scholarly journals Targeting Nucleolin for Reversal of Chemotherapy Resistance in Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia

Blood ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 134 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 5058-5058
Author(s):  
Jianda Hu ◽  
Yanxin Chen ◽  
Zhengjun Wu ◽  
Lingyan Wang ◽  
Jingjing Wen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Drug Resistance ◽  
Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia ◽  
Drug Sensitivity ◽  
De Novo ◽  
Conflicts Of Interest ◽  
Lymphoblastic Leukemia ◽  
Mrna Level ◽  
Chemotherapy Resistance

Chemotherapy resistance is considered to be the principal cause of ineffective treatment in acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). Nucleolin (NCL) is high expression andplays oncogenic roles in most cancers. However, less research on the role of NCL in hematologic malignancies was noted. Our previous studies have showed that overexpression of NCL was associated with worse prognosis in the patients with acute leukemia and NCL expressionwashigher in resistant HL-60/ADR than in sensitive HL-60 cells. The potential mechanisms of NCL in chemotherapy resistance have yet to be revealed. Here we presented that expression of NCL was associated positively with chemotherapy resistance and poor prognosis in ALL. Overexpressed NCL at both mRNA and protein level was relevant to a poorer overall survival (OS) and relapse free survival (RFS), indicating NCL as an independent prognostic marker in ALL. mRNA level of NCL in de novo ALL was quantitatively higher than in complete remission(CR) status, and refractory/relapse ALL had the highest level. Upon above clinical data, we further investigated the mechanism(s) by which NCL regulated drug resistance in ALL cells. Remarkably, NCL expression was higher in resistant ALL cells relative to sensitive parental cells. When treated with ADM, NCL level was decreased in sensitive parental cells while unchanged in resistant cells. Overexpressing NCL suppressed drug sensitivity, altered drug effluxion and decreased intracellular drug accumulation, while inhibition of NCL led to a completely reversed appearance, more intracellular Adriamycin(ADM) mean fluorescence intensity (MFI) and percentage of ADM accumulated cells population. Overexpression of NCL increased significantly the IC50 of ADM. The IC50 of ADM on Jurkat-NCL-overexpression(OE), Jurkat-NCL-knockdown(KD), Molt-4-NCL-OE, Molt-4-NCL-KD, Nalm-6-NCL-OE, Nalm-6-NCL-KD were 1.362±0.271μg/ml, 0.077±0.010μg/ml, 4.863±0.733μg/ml, 0.081±0.018μg/ml, 0.237±0.042μg/ml and 0.046±0.002μg/ml, respectively (P <0.05). Involvement of ATP-binding cassette (ABC) transporters was proved in NCL mediated drug resistance. Silencing NCL resulted in a decrease of P-gp, MRP1, LRP and BCRP in ALL cells, and NCL overexpression increased the MRP1, LRP and BCRP. The Akt/mTOR and ERK signaling pathways were involved in this procedure. Notably, co-IP assays confirmed the NCL-Ras, NCL-ERK and NCL-BCRP interaction. For intervention study, aptamer AS1411, a NCL inhibitor, could reduce drug resistance in ALL cell lines and primary ALL cells.Moreover, AS1411 treatment decreased BCRP protein expression. Furthermore, the ALL leukemia models that nude mice engrafted with Nalm-6 cells and NCG mice engrafted with Luc+ Nalm-6 cells were established, then treated with ADM plus AS1411 or control CRO for comparison drug sensitivity and survival. Growth of subcutaneous xenograft tumors was inhibited in those treated with AS1411 or ADM, compared to their respective controls treated with CRO or PBS. The stronger inhibition effect was observed in those treated with AS1411 combined with ADM. For Luc+Nalm-6 derived ALL model, leukemia progression was suppressed in mice treated with AS1411 and AS1411 combined with ADM. AS1411and ADM, especially combination of AS1411 and ADM, could improve survival of the leukemic mice compared to those treated with PBS. The results showed that NCL targeted by AS1411 sensitized ADM treatment and prolonged survival in vivo. In summary, our findings revealed NCL as a survival predictor and the novel role of NCL in ALL chemo-resistance. NCL may be a potential target for improving outcome in ALL. Disclosures No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.

L-arginine depletion by PEG-arginase I, a new potential therapy for acute lymphoblastic leukemia.

