Repurposing of the anti-helminthic drug niclosamide to treat melanoma and pulmonary metastasis via the STAT3 signaling pathway

Abstract The incidence of melanoma is increasing rapidly worldwide. Additionally, new and effective candidates for treating melanoma are needed because of the increase in drug resistance and the high metastatic potential of this cancer. The STAT3 signaling pathway plays a pivotal role in pathogenesis of melanoma, making STAT3 a promising anticancer target for melanoma therapy. Niclosamide, an FDA-approved anti-helminthic drug, has been identified as a potent STAT3 inhibitor that suppresses STAT3 phosphorylation at Tyr705 and its transcript activity. In this study, we evaluated the biological activities of niclosamide in melanoma in vitro and in vivo. Niclosamide potently inhibited the growth of four melanoma cell lines and induced the apoptosis of melanoma cells via the mitochondrial apoptotic pathway. Further, western blot analysis indicated that cell apoptosis was correlated with activation of Bax and cleaved caspase-3 and decreased expression of Bcl-2. Moreover, niclosamide markedly impaired melanoma cell migration and invasion, reduced phosphorylated STAT3Tyr705 levels, and inhibited matrix metalloproteinase-2 and −9 expression. Additionally, in a xenograft model of A375, intraperitoneal administration of niclosamide inhibited tumor growth and tumor weight in a dose-dependent manner without obvious side effects. Histological and immunohistochemical analyses revealed a decrease in Ki-67-positive cells and p-STAT3Try705-positive cells and increase in cleaved caspase-3-positive cells. Notably, niclosamide significantly inhibited pulmonary metastasis in a B16-F10 melanoma lung metastasis model, including the number of lung metastatic nodules and lung/body coefficient. Importantly, a marked reduction in myeloid-derived suppressor cells (Gr1+CD11b+) infiltration in the pulmonary metastasis tissue was observed. Taken together, these results demonstrate that niclosamide is a promising candidate for treating melanoma.