Induction of Death Receptors for TRAIL, a Cytotoxic Factor for GVL Effect, by Oncogenic Fusion E2A-HLF Derived from t(17;19)-Positive Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia.

Blood ◽  
2007 ◽  
Vol 110 (11) ◽  
pp. 2785-2785
Author(s):  
Xiaochun Zhang ◽  
Takeshi Inukai ◽  
Koshi Akahane ◽  
Kinuko Hirose ◽  
Itaru Kuroda ◽  
...  

Abstract Graft versus leukemia (GVL) effect after allogeneic stem cell transplantation (allo-SCT) is mediated by the cytotoxic factors on cytotoxic T-cells and NK cells. Recent analysis demonstrates that TNF-related apoptosis inducing ligand, TRAIL, plays an important role in the GVL effect. TRAIL induces apoptosis of leukemia cells by the binding to the death receptors, DR4 and DR5. Thus, although the precise mechanism remains unclarified, the regulation of DR4/DR5 expression could be one of critical factors for susceptibility of leukemia cells to the GVL effect. t(17;19)-positive acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) has an extremely poor prognosis, but long-term disease-free survival was exceptionally observed in the case who underwent allo-SCT early in the first complete remission, suggesting that t(17;19)-ALL cells might be susceptible to TRAIL and eventually vulnerable to GVL effect. Accordingly, we examined the sensitivity of t(17;19)-ALL to recombinant human soluble (rhs) TRAIL using 4 cell lines. All 4 cell lines immediately underwent apoptosis by the treatment with rhsTRAIL, and the activation of Caspases 3 and 8, Bid, and PARP was confirmed with Western blotting. Of note, 4 t(17;19)-ALL cell lines showed a significantly higher TRAIL-sensitivity than did other 25 B-precursor ALL cell lines including Ph1, t(1;19), and MLL-rearrangement-positive ALLs. Cell surface expression of DR4/DR5, but not decoy receptors, was confirmed on all 4 cell lines by flow cytometry. Of importance, the levels of cell surface DR4/DR5 expression in 4 t(17;19)-ALL cell lines were significantly higher than those in other 25 B-precursor ALL cell lines. Real time RT-PCR analysis also demonstrated a significantly higher DR4/DR5 gene expression in t(17;19)-ALL cell lines. Since E2A-HLF chimeric transcription factor derived from t(17;19) plays an essential role in the leukemogenesis, we introduced E2A-HLF into the B-precursor ALL cell line 697, whose DR4/DR5 expression level is low, using Zn-inducible vector. When E2A-HLF expression was induced by Zn, the levels of DR4 and DR5 transcripts were immediately upregulated by 10-fold and 40-fold of baseline, respectively. The induction of DR4/DR5 expression was dependent on the DNA-binding and transactivation activity of E2A-HLF, since the mutants lacking either the DNA-binding or transactivation domains failed to induce DR4/DR5 expression. Further, binding of E2A-HLF to the consensus sites separated from the promoters of DR4/DR5 genes was demonstrated in EMSA. These observations indicate that E2A-HLF directly induces expression of DR4/DR5 and sensitizes leukemia cells to TRAIL and eventually GVL effect. This is the first presentation that oncogenic fusion product of translocation regulates the expression of death receptors.

Blood ◽  
2010 ◽  
Vol 116 (21) ◽  
pp. 3241-3241
Author(s):  
Noriko Satake ◽  
Astra Chang ◽  
Bridget McLaughlin ◽  
Sara Bauman ◽  
James Chan ◽  
...  