2012 ◽  
Vol 30 (15_suppl) ◽  
pp. 6580-6580
Author(s):  
Ofelia Crombet Ramos ◽  
Claudia Hernandez ◽  
Kevin Morrow ◽  
John T. Cole ◽  
Paulo Rodriguez
Keyword(s):  
Cell Proliferation ◽  
Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia ◽  
T Cell ◽  
De Novo ◽  
Remission Rate ◽  
Lymphoblastic Leukemia ◽  
Arginase I

6580 Background: Advances in therapies have resulted in an overall complete remission rate of approximately 85% for childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). In contrast, the overall remission rate of adults with leukemia continues to be poor, only about 40% in cases of T cell-ALL (T-ALL). Therefore, it is imperative to generate new therapies that alone or in combination with other treatments could potentially increase the percentages of complete responders or be used to treat the refractory ALL population. Our published results show that a pegylated form of human arginase I (peg-Arg I) prevented T-ALL cell proliferation in vitro and in vivo through the induction of tumor cell apoptosis. Interestingly, the anti-leukemic effects induced by peg-Arg I did not affect the anti-tumor activity of normal T cells, suggesting an anti-tumor specific effect. Our hypothesis states that peg-Arg I has an anti-tumoral effect on B-ALL and T-ALL cells in vitro and that the sensitivity of ALL cells to peg-Arg I depends on their expression of argininosuccinate synthase (ASS) and their ability to produce L-arginine de novo from citrulline. Methods: Malignant T cell proliferation was tested using nonradioactive cell proliferation yellow tretrazolium salt kit. Apoptosis studies were based on the expression of annexin V. Western blot assays were conducted to determine enzymatic expression in different cell lines. Results: The results of our in vitro experiments showed that peg-Arg I had a pro-apoptotic and anti-proliferattive effect on B-ALL cells similar to the one previously seen on T-ALL cells. These effects can be overcome in cell lines able that express ASS and therefore to produce L-arginine de novo. Conclusions: Our results suggest the role of ASS in the ALL-apoptosis induced by peg-Arg-I. Our next steps include: _Understand why ASS-expressing ALL cells do not undergo apoptosis when cultured with peg-Arg-I_Determine the role of ASS in the anti-leukemic effect induced by peg-Arg-I in vivo. Completion of this research is expected to lead to a better understanding of how peg-Arg-I kills ALL cells and could provide the foundation for a novel therapy for ALL patients.

Functional Modulation of VLA6 in BCR-ABL1+ Pre-B Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia.

Blood ◽  
2012 ◽  
Vol 120 (21) ◽  
pp. 2565-2565
Author(s):  
Eun Ji Gang ◽  
Yao-Te Hsieh ◽  
Huimin Geng ◽  
Jennifer Pham ◽  
Markus Muschen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Bone Marrow ◽  
Flow Cytometry ◽  
Drug Resistance ◽  
Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia ◽  
Lymphoblastic Leukemia ◽  
Conditional Knockout ◽  
Leukemia Cells

