Preclinical Efficacy and Toxicology Evaluation of RAC1 Inhibitor 1A-116 in Human Glioblastoma Models

Malignant gliomas are the most common primary central nervous system tumor in adults. Despite current therapeutics, these tumors are associated with poor prognosis and a median survival of 16 to 19 months. This highlights the need for innovative treatments for this incurable disease. Rac1 has long been associated with tumor progression and plays a key role in glioma's infiltrative and invasive nature. The aim of this study is to evaluate the 1A-116 molecule, a Rac1 inhibitor, as targeted therapy for this aggressive disease. We found that targeting Rac1 inhibits cell proliferation and cell cycle progression using different in vitro human glioblastoma models. Additionally, we evaluated 1A-116 in vivo, showing a favorable toxicological profile. Using in silico tools, 1A-116 is also predicted to penetrate the blood-brain barrier and present a favorable metabolic fate. In line with these results, 1A-116 i.p daily treatment resulted in a dose-dependent antitumor effect in an orthotopic IDH-wt glioma model. Altogether, our study provides a strong potential for clinical translation of 1A-116 as a signal transduction-based precision therapy for glioma and also increases the evidence of Rac1 as a key molecular target.