Epidithiodiketopiperazines (ETPs) exhibit in vitro antiangiogenic and in vivo antitumor activity by disrupting the HIF-1α/p300 complex in a preclinical model of prostate cancer.

The downstream targets of hypoxia inducible factor-1 alpha (HIF-1α) play an important role in tumor progression and angiogenesis. Therefore, inhibition of HIF-mediated transcription has potential in the treatment of cancer. One attractive strategy for inhibiting HIF activity is the disruption of the HIF-1α/p300 complex, as p300 is a crucial coactivator of hypoxia-inducible transcription. Several members of the epidithiodiketopiperazine (ETP) family of natural products have been shown to disrupt the HIF-1α/p300 complex in vitro; namely, gliotoxin, chaetocin, and chetomin. Here, we further characterized the molecular mechanisms underlying the antiangiogenic and antitumor effects of these ETPs using a preclinical model of prostate cancer. In the rat aortic ring angiogenesis assay, gliotoxin, chaetocin, and chetomin significantly inhibited microvessel outgrowth at a GI50 of 151, 8, and 20 nM, respectively. In vitro co-immunoprecipitation studies in prostate cancer cell extracts demonstrated that these compounds disrupted the HIF-1α/p300 complex. The downstream effects of inhibiting the HIF-1α/p300 interaction were evaluated by determining HIF-1α target gene expression at the mRNA and protein levels. Dose-dependent decreases in levels of secreted VEGF were detected by ELISA in the culture media of treated cells, and the subsequent downregulation of VEGFA, LDHA, and ENO1 HIF-1α target genes were confirmed by semi-quantitative real-time PCR. Finally, treatment with ETPs in mice bearing prostate tumor xenografts resulted in significant inhibition of tumor growth. These results suggest that directly targeting the HIF-1α/p300 complex with ETPs may be an effective approach for inhibiting angiogenesis and tumor growth.