Abstract Abstract 3241 Leukemia cells are believed to arise from leukemia stem cells (LSC). It is also known that LSC are responsible for relapse in certain types of leukemia, such as acute myeloid leukemia (AML). However, the existence and role of LSC in acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) is unclear. CD9 was reported to be a marker for LSC in B-ALL using cell lines (Nishida H. et al., 2009). CD9 is a tetraspanin and is believed to be involved in cell adhesion, motility, and signaling events. It is also involved in metastasis; however, the mechanisms are unknown. Since childhood ALL is a heterogeneous group of diseases and cell lines can be different from primary leukemia cells, we tested the role of CD9 as a candidate LSC marker using primary precursor B (preB) ALL cells from pediatric patients. Two methods, Raman spectroscopy and serial transplantation of sorted leukemia cells in NOD/SCID/IL2R g null (NSG) mice, were used to confirm LSC. Raman spectroscopy is a laser-based technique for the single cell analysis of intrinsic molecular vibrations reflecting cellular biochemical information. It can provide a quantitative assessment of the levels of DNA, RNA, proteins, lipids, and carbohydrates in the cell, as well as molecular-level conformational changes. Previous studies by our group showed that unique Raman fingerprints were identified in normal blood cells, ALL cells, and stem cells, including hematopoietic stem cells and embryonic stem cells. Four preB ALL samples were stained for CD9 and sorted by flow cytometry. ALL samples were obtained from patients at diagnosis or freshly harvested from NSG mice engrafted with primary leukemia samples. All samples showed heterogeneous expression of CD9. CD9 high-positive cells and negative cells were flow sorted. Raman spectra of freshly sorted CD9 high-positive and negative cells were obtained. 10 to 20 cells were analyzed in each sample. CD34 positive cells, which were isolated from normal donors, were also analyzed by Raman spectroscopy as a control. No unique Raman fingerprints were identified to separate CD9 high-positive cells from negative cells using Principal Component Analysis (PCA). Furthermore, CD9 high-positive and negative cells from three preB ALL samples were transplanted into NSG mice via intra-bone marrow injection. Equal cell numbers (5×105 to 1.5×106 cells) were used for positive and negative samples in each injection. The majority of the mice from both groups (transplanted with CD9 high-positive or negative cells) developed leukemia 3 to 4 months after injection. Leukemia phenotype was confirmed to be the same as the original leukemia. In conclusion, although CD9 was shown to be a marker for LSC in B-ALL cell lines, it does not appear to be an LSC marker in primary preB ALL. Since childhood preB ALL is a heterogeneous group of diseases, larger cohorts are necessary to confirm our findings. Raman spectroscopy may be a useful screening tool for analysis of cellular intrinsic markers. Disclosures: No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.


Blood ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 124 (21) ◽  
pp. 3569-3569
Author(s):  
Ye Shen ◽  
Chun Shik Park ◽  
Koramit Suppipat ◽  
Takeshi Yamada ◽  
Toni-Ann Mistretta ◽  
...  

