Broad Anti-tumor Activity of a Small Molecule that Selectively Targets the Warburg Effect and Lipogenesis

  • Colin A. Flaveny
  • , Kristine Griffett
  • , Bahaa El Dien M. El-Gendy
  • , Melissa Kazantzis
  • , Monideepa Sengupta
  • , Antonio L. Amelio
  • , Arindam Chatterjee
  • , John Walker
  • , Laura A. Solt
  • , Theodore M. Kamenecka
  • , Thomas P. Burris

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

172 Scopus citations

Abstract

Malignant cells exhibit aerobic glycolysis (the Warburg effect) and become dependent on de novo lipogenesis, which sustains rapid proliferation and resistance to cellular stress. The nuclear receptor liver-X-receptor (LXR) directly regulates expression of key glycolytic and lipogenic genes. To disrupt these oncogenic metabolism pathways, we designed an LXR inverse agonist SR9243 that induces LXR-corepressor interaction. Incancer cells, SR9243 significantly inhibited the Warburg effect and lipogenesis by reducing glycolytic and lipogenic gene expression. SR9243 induced apoptosis in tumors without inducing weight loss, hepatotoxicity, or inflammation. Our results suggest that LXR inverse agonists may be an effective cancer treatment approach. Flaveny etal. design a liver-X-receptor (LXR) inverse agonist SR9243 that induces LXR-corepressor interaction. SR9243 displays broad anti-tumor activity and a favorable safety profile by selectively targeting the Warburg effect and lipogenesis.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)42-56
Number of pages15
JournalCancer Cell
Volume28
Issue number1
DOIs
StatePublished - Jul 13 2015

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