title: Hsp90 inhibitors as novel cancer chemotherapeutic agents.
abstract: Heat shock protein 90 (Hsp90) is a molecular chaperone whose association is required for the stability and function of multiple mutated, chimeric and over-expressed signaling proteins that promote the growth and/or survival of cancer cells. Hsp90 client proteins include mutated p53, Bcr-Abl, Raf-1, Akt, ErbB2 and hypoxia-inducible factor 1 alpha (HIF-1 alpha). Hsp90 inhibitors, by interacting specifically with a single molecular target, cause the destabilization and eventual degradation of Hsp90 client proteins, and they have shown promising antitumor activity in preclinical model systems. One Hsp90 inhibitor, 17-allylaminogeldanamycin (17AAG), is currently in phase I clinical trial. Because of the chemoprotective activity of several proteins that are Hsp90 clients, the combination of an Hsp90 inhibitor with a standard chemotherapeutic agent could dramatically increase the in vivo efficacy of the therapeutic agent.
authors.affiliation: Cell and Cancer Biology Branch, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, 9610 Medical Center Drive, Suite 300, Rockville, MD 20850, USA. len@helix.nih.gov
authors.forename: Len
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Neckers
mesh_terms: D000903:Antibiotics, Antineoplastic / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D016227:Benzoquinones; D002986:Clinical Trials as Topic; D018841:HSP90 Heat-Shock Proteins / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors*; D006801:Humans; D047029:Lactams, Macrocyclic; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D011505:Protein-Tyrosine Kinases / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors; D011809:Quinones / Q000627:therapeutic use; D014157:Transcription Factors / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D000903:Antibiotics, Antineoplastic; D016227:Benzoquinones; D018841:HSP90 Heat-Shock Proteins; D047029:Lactams, Macrocyclic; D011809:Quinones; D014157:Transcription Factors; D011505:Protein-Tyrosine Kinases; C001277:geldanamycin