Abstract Acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) is the most common hematological malignancy in children. Although risk-adaptive therapy, CNS-directed chemotherapy and supportive care have improved the survival of ALL patients, disease relapse is still the leading cause of cancer-related death in children. Therefore, new drugs or novel multi-drug combinations are needed as frontline treatments for high-risk patients and as salvage agents for relapsed disease. T-cell ALL (T-ALL) is a subset of ALL that exhibits activating mutations of NOTCH1 in more than 50% of the patients. However, the use of gamma-secretase inhibitors to reduce NOTCH1 activity has not been successful in patients due to limited response and toxicity. Therefore, identification of genetic factors that cooperate with T-ALL leukemogenesis is needed for the development of alternative therapies. KLF4 is a transcription factor that functions as a tumor suppressor or an oncogene depending on cellular context. Our data showed significant reduction of KLF4 transcripts in lymphoblasts from T-ALL patients compared to blood and bone marrow cells from healthy individuals. In consistent with reduced KLF4 levels, these patients exhibit hyper-methylation of CpG islands located between nt -811 and +1190 relative to KLF4 transcription start site. From these findings we hypothesized that KLF4 has tumor suppressor function in T-ALL leukemogenesis. To test our hypothesis, we transduced 5-FU treated bone marrow (BM) cells from control (Klf4fl/fl), Klf4 null (Klf4fl/fl; Vav-iCre) and Klf4 heterozygous (Klf4fl/+; Vav-iCre) mice with retrovirus carrying a NOTCH1 activating mutant (L1601P-ΔP) and then transplanted these BM cells into irradiated recipient mice. In contrast to controls, mice transplanted with transduced Klf4-null BM cells developed T-ALL with significantly higher penetrance (Klf4 null 76.5% v.s. control 21.3%) and shorter latency (Klf4 null 93 days v.s. control 130 days). Interestingly, Klf4 heterozygous group shows similar survival kinetics as Klf4 null group, suggesting that Klf4 haploinsufficiency is enough to accelerate onset of leukemia. To investigate the effect of Klf4 deletion in established leukemia cells, we transplanted NOTCH1 L1601P-ΔP transduced BM cells from Klf4fl/fl; CreER+ mice to induce leukemia. Post-transplantation deletion of the Klf4 gene by tamoxifen administration was able to accelerate T-ALL development compared to mice injected with vehicle. On the cellular level, loss of KLF4 led to increased proliferation of leukemia cells as assessed by in vivo BrdU incorporation, which correlated with decreased levels of p21 protein. Limited dilution transplantation of primary leukemia cells into secondary recipients showed a 9-fold increase of leukemia initiating cells (LIC) frequency in Klf4null leukemia cells compared to controls, suggesting that KLF4 controls expansion of LIC in T-ALL. To elucidate molecular mechanism underlying KLF4 regulation in T-ALL cells, we performed microarray and ChIP-Seq in control and Klf4 null CD4+CD8+ leukemia cells. Combined analyses revealed 202 genes as KLF4 direct targets, of which 11 genes are also deregulated in human T-ALL cells by comparing with published microarray datasets. One of the top upregulated genes is Map2k7, which encodes a kinase upstream of the JNK pathway. Immunoblots in leukemia cells confirmed increased expression of MAP2K7 protein and enhanced phosphorylation of its downstream targets JNK and ATF2. To further investigate the role of JNK pathway in T-ALL, we tested JNK inhibitor SP600125 in human T-ALL cell lines (KOPTK1, DND41, CCRF-CEM, MOLT3). Interestingly, SP600125 showed dose-dependent cytotoxicity in all human T-ALL cell lines tested regardless of their NOTCH1 status. Overall our results showed for the first time that KLF4 functions as a tumor suppressor in T-ALL by regulating proliferation of leukemia cells and frequency of LIC. Additional study elucidated that KLF4 suppresses the JNK pathway via direct transcriptional regulation of MAP2K7. Moreover, the vulnerability of human T-ALL cell lines to JNK inhibition provides a novel target for future therapy in T-ALL patients. Disclosures No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.


Blood ◽  
1998 ◽  
Vol 92 (10) ◽  
pp. 3537-3545 ◽  
Author(s):  
Leo Mascarenhas ◽  
Renata Stripecke ◽  
Scott S. Case ◽  
Dakun Xu ◽  
Kenneth I. Weinberg ◽  
...  