Abstract Abstract 2565 Chemotherapy drug resistance in acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) remains a major problem, resulting in reduced treatment efficacy and relapse. The bone marrow environment (BME) has been shown to promote resistance of leukemia cells towards chemotherapy, which has been attributed to several proteins, including integrins. Our analysis of 207 children with high-risk (BCR/ABL1−) pre-B ALL revealed that high expression of the laminin-binding integrin VLA6 (alpha6beta1) portends poor clinical outcomes in patients with minimal residual disease (MRD+) on day 29 of induction. In addition, our comparative analysis of pre-B leukemia and normal B-cells revealed that VLA6 is preferentially upregulated on BCR/ABL1+ pre-B ALL blasts. Alterations in adhesion properties have been described for BCR/ABL1+ (p210) chronic myeloid leukemia. The role of integrins and integrin VLA6 in particular for cell adhesion-mediated drug resistance (CAM-DR) in BCR/ABL1+ (p210) ALL has not been addressed. With respect to its role for normal immature hematopoietic cells, contradictory observations have been reported. Therefore, we hypothesized that VLA6-mediated adhesion of ALL cells to the bone marrow stromal niche contributes to drug resistance. We evaluated the role of VLA6 in BCR-ABL1+ leukemia using two of our established models of leukemia, a conditional knockout model of VLA6 in murine BCR-ABL1+ leukemia and a xenograft model of human BCR-ABL1+ leukemia. VLA6fl/fl cells were oncogenically transformed using BCR-ABL1 (p210) and cultured under lymphoid-skewing conditions. Induction of pre- B (B220+ CD19+) ALL was confirmed by flow cytometry. Subsequent transduction with CreERT2 or EmptyERT2 generated leukemia cells in which VLA6 ablation could be induced (CreERT2) or not (EmptyERT2) by addition of Tamoxifen. Conditional ablation of VLA6 in vitro decreased adhesion significantly compared to undeleted controls (19.7%±8.1% vs. 87.7%±6.0%; p=0.00041) and increased apoptosis of murine BCR-ABL1+ leukemia cells as determined by analysis of Annexin V−/7-AAD− viable cells by flow cytometry (VLA6 deleted vs. undeleted: 35.3%±1.1% vs. 75.1%±1.2%; p=0.0001). Moreover, VLA6 deletion sensitized murine ALL to a tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI), Nilotinib (p=0.022, 45.6%±2.4% vs. 73.3%±13.0%). To test the effect of VLA6 deletion on leukemic progression in vivo, VLA6 BCR/ABL1+ pre-B (B220+ CD19+) CreERT2+ or control transduced ALL cells were transferred into NOD/SCID mice. 3 days thereafter, VLA6 deletion was induced by Tamoxifen administration to all animals in 2 cycles for 5 days. In vivo deletion of VLA6 in delayed leukemia progression compared to VLA6 competent controls from a median survival time (MST) of 30 days post-leukemia injection to a MST of 43 days post-leukemia injection (p=0.008 Log-rank test). In vivo deletion of VLA6 in combination with Nilotinib treatment delayed leukemia progression compared to VLA6 competent, as Nilotinib-treated control animals have uniformly died of leukemia with a MST of 39.5 days, however the Nilotinib treated VLA6 deleted group is completely alive and is still being monitored (p=0.0025). When VLA6 was ablated before transfer and recipients were observed for leukemia progression, the recipients of VLA6–deficient murine leukemia cells also showed attenuated leukemia progression compared to recipients of VLA6 competent cells. Moreover, we show that VLA6 blockade de-adheres primary ALL cells from their cognate counter receptor laminin in vitro, and sensitizes primary ALL cells to TKI Taken together, modulating the function of VLA6 in ALL offers a new approach to overcome drug resistance in ALL. Given that VLA6 is probably largely redundant for normal immature hematopoiesis, this approach may be preferable over targeting of other integrins in BCR/ABL1+ leukemias on which VLA6 is expressed. Disclosures: No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.

scholarly journals Cancer-associated fibroblast-secreted exosomal miR-423-5p promotes chemotherapy resistance in prostate cancer by targeting GREM2 through the TGF-β signaling pathway

2020 ◽  
Vol 52 (11) ◽  
pp. 1809-1822
Author(s):  
Guang Shan ◽  
Juan Gu ◽  
Daoping Zhou ◽  
Lingxun Li ◽  
Wei Cheng ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Prostate Cancer ◽  
Drug Resistance ◽  
Drug Sensitivity ◽  
Regulatory Mechanism ◽  
Chemotherapy Resistance ◽  
Drug Resistant ◽  
Cancer Associated Fibroblast ◽  
Pathway Inhibition

AbstractTherapeutic failure in prostate cancer (PC) is believed to result from its unusually invasive and metastatic nature. Cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) are essential in the tumor microenvironment. We intended to study the role of CAF-derived exosomes in the context of PC and the potential regulatory mechanism associated with miR-423-5p and GREM2. CAF-derived exosomes decreased the chemosensitivity of parental PC cells and enhanced the drug resistance of drug-resistant cells. PC-associated fibroblast-derived exosomes carrying miR-423-5p increased the resistance of PC to taxane by inhibiting GREM2 through the TGF-β pathway. Inhibition of the TGF-β pathway partially reversed the increased drug resistance in PC cells induced by CAF-derived exosomes. Inhibition of miR-423-5p enhanced the drug sensitivity of PC cells in vivo. We showed that CAF-secreted exosomal miR-423-5p promoted chemotherapy resistance in PC by targeting GREM2 through the TGF-β pathway. This study may allow the development of novel approaches for PC.

scholarly journals In vitro cellular drug resistance in children with relapsed/refractory acute lymphoblastic leukemia

