Combinations of Kinase Inhibitors May Be An Effective Therapeutic Strategy for Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML) with MLL-AF9 Expression.

Blood ◽  
2009 ◽  
Vol 114 (22) ◽  
pp. 1032-1032
Author(s):  
Xavier Poiré ◽  
Ernesto Diaz-Flores ◽  
Rachel Joy Bergerson ◽  
Dorie Sher ◽  
Olatoyosi Odenike ◽  
...  

Abstract Abstract 1032 Poster Board I-54 MLL-AF9 translocation is the most common MLL fusion gene found in AML and has been associated with a relatively poor prognosis. The acquisition of MLL-AF9 is a crucial event in leukemogenesis but might require additional genetic events to induce AML. Mutations in cell-signaling molecules including FLT3 and RAS, which confer cell survival and proliferation advantages, occur frequently in MLL leukemias and point to a potential crucial pathogenetic role of the receptor tyrosine kinase (RTK) FLT3 and downstream PI3K/AKT, RAS/MAPK and STAT5 pathways. Targeted inhibition of these pathways can be achieved therapeutically, but efficacy of a single kinase inhibitor (KI) is often limited due to activation of compensatory survival pathways. To explore potential synergy and better efficacy, we have tested a number of KI combinations in MLL-AF9 murine leukemia cells. METHODS: AML was induced in MLL-AF9 knock-in mice using the murine leukemia virus MOL4070LTR, and 4 different cell lines have been generated and listed as 467D, 512C, 467B and 417B. The following KIs were tested in various dual combinations: rapamycin, a mTOR inhibitor; PI-103, a PI3K inhibitor; sunitinib, a RTK inhibitor; erlotinib, another RTK inhibitor with off-target effects on STAT5; PD0325901, a MEK inhibitor; and P6, a JAK inhibitor. KIs concentrations for the combination treatments were based on available in vivo pharmacological data. Effects on cell cycle were measured using BrdU incorporation on all 4 cell lines and phospho-protein levels were measured on 512C using flow cytometry 24-hours after drug exposure. RESULTS: Each drug alone modestly affected cell proliferation, but some of the combinations exerted marked anti-proliferative and pro-apoptotic effects, suggesting synergy. Interestingly, some heterogeneity in response to the different combinations was seen in the 4 cell lines. Indeed, the most effective drug duets were PI-103 and P6 in 467D, rapamycin and PI-103 in 512C, and sunitinib and PD0325901 in 467B and 417B. The significant inhibitory effect of some of these combinations on cell cycle progression correlated with a decrease of phosphorylated histone 3 and an increase in cleaved caspase. Furthermore, we were able to demonstrate a correlation with intracellular signaling events, including strong inhibition of pS6, pmTOR, p4EBP1, peIF4E, pErk and Bcl-xl. No effect on pSTAT5 was observed. Despite the heterogeneity in response, 3 different drug combinations were identified as being the most effective for all 4 cell lines: rapamycin and PD0325901, rapamycin and sunitinib, and sunitinib and PD0325901 resulted in a mean decrease in S phase of 24.4 ± 6.4% and a mean increase in apoptosis of 7.2 ± 4.9% after 24 hours exposure in all 4 cell lines. Furthermore, the combination of sunitinib with PD0325901 resulted in a prolonged effect on proliferation and apoptosis after 48 and 72-hour exposure, while the other 2 combinations showed only a transient effect. CONCLUSIONS: The combination of sunitinib and PD0325901 was active in all 4 cell lines, overcoming the genetic heterogeneity, and will now be tested in vivo in these murine MLL-AF9 leukemias. Our results suggest that combined blockade of RTK and MEK signaling may be an effective and attractive therapeutic strategy for MLL-AF9 AML. Disclosures: Sher: invivoscribe: Employment.

Blood ◽  
2004 ◽  
Vol 103 (8) ◽  
pp. 3138-3147 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas Strömberg ◽  
Anna Dimberg ◽  
Anna Hammarberg ◽  
Kristina Carlson ◽  
Anders Österborg ◽  
...  

