Claisened Hexafluoro Inhibits Metastatic Spreading of Amoeboid Melanoma Cells

Abstract

Metastatic melanoma is characterized by poor prognosis and a low free-survival rate. Thanks to their high plasticity, melanoma cells are able to migrate exploiting different cell motility strategies, such as the rounded/amoeboid-type motility and the elongated/mesenchymal-type motility. In particular, the amoeboid motility strongly contributes to the dissemination of highly invasive melanoma cells and no treatment targeting this process is currently available for clinical application. Here, we tested Claisened Hexafluoro as a novel inhibitor of the amoeboid motility. Reported data demonstrate that Claisened Hexafluoro specifically inhibits melanoma cells moving through amoeboid motility by deregulating mitochondrial activity and activating the AMPK signaling. Moreover, Claisened Hexafluoro is able to interfere with the adhesion abilities and the stemness features of melanoma cells, thus decreasing the in vivo metastatic process. This evidence may contribute to pave the way for future possible therapeutic applications of Claisened Hexafluoro to counteract metastatic melanoma dissemination.

Novel Therapeutic Targets in Melanoma

“…Broaching the topic of melanoma plasticity and metastasis, two of the main characteristics of melanoma cells, and explaining the aggressiveness and treatment failures of melanoma patients, Leo et al report that Claisened Hexafluoro, a chemical analogue of Honokiol, inhibits melanoma cells spreading by blocking amoeboid-type motility and, in fine, melanoma metastasis capacities [7]. Mechanistically, authors have shown that Claisened Hexafluoro inhibits mitochondrial activity, leading to an activation of AMPK.…”