Triptolide and its prodrug minnelide suppress Hsp70 and inhibit in vivo growth in a xenograft model of mesothelioma.

ABSTRACT: Malignant mesothelioma is a devastating disease with a poor prognosis for which there is a clear need for more successful therapeutic approaches. Triptolide, a diterpenoid triepoxide, is a highly effective agent against several cancer types in animal models. Owing to triptolide's poor solubility in water, a water-soluble analog, minnelide, was synthesized. Minnelide is a prodrug of triptolide and is activated by exposure to phosphatases that are found in all body tissues, including blood. Mesothelioma cells were treated in vitro with minnelide or its parent compound, triptolide. Minnelide and triptolide were both found to significantly reduce mesothelioma cell viability and induce apoptosis. The level of Hsp70, a protein that promotes cancer cell survival, was measured in mesothelioma cell

SUBMITTER: Jacobson BA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4426951 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature