In vitro and in silico evaluation of EGFR targeting activities of curcumin and its derivatives

The prospective identification and therapeutic targeting of oncogenic tyrosine kinases with tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) has revolutionized the treatment for patients with non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). TKI therapy frequently induces dramatic clinical responses in molecularly defined cohorts of patients with lung cancer, paving the way for the implementation of precision medicine. Unfortunately, acquired resistance, defined as tumor progression after initial response, seems to be an inevitable consequence of this treatment approach. This brief review will provide an overview of the complex and heterogeneous problem of acquired resistance to TKI therapy in NSCLC, with a focus on EGFR-mutant and ALK-rearranged NSCLC. In vitro models of TKI resistance and analysis of tumor biopsy samples at the time of disease progression have generated breakthroughs in our understanding of the spectrum of mechanisms by which a tumor can thwart TKI therapy and have provided an important rationale for the development of novel approaches to delay or overcome resistance. Numerous ongoing clinical trials implement strategies, including novel, more potent TKIs and rational combinations of targeted therapies, some of which have already proven effective in surmounting therapeutic resistance.

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MEK inhibition enhances the response to tyrosine kinase inhibitors in acute myeloid leukemia

Scientific Reports ◽

10.1038/s41598-019-54901-9 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 9 (1) ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

María Luz Morales ◽

Alicia Arenas ◽

Alejandra Ortiz-Ruiz ◽

Alejandra Leivas ◽

Inmaculada Rapado ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Drug Resistance ◽

Acute Myeloid Leukemia ◽

Tyrosine Kinase ◽

Tyrosine Kinase Inhibitors ◽

Myeloid Leukemia ◽

Kinase Inhibitors ◽

Resistance Pathway ◽

Acute Myeloid

AbstractFMS-like tyrosine kinase 3 (FLT3) is a key driver of acute myeloid leukemia (AML). Several tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) targeting FLT3 have been evaluated clinically, but their effects are limited when used in monotherapy due to the emergence of drug-resistance. Thus, a better understanding of drug-resistance pathways could be a good strategy to explore and evaluate new combinational therapies for AML. Here, we used phosphoproteomics to identify differentially-phosphorylated proteins in patients with AML and TKI resistance. We then studied resistance mechanisms in vitro and evaluated the efficacy and safety of rational combinational therapy in vitro, ex vivo and in vivo in mice. Proteomic and immunohistochemical studies showed the sustained activation of ERK1/2 in bone marrow samples of patients with AML after developing resistance to FLT3 inhibitors, which was identified as a common resistance pathway. We examined the concomitant inhibition of MEK-ERK1/2 and FLT3 as a strategy to overcome drug-resistance, finding that the MEK inhibitor trametinib remained potent in TKI-resistant cells and exerted strong synergy when combined with the TKI midostaurin in cells with mutated and wild-type FLT3. Importantly, this combination was not toxic to CD34+ cells from healthy donors, but produced survival improvements in vivo when compared with single therapy groups. Thus, our data point to trametinib plus midostaurin as a potentially beneficial therapy in patients with AML.

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