 domain of Stat3 is similar to or greater than the affinity of the compounds listed herein.
  • chemotherapy-resistant cancer refers to cancer that is suspected of being unable to be treated with one or more particular chemotherapies or that is known to be unable to be treated with one or more particular chemotherapies.
  • cells of the chemotherapy-resistant cancer are not killed or rendered quiescent with the therapy or even continue to multiply during or soon after the therapy.
  • the cancer may be at first sensitive to a treatment and then develop resistance over time, for example, in some embodiments.
  • domain refers to a subsection of a polypeptide that possesses a unique structural and/or functional characteristic; typically, this characteristic is similar across diverse polypeptides.
  • the subsection typically comprises contiguous amino acids, although it may also comprise amino acids that act in concert or that are in close proximity due to folding or other configurations.
  • An example of a protein domain is the Src homology 2 (SH2) domain of Stat3.
  • SH2 domain is art-recognized, and, as used herein, refers to a protein domain involved in protein-protein interactions, such as a domain within the Src tyrosine kinase that regulates kinase activity.
  • the invention contemplates modulation of activity, such as activity dependent upon protein-protein interactions, mediated by SH2 domains of proteins (e.g., tyrosine kinases such as Src) or proteins involved with transmission of a tyrosine kinase signal in organisms including mammals, such as humans.
  • SH2 domains of proteins e.g., tyrosine kinases such as Src
  • proteins involved with transmission of a tyrosine kinase signal in organisms including mammals, such as humans.
  • the amino-acid sequence of the Stat3 SH2 domain is:
  • a “mammal” is an appropriate subject for the method of the present invention.
  • a mammal may be any member of the higher vertebrate class Mammalia, including humans; characterized by live birth, body hair, and mammary glands in the female that secrete milk for feeding the young. Additionally, mammals are characterized by their ability to maintain a constant body temperature despite changing climatic conditions. Examples of mammals are humans, cats, dogs, cows, mice, rats, and chimpanzees. Mammals may be referred to as “patients” or “subjects” or “individuals”.
  • modulating an activity mediated by an SH2 domain refers to inhibiting, abolishing, or increasing the activity of a cell-signaling pathway mediated by a protein including an SH2 domain, e.g., by disrupting protein-protein interactions mediated by SH2 domains.
  • an activity mediated by an SH2 domain is inhibited, for example, an interaction of Stat3 and EGFR is inhibited.
  • an interaction of Stat3 and G-CSFR is inhibited.
  • derivative is a compound that is formed from a similar compound or a compound that can be considered to arise from another compound, if one atom is replaced with another atom or group of atoms. Derivative can also refer to compounds that at least theoretically can be formed from the precursor compound.
  • the method of inhibiting Stat3 in a cell comprises delivering to the cell a compound selected from the group consisting of 4-[3-(2,3-dihydro-1,4-benzodioxin-6-yl)-3-oxo-1-propen-1-yl]benzoic acid 4 ⁇ 5-[(3-ethyl-4-oxo-2-thioxo-1,3-thiazolidin-5-ylidene)methyl]-2-furyl ⁇ benzoic acid; 4-[( ⁇ 3-[(carboxymethyl)thio]-4-hydroxy-1-naphthyl ⁇ amino)sulfonyl]benzoic acid; 3-( ⁇ 2-chloro-4-[(1,3-dioxo-1,3-dihydro-2H-inden-2-ylidene)methyl]-6-ethoxyphenoxy ⁇ methyl)benzoic acid; methyl 4-( ⁇ [3-(2-methyoxy-2-oxoethy
  • the inhibitor comprises the general formula:
  • R 1 and R 2 may be the same or different and are selected from the group consisting of hydrogen, carbon, sulfur, nitrogen, oxygen, alkanes, cyclic alkanes, alkane-based derivatives, alkenes, cyclic alkenes, alkene-based derivatives, alkynes, alkyne-based derivative, ketones, ketone-based derivatives, aldehydes, aldehyde-based derivatives, carboxylic acids, carboxylic acid-based derivatives, ethers, ether-based derivatives, esters and ester-based derivatives, amines, amino-based derivatives, amides, amide-based derivatives, monocyclic or polycyclic arene, heteroarenes, arene-based derivatives, heteroarene-based derivatives, phenols, phenol-based derivatives, benzoic acid, and benzoic acid-based derivatives.
  • the inhibitor comprises the general formula:
  • R 1 , and R 3 may be the same or different and are selected from the group consisting of hydrogen, carbon, nitrogen, sulfur, oxygen, alkanes, cyclic alkanes, alkane-based derivatives, alkenes, cyclic alkenes, alkene-based derivatives, alkynes, alkyne-based derivative, ketones, ketone-based derivatives, aldehydes, aldehyde-based derivatives, carboxylic acids, carboxylic acid-based derivatives, ethers, ether-based derivatives, esters and ester-based derivatives, amines, amino-based derivatives, amides, amide-based derivatives, monocyclic or polycyclic arene, heteroarenes, arene-based derivatives, heteroarene-based derivatives, phenols, phenol-based derivatives, benzoic acid, and benzoic acid-based derivatives, and R 2 and R 4 may be the same or different and are selected from the group consisting of hydrogen, alkane
  • the inhibitor comprises the general formula:
  • R 1 , R 2 , and R 3 may be the same or different and are selected from the group consisting of hydrogen, carboxyl, alkanes, cyclic alkanes, alkane-based derivatives, alkenes, cyclic alkenes, alkene-based derivatives, alkynes, alkyne-based derivative, ketones, ketone-based derivatives, aldehydes, aldehyde-based derivatives, carboxylic acids, carboxylic acid-based derivatives, ethers, ether-based derivatives, esters and ester-based derivatives, amines, amino-based derivatives, amides, amide-based derivatives, monocyclic or polycyclic arene, heteroarenes, arene-based derivatives, heteroarene-based derivatives, phenols, phenol-based derivatives, benzoic acid, and benzoic acid-based derivatives.
  • alkanes An exemplary and illustrative list of alkanes, cyclic alkanes, and alkane-based derivates are found in Table 1.
  • ketones, ketone-based derivatives, aldehydes, aldehyde-based derivatives; carboxylic acids, carboxylic acid-based derivatives, ethers, ether-based derivatives, esters, ester-based derivatives, amines, amino-based derivatives, amides, and amide-based derivatives are listed in Table 2.
  • Exemplary monocyclic or polycyclic arene, heteroarenes, arene-based or heteroarene-based derivatives, phenols, phenol-based derivatives, benzoic acid and benzoic acid-based derivatives are described in Table 3.
  • compositions of the present invention and any functionally active derivatives thereof may be obtained by any suitable means.
  • the derivatives of the invention are provided commercially, although in alternate embodiments the derivatives are synthesized.
  • the chemical synthesis of the derivatives may employ well known techniques from readily available starting materials.
  • Such synthetic transformations may include, but are not limited to protection, de-protection, oxidation, reduction, metal catalyzed C—C cross coupling, Heck coupling or Suzuki coupling steps (see for example, March's Advanced Organic Chemistry: Reactions, Mechanisms, and Structures, 5 th Edition John Wiley and Sons by Michael B. Smith and Jerry March, incorporated here in full by reference).
  • STAT proteins of which there are seven (1, 2, 3, 4, 5A, 5B and 6), transmit peptide hormone signals from the cell surface to the nucleus.
  • Detailed structural information of STAT proteins currently is limited to Stat1 and Stat3.
  • Stat1 FIG. 14 was the first STAT to be discovered (Fu et al., 1992) and is required for signaling by the Type I and II IFNs (Meraz et al, 1996; Wiederlot-Adam et al., 2003; Durbin et al., 1996; Haan et al., 1999).
  • Studies in Stat1-deficient mice (Meraz et al,. 1996; Durbin et al,.
  • Stat1 is a potent inhibitor of growth and promoter of apoptosis (Bromberg and Darnell, 2000). Also, because tumors from carcinogen-treated wild-type animals grow more rapidly when transplanted into the Stat1-deficient animals than they do in a wild-type host, Stat1 contributes to tumor surveillance (Kaplan et al., 1998).
  • Stat3 was originally termed acute-phase response factor (APRF) because it was first identified as a transcription factor that bound to IL-6-response elements within the enhancer-promoter region of various acute-phase protein genes (Akira, 1997).
  • APRF acute-phase response factor
  • other signaling pathways are linked to Stat3 activation include receptors for other type I and type II cytokine receptors, receptor tyrosine kinases, G-protein-coupled receptors and Src kinases (Schindler and Darnell, 1995; Turkson et al., 1998).
  • Stat1 and Stat3 isoforms. Two isoforms of Stat1 and Stat3 have been identified— ⁇ (p91 and p92, respectively) and ⁇ (p84 and p83, respectively) (Schindler et al., 1992; Schaefer et al., 1995; Caldenhoven et al., 1996; Chakraborty et al., 1996)—that arise due to alternative mRNA splicing ( FIG. 14 ).
  • Stat3 ⁇ In contrast to Stat1 ⁇ (712 aa), in which the C-terminal transactivation is simply deleted, the 55 amino acid residues of Stat3 ⁇ are replaced in Stat3 ⁇ by 7 unique amino acid residues at its C-terminus Unlike Stat1 ⁇ , Stat3 ⁇ is not simply a dominant-negative of Stat3 ⁇ (Maritano et al., 2004) and regulates gene targets in a manner distinct from Stat3 ⁇ (Maritano et al., 2004; Yoo et al., 2002). Stat3 ⁇ has been demonstrated to contribute to transformation in cell models and many human cancers including breast cancer.