Autologous leukemia cells engineered to express immune-stimulating molecules may be used to elicit antileukemia immune responses. Gene delivery to human B-precursor acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) cells was investigated using the enhanced green fluorescent protein (EGFP) as a reporter gene, measured by flow cytometry. Transfection of the Nalm-6 and Reh B-precursor ALL leukemia cell lines with an expression plasmid was investigated using lipofection, electroporation, and a polycationic compound. Only the liposomal compound Cellfectin showed significant gene transfer (3.9% to 12% for Nalm-6 cells and 3.1% to 5% for Reh cells). Transduction with gibbon-ape leukemia virus pseudotyped Moloney murine leukemia virus (MoMuLV)-based retrovirus vectors was investigated in various settings. Cocultivation of ALL cell lines with packaging cell lines showed the highest transduction efficiency for retroviral gene transfer (40.1% to 87.5% for Nalm-6 cells and 0.3% to 9% for Reh cells), followed by transduction with viral supernatant on the recombinant fibronectin fragment CH-296 (13% to 35.5% for Nalm-6 cells and 0.4% to 6% Reh cells), transduction on human bone marrow stroma monolayers (3.2% to 13.3% for Nalm-6 cells and 0% to 0.2% Reh cells), and in suspension with protamine sulfate (0.7% to 3.1% for Nalm-6 cells and 0% for Reh cells). Transduction of both Nalm-6 and Reh cells with human immunodeficiency virus–type 1 (HIV-1)–based lentiviral vectors pseudotyped with the vesicular stomatitis virus-G envelope produced the best gene transfer efficiency, transducing greater than 90% of both cell lines. Gene delivery into primary human B-precursor ALL cells from patients was then investigated using MoMuLV-based retrovirus vectors and HIV-1–based lentivirus vectors. Both vectors transduced the primary B-precursor ALL cells with high efficiencies. These studies may be applied for investigating gene delivery into primary human B-precursor ALL cells to be used for immunotherapy.


Blood ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 126 (23) ◽  
pp. 903-903
Author(s):  
Salih Demir ◽  
Galina Selivanova ◽  
Eugen Tausch ◽  
Lisa Wiesmüller ◽  
Stephan Stilgenbauer ◽  
...  

Abstract Mutations of the tumor suppressor gene TP53 have been described to be associated with aggressive disease and inferior prognosis in different types of cancer, including hematological malignancies. In acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), TP53 alterations are infrequently found at diagnosis but have recently been described in about 12% of patients at relapse. This suggests an association with therapy resistance in high risk/relapsed ALL and patients with TP53 mutated ALL have in fact an inferior outcome. Small molecule compounds targeting mutated TP53 such as APR-246, initially described as PRIMA-1MET (p53-dependent reactivation and induction of massive apoptosis) leading to apoptosis induction have shown activity in several types of malignancies with mutated TP53. In ALL, however, mutant TP53 has so far not been addressed as a target for therapeutic intervention. In this study, we investigated a large cohort of patient-derived pediatric B cell precursor (BCP)-ALL primograft samples to identify cases with mutated TP53. Further, we analyzed the effects of APR-246 and evaluated its activity on BCP-ALL cell lines and primografts with mutated (mut) orwild type (wt) TP53. Altogether, 62 BCP-ALL primograft samples established from