Blood ◽  
1995 ◽  
Vol 86 (10) ◽  
pp. 3861-3868 ◽  
Author(s):  
E Klumper ◽  
R Pieters ◽  
AJ Veerman ◽  
DR Huismans ◽  
AH Loonen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Drug Resistance ◽  
Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia ◽  
Poor Prognosis ◽  
De Novo ◽  
Lymphoblastic Leukemia ◽  
Childhood All ◽  
Acquired Drug Resistance ◽  
The Poor ◽  
Response To Chemotherapy

Cellular drug resistance is thought to be an important cause of the poor prognosis for children with relapsed or refractory acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), but it is unknown when, to which drugs, and to what extent resistance is present. We determined in vitro resistance to 13 drugs with the MTT assay. Compared with 141 children with initial ALL, cells from 137 children with relapsed ALL were significantly more resistant to glucocorticoids, L-asparaginase, anthracyclines, and thiopurines, but not to vinca-alkaloids, cytarabine, ifosfamide, and epipodophyllotoxins. Relapsed ALL cells expressed the highest level of resistance to glucocorticoids, with a median level 357- and >24-fold more resistant to prednisolone and dexamethasone, respectively, than initial ALL cells, whereas the resistance ratios for the other drugs differed from 0.8- to 1.9-fold, intraindividual comparisons between initial and relapsed samples from 16 children with ALL showed that both de novo and acquired drug resistance were involved. Specific in vitro drug-resistance profiles were associated with high-risk relapsed ALL groups. In vitro drug resistance was also related to the clinical response to chemotherapy in relapsed/refractory childhood ALL. We conclude that drug resistance may explain the poor prognosis for children with relapsed/refractory ALL. These day may be helpful to design alternative treatment regimens for relapsed childhood ALL.

Bortezomib Has No. Ex Vivo Activity in Chronic Myeloid Leukemia: Individual Tumor Response Testing Comparative Study in Pediatric and Adult Acute and Chronic Leukemia.

Blood ◽  
2009 ◽  
Vol 114 (22) ◽  
pp. 4257-4257
Author(s):  
Krzysztof Czyzewski ◽  
Lidia Gil ◽  
Beata Kolodziej ◽  
Beata Rafinska ◽  
Krzysztof Lewandowski ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Drug Resistance ◽  
Kinase Inhibitors ◽  
De Novo ◽  
Advanced Disease ◽  
Conflicts Of Interest ◽  
Ex Vivo ◽  
Chemotherapy Resistance ◽  
Kinase Domain ◽  
Pediatric Leukemia ◽  
Pediatric Aml