Abstract Circumvention of chemoresistance in the B-cell neoplasm multiple myeloma (MM) might be achieved by targeting certain intracellular signaling pathways crucial for survival of the malignant clone. The use of the macrolide rapamycin, selectively inhibiting the phosphoprotein mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) downstream of, for example, insulin-like growth factor-I receptor (IGF-IR), possibly represents such a molecular mode of therapy. By using a panel of MM cell lines we showed that rapamycin induced G0/G1 arrest, an effect being associated with an increase of the cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor p27 and a decrease of cyclins D2 and D3. Interestingly, in primary, mainly noncycling MM cells, rapamycin, at clinically achievable concentrations, induced apoptosis. More important, rapamycin sensitized both MM cell lines and primary MM cells to dexamethasone-induced apoptosis. This effect was associated with a decreased expression of cyclin D2 and survivin. The phosphorylation of the serine/threonine kinase p70S6K at Thr389 and Thr421/Ser424 was down-regulated by rapamycin and/or dexamethasone. Strikingly, the combinatorial treatment with rapamycin and dexamethasone suppressed the antiapoptotic effects of exogenously added IGF-I and interleukin 6 (IL-6) as well as their stimulation of p70S6K phosphorylation. The induction of apoptosis by rapamycin and dexamethasone despite the presence of survival factors was also demonstrated in primary MM cells, thus suggesting this drug combination to be active also in vivo. (Blood. 2004;103:3138-3147)


Cancers ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (23) ◽  
pp. 5898
Author(s):  
Tao Yu ◽  
Junguo Cao ◽  
Montadar Alaa Eddine ◽  
Mahmoud Moustafa ◽  
Andreas Mock ◽  
...  

To date, there is no standard-of-care systemic therapy for the treatment of aggressive meningiomas. Receptor tyrosine kinases (RTK) are frequently expressed in aggressive meningiomas and are associated with poor survival. Ponatinib is a FDA- and EMA-approved RTK inhibitor and its efficacy in meningioma has not been studied so far. Therefore, we investigated ponatinib as a potential drug candidate against meningioma. Cell viability and cell proliferation of ponatinib-treated meningioma cells were assessed using crystal violet assay, manual counting and BrdU assay. Treated meningioma cell lines were subjected to flow cytometry to evaluate the effects on cell cycle and apoptosis. Meningioma-bearing mice were treated with ponatinib to examine antitumor effects in vivo. qPCR was performed to assess the mRNA levels of tyrosine kinase receptors after ponatinib treatment. Full-length cDNA sequencing was carried out to assess differential gene expression. IC50 values of ponatinib were between 171.2 and 341.9 nM in three meningioma cell lines. Ponatinib induced G0/G1 cell cycle arrest and subsequently led to an accumulation of cells in the subG1-phase. A significant induction of apoptosis was observed in vitro. In vivo, ponatinib inhibited meningioma growth by 72.6%. Mechanistically, this was associated with downregulation of PDGFRA/B and FLT3 mRNA levels, and mitochondrial dysfunction. Taken together, ponatinib is a promising candidate for targeted therapy in the treatment of aggressive meningioma.


2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Hera Saqub ◽  
Hannah Proetsch-Gugerbauer ◽  
Vladimir Bezrookove ◽  
Mehdi Nosrati ◽  
Edith M. Vaquero ◽  
...  

Abstract Cholangiocarcinoma (CCA) is a highly invasive cancer, diagnosed at an advanced stage, and refractory to surgical intervention and chemotherapy. Cyclin-dependent kinases (CDKs) regulate cell cycle progression and transcriptional processes, and are considered potential therapeutic targets for cancer. Dinaciclib is a small molecule multi-CDK inhibitor targeting CDK 2/5/9. In this study, the therapeutic efficacy of dinaciclib was assessed using patient-derived xenograft cells (PDXC) and CCA cell lines. Treatment with dinaciclib significantly suppressed cell proliferation, induced caspase 3/7 levels and apoptotic activity in PDXC and CCA cell lines. Dinaciclib suppressed expression of its molecular targets CDK2/5/9, and anti-apoptotic BCL-XL and BCL2 proteins. Despite the presence of cyclin D1 amplification in the PDXC line, palbociclib treatment had no effect on cell proliferation, cell cycle or apoptosis in the PDXC as well as other CCA cell lines. Importantly, dinaciclib, in combination with gemcitabine, produced a robust and sustained inhibition of tumor progression in vivo in a PDX mouse model, greater than either of the treatments alone. Expression levels of two proliferative markers, phospho-histone H3 and Ki-67, were substantially suppressed in samples treated with the combination regimen. Our results identify dinaciclib as a novel and potent therapeutic agent alone or in combination with gemcitabine for the treatment of CCA.


2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (12) ◽  
pp. 6565
Author(s):  
Jennifer H. Foster ◽  
Eveline Barbieri ◽  
Linna Zhang ◽  
Kathleen A. Scorsone ◽  
Myrthala Moreno-Smith ◽  
...  