patients at diagnosis (n=53) or relapse (n=9) by transplantation of primary ALL cells onto NOD/SCID mice were screened for TP53 mutations by denaturating high-performance liquid chromatography (dHPLC) followed by Sanger sequencing of exons 4 to 10 to confirm detected mutations. We identified 4 cases with TP53 mut, 3 obtained from diagnosis (5.6%) and one at relapse (11.1%), corresponding to frequencies described in clinical studies. Mutated cases were further analyzed by fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH), revealing a 17p deletion in one TP53 mut sample. Similarly, we analyzed 6 BCP-ALL cell lines and identified 2 TP53 mut and 4 TP53 wt lines. Exposure of BCP-ALL primograft (TP53 mut n=4, TP53 wt n=4) and cell line (TP53 mut n=2, TP53 wt n=4) samples to the DNA damaging agent doxorubicin showed, as expected, resistance of TP53 mut leukemia cells for cell death induction, reflected by significantly higher half maximal inhibitory concentrations (IC50; TP53 mut 49 and 143 ng/ml, TP53 wt mean 12 ng/ml) and lower induction of cell death (TP53 mut 16 to 23%, TP53 wt 10 to 60%) in TP53 mut ALL, corroborating the tumor-suppressive function of p53 in ALL. We then investigated the sensitivity of BCP-ALL cell lines for cell death induction by APR-246 (kindly provided by Aprea, Stockholm, Sweden). We observed high sensitivity for APR-246 in TP53 mut (IC50: 5 µM for both cell lines) as compared to TP53 wt ALL (mean IC50: 58 µM). DNA fragmentation and Annexin-V/propidium-iodide (PI) positivity revealed apoptosis as mechanism of APR-246 mediated cell death. Reactive oxygen species (ROS) have recently been described to mediate APR-246 induced cell death in multiple myeloma cells. Therefore, we investigated ROS levels by detection of oxidation-specific fluorescence of dichlorodihydrofluorescein diacetate (DCFDA) in ALL cells. Interestingly, ROS quenching by N-acetyl cysteine abolished induction of cell death in TP53 mut but not TP53 wt ALL cells indicating ROS as a mediator of APR-246 induced cell death in TP53 mut ALL. Furthermore, we addressed p53 activation in response to APR-246 by assessing phosphorylation of p53 (p53pSer15) using phosphoflow cytometry. Most interestingly, APR-246 led to 6-fold increased p53pSer15 levels in TP53 mut compared to no activation in TP53 wt leukemia cells, indicating restoration of p53function upon APR-246treatment in BCP-ALL. Based on these findings, we addressed the effectivity of APR-246on primary, patient-derived primografts and compared sensitivities for cell death induction in TP53 mut (n=4) and TP53 wt (n=4) samples. Importantly, the pattern of responsiveness of TP53 mut ALL was also identified in TP53 mut patient-derived ALL samples with induction of significantly higher cell death rates in TP53 mut ALL (TP53 mut 48%, TP53 wt 18%, 5 µM APR-246, 24 h). Taken together, we showed that TP53 mut BCP-ALL can be targeted by APR-246 leading to re-activation of p53, induction of ROS dependent apoptosis and effective leukemia cell killing. Thus, targeting and re-activation of mutated p53 provides a promising novel strategy for therapeutic intervention in this high-risk subtype of BCP-ALL. Disclosures Selivanova: Aprea: Patents & Royalties: APR-246. Tausch:Gilead: Other: Travel support. Stilgenbauer:Gilead: Honoraria, Research Funding.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Santosh Kumar Paidi ◽  
Piyush Raj ◽  
Rosalie Bordett ◽  
Chi Zhang ◽  
Sukrut Hemant Karandikar ◽  
...  