  • Stat3 ⁇ was shown to be constitutively activated in fibroblasts transformed by oncoproteins such as v-Src (Yu et al., 1995; Garcia and Jove, 1998) and to be essential for v-Src-mediated transformation (Turkson et al., 1998; Costa-Pereira et al., 2002). In contrast to Stat3 ⁇ , Stat3 ⁇ antagonized v-Src transformation mediated through Stat3a (Turkson et al., 1998). Overexpression of a constitutively active form of Stat3 ⁇ in immortalized rat or mouse fibroblasts induced their transformation and conferred the ability to form tumors in nude mice (Bromberg et al., 1999).
  • Stat3 has been shown to be constitutively activated in a variety of hematological and solid tumors including breast cancer (Dong et al., 2003; Redell and Tweardy, 2003) as a result of either autocrine growth factor production or dysregulation of protein tyrosine kinases. In virtually all cases, the isoform demonstrating increased activity is Stat3 ⁇ .
  • Stat3 has recently gained attention as a potential target for cancer therapy (Bromberg, 2002; Turkson, 2004). While several methods of Stat3 inhibition have been employed successfully and have established proof-of-principle that targeting Stat3 is potentially beneficial in a variety of tumor systems including breast cancer in which Stat3 is constitutively activated (Epling-Burnette et al., 2001; Yoshikawa et al., 2001; Li and Shaw, 2002; Catlett-Falcone et al., 1999; Mora et al., 2002; Grandis et al., 2000; Leong et al., 2003; Jing et al., 2003; Jing et al., 2004; Turkson et al., 2001; Ren et al., 2003; Shao et al., 2003; Turkson et al., 2004; Uddin et al., 2005); all have potential limitations for translation to clinical use
  • specific therapies targeting Stat3 signaling in the unique chemoresistant subpopulation of cancer cells improves efficacy of current treatments.
  • the inventors have identified competitive and selective lead small-molecule inhibitors of Stat3 that target the Stat3 SH2-pY peptide interactions using a virtual ligand screening approach that was based on a structural model of this interaction developed by the inventors. The most active of these lead compounds was used in 3-D pharmacophore analysis to identify 2nd generation compounds. In initial studies, some have 1-2 log greater activity than the parent lead compound. Herein the inventors employ a structure-activity relationship (SAR)-based approach to develop novel 3rd generation Stat3 inhibitors. Ultimately, these studies lead to the development of new small-molecule Stat3 inhibitors for suppressing cancer stem cell self-renewal pathways to improve existing breast cancer therapies in patients, for example.
  • SAR structure-activity relationship
  • particular Stat3 inhibitors selectively target cancer stem cells.
  • the Stat3 inhibitors spare normal hematopoietic stem cells while targeting leukemic stem cells, as well as other cancer stem cells such as breast cancer stem cells.
  • Stat3 is dispensable for the function of normal hematopoietic stem cells but not for cancer stem cells, for example, leukemic stem cells.
  • the present invention addresses the following: 1) use of medicinal chemistry in synthesis of 3rd generation 188-like sulfamide Stat3 probes (the most active 2nd generation probe, Cpd188-15, serves as a scaffold for making 3rd generation probes, and in certain embodiments there are modifications pursuant to structure-activity relationship (SAR) analysis performed on 2nd generation probes that center around the straightforward synthesis of sulfamides from panels of sulfonyl chlorides and amides); 2) identification of chemical probes among the sulfamide compounds synthesized in item 1) that are the most active and selective for Stat3; each novel sulfamide compound is examined in a rapid throughput SPR assay for the ability to inhibit Stat3 binding to its phosphopeptide ligand followed by a high throughput fluorescence microscopy (HTFM) assay examining inhibition of IL-6-stimulated cytoplasmic-to-nuclear translocation; the most active probes in these assays are examined for their selectivity for Stat3 v
  • Stat1 by testing for inhibition of IL-6-stimulated Stat3 phosphorylation and for failure to inhibit IFN- ⁇ -stimulated Stat1 phosphorylation; and 3) examination of candidate 3rd generation Stat3 chemical probes for the ability to selectively target myeloid leukemic stem cells while sparing normal hematopoietic stem/progenitor cells, wherein compounds demonstrating activity greater than the most active 2nd generation 188-like probe and selectivity for Stat3 are examined for the ability to target leukemic stem cells while sparing normal hematopoietic stem cells.
  • a Stat3 inhibitor of the invention is used in combination with another agent or therapy method, such as another cancer treatment.
  • the Stat3 inhibitor of the invention may precede or follow the other agent treatment by intervals ranging from minutes to weeks, for example.
  • the other agent and the composition of the invention are applied separately to a cancer cell, such as upon delivery to an individual suspected of having cancer, known to have cancer, or at risk for having cancer, one would generally ensure that a significant period of time did not expire between the time of each delivery, such that the agent and composition of the invention would still be able to exert an advantageously combined effect on the cell.
  • one may contact the cell, tissue or organism with one, two, three, four or more modalities substantially simultaneously (i.e., within less than about a minute) with the Stat3 inhibitor of the invention.
  • one or more agents may be administered within about 1 minute, about 5 minutes, about 10 minutes, about 20 minutes about 30 minutes, about 45 minutes, about 60 minutes, about 2 hours, about 3 hours, about 4 hours, about 5 hours, about 6 hours, about 7 hours about 8 hours, about 9 hours, about 10 hours, about 11 hours, about 12 hours, about 13 hours, about 14 hours, about 15 hours, about 16 hours, about 17 hours, about 18 hours, about 19 hours, about 20 hours, about 21 hours, about 22 hours, about 23 hours, about 24 hours, about 25 hours, about 26 hours, about 27 hours, about 28 hours, about 29 hours, about 30 hours, about 31 hours, about 32 hours, about 33 hours, about 34 hours, about 35 hours, about 36 hours, about 37 hours, about 38 hours, about 39 hours, about 40 hours, about
  • an agent may be administered within of from about 1 day, about 2 days, about 3 days, about 4 days, about 5 days, about 6 days, about 7 days, about 8 days, about 9 days, about 10 days, about 11 days, about 12 days, about 13 days, about 14 days, about 15 days, about 16 days, about 17 days, about 18 days, about 19 days, about 20, to about 21 days prior to and/or after administering the Stat3 inhibitor of the invention, for example.
  • the Stat3 inhibitor of the invention is “A” and the secondary agent, which can be any other cancer therapeutic agent, is “B”:
  • the therapeutic expression constructs of the present invention will follow general protocols for the administration of chemotherapeutics, taking into account the toxicity. It is expected that the treatment cycles would be repeated as necessary. It also is contemplated that various standard therapies, as well as surgical intervention, may be applied in combination with the Stat3 inhibitor of the invention.
  • the additional therapies include but are not limited to chemotherapy, radiotherapy, immunotherapy, gene therapy and surgery, for example.
  • Cancer therapies also include a variety of combination therapies with both chemical and radiation based treatments.
  • the additional therapy to the therapy of the invention also targets cancer stem cells.
  • Combination chemotherapy include, for example, cisplatin (CDDP), carboplatin, procarbazine, mechlorethamine, cyclophosphamide, camptothecin, ifosfamide, melphalan, chlorambucil, busulfan, nitrosurea, dactinomycin, daunorubicin, doxorubicin, bleomycin, plicomycin, mitomycin, etoposide (VP16), tamoxifen, raloxifene, estrogen receptor binding agents, taxol, gemcitabien, navelbine, farnesyl-protein tansferase inhibitors, COX-2 inhibitors, cholesterol synthesis inhibitors, cisplatinum, 5-fluorouracil, vincristin, vinblastin, staurosporine, streptozocin,
  • Chemotherapy can be systemic, targeted and/or hormonal based. These can be used individually or in combination.
  • Exemplary breast cancer therapy includes herceptin, tykerb, arastin, tamoxifen, and aromatic inhibitors.
  • Other exemplary treatments are oxaliplatin, docetaxel, imatinib, and abraxan, in addition to tyrosine kinase inhibitors such as sorefinib or sunitinib.
  • siRNA types of cancer treatment may also be considered.
  • DNA damaging factors include what are commonly known as ⁇ -rays, X-rays, and/or the directed delivery of radioisotopes to tumor cells.
  • Other forms of DNA damaging factors are also contemplated such as microwaves and UV-irradiation. It is most likely that all of these factors affect a broad range of damage on DNA, on the precursors of DNA, on the replication and repair of DNA, and on the assembly and maintenance of chromosomes.
  • Dosage ranges for X-rays range from daily doses of 50 to 200 roentgens for prolonged periods of time (3 to 4 wk), to single doses of 2000 to 6000 roentgens.
  • Dosage ranges for radioisotopes vary widely and depend on the half-life of the isotope, the strength and type of radiation emitted, and the uptake by the neoplastic cells.
  • the terms “contacted” and “exposed,” when applied to a cell, are used herein to describe the process by which a therapeutic construct and a chemotherapeutic or radiotherapeutic agent are delivered to a target cell or are placed in direct juxtaposition with the target cell. To achieve cell killing or stasis, both agents are delivered to a cell in a combined amount effective to kill the cell or prevent it from dividing.
