Targeting Cdc42 with the anticancer compound MBQ-167 inhibits cell polarity and growth in the budding yeast S. cerevisiae.

ABSTRACT: The Rho GTPase Cdc42 is highly conserved in structure and function. Mechanical or chemical cues in the microenvironment stimulate the localized activation of Cdc42 to rearrange the actin cytoskeleton and establish cell polarity. A role for Cdc42 in cell polarization was first discovered in the budding yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae, and subsequently shown to also regulate directional motility in animal cells. Accordingly, in cancer Cdc42 promotes migration, invasion, and spread of tumor cells. Therefore, we targeted Cdc42 as a therapeutic strategy to treat metastatic breast cancer and designed the small molecule MBQ-167 as a potent inhibitor against Cdc42 and the homolog Rac. MBQ-167 inhibited cancer cell proliferation and migration in-vitro, and tumor growth and spread in

SUBMITTER: Rivera-Robles MJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7549613 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature