TY - JOUR T1 - LCL124, a cationic analog of ceramide, selectively induces pancreatic cancer cell death by accumulating in mitochondria JF - Journal of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics JO - J Pharmacol Exp Ther DO - 10.1124/jpet.112.199216 SP - jpet.112.199216 AU - Thomas Beckham AU - Ping Lu AU - Elizabeth Jones AU - Tucker S Marrison AU - Clayton S Lewis AU - Joseph Cheng AU - Venkat Ramshesh AU - Gyda Beeson AU - Craig Beeson AU - Richard Drake AU - Alicija Bielawska AU - Jacek Bielawski AU - Zdzislaw Szulc AU - Besim Ogretmen AU - James Norris AU - Xiang Liu Y1 - 2012/01/01 UR - http://jpet.aspetjournals.org/content/early/2012/10/17/jpet.112.199216.abstract N2 - Treatment of pancreatic cancer that cannot be surgically resected currently relies on minimally beneficial cytotoxic chemotherapy with gemcitabine. As the 4th leading cause of cancer death in the United States with dismal survival statistics, pancreatic cancer demands new and more effective treatment approaches. Resistance to gemcitabine is nearly universal and appears to involve defects in the intrinsic/mitochondrial apoptotic pathway. The bioactive sphingolipid ceramide is a critical mediator of apoptosis initiated by a number of therapeutic modalities. Interestingly, insufficient ceramide accumulation has been linked to gemcitabine resistance in multiple cancer types, including pancreatic. Taking advantage of the fact that cancer cells frequently have more negatively charged mitochondria, we investigated a means to circumvent resistance to gemcitabine by targeting delivery of a cationic ceramide (L-t-C6-CCPS; LCL124) to cancer cell mitochondria. LCL124 was effective in initiating apoptosis by causing mitochondrial depolarization in pancreatic cancer cells but demonstrated significantly less activity against nonmalignant pancreatic ductal epithelial cells. Furthermore, we demonstrate that the mitochondrial membrane potentials of the cancer cells were more negative than nonmalignant cells, and that dissipation of this potential abrogated cell killing by LCL124, establishing that the effectiveness of this compound is potential-dependent. LCL124 selectively accumulated in and inhibited the growth of xenografts in vivo, confirming the tumor selectivity and therapeutic potential of cationic ceramides in pancreatic cancer. Interestingly, gemcitabine resistant pancreatic cancer cells became more sensitive to subsequent treatment with LCL124, suggesting that this compound may be a uniquely suited to overcome gemcitabine resistance in pancreatic cancer. ER -