Efficacy of fadraciclib (CYC065), a novel dual CDK2/9 inhibitor, on patient-derived models of colorectal cancer

Background: Colorectal cancer (CRC) is the third most common type of cancer among adults in the United States. Given the heterogeneous nature of the disease and the limited number of treatments available, there is an unmet need to identify new therapeutic vulnerabilities for advanced CRC. One promising approach is targeting of cyclin dependent kinases (CDKs). In our current study, we sought to understand the potential efficacy of fadraciclib (CYC065), a novel dual CDK 2/9 inhibitor, as a novel treatment for metastatic CRC. Methods: Eighteen CRC patient-derived organoids (PDOs) were generated from patients undergoing biopsy or resection for their primary or metastatic CRC under an IRB approved protocol at Duke University. IHC and H&E staining were first performed on the established PDOs to confirm the diagnosis of CRC. PDOs were treated with standard of care chemotherapy (oxaliplatin, irinotecan (SN38) and 5-Flurouracil), CDK4/6 inhibitor palbociclib, and fadraciclib (CYC065). All drugs were used in doses ranging from 6.4nM to 100mM, and drug sensitivities were determined using Cell-Titer Glo (CTG) 72 hours after treatment. Subsequently, three matching PDXs were generated for in vivo validation and treated with fadraciclib (CYC065) via oral gavage at a dose of 25 mg/kg BID five days a week for two weeks. Target validation for CDK2/9 inhibition was performed via western blotting, cell cycle arrest was determined via flow cytometry, and killing by anaphase catastrophe was determined by immunofluorescence staining. Results: CRC PDOs were more sensitive to fadraciclib (CYC065) than chemotherapy and palbociclib, with IC50 values lower than chemotherapy or palbociclib (2.6563.92mM for fadraciclib (CYC065) vs. 29.92641.98mM for chemotherapy (P,0.05) or palbociclib (12.3369.87mM)). Subsequently, we validated our findings in vivo using 3 matched PDX showing significant tumor growth inhibition (TGI) with fadraciclib (CYC065) compared to control (p,0.05) without serious adverse effects. We showed that fadraciclib (CYC065) induces G2/M cell cycle arrest, resulting in anaphase catastrophe as evident by the presence of multipolar mitosis in fadraciclib (CYC065)-treated cells. CDK2/9 inhibition leads to downregulation of c-Myc levels and upregulation of apoptosis induction as a second mechanism of action for this drug. Conclusions: Our data using both in vitro and in vivo patient-derived models support further exploration of fadraciclib (CYC065) has a potential therapy for advanced CRC. CDK2/9 inhibition impacts multiple critical pathways involved in transcription, mitosis and apoptosis. Further studies will be needed to reveal molecular bio-markers of sensitivity and resistance to this novel agent. Research Sponsor: None.

Duke Scholars

Author Shannon Jones McCall Pathology

Author Jason Andrew Somarelli Medicine, Medical Oncology