An Epigenetic Mechanism Of Imatinib Via Demethylation Of MiR-203

Blood ◽  
2013 ◽  
Vol 122 (21) ◽  
pp. 3766-3766
Author(s):  
Tsukuru Umemura ◽  
Tatsuki Shibuta ◽  
Emi Honda ◽  
Hiromichi Shiotsu ◽  
Yuka Tanaka ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Tyrosine Kinase ◽  
Cell Lines ◽  
Microarray Analysis ◽  
Promoter Region ◽  
Direct Sequencing ◽  
Methylation Status ◽  
K562 Cells ◽  
Myelogenous Leukemia ◽  
Epigenetic Mechanism ◽  
Imatinib Treatment

Abstract Background MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are short noncoding RNAs regulating a variety of biological processes by post-transcriptionally silencing via targeting mRNA. Recently there are many reports demonstrating that epigenetic alterations correlate to the characteristics of tumor cells, and that miRNAs were also reported to be regulated by methylation of CpG islands within the promoter region. MiR-203 is epigenetically silenced in human BCR-ABL1-positive leukemic cell lines and primary chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML) cells by the methylation of promoter region. In this study, we analyzed the effect of imatinib, a tyrosine-kinase inhibitor specific to BCR-ABL1 protein, on the expression of miRNA in BCR-ABL1-positive cells. Materials & Methods Two CML cell lines (K562 and KU812) and one AML cell line (HL60) were treated with imatinib for 72 hours. Microarray analysis of miRNAs was conducted by 3D-Gene (TORAY) in K562 cells with/without imatinib. Methylation specific PCR and bisulfite direct sequencing was performed to evaluate methylation status of promoter region of miR-203. Validation of expressions of miRNAs, including miR-203, and mRNAs was analyzed by RT-qPCR. The expression of BCR-ABL protein was confirmed by Western blotting. The function of miR-203 for cell survival was evaluated by the transfection of anti-miRNA. Results The microarray analysis showed that 48 miRNAs of CpG-rich 212 miRNAs were upregulated over 2-fold after imatinib treatment, in K562 cells. The demethylated state of the promoter region of miR-203, one of 48 miRNAs, was confirmed by bisulfite direct sequencing. The expression of BCR-ABL mRNA, which is one of the target of miR-203, was inhibited with imatinib to 52% and 26% of the level in control cultures in K562 cells and KU812 cells, respectively. The expression of BCR-ABL protein was also inhibited. The addition of anti-miR-203 increased the expression level of BCR-ABL protein to 68.1% in the K562 cell culture with imatinib treatment. The expression of DNA methyltransferase (DNMT) mRNA was analyzed, and the expressions of DNMT1 and DNMT3B were significantly decreased after imatinib treatments in CML cell lines, whereas the expression of DNMT3A was not changed. Discussion & Conclusion We report, for the first time, that imatinib up-regulated miR-203 by inducing demethylation of the promoter region of miR-203 in CML cells. MiR-203 is the important miRNA to inhibit ABL1 and BCR-ABL1 mRNA, and imatinib-induced demethylation of miR-203 is the possible mechanism to suppress growth of BCR-ABL1-positive leukemic cells. It was suggested that the demethylation was partially caused by down regulation of DNMT1 and DNMT3B after imatinib treatments in CML cell lines. In conclusion, imatinib not only inhibits the activity of tyrosine kinase but also induces DNA demethylation of miR-203 in CML cells. Disclosures: No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.

Study on DNA Methylation Status of WT1 Gene in Its Promoter Region in Hematologic Neoplasm Cell Lines.

Blood ◽  
2005 ◽  
Vol 106 (11) ◽  
pp. 4386-4386
Author(s):  
Ye Zhao ◽  
Zi-xing Chen ◽  
Shao-yan Hu ◽  
Jian-nong Cen
Keyword(s):  
Gene Expression ◽  
Dna Methylation ◽  
Cell Lines ◽  
Promoter Region ◽  
U937 Cell ◽  
Methylation Status ◽  
Gene Promoter ◽  
Epigenetic Mechanism ◽  
Wt1 Gene ◽  
Gene Promoter Region