Abstract Abstract 4257 Background Resistance to imatinib is one of the most important issues in treatment of CML. Proteasome inhibitor, bortezomib, is known to be effective in therapy of various neoplasms. Preclinical studies demonstrate the ability of bortezomib in chemosensitization and overcoming of chemotherapy resistance. Objective Analysis of ex vivo drug resistance to bortezomib and another 23 drugs including tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKI) in CML, in comparison to acute adult and pediatric leukemia. Material and methods A total number of 241 patients entered the study, including: 106 Ph(-)ALL and 53 AML children (age 0.1-18, median 7 years) and 46 AML and 36 CML adults (age 18-69, median 41 years). All children were diagnosed as de novo leukemia, AML adults as de novo (n=20) or relapsed/refractory (n=26). Due to similar drug sensitivity, all adult AML patients were pooled into one group (Gil et al, Anticancer Res, 2007;27:4021). Among CML patients 19 had advanced disease; 16 were resistant to imatinib and 6 had ABL-kinase domain mutations (M244V, E255K, Y253H, M351T and 2 with F317L). Ex vivo drug resistance profile was studied by the MTT assay with the use of following drugs: prednisolone, vincristine, idarubicin, daunorubicin, doxorubicin, mitoxantrone, etoposide, L-asparaginase, melphalan, cytarabine, fludarabine, cladribine, thiotepa, treosulfan, 4-HOO-cyclophosphamide, thioguanine, bortezomib, topotecan, clofarabine and busulfan. CML patients were also tested for sensitivity to TKI: imatinib, dasatinib and nilotinib. Results CML cells were more resistant than AML blasts to following drugs: prednisolone (1.5-fold; p=0.037), vincristine (2.3-fold; p=0.004), doxorubicin (>6.9-fold; p<0.001), etoposide (7.4-fold; p<0.001), melphalan (5.9-fold; p=0.001), cytarabine (12.5-fold; p=0.005), fludarabine (2.6-fold; p=0.008), thiotepa (5.4-fold: p=0.001), 4-HOO-cyclophosphamide (2.3-fold; p=0.015), thioguanine (>4-fold; p<0.001), bortezomib (6.2-fold; p<0.001), topotecan (20-fold; p<0.001), and clofarabine (50-fold; p<0.001). No differences in sensitivity were found for idarubicin, daunorubicin, mitoxantrone, L-asparaginase, cladribine, and treosulfan, while CML cells were 2-fold more sensitive to busulfan (p=0.035). Adult and pediatric AML samples did not differ significantly in ex vivo drug resistance to all tested drugs. Pediatric AML samples were more resistant than pediatric ALL samples to most of tested drugs, however they had comparable sensitivity to cytarabine, thioguanine, bortezomib, and clofarabine. CML patients with mutation had higher ex vivo resistance to: vincristine (3.3-fold; p=0.044), idarubicin (7.9-fold; p=0.031), thiotepa (13.7-fold; p=0.044), and busulfan (21.6-fold; p=0.024). No significant differences were observed with respect to other drugs, including all 3 TKI's. CML patients resistant to imatinib had higher ex vivo resistance to: vincristine (2.5-fold; p=0.016), daunorubicin (3.1-fold; p=0.011), etoposide (2.2-fold; p=0.031), and busulfan (4.5-fold; p=0.032). No significant differences were observed in respect to other drugs, including all 3 TKI's. No significant differences were observed between CML patients with non-advanced and advanced disease to all tested drugs, including TKI's. Conclusions CML cells are ex vivo more resistant to most drugs than acute leukemia blasts. Bortezomib alone has no ex vivo activity in CML patients. No differences between CML subgroups in sensitivity to 3 various TKI was detected. These findings require further investigations. Acknowledgments This study was supported by grants: EC 2008/2009 ZPORR SPS.IV-3040-UE/217/2009; EFS 9/9/POKL/4.4.1/2008; UMK 09/2009 and MNiSW N407 078 32/2964. Disclosures: No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.

The Small Molecule Inhibitor of VLA4 TBC3486 Sensitizes Resistant ALL to Chemotherapy

Blood ◽  
2012 ◽  
Vol 120 (21) ◽  
pp. 1500-1500 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yao-Te Hsieh ◽  
Eun Ji Gang ◽  
Halvard Bonig ◽  
Ronald J Biediger ◽  
Peter Vanderslice ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cell Viability ◽  
Small Molecule ◽  
Conflicts Of Interest ◽  
Lymphoblastic Leukemia ◽  
Chemotherapy Resistance ◽  
Leukemia Cell ◽  
The Novel ◽  
Small Molecule Inhibition

Abstract Abstract 1500 Significant progress notwithstanding, drug resistant acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) remains a therapeutic challenge, as well as acute and long-term off-target toxicity of anti-ALL therapies can be dose-limiting or debilitating. Therefore, the development of more targeted therapies is desirable. We recently provided evidence that chemotherapy resistance of ALL cells can be partly overcome by interfering with the function of VLA4, the alpha4beta1 integrin, in vivo. In those studies, we used the anti-functional antibody Natalizumab. We extended our studies to an alternative VLA4 inhibitor, the novel non-peptidic small molecule TBC3486. Previous in vitro assays and molecular modeling studies indicate that TBC3486 behaves as a ligand mimetic, competing with VCAM-1 for the MIDAS site of VLA-4. As such, the compound has been shown to be efficacious in VLA-4 dependent models of inflammatory and autoimmune disease. The potential usefulness of this novel inhibitor in leukemia treatment was tested in our established in vitro and in vivo assays. LAX7R cells, primary pre-B-ALL with a normal karyotype from a patient with an early relapse, were used throughout for the studies reported here. LAX7R cells were treated with 25μM TBC3486 or THI0012 control, the inactive enantiomer of TBC3486, and seeded onto plates coated with human VCAM-1. Adhesion, scored after 2 days, was significantly inhibited by TBC3486 compared to control treated cells (7.9%±4.0 vs 95.4%±8.0; p=0.003). Proliferation rate and cell viability were unaffected by the treatments. In a co-culture system of LAX7R cells with OP9 stroma cells, which we use as an in vitro model of stroma-mediated chemotherapy resistance, we assessed differential effects of VDL (Vincristine, Dexamethasone, L-Asparaginase) on leukemia cell survival in the presence or absence of TBC3486. Stromal adhesion significantly protected LAX7R cells against VDL chemotherapy; this effect was significantly attenuated by TBC3486 compared to the control as determined by Trypan blue exclusion of dead cells (Cell viability of 39.9%±5.1 vs. 57.2±1.8; p=0.02). After these encouraging observations, we next evaluated the benefit of TBC3486 on leukemia progression in a xenotransplant assay. LAX7R cells were lentivirally labelled with luciferase for in vivo tracking and injected into NOD/SCID hosts. Three days after leukemia cell transfer, mice received either TBC3486 or THI0012 (control) (10mg/kg/d) daily for 2 weeks (intraperitoneally), with or without VDL chemotherapy. This experiment is in progress, but already survival of leukemia-bearing mice was significantly prolonged, from a median survival time (MST) for control mice of 33 days post-leukemia injection to a MST of 47 days post-leukemia injection for TBC3486 treated mice (p=0.02). Similarly, bioluminescence imaging revealed a marked delay of leukemia cell dissemination (p<0.0001). Taken together, our data demonstrate that small molecule inhibition of VLA4 using the novel TBC3486 is a suitable approach for targeting of chemotherapy-resistant leukemia. Further studies are warranted to understand and evaluate preclinically adjuvant small molecule inhibition of integrins to overcome relapse of ALL. Disclosures: No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.