AbstractAcute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) is one of the most common malignancies which account for nearly one-third of all pediatric cancers. The current diagnostic assays are time-consuming, labor-intensive, and require expensive reagents. Here, we report a label-free approach featuring diffraction phase imaging and Raman microscopy that can retrieve both morphological and molecular attributes for label-free optical phenotyping of individual B cells. By investigating leukemia cell lines of early and late stages along with the healthy B cells, we show that phase image can capture subtle morphological differences among the healthy, early, and late stages of leukemic cells. By exploiting its biomolecular specificity, we demonstrate that Raman microscopy is capable of accurately identifying not only different stages of leukemia cells, but also individual cell lines at each stage. Overall, our study provides a rationale for employing this hybrid modality to screen leukemia cells using the widefield QPI and using Raman microscopy for accurate differentiation of early and late-stage phenotypes. This contrast-free and rapid diagnostic tool exhibits great promise for clinical diagnosis and staging of leukemia in the near future.


Blood ◽  
2008 ◽  
Vol 112 (11) ◽  
pp. 2511-2511
Author(s):  
Manon Queudeville ◽  
Hannah Kunze ◽  
Sarah M. Eckhoff ◽  
Klaus-Michael Debatin ◽  
Lueder H. Meyer

Abstract Oncogenesis and tumor progression are supported by alterations in cellular signaling. We used phospho-specific antibodies in flow cytometry to analyze specific signaling profiles of leukemia cells at a single cell level in 7 B cell precursor (BCP)-ALL leukemia cell lines and 7 primary pediatric BCP-ALL xenograft samples. Peripheral blood lymphocytes gated on CD19-positive B cells were used as normal nonmalignant controls. Cells were stimulated by different stimulants and cytokines (PMA, anisomycin, IL-4, IL-6, IL-7, IL-10 and IFN-α) and activation of various phosphoepitopes (pERK, pp38, pJNK, pStat1, pStat3, pStat5, pStat6) was analyzed and compared to the basal state of unstimulated samples. Signaling profiles of normal B-lymphocytes were compared to those of the BCPALL cell lines as well as to the BCP-ALL xenograft samples. Significance of differences was assessed by the nonparametric Mann-Whitney U-test. Basal phosphorylation was significantly higher in the leukemia cell lines than in normal lymphocytes. Similarly, basal phosphorylation of all analyzed epitopes in xenografts exceeded the phosphorylation state of normal B-lymphocytes (with the exception of p38 phosphorylation, where there was no significant difference). Interestingly, the BCP-leukemia cell lines also had significantly higher basal phosphorylation levels than the primary BCP-ALL xenografts. However, when comparing the amounts of phosphorylation before and after stimulation mature normal B-cells displayed significantly higher profiles compared to the leukemia cell lines e.g. for pp38 and pJNK after stimulation with PMA (P= .001), for pStat3 after stimulation with IL-6 (P= .002) and IL-10 (P= .037) and for pStat6 (P= .001) after stimulation with IL-4. Conversely, the leukemia cell lines showed increased phosphorylation of p38 after stimulation with anisomycin (P= .021) as well as higher Stat5 phosphorylation after stimulation with IL-7 (P= .021) compared to normal lymphocytes. In normal B-cells compared to xenografts higher levels were found after stimulation with PMA for pp38 (P= .007), for pJNK after PMA stimulation (P= .001), for pStat3 after IL-6 (P=.003) and for pStat6 after IL-4 (P= .002) stimulation while the xenograft samples displayed stronger reaction to stimulation with anisomycin for pp38 (P= .037) and to stimulation with IL-7 for pStat5 (P= .028). The level of phosphorylation after treatment with different stimulants in the xenografted leukemia samples was similar to that of the leukemia cell lines although the cell lines displayed higher basal phosphorylation values. The BCP-leukemia cell lines and the BCP xenograft samples both displayed high levels of constitutive phosphorylation in general reducing their ability to react to a given stimulus compared to normal B-lymphocytes. With the most important exception of Stat5: we consistently found that Stat5 phosphorylation is increased in acute lymphoblastic leukemia cell lines and primary xenografts after stimulation with IL-7 compared to normal B-lymphocytes. Stat5 is known to enhance proliferation and protect from apoptosis and our data now strongly suggest that Stat5 and Stat5 dependent pathways are critically involved in leukemogenesis. Since we could identify significant and specific phosphorylation signatures characteristic for leukemia cells, this provides a strategy to define pathways important for continued survival, proliferation and resistance of leukemia and allows identification of therapeutic targets and novel biomarkers associated with clinical outcome.


1999 ◽  
Vol 17 (12) ◽  
pp. 3753-3766 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lei Sun ◽  
Patricia A. Goodman ◽  
Carla M. Wood ◽  
Mya-Lisa Crotty ◽  
Martha Sensel ◽  
...  

