MS-209, a Quinoline-type Reversal Agent, Potentiates Antitumor Efficacy of Docetaxel in Multidrug-resistant Solid Tumor Xenograft Models
Abstract
The existence of multidrug-resistant (MDR) cells in cancer is a major obstacle to effective cancer chemotherapy. Expression of P-glycoprotein (P-gp) in cancer cells causes resistance against paclitaxel and docetaxel, as well as against vincristine and doxorubicin (ADM). MS-209 is a novel MDR-reversal agent currently under clinical evaluation, which is shown to be active against ADM and vincristine resistance in MDR cancer cells in vitro and in vivo . In this paper, we report the combined effect of MS-209 with docetaxel in various MDR cancer cell lines that express P-gp. MS-209 at 3 μ m effectively overcame docetaxel resistance in MDR cancer cells, and this concentration was achieved in blood plasma for > 7 h without serious toxicity. To study the effect of MS-209 in a clinically relevant model, we compared the antitumor efficacy of docetaxel alone with that of docetaxel combined with MS-209 at equitoxic doses in established solid tumor xenograft models. Treatment with docetaxel alone at the maximal tolerated dose (MTD) showed an apparent antitumor activity to an intrinsically resistant HCT-15 tumor xenograft, and MS-209 additionally potentiated the antitumor activity of docetaxel. Against a MCF-7/ADM tumor xenograft expressing larger amounts of P-gp, docetaxel alone at the MTD showed no antitumor activity, whereas the MTD of docetaxel combined with MS-209 greatly reduced MCF-7/ADM tumor growth. These results indicate that MS-209 could be a clinically useful drug to modulate MDR in docetaxel therapy.