Augmented Berlin-Frankfurt-Muenster Based Therapy For Young Adults With Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL)

Blood ◽  
2013 ◽  
Vol 122 (21) ◽  
pp. 1400-1400 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael E. Rytting ◽  
Deborah A. Thomas ◽  
Susan O'Brien ◽  
Kurt Schroeder ◽  
Rebecca Garris ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Young Adults ◽  
Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia ◽  
De Novo ◽  
Conflicts Of Interest ◽  
Residual Disease ◽  
Lymphoblastic Leukemia ◽  
Univariate Analysis ◽  
Philadelphia Chromosome ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
Grade Iii

Abstract Pediatric-based therapy of acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) has been proposed as superior treatment for teen-agers and young adults with ALL. Several trials report improved survival rates in young adult ALL patients (pts) when treated with pediatric-based regimens. Augmented Berlin-Frankfurt-Muenster (ABFM) treatment is effective treatment for ALL in adolescents up to age 21. In an attempt to improve cure rates in AYA pts with ALL, we administered ABFM therapy to pts age 12 to 40 in a prospective, single institution trial. Results were then retrospectively compared to the HYPER CVAD regimen, the historical adult ALL regimen used at our institution. 85 pts with de novo Philadelphia chromosome negative ALL have completed at least 6 months of therapy. There are 69 (81%) pts with pre-B ALL and 16 (18%) pts with T-cell ALL/lymphoma. The age range is 13-39 with a median of 21. The median WBC at diagnosis is WBC=14 thousand/microliter (range 0.4-494). 80/85 (94%) pts entered remission (<5% blasts on day 29 marrow morphology). 1 patient died during induction. 61(72%) pts attained remission at day 15 of induction. 29 (22%) did not have morphological remission by day 15 of induction. At the end of induction, 46(58%) pts were minimal residual disease (MRD) negative by flow cytometry (<0.01% blasts). 25(31%) were positive for MRD and 6(7%) were not available or equivocal. By approximately day 84 of treatment, 55(69%) pts were negative for MRD and 13(16%) were positive or suspicious. Toxicities encountered include severe allergy to PEG-asparaginase in 17 (20%) pts, thrombosis in 18 (21%), hyperbilirubinemia grade III-IV in 31 (36%), elevated ALT grade III-IV in 28 (33%), hypofibrinogen grade III-IV in 30 (35%), pancreatitis in 9(11%), and avascular necrosis in 9 (11%). Grade III-IV hepatic toxicity is frequent but resolves within two weeks in almost all pts. For the entire cohort, the estimated 3 year overall survival (OS) is 75% and 3 year complete remission duration (CRD) is 71%. In univariate analysis, negative MRD at day 29 was associated with improved OS and day 84 negative MRD was associated with improved CRD. The presenting WBC was associated with OS and CRD. On multivariate analysis, only WBC over 50k/microliter maintained significance for OS and CRD. In comparing ABFM to HYPER CVAD, there is no significant difference in OS or CRD between the two regimens (fig. 1 and 2). This lack of difference in OS and CRD persists when patients are stratified for age > or </= 21 years, for presenting WBC over 50 thousand, and for MRD at the end of induction. In our hands, pediatric based therapy has significant though tolerable toxicity. Outcomes in AYA pts are similar but not superior to results obtained with historical ALL therapy. Disclosures: No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.