  • Radiochemotherapy is the combined delivery of radiation and chemotherapy to a target. This can be achieved in a single agent through conjugation of a chemotherapeutic agent to a chelating moiety, which is then subsequently radiolabeled with a therapeutic radionuclide.
  • Combinations of radiochemotherapy include, for example, cisplatin (CDDP) with a-emitters, cyclophosphamide with b-emitters, doxorubicin with b/g-emitters and taxol with Auger-emitters, or any analog or derivative variant of the foregoing.
  • Immunotherapeutics generally, rely on the use of immune effector cells and molecules to target and destroy cancer cells.
  • the immune effector may be, for example, an antibody specific for some marker on the surface of a tumor cell.
  • the antibody alone may serve as an effector of therapy or it may recruit other cells to actually effect cell killing.
  • the antibody also may be conjugated to a drug or toxin (chemotherapeutic, radionucleotide, ricin A chain, cholera toxin, pertussis toxin, etc.) and serve merely as a targeting agent.
  • the effector may be a lymphocyte carrying a surface molecule that interacts, either directly or indirectly, with a tumor cell target.
  • Various effector cells include cytotoxic T cells and NK cells.
  • Immunotherapy could thus be used as part of a combined therapy, possibly in conjunction with gene therapy.
  • the general approach for combined therapy is discussed below.
  • the tumor cell must bear some marker that is amenable to targeting, i.e., is not present on the majority of other cells.
  • Common tumor markers include carcinoembryonic antigen, prostate specific antigen, urinary tumor associated antigen, fetal antigen, tyrosinase (p97), gp68, TAG-72, HMFG, Sialyl Lewis Antigen, MucA, MucB, PLAP, estrogen receptor, laminin receptor, erb B and p155, for example.
  • the secondary treatment is a gene therapy in which a therapeutic polynucleotide is administered before, after, or at the same time a first therapeutic agent. Delivery of the therapeutic agent in conjunction with a vector encoding a gene product will have a combined anti-hyperproliferative effect on target tissues, in certain cases.
  • Curative surgery is a cancer treatment that may be used in conjunction with other therapies, such as the treatment of the present invention, chemotherapy, radiotherapy, hormonal therapy, gene therapy, immunotherapy and/or alternative therapies. Curative surgery includes resection in which all or part of cancerous tissue is physically or partially removed, excised, and/or destroyed. Tumor resection refers to physical removal of at least part of a tumor. In addition to tumor resection, treatment by surgery includes laser surgery, cryosurgery, electrosurgery, and miscopically controlled surgery (Mohs' surgery). It is further contemplated that the present invention may be used in conjunction with removal of superficial cancers, precancers, or incidental amounts of normal tissue. Breast cancer surgery includes mastectomy or lumpectomy.
  • compositions of the present invention comprise an effective amount of a composition of the invention dissolved or dispersed in a pharmaceutically acceptable carrier.
  • pharmaceutically acceptable refer to molecular entities and compositions that do not produce an adverse, allergic or other untoward reaction when administered to an animal, such as, for example, a human, as appropriate.
  • the preparation of a pharmaceutical composition that contains at least one Stat3 inhibitor of the invention, and in some cases an additional active ingredient, will be known to those of skill in the art in light of the present disclosure, as exemplified by Remington's Pharmaceutical Sciences, 18th Ed. Mack Printing Company, 1990, incorporated herein by reference.
  • preparations should meet sterility, pyrogenicity, general safety and purity standards as required by FDA Office of Biological Standards.
  • “pharmaceutically acceptable carrier” includes any and all solvents, dispersion media, coatings, surfactants, antioxidants, preservatives (e.g., antibacterial agents, antifungal agents), isotonic agents, absorption delaying agents, salts, preservatives, drugs, drug stabilizers, gels, binders, excipients, disintegration agents, lubricants, sweetening agents, flavoring agents, dyes, such like materials and combinations thereof, as would be known to one of ordinary skill in the art (see, for example, Remington's Pharmaceutical Sciences, 18th Ed. Mack Printing Company, 1990, pp. 1289-1329, incorporated herein by reference). Except insofar as any conventional carrier is incompatible with the active ingredient, its use in the therapeutic or pharmaceutical compositions is contemplated.
  • the Stat3 inhibitor of the invention may comprise different types of carriers depending on whether it is to be administered in solid, liquid or aerosol form, and whether it needs to be sterile for such routes of administration such as injection.
  • the present invention can be administered intravenously, intradermally, intraarterially, intraperitoneally, intralesionally, intracranially, intraarticularly, intraprostaticaly, intrapleurally, intratracheally, intranasally, intravitreally, intravaginally, intrarectally, topically, intratumorally, intramuscularly, intraperitoneally, subcutaneously, subconjunctival, intravesicularlly, mucosally, intrapericardially, intraumbilically, intraocularally, orally, topically, locally, injection, infusion, continuous infusion, localized perfusion bathing target cells directly, via a catheter, via a lavage, in lipid compositions (e.g., liposomes), or by other method or any combination of the forgoing as would be known to one of ordinary
  • the actual dosage amount of a composition of the present invention administered to a patient can be determined by physical and physiological factors such as body weight, severity of condition, the type of disease being treated, previous or concurrent therapeutic interventions, and the route of administration.
  • the practitioner responsible for administration will, in any event, determine the concentration of active ingredient(s) in a composition and appropriate dose(s) for the individual subject.
  • compositions may comprise, for example, at least about 0.1% of a Stat3 inhibitor of the invention.
  • the active compound may comprise between about 2% to about 75% of the weight of the unit, or between about 25% to about 60%, for example, and any range derivable therein.
  • a dose may also comprise from about 0.1 mg/kg/body weight, 0.5 mg/kg/body weight, 1 mg/kg/body weight, about 5 mg/kg/body weight, about 10 mg/kg/body weight, about 20 mg/kg/body weight, about 30 mg/kg/body weight, about 40 mg/kg/body weight, about 50 mg/kg/body weight, about 75 mg/kg/body weight, about 100 mg/kg/body weight, about 200 mg/kg/body weight, about 350 mg/kg/body weight, about 500 mg/kg/body weight, about 750 mg/kg/body weight, to about 1000 mg/kg/body weight or more per administration, and any range derivable therein.
  • a range of about 10 mg/kg/body weight to about 100 mg/kg/body weight, etc. can be administered, based on the numbers described above.
  • various dosing mechanisms are contemplated.
  • the composition may be given one or more times a day, one or more times a week, or one or more times a month, and so forth.
  • the composition may comprise various antioxidants to retard oxidation of one or more component.
  • the prevention of the action of microorganisms can be brought about by preservatives such as various antibacterial and antifungal agents, including, but not limited to parabens (e.g., methylparabens, propylparabens), chlorobutanol, phenol, sorbic acid, thimerosal or combinations thereof.
  • parabens e.g., methylparabens, propylparabens
  • chlorobutanol phenol
  • sorbic acid thimerosal or combinations thereof.
  • the Stat3 inhibitor of the invention may be formulated into a composition in a free base, neutral or salt form.
  • Pharmaceutically acceptable salts include the salts formed with the free carboxyl groups derived from inorganic bases such as for example, sodium, potassium, ammonium, calcium or ferric hydroxides; or such organic bases as isopropylamine, trimethylamine, histidine or procaine.
  • a carrier can be a solvent or dispersion medium comprising, but not limited to, water, ethanol, polyol (e.g., glycerol, propylene glycol, liquid polyethylene glycol, etc.), lipids (e.g., triglycerides, vegetable oils, liposomes) and combinations thereof.
  • the proper fluidity can be maintained, for example, by the use of a coating, such as lecithin; by the maintenance of the required particle size by dispersion in carriers such as, for example, liquid polyol or lipids; by the use of surfactants such as, for example, hydroxypropylcellulose; or combinations thereof such methods.
  • isotonic agents such as, for example, sugars, sodium chloride or combinations thereof.
  • Sterile injectable solutions are prepared by incorporating the instant invention in the required amount of the appropriate solvent with various amounts of the other ingredients enumerated above, as required, followed by filtered sterilization.
  • dispersions are prepared by incorporating the various sterilized active ingredients into a sterile vehicle which contains the basic dispersion medium and/or the other ingredients.
  • the preferred methods of preparation are vacuum-drying or freeze-drying techniques which yield a powder of the active ingredient plus any additional desired ingredient from a previously sterile-filtered liquid medium thereof.
  • the liquid medium should be suitably buffered if necessary and the liquid diluent first rendered isotonic prior to injection with sufficient saline or glucose.
  • the preparation of highly concentrated compositions for direct injection is also contemplated, where the use of DMSO as solvent is envisioned to result in extremely rapid penetration, delivering high concentrations of the active agents to a small area.
  • composition must be stable under the conditions of manufacture and storage, and preserved against the contaminating action of microorganisms, such as bacteria and fungi. It will be appreciated that endotoxin contamination should be kept minimally at a safe level, for example, less that 0.5 ng/mg protein.
  • prolonged absorption of an injectable composition can be brought about by the use in the compositions of agents delaying absorption, such as, for example, aluminum monostearate, gelatin or combinations thereof.
  • kits will thus comprise, in suitable container means, one or more Stat3 inhibitors and, in some cases, an additional agent of the present invention.
