scholarly journals Combined EZH2 and Bcl-2 inhibitors as precision therapy for genetically defined DLBCL subtypes

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (20) ◽  
pp. 5226-5231
Author(s):  
Hanna Scholze ◽  
Regan E. Stephenson ◽  
Raymond Reynolds ◽  
Shivem Shah ◽  
Rishi Puri ◽  
...  

Abstract Molecular alterations in the histone methyltransferase EZH2 and the antiapoptotic protein Bcl-2 frequently co-occur in diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL). Because DLBCL tumors with these characteristics are likely dependent on both oncogenes, dual targeting of EZH2 and Bcl-2 is a rational therapeutic approach. We hypothesized that EZH2 and Bcl-2 inhibition would be synergistic in DLBCL. To test this, we evaluated the EZH2 inhibitor tazemetostat and the Bcl-2 inhibitor venetoclax in DLBCL cells, 3-dimensional lymphoma organoids, and patient-derived xenografts (PDXs). We found that tazemetostat and venetoclax are synergistic in DLBCL cells and 3-dimensional lymphoma organoids that harbor an EZH2 mutation and an IGH/BCL2 translocation but not in wild-type cells. Tazemetostat treatment results in upregulation of proapoptotic Bcl-2 family members and priming of mitochondria to BH3-mediated apoptosis, which may sensitize cells to venetoclax. The combination of tazemetostat and venetoclax was also synergistic in vivo. In DLBCL PDXs, short-course combination therapy resulted in complete remissions that were durable over time and associated with superior overall survival compared with either drug alone.

Blood ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 138 (Supplement 1) ◽  
pp. 3521-3521
Author(s):  
Yuheng Hong ◽  
Tianyuan Ren ◽  
Xiaoxuan Wang ◽  
Kai Fu ◽  
Xianhuo Wang ◽  
...  

Abstract Background: Diffuse large B cell lymphoma (DLBCL) is the most common lymphoid malignancy and is characterized by its pronounced genetic and clinical heterogeneity. Although the first-line therapy (R-CHOP) improves the curability of patients with DLBCL, nearly 40% remainder ultimately undergo relapsed or refractory disease. Emerging evidence has shown that TP53 mutations correlate with the recurrence and progression of DLBCL. APR-246, also known as PRIMA-1MET, can reactivate the trans-activation of TP53 mutants by facilitating their DNA binding to target genes, making it a promising therapeutic compound for mutated TP53 carcinomas. Although APR-246 in combination with other chemicals has been applied in clinical trials for non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL), the efficacy and the underlying molecular mechanisms of APR-246 on DLBCL remain unclear. The arms are to investigate the TP53 mutations and the correlation of mutated TP53 with the prognosis. Furthermore, we evaluated the effect of APR-246 on DLBCL in vitro and in vivo. Methods: Multiple datasets, including the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) and cBioPortal, were searched for available data for DLBCL. For evaluation of APR-246 effect on DLBCL in vitro, ten DLBCL cell lines harbouring different and representative molecular properties, especially distinct TP53 mutation status, were tested. To validate the therapeutic effect of APR-246 in vivo, NSG mice were injected subcutaneously with the DLBCL cells with TP53 mutations to establish a xenograft animal model, and then these mice received the APR-246 administration. The cell viability of DLBCL was measured post addition of APR-246. Pharmaceutical inhibition of different cell death pathways was applied to elucidate the mechanisms by which APR-246 functions. Results: Total 2204 patients with DLBCL were evaluated, of which nearly 15% contained TP53 mutations. The missense mutation of TP53 was up to 76% and mutations occurring in the DNA binding domain (DBD) was about 90%. Patients with TP53 mutations had poor OS (p=0.0118). Further, we found that patients with TP53 mutations in GCB and UNC subtypes exhibited inferior OS (p=0.043; p=0.049, respectively), but no in ABC subtype. Notably, TP53 single mutations located in the DBD (exon 5-8) led to an unfavorable survival (p=0.0263), while patients carrying TP53 multiple mutations and single mutations in other domains exhibited no difference in survival time than those with wild-type TP53. APR-246 induced the cell death in a dose dependent manner for all DLBCL cell lines. DLBCL cells with TP53 missense mutations in the DBD were the most sensitive to APR-246 than those with intact or other types of mutated TP53. APR-246 mediated the cell death via p53-dependent ferritinophagy for DLBCL cells with TP53 missense mutations in the DBD. In addition, APR-246 also induced the ferroptosis for other DLBCL cells harbouring wild type TP53 and other forms of TP53 mutations. Conclusions: Nearly 15% of patients with DLBCL harbouring TP53 mutations had inferior prognosis than those with wild-type TP53. Patients with TP53 single mutations occurred in the DBD (exon 5-8) showed poorer prognosis than those with TP53 multiple mutations and single mutations in other domains. APR-246 induced the cell death of DLBCL through different mechanisms, depend on different forms of TP53 mutations, which provided an evidence for clinical application of APR-246 in the treatment of DLBCL. Figure 1 Figure 1. Disclosures No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.


