Fluorinated N,N'-Diarylureas As Novel Therapeutic Agents Against Cancer Stem Cells

In this study, we examined the effects of novel AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) activating compounds on colorectal cancer metastatic and stem cell lines as potential candidates for chemotherapy. We found that activation of AMPK by all fluorinated N,N-diarylureas (FND) compounds at micromolar levels significantly inhibited the cell-cycle progression and subsequent cellular proliferation. In addition, we demonstrated that select FNDs significantly increased apoptosis in colorectal cancer metastatic and cancer stem cells. Therefore, FNDs hold considerable promise in the treatment of metastatic colorectal cancer, through elimination of both regular cancer cells and cancer stem cells. Mol Cancer Ther; 16(5); 831–7. ©2017 AACR.

Source: Molecular Cancer Therapeutics - May 2, 2017 Category: Cancer & Oncology Authors: Kenlan, D. E., Rychahou, P., Sviripa, V. M., Weiss, H. L., Liu, C., Watt, D. S., Evers, B. M. Tags: Small Molecule Therapeutics Source Type: research