A c-Myc activation sensor-based high-throughput drug screening identifies an antineoplastic effect of nitazoxanide

Mol Cancer Ther. 2013 Sep;12(9):1896-905. doi: 10.1158/1535-7163.MCT-12-1243. Epub 2013 Jul 3.

Abstract

Deregulation of c-Myc plays a central role in the tumorigenesis of many human cancers. Yet, the development of drugs regulating c-Myc activity has been challenging. To facilitate the identification of c-Myc inhibitors, we developed a molecular imaging sensor-based high-throughput screening (HTS) system. This system uses a cell-based assay to detect c-Myc activation in a HTS format, which is established from a pure clone of a stable breast cancer cell line that constitutively expresses a c-Myc activation sensor. Optimization of the assay performance in the HTS format resulted in uniform and robust signals at the baseline. Using this system, we conducted a quantitative HTS against approximately 5,000 existing bioactive compounds from five different libraries. Thirty-nine potential hits were identified, including currently known c-Myc inhibitors. There are a few among the top potent hits that are not known for anti-c-Myc activity. One of these hits is nitazoxanide, a thiazolide for treating human protozoal infections. Validation of nitazoxanide in different cancer cell lines revealed a high potency for c-Myc inhibition with IC50 ranging between 10 and 500 nmol/L. Oral administration of nitazoxanide in breast cancer xenograft mouse models significantly suppressed tumor growth by inhibition of c-Myc and induction of apoptosis. These findings suggest a potential of nitazoxanide to be repurposed as a new antitumor agent for inhibition of c-Myc-associated neoplasia. Our work also demonstrated the unique advantage of molecular imaging in accelerating discovery of drugs for c-Myc-targeted cancer therapy.

Publication types

  • Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Antineoplastic Agents / isolation & purification
  • Antineoplastic Agents / pharmacology*
  • Breast Neoplasms / drug therapy*
  • Breast Neoplasms / genetics
  • Breast Neoplasms / pathology
  • Cell Line, Tumor
  • Cell Proliferation / drug effects
  • Disease Models, Animal
  • Drug Screening Assays, Antitumor / methods*
  • Female
  • Heterografts
  • High-Throughput Screening Assays / methods*
  • Humans
  • Mice
  • Mice, Nude
  • Molecular Imaging
  • Neoplasm Transplantation
  • Nitro Compounds
  • Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-myc / antagonists & inhibitors*
  • Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-myc / metabolism*
  • Thiazoles / isolation & purification
  • Thiazoles / pharmacology*

Substances

  • Antineoplastic Agents
  • MYC protein, human
  • Nitro Compounds
  • Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-myc
  • Thiazoles
  • nitazoxanide