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  2. Impact of the small molecule Met inhibitor BMS-777607 on the metastatic process in a rodent tumor model with constitutive c-Met activation

Impact of the small molecule Met inhibitor BMS-777607 on the metastatic process in a rodent tumor model with constitutive c-Met activation

  • Clin Exp Metastasis. 2012 Mar;29(3):253-61. doi: 10.1007/s10585-011-9447-z.
Yao Dai 1 Kyungmi Bae Christine Pampo Dietmar W Siemann
Affiliations

Affiliation

  • 1 Department of Radiation Oncology, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32610, USA. daiyao@ufl.edu
Abstract

c-Met tyrosine kinase hyperactivation is strongly associated with tumor metastasis. In a prior study we showed that BMS-777607, a novel selective small molecule Met kinase inhibitor, potently suppressed ligand-mediated functions in prostate Cancer cells. Herein we evaluated the impact of this agent on the potential of the highly metastatic murine KHT sarcoma that carries constitutive activated c-Met. MET gene knockdown was found to reduce spontaneous cell scatter and motility, suggesting a c-Met-dependent disseminating ability in KHT cells. Furthermore, BMS-777607 treatment potently inhibited KHT cell scatter, motility and invasion at doses in the nanomolar range. In contrast, cell proliferation and clonogenicity were modestly affected by BMS-777607. At the molecular level, BMS-777607 potently blocked phosphorylation of c-Met and downstream pathways over the same dose range that impacted metastasis-associated cell functions. In vivo, daily treatment with BMS-777607 (25 mg/kg/day) over the course of the study significantly decreased the number of KHT lung tumor nodules (28.3 ± 14.9%, P < 0.001) without apparent systemic toxicity. While treatment for short intervals (day 1 or 4) clearly reduced the foci number, delaying the initiation of BMS-777607 treatment until 8 days after tumor cell injection failed to show any reduction, implying that impairment of the initiation phases of the secondary growth via c-Met targeting is required to constrain the formation of macroscopic metastases. Together, the present findings demonstrate that the disruption of c-Met signaling by BMS-777607 significantly impairs the metastatic phenotype, suggesting that this agent may have therapeutic utility in targeting Cancer metastasis.

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