  • kits may be packaged either in aqueous media or in lyophilized form.
  • the container means of the kits will generally include at least one vial, test tube, flask, bottle, syringe or other container means, into which a component may be placed, and preferably, suitably aliquoted. Where there are more than one component in the kit, the kit also will generally contain a second, third or other additional container into which the additional components may be separately placed. However, various combinations of components may be comprised in a vial.
  • the kits of the present invention also will typically include a means for containing the Stat3 inhibitor, additional agent, and any other reagent containers in close confinement for commercial sale. Such containers may include injection or blow molded plastic containers into which the desired vials are retained.
  • compositions may also be formulated into a syringeable composition.
  • the container means may itself be a syringe, pipette, and/or other such like apparatus, from which the formulation may be applied to an infected area of the body, injected into an animal, and/or even applied to and/or mixed with the other components of the kit.
  • the components of the kit may be provided as dried powder(s).
  • the powder can be reconstituted by the addition of a suitable solvent. It is envisioned that the solvent may also be provided in another container means.
  • the inventors isolated the three-dimensional structure of the Stat3 SH2 domain from the core fragment structure of phosphorylated Stat3 homodimers bound to DNA (Becker et al., 1998) deposited in the RCSB Protein Data Bank (PDB) databank (PDB code 1BG1) and converted it to be an Internal Coordinate Mechanics (ICM)-compatible system by adding hydrogen atoms, modifying unusual amino acids, making charge adjustments and performing additional cleanup steps.
  • the inventors retrieved the coordinates of the Stat1 SH2 domain from the PDB databank (PDB code 1BF5) for use in computational selectivity analysis (Chen et al., 1998).
  • this cube contained the pY residue binding site consisting mainly of R609 and K591 (Shao et al., 2006) and a hydrophobic binding site consisting of Loop ⁇ C ⁇ D and Loop ⁇ B- ⁇ C .
  • Sequence alignment and overlay of the Stat3 and Stat1 structures revealed substantial differences in sequence of these loops; lack of their superimposition indicated that this region might serve as a selectivity filter (Cohen et al., 2005).
  • a flexible docking calculation (Totrov and Abagyan 1997) was performed in order to determine the global minimum energy score and thereby predict the optimum conformation of the compound within the pocket.
  • a compound was selected for purchase and biochemical testing based on fulfilling the criteria of interaction analysis (CIA): 1) global minimum energy score ⁇ 30, 2) formation of a salt-bridge and/or H-bond network within the pY-residue binding site and 3) formation of a H-bond with or blocking access to the amide hydrogen of E638. Most, but not all, compounds also interacted with the hydrophobic binding site.
  • CIA interaction analysis
  • Stat3 SH2/pY-peptide binding assay were performed at 25° C. with a BIAcore 3000 biosensor using 20 mM Tris buffer pH 8 containing 2 mM mercaptoethanol and 5% DMSO as the running buffer (Kim et al., 2005). Phosphorylated and control non-phosphorylated biotinylated EGFR derived dodecapeptides based on the sequence surrounding Y1068 (Shao et al., 2004) were immobilized on a streptavidin coated sensor chip (BIAcore inc., Picataway N.J.).
  • the binding of Stat3 was conducted in 20 mM Tris buffer pH 8 containing 2 mM ⁇ -mercaptoethanol at a flow rate of 10 uL/min for 1-2 minute. Aliquots of Stat3 at 500 nM were premixed with compound to achieve a final concentration of 1-1,000 uM and incubated at 4° C. prior to being injected onto the sensor chip. The chip was regenerated by injecting 10 uL of 100 mM glycine at pH 1.5 after each sample injection. A control (Stat3 with DMSO but without compound) was run at the beginning and the end of each cycle (40 sample injections) to ensure that the integrity of the sensor chip was maintained throughout the cycle run.
  • the human hepatocellular carcinoma cell line (HepG2) was grown in 6-well plates under standard conditions. Cells were pretreated with compounds (0, 1, 3, 10, 30, 100 and 300 uM) for 1 hour then stimulated under optimal conditions with either interferon gamma (IFN- ⁇ ; 30 ng/ml for 30 min) to activate Stat1 or interleukin-6 (IL-6; 30 ng/ml for 30 min) to activate Stat3 (30-31). Cultures were then harvested and proteins extracted using high-salt buffer, as described (Shao et al., 2006).
  • IFN- ⁇ interferon gamma
  • IL-6 interleukin-6
  • extracts were mixed with 2 ⁇ sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) sample buffer (125 mmol/L Tris-HCL pH 6.8; 4% SDS; 20% glycerol; 10% 2-mercaptoethanol) at a 1:1 ratio and heated for 5 minutes at 100° C.
  • SDS sodium dodecyl sulfate
  • Proteins (20 ⁇ g) were separated by 7.5% SDS-PAGE and transferred to polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) membrane (Millipore, Waltham, Mass.) and immunoblotted. Prestained molecular weight markers (Biorad, Hercules, Calif.) were included in each gel.
  • Membranes were probed serially with antibody against Stat1 pY 701 or Stat3 pY 705 followed by antibody against Stat1 or Stat3 (Transduction labs, Lexington, Ky.) then antibody against ⁇ -actin (Abcam, Cambridge, Mass.). Membranes were stripped between antibody probing using RestoreTM Western Blot Stripping Buffer (Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc., Waltham, Mass.) per the manufacturer's instructions. Horseradish peroxidase-conjugated goat-anti-mouse IgG was used as the secondary antibody (Invitrogen Carlsbad, Calif.) and the membranes were developed with enhanced chemiluminescence (ECL) detection system (Amersham Life Sciences Inc.; Arlington Heights, Ill.).
  • ECL enhanced chemiluminescence
  • Similarity screen Three compounds identified in the initial virtual ligand screening (VLS)—Cpd3, Cpd30 and Cpd188—inhibited Stat3 SH2/pY-peptide binding and IL-6-mediated Stat3 phosphorylation and were chosen as reference molecules for similarity screening.
  • a fingerprint similarity query for each reference compound was submitted to Molcart/ICM (Max Distance, 0.4). Similarity between each reference molecule and each database molecule was computed and the similarity results were ranked in decreasing order of ICM similarity score (Eckert and Bajorath 2007).
  • Electrophoretic Mobility Shift Assay (EMSA) was performed using the hSIE radiolabeled duplex oligonucleotide as a probe as described (Tweardy et al., 1995). Briefly, high salt extracts were prepared from HepG2 cells incubated without or with IL-6 (30 ng/ml) for 30 minutes. Protein concentration was determined by Bradford Assay and 20 ug of extract was incubated with compound (300 uM) for 60 minutes at 37° C. Bound and unbound hSIE probe was separated by polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (4.5%). Gels were dried and autoradiographed.
  • the initial 3-dimensional configuration of the Stat1 SH2 domain in a complex with each compound was predicted and generated by superimposing, within the computational model, the 3-dimensional features of the Stat1 SH2 onto the 3-dimensional configuration of the Stat3 SH2 domain in a complex with each compound.
  • the final computational model of Stat1 SH2 in a complex with each compound was determined by local minimization using Internal Coordinate Force Field (ICFF)-based molecular mechanics (Totrov and Abagyan 1997).
  • ICFF Internal Coordinate Force Field
  • the inventors computed the van der Waals energy of the complex of Stat1 or 3-SH2 bound with each compound using Lennard-Jones potential with ECEPP/3 force field (Nemethy et al., 1992).
  • HTFM Confocal and high-throughput fluorescence microscopy. Confocal and highthroughput fluorescence microscopy (HTFM) of MEF/GFP-Stat3 ⁇ cells were performed as described (Huang et al., 2007). Briefly, for confocal fluorescence microscopy, cells were grown in 6-well plates containing a cover slip. For HTFM, cells were seeded into 96-well CC3 plates at a density of 5,000 cells/well using an automated plating system. Cells were cultured under standard conditions until 85-90% confluent. Cells were pretreated with compound for 1 hour at 37° C. then stimulated with IL-6 (200 ng/ml) and IL-6sR (250 ng/ml) for 30 minutes.
  • IL-6 200 ng/ml
  • IL-6sR 250 ng/ml
  • Cells were seeded at 2,500 cells/cm 2 into 12-well plates. At 80% confluency, cells were washed with PBS and supplemented with fresh medium containing compound or the topoisomerase I-inhibitor, camptothecin, at 0, 0.1, 03, 1, 3, 10, 30, 100, 300 M. At 24 hours, treatment was terminated by removing the medium from each well. Cells were lysed with cell lysis buffer (600 ⁇ l for 30 minutes at 25° C.). Cell lysate (200 ⁇ l) was centrifuged at 200 ⁇ g for 10 minutes and 20 ⁇ l of each supernatant was assayed for nucleosomes using the Cell Death Detection ELISA (Roche Applied Science) as described by the manufacturer.
  • the percent maximum nucleosome level was calculated by dividing the nucleosome level by the maximum nucleosome level achieved in the assay and multiplying by 100. This value was plotted as a function of the log compound concentration and the best-fitting curve generated using 4-Parameter Logistic Model/Dose Response/XLfit 4.2, IDBS software.
  • the VLS protocol was used to evaluate a total of 920,000 drug-like compounds.
