TAE226, a Bis-Anilino Pyrimidine Compound, Inhibits the EGFR-Mutant Kinase Including T790M Mutant to Show Anti-Tumor Effect on EGFR-Mutant Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer Cells

PLoS One. 2015 Jun 19;10(6):e0129838. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0129838. eCollection 2015.

Abstract

TAE226, a bis-anilino pyrimidine compound, has been developed as an inhibitor of focal adhesion kinase (FAK) and insulin-like growth factor-I receptor (IGF-IR). In this study, we investigated the effect of TAE226 on non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC), especially focusing on the EGFR mutational status. TAE226 was more effective against cells with mutant EGFR, including the T790M mutant, than against cells with wild-type one. TAE226 preferentially inhibited phospho-EGFR and its downstream signaling mediators in the cells with mutant EGFR than in those with wild-type one. Phosphorylation of FAK and IGF-IR was not inhibited at the concentration at which the proliferation of EGFR-mutant cells was inhibited. Results of the in vitro binding assay indicated significant differences in the affinity for TAE226 between the wild-type and L858R (or delE746_A750) mutant, and the reduced affinity of ATP to the L858R (or delE746_A750) mutant resulted in good responsiveness of the L858R (or delE746_A750) mutant cells to TAE226. Of interest, the L858R/T790M or delE746_A750/T790M mutant enhanced the binding affinity for TAE226 compared with the L858R or delE746_A750 mutant, resulting in the effectiveness of TAE226 against T790M mutant cells despite the T790M mutation restoring the ATP affinity for the mutant EGFR close to that for the wild-type. TAE226 also showed higher affinity of about 15-fold for the L858R/T790M mutant than for the wild-type one by kinetic interaction analysis. The anti-tumor effect against EGFR-mutant tumors including T790M mutation was confirmed in mouse models without any significant toxicity. In summary, we showed that TAE226 inhibited the activation of mutant EGFR and exhibited anti-proliferative activity against NSCLCs carrying EGFR mutations, including T790M mutation.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Antineoplastic Agents / pharmacology*
  • Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung / drug therapy
  • Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung / genetics*
  • Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung / pathology
  • Cell Line, Tumor
  • Cell Proliferation / drug effects
  • Disease Models, Animal
  • Drug Resistance, Neoplasm
  • ErbB Receptors / antagonists & inhibitors
  • ErbB Receptors / chemistry
  • ErbB Receptors / genetics*
  • Focal Adhesion Protein-Tyrosine Kinases / metabolism
  • Gefitinib
  • Humans
  • Lung Neoplasms / drug therapy
  • Lung Neoplasms / genetics*
  • Lung Neoplasms / pathology
  • Mice
  • Morpholines / pharmacology*
  • Mutation*
  • Protein Binding
  • Protein Interaction Domains and Motifs
  • Protein Kinase Inhibitors / pharmacology*
  • Quinazolines / pharmacology
  • Receptor, IGF Type 1 / metabolism
  • Xenograft Model Antitumor Assays

Substances

  • Antineoplastic Agents
  • Morpholines
  • Protein Kinase Inhibitors
  • Quinazolines
  • TAE226
  • ErbB Receptors
  • Receptor, IGF Type 1
  • Focal Adhesion Protein-Tyrosine Kinases
  • Gefitinib

Grants and funding

This study was supported by a Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research from the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology of Japan (grant number: 18790993 to ST), http://www.mext.go.jp/english/. The funder had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript. Novartis Pharma AG provided support in the form of salaries for authors SH and EK, but did not have any additional role in the study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript. The specific roles of these authors are articulated in the ‘author contributions’ section.