title: Repurposing the FDA-approved pinworm drug pyrvinium as a novel chemotherapeutic agent for intestinal polyposis.
abstract: Mutations in the WNT-pathway regulator ADENOMATOUS POLYPOSIS COLI (APC) promote aberrant activation of the WNT pathway that is responsible for APC-associated diseases such as Familial Adenomatous Polyposis (FAP) and 85% of spontaneous colorectal cancers (CRC). FAP is characterized by multiple intestinal adenomas, which inexorably result in CRC. Surprisingly, given their common occurrence, there are few effective chemotherapeutic drugs for FAP. Here we show that the FDA-approved, anti-helminthic drug Pyrvinium attenuates the growth of WNT-dependent CRC cells and does so via activation of CK1α. Furthermore, we show that Pyrvinium can function as an in vivo inhibitor of WNT-signaling and polyposis in a mouse model of FAP: APCmin mice. Oral administration of Pyrvinium, a CK1α agonist, attenuated the levels of WNT-driven biomarkers and inhibited adenoma formation in APCmin mice. Considering its well-documented safe use for treating enterobiasis in humans, our findings suggest that Pyrvinium could be repurposed for the clinical treatment of APC-associated polyposes.
authors.affiliation: Molecular Oncology Program, Department of Surgery, University of Miami, Miami, Florida, United States of America.
authors.forename: Bin
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Molecular Oncology Program, Department of Surgery, University of Miami, Miami, Florida, United States of America.
authors.forename: Colin A
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: Flaveny
authors.affiliation: Molecular Oncology Program, Department of Surgery, University of Miami, Miami, Florida, United States of America.
authors.forename: Camilla
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Giambelli
authors.affiliation: Molecular Oncology Program, Department of Surgery, University of Miami, Miami, Florida, United States of America.
authors.forename: Dennis Liang
authors.initials: DL
authors.lastname: Fei
authors.affiliation: Molecular Oncology Program, Department of Surgery, University of Miami, Miami, Florida, United States of America.
authors.forename: Lu
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Han
authors.affiliation: Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, Nashville, Tennessee, United States of America.
authors.forename: Brian I
authors.initials: BI
authors.lastname: Hang
authors.affiliation: Molecular Oncology Program, Department of Surgery, University of Miami, Miami, Florida, United States of America.
authors.forename: Feng
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Bai
authors.affiliation: Molecular Oncology Program, Department of Surgery, University of Miami, Miami, Florida, United States of America; Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of Miami, Miami, Florida, United States of America.
authors.forename: Xin-Hai
authors.initials: XH
authors.lastname: Pei
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, Miller School of Medicine, University of Miami, Miami, Florida, United States of America.
authors.forename: Vania
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Nose
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, Jackson Health System, University of Miami, Miami, Florida, United States of America.
authors.forename: Oname
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Burlingame
authors.affiliation: Molecular Oncology Program, Department of Surgery, University of Miami, Miami, Florida, United States of America; Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of Miami, Miami, Florida, United States of America.
authors.forename: Anthony J
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Capobianco
authors.affiliation: Stemsynergy Therapeutics Inc., Miami, Florida, United States of America.
authors.forename: Darren
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Orton
authors.affiliation: Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, Nashville, Tennessee, United States of America.
authors.forename: Ethan
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.affiliation: Molecular Oncology Program, Department of Surgery, University of Miami, Miami, Florida, United States of America; Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of Miami, Miami, Florida, United States of America; Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of Miami, Miami, Florida, United States of America.
authors.forename: David J
authors.initials: DJ
authors.lastname: Robbins
mesh_terms: D011125:Adenomatous Polyposis Coli / Q000188:drug therapy*; D000818:Animals; D000970:Antineoplastic Agents / Q000494:pharmacology*; D002470:Cell Survival / Q000187:drug effects; D017277:Drug Approval; D058492:Drug Repositioning; D004354:Drug Screening Assays, Antitumor; D045325:HCT116 Cells; D006801:Humans; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D008822:Mice, Transgenic; D011774:Pyrvinium Compounds / Q000494:pharmacology*; D060449:Wnt Signaling Pathway / Q000187:drug effects
chemical_list: D000970:Antineoplastic Agents; D011774:Pyrvinium Compounds; C024631:pyrvinium