Abstract The methylation at CpG island in the promoter region of a gene is one of the important epigenetic mechanism which regulates the gene activity. To study the DNA methylation pattern of WT1 gene promoter region within hematologic neoplastic cell lines and its correlation with WT1 gene expression by using the PCR-based methods. RT-PCR and Methylation-specific PCR were performed to study the WT1 gene expression in 8226, HL-60, Jurkat, K562, KG-1, NB4, Raji, SHI-1, U266 and U937 cell lines and the DNA methylation status in promoter region of WT1 gene. After treatment of U937 cell line by 5-aza-CdR, a demethylation inducing agent, the changes of WT1 gene expression level and the methylation status in its promter region in U937 cells was determined. Our Results showed that HL-60, K562, KG-1, NB4, SHI-1 cell lines demonstrated higher level of WT1 expression, while extremely low level was found in 8226, Jurkat, Raji, U266 and U937. The DNA hypermethylation in WT1 gene promoter region was identified in 8226, Jurkat, Raji, U266 and U937 cell lines. The WT1 gene expression in U937 was markedly enhanced after treatment with 5-aza-CdR in company with the decrease of methylated level and the increase of unmethylated level in its promoter region. These results indicate that modulation of the DNA methylation in WT1 promoter region is one of the epigenetic mechanisms to regulate its expression.

Jak2: A Potential Therapeutic Target for Chronic Myelogenous Leukemia (CML).

Blood ◽  
2006 ◽  
Vol 108 (11) ◽  
pp. 2121-2121
Author(s):  
Ajoy K. Samanta ◽  
Hui Lin ◽  
Tong Sun ◽  
Hagop Kantarjian ◽  
Ralph B. Arlinghaus
Keyword(s):  
Tyrosine Kinase ◽  
Cell Lines ◽  
Therapeutic Target ◽  
Philadelphia Chromosome ◽  
Chronic Phase ◽  
Myelogenous Leukemia ◽  
Leukemia Cells ◽  
Imatinib Treatment ◽  
Potential Therapeutic Target ◽  
Imatinib Resistant

Abstract In most CML patients Bcr-Abl, a constitutively active tyrosine kinase derived from the Philadelphia chromosome, is highly expressed and is the causative factor in most CML patients. Imatinib mesylate, an inhibitor of the Bcr-Abl kinase, is a very effective drug for treatment of CML. However in some CML patients, drug resistance develops and the patients relapse. Thus, alternative drug targets need to be identified. We have shown that Bcr-Abl activates its downstream target, the Jak2 tyrosine kinase, leading to the enhancement of c-Myc expression (Xie et al. Oncogene21: 7137, 2002; Samanta et al. Cancer Res.66: 6468, 2006). Our recent studies showed that Bcr-Abl activated the transcriptional factor NF-kB through Jak2, which in turn activated c-Myc transcription. Jak2 also activated Akt, which increased c-Myc protein levels by inhibiting GSK3. Addition of AG490, an inhibitor of the Jak2 kinase, prevented enhanced expression of c-Myc and caused induction of apoptosis in BCR-ABL+ leukemia cells. Immunoprecipitation experiments showed that Bcr-Abl is associated with a cluster of signaling proteins including Jak2, Gab2, Akt and GSK3b. Treatment of CML cell lines and mouse BCR-ABL+ 32D cells (myeloid lineage) with the either Jak2 siRNA or the Jak2 kinase inhibitor AG490 caused inhibition of pTyr Gab2 formation, pSer Akt formation and the activation of NFkB. Of interest, treatment of BCR-ABL+ 32 D cells with IL-3 reversed the apoptotic effects of imatinib by activation of Jak2 even though Bcr-Abl was inhibited. Importantly, mouse BaF3 hematopoietic cells expressing the T315I and E255K imatinib-resistant mutants of BCR-ABL underwent apoptosis upon exposure to either the Jak2 inhibitor AG490 or siRNA for Jak2, yet were resistant to imatinib. Cells from a number of CML patients (including six chronic phase, one accelerated phase, and two blast crisis patients who failed imatinib treatment) were induced to enter apoptosis upon treatment with AG490, whereas normal samples were not affected by AG490. Further analysis of imatinib resistant Bcr-Abl cell lines showed that transfection of the cells with Jak2 specific siRNA or by treating the cells with AG490 reduced levels of pLyn, pAkt, c-Myc and pGSK3 level compared to untreated cells. Transfection of Lyn specific siRNA into K562 and 32Dp210 cells resulted in down-regulation of pGab2, pAkt, pGsk3 and c-Myc, but did not alter pJak2 levels; this result indicates that pLyn is downstream of Jak2 but upstream of Gab2, pAkt, pGSK3 in BCR-ABL+ leukemia cells. We hypothesize that Jak2 activation of Lyn tyrosine kinase in BCR-ABL+ leukemia cells leads to tyrosine phosphorylation of the YxxM motif of Gab2, which activates the PI-3 kinase-Akt pathway. In conclusion, since inactivation of Jak2 inhibits many of the critical oncogenic targets of Bcr-Abl (resulting in apoptosis induction), we propose that Jak2 is a potential therapeutic target for CML, in both imatinib sensitive and imatinib resistant patients.

