Skip to main content
 
Notice: Users may be experiencing issues with displaying some pages on stanfordhealthcare.org. We are working closely with our technical teams to resolve the issue as quickly as possible. Thank you for your patience.
Stanford Health Care

Itraconazole and Arsenic Trioxide Inhibit Hedgehog Pathway Activation and Tumor Growth Associated with Acquired Resistance to Smoothened Antagonists

Itraconazole and Arsenic Trioxide Inhibit Hedgehog Pathway Activation and Tumor Growth Associated with Acquired Resistance to Smoothened Antagonists CANCER CELL Kim, J., Aftab, B. T., Tang, J. Y., Kim, D., Lee, A. H., Rezaee, M., Kim, J., Chen, B., King, E. M., Borodovsky, A., Riggins, G. J., Epstein, E. H., Beachy, P. A., Rudin, C. M. 2013; 23 (1): 23-34

Abstract

Recognition of the multiple roles of Hedgehog signaling in cancer has prompted intensive efforts to develop targeted pathway inhibitors. Leading inhibitors in clinical development act by binding to a common site within Smoothened, a critical pathway component. Acquired Smoothened mutations, including SMO(D477G), confer resistance to these inhibitors. Here, we report that itraconazole and arsenic trioxide, two agents in clinical use that inhibit Hedgehog signaling by mechanisms distinct from that of current Smoothened antagonists, retain inhibitory activity in vitro in the context of all reported resistance-conferring Smoothened mutants and GLI2 overexpression. Itraconazole and arsenic trioxide, alone or in combination, inhibit the growth of medulloblastoma and basal cell carcinoma in vivo, and prolong survival of mice with intracranial drug-resistant SMO(D477G) medulloblastoma.

View details for DOI 10.1016/j.ccr.2012.11.017

View details for PubMedID 23291299