RESUMO
As a target, the JNK pathway has been implicated in roles including cell death, proliferation, and inflammation in variety of contexts which span cardiovascular disease, neurodegenerative pathologies, and cancer. JNK1 and JNK2 have recently been demonstrated to function independently, highlighting a new parameter in the study of the JNK pathway. In order for JNK1 and JNK2-specific roles to be defined, better tools need to be employed. Previous studies have relied upon the broad spectrum JNK inhibitor, SP600125, to characterize the role of JNK signaling in a number of cell lines, including the breast cancer cell line MCF-7. In line with previous literature, our study has demonstrated that SP600125 treatment inhibited c-Jun and JNK phosphorylation and MCF-7 proliferation. However, in addition to targeting JNK1, JNK2, and JNK3, SP600125 has been previously demonstrated to suppress the activity of a number of other serine/threonine kinases, making SP600125 an inadequate tool for JNK isoform-specific roles to be determined. In this study, lentiviral shRNA was employed to selectively knockdown JNK1, JNK2, and JNK1/2 in MCF-7 cells. Using this approach, JNK phosphorylation was fully inhibited following stable knockdown of respective JNK isoforms. Interestingly, despite suppression of JNK phosphorylation, MCF-7 cell proliferation, cell cycle progression, or cell death remained unaffected. These findings raise the question of whether JNK phosphorylation really is pivotal in MCF-7 cell growth and death or if suppression of these events is a result of one of the many off-targets cited for SP600125.
Assuntos
Antineoplásicos/farmacologia , Neoplasias da Mama/tratamento farmacológico , Proteínas Quinases JNK Ativadas por Mitógeno/antagonistas & inibidores , Inibidores de Janus Quinases/farmacologia , Sistema de Sinalização das MAP Quinases/efeitos dos fármacos , Antracenos/farmacologia , Antracenos/uso terapêutico , Antineoplásicos/uso terapêutico , Apoptose/efeitos dos fármacos , Apoptose/genética , Neoplasias da Mama/patologia , Proliferação de Células/efeitos dos fármacos , Proliferação de Células/genética , Sobrevivência Celular/efeitos dos fármacos , Sobrevivência Celular/genética , Feminino , Técnicas de Silenciamento de Genes , Humanos , Isoenzimas/antagonistas & inibidores , Isoenzimas/genética , Isoenzimas/metabolismo , Proteínas Quinases JNK Ativadas por Mitógeno/genética , Proteínas Quinases JNK Ativadas por Mitógeno/metabolismo , Inibidores de Janus Quinases/uso terapêutico , Sistema de Sinalização das MAP Quinases/genética , Células MCF-7 , Terapia de Alvo Molecular/métodos , Fosforilação/genética , RNA Interferente Pequeno/metabolismoRESUMO
IKKß plays a central role in the canonical NF-kB pathway, which has been extensively characterized. The role of IKKα in the noncanonical NF-kB pathway, and indeed in the canonical pathway as a complex with IKKß, is less well understood. One major reason for this is the absence of chemical tools designed as selective inhibitors for IKKα over IKKß. Herein, we report for the first time a series of novel, potent, and selective inhibitors of IKKα. We demonstrate effective target engagement and selectivity with IKKα in U2OS cells through inhibition of IKKα-driven p100 phosphorylation in the noncanonical NF-kB pathway without affecting IKKß-dependent IKappa-Bα loss in the canonical pathway. These compounds represent the first chemical tools that can be used to further characterize the role of IKKα in cellular signaling, to dissect this from IKKß and to validate it in its own right as a target in inflammatory diseases.