  • 142 compounds fulfilled CIA criteria. These compounds were purchased and tested for their ability to block Stat3 binding to its phosphopeptide ligand in a surface plasmon resonance (SPR)-based binding assay and to inhibit IL-6-mediated phosphorylation of Stat3. SPR competition experiments showed that of the 142 compounds tested, 3 compounds—Cpd3, Cpd30 and Cpd188—were able to directly compete with pY-peptide for binding to Stat3 with IC 50 values of 447, 30, and 20 ⁇ M, respectively ( FIGS. 1 and 3 ; Table 4).
  • each compound inhibited IL-6-mediated phosphorylation of Stat3 with IC50 values of 91, 18 and 73 ⁇ M respectively ( FIG. 2 ; Table 4).
  • Stat3 While Stat3 contributes to oncogenesis, in part, through inhibition of apoptosis, Stat1 is anti-oncogenic; it mediates the apoptotic effects of interferons and contributes to tumor surveillance (Kaplan et al., 1998; Ramana et al., 2000). Consequently, compounds that target Stat3 while sparing Stat1, leaving its anti-oncogenic functions unopposed, may result in a synergistic anti-tumor effect.
  • HepG2 cells were incubated with Cpd3, Cpd30, Cpd188, Cpd3-2, Cpd3-7, and Cpd30-12 (300 ⁇ M) for 1 hour at 37° C.
  • Stat3 undergoes a change in conformation from head-to-head dimerization mediated through its N-terminal oligomerization domain to tail-to-tail dimerization mediated by reciprocal SH2/pY705-peptide ligand interactions. This conformational change is followed by nuclear accumulation. Compounds that targeted SH2/pY-peptide ligand interactions of Stat3 would be expected to inhibit nuclear accumulation of Stat3. To determine if this was the case with the compounds herein, a nuclear translocation assay ( FIG.
  • MEF-Stat3 ⁇ murine embryonic fibroblast cells that are deficient in endogenous Stat3 but constitutively express GFP-tagged Stat3 ⁇ at endogenous levels
  • MEF/GFP-Stat3 ⁇ Huang et al., 2007
  • Preincubation of MEF/GFP-Stat3 ⁇ cells with Cpd3, Cpd30, Cpd188, Cpd3-2 and Cpd3-7, but not Cpd30-12 blocked ligand-mediated nuclear translocation of GFP-Stat3 ⁇ with IC 50 values of 131, 77, 39, 150 and 20 ⁇ M ( FIG. 7 and Table 4).
  • Stat3 dimers bind to specific DNA elements to activate and, in some instances, repress gene transcription.
  • Tyrosine-phosphorylated dodecapeptides based on motifs within receptors that recruit Stat3 have previously been shown to destabilize Stat3 (Chakraborty et al., 1999; Shao et al., 2003).
  • Compounds that bind to the phosphopeptide-binding site of Stat3 might be expected to do the same. To determine if this was the case for any of the compounds we identified, extracts of IL-6-stimulated HepG2 cells were incubated in binding reactions containing radiolabeled hSIE ( FIG. 8 ) and each of the five selective compounds (300 ⁇ M).
  • Apoptosis is Selective for Cell Lines with Constitutive STAT3 Activation
  • the Stat3 selective compounds herein were examined for the ability to induce apoptosis of breast cancer cell lines, MDA-MB-231 (Cailleau R 1978; Satya-Prakash K L 1981; Zhang R D 1991), MBA-MB-468 (Brinkley et al., 1980; Garcia et al., 1997; Garcia et al., 2001) and MDAMB-435 (Brinkley et al., 1980; Garcia et al., 2001) with constitutively active Stat3 and two breast cancer cell lines, MDA-MB-453 (Brinkley et al., 1980; Garcia et al., 2001; Song et al., 2005) and MCF7 (Song et al., 2005), without constitutively active Stat3.
  • Cpd188 showed preferential activity against cell lines with constitutive Stat3 activity (Table 5). In contrast to Cpd3, Cpd30 and Cpd188, neither Cpd3-2 nor Cpd3-7 induced apoptosis of any of the breast cancer cell lines tested.
  • T40214 The G-rich, quartet-forming oligodeoxynucleotide, T40214, was identified as a Stat3 inhibitor through docking studies of T40214 onto the known structure of Stat3 (Jing et al., 2003).
  • T40214 targeted Stat3 tail-to-tail homodimers, decreased Stat3 binding to DNA and inhibited growth of prostate, breast and lung cancer cells in the nude mouse xenograft model through induction of apoptosis (Jing et al., 2003; Jing et al., 2004; Jing and Tweardy 2005; Jing et al., 2006; Zhu and Jing 2007).
  • T40214 is administered IV or intraperitoneally in a complex with polyethyleneimine, which greatly improves intracellular uptake.
  • Stat3 inhibitor for use in cancer treatment with the potential for oral administration, we determined if recent information obtained regarding the structural requirements of Stat3 SH2/pY-peptide binding (Shao et al., 2004; Shao et al., 2006) could be exploited to develop a small molecular inhibitor of Stat3.
  • STA-21 is a small molecule inhibitor of Stat3 identified through virtual ligand screening of compounds that bound to the interface of Stat3 SH2 homodimers (Song et al., 2005). STA-21 treatment of cells disrupted Stat3/DNA complexes, abrogated Stat3 translocation into the nucleus, inhibited expression of proteins such as Bcl-XL and Cyclin D1 and induced the apoptosis of breast cancer cell lines. No evidence was provided that STA-21 bound directly to Stat3 reflecting, perhaps, the non-availability of suitable reagents i.e. purified Stat3 homodimers.
  • Stat3 inhibition of Stat3 by Stattic was blocked by the presence of a reducing agent (DTT), was not reversible and may not be mediated by direct inhibition of pY-peptide binding. Rather, Stattic may alter the Stat3 SH2 pY peptide binding site shape through akylating the Cys687 residue on the opposite side of the SH2 domain (McMurray 2006).
  • DTT reducing agent
  • Siddiquee et al. (Siddiquee et al., 2007) recently identified a small molecule Stat3 inhibitor, S3I-201, using an approach similar to that described herein targeting the Stat3 SH2 pY-peptide binding site.
  • S3I-201 inhibited Stat3 homodimerization, DNA binding, induction of cyclin D1, Bcl-xL and survivin and induced apoptosis of v-Src-transformed NIH3T3 cells and breast cancer cell lines with constitutive active Stat3 in the 30 to 100 ⁇ M range.
  • S3I-201 Similar to T40214, S3I-201 (5 mg/kg every 2-3 days) inhibited growth of nude mice xenografts of one of these breast cancer cell lines (MDA-MB-231). Similar to STA-21, and unlike the compounds herein, no evidence of the ability of S3I-201 to directly bind Stat3 or to inhibit the binding of Stat3 to its pY-peptide ligand was presented leaving open the question of the precise mechanism of action of S3I-201.
  • Stat3 is dispensable for the function of normal hematopoietic stem/progenitor cells but not for cancer stem cells, in particular, leukemic stem cells, for example.
  • unique probes spare normal hematopoietic stem cells while targeting leukemic stem cells, as well as other cancer stem cells.
  • Stem cell hypothesis The hypothesis that a minor population of cells is able to give rise to all mature parenchymal cell types within an organ system gained experimental support in the 1960's from in vitro colony-forming assays and the demonstration that bone marrow transplantation could reconstitute the hematopoietic system of lethally irradiated mice.
  • the stem cell hypothesis became established clinically in the 1970's and 80's through the successful performance of bone marrow transplantation and was extended during the 1990's to include all organ systems thereby becoming one of the central tenets of regenerative medicine. More recently, the stem cell hypothesis has emerged within the cancer field. Current opinion holds that curative therapies for many refractory cancers will almost certainly require the successful targeting of cancer stem cells.
  • the ability to chemically probe both normal and cancer stem cells is essential to understanding and controlling their function to treat individuals with deficiencies in mature cell number or function or to treat or cure patients with cancer.
  • curing cancer will require development of drugs that target cancer stem cells while sparing normal stem cells in at least certain aspects.
  • Stat3 and stem cells evidence is accumulating that Stat3 is required for maintenance of some normal stem cells, e.g. embryonic stem cells, and many types of malignant stem cells including stems cells of acute myeloid leukemia (AML) and breast cancer, for example.
  • AML acute myeloid leukemia
  • Full understanding of the role of Stat3 in stem cell biology has been stymied by the finding that whole-animal Stat3 knockout mice are embryonic lethal at 6.5-to-7 days (Takeda et al., 1997).
  • tissue-specific knockout studies often have yielded contradictory and confusing results (Levy and Lee, 2002).
  • Specific and highly active Stat3 chemical probes greatly clarify the understanding of the role of Stat3 in stem cells and provide tools for specifically interrogating Stat3 function in cancer stem cells.
  • the methods and compositions are useful in regenerative medicine, oncology, asthma, and chronic viral infections, for example.
  • Asthma and chronic viral infections are two disease processes in which Stat3 plays a critical role.
  • agents targeting cancer stem cells spare normal hematopoietic stem cells because otherwise their use would have lethal hematological and immune consequences.
  • AML is among the top 10 most common cancers. Despite substantial advances in its treatment, 5-yr mortality exceeds 50%. Successful cure of AML, as well as other refractory cancers, will involve eliminating the leukemia stem while sparing normal stem cells within the bone marrow.
