title: AXL is a potential target for therapeutic intervention in breast cancer progression.
abstract: Protein kinases play important roles in tumor development and progression. A variety of members of this family of signal transduction enzymes serve as targets for therapeutic intervention in cancer. We have identified the receptor tyrosine kinase (RTK) AXL as a potential mediator of motility and invasivity of breast cancer cells. AXL is expressed in most highly invasive breast cancer cells, but not in breast cancer cells of low invasivity. Ectopic expression of AXL was sufficient to confer a highly invasive phenotype to weakly invasive MCF7 breast cancer cells. Experimental inhibition of AXL signaling by a dominant-negative AXL mutant, an antibody against the extracellular domain of AXL, or short hairpin RNA knockdown of AXL decreased motility and invasivity of highly invasive breast cancer cells. To selectively interfere with cancer cell properties defining the rate of disease progression, we identified 3-quinolinecarbonitrile compounds, which displayed potent inhibitory activity against AXL and showed strong interference with motility and invasivity of breast cancer cells. Our findings validated the RTK AXL as a critical element in the signaling network that governs motility and invasivity of breast cancer cells, and allowed the identification of experimental anti-AXL small molecular inhibitors that represent lead substances for the development of antimetastatic breast cancer therapy.
authors.affiliation: Max Planck Institute of Biochemistry, Martinsried, Germany.
authors.forename: Yi-Xiang
authors.initials: YX
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Peter G
authors.initials: PG
authors.lastname: Knyazev
authors.forename: Yuri V
authors.initials: YV
authors.lastname: Cheburkin
authors.forename: Kirti
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Sharma
authors.forename: Yuri P
authors.initials: YP
authors.lastname: Knyazev
authors.forename: László
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Orfi
authors.forename: István
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Szabadkai
authors.forename: Henrik
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Daub
authors.forename: György
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Kéri
authors.forename: Axel
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ullrich
mesh_terms: D000814:Aniline Compounds / Q000494:pharmacology; D000906:Antibodies / Q000494:pharmacology; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000201:enzymology* / Q000473:pathology / Q000628:therapy*; D045744:Cell Line, Tumor; D002465:Cell Movement / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D009361:Neoplasm Invasiveness; D009570:Nitriles / Q000494:pharmacology; D015513:Oncogene Proteins / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors* / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism; D010766:Phosphorylation / Q000187:drug effects; D047428:Protein Kinase Inhibitors / Q000494:pharmacology; D040901:Proteomics; D011518:Proto-Oncogene Proteins; D011804:Quinolines / Q000494:pharmacology; D034741:RNA, Small Interfering / Q000235:genetics; D020794:Receptor Protein-Tyrosine Kinases / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors* / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism; D000094963:Axl Receptor Tyrosine Kinase
chemical_list: D000814:Aniline Compounds; D000906:Antibodies; D009570:Nitriles; D015513:Oncogene Proteins; D047428:Protein Kinase Inhibitors; D011518:Proto-Oncogene Proteins; D011804:Quinolines; D034741:RNA, Small Interfering; C471992:bosutinib; D020794:Receptor Protein-Tyrosine Kinases; D000094963:Axl Receptor Tyrosine Kinase; C000722289:AXL protein, human