RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Antitumor Indolequinones Induced Apoptosis in Human Pancreatic Cancer Cells via Inhibition of Thioredoxin Reductase and Activation of Redox Signaling
JF Molecular Pharmacology
JO Mol Pharmacol
FD American Society for Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics
SP 401
OP 410
DO 10.1124/mol.111.076091
VO 81
IS 3
A1 Chao Yan
A1 David Siegel
A1 Jeffery Newsome
A1 Aurelie Chilloux
A1 Christopher J. Moody
A1 David Ross
YR 2012
UL http://molpharm.aspetjournals.org/content/81/3/401.abstract
AB Indolequinones (IQs) were developed as potential antitumor agents against human pancreatic cancer. IQs exhibited potent antitumor activity against the human pancreatic cancer cell line MIA PaCa-2 with growth inhibitory IC50 values in the low nanomolar range. IQs were found to induce time- and concentration-dependent apoptosis and to be potent inhibitors of thioredoxin reductase 1 (TR1) in MIA PaCa-2 cells at concentrations equivalent to those inducing growth-inhibitory effects. The mechanism of inhibition of TR1 by the IQs was studied in detail in cell-free systems using purified enzyme. The C-terminal selenocysteine of TR1 was characterized as the primary adduction site of the IQ-derived reactive iminium using liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry analysis. Inhibition of TR1 by IQs in MIA PaCa-2 cells resulted in a shift of thioredoxin-1 redox state to the oxidized form and activation of the p38/c-Jun NH2-terminal kinase (JNK) mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) signaling pathway. Oxidized thioredoxin is known to activate apoptosis signal-regulating kinase 1, an upstream activator of p38/JNK in the MAPK signaling cascade and this was confirmed in our study providing a potential mechanism for IQ-induced apoptosis. These data describe the redox and signaling events involved in the mechanism of growth inhibition induced by novel inhibitors of TR1 in human pancreatic cancer cells.