  • Current cytoreductive therapies for AML and other cancers target cycling cells. The hematopoietic system is able to reconstitute itself after cytoreductive therapy because hematopoietic stem cells are not cycling. Like normal stem cells, cancer stem cells are quiescent and not cycling.
  • New therapeutic regimens for cancer include agents that target non-cycling cancer stem cells, in certain aspects. However, in particular embodiments agents that target cancer stems cells spare normal hematopoietic stem cells to permit reconstitution of this organ system.
  • Stat3 is essential for embryonic stem cell maintenance (Raz et al., 1999)
  • deletion of Stat3 within the hematopoietic lineage including hematopoietic stem cells of normal mice does not result in impaired blood cell production.
  • circulating cells within the granulocyte lineage are increased in these mice (Lee et al., 2002).
  • Stat3 is activated in up to 95% of leukemic blast samples and may be critical for survival of these cells (Spiekermann et al., 2001). In certain aspects, this is true of leukemic stem cells whereas in other aspects Stat3 activation within these cells is critical for their survival.
  • high-affinity and selective chemical probes for Stat3 that are used to determine if Stat3 is critical for leukemic stem cell survival and if Stat3 can be targeted in hematopoietic stem/progenitor cells without deleterious effects.
  • Acute leukemia in humans arises from blood cell progenitors within the myeloid or lymphoid pathway.
  • the most striking finding in acute leukemia is nonrandom, somatically acquired chromosomal translocations in up to 60% of the acute leukemia patients.
  • These chromosomal translocations abnormally activate transcription factor genes in acute myeloid leukemia (AML) and acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) and show remarkable specificity for hematopoietic cells blocked in defined stages of blood cell differentiation.
  • AML comprises a heterogeneous group of acute leukemias derived from malignantly transformed myeloid precursors.
  • AML with recurrent chromosomal translocations (60% of all AML) into four main categories, i) acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL) with t(15;17) (resulting in the PML-RAR ⁇ fusion gene) and variants, ii) AML with t(8;21) (resulting in the AML1-ETO fusion gene), iii) AML-M4 with abnormal bone marrow eosinophils and inv(16) (resulting in the CBF ⁇ -MYH11 fusion gene), and iv) AML with 11q23 (MLL fusion gene, such as MLL-AF9) abnormalities, which are characterized by distinct biological and prognostic features.
  • APL acute promyelocytic leukemia
  • t(15;17) resulting in the PML-RAR ⁇ fusion gene
  • variants ii) AML with t(8;21) (resulting in the AML1-ETO fusion gene)
  • APL Acute promyelocytic leukemia
  • AML acute myeloid leukemia
  • fusion of the retinoic acid receptor-alpha (RAR ⁇ ) with the gene coding for PML protein, the PML-RAR ⁇ t(15:17) translocation is required for blocking myeloid cell differentiation.
  • Retinoic acids which are used to treat this cancer, bind to the retinoic acid receptor (RAR ⁇ ) component of the fusion product, resulting in degradation of the fusion protein by ubiquitinization (Melnick and Licht, 1999).
  • RAR ⁇ retinoic acid receptor
  • t(8;21) The chromosomal translocation t(8;21) is found in 15-20% of AML cases. Among the non-random chromosomal aberrations observed in AML, t(8;21) is the most common chromosomal translocation known in human leukemia and usually correlates with the AML M2-subtype of the French-American-British classification, with well-defined and specific morphological features. The translocation between chromosomes 8 and 21 is considered a cytogenetic hallmark of the M2-subtype of acute myeloid leukemia. AML1 is normally expressed in hematopoietic cells and belongs to a family of transcription factors that is defined by the runt homology domain (RHD), a DNA-binding motif.
  • RHD runt homology domain
  • AML1 is a sequence-specific DNA-binding protein that complexes with core binding factor ⁇ (CBF ⁇ ) to activate transcription of target genes.
  • CBM ⁇ does not bind DNA itself, but instead increases the DNA affinity of AML1.
  • CBF ⁇ is commonly involved in a different translocation that involves the inversion of chromosome 16, which produces a CBF ⁇ -SMMHC fusion gene.
  • RTTAs retroviral transduction and transformation assays
  • the inventors expand the use the RTTA into a platform for drug discovery, in particular, to identify Stat3 chemical probes that selectively target and kill AML stem cells, for example, generated by these fusion proteins while sparing normal hematopoietic stem cells.
  • compound affinity is improved upon gaining a log greater affinity upon moving from 1 st generation to 2nd generation probes using 3-D pharmacophore analysis.
  • selectivity is improved through modeling embodiments, in particular through identification of a distinct hydrophobic binding domain in the phosphopeptide binding pocket of Stat3 SH2 vs. the Stat1 SH2 (Xu et al., 2009).
  • Cpd188-38 exhibited a 2 logs greater activity than parent Cpd188 in inhibiting cytoplasmic-to-nuclear translocation in HTFM assay, while Cpd188-15 exhibited a 1 log greater activity than parent Cpd188 in decreasing MSFE (Table 6).
  • several of the second-generation 188-like compounds represent a substantial improvement over Cpd188 from a medicinal chemistry, metabolism and bioavailability standpoint.
  • Cpd188-9 lacked both carboxyl groups, which in particular cases improves cell permeability and/or the thioether group, which is subject to oxidation.
  • Group I compounds which are the most potent series of Stat3 probes.
  • this is the most important contributor to the inhibitory activity: a total of eight 3-substituents are found in Group I compounds, which invariably enhance the activity by several orders of magnitude.
  • Stat3 probes in Group II contain a 5-membered ring that combines the 3-R and 4-OR2 groups, such as a furan (188-11).
  • the compounds in this group are, in average, ⁇ 5 ⁇ less active than the Group I compounds, which indicates that in certain aspects the H atom of the 4-hydroxy group (highlighted in blue in the general structure of Group I in FIG. 17 ) is important, e.g., involved in a favorable H-bond with the protein. Lacking the ability to form the H-bond attributes to the weaker activities of Group II probes, in particular cases. These considerations underlie the medicinal chemistry approach outlined in Example 11.
  • the crystal structure of Stat3 shows that the SH2 domain has a large, widely dispersed and generally shallow binding area with several valleys and hills that recognize the pY-peptide ligand ( FIG. 19 ).
  • Structure-based molecular modeling was useful in identifying the contribution of the hydrophobic binding surface of the Stat3 SH2 domain as a selectivity filter (Xu et al., 2009).
  • different docking programs gave distinct binding poses for the same probe over the binding surface with similar predicted binding affinities.
  • the inventors therefore in particular embodiments, based on initial SAR results outlined above, use traditional medicinal chemistry to further carry out an exemplary comprehensive structure activity relationship study, to optimize the activity as well as the selectivity of this novel class of sulfamide probes of Stat3.
  • Compound 188-15 serves as a scaffold for making the new generation compounds, as shown schematically below ( FIG. 18 ):
  • thioethers which may be subjected to oxidation/degradation in vivo and lead to an unfavorable pharmacokinetic profile, in particular aspects.
  • the central —S— atom is changed to a more metabolically stable isosteres, such as —CH 2 —, —NH—, and —O—, in certain cases.
  • the crystal structure of Stat3 SH2 domain also provides strong evidence that more compounds with different electrostatic properties are useful for characterization.
  • the electrostatic molecular surface of the protein shows two distinct features, as shown in FIG. 19 . The first one is the red, negatively charged Glu638 surface stands out in the center. Next, of particular interest is a positively charged area (in blue in a color version), composed of Arg609 and Lys591 located in the edge of the domain, which is actually the pY (phosphorylated tyrosine) binding site of the receptor.
  • the inventors also found that introducing a negatively charged group targeting the pY binding site leads to particularly active probes, in certain embodiments.
  • Modifications 3 and 4 test the effects of changing the substituents at the 4, 5, and 6-positions.
  • the —OH at 4-position is superior to —OR, in certain aspects.
  • dehydroxy compounds 7 is also made, starting from 3-bromonaphthyl-1-amine.
  • Each novel sulfamide compound is tested for the ability to inhibit Stat3 binding to its phosphopeptide ligand by SPR and the ability to block IL-6-stimulated cytoplasmic-to-nuclear translocation in the HTFM assay.
  • Probes with activity in these assays equivalent to or greater than the most active 2nd generation compounds are tested for inhibition of IL-6-stimulated Stat3 phosphorylation and lack of ability to inhibit IFN- ⁇ -stimulated Stat1 phosphorylation as outlined below.
  • Stat3/pY-peptide SPR binding inhibition assay is performed at 25° C. using a BIAcore 3000 biosensor as described (Xu et al., 2009). Briefly, phosphorylated and control nonphosphorylated biotinylated EGFR derived dodecapeptides based on the sequence surrounding Y1068 are immobilized on a streptavidin coated sensor chip (BIAcore Inc., Piscataway N.J.). The binding of Stat3 is performed in 20 mM Tris buffer pH 8 containing 2 mM ⁇ -mercaptoethanol at a flow rate of 10 uL/min for 1-2 minute.
  • EXP IIB High throughput fluorescence microscopy (HTFM), cytoplasm-to-nucleus translocation inhibition assays.
  • HTFM of MEF/GFP-Stat3 ⁇ cells is performed to assess the ability of probes to inhibit GFP-Stat3 cytoplasmic-to-nuclear translocation, as described (Xu et al., 2009), using the robotic system available as part of the John S. Dunn Gulf Coast Consortium for Chemical Genomics at the University of Texas-Houston School of Medicine. Briefly, cells are seeded into 96-well CC3 plates at a density of 5,000 cells/well and cultured under standard conditions until 85-90% confluent. Cells are pre-treated with compound for 1 hour at 37° C.
