title: Targeting AKT1-E17K and the PI3K/AKT Pathway with an Allosteric AKT Inhibitor, ARQ 092.
abstract: As a critical component in the PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathway, AKT has become an attractive target for therapeutic intervention. ARQ 092 and a next generation AKT inhibitor, ARQ 751 are selective, allosteric, pan-AKT and AKT1-E17K mutant inhibitors that potently inhibit phosphorylation of AKT. Biochemical and cellular analysis showed that ARQ 092 and ARQ 751 inhibited AKT activation not only by dephosphorylating the membrane-associated active form, but also by preventing the inactive form from localizing into plasma membrane. In endometrial PDX models harboring mutant AKT1-E17K and other tumor models with an activated AKT pathway, both compounds exhibited strong anti-tumor activity. Combination studies conducted in in vivo breast tumor models demonstrated that ARQ 092 enhanced tumor inhibition of a common chemotherapeutic agent (paclitaxel). In a large panel of diverse cancer cell lines, ARQ 092 and ARQ 751 inhibited proliferation across multiple tumor types but were most potent in leukemia, breast, endometrial, and colorectal cancer cell lines. Moreover, inhibition by ARQ 092 and ARQ 751 was more prevalent in cancer cell lines containing PIK3CA/PIK3R1 mutations compared to those with wt-PIK3CA/PIK3R1 or PTEN mutations. For both ARQ 092 and ARQ 751, PIK3CA/PIK3R1 and AKT1-E17K mutations can potentially be used as predictive biomarkers for patient selection in clinical studies.
authors.affiliation: Biology, ArQule, Inc., Burlington, Massachusetts, United States of America.
authors.forename: Yi
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Yu
authors.affiliation: Preclinical Development and Clinical Pharmacology, ArQule, Inc., Burlington, Massachusetts, United States of America.
authors.forename: Ronald E
authors.initials: RE
authors.lastname: Savage
authors.affiliation: Biology, ArQule, Inc., Burlington, Massachusetts, United States of America.
authors.forename: Sudharshan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Eathiraj
authors.affiliation: Preclinical Research, South Texas Accelerated Research Therapeutics, San Antonio, Texas, United States of America.
authors.forename: Justin
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Meade
authors.affiliation: Preclinical Research, South Texas Accelerated Research Therapeutics, San Antonio, Texas, United States of America.
authors.forename: Michael J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Wick
authors.affiliation: Preclinical Development and Clinical Pharmacology, ArQule, Inc., Burlington, Massachusetts, United States of America.
authors.forename: Terence
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Hall
authors.affiliation: Clinical Development, ArQule, Inc., Burlington, Massachusetts, United States of America.
authors.forename: Giovanni
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Abbadessa
authors.affiliation: Clinical Development, ArQule, Inc., Burlington, Massachusetts, United States of America.
authors.forename: Brian
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Schwartz
mesh_terms: D000494:Allosteric Regulation; D000631:Aminopyridines / Q000737:chemistry / Q000494:pharmacology*; D000818:Animals; D045744:Cell Line, Tumor; D049109:Cell Proliferation; D057809:HEK293 Cells; D006801:Humans; D007093:Imidazoles / Q000737:chemistry / Q000494:pharmacology*; D051379:Mice; D041681:NIH 3T3 Cells; D019869:Phosphatidylinositol 3-Kinases / Q000378:metabolism*; D047428:Protein Kinase Inhibitors / Q000494:pharmacology*; D021381:Protein Transport; D051057:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-akt / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors* / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D015290:Second Messenger Systems
chemical_list: D000631:Aminopyridines; D007093:Imidazoles; D047428:Protein Kinase Inhibitors; D019869:Phosphatidylinositol 3-Kinases; C494918:AKT1 protein, human; D051057:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-akt; C000608559:Miransertib