Pevonedistat is a neddylation inhibitor that blocks proteasomal degradation of cullin–RING ligase (CRL) proteins involved in the degradation of short-lived regulatory proteins, including those involved with cell-cycle regulation. We determined the sensitivity and mechanism of action of pevonedistat cytotoxicity in neuroblastoma. Pevonedistat cytotoxicity was assessed using cell viability assays and apoptosis. We examined mechanisms of action using flow cytometry, bromodeoxyuridine (BrDU) and immunoblots. Orthotopic mouse xenografts of human neuroblastoma were generated to assess in vivo anti-tumor activity. Neuroblastoma cell lines were very sensitive to pevonedistat (IC50 136–400 nM). The mechanism of pevonedistat cytotoxicity depended on p53 status. Neuroblastoma cells with mutant (p53MUT) or reduced levels of wild-type p53 (p53si-p53) underwent G2-M cell-cycle arrest with rereplication, whereas p53 wild-type (p53WT) cell lines underwent G0-G1 cell-cycle arrest and apoptosis. In orthotopic neuroblastoma models, pevonedistat decreased tumor weight independent of p53 status. Control mice had an average tumor weight of 1.6 mg + 0.8 mg versus 0.5 mg + 0.4 mg (p < 0.05) in mice treated with pevonedistat. The mechanism of action of pevonedistat in neuroblastoma cell lines in vitro appears p53 dependent. However, in vivo studies using mouse neuroblastoma orthotopic models showed a significant decrease in tumor weight following pevonedistat treatment independent of the p53 status. Novel chemotherapy agents, such as the NEDD8-activating enzyme (NAE) inhibitor pevonedistat, deserve further study in the treatment of neuroblastoma.


2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (7) ◽  
pp. 682
Author(s):  
Jianling Bi ◽  
Garima Dixit ◽  
Yuping Zhang ◽  
Eric J. Devor ◽  
Haley A. Losh ◽  
...  

Angiogenesis plays a crucial role in tumor development and metastasis. Both bevacizumab and cediranib have demonstrated activity as single anti-angiogenic agents in endometrial cancer, though subsequent studies of bevacizumab combined with chemotherapy failed to improve outcomes compared to chemotherapy alone. Our objective was to compare the efficacy of cediranib and bevacizumab in endometrial cancer models. The cellular effects of bevacizumab and cediranib were examined in endometrial cancer cell lines using extracellular signal-related kinase (ERK) phosphorylation, ligand shedding, cell viability, and cell cycle progression as readouts. Cellular viability was also tested in eight patient-derived organoid models of endometrial cancer. Finally, we performed a phosphoproteomic array of 875 phosphoproteins to define the signaling changes related to bevacizumab versus cediranib. Cediranib but not bevacizumab blocked ligand-mediated ERK activation in endometrial cancer cells. In both cell lines and patient-derived organoids, neither bevacizumab nor cediranib alone had a notable effect on cell viability. Cediranib but not bevacizumab promoted marked cell death when combined with chemotherapy. Cell cycle analysis demonstrated an accumulation in mitosis after treatment with cediranib + chemotherapy, consistent with the abrogation of the G2/M checkpoint and subsequent mitotic catastrophe. Molecular analysis of key controllers of the G2/M cell cycle checkpoint confirmed its abrogation. Phosphoproteomic analysis revealed that bevacizumab and cediranib had both similar and unique effects on cell signaling that underlie their shared versus individual actions as anti-angiogenic agents. An anti-angiogenic tyrosine kinase inhibitor such as cediranib has the potential to be superior to bevacizumab in combination with chemotherapy.


1994 ◽  
Vol 107 (2) ◽  
pp. 363-371
Author(s):  
Q.L. Lu ◽  
A.M. Hanby ◽  
M.A. Nasser Hajibagheri ◽  
S.E. Gschmeissner ◽  
P.J. Lu ◽  
...  

bcl-2 gene expression confers a survival advantage by preventing cells from entering apoptosis. In contrast to the previously described cytoplasmic localization of Bcl-2 in epithelial cells in vivo, in this study we have demonstrated, in a series of human epithelial cell lines, that Bcl-2 also localizes to mitotic nuclei. Both immunocytochemical and immunoelectron microscopical examinations localize this protein to nuclei and in particular to chromosomes. Nuclear Bcl-2 expression in these cell lines is correlated with the cell cycle. There is relatively strong expression during mitosis, most intense during prophase and metaphase, declining in telophase and then the protein becomes undetectable soon after separation of the two daughter cells. The expression and distribution of Bcl-2 is influenced by treatment with excessive thymidine. These results indicate that Bcl-2 may protect the cells from apoptosis occurring during mitosis and suggest a possible role for the protein in cell immortalization.


