Temsirolimus (CCI-779, NSC 683

In the absence of FKBP12, Temsirolimus potently inhibits mTOR kinase activity with IC50 of 1.76 μM, similar to that of rapamycin with IC50 of 1.74 μM. Temsirolimus treatment at nanomolar concentrations (10 nM to <5 μM) displays a modest and selective antiproliferative activity via FKBP12-dependent mechanism, but can completely inhibit the proliferation of a broad panel of tumor cells at low micromolar concentrations (5-15 μM), involving FKBP12-independent suppression of mTOR signaling. Temsirolimus treatment at micromolar but not nanomolar concentrations (20 μM) causes a marked decline in global protein synthesis and disassembly of polyribosomes, accompanied by rapid increase in the phosphorylation of translation elongation factor eEF2 and the translation initiation factor eIF2A. ^[1] Temsirolimus inhibits the phosphorylation of ribosomal protein S6, more potently in PTEN-positive DU145 cells than in PTEN-negative PC-3 cells, and inhibits cell growth and clonogenic survival of both cells in a concentration-dependent manner. ^[2] Temsirolimus (100 ng/mL) potently inhibits proliferation and induces apoptosis in primary human lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) cells. ^[3]