Salinomycin treatment reduces metastatic tumor burden by hampering cancer cell migration.
BACKGROUND
Tumor spreading is the major threat for cancer patients. The recently published anti-cancer drug salinomycin raised hope for an improved treatment by targeting therapy-refractory cancer stem cells. However, an unambiguous role of salinomycin against cancer cell migration and metastasis formation remains elusive.


RESULTS
We report that salinomycin effectively inhibits cancer cell migration in a variety of cancer types as determined by Boyden chamber assays. Additionally, cells were treated with doxorubicin at a concentration causing a comparable low cytotoxicity, emphasizing the anti-migratory potential of salinomycin. Moreover, single-cell tracking by time-lapse microscopy demonstrated a remarkable effect of salinomycin on breast cancer cell motility. Ultimately, salinomycin treatment significantly reduced the metastatic tumor burden in a syngenic mouse tumor model.


CONCLUSIONS
Our findings clearly show that salinomycin can strongly inhibit cancer cell migration independent of the induction of cell death. We furthermore demonstrate for the first time that salinomycin treatment reduces metastasis formation in vivo, strengthening its role as promising anti-cancer therapeutic.
Florian
F
Kopp
Adam
A
Hermawan
Prajakta Shirish
PS
Oak
Annika
A
Herrmann
Ernst
E
Wagner
Pharmaceutical Biotechnology, Department of Pharmacy, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Butenandtstrasse 5-13, Munich 81377, Germany. andreas.roidl@cup.uni-muenchen.de.
Andreas
A
Roidl
D000818:Animals; D000970:Antineoplastic Agents / Q000494:pharmacology*; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology*; D045744:Cell Line, Tumor; D002465:Cell Movement / Q000187:drug effects*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D051379:Mice; D008807:Mice, Inbred BALB C; D008856:Microscopy, Fluorescence; D009362:Neoplasm Metastasis / Q000517:prevention & control; D011714:Pyrans / Q000494:pharmacology*; D047368:Tumor Burden / Q000187:drug effects*; D000095662:Polyether Polyketides
D000970:Antineoplastic Agents; D011714:Pyrans; C010327:salinomycin; D000095662:Polyether Polyketides