SUV39H1-Mediated DNMT1 is Participated in the Epigenetic Regulation of Smad3 in Cervical Cancer

2020 ◽  
Vol 20 ◽  
Author(s):  
Li Zhang ◽  
Sijuan Tian ◽  
Minyi Zhao ◽  
Ting Yang ◽  
Shimin Quan ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cervical Cancer ◽  
Cell Lines ◽  
Epigenetic Regulation ◽  
Promoter Region ◽  
Methylation Status ◽  
Regulation Mechanism ◽  
Methylation Specific Pcr ◽  
Specific Pcr ◽  
Immune Factor ◽  
Cancer Tissues

Background: Smad3 is a pivotal intracellular mediator for participating in the activation of multiple immune signal pathway. Objective: The epigenetic regulation mechanism of the positive immune factor Smad3 in cervical cancer remains unknown. Therefore, the epigenetic regulation on Smad3 is investigated in this study. Methods: The methylation status of SMAD3 was detected by Methylation-specific PCR (MS-PCR) and Quantitative Methylation-specific PCR (MS-qPCR) in cervical cancer tissues and cell lines. The underlying molecular mechanisms of SUV39H1-DNMT1-Smad3 regulation was elucidated using cervical cancer cell lines containing siRNA or/and overexpression system. Confirmation of the regulation of DNMT1 by SUV39H1 used Chromatin immunoprecipitation-qPCR (ChIP-qPCR). The statistical methods used for comparing samples between groups were paired t tests and one-way ANOVAs. Results: H3K9me3 protein which regulated by SUV39H1 directly interacts with the DNMT1 promoter region to regulate its expression in cervical cancer cells, resulting in the reduce expression of the downstream target gene DNMT1. In addition, DNMT1 mediates the epigenetic modulation of the SMAD3 gene by directly binding to its promoter region. The depletion of DNMT1 effectively restores the expression of Smad3 in vitro. Moreover, in an in vivo assay, the expression profile of SUV39H1-DNMT1 was found to correlate with Smad3 expression in accordance with the expression at the cellular level. Notably, the promoter region of SMAD3 was hypermethylated in cervical cancer tissues, and this hypermethylation inhibits the subsequent gene expression. Conclusion: These results indicate that SUV39H1-DNMT1 is a crucial Smad3 regulatory axis in cervical cancer. SUV39H1-DNMT1 axis may provide a potential therapeutic target for the treatment of cervical cancer.

scholarly journals Activation of stress response gene SIRT1 by BCR-ABL promotes leukemogenesis

Blood ◽  
2012 ◽  
Vol 119 (8) ◽  
pp. 1904-1914 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hongfeng Yuan ◽  
Zhiqiang Wang ◽  
Ling Li ◽  
Hao Zhang ◽  
Hardik Modi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Stress Response ◽  
Tyrosine Kinase ◽  
Progenitor Cells ◽  
Gene Knockout ◽  
Myelogenous Leukemia ◽  
Hematopoietic Progenitor Cells ◽  
Imatinib Treatment ◽  
Hematopoietic Progenitor ◽  
Response Gene ◽  
Stress Response Gene

