Targeting the Mevalonate Pathway and Its Restorative Feedback Loop in Breast Cancer

Abstract

We have shown that targeting the mevalonate pathway with fluvastatin preferentially induces apoptosis in breast cancer (BrCa) cells that have undergone epithelial-to-mesenchyme transition (EMT), a critical process for the initiation of metastasis. Moreover, we have identified that EMT gene expression is bimodally distributed and is a biomarker of fluvastatin sensitivity. Mechanistically, we have shown that fluvastatin can induce apoptosis by limiting production of an important end-product of the mevalonate pathway essential for protein N-glycosylation associated with EMT. We have also shown that dipyridamole(DP) potentiates fluvastatin-induced apoptosis of BrCa cells by blocking the statin-induced restorative feedback loop. We have also identified additional agents that can potentiate statin-induced BrCa cell death, thereby expanding this class of anti-cancer agents. We have published 3 manuscripts (2 at Cancer Research and Molecular Oncology), have another nearly ready for resubmission to Nature Communications, and have published a review article in Clinical Cancer Research. Thus, we have been highly productive and made advances that are actionable and have potential to immediately impact BrCa patient outcome.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Jul 01, 2021
Accession Number
AD1160522

Entities

People

  • Linda Z Penn

Organizations

  • University Health Network

Tags

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Antineoplastic Agents
  • Breast Cancer
  • Cancer
  • Cell Physiological Processes
  • Cells
  • Chemistry
  • Colon Cancer
  • Enzyme Inhibitors
  • Gene Expression
  • Health Services
  • Lymphocytes
  • Medical Personnel
  • Oncology
  • Peptide Growth Factors
  • Statins
  • Stress (Physiology)

Fields of Study

  • Biology

Readers

  • Cellular and Molecular Pathways of Apoptosis.
  • Oncology (Cancer Research).