In vitro activity: JK184 is a novel and potent Hedgehog (Hh) pathway inhibitor with IC50 of 30 nM in mammalian cells. JK184 can specially inhibit glioma (Gli)-dependent transcriptional activity in the Hedgehog (Hh) pathway in a dose dependent manner and showed great promise for cancer therapeutics. JK184 significantly inhibits proliferation of HUVECs with IC50 of 6.3 μg/mL after three days incubation. To evaluate anti-tumor effect of JK184, MTT assay is conducted in Panc-1 and BxPC-3 cells after administration with indicated concentrations of compounds, half maximal inhibitory concentration (IC50) of JK184 (23.7 ng/mL in anc-1 and 34.3 ng/mL in BxPC-3).

Kinase Assay: JK184 was designed to antagonize Hh signaling by inhibiting glioma (Gli)-dependent transcriptional activity in a dose dependent manner. JK184 significantly inhibits proliferation of HUVECs with IC50 of 6.3 μg/mL after three days incubation. To evaluate anti-tumor effect of JK184, MTT assay is conducted in Panc-1 and BxPC-3 cells after administration with indicated concentrations of compounds, half maximal inhibitory concentration (IC50) of JK184 (23.7 ng/mL in anc-1 and 34.3 ng/mL in BxPC-3).Claudin-low cell lines are more sensitive to JK184 treatment than are MCF10a, MTSV1-7, or HMLE-shGFP and HMLE-pBP cells, and JK184 induced a dose-dependent decrease in glioma-associated oncogene homolog 1 (GLI1) transcript and protein levels in these cells. Treatment with the IC50 dose of JK184 enhances the proportion of HMLE-shEcad cells that stained with Annexin-V, but are negative for propidium iodide (PI) (P<0.0001, t test).

Cell Assay: The Shh-LIGHT2 cells are seeded in 96-well plates and grown to confluency. The Shh-LIGHT2 cells are treated with various concentrations of JK184 micelles or free JK184 or micelles in DMEM containing 0.5% CS, 0.1 mg/mL streptomycin, 100 U/mL penicillin, 5% Shh-N conditioned medium obtained from Shh-N-producing HEK293 cells. The treated cells are cultured further for 60 h, and firefly and Renilla luciferase activities are measured using a dual luciferase kit. Proliferation assay or apoptosis evaluation of HUVECs is measured using MTT method or FCM analysis, respectively. HUVECs are treated with a series concentration of free JK184, JK184 micelles, or blank MPEG-PCL micelles for 48 h, respectively. The mean percentage of cell inhibition or apoptosis is calculated.