Blood ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 127 (22) ◽  
pp. 2732-2741 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gero Knittel ◽  
Paul Liedgens ◽  
Darya Korovkina ◽  
Jens M. Seeger ◽  
Yussor Al-Baldawi ◽  
...  

Key Points B-cell–specific expression of Myd88p.L252P leads to the development of DLBCL in mice. The Myd88p.L252P mutation cooperates with BCL2 amplifications in ABC-DLBCL lymphomagenesis in vivo.


2019 ◽  
Vol 2019 ◽  
pp. 1-9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Danxia Zhu ◽  
Cheng Fang ◽  
Wenting He ◽  
Chen Wu ◽  
Xiaodong Li ◽  
...  

We investigated the role of miR-181a in diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) and its potential target genes. miR-181a levels were lower in activated B-cell- (ABC-) like DLBCL cells than that in germinal center B-cell- (GCB-) like DLBCL cells. Overexpression of miR-181a in ABC-like DLBCL cell lines (OCI-LY10 and U2932) resulted in G0/G1 cell cycle arrest, increased apoptosis, and decreased invasiveness. miRNA target prediction programs (miRanda, TargetScan, and miRDB) identified caspase recruitment domain-containing protein 11 (CARD11) as a putative miR-181a target. CARD11 mRNA and protein levels were higher in the ABC-like DLBCL than that in GCB-like DLBCL. Moreover, CARD11 mRNA and protein levels were downregulated in the OCI-LY10 and U2932 cell lines overexpressing miR-181a. Dual luciferase reporter assays confirmed the miR-181a binding site in the CARD11 3′UTR region. OCI-LY10 and U2932 cells transfected with a CARD11 expression vector encoding miR-181a with a mutated binding site showed higher CARD11 protein levels, cell viability, G2/M phase cells, and invasiveness compared to those transfected with a wild-type CARD11 expression vector. Nude mice xenografted with OCI-LY10 cells with overexpressed wild-type miR-181a generated smaller tumors compared to those with overexpressed mutated binding site of CARD11 3′UTR and miR-181a. These results indicate that miR-181a inhibits ABC-like DLBCL by repressing CARD11.


2020 ◽  
Vol 52 (4) ◽  
pp. 401-410
Author(s):  
Mengyu Xi ◽  
Wan He ◽  
Bo Li ◽  
Jinfeng Zhou ◽  
Zhijian Xu ◽  
...  