  • IL-6 100 ng/ml
  • IL-6sR 150 ng/ml
  • Cells are fixed with 4% formaldehyde in PEM Buffer (80 mM Potassium PIPES, pH 6.8, 5 mM EGTA pH 7.0, 2 mM MgCl 2 ) for 30 minutes at 4° C., quenched in 1 mg/ml of NaBH 4 (Sigma) in PEM buffer and counterstained for 1 min in 4,6-diamidino-2-phenylindole (DAPI; Sigma; 1 mg/ml) in PEM buffer. Plates are analyzed by automated HTFM using the Cell Lab IC Image Cytometer (IC100) platform and CytoshopVersion 2.1 analysis software (Beckman Coulter).
  • Nuclear translocation is quantified by using the fraction localized in the nucleus (FLIN) measurement.
  • FLIN values are normalized by subtracting the FLIN for unstimulated cells then dividing this difference by the maximum difference (delta, ⁇ ) in FLIN (FLIN in cells stimulated with IL-6/sIL-6R in the absence of compound minus FLIN of unstimulated cells). This ratio is multiplied by 100 to obtain the percentage of maximum difference in FLIN and is plotted as a function of the log compound concentration.
  • the best-fitting curve and IC 50 value are determined using 4-Parameter LogisticModel/Dose Response/XLfit 4.2, IDBS software.
  • EXP IIC Ligand-mediated pStat3 and pStat1 inhibition assays. Newly synthesized Stat3 probes with activity equivalent to or greater than parent compound 188 in the SPR and HTFM assays will be tested for the ability to selectively inhibit ligand-mediated phosphorylation of Stat3 as described (Xu et al., 2009).
  • HepG2 human hepatocellular carcinoma cells
  • compounds (0, 0.1, 0.3, 1, 3, 10, 30, 100 ⁇ M) for 1 hour then stimulated under optimal conditions with either interleukin-6 (IL-6; 30 ng/ml for 30 min) to activate Stat3 or interferon gamma (IFN- ⁇ ; 30 ng/ml for 30 min) to activate Stat1.
  • IL-6 interleukin-6
  • IFN- ⁇ interferon gamma
  • Cells are harvested and proteins extracted using high-salt buffer, mixed with 2 ⁇ sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) sample buffer (125 mmol/L Tris-HCL pH 6.8; 4% SDS; 20% glycerol; 10% 2-mercaptoethanol) at a 1:1 ratio then heated for 5 minutes at 100° C.
  • SDS sodium dodecyl sulfate
  • Proteins (20 ⁇ g) are separated by 7.5% SDS-PAGE and transferred to polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) membrane (Millipore, Waltham, Mass.) and immunoblotted.
  • PVDF polyvinylidene fluoride
  • Membranes are probed serially with antibody against Stat1 pY701 or Stat3 pY705 followed by antibody against Stat 1 or Stat3 (Transduction labs, Lexington, Ky.) then antibody against ⁇ -actin (Abcam, Cambridge, Mass.).
  • Membranes are stripped between antibody probings using RestoreTM Western Blot Stripping Buffer (Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc., Waltham, Mass.) per the manufacturer's instructions.
  • Horseradish peroxidase-conjugated goat-anti-mouse IgG is used as the secondary antibody (Invitrogen Carlsbad, Calif.) and the membranes are developed with enhanced chemiluminescence (ECL) detection system (Amersham Life Sciences Inc.; Arlington Heights, Ill.). Band intensities are quantified by densitometry. The value of each pStat3 band is divided by its corresponding total Stat3 band intensity; the results are normalized to the DMSO-treated control value. This value was plotted as a function of the log compound concentration. The best-fitting curve is determined using 4-Parameter Logistic Model/Dose Response/XLfit 4.2, IDBS software and was used to calculate the IC 50 value.
  • EXP IID Molecular modeling of probe-Stat3 interactions.
  • the results of modeling of the binding of the first generation probe to the Stat3 vs. Stat1 SH2 domains suggested that the basis for experimental selectivity of probes for Stat3 vs. Stat1 rested on the ability of the probes to have greater interaction with the hydrophobic binding site within the pY-peptide binding pocket of Stat3 compared to Stat1.
  • the hydrophobic binding site served as a selectivity filter.
  • probes with one log or greater activity there is identification of probes with one log or greater activity than 2 nd generation probes in SPR, HTFM and pStat3 assays.
  • some of the most active 3 rd generation probes that emerge from this analysis are selective for Stat3 vs. Stat1 based on their greater interaction with the hydrophobic binding site within the Stat3 vs. Stat1 SH2 pY-peptide binding pocket.
  • the most active and selective probes are examined for their effect on the biology of normal hematopoietic stem cells and leukemic stem cells as outlined in Example 13 below and on breast cancer stem cells as outlined in Example 16.
  • Third generation probes with activity greater than the most active 2nd generation probe, as well as the most active 2nd generation probes, are examined for their effects on normal and exemplary leukemia myeloid stem/progenitor cells using normal and leukemic granulocyte/macrophage colony-forming unit (CFU-GM) assays.
  • CFU-GM granulocyte/macrophage colony-forming unit
  • the normal CFU-GM assay takes one week to perform, while the retroviral transducation/transplantation assay (RTTA) leukemic CFU-GM assay takes 3 weeks. Consequently, one can first screen each candidate Stat3 probe in the normal CFU-GM assay. Those probes without activity in the normal CFU-GM assay are then tested in the RTTA.
  • RTTA retroviral transducation/transplantation assay
  • EXP IIIA Screening of probes for activity against normal hematopoietic stem/progenitor cells in the CFU-GM assay.
  • Murine bone marrow cells are collected and processed, as described previously (Tweardy et al., 1991) with the following modifications ( FIG. 20 ). Briefly, c-kit selected hematopoietic stem cells (HSC) are plated at 2-5 ⁇ 10 4 cells per plate in methylcellulose containing stem cell factor (SCF), IL-3, IL-6 and GM-CSF. These HSC are treated with or without Stat3 probes.
  • SCF methylcellulose containing stem cell factor
  • IL-6 IL-6
  • GM-CSF GM-CSF
  • the plates are evaluated to see if these compounds have any effects on normal hematopoiesis as assessed by colony number, morphology, cell surface antigens examined by FACS using antibodies such as CD11b, Gr-1 and B220, Q-RT-PCR and Western blot.
  • EXP IIIB Testing of Stat3 probes for activity against leukemic stem cells in the RTTA assay.
  • the inventors have constructed pMSCV-based vectors each containing a member of one of the major groups of chimeric fusion proteins occurring in AML including those involving RAR ⁇ genes and AML1 genes ( FIG. 21 ).
  • Members of the first group in particular, have been demonstrated to be involved in cross talk with the Stat3 signaling pathway (Dong and Tweardy, 2002; Dong et al., 2003).
  • pseudotyped retroviral supernatants are produced by transient transfection of Phoenix packaging cells with Murine Stem Cell Virus (MSCV) retroviral constructs containing a leukemia fusion protein. Viral supernatants will be used to infect purified 4-to-10-week-old wild-type C57BL/6 mice murine hematopoietic progenitors that have been positively selected for c-kit expression by magnetic-activated cell sorting (MACS).
  • MSCV Murine Stem Cell Virus
  • transduced cells are plated in 1% methylcellulose supplemented with stem cell factor (SCF), IL-3, IL-6 and GM-CSF in the presence or absence of G418 or puromycin. G418 or puromycin resistant colonies will be replated twice in the same conditioned methylcellulose media after 7 days culture.
  • SCF stem cell factor
  • IL-3 IL-3
  • IL-6 IL-6
  • GM-CSF GM-CSF
  • Cells transduced with control vector exhaust their proliferative capability in the second round of plating while cells immortalized by leukemia oncoproteins maintain their replanting ability and are able to expand in liquid culture (see FIG. 23 ). Replating is repeated every 7 days.
  • transduced cells are harvested after the second plating and split evenly into a sufficient number of plates for testing of Stat3 probe over a concentration range of 0.1-10 ⁇ M in half-log concentration increments. After 7 days incubation, one can examine plates for the effect of the probes on colony number, morphology and for expression of relevant surface antigens, mRNA and protein.
  • Stat3 probes inhibit leukemic colony formation
  • Murine (m) Stat3 shRNA constructs are designed, as described (Ling and Arlinghaus, 2005), and used in RTTA cotransfection experiments, as described (Zeisig et al., 2007).
  • Cpd188-9 The inventors obtained useful results testing the first of the 2nd generation Stat3 chemical probes, Cpd188-9, for the ability to inhibit the number of normal and leukemic CFU-GM colonies.
  • Cpd188-9 showed no inhibitory effect on growth of normal CFU-GM colonies up to a concentration of 100 ⁇ M ( FIG. 24 ).
  • it inhibited leukemic stem cell colony formation in the RTTA with an EC50 of ⁇ 5 ⁇ M ( FIG. 25 ).
  • Breast cancer is the most common female cancer in the United States, the second most common cause of cancer death in women (after lung cancer), and the main cause of death in women ages 45 to 55.
