Abstract 1945: Inhibition of PTK6 kinase activity reduces proliferation and migration of tumor cells

Protein kinase 6 (PTK6) is a member of the Frk family of non-receptor tyrosine kinase that is overexpressed in several types of cancers with the highest overexpression observed in breast tumors. PTK6 shows sequence homology to the src tyrosine kinase family. Its functional domains, including a SH3, a SH2 and a kinase domain, are arranged similarly with src family kinases although PTK6 lacks a myristoylation domain. We have identified a potent small molecule PTK6 kinase inhibitor from kinase cross screens that inhibits PTK6 autophosphorylation and phosphorylation of its substrate Sam68, a member of the KH domain containing RNA binding proteins. In cell culture, the compound inhibited proliferation, soft agar growth and migration of tumor cells. The compound inhibited soft agar growth of breast tumor cells more potently than dasatinib. A specific PTK6 kinase inhibitor may provide a novel approach to inhibit the growth of selected tumors, sensitize the response of the tumor cells to other chemotherapeutics and prevent/inhibit metastasis of cancer in a wide range of cancer patients. Citation Format: {Authors}. {Abstract title} [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 102nd Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2011 Apr 2-6; Orlando, FL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2011;71(8 Suppl):Abstract nr 1945. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2011-1945