0000000000009425
AUTHOR
Amir Avan
showing 7 related works from this author
Cyclin dependent kinase-1 (Cdk-1) inhibition as a novel therapeutic strategy against pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (pdac)
2021
Simple Summary Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is one of the most lethal cancers in humans, due to late diagnosis and limited treatment possibilities. Improved treatment for PDAC patients is warranted. Cyclin-dependent kinase 1 (CDK1) is a stimulator of cell cycle progression and its activity is regularly enhanced in pancreatic cancer cells. Therefore, CDK1 has been proposed as a novel drug target to treat patients with PDAC. This review describes the potential of CDK1 inhibition as a treatment for PDAC by outlining the molecular pathways influenced by CDK1 inhibition and new therapeutic strategies. Abstract The role of CDK1 in PDAC onset and development is two-fold. Firstly, since …
Impact of hypoxia on chemoresistance of mesothelioma mediated by the proton-coupled folate transporter, and preclinical activity of new anti-LDH-A co…
2020
Abstract Background Expression of proton-coupled folate transporter (PCFT) is associated with survival of mesothelioma patients treated with pemetrexed, and is reduced by hypoxia, prompting studies to elucidate their correlation. Methods Modulation of glycolytic gene expression was evaluated by PCR arrays in tumour cells and primary cultures growing under hypoxia, in spheroids and after PCFT silencing. Inhibitors of lactate dehydrogenase (LDH-A) were tested in vitro and in vivo. LDH-A expression was determined in tissue microarrays of radically resected malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM, N = 33) and diffuse peritoneal mesothelioma (DMPM, N = 56) patients. Results Overexpression of hypoxia…
A New Oxadiazole-Based Topsentin Derivative Modulates Cyclin-Dependent Kinase 1 Expression and Exerts Cytotoxic Effects on Pancreatic Cancer Cells
2021
Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is a highly lethal form of cancer characterized by drug resistance, urging new therapeutic strategies. In recent years, protein kinases have emerged as promising pharmacological targets for the treatment of several solid and hematological tumors. Interestingly, cyclin-dependent kinase 1 (CDK1) is overexpressed in PDAC tissues and has been correlated to the aggressive nature of these tumors because of its key role in cell cycle progression and resistance to the induction of apoptosis. For these reasons, CDK1 is one of the main causes of chemoresistance, representing a promising pharmacological target. In this study, we report the synthesis of new 1,2,4…
SF3B1 modulators affect key genes in metastasis and drug influx: a new approach to fight pancreatic cancer chemoresistance.
2021
Aim: Because mutations of splicing factor 3B subunit-1 (SF3B1) have been identified in 4% of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) patients, we investigated the activity of new potential inhibitors of SF3B1 in combination with gemcitabine, one of the standard drugs, in PDAC cell lines. Methods: One imidazo[2,1-b][1,3,4]thiadiazole derivative (IS1) and three indole derivatives (IS2, IS3 and IS4), selected by virtual screening from an in-house library, were evaluated by the sulforhodamine-B and wound healing assay for their cytotoxic and antimigratory activity in the PDAC cells SUIT-2, Hs766t and Panc05.04, the latter harbouring the SF3B1 mutations. The effects on the splicing pattern of pr…
Phospho-Akt overexpression is prognostic and can be used to tailor the synergistic interaction of Akt inhibitors with gemcitabine in pancreatic cancer
2017
Background There is increasing evidence of a constitutive activation of Akt in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC), associated with poor prognosis and chemoresistance. Therefore, we evaluated the expression of phospho-Akt in PDAC tissues and cells, and investigated molecular mechanisms influencing the therapeutic potential of Akt inhibition in combination with gemcitabine. Methods Phospho-Akt expression was evaluated by immunohistochemistry in tissue microarrays (TMAs) with specimens tissue from radically-resected patients (n = 100). Data were analyzed by Fisher and log-rank test. In vitro studies were performed in 14 PDAC cells, including seven primary cultures, characterized for their…
Additional file 1: Figure S1. of Phospho-Akt overexpression is prognostic and can be used to tailor the synergistic interaction of Akt inhibitors wit…
2017
PFS curves according to phospho-Akt expression in radically-resected PDACs, showing that patients with high and â very highâ phospho-Akt (right panel) had a significantly worse PFS. Figure S2. Growth inhibitory effects after MK-2206 exposure in LPC006 (72-hours). Figure S3. Growth inhibitory effects after 72 hours exposure to perifosine, gemcitabine or their combination at a fixed ratio based on IC50 values in CFPAC-1 and PANC-1 cells. On the X-axis the drug concentrations for the combination are referred to gemcitabine. Figure S4. Phospho-Akt (serine residue-473) expression, normalized to total Akt, after 4-hour exposure, as determined by ELISA. Figure S5. A Phospho-Akt (serine residue-473…
Additional file 2: of Phospho-Akt overexpression is prognostic and can be used to tailor the synergistic interaction of Akt inhibitors with gemcitabi…
2017
Table S1. Effects of gemcitabine and perifosine and their combination on cell cycle distribution and on cell death (sub-G1). (DOCX 14 kb)