title: The antitumor thioredoxin-1 inhibitor PX-12 (1-methylpropyl 2-imidazolyl disulfide) decreases thioredoxin-1 and VEGF levels in cancer patient plasma.
abstract: Thioredoxin-1 (Trx-1) is a small redox protein that is overexpressed in many human tumors, where it is associated with aggressive tumor growth and decreased patient survival. Trx-1 is secreted by tumor cells and is present at increased levels in the plasma of cancer patients. PX-12 is an irreversible inhibitor of Trx-1 currently in clinical development as an antitumor agent. We have used SELDI-TOF mass spectroscopy to measure plasma Trx-1 from patients treated with PX-12 during a phase I study. Mean plasma Trx-1 levels at pretreatment were significantly elevated in the cancer patients at 182.0 ng/mL compared with 27.1 ng/mL in plasma from healthy volunteers. PX-12 treatment significantly lowered plasma Trx-1 in cancer patients having the highest plasma Trx-1 pretreatment levels. High-plasma vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) levels have been correlated to decreased patient survival. PX-12 treatment also significantly lowered plasma VEGF levels in cancer patients with high pretreatment VEGF levels. SELDI-TOF mass spectrometry identified seven additional plasma proteins whose levels decreased after PX-12 administration, one of which was identified as a truncated form of transthyretin. The results of this study suggest that the lowering of elevated levels of plasma Trx-1 in cancer patients may provide a surrogate for the inhibition of tumor Trx-1 by PX-12. Furthermore, PX-12 decreases plasma VEGF levels that may contribute to the antitumor activity of PX-12.
authors.affiliation: Arizona Cancer Center, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona, USA.
authors.forename: Amanda F
authors.initials: AF
authors.lastname: Baker
authors.forename: Tomislav
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Dragovich
authors.forename: Wendy R
authors.initials: WR
authors.lastname: Tate
authors.forename: Ramesh K
authors.initials: RK
authors.lastname: Ramanathan
authors.forename: Denise
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Roe
authors.forename: Chiu-Hsieh
authors.initials: CH
authors.lastname: Hsu
authors.forename: D Lynn
authors.initials: DL
authors.lastname: Kirkpatrick
authors.forename: Garth
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Powis
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000970:Antineoplastic Agents / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000494:pharmacology; D004220:Disulfides / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000494:pharmacology; D016903:Drug Monitoring / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods; D006801:Humans; D007093:Imidazoles / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000494:pharmacology; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000097:blood / Q000188:drug therapy*; D019032:Spectrometry, Mass, Matrix-Assisted Laser Desorption-Ionization; D013879:Thioredoxins / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors* / Q000097:blood*; D042461:Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A / Q000097:blood*
chemical_list: D000970:Antineoplastic Agents; D004220:Disulfides; D007093:Imidazoles; C491203:TXN protein, human; C467484:VEGFA protein, human; D042461:Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A; C467480:vascular endothelial growth factor A, mouse; D013879:Thioredoxins; C412893:1-methylpropyl-2-imidazolyl disulfide