Abstract Diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) is the most common category and disease entity of non-Hodgkin lymphoma. Osalmide and pterostilbene are natural products with anticancer activities via different mechanism. In this study, using a new synthetic strategy for the two natural products, we obtained the compound DCZ0801, which was previously found to have anti-multiple myeloma activity. We performed both in vitro and in vivo assays to investigate its bioactivity and explore its underlying mechanism against DLBCL cells. The results showed that DCZ0801 treatment gave rise to a dose- and time-dependent inhibition of cell viability as determined by CCK-8 assay and flow cytometry assay. Western blot analysis results showed that the expression of caspase-3, caspase-8, caspase-9 and Bax was increased, while BCL-2 and BCL-XL levels were decreased, which suggested that DCZ0801 inhibited cell proliferation and promoted intrinsic apoptosis. In addition, DCZ0801 induced G0/G1 phase arrest by downregulating the protein expression levels of CDK4, CDK6 and cyclin D1. Furthermore, DCZ0801 exerted an anti-tumor effect by down-regulating the expressions of p-PI3K and p-AKT. There also existed a trend that the expression of p-JNK and p-P38 was restrained. Intraperitoneal injection of DCZ0801 suppressed tumor development in xenograft mouse models. The preliminary metabolic study showed that DCZ0801 displayed a rapid metabolism within 30 min. These results demonstrated that DCZ0801 may be a new potential anti-DLBCL agent in DLBCL therapy.


2019 ◽  
Vol 116 (34) ◽  
pp. 16981-16986 ◽  
Author(s):  
Claudio Scuoppo ◽  
Jiguang Wang ◽  
Mirjana Persaud ◽  
Sandeep K. Mittan ◽  
Katia Basso ◽  
...  

To repurpose compounds for diffuse large B cell lymphoma (DLBCL), we screened a library of drugs and other targeted compounds approved by the US Food and Drug Administration on 9 cell lines and validated the results on a panel of 32 genetically characterized DLBCL cell lines. Dasatinib, a multikinase inhibitor, was effective against 50% of DLBCL cell lines, as well as against in vivo xenografts. Dasatinib was more broadly active than the Bruton kinase inhibitor ibrutinib and overcame ibrutinib resistance. Tumors exhibiting dasatinib resistance were commonly characterized by activation of the PI3K pathway and loss of PTEN expression as a specific biomarker. PI3K suppression by mTORC2 inhibition synergized with dasatinib and abolished resistance in vitro and in vivo. These results provide a proof of concept for the repurposing approach in DLBCL, and point to dasatinib as an attractive strategy for further clinical development in lymphomas.


2015 ◽  
Vol 112 (52) ◽  
pp. E7230-E7238 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nathalie Knies ◽  
Begüm Alankus ◽  
Andre Weilemann ◽  
Alexandar Tzankov ◽  
Kristina Brunner ◽  
...  

The aggressive activated B cell-like subtype of diffuse large B-cell lymphoma is characterized by aberrant B-cell receptor (BCR) signaling and constitutive nuclear factor kappa-B (NF-κB) activation, which is required for tumor cell survival. BCR-induced NF-κB activation requires caspase recruitment domain-containing protein 11 (CARD11), and CARD11 gain-of-function mutations are recurrently detected in human diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL). To investigate the consequences of dysregulated CARD11 signaling in vivo, we generated mice that conditionally express the human DLBCL-derived CARD11(L225LI) mutant. Surprisingly, CARD11(L225LI) was sufficient to trigger aggressive B-cell lymphoproliferation, leading to early postnatal lethality. CARD11(L225LI) constitutively associated with B-cell CLL/lymphoma 10 (BCL10) and mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue lymphoma translocation gene 1 (MALT1) to simultaneously activate the NF-κB and c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK) signaling cascades. Genetic deficiencies of either BCL10 or MALT1 completely rescued the phenotype, and pharmacological inhibition of JNK was, similar to NF-κB blockage, toxic to autonomously proliferating CARD11(L225LI)-expressing B cells. Moreover, constitutive JNK activity was observed in primary human activated B cell-like (ABC)-DLBCL specimens, and human ABC-DLBCL cells were also sensitive to JNK inhibitors. Thus, our results demonstrate that enforced activation of CARD11/BCL10/MALT1 signaling is sufficient to drive transformed B-cell expansion in vivo and identify the JNK pathway as a therapeutic target for ABC-DLBCL.


