title: A new EGFR inhibitor induces apoptosis in colon cancer cells.
abstract: The use of agents targeting EGFR represents a new frontier in colon cancer therapy. Among these, mAbs and EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitors seemed to be the most promising. However they have demonstrated scarce utility in therapy, the former being effective only at toxic doses, the latter resulting inefficient in colon cancer. This paper presents studies on a new EGFR inhibitor, FR18, a molecule containing the same naphthoquinone core as shikonin, an agent with great anti-tumor potential. In HT29, a human colon carcinoma cell line, flow cytometry, immunoprecipitation, and Western blot analysis, confocal spectral microscopy have demonstrated that FR18 is active at concentrations as low as 10 nM, inhibits EGF binding to EGFR while leaving unperturbed the receptor kinase activity. At concentration ranging from 30 nM to 5 microM, it activates apoptosis. FR18 seems therefore to have possible therapeutic applications in colon cancer.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biochemistry G. Moruzzi, University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy.
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Calonghi
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Pagnotta
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Parolin
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Mangano
authors.forename: M L
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Bolognesi
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Melchiorre
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Masotti
mesh_terms: D017209:Apoptosis / Q000187:drug effects*; D003110:Colonic Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000201:enzymology / Q000473:pathology*; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D066246:ErbB Receptors / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors* / Q000378:metabolism; D019073:HT29 Cells; D006801:Humans; D018613:Microscopy, Confocal; D009285:Naphthoquinones / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000494:pharmacology; D047428:Protein Kinase Inhibitors / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000494:pharmacology
chemical_list: C518679:FR18 compound; D009285:Naphthoquinones; D047428:Protein Kinase Inhibitors; C016101:shikonin; D066246:ErbB Receptors