Pulling the plug on a cancer cell by eliminating XIAP with AEG35156

XIAP, the X-linked inhibitor of apoptosis, is the best example of an endogenous cellular suppressor of apoptosis. XIAP is effective because it directly limits the activity of several critical death-inducing caspases, notably caspase-3, -7 and -9, either by direct enzyme inhibition or through ubiquitin-mediated proteasomal degradation. Furthermore, XIAP acts simultaneously at several nodes in the apoptotic cascade, blocking both the intrinsic and extrinsic death pathways, and thereby preventing feed-forward amplification loops that would otherwise lead to cell death. XIAP over-expression, or increased activity, is associated with cancer progression, resistance to therapy and poor prognosis. Targeting XIAP gene expression by antisense oligonucleotides, or other approaches, demonstrates anti-cancer effects with XIAP down-regulation. These early preclinical studies led to the development of a clinical candidate mixed-backbone antisense oligonucleotide, AEG35156, against XIAP for the treatment of cancer. Published clinical results for the first-in-class and first-in-human trials of AEG35156 are summarized herein, including single agent and combination chemotherapy phase-I or -II trials for solid tumors, lymphoma, and acute myeloid leukemia. These trials demonstrate the safety of AEG35156, as well as some initial promising signs of anti-cancer activity.