Targeting Autotaxin To Reduce Chemotherapy Resistance In Ovarian Cancer

Development of resistance to chemotherapy presents the biggest challenge in the treatment of ovarian cancer. Autotaxin (ATX) is a secreted enzyme that catalyzes lysophosphatidic acid (LPA) production and is responsible for the up-regulation of LPA in ovarian cancer. The ATX-LPA axis has been identified to be one of the mechanisms of chemotherapy resistance in ovarian cancer. Thus, inhibition of autotaxin may be a potential strategy to increase the chemotherapy efficacy in this disease context. At Southern Research, we previously identified a known anti-parasitic small molecule, Bithionol as a potent antiangiogenic agent, which inhibits endothelial cell proliferation, migration and tubular morphogenesis in vitro and directly inhibits autotaxin enzyme activity. Our recent results have shown that Bithionol not only directly inhibits the enzyme activity; it also reduces autotaxin secretion from human endothelial and ovarian cancer cells. Recently, using a human ovarian cancer xenograft mouse model, Biothionol was shown to have in vivo anti-tumor activity as a single drug treatment. In addition, in combination therapy studies in mice, Bithionol significantly increased the efficacy of Paclitaxel and Cisplatin against ovarian tumor growth. These results suggest that Bithionol may provide a promising approach for reducing chemotherapy associated resistance in ovarian cancer. Additional preclinical studies are in progress to assess the potential clinical utility of Bithionol in combination with current ovarian cancer therapy. (This work is supported by a pilot grant from Norma Livingston Foundation and SRI SIP fund). Citation Format: {Authors}. {Abstract title} [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 103rd Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2012 Mar 31-Apr 4; Chicago, IL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2012;72(8 Suppl):Abstract nr 3727. doi:1538-7445.AM2012-3727