Targeting the cellular schizophrenia. Likely employment of the antipsychotic agent pimozide in treatment of refractory cancers and glioblastoma

Publication date: Available online 11 June 2018
Source:Critical Reviews in Oncology/Hematology
Author(s): Ilhan Elmaci, Meric A. Altinoz
Pimozide is currently being used in clinic as a neuroleptic and exerts versatile biological actions. Pimozide is a cationic amphiphilic drug (CAD); CADs block the synthesis of neutral lipids, impair cholesterol homeostasis of cancer cells and increase accumulation of diacylglycerol-3-phosphate. Pimozide exerts tumoricidal activity which was first shown for melanoma and neuroblastoma via proposed anti- dopaminergic effects. Recently, pancreas cancers are shown to elevate dopamine receptor-2 synthesis, which is blocked by pimozide leading growth inhibition. Besides binding to inner mitochondrial membrane and reducing cellular respiration, pimozide also inhibits calmodulin, T-type calcium channels and σ-receptors which all correlate with tumor-inhibitory functions. Pimozide also exerts chemotherapy and radiotherapy-sensitizing effects in cancer cells and acts as an inhibitor of STAT-3 and STAT-5 signaling proteins with potential activity in leukemia, liver and prostate cancer. Pimozide also blocks stem cell features and Wnt-β/catenin signaling in liver cancer. Pimozide interferes with Fatty Acid Protein Binding-4 and activates PPAR-γ and it was proposed to alleviate cancer cachexia. Besides mechanisms of calmodulin and σ-receptor associated pathways, pimozide was proposed to inhibit glioblastoma via serotonin receptor 5-HT7. Pimozide is a selective inducer of autophagy and also inhibits ubiquitine specific protease (USP-1) which may associate with its chemosensizing potential in lung cancer and glioblastoma. Via versatile mechanisms of tumoricidal actions and due to its highly traversing capability through the blood-brain barrier, pimozide highly deserves to be studied in animal models of drug resistant refractory cancers and glioblastoma, which have very poor prognosis.



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