PURPOSE: We sought to determine if molecular abnormalities involving the Ikaros gene could contribute to the development of acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) in children. PATIENTS AND METHODS: We studied Ikaros gene expression in normal human bone marrow, normal thymocytes, normal fetal liver–derived immature lymphocyte precursor cell lines, eight different ALL cell lines, and leukemic cells from 69 children with ALL (T-lineage ALL, n = 18; B-lineage ALL, n = 51). Expression of Ikaros protein and its subcellular localization were examined by immunoblotting and confocal laser-scanning microscopy, respectively. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and nucleotide sequencing were used to identify the specific Ikaros isoforms expressed in these cells. Genomic sequencing of splice junction regions of the Ikaros gene was performed in search for mutations. RESULTS: In each of the ALL cases, we found high-level expression of a non–DNA-binding or aberrant DNA-binding isoform of Ikaros with abnormal subcellular compartmentalization patterns. In contrast, only wild-type Ik-1 and Ik-2 isoforms with normal subcellular localization were found in normal bone marrow cells and thymus-derived or fetal liver–derived normal lymphocyte precursors. In leukemic cells expressing the aberrant Ikaros coding sequences with the 30-base-pair deletion, genomic sequence analysis of the intron-exon junctions between exons 6 and 7 yielded the wild-type sequence. We identified a single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) affecting the third base of the triplet codon for a proline (CCC or CCA) in the highly conserved bipartite activation region (viz, A or C at position 1002 numbering from the translation start site of Ik-1) within our Ikaros clones. Bi-allelic expression of truncated and/or non–DNA-binding isoforms along with wild-type isoforms was observed in leukemic cells, which implicates trans-acting factor(s) affecting splice site recognition. CONCLUSION: Our findings link specific molecular defects involving the Ikaros gene to childhood ALL. Posttranscriptional regulation of alternative splicing of Ikaros RNA seems to be defective in leukemic lymphocyte precursors from most children with ALL. Consequently, leukemic cells from ALL patients, in contrast to normal lymphocyte precursors, express high levels of non–DNA-binding Ikaros isoforms that are reminiscent of the non–DNA-binding Ikaros isoforms that lead to lymphoblastic leukemia in mice.


2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 470-480 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elahe Naderali ◽  
Behnaz Valipour ◽  
Amir Afshin Khaki ◽  
Jafar Soleymani Rad ◽  
Alireza Alihemmati ◽  
...  

Purpose: The PI3K/Akt signaling pathway regulates cell growth, proliferation and viability in hematopoietic cells. This pathway always dysregulates in acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). PTEN and P53 are tumor suppressor genes correlated with PI3K/Akt signaling pathway, and both have a tight link in regulation of cell proliferation and cell death. In this study, we investigated the effects of dual targeting of PI3K/Akt pathway by combined inhibition with nvp-BKM-120 (PI3K inhibitor) and MK-2206 (Akt inhibitor) in relation with PTEN and P53 on apoptosis and proliferation of leukemia cells. Methods: Both T and B ALL cell lines were treated with both inhibitors alone or in combination with each other, and induction of apoptosis and inhibition of proliferation were evaluated by flow cytometry. Expression levels of PTEN as well as p53 mRNA and protein were measured by real-time qRT-PCR and western blot, respectively. Results: We indicated that both inhibitors (BKM-120 and MK-2206) decreased cell viability and increased cytotoxicity in leukemia cells. Reduction in Akt phosphorylation increased PTEN and p53 mRNA and p53 protein level (in PTEN positive versus PTEN negative cell lines). Additionally, both inhibitors, particularly in combination with each other, increased apoptosis (evaluated with Annexin V and caspase 3) and reduced proliferation (Ki67 expression) in leukemia cells. However, administration of IL7 downregulated PTEN and P53 mRNA expression and rescued cancer cells following inhibition of BKM-120 and MK-2206. Conclusion: This investigation suggested that inhibition of Akt and PI3K could be helpful in leukemia treatment.


Blood ◽  
1998 ◽  
Vol 92 (10) ◽  
pp. 3537-3545 ◽  
Author(s):  
Leo Mascarenhas ◽  
Renata Stripecke ◽  
Scott S. Case ◽  
Dakun Xu ◽  
Kenneth I. Weinberg ◽  
...  

