Specific RSK kinase inhibition by dibenzyl trisulfide and implication for therapeutic treatment of cancer.
Paraules clau
Resum
OBJECTIVE
The Jamaican "Guinea Hen Weed" (Petiveria alliacea L.) plant has been traditionally used in folklore medicine to treat a variety of diseases including cancer. In the present study we investigated on the therapeutic feasibility of dibenzyl trisulfide (DTS) (isolated from the Jamaican Guinea Hen Weed) as a potent small-molecule kinase inhibitor to treat cancer.
METHODS
We investigated the inhibitory effects of DTS against a large panel of kinases using a well-established competitive binding assay. Cell proliferation data were obtained using the WST-1 colorimetric assay.
RESULTS
DTS inhibited the activity of the C-terminal kinase domain of RSK1 (80% compared to control) with a Kd of 1.3 μM. Anti-proliferative effects of DTS were observed in small lung, pancreatic, breast, and prostate cancer cells with IC50 values ranging from 0.34-0.84 μM.
CONCLUSIONS
We have identified DTS as a highly selective and isoform-specific RSK1 kinase inhibitor with broad cancer therapeutic potential.