Abstract The tyrosine kinase inhibitor imatinib is highly effective in the treatment of chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML), but primary and acquired resistance of CML cells to the drug offset its efficacy. Molecular mechanisms for resistance of CML to tyrosine kinase inhibitors are not fully understood. In the present study, we show that BCR-ABL activates the expression of the mammalian stress response gene SIRT1 in hematopoietic progenitor cells and that this involves STAT5 signaling. SIRT1 activation promotes CML cell survival and proliferation associated with deacetylation of multiple SIRT1 substrates, including FOXO1, p53, and Ku70. Imatinib-mediated inhibition of BCR-ABL kinase activity partially reduces SIRT1 expression and SIRT1 inhibition further sensitizes CML cells to imatinib-induced apoptosis. Knockout of SIRT1 suppresses BCR-ABL transformation of mouse BM cells and the development of a CML-like myeloproliferative disease, and treatment of mice with the SIRT1 inhibitor tenovin-6 deters disease progression. The combination of SIRT1 gene knockout and imatinib treatment further extends the survival of CML mice. Our results suggest that SIRT1 is a novel survival pathway activated by BCR-ABL expression in hematopoietic progenitor cells, which promotes oncogenic transformation and leukemogenesis. Our findings suggest further exploration of SIRT1 as a therapeutic target for CML treatment to overcome resistance.

scholarly journals BCR-ABL Activity Is Critical for the Immunogenicity of Chronic Myelogenous Leukemia Cells.

Blood ◽  
2006 ◽  
Vol 108 (11) ◽  
pp. 2202-2202
Author(s):  
Katharina M. Brauer ◽  
Daniela Werth ◽  
Karin von Schwarzenberg ◽  
Anita Bringmann ◽  
Lothar Kanz ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
T Lymphocytes ◽  
Tyrosine Kinase ◽  
Chronic Myelogenous Leukemia ◽  
Antigen Presenting Cells ◽  
K562 Cells ◽  
Cytolytic Activity ◽  
Myelogenous Leukemia ◽  
51Cr Release ◽  
Antigen Presenting ◽  
Ctl Responses

Abstract Imatinib mesylate (Gleevec®) is a specific tyrosine kinase inhibitor, which inhibits phosphorylation of downstream proteins involved in BCR-ABL signal transduction. In the treatment of chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML) it has become indispensable and shows few side effects. Recently, it was shown that patients treated with imatinib showed impaired CTL responses in comparison to patients treated with IFN-α, which might be due to a reduced immunogenicity of CML cells or result from an inhibitory effect of imatinib on the function of antigen presenting cells and T lymphocytes. In the present study, we show that imatinib treatment leads to a downregulation of immunogenic antigens on the CML cells, which in turn inhibits the development of CML-specific cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTLs). To achieve this, we treated the CML cell line K562 and an imatinib-resistant K562 variant, K562R, with imatinib or DMSO, isolated the total RNA and used it to electroporate monocyte-derived dendritic cells (DCs). These cells were then used as antigen presenting cells (APCs) for the induction of polyclonal CTL responses. The cytolytic activity of the CTLs was assayed in standard 51Cr-release assays and their fine specificity in IFNγ-Elispot assays. CTLs generated using RNA from imatinib-treated K562 cells were completely incapable of specific killing and did not react in Elispot assays, whereas those CTLs induced using RNA from K562 cells subjected to DMSO treatment as well as RNA from imatinib-treated K562R cells showed specific cytolytic activity against targets electroporated with RNA from CML cells and were able to recognize several CML-associated antigens, like survivin, PRAME, WT-1 and PR3 in Elispot assays. To confirm that this effect is mediated by BCR-ABL inhibition, we used specific siRNA against the bcr-abl fusion site b3a2 to downregulate the protein expression and found essentially the same results. Even in K562R cells, that constitutively overexpress BCR-ABL, targeting the expression of the protein directly by specific siRNA leads to an impairment of CTL induction. In order to confirm and expand these studies, we additionally analyzed the expression of antigens connected to immune responses to CML in Western Blot and Real-time PCR experiments. We found, that imatinib-mediated inhibition of BCR-ABL in K562 cells leads to a decreased expression of tumor antigens and cellular proteins including survivin, adipophilin, hTERT, WT-1, Bcl-xL and Bcl-2 in correlation to the decreased development of specific CTLs. Matching the results of the 51Cr-release assays, these effects were not observed in K562R cells. In primary CML cells subjected to imatinib a downregulation of hTERT and survivin could be detected, which corresponded to a decreased lysis of DCs electroporated with RNA from these cells in standard 51Cr-release assays. Our results demonstrate, that BCR-ABL directly influences the expression of immunogenic tumor associated antigens by its uncontrolled tyrosine kinase activity and therefore substantially contributes to the immunogenicity of CML cells.