  • Data from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) program of the National Cancer Institute indicate that the lifetime probability of developing breast cancer is one in six; for invasive breast cancer, the probability is one in nine.
  • Cancer stem cells Conventional chemotherapies are initially effective in controlling growth of many tumors. Yet, many patients relapse over time despite initially responding. A possible explanation is that a rare sub-population of cells with tumorigenic potential is intrinsically resistant to therapy. This hypothesis provides a unified explanation for the success and failures of cytotoxic chemotherapy—namely, although the majority of cells in the original tumor may be killed, the most important target, a small population of therapy-resistant cancer cells possessing tumor-initiating capacity (cancer stem cells) is spared, thereby allowing tumor re-growth.
  • cancer stem cells therapy-resistant cancer cells possessing tumor-initiating capacity
  • CSC cancer stem cell
  • cancer stem cell signature a “cancer stem cell signature”, with key regulatory pathways, like Notch, PI3-AKT and Stat3 and others, that may be responsible for cancer stem cell self-renewal, and therefore, treatment resistance and relapse.
  • Stat3 activity contributes to oncogenesis in breast cancer and other cancer systems through several additional pathways including enhancement of cell proliferation, induction of angiogenesis and suppression of immune responses (Yu and Jove, 2004) making Stat3 a potentially high-yield target for drug development to treat many cancers, but, in particular, for treatment of ER-negative and HER2/Neu-negative breast cancer for which there currently are few effective and virtually no non-toxic therapies.
  • the inventors have determined from the largest data set of gene expression analysis of the CD44 + /CD24 ⁇ /low -MS population that the top canonical pathways involved in stem cell self-renewal includes Stat3 signaling.
  • Stat3 is indispensable for the function of breast cancer stem cells and can be inhibited with small molecules that target its SH2 domain thereby effectively targeting breast cancer stem cells.
  • third (3rd) generation Stat3 probes are developed with increased inhibitory activity by performing medicinal chemistry.
  • Third generation probes are developed with increased activity against Stat3 based on structural modifications of the most active 2nd generation probe, for example.
  • SAR structure-activity relationship
  • Each novel sulfamide compound is examined in a rapid throughput SPR assay for the ability to inhibit Stat3 binding to its phosphopeptide ligand followed by high throughput fluorescence microscopy (HTFM) examining inhibition of IL-6-stimulated cytoplasmic-to-nuclear translocation.
  • the most active probes in these assays are examined for their selectivity for Stat3 vs. Stat1 by testing for inhibition of IL-6-stimulated Stat3 phosphorylation and for failure to inhibit IFN- ⁇ -stimulated Stat1 phosphorylation.
  • MSFE preclinical mammosphere forming efficienty
  • human xenograft models breast cancer stem cells are eliminated with specific probes that target Stat3. Using the most active probe developed as described above, one can determine whether Stat3 inhibition by these 3rd generation compounds improves efficacy of conventional therapy in vitro and in vivo, using MSFE and human breast cancer xenograft models.
  • CSCs cancer stem cells
  • Preclinical models There are robust preclinical models utilizing both in vitro systems (MSFE), as well as tumor xenografts (Strecker et al., 2009; Li et al., 2008) to elucidate the molecular regulatory pathways of cancer stem cells that have led to the development of novel agents to target these cells.
  • MSFE in vitro systems
  • tumor xenografts From biopsies of primary breast cancers, the inventors have established thirteen primary xenografts. Of these, the inventors have successfully transplanted ten different human breast cancers into tertiary xenografts. The gene expression patterns of the primary and tertiary xenografts were similar, thus providing a renewable source of human breast cancers each of which is genotypically stable.
  • Stat3 probes development of first generation Stat3 probes.
  • the inventors virtually screened 920,000 small drug-like compounds by docking each into the peptide-binding pocket of the Stat3 SH2 domain, which consists of three sites: 1) the pY-residue binding site, conserved within all SH2 domains (general binding site, GBS), 2) the +3 residue-binding site specific for Stat3 binding its pY-peptide domain (specific binding site, SBS) and 3) a hydrophobic binding site (HBS), which served as a selectivity filter.
  • GBS general binding site
  • SBS specific binding site
  • HBS hydrophobic binding site
  • the animals received two doses of vehicle control, 2 different doses of Cpd 188 (125 or 250 mcg), a G-quartet oligodeoxynucleotide (GQ-ODN, T40214; GQ-I) previously determined to target Stat3 (Jing et al., 2004) and a control non-specific ODN (GQ-II) each at two doses (125 or 250 mcg).
  • the animals were sacrificed after only two days of treatment, and MSFE determined. From these short-term studies, Cpd 188 (250 mcg) and T40214 (GQ-1; 125 and 250 mcg) showed significant reduction in MSFE compared to control (P ⁇ 0.05; FIG. 26 ).
  • Cpd188 and the leading 2nd generation inhibitor improve existing cancer therapies by decreasing tumor volume and decreasing MSFE.
  • Stat3 inhibition improves efficacy of conventional therapy using MSFE and human breast cancer xenograft models.
  • CSCs can be eliminated with specific inhibitors that target Stat3.
  • a second generation Stat3 inhibitor (CMP188-15) affects self-renewal as measured by MSFE. Based on initial studies, one can determine if these 2nd and 3rd generation Stat3 inhibitors improves efficacy of conventional chemotherapy. These studies involve in vitro analyses of pathway activation as well as tumor xenograft stem cell models developed by the inventors. One can characterize the role of Stat3 in regulating breast cancer stem cell self-renewal and survival.
  • the activity of lead 3rd generation Stat3 probes are determined in MSFE inhibition and xenograft inhibition assays.
  • MS treatment assays Using the secondary MSs created from human breast cancer specimens, one can test a range of ⁇ fifty 3rd generation Stat3 inhibitors vs. no-treatment controls. Secondary MSs created from human breast cancer biopsies, as described elsewhere herein are used. These secondary MSs are grown to a diameter of 50-100 ⁇ m and treated with control or inhibitor. Residual cancer cells following treatment are dissociated to single cells by brief trypsinization and the cells re-plated. Formation of tertiary MSs reflects the proportion of MS-initiating cells that survived treatment, which might therefore be left alive to re-initiate tumor growth. MSFE values are log-transformed and compared using a t-test. From these MSFE assays, the top 5 inhibitors (for example) are tested in xenograft studies, as described below.
  • Xenograft assays One can use two xenografts developed from human breast cancer biopsies that express activated p-Stat3 by IHC. From these established xenograft lines, for each of the top 5 inhibitors, the following studies may be undertaken: a) short term experiments with stem cell inhibitors at two doses vs. vehicle control and b) the optimal dose of the combination of chemotherapy with each of the five stem cell inhibitors.
  • the animals is sacrificed after two weeks, yielding sets of paired samples before and after treatment for each drug and dose. Size of the xenografts is monitored longitudinally by caliper measurement using the RECIST criteria for assessment of tumor response. Outcomes from the study include tumor size at harvest/sacrifice, pre- vs. post-treatment % CD44+/CD24 ⁇ , and pre- vs. post-treatment MSFE. This experiment allows one to pick, for each xenograft, a drug and dose that shrinks tumors and increases putative self-renewing cells, but does not cure the mouse. This is combined with the signaling inhibitors in subsequent studies.
  • mice/xenograft/treatment with 6 treatment groups+one untreated control 56 mice per xenograft, for example.
  • % CD44+/CD24 ⁇ or MSFE the smallest dose that results in a substantial decrease in self-renewing cells
  • mice/drug/dose For each xenograft in the chemotherapy study, one can study 8 mice/drug/dose, and in specific embodiments this provides at least 80% power to detect a dose-response effect for each drug and in each xenograft tissue line. This estimate is based on review of initial studies, where treatment resulted in roughly a 1 standard deviation (SD) increase in % CD44+/CD24 ⁇ (log transformed) (9-fold increase untransformed).
  • SD standard deviation
  • % CD44+/CD24 ⁇ log transformed
  • variability within a xenograft line is less than variability between xenografts from different tumors, so that a similar absolute change represents at least 1.5 SD's.
  • the untreated group demonstrates no change (i.e.
  • pre and post-treatment % CD44+/CD24 ⁇ are the same), the low dose demonstrates about half the change (0.75 SD's), and the high dose demonstrates the full change (1.5 SD's).
  • using a linear mixed model with contrasts to test for the presence of a linear trend at the 5% level has 80% power. Changes in mammosphere-forming efficiency are similarly detectable. Short term growth curves (by drug and xenograft tissue line) are compared using mixed models with repeated measures.
  • Stat3 inhibitors are provided in Tables 7-12 below.
  • STAT3beta a splice variant of transcription factor STAT3, is a dominant negative regulator of transcription. Journal of Biological Chemistry 271:13221-13227.
  • Neoplasma S., 1968. The cancer cell as a stem cell unable to differentiate. A theory of carcinogenesis. Neoplasma 15:607-622.
  • G-quartet oligonucleotides a new class of signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 inhibitors that suppresses growth of prostate and breast tumors through induction of apoptosis. Cancer Res 64:6603-6609.
  • the STAT3 isoforms alpha and beta have unique and specific functions. Nat Immunol 5:401-409.
  • Proteins of transcription factor ISGF-3 one gene encodes the 91-and 84-kDa ISGF-3 proteins that are activated by interferon alpha. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 89:7836-7839.

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