Browsing by Subject "Animal models of cancer"

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    A Collaborative Model for Accelerating the Discovery and Translation of Cancer Therapies
    (American Association for Cancer Research, 2017-11-01) Maertens, Ophélia; McCurrach, Mila E.; Braun, Benjamin S.; De Raedt, Thomas; Epstein, Inbal; Huang, Tannie Q.; Lauchle, Jennifer O.; Lee, Hyerim; Wu, Jianqiang; Cripe, Timothy P.; Clapp, D. Wade; Ratner, Nancy; Shannon, Kevin; Cichowski, Karen; Pediatrics, School of Medicine
    Preclinical studies using genetically engineered mouse models (GEMM) have the potential to expedite the development of effective new therapies; however, they are not routinely integrated into drug development pipelines. GEMMs may be particularly valuable for investigating treatments for less common cancers, which frequently lack alternative faithful models. Here, we describe a multicenter cooperative group that has successfully leveraged the expertise and resources from philanthropic foundations, academia, and industry to advance therapeutic discovery and translation using GEMMs as a preclinical platform. This effort, known as the Neurofibromatosis Preclinical Consortium (NFPC), was established to accelerate new treatments for tumors associated with neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1). At its inception, there were no effective treatments for NF1 and few promising approaches on the horizon. Since 2008, participating laboratories have conducted 95 preclinical trials of 38 drugs or combinations through collaborations with 18 pharmaceutical companies. Importantly, these studies have identified 13 therapeutic targets, which have inspired 16 clinical trials. This review outlines the opportunities and challenges of building this type of consortium and highlights how it can accelerate clinical translation. We believe that this strategy of foundation-academic-industry partnering is generally applicable to many diseases and has the potential to markedly improve the success of therapeutic development.
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    Potentiation of Carboplatin-Mediated DNA Damage by the Mdm2 Modulator Nutlin-3a in a Humanized Orthotopic Breast-to-Lung Metastatic Model
    (American Association for Cancer Research, 2015-12) Tonsing-Carter, Eva; Bailey, Barbara J.; Saadatzadeh, M. Reza; Ding, Jixin; Wang, Haiyan; Sinn, Anthony L.; Peterman, Kacie M.; Spragins, Tiaishia K.; Silver, Jayne M.; Sprouse, Alyssa A.; Georgiadis, Taxiarchis M.; Gunter, T. Zachary; Long, Eric C.; Minto, Robert E.; Marchal, Christophe C.; Batuello, Christopher N.; Safa, Ahmad R.; Hanenberg, Helmut; Territo, Paul R.; Sandusky, George E.; Mayo, Lindsey D.; Eischen, Christine M.; Shannon, Harlan E.; Pollok, Karen E.; Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, IU School of Medicine
    Triple-negative breast cancers (TNBC) are typically resistant to treatment, and strategies that build upon frontline therapy are needed. Targeting the murine double minute 2 (Mdm2) protein is an attractive approach, as Mdm2 levels are elevated in many therapy-refractive breast cancers. The Mdm2 protein-protein interaction inhibitor Nutlin-3a blocks the binding of Mdm2 to key signaling molecules such as p53 and p73α and can result in activation of cell death signaling pathways. In the present study, the therapeutic potential of carboplatin and Nutlin-3a to treat TNBC was investigated, as carboplatin is under evaluation in clinical trials for TNBC. In mutant p53 TMD231 TNBC cells, carboplatin and Nutlin-3a led to increased Mdm2 and was strongly synergistic in promoting cell death in vitro. Furthermore, sensitivity of TNBC cells to combination treatment was dependent on p73α. Following combination treatment, γH2AX increased and Mdm2 localized to a larger degree to chromatin compared with single-agent treatment, consistent with previous observations that Mdm2 binds to the Mre11/Rad50/Nbs1 complex associated with DNA and inhibits the DNA damage response. In vivo efficacy studies were conducted in the TMD231 orthotopic mammary fat pad model in NOD.Cg-Prkdc(scid)Il2rg(tm1Wjl)/SzJ (NSG) mice. Using an intermittent dosing schedule of combined carboplatin and Nutlin-3a, there was a significant reduction in primary tumor growth and lung metastases compared with vehicle and single-agent treatments. In addition, there was minimal toxicity to the bone marrow and normal tissues. These studies demonstrate that Mdm2 holds promise as a therapeutic target in combination with conventional therapy and may lead to new clinical therapies for TNBC.