2000 ◽  
Vol 20 (8) ◽  
pp. 2676-2686 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew W. Snowden ◽  
Lisa A. Anderson ◽  
Gill A. Webster ◽  
Neil D. Perkins

ABSTRACT The transcriptional coactivators p300 and CREB binding protein (CBP) are important regulators of the cell cycle, differentiation, and tumorigenesis. Both p300 and CBP are targeted by viral oncoproteins, are mutated in certain forms of cancer, are phosphorylated in a cell cycle-dependent manner, interact with transcription factors such as p53 and E2F, and can be found complexed with cyclinE-Cdk2 in vivo. Moreover, p300-deficient cells show defects in proliferation. Here we demonstrate that transcriptional activation by both p300 and CBP is stimulated by coexpression of the cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor p21WAF/CIP1. Significantly this stimulation is independent of both the inherent histone acetyltransferase (HAT) activity of p300 and CBP and of the previously reported carboxyl-terminal binding site for cyclinE-Cdk2. Rather, we describe a previously uncharacterized transcriptional repression domain (CRD1) within p300. p300 transactivation is stimulated through derepression of CRD1 by p21. Significantly p21 regulation of CRD1 is dependent on the nature of the core promoter. We suggest that CRD1 provides a novel mechanism through which p300 and CBP can switch activities between the promoters of genes that stimulate growth and those that enhance cell cycle arrest.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Evelyn M. Mrozek ◽  
Vineeta Bajaj ◽  
Yanan Guo ◽  
Izabela Malinowska ◽  
Jianming Zhang ◽  
...  

Inactivating mutations in either TSC1 or TSC2 cause Tuberous Sclerosis Complex, an autosomal dominant disorder, characterized by multi-system tumor and hamartoma development. Mutation and loss of function of TSC1 and/or TSC2 also occur in a variety of sporadic cancers, and rapamycin and related drugs show highly variable treatment benefit in patients with such cancers. The TSC1 and TSC2 proteins function in a complex that inhibits mTORC1, a key regulator of cell growth, which acts to enhance anabolic biosynthetic pathways. In this study, we identified and validated five cancer cell lines with TSC1 or TSC2 mutations and performed a kinase inhibitor drug screen with 197 compounds. The five cell lines were sensitive to several mTOR inhibitors, and cell cycle kinase and HSP90 kinase inhibitors. The IC50 for Torin1 and INK128, both mTOR kinase inhibitors, was significantly increased in three TSC2 null cell lines in which TSC2 expression was restored.  Rapamycin was significantly more effective than either INK128 or ganetespib (an HSP90 inhibitor) in reducing the growth of TSC2 null SNU-398 cells in a xenograft model. Combination ganetespib-rapamycin showed no significant enhancement of growth suppression over rapamycin. Hence, although HSP90 inhibitors show strong inhibition of TSC1/TSC2 null cell line growth in vitro, ganetespib showed little benefit at standard dosage in vivo. In contrast, rapamycin which showed very modest growth inhibition in vitro was the best agent for in vivo treatment, but did not cause tumor regression, only growth delay.


2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yusuke Tarumoto ◽  
Shan Lin ◽  
Jinhua Wang ◽  
Joseph P. Milazzo ◽  
Yali Xu ◽  
...  

AbstractLineage-defining transcription factors (TFs) are compelling targets for leukemia therapy, yet they are among the most challenging proteins to modulate directly with small molecules. We previously used CRISPR screening to identify a Salt-Inducible Kinase 3 (SIK3) requirement for the growth of acute myeloid leukemia (AML) cell lines that overexpress the lineage TF MEF2C. In this context, SIK3 maintains MEF2C function by directly phosphorylating histone deacetylase 4 (HDAC4), a repressive cofactor of MEF2C. Here, we evaluated whether inhibition of SIK3 with the tool compound YKL-05-099 can suppress MEF2C function and attenuate disease progression in animal models of AML. Genetic targeting of SIK3 or MEF2C selectively suppressed the growth of transformed hematopoietic cells underin vitroandin vivoconditions. Similar phenotypes were obtained when exposing cells to YKL-05-099, which caused cell cycle arrest and apoptosis in MEF2C-expressing AML cell lines. An epigenomic analysis revealed that YKL-05-099 rapidly suppressed MEF2C function by altering the phosphorylation state and nuclear localization of HDAC4. Using a gatekeeper allele ofSIK3, we found that the anti-proliferative effects of YKL-05-099 occurred through on-target inhibition of SIK3 kinase activity. Based on these findings, we treated two different mouse models of MLL-AF9 AML with YKL-05-099, which attenuated disease progressionin vivoand extended animal survival at well-tolerated doses. These findings validate SIK3 as a therapeutic target in MEF2C-positive AML and provide a rationale for developing drug-like inhibitors of SIK3 for definitive pre-clinical investigation and for studies in human patients with leukemia.Key PointsAML cells are uniquely sensitive to genetic or chemical inhibition of Salt-Inducible Kinase 3in vitroandin vivo.A SIK inhibitor YKL-05-099 suppresses MEF2C function and AMLin vivo.


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