Synthesis and Characterization of an Aspirin-fumarate Prodrug that Inhibits NFκB Activity and Breast Cancer Stem Cells

J Vis Exp. 2017 Jan 18:(119):54798. doi: 10.3791/54798.

Abstract

Inflammation is a cancer hallmark that underlies cancer incidence and promotion, and eventually progression to metastasis. Therefore, adding an anti-inflammatory drug to standard cancer regiments may improve patient outcome. One such drug, aspirin (acetylsalicylic acid, ASA), has been explored for cancer chemoprevention and anti-tumor activity. Besides inhibiting the cyclooxygenase 2-prostaglandin axis, ASA's anti-cancer activities have also been attributed to nuclear factor ĸB (NFĸB) inhibition. Because prolonged ASA use may cause gastrointestinal toxicity, a prodrug strategy has been implemented successfully. In this prodrug design the carboxylic acid of ASA is masked and additional pharmacophores are incorporated. This protocol describes how we synthesized an aspirin-fumarate prodrug, GTCpFE, and characterized its inhibition of the NFĸB pathway in breast cancer cells and attenuation of the cancer stem-like properties, an important NFĸB-dependent phenotype. GTCpFE effectively inhibits the NFĸB pathway in breast cancer cell lines whereas ASA lacks any inhibitory activity, indicating that adding fumarate to ASA structure significantly contributes to its activity. In addition, GTCpFE shows significant anti-cancer stem cell activity by blocking mammosphere formation and attenuating the cancer stem cell associated CD44+CD24- immunophenotype. These results establish a viable strategy to develop improved anti-inflammatory drugs for chemoprevention and cancer therapy.

Publication types

  • Video-Audio Media

MeSH terms

  • Aspirin / pharmacology*
  • Breast Neoplasms / drug therapy
  • Breast Neoplasms / pathology*
  • Cell Line, Tumor
  • Fumarates / pharmacology*
  • Gene Expression Regulation
  • Humans
  • NF-kappa B p50 Subunit / metabolism*
  • Neoplastic Stem Cells / drug effects*
  • Neoplastic Stem Cells / pathology
  • Prodrugs / chemical synthesis
  • Prodrugs / pharmacology*
  • Signal Transduction / drug effects

Substances

  • Fumarates
  • NF-kappa B p50 Subunit
  • NFKB1 protein, human
  • Prodrugs
  • Aspirin