scholarly journals Prolonged exposure to FLT3 inhibitors leads to resistance via activation of parallel signaling pathways

Blood ◽  
2006 ◽  
Vol 109 (4) ◽  
pp. 1643-1652 ◽  
Author(s):  
Obdulio Piloto ◽  
Melissa Wright ◽  
Patrick Brown ◽  
Kyu-Tae Kim ◽  
Mark Levis ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Tyrosine Kinase ◽  
Signaling Pathways ◽  
Cell Lines ◽  
Kinase Inhibitors ◽  
Prolonged Exposure ◽  
Cellular Transformation ◽  
Mapk Signaling ◽  
Resistant Cell ◽  
Myelogenous Leukemia ◽  
Continuous Treatment

Abstract Continuous treatment of malignancies with tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) may select for resistant clones (ie, imatinib mesylate). To study resistance to TKIs targeting FLT3, a receptor tyrosine kinase that is frequently mutated in acute myelogenous leukemia (AML), we developed resistant human cell lines through prolonged coculture with FLT3 TKIs. FLT3 TKI-resistant cell lines and primary samples still exhibit inhibition of FLT3 phosphorylation on FLT3 TKI treatment. However, FLT3 TKI-resistant cell lines and primary samples often show continued activation of downstream PI3K/Akt and/or Ras/MEK/MAPK signaling pathways as well as continued expression of genes involved in FLT3-mediated cellular transformation. Inhibition of these signaling pathways restores partial sensitivity to FLT3 TKIs. Mutational screening of FLT3 TKI-resistant cell lines revealed activating N-Ras mutations in 2 cell lines that were not present in the parental FLT3 TKI-sensitive cell line. Taken together, these data indicate that FLT3 TKI-resistant cells most frequently become FLT3 independent because of activation of parallel signaling pathways that provide compensatory survival/proliferation signals when FLT3 is inhibited. Anti-FLT3 mAb treatment was still cytotoxic to FLT3 TKI-resistant clones. An approach combining FLT3 TKIs with anti-FLT3 antibodies and/or inhibitors of important pathways downstream of FLT3 may reduce the chances of developing resistance.

scholarly journals The receptor tyrosine kinase p185HER2 is expressed on a subset of B- lymphoid blasts from patients with acute lymphoblastic leukemia and chronic myelogenous leukemia

Blood ◽  
1995 ◽  
Vol 86 (5) ◽  
pp. 1916-1923 ◽  
Author(s):  
HJ Buhring ◽  
I Sures ◽  
B Jallal ◽  
FU Weiss ◽  
FW Busch ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia ◽  
Tyrosine Kinase ◽  
Cell Lines ◽  
Receptor Tyrosine Kinase ◽  
Lymphoblastic Leukemia ◽  
Blast Crisis ◽  
Hematopoietic Cell ◽  
Myelogenous Leukemia ◽  
Leukemic Cells ◽  
B Lymphoid

The class I receptor tyrosine kinase (RTK) HER2 is an oncoprotein that is frequently involved in the pathogenesis of tumors of epithelial origin. Here we report mRNA expression in peripheral blood and bone marrow cells from healthy donors in hematopoietic cell lines and leukemic blasts from patients with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), acute myeloblastic leukemia (AML), chronic lymphoblastic leukemia (CLL), and chronic myeloid leukemia (CML). However, cell surface expression of HER2 protein (p185HER2) was found exclusively on a subset of leukemic cells of the B-lymphoblastic lineage. p185HER2 expression was found on blasts in 2 of 15 samples from infants, 9 of 19 samples from adult patients with C-ALL (CD19+CD10+), and 1 of 2 samples from patients with pro-B ALL (CD19+CD10-), whereas none of the leukemic cells from patients with AML (0/30), T-ALL (0/7), CLL (0/5) (CD19+CD5+), or CML in chronic and accelerated phase (0/5) or in blast crisis with myeloid differentiation (0/14) were positive for p185HER2. However, cells from 3 of 4 patients with CML in B-lymphoid blast crisis (CD19+CD10+) expressed high levels of p185HER2, which was also found on the surface of the CML-derived B-cell lines BV-173 and Nalm-1. Our study shows p185HER2 expression on malignant cells of hematopoietic origin for the first time. Aberrant expression of this oncogenic receptor tyrosine kinase in hematopoietic cell types may be an oncogenic event contributing to the development of a subset of B- lymphoblastic leukemias.

