PURPOSE Neuroblastoma is the most common extracranial solid tumor of children that arises from the sympathetic nervous system. Survival rates for neuroblastoma patients is low despite intensive therapeutic intervention, and the identification of new effective drugs remains a primary goal. The cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor, flavopiridol, has demonstrated growth-inhibitory and cytotoxic activ...

PURPOSE Breast cancer micrometastases in the bone marrow are resistant to chemotherapy. They can remain dormant for years before some begin to proliferate. We seek to understand survival mechanisms and develop targeted approaches to eliminating these cells. EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN In an in vitro model of dormancy, basic fibroblast growth factor 2 (FGF-2), abundant in the bone marrow, inhibits the...

Positive transcription elongation factor b (P-TEFb) is a kinase that phosphorylates the carboxyl-terminal domain (CTD) of RNA Polymerase II (Pol II). Here, we show that flavopiridol, a highly specific P-TEFb kinase inhibitor, dramatically reduces the global levels of Ser2--but not Ser5--phosphorylated CTD at actively transcribed loci on Drosophila polytene chromosomes under both normal and heat...

We previously reported that delayed administration of the general cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor flavopiridol following global ischemia provided transient neuroprotection and improved behavioral performance. However, it failed to provide longer term protection. In the present study, we investigate the ability of delayed flavopiridol in combination with delayed minocycline, another neuroprote...

Older chronic lymphocytic leukemia patients have poor outcomes with standard treatments and are underrepresented in clinical trials. We retrospectively reviewed outcomes of refractory chronic lymphocytic leukemia patients in two age categories (≥70 and <70 years) treated with single-agent flavopiridol, a drug active in genomically high-risk patients, during two trials. No significant difference...

PURPOSE Flavopiridol is a potent cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor with preclinical activity against non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), inhibiting tumor growth in vitro and in vivo by cytostatic and cytotoxic mechanisms. A Phase II trial was conducted to determine the activity and toxicity of flavopiridol in untreated patients with metastatic NSCLC. EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN A total of 20 patients...

Some tumors are dependent on the continued activity of a single oncogene for maintenance of their malignant phenotype. The best-studied example is the Bcr-Abl fusion protein in chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML). Although the clinical success of the Abl kinase inhibitor imatinib against chronic-phase CML emphasizes the importance of developing therapeutic strategies aimed at this target, resist...

Flavopiridol is a broad-spectrum inhibitor of cyclin-dependent kinases and of global transcription via the inhibition of positive transcription elongation factor b (P-TEFb). Although flavopiridol is currently undergoing phase II clinical trials, acquired cellular resistance to the compound during treatment is a potential problem, as it is with almost all current anticancer agents. A HCT116 huma...

Metal-organic frameworks featuring ligands with open chelating groups are versatile platforms for the preparation of a diverse set of heterogeneous catalysts through postsynthetic metalation. The crystalline nature of these materials allows them to be characterized via X-ray diffraction, which provides valuable insight into the structure of the metal sites that facilitate catalysis. A highly po...

Pd- and Pt-bound bis-metalated peptides were synthesised by the condensation of Pd- or Pt-aldimine-complex-bound glutamic acids to afford the four possible metal isomers of bis-Pd and bis-Pt-homometalated dipeptides and PdPt- and PtPd-heterometalated dipeptides without metal disproportionation. Ultrasound-induced self-assembly of these bis-metalated peptides proceeded effectively to afford supr...