Abstract LB_C04: Novel orally bioavailable macrocycles that target cyclin A and B elicit antitumor activity in breast cancer patient-derived xenograft models
Authors: Dias Mariana Paes , Liu Li-Fen , Levin Bernard , Molina Cristina , Guzmán Marta , Rodríguez Olga , Wang Evelyn W. , Serra Violeta 
Published: December 2023

Background: Cyclin/cyclin-dependent kinase (CDK) complexes regulate the activity of RB1 and E2F to drive cell cycle progression while ensuring fidelity of DNA replication. The interaction between cyclins and a critical subset of their substrates, including RB1 and E2F, is mediated by a conserved short linear RxL motif. RxL peptides have been shown to inhibit substrate phosphorylation by CDK2/cyclin A (AACR 2022 poster #5379). Previously, we have shown that macrocycles that selectively inhibit RxL-mediated binding to cyclins A and B (RxL inhibitors) lead to growth inhibitory activity in multiple cancer cell lines, and result in tumor regression in small cell lung cancer (SCLC) and ovarian cancer xenograft models (AACR 2023 poster #1560). Here, we test the antitumor activity of CID-016 in patient-derived xenograft (PDX) models from breast cancer.

Methods: Bioinformatic analyses using RNA sequencing (RNAseq) and whole exome sequencing (WES) data from 39 breast cancer cell lines was employed to identify biomarker profiles that associate with sensitivity to CID-016. The antiproliferative activity of CID-016 was assessed by GI50 after 4-8 days of treatment.  Hallmark pathway scores were calculated by Gene Set Variation Analysis (GSVA) method using MSigDb Hallmark collection from cell lines and existing PDX models. Based on the calculated hallmark pathway score, triple negative breast cancer (TNBC) PDX models were selected to test the anti-tumor activity of CID-016. In vivo, NMRI-Foxn1nu/nu mice were implanted with tumor fragments in the lower flank and treated with vehicle or CID-016 oral formulation of 50-100 mg/kg BID or 100 mg/kg QD, respectively for at least 28 days. Tumor volume and body weight were measured biweekly. Pharmacodynamic (PD) analyses will be conducted after treatment with CID-016.

Results: Treatment of the breast cancer cell line panel with CID-016 demonstrated greater potency by GI50 in TNBC compared to other breast cancer cell lines (p=0.009).  Gene expression levels of CCNB1, CCNA2, CCNE1 as well as target hallmark scores for “E2F targets”, “G2M checkpoint” and “Mitotic spindle” were significantly higher in TNBC vs other breast cancer cell lines. Oral treatment with CID-016 resulted in tumor regression in at least one triple-negative breast cancer PDX model and was well tolerated with no significant body weight changes. In vivo PD analyses will be assessed after 5 days of treatment with CID-016.

Conclusions: The selective cyclin A/B RxL inhibitor CID-016 exhibits potent antitumor activity in TNBC preclinical models, consistent with the proposed mechanism of RB1/E2F pathway dysregulation. Given their compelling characteristics, orally bioavailable RxL inhibitors are advancing as the only first-in-class orally bioavailable dual inhibitors of cyclins A and B into clinical development.

Citation Format: Mariana Paes Dias, Li-Fen Liu, Bernard Levin, Cristina Molina, Marta Guzmán, Olga Rodríguez, Evelyn W. Wang, Violeta Serra. Novel orally bioavailable macrocycles that target cyclin A and B elicit antitumor activity in breast cancer patient-derived xenograft models [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the AACR-NCI-EORTC Virtual International Conference on Molecular Targets and Cancer Therapeutics; 2023 Oct 11-15; Boston, MA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Mol Cancer Ther 2023;22(12 Suppl):Abstract nr LB_C04.