The study of a novel sorafenib derivative HLC-080 as an antitumor agent

In this study, our objective is to evaluate the potential of a novel Sorafenib derivative, named HLC-080, as a new anticancer agent for colon cancer. We firstly carried out MTT assay, colony formation assay, flow cytometry analysis and transwell invasion assay to determine effect of our compound HLC-080 on cell viability, anti-proliferation activity, cell cycle arrest and the intervention on cell invasion, respectively. On the other hand, in vivo antitumor activity of HLC-080 was also tested using H22 xenograft model and the angiogenesis effect of HLC-080 was measured by EA.hy926 tube formation assay. The expression levels of various proteins in HLC-080 treated with HT-29 cell lines were examined using Western blot and ELISA experiments. The results showed that HLC-080 could dramatically inhibit the growth and colony formation of various tumor cells, therefore exhibited remarkable antitumor activity. HLC-080 can induce cell cycle arrest at G1 phase in HT-29 cells and subsequently inhibit the invasive potential of colon cancer cells. HLC-080 also exhibits anti-angiogenesis effect in EA.hy926 model. Additionally, the in vivo study showed that HLC-080 was able to reduced the tumor weight with the rate of 35.81%. And at the concentration of 0.352±0.034 µM, HLC-080 is able to reduce half of the regular protein level of p-c-Raf (Ser259), consequently block Raf/MEK/ERK signaling in HT-29 cell lines. In conclusion, our study suggests that Sorafenib derivative HLC-080 has the potential to inhibit cell proliferation and angiogenesis, Since, HLC-080 is particularly active against human colon cancer cells, our study highlights that HLC-080 and its related analogues may serve as a new anti-cancer drug, particularly against colon cancer.