Abstract 3826: CCS1477, a potent and selective p300/CBP bromodomain inhibitor, is targeted & differentiated from BET inhibitors in prostate cancer cell lines in vitro
Authors: Brooks Nigel , Prosser Amy , Young Barbara , Gaughan Luke , Elvin Paul , Pegg Neil 
Published: August 2019

Background: CCS1477 is a potent and selective p300/CBP bromodomain inhibitor, currently in a Ph1 trial for patients with metastatic castration resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC). CCS1477 works by inhibiting the expression and function of the androgen receptor (AR), as well as inhibiting c-Myc. Bromodomain and extraterminal domain (BET) protein inhibitors are also being developed in mCRPC. We have established a BET inhibitor (BETi) resistant 22Rv1 prostate cancer cell line and used this, alongside parental 22Rv1 cells, to characterise the differential effects of p300/CBP vs BET bromodomain inhibition.

Methods: 22Rv1 cells which express both the wild-type and splice variant forms of AR were cultured in the presence of increasing concentrations (30-500nM) of JQ1 for several months. A parallel set of 22Rv1 cells were cultured in the presence of vehicle (0.1% DMSO). The anti-proliferative effects of JQ1, iBet762, OTX-015 and CCS1477 (10 nm-10 µM dose range) was determined in resistant and parental 22Rv1 cells in a 5d CellTitre Glo assay. The effects of combining CCS1477 with JQ1 was measured in parental 22Rv1 cells. Protein biomarker (AR, AR-splice variant, c-Myc) responses were measured by Western blot and qPCR was used to determine changes in the expression of selected genes (AR, AR-V7, c-Myc, KLK3, TMPRSS2). Gene expression microarrays (Clariom D) were used to assess global gene expression changes in cells treated for 24h with 500nM CCS1477 or JQ1.

Results: JQ1 resistant 22Rv1 cells were significantly less sensitive to JQ1 compared with parental cells. (IC50; Res, 7.3 µM vs parental, 0.06 µM). There was also cross-resistance to other chemically distinct BET inhibitors, iBET762 and OTX-015. JQ1 potently inhibited c-Myc protein and gene expression in parental cells, a response that was abrogated in the JQ1 resistant line. The inhibitory effects of JQ1 on AR gene and protein expression were reduced in the resistant line. In contrast potent anti-proliferative effects of CCS1477 were retained in JQ1 resistant cells, as was the inhibitory effect on c-Myc and AR. Combination of CCS1477 & JQ1 resulted in a highly synergistic inhibitory effect on proliferation in normal 22Rv1 cells. Global gene expression analysis revealed significantly fewer altered genes after CCS1477 (27 up, 119 down) compared to JQ1 (196 up, 655 down).

Conclusions: These studies provide three lines of evidence for a differentiated mode of action of CCS1477 vs BETi. First, CCS1477 continues to inhibit proliferation and relevant response biomarkers in a cell line that is resistant to BETi. Second, there is a synergistic, rather than additive effect of combining CCS1477 with JQ1. Third, there are significantly fewer genes and a distinct pattern of gene change after CCS1477 vs. JQ1. Collectively, these data point to a differentiated and more selective profile after p300/CBP inhibition with CCS1477.

Citation Format: Nigel Brooks, Amy Prosser, Barbara Young, Luke Gaughan, Paul Elvin, Neil Pegg. CCS1477, a potent and selective p300/CBP bromodomain inhibitor, is targeted & differentiated from BET inhibitors in prostate cancer cell lines in vitro [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2019; 2019 Mar 29-Apr 3; Atlanta, GA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2019;79(13 Suppl):Abstract nr 3826.