Cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) is up-regulated by redox imbalance and is considered a target for
cancer therapy. The rationale of the
COX-2 inhibitor lies in suppressing COX-2 catalyzed peroxidation of omega-6
polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs), which are essential and pervasive in our daily diet. However,
COX-2 inhibitors fail to improve
cancer patients' survival and may lead to severe side effects. Here, instead of directly inhibiting COX-2, we utilize a small molecule,
iminodibenzyl, which could reprogram the COX-2 catalyzed omega-6 PUFAs peroxidation in
lung cancer by inhibiting delta-5-desaturase (D5D) activity.
Iminodibenzyl breaks the conversion from dihomo-γ-
linolenic acid (DGLA) to
arachidonic acid, resulting in the formation of a distinct byproduct,
8-hydroxyoctanoic acid, in
lung cancer cells and solid
tumors. By utilizing COX-2 overexpression in
cancer, the combination of DGLA supplementation and
iminodibenzyl suppressed YAP1/TAZ pathway, decreasing the
tumor size and lung
metastasis in nude mice and C57BL/6 mice. This D5D inhibition-based strategy selectively damaged
lung cancer cells with a high COX-2 level, whereas it could avoid harassing normal lung epithelial cells. This finding challenged the COX-2 redox basis in
cancer, providing a new direction for developing omega-6 (DGLA)-based diet/regimen in
lung cancer therapy.