The phosphoinositide 3-kinase inhibitor PI-103 downregulates choline kinase alpha leading to phosphocholine and total choline decrease detected by magnetic resonance spectroscopy.
The phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K) pathway is a major target for cancer drug development. PI-103 is an isoform-selective class I PI3K and mammalian target of rapamycin inhibitor. The aims of this work were as follows: first, to use magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) to identify and develop a robust pharmacodynamic (PD) biomarker for target inhibition and potentially tumor response following PI3K inhibition; second, to evaluate mechanisms underlying the MRS-detected changes. Treatment of human PTEN null PC3 prostate and PIK3CA mutant HCT116 colon carcinoma cells with PI-103 resulted in a concentration- and time-dependent decrease in phosphocholine (PC) and total choline (tCho) levels (P < 0.05) detected by phosphorus ((31)P)- and proton ((1)H)-MRS. In contrast, the cytotoxic microtubule inhibitor docetaxel increased glycerophosphocholine and tCho levels in PC3 cells. PI-103-induced MRS changes were associated with alterations in the protein expression levels of regulatory enzymes involved in lipid metabolism, including choline kinase alpha (ChoK(alpha)), fatty acid synthase (FAS), and phosphorylated ATP-citrate lyase (pACL). However, a strong correlation (r(2) = 0.9, P = 0.009) was found only between PC concentrations and ChoK(alpha) expression but not with FAS or pACL. This study identified inhibition of ChoK(alpha) as a major cause of the observed change in PC levels following PI-103 treatment. We also showed the capacity of (1)H-MRS, a clinically well-established technique with higher sensitivity and wider applicability compared with (31)P-MRS, to assess response to PI-103. Our results show that monitoring the effects of PI3K inhibitors by MRS may provide a noninvasive PD biomarker for PI3K inhibition and potentially of tumor response during early-stage clinical trials with PI3K inhibitors.
Al-Saffar
Nada M S
NM
Cancer Research UK and EPSRC Cancer Imaging Centre, The Institute of Cancer Research and The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust, Sutton, Surrey, United Kingdom. Nada.Al-Saffar@icr.ac.uk
Jackson
L Elizabeth
LE
Raynaud
Florence I
FI
Clarke
Paul A
PA
Ramírez de Molina
Ana
A
Lacal
Juan C
JC
Workman
Paul
P
Leach
Martin O
MO
D000230:Adenocarcinoma / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D045744:Cell Line, Tumor; D002794:Choline / Q000378:metabolism*; D002797:Choline Kinase / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D015536:Down-Regulation / Q000187:drug effects; D005663:Furans / Q000494:pharmacology*; D045325:HCT116 Cells; D006801:Humans; D009682:Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy; D008297:Male; D008565:Membrane Proteins / Q000172:deficiency; D051059:PTEN Phosphohydrolase / Q000172:deficiency; D019869:Phosphatidylinositol 3-Kinases / Q000378:metabolism; D000081082:Phosphoinositide-3 Kinase Inhibitors; D010767:Phosphorylcholine / Q000378:metabolism*; D011471:Prostatic Neoplasms / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D011725:Pyridines / Q000494:pharmacology*; D011743:Pyrimidines / Q000494:pharmacology*
D002794:Choline; D002797:Choline Kinase; D005663:Furans; D008565:Membrane Proteins; D051059:PTEN Phosphohydrolase; D019869:Phosphatidylinositol 3-Kinases; D000081082:Phosphoinositide-3 Kinase Inhibitors; D010767:Phosphorylcholine; D011725:Pyridines; D011743:Pyrimidines; C522973:PI103; C517212:CHKA protein, human; C446603:TPTE protein, human