title: Survivin as a therapeutic target in Sonic hedgehog-driven medulloblastoma.
abstract: Medulloblastoma (MB) is a highly malignant brain tumor that occurs primarily in children. Although surgery, radiation and high-dose chemotherapy have led to increased survival, many MB patients still die from their disease, and patients who survive suffer severe long-term side effects as a consequence of treatment. Thus, more effective and less toxic therapies for MB are critically important. Development of such therapies depends in part on identification of genes that are necessary for growth and survival of tumor cells. Survivin is an inhibitor of apoptosis protein that regulates cell cycle progression and resistance to apoptosis, is frequently expressed in human MB and when expressed at high levels predicts poor clinical outcome. Therefore, we hypothesized that Survivin may have a critical role in growth and survival of MB cells and that targeting it may enhance MB therapy. Here we show that Survivin is overexpressed in tumors from patched (Ptch) mutant mice, a model of Sonic hedgehog (SHH)-driven MB. Genetic deletion of survivin in Ptch mutant tumor cells significantly inhibits proliferation and causes cell cycle arrest. Treatment with small-molecule antagonists of Survivin impairs proliferation and survival of both murine and human MB cells. Finally, Survivin antagonists impede growth of MB cells in vivo. These studies highlight the importance of Survivin in SHH-driven MB, and suggest that it may represent a novel therapeutic target in patients with this disease.
authors.affiliation: 1] Tumor Initiation and Maintenance Program, National Cancer Institute (NCI)-Designated Cancer Center, Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute (SBMRI), La Jolla, CA, USA [2] Sanford Consortium for Regenerative Medicine, La Jolla, CA, USA [3] Department of Pharmacology and Cancer Biology, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA.
authors.forename: S N
authors.initials: SN
authors.lastname: Brun
authors.affiliation: 1] Tumor Initiation and Maintenance Program, National Cancer Institute (NCI)-Designated Cancer Center, Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute (SBMRI), La Jolla, CA, USA [2] Sanford Consortium for Regenerative Medicine, La Jolla, CA, USA [3] Department of Pharmacology and Cancer Biology, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA.
authors.forename: S L
authors.initials: SL
authors.lastname: Markant
authors.affiliation: 1] Tumor Initiation and Maintenance Program, National Cancer Institute (NCI)-Designated Cancer Center, Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute (SBMRI), La Jolla, CA, USA [2] Sanford Consortium for Regenerative Medicine, La Jolla, CA, USA.
authors.forename: L A
authors.initials: LA
authors.lastname: Esparza
authors.affiliation: Histopathology Core SBMRI, La Jolla, CA, USA.
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Garcia
authors.affiliation: Conrad Prebys Center for Chemical Genomics, SBMRI, Lake Nona, FL, USA.
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Terry
authors.affiliation: Cedars-Sinai Women's Cancer Program at the Samuel Oschin Comprehensive Cancer Institute, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
authors.forename: J-M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.affiliation: 1] Department of Neurological Surgery, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA [2] James Comprehensive Cancer Center, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA.
authors.forename: M S
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Pavlyukov
authors.affiliation: Brain Tumor Program, Texas Children's Cancer Center, and Department of Pediatrics, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA.
authors.forename: X-N
authors.initials: XN
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurosurgery, Stanford University/Lucile Packard Children's Hospital, Stanford, CA, USA.
authors.forename: G A
authors.initials: GA
authors.lastname: Grant
authors.affiliation: 1] Department of Pediatrics, University of California San Diego, San Diego, CA, USA [2] Departments of Neurosciences, University of California San Diego, San Diego, CA, USA [3] Rady Children's Hospital, San Diego, CA, USA.
authors.forename: J R
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Crawford
authors.affiliation: 1] Rady Children's Hospital, San Diego, CA, USA [2] Department of Neurosurgery, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA.
authors.forename: M L
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Levy
authors.affiliation: Centre for Blood Research, Division of Hematology, Department of Medicine, University of British Columbia (UBC), Vancouver, BC, Canada.
authors.forename: E M
authors.initials: EM
authors.lastname: Conway
authors.affiliation: 1] Conrad Prebys Center for Chemical Genomics, SBMRI, Lake Nona, FL, USA [2] Cardiopathobiology Program, Sanford Burnham Medical Research Institute, Lake Nona, FL, USA.
authors.forename: L H
authors.initials: LH
authors.lastname: Smith
authors.affiliation: 1] Department of Neurological Surgery, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA [2] James Comprehensive Cancer Center, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA.
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Nakano
authors.affiliation: Department of Biomedical Sciences at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Berezov
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA.
authors.forename: M I
authors.initials: MI
authors.lastname: Greene
authors.affiliation: Cedars-Sinai Women's Cancer Program at the Samuel Oschin Comprehensive Cancer Institute, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
authors.forename: Q
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: 1] Tumor Initiation and Maintenance Program, National Cancer Institute (NCI)-Designated Cancer Center, Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute (SBMRI), La Jolla, CA, USA [2] Sanford Consortium for Regenerative Medicine, La Jolla, CA, USA [3] Department of Pharmacology and Cancer Biology, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA.
authors.forename: R J
authors.initials: RJ
authors.lastname: Wechsler-Reya
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D017209:Apoptosis / Q000187:drug effects / Q000528:radiation effects; D001713:Biphenyl Compounds / Q000494:pharmacology; D015153:Blotting, Western; D002453:Cell Cycle / Q000187:drug effects / Q000528:radiation effects; D049109:Cell Proliferation / Q000187:drug effects / Q000528:radiation effects; D002528:Cerebellar Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D059248:Chemoradiotherapy; D002648:Child; D053823:Hedgehog Proteins / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors / Q000378:metabolism*; D006801:Humans; D007093:Imidazoles / Q000494:pharmacology; D051034:Inhibitor of Apoptosis Proteins / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors / Q000172:deficiency* / Q000235:genetics; D053631:Interleukin Receptor Common gamma Subunit / Q000172:deficiency / Q000235:genetics; D019394:Ki-67 Antigen / Q000378:metabolism; D008527:Medulloblastoma / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D016688:Mice, Inbred NOD; D018345:Mice, Knockout; D008819:Mice, Nude; D016513:Mice, SCID; D018613:Microscopy, Confocal; D009285:Naphthoquinones / Q000494:pharmacology; D011725:Pyridines / Q000494:pharmacology; D012097:Repressor Proteins / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors / Q000172:deficiency* / Q000235:genetics; D000077022:Survivin; D014407:Tumor Cells, Cultured; D023041:Xenograft Model Antitumor Assays
chemical_list: D001713:Biphenyl Compounds; C117749:Birc5 protein, mouse; D053823:Hedgehog Proteins; C507942:Il2rg protein, mouse; D007093:Imidazoles; D051034:Inhibitor of Apoptosis Proteins; D053631:Interleukin Receptor Common gamma Subunit; D019394:Ki-67 Antigen; D009285:Naphthoquinones; D011725:Pyridines; D012097:Repressor Proteins; D000077022:Survivin; C561435:sonidegib; C523798:sepantronium