Multi-Targeted Receptor Tyrosine Kinase Inhibitor, ABT-869, Induces Apoptosis and Inhibition of Proliferation of Ba/F3 FLT-3 ITD Mutant Cells.

Blood ◽  
2007 ◽  
Vol 110 (11) ◽  
pp. 1589-1589
Author(s):  
Jenny E. Hernandez ◽  
Junling Li ◽  
Ru-Qi Wei ◽  
Paul Tapang ◽  
Steven K. Davidsen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Tyrosine Kinase ◽  
Cell Line ◽  
Cell Lines ◽  
Receptor Tyrosine Kinase ◽  
Mutant Cell ◽  
Scid Mice ◽  
Myelogenous Leukemia ◽  
Parp Cleavage ◽  
Mutant Cells

Abstract FLT3 is an receptor tyrosine kinase of the subclass III family that plays a vital role in the regulation of the differentiation, proliferation and survival of normal hematopoietic cells. FLT3 mutations are often found in patients with Acute myelogenous leukemia (AML) and confer poor prognosis. Of these mutations, 15–35% are FLT3 ITD (internal tandem duplication) mutations and 5–7% are point mutations on the FLT3 kinase activation loop (e.g. D835V). Our laboratory is studying the signaling pathways associated with a newly identified multi-targeted tyrosine kinase receptor small molecule inhibitor (RTKI), ABT-869. Recently published work in our laboratory showed that using ABT-869 to treat MV4-11, a human AML FLT-3 ITD mutant cell line, resulted in the inhibition of phosphorylation of FLT-3 with a downstream inhibitory effect on the activation of STAT5, ERK, and Pim-1. Cell viability assays determined that MV-411 cells responded to ABT-869 in a concentration dependent manner (IC50 = 10nM). Apoptosis studies also showed an induction of apoptosis in ABT-869 treated cells. In vivo studies involving xenograft injections of MV-411 cells into SCID mice and subsequent treatment with ABT-869 demonstrated regression of tumor formation. In this study, a Ba/F3 mouse pro-B lymphocytic cell line harboring the FLT-3 ITD or FLT-3 D835V mutation is used as an isolated Flt-3 mutant model system. In vitro, ABT-869 is effective in inhibiting the proliferation of Ba/F3 Flt-3 ITD mutant cells when compared to Ba/F3 Flt-3 D835V mutant and Ba/F3 Flt-3 WT cells. Trypan Blue Exclusion and Alamar Blue assays were used to demonstrate that there is 50% inhibition of growth and proliferation (IC50) of Ba/F3 FLT3 ITD mutant cells at a concentration of 1nM after 48 hours of treatment. Ba/F3 FLT3 D835V mutant cells show an IC50 between 1μM and 10μM after 48 hours of treatment. In contrast, Ba/F3 FLT3 WT cells demonstrate an IC50 of 10μM only after 72 hours of treatment. Annexin V and propidium iodide staining of cells revealed that an increase in apoptosis (41.2%) occurred in Ba/F3 Flt-3 ITD mutant cells treated with 10nM ABT-869 after 24 hours when compared to untreated (6.5%) or vehicle control (6.1%) cells. Staining of Ba/F3 Flt-3 WT treated cell lines revealed no difference in apoptosis when compared to untreated Ba/F3 Flt-3 WT cell only and DMSO controls. PARP cleavage was observed in Ba/F3 FLT-3 ITD mutant cells following treatment with ABT-869 whereas no cleavage was observed with Ba/F3 WT cells treated with ABT-869. In vivo, the activity of ABT-869 treatment of SCID mice injected with Baf3 Flt-3 ITD, Baf3 Flt-3 D835V, or Baf3 Flt-3 WT cells is also being evaluated. Using bioluminescence imaging, it was determined that Ba/F3 FLT-3 ITD mutant and Ba/F3 Flt-3 D835Vmutant cell lines result in metastases and subsequent death in SCID mice after 2 weeks for ITD and 5 weeks for D835V, whereas mice injected with Ba/F3 WT survive longer than 5 weeks. Preliminary data demonstrated that ABT-869 prolonged survival in mice injected with the Ba/F3 FLT3-ITD cells compared to controls. Our preclinical data demonstrate that ABT-869 is effective specifically with FLT-3 ITD mutant cell lines in an isolated system. These studies provide rationale for the treatment of AML patients and the prevention of relapse.

