Efficacy of Onalespib, a Long-Acting Second-Generation HSP90 Inhibitor, as a Single Agent and in Combination with Temozolomide against Malignant Gliomas

HSP90, a highly conserved molecular chaperone that regulates the function of several oncogenic client proteins, is altered in glioblastoma. However, HSP90 inhibitors currently in clinical trials are short-acting, have unacceptable toxicities, or are unable to cross the blood-brain barrier (BBB). We examined the efficacy of onalespib, a potent, long-acting novel HSP90 inhibitor as a single agent and in combination with temozolomide (TMZ) against gliomas and The effect of onalespib on HSP90, its client proteins, and on the biology of glioma cell lines and patient-derived glioma-initiating cells (GSC) was determined. Brain and plasma pharmacokinetics of onalespib and its ability to inhibit HSP90 were assessed in non-tumor-bearing mice. Its efficacy as a single agent or in combination with TMZ was assessed and using zebrafish and patient-derived GSC xenograft mouse glioma models. Onalespib-mediated HSP90 inhibition depleted several survival-promoting client proteins such as EGFR, EGFRvIII, and AKT, disrupted their downstream signaling, and decreased the proliferation, migration, angiogenesis, and survival of glioma cell lines and GSCs. Onalespib effectively crossed the BBB to inhibit HSP90 and extended survival as a single agent in zebrafish xenografts and in combination with TMZ in both zebrafish and GSC mouse xenografts. Our results demonstrate the long-acting effects of onalespib against gliomas and which combined with its ability to cross the BBB support its development as a potential therapeutic agent in combination with TMZ against gliomas. .