A high-content, multiplexed screen in human breast cancer cells identifies profilin-1 inducers with anti-migratory activities

PLoS One. 2014 Feb 10;9(2):e88350. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0088350. eCollection 2014.

Abstract

Profilin-1 (Pfn-1) is a ubiquitously expressed actin-binding protein that is essential for normal cell proliferation and migration. In breast cancer and several other adenocarcinomas, Pfn-1 expression is downregulated when compared to normal tissues. Previous studies from our laboratory have shown that genetically modulating Pfn-1 expression significantly impacts proliferation, migration, and invasion of breast cancer cells in vitro, and mammary tumor growth, dissemination, and metastatic colonization in vivo. Therefore, small molecules that can modulate Pfn-1 expression could have therapeutic potential in the treatment of metastatic breast cancer. The overall goal of this study was to perform a multiplexed phenotypic screen to identify compounds that inhibit cell motility through upregulation of Pfn-1. Screening of a test cassette of 1280 compounds with known biological activities on an Oris™ Pro 384 cell migration platform identified several agents that increased Pfn-1 expression greater than two-fold over vehicle controls and exerted anti-migratory effects in the absence of overt cytotoxicity in MDA-MB-231 human breast cancer cells. Concentration-response confirmation and orthogonal follow-up assays identified two bona fide inducers of Pfn-1, purvalanol and tyrphostin A9, that confirmed in single-cell motility assays and Western blot analyses. SiRNA-mediated knockdown of Pfn-1 abrogated the inhibitory effect of tyrphostin A9 on cell migration, suggesting Pfn-1 is mechanistically linked to tyrphostin A9's anti-migratory activity. The data illustrate the utility of the high-content cell motility assay to discover novel targeted anti-migratory agents by integrating functional phenotypic analyses with target-specific readouts in a single assay platform.

Publication types

  • Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural

MeSH terms

  • Adenine / pharmacology
  • Breast Neoplasms / metabolism*
  • Breast Neoplasms / pathology*
  • Cell Line, Tumor
  • Cell Migration Assays
  • Cell Movement* / drug effects
  • Female
  • Gene Knockdown Techniques
  • High-Throughput Screening Assays / methods*
  • Humans
  • Profilins / metabolism*
  • Reproducibility of Results
  • Small Molecule Libraries
  • Tyrphostins / pharmacology

Substances

  • PFN1 protein, human
  • Profilins
  • Small Molecule Libraries
  • Tyrphostins
  • tyrphostin A9
  • Adenine