The Need

Previous work indicates that vitamin E succinate (VES) induces apoptosis in different types of cancers cells without significant toxicity to normal cells. Despite advances in the pre-clinical translation of VES in cancer therapy, the mechanisms underlying the effect of this redox-inactive vitamin E derivative on apoptosis remain elusive. To develop better pharmaceuticals that exploit the anti-tumor qualities of VES, the mechanisms that induce apoptosis must be defined.

The Technology

Researchers at The Ohio State University, led by Dr. Ching-Shih Chen, discovered that VES mediates the dephosphorylation of Akt and MAP kinases in LNCaP and PC-3 cells through the activation of protein phosphatase 2-A (PP2A) activity. PP2A downregulates the phosphorylation/activity of Ras targets to antagonize oncogenic signaling. Therefore, activation of PP2A represents a therapeutically relevant strategy to block tumorigenesis and cancer progression. Insight into this PP2A mechanism suggests that VES could be pharmacologically exploited to generate potent small-molecules for the treatment of malignancies.

Commercial Applications

• Oncology therapeutics
• Pharmaceuticals

Benefits/Advantages

• Potent small molecule therapeutic
• Induces apoptosis in cancer cells through activation of PP2A
• Perturbs various signaling mechanisms associated with ontogenesis, tumor progression, and metastasis
• Displays efficacy as a therapeutic without incurring significant toxicity to normal cells