Targeting Autophagy Potentiates Imatinib-Induced Cell Death in Philadelphia Positive Cells Including Primary CML Stem Cells.

Blood ◽  
2008 ◽  
Vol 112 (11) ◽  
pp. 1070-1070 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cristian Bellodi ◽  
Maria Rosa Lidonnici ◽  
Ashley Hamilton ◽  
Gudmundur V Helgason ◽  
Angela R Soliera ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Stem Cells ◽  
Cell Death ◽  
Tyrosine Kinase ◽  
Cell Lines ◽  
Kinase Inhibitor ◽  
Blast Crisis ◽  
Competitive Inhibitor ◽  
Myelogenous Leukemia ◽  
Stem Cell Population ◽  
Therapeutic Effects

Abstract Imatinib mesylate (IM), a potent ATP-competitive inhibitor of the BCR/ABL tyrosine kinase, has become standard therapy for patients with chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML). However, the main limitations of IM- and second generation tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI)-based therapy are the insurgence of resistance in patients and the intrinsic refractoriness of primitive Philadelphia-positive stem cells. Therefore, there is the need to develop new therapeutic approaches that, in combination with TKI, might be more effective in targeting the stem cell population and preventing the outgrowth of TKI-resistant CML cells. TKI-induced elimination of BCR/ABL-dependent intracellular signals is known to trigger apoptosis, but it is unclear whether this also activates additional cell death and/or survival pathways. We show that IM treatment induces autophagy in CML blast crisis cell lines, CML primary cells and p210BCR/ABL-expressing 32Dcl3 (32D) myeloid precursor cells, but not in 32D cells expressing v-Src or the IM-resistant T315I p210BCR/ABL mutant. IM-induced autophagy does not involve c-Abl, as it is also observed in cells co-expressing p210BCR/ABL and the IM-resistant T315I c-Abl mutant. Induction of autophagy is associated with endoplasmic reticulum-stress and is suppressed by depletion of intracellular calcium. By contrast, ectopic Bcl-2 expression does not block IM-induced autophagy. Suppression of autophagy by pharmacological inhibitors or siRNA-mediated knockdown of essential autophagy genes enhances cell death induced by IM in cell lines and primary CML cells, demonstrating that induction of autophagy has a pro-survival effect. Critically, the combination of TKI with autophagy inhibitors results in near complete elimination of phenotypically (CD34+38−) and functionally (colony forming cells) defined CML stem cells. Together, these findings suggest that autophagy inhibitors may enhance the therapeutic effects of TKI in the treatment of CML.

Evidence for Cooperation of Receptor Tyrosine Kinases and Activating NOTCH Mutations to Hyperactivate mTOR in T-Cell Leukemia: A Rationale Basis for Targeted Therapy

Blood ◽  
2011 ◽  
Vol 118 (21) ◽  
pp. 1381-1381
Author(s):  
Adrian Schwarzer ◽  
Johann Meyer ◽  
Martijn Brugman ◽  
Axel Schambach ◽  
Martin Stanulla ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
T Cell ◽  
Tyrosine Kinase ◽  
Cell Line ◽  
Cell Lines ◽  
Microarray Analysis ◽  
Tyrosine Kinases ◽  
Receptor Tyrosine Kinases ◽  
Akt Activation ◽  
Rtk Signaling