scholarly journals Activation of Simultaneous Apoptosis and Necroptosis to Eradicate Drug Resistant Leukemia

Blood ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 126 (23) ◽  
pp. 1283-1283
Author(s):  
Scott McComb ◽  
Julia Aguadé-Gorgorió ◽  
Blerim Marovca ◽  
Lena Harder ◽  
Gunnar Cario ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cell Death ◽  
De Novo ◽  
Conflicts Of Interest ◽  
Ex Vivo ◽  
Lymphoblastic Leukemia ◽  
Short Circuit ◽  
Large Set ◽  
Ex Vivo Model ◽  
Resistant Disease

Abstract Dysregulation of apoptotic pathways provides an indiscriminate mechanism for refractory acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) to escape cell death induced by many chemotherapeutic compounds. Here we have assessed the potential of SMAC mimetic (SM) compounds to short circuit cell death resistance by blocking the pro-survival cellular inhibitor of apoptosis (cIAP) proteins. By screening a large set of patient-derived precursor B-cell ALL samples in an ex vivo model of the leukemia microenvironment we detect exquisite sensitivity to two different SM compounds, Birinapant and LCL161, in about one third of ALL samples. Strong ex vivo SM activity correlated with potent in vivo anti-leukemic efficacy against de novo refractory and relapsed ALL xenografts. Intriguingly, we find that although SM-sensitivity is independent of TNF and TNFR1 levels, expression of TNFR2 is highly predictive of response to SM in two separate cohorts of ALL samples, suggesting that TNFR2 expression may represent a promising biomarker for identifying SM-sensitive cells. Downstream, we employ a novel and powerful multi-colour Lenti-CRISPR approach to show that simultaneous disruption of both apoptotic and necroptotic genes is necessary to block SM-induced death. In contrast, disruption of RIP1 alone was adequate to block SM-induced apoptosis and necroptosis. Surprisingly, RIP1 loss had no significant impact on response to standard anti-leukemic therapies, supporting a view that the RIP1-dependent death pathway is not likely to be selected against in leukemia cells that have failed to respond to front line therapy. These results provide the first evidence that SM compounds can circumvent apoptotic escape in drug-refractory ALL through parallel activation of both RIP1-dependent apoptosis and necroptosis. Furthermore, our data strongly support further development of SM as anti-leukemic agents for treatment in resistant disease. Disclosures No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.

scholarly journals AVA4746, an Orally Available, Clinical Grade Antagonist of Integrin Alpha 4, Sensitizes Pre-B Cell Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia to Chemotherapy

Blood ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 128 (22) ◽  
pp. 2765-2765 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yongsheng Ruan ◽  
Eun Ji Gang ◽  
Hye-Na Kim ◽  
Chintan Parekh ◽  
Hisham Abdel-Azim ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Overall Survival ◽  
Drug Resistance ◽  
Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia ◽  
Metabolic Activity ◽  
Research Funding ◽  
Lymphoblastic Leukemia ◽  
Drug Resistant ◽  
Support Research

