Ingenuity network-assisted transcription profiling: Identification of a new pharmacologic mechanism for MK886

The small molecular inhibitor MK886 is known to block 5-lipoxygenase-activating protein ALOX5AP and shows antitumor activity in multiple human cell lines. The broad antitumor therapeutic window reported in vivo for MK886 in rodents supports further consideration of this structural class. Better understanding of the mode of action of the drug is important for application in humans to take place. Affymetrix microarray study was conducted to explore MK886 pharmacologic mechanism. Ingenuity Pathway Analysis software was applied to validate the results at the transcriptional level by putting them in the context of an experimental proteomic network. Genes most affected by MK886 included actin B and focal adhesion components. A subsequent National Cancer Institute-60 panel study, RT-PCR validation followed by confocal microscopy, and Western blotting also pointed to actin B down-regulation, filamentous actin loss, and disorganization of the transcription machinery. In agreement with these observations, MK886 was found to enhance the effect of UV radiation in H720 lung cancer cell line. In light of the modification of cytoskeleton and cell motility by lipid phosphoinositide 3-kinase products, MK886 interaction with actin B might be biologically important. The low toxicity of MK886 in vivo was modeled and explained by binding and transport by dietary lipids. The rate of lipid absorbance is generally higher for tumors, suggesting a promise of a targeted liposome-based delivery system for this drug. These results suggest a novel antitumor pharmacologic mechanism.