Zelboraf (vemurafenib)

Using electrophilic probes, we show that treatment of BRAFV600E mutant melanoma cells with vemurafenib or trametinib decreases overall cysteine and lysine reactivity in BRAFV600E and MEK1/2, likely reflecting composite changes in amino acid accessibility across multiple reactive residues associated with inhibitor binding...Comparative analysis of ATP-competitive BRAFV600E inhibitors vemurafenib and dabrafenib indicated differences in aspartate and glutamate labeling patterns, consistent with the possibility that ABPP may detect inhibitor-associated variations in residue accessibility, which could reflect differences in inhibitor-bound conformations...Moreover, global proteome analyses of cysteine and lysine reactivity upon BRAFV600E inhibition revealed probe-accessible cysteine labeling changes on KSR2, suggesting a potential MAPK pathway remodeling. Together, these findings highlight ABPP as a valuable chemical biology approach for investigating inhibitor-dependent changes in kinase residue reactivity, offering a framework to investigate how kinase conformational dynamics and signaling pathway adaptation influence the therapeutic response and resistance in cancer.

We have identified a small molecule produced by a marine sponge as being able to inhibit PTCH1 efflux activity and increase the efficacy of vemurafenib treatment on BRAF-mutated melanoma cells in vitro and in vivo in mice. We found that inhibiting PTCH1 drug efflux activity significantly increased the cytotoxic effect of chemotherapies such as doxorubicin and docetaxel in three TNBC cell lines. Overall, our findings suggest that PTCH1 plays a role in the resistance of TNBC cells to chemotherapy, and that using a PTCH1 efflux inhibitor during neoadjuvant or adjuvant therapy could enhance the efficacy of treatment against PTCH1-expressing TNBC, while preventing treatment resistance, relapse, and metastasis formation.

Vemurafenib increases miR-31-5p in keratinocyte-derived exosomes, which suppresses ALKBH1 and elevates RNA m6A in melanoma cells, thereby promoting proliferation and reducing vemurafenib sensitivity. Targeting the miR-31-5p/ALKBH1 axis and m6A modification may offer a potential therapeutic strategy to enhance vemurafenib sensitivity in BRAFV600E melanoma cells.

In the absence of head-to-head trials comparing 1L nivolumab plus relatlimab (NIVO+RELA) to BRAF/MEK inhibitors, we compared its efficacy to dabrafenib+trametinib (DAB+TRAM), encorafenib+binimetinib (ENCO+BINI), vemurafenib+cobimetinib (VEM+COBI) and atezolizumab (ATEZO)+VEM+COBI using matching-adjusted indirect comparisons (MAICs)...These MAICs suggest that 1L dual IO therapy with NIVO+RELA confers a long-term OS advantage in BRAF-mutant advanced melanoma compared with BRAF/MEK inhibitor combinations despite lower ORR, consistent with prior evidence for 1L NIVO+IPI in this setting. As unanchored analyses, potential residual confounding remains, and results should be interpreted cautiously.

Through integrated transcriptomic and metabolomic analyses, we demonstrate that BRAFi by vemurafenib (PLX4032) significantly enhances FAO in thyroid cancer cells. The pharmacological inhibition of FAO via thioridazine (Thio) synergizes with BRAFi to suppress tumor growth in vitro, in vivo and in a patient-derived organoid...Consistently, functional studies confirm RUNX1's oncogenic role, as its knockdown reduces cell proliferation, migration, and invasion. In conclusion, our work reveals a metabolic-epigenetic axis underlying adaptive response to BRAFi and identifies RUNX1 as a novel oncogene in thyroid cancer.

Furthermore, short-term treatment of CSPG4-expressing cells with the clinically used mutant active BRAF inhibitor vemurafenib reduced both guidance and speed...The results are discussed in terms of expanding what is known about the potential tumor biology and clinical implications of CSPG4-related impact on malignant invasion during early phases of melanoma progression. The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s12195-025-00882-x.

We treated the embedded cells or spheroids with different concentrations of either sorafenib or vemurafenib to investigate drug response. We showed that our 3D model was able to reproduce the findings of the in vivo studies, as we observed resistance to the drug in response to sorafenib treatment after 4 weeks. Taken together, the results of this study highlight the potential of user-friendly alginate 3D cell culture models for several aspects of melanoma drug development.

P2, N=10, Completed, HonorHealth Research Institute | Active, not recruiting --> Completed

P1/2, N=50, Recruiting, Universita' Degli Studi Di Perugia | Not yet recruiting --> Recruiting

In particular, these changes were accompanied by the transition towards a stem-like phenotype, characterized by enhanced spherogenic ability and ABCG2 upregulation; interestingly, this led to a reduced in vitro response to the BRAF inhibitor vemurafenib. Mechanistically, an increase in PGC-1α expression was found, resulting in higher mitochondrial mass and activity, ATP synthesis, and ROS overproduction; of note, treatment of melanoma cells with SR-18292 and XCT790, two inactivators of mitochondrial biogenesis, and N-acetylcysteine, a ROS scavenger, successfully counteracted the above EV-related effects, suggesting that mitochondrial function could be targeted to suppress the vesicular interactions between adipose tissue and melanoma. Taken together, these results highlight the crucial role played by EVs in melanoma stroma, pointing out the ability of adipocyte-derived vesicles to sustain cancer aggressiveness via PGC-1α-dependent mitochondrial reprogramming.

Ve combined with Pa exerts a synergistic inhibitory effect on the growth and metastasis of FRO and ARO cells, while promoting apoptosis and cellular redifferentiation. This combination may provide a potential therapeutic strategy for ATC.

The vemurafenib combined with 131I revealed superior efficacy in improving survival and thyroid function recovery in lymph node metastatic BRAF-mutant thyroid cancer.