Abstract Autologous leukemia cells engineered to express immune-stimulating molecules may be used to elicit antileukemia immune responses. Gene delivery to human B-precursor acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) cells was investigated using the enhanced green fluorescent protein (EGFP) as a reporter gene, measured by flow cytometry. Transfection of the Nalm-6 and Reh B-precursor ALL leukemia cell lines with an expression plasmid was investigated using lipofection, electroporation, and a polycationic compound. Only the liposomal compound Cellfectin showed significant gene transfer (3.9% to 12% for Nalm-6 cells and 3.1% to 5% for Reh cells). Transduction with gibbon-ape leukemia virus pseudotyped Moloney murine leukemia virus (MoMuLV)-based retrovirus vectors was investigated in various settings. Cocultivation of ALL cell lines with packaging cell lines showed the highest transduction efficiency for retroviral gene transfer (40.1% to 87.5% for Nalm-6 cells and 0.3% to 9% for Reh cells), followed by transduction with viral supernatant on the recombinant fibronectin fragment CH-296 (13% to 35.5% for Nalm-6 cells and 0.4% to 6% Reh cells), transduction on human bone marrow stroma monolayers (3.2% to 13.3% for Nalm-6 cells and 0% to 0.2% Reh cells), and in suspension with protamine sulfate (0.7% to 3.1% for Nalm-6 cells and 0% for Reh cells). Transduction of both Nalm-6 and Reh cells with human immunodeficiency virus–type 1 (HIV-1)–based lentiviral vectors pseudotyped with the vesicular stomatitis virus-G envelope produced the best gene transfer efficiency, transducing greater than 90% of both cell lines. Gene delivery into primary human B-precursor ALL cells from patients was then investigated using MoMuLV-based retrovirus vectors and HIV-1–based lentivirus vectors. Both vectors transduced the primary B-precursor ALL cells with high efficiencies. These studies may be applied for investigating gene delivery into primary human B-precursor ALL cells to be used for immunotherapy.


Blood ◽  
2006 ◽  
Vol 108 (11) ◽  
pp. 1845-1845 ◽  
Author(s):  
Arinobu Tojo ◽  
Kiyoko Izawa ◽  
Rieko Sekine ◽  
Tokiko Nagamura-Inoue ◽  
Seiichiro Kobayashi

Abstract Philadelphia chromosome-positive acute lymphoblastic leukemia (Ph-ALL) is one of the most intractable hematological malignancies, readily acquires resistance to chemotherapeutic drugs including imatinib mesylate (IM), and shows a high relapse rate even after allogeneic stem cell transplantation. Nevertheless, primary blast cells are generally susceptible to apoptotic cell death in sort-term suspension culture after isolation from patients with Ph-ALL. We established two Ph-ALL cell lines and characterized their growth properties supported by adhesive interaction with a murine bone marrow stromal cell line, HESS-5. IMS-PhL1 (L1) cells mainly expressed p210-type BCR-ABL mRNA with wild type sequences in the ABL kinase domain and were weakly positive for p190-type mRNA. IMS-PhL2 (L2) cells exclusively expressed p190-type transcripts with Y253H mutation and showed much lower sensitivity to imatinib than L1 cells. The growth of L1 cells was slowly autonomous in suspension culture, but became more vigorous and their apoptosis was prevented by co-culture with HESS-5 cells. In contrast, the sustained growth and survival of L2 cells was absolutely dependent on direct contact with HESS-5 cells and did not respond to soluble cytokines including SCF, IL3and IL7. Both cell lines adhered to and migrated beneath the HESS-5 cell layer, resulting in the formation of cobblestone areas. This migration was significantly inhibited by the pretreatment of those with a neutralizing antibody against α4-integrin. While non-adherent L1 cells were eradicated by 1 mM IM, a portion of adherent L1 cells could survive even at 10 mM IM. Similarly, adherent L2 cells considerably resisted prolonged exposure to 10 mM IM. Intravenous injection of both cell lines caused leukemia in NOD-SCID mice after distinct latent periods. Leukemia cells appeared in peripheral blood, bone marrow as well as spleen. Interestingly, expression of α5-integrin was significantly down-regulated in both leukemia cells collected from those tissues, but was restored after co-culture with HESS-5. The study of L1 and L2 cells in vitro and in vivo will not only contribute to further insights into microenvironmental regulation of clonal maintenance and progression of Ph-ALL but also provide a unique model for experimental therapeutics against Ph-ALL. Figure Figure


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