Abstract Background. Even though remarkable progress has been made in the treatment of childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), salvage of relapse patients remains a challenge. The role of the bone marrow (BM) microenvironment is critical to protect leukemia cells from chemotherapy. The BM microenvironment promotes cell adhesion-mediated drug resistance (CAM-DR) in ALL.We and others have shown that the adhesion molecule integrin α4, referred to hereafter as α4, mediates drug resistance of B-ALL. In our previous studies, we showed that both α4 blockade by natalizumab and inhibition by the small molecule α4 antagonist TBC3486 can sensitize relapsed ALL cells to chemotherapy. However, no α4 targeting therapy is currently clinically available to treat leukemia. Here, we preclinically evaluate a novel non-peptidic small molecule antagonist, AVA4746, which has been safely used in clinical studies, as a potential new approach to combat drug resistant ALL. Method. Six refractory or relapsed primary pre-B ALL cases were used for in vitro studies. Viability was assessed by trypan blue counts or annexin V/7AAD flow cytometric analysis and metabolic activity was evaluated by Cytoscan WST-1 assay. For in vivo evaluation a NOD/SCID IL2Rγ-/- xenograft model of primary pre-B ALL (LAX7R) was used.AVA4746 (15mg/kg) was administered by oral gavage twice a day continuously for 14 days, and vincristine, dexamethasone, L-asparaginase (VDL) was given intraperitoneally (weekly) for 4 weeks. Overall survival was determined by Kaplan-Meier Survival analysis. Results. AVA4746 caused a significant decrease in mean fluorescence intensity (MFI) of α4 expression in six out of six ALL cases at doses of both 5μM and 25μM after 24 hours and 96 hours compared to DMSO control. Interestingly, decreased protein expression of α4 was also observed by Western Blot analysis all six ALL cases. We tested next in two cases (LAX53, ICN13), if AVA4746 de-adheres ALL cells from its counter receptor VCAM-1. The percentages of adherence after treatment with AVA4746 (25μM) were significantly lower than after DMSO treatment (10.3%±4.9% vs. 99.9%±7.6%, p= 0.00007 for LAX7R; 8.1%±1.0% vs. 100.1%±13.6%, p= 0.0003 for LAX53; 9.0%±1.6% vs. 100.0%±14.0%, p=0.0004 for ICN13). AVA4746 was not associated with apoptosis in vitro alone or in combination with chemotherapy (VDL). Metabolic activity as assessed by WST-1 assay was markedly decreased by AVA4746 in two of two ALL cases. AVA4746 also decreased ALL proliferation in two out of two ALL samples tested. In vivo, AVA4746 in combination with VDL chemotherapy treatment led to significant prolongation of overall survival (n=6) compared with the VDL only treated group (n=6) (MST= 78.5 days vs MST= 68 days; P<0.05). There was no significant difference in survival between the PBS control group (n=5) and the AVA4746 mono-treatment group (n=5) (MST=38days vs MST= 38days). Conclusion. We have identified α4 as a central adhesion molecule in CAM-DR of ALL and have shown that AVA-4746, an orally available and specific α4 antagonist, which has been safely used in clinical studies, downregulates α4 in primary ALL and functionally de-adheres them from VCAM-1. Critically, we demonstrated that inhibition of α4 in combination with standard chemotherapy can prolong the survival of NSG mice bearing pre-B ALL. These data support further study of inhibition of α4 using AVA4746 as a novel strategy to treat drug resistant B lineage ALL. Disclosures Bhojwani: Amgen: Other: Blinatumumab global pediatric advisory board 2015. Wayne:Spectrum Pharmaceuticals: Honoraria, Other: Travel Support, Research Funding; Kite Pharma: Honoraria, Other: Travel support, Research Funding; Pfizer: Consultancy, Honoraria, Other: Travel Support; Medimmune: Honoraria, Other: Travel Support, Research Funding; NIH: Patents & Royalties. Kim:Antisense Therapeutics Ltd: Patents & Royalties.

scholarly journals Role of kif2c, A Gene Related to ALL Relapse, in Embryonic Hematopoiesis in Zebrafish

2020 ◽  
Vol 21 (9) ◽  
pp. 3127 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chang-Kyu Oh ◽  
Ji Wan Kang ◽  
Yoonsung Lee ◽  
Kyungjae Myung ◽  
Mihyang Ha ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia ◽  
Prognostic Markers ◽  
Lymphoblastic Leukemia ◽  
Zebrafish Embryos ◽  
Related Gene ◽  
Binding Partner ◽  
First Time ◽  
Novel Therapeutic

Relapse of acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) is dangerous and it worsens the prognosis of patients; however, prognostic markers or therapeutic targets for ALL remain unknown. In the present study, using databases such as TARGET, GSE60926 and GSE28460, we determined that KIF2C and its binding partner, KIF18B are overexpressed in patients with relapsed ALL compared to that in patients diagnosed with ALL for the first time. As 50% of the residues are exactly the same and the signature domain of KIF2C is highly conserved between human and zebrafish, we used zebrafish embryos as a model to investigate the function of kif2c in vivo. We determined that kif2c is necessary for lymphopoiesis in zebrafish embryos. Additionally, we observed that kif2c is not related to differentiation of HSCs; however, it is important for the maintenance of HSCs as it provides survival signals to HSCs. These results imply that the ALL relapse-related gene KIF2C is linked to the survival of HSCs. In conclusion, we suggest that KIF2C can serve as a novel therapeutic target for relapsed ALL.

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