Abstract Abstract 1381 T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (T-ALL) remains a therapeutic challenge. T-ALLs are characterized by recurring chromosomal rearrangements causing aberrant expression of transcription factors (Myb; TAL/SCL; HOX) dividing patients into different subgroups. Activating mutations in NOTCH, the master regulator of T-cell development, are found in more than 60% of T-ALLs independently of subtype. Most T-ALLs display a hyperactivation of the PI3K-AKT-mTOR pathway, a potential target for therapeutic intervention. The master regulator of PI3K-AKT signalling is PTEN, which is frequently inactivated in cancer. Recent data suggests that complete PTEN loss due to mutation is rare in primary human T-ALL, whereas PTEN-inhibiting posttranslational modifications are more common (Barata et al., J. Clin. Invest. 2008, 118). As these modifications decrease, but do not abolish the phosphatase activity of PTEN, we hypothesized that further input from tyrosine kinases, particularly receptor tyrosine kinases (RTK), may be needed to sustain PI3K-AKT-mTOR activation. In order to investigate how RTK-signaling may contribute to the pathogenesis of T-ALL we used an established murine bone marrow transplantation model (Li et al. Blood 2009, 113). To mimic tyrosine-kinase signaling we expressed δTrkA, a constitutively active TRKA receptor tyrosine kinase (TRK =tropomyosin-related kinase) from gammaretroviral or lentiviral vectors in c-kit+ Sca-1+ Lin− (KSL) cells. Intravenous injection of δTrkA-transduced hematopoietic cells in C57BL6 mice (n=10) induced transplantable T-ALL with a latency of about 120 days. The resulting T-ALLs could be propagated in culture as clonal cell lines. Signaling studies showed that δTRKA activates predominantly ERK upon expression in murine hematopoietic cell lines. However, the obtained δTRKA+ T-ALL lines (n=7) showed a profound shift in the use of downstream signaling cascades, displaying a very high activation of AKT-mTOR and absent ERK phosphorylation, resembling human T-ALL. High AKT activation was uniformly detected regardless of PTEN protein expression in all but one T-ALL (#003). To understand the rewired signaling network we looked for a potential contribution of insertional mutagenesis and chromosomal aberrations. Array-CGH showed homozygous deletions on chr14c2 involving the T-cell receptor alpha and delta genes in 3/3 cell lines and heterozygous deletions in Ikzf1 in 2/3 cell lines. Viral integration sites showed no common insertion pattern and no insertion in genes implicated in RTK-signaling. The expression of genes in proximity to viral integrations (±500 kb) appeared unaltered as determined by cDNA-microarray analysis of the T-ALL cell line #483 against wild type CD4+CD8+ thymocytes. Microarray analysis revealed enrichment of Notch1 target genes in the T-ALL cell line #483. Sequencing of Notch1 revealed both, PEST domain mutations and the recently described (Aster et al, Blood 2010, 116) RAG mediated 5'-deletions in cis, in all but one investigated T-ALL. Northern and Western Blots confirmed the expression of truncated Notch1 transcripts and protein, respectively. The one cell line (#003) which retained the original δTrkA signaling pattern had no Notch mutation and could only be cultured on OP9-Delta-like-1 stroma cells, highlighting the importance of Notch signaling. As this cell line was established from a mouse displaying an enlarged thymus, but no full manifestation of T-ALL, our data suggests that acquisition of Notch mutations is a late, but necessary step required for overt leukemia, whereas the initiating events may arise in kinase signaling pathways of prethymic progenitors. All T-ALL cell lines were sensitive to mTOR or Notch inhibition with Rapamycin or Compound E, respectively. Finally, we used phosphoprotein-arrays to monitor the phosphorylation of 42 RTK in childhood T-ALL samples with different activating NOTCH mutations (n=5) and detected several activated RTK (e.g. MSPR, FGFR, ErbB4, VEGFR) in the patient samples. Taken together, our findings suggest a cooperation of RTK and activating NOTCH mutations in mTOR activation seen in T-ALL and encourage further investigation of 1) aberrant RTK-signaling in T-ALL 2) the role of RTK activation in creating a preleukemic cell clone, 3) evaluation of combined therapy targeting RTKs and NOTCH, and 4) the role of activated NOTCH on mTORC2-AKT activation independently of PTEN. Disclosures: Baum: Patent office: Patents & Royalties.

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