Blood ◽  
2007 ◽  
Vol 110 (11) ◽  
pp. 528-528 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mohammad Luqman ◽  
Ssucheng J. Hsu ◽  
Matthew Ericson ◽  
Sha Klabunde ◽  
Seema Kantak

Abstract HCD122 (formerly known as CHIR-12.12), is a fully human anti-CD40 monoclonal antibody (mAb) currently in Phase I clinical trials for treatment of chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) and multiple myeloma (MM). An IgG1 antibody selected for its potency as an antagonist of the CD40 signaling pathway, HCD122 both inhibits CD40/CD40L-stimulated growth of lymphoma cells ex vivo, and mediates highly effective Antibody Dependent Cell-mediated Cytotoxicity (ADCC) in vitro. As a single agent, HCD122 exhibits potent anti-tumor activity in vivo, in preclinical models of MM, Hodgkin’s lymphoma, Burkitt’s lymphoma, mantle cell lymphoma and diffused large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL). Although several therapeutic antibodies approved for treatment of Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma have clinical activity as single agents, combining these antibodies with standard-of-care chemotherapeutic regimens such as CHOP (cytoxan, vincristine, doxorubicin and prednisone) is proving optimal for both increasing response rates and extending survival, and antibodies currently in clinical development are likely to be used in combination therapies in the future. Therefore the studies reported here examine the effects of combining HCD122 with CHOP, the standard for treatment of high grade NHL, in in vitro and in vivo models of DLBCL. In the xenograft RL model of DLBCL, HCD122 administered intraperitoneally weekly at 1 mg/kg as a single agent, or in combination with CHOP (H-CHOP), and CHOP alone all significantly reduced tumor growth at day 25 when compared to treatment with huIgG1 control antibody (P<0.001). However, tumor growth delay (time to reach tumor size of 500 mm3) was significantly longer for H-CHOP (17.5 days), than for CHOP (8 days) or HCD122 (6 days) (p < 0.001). No toxicity was observed with the H-CHOP combination. Interestingly, at the end of the study (day 35), reduction in tumor growth was significantly greater in the treatment group that received H-CHOP than the groups that received either 10 mg/kg Rituxan plus CHOP (R-CHOP) (p < 0.05) or CHOP alone (p < 0.001). These data show that in this model, treatment with the combination H-CHOP results in greater anti-tumor efficacy than with either modality alone or R-CHOP. We have observed that in vitro, exposure to CD40 Ligand (CD40L) results in aggregation of DLBCL cells, and postulate that interfering with the ability of cancer cells to adhere and interact with each other and their microenvironment may potentiate the effect of chemotherapeutics. To elucidate the mechanism by which the combination of HCD122 and CHOP enhanced efficacy in vivo, we developed an in vitro system to examine the effects of HCD122 on the expression of adhesion molecules in the RL and SU-DHL-4 cell lines. In these studies, HCD122 inhibited CD40L-induced expression of CD54, CD86 and CD95 in both cell lines, as well as aggregation of SU-DHL-4 cells. The combined effect of each of the components of CHOP with HCD122 in three-dimensional spheroid cultures is currently under investigation. These data provide a therapeutic rationale for combination of HCD122 with CHOP in DLBCL clinical trials.


Blood ◽  
2009 ◽  
Vol 114 (22) ◽  
pp. 2718-2718
Author(s):  
Mari Nakata ◽  
Takahito Nakahara ◽  
Aya Kita ◽  
Keisuke Mitsuoka ◽  
Kentaro Yamanaka ◽  
...  

Abstract Abstract 2718 Poster Board II-694 Introduction: Survivin is a member of the inhibitor of apoptosis (IAP) family of proteins, and is highly expressed in many tumor types. Given its preferential expression in tumor cells, and its ability to block apoptosis and regulate cancer cell proliferation, survivin appears to be an attractive novel target for cancer therapy. YM155 is a novel, small molecule survivin suppressant (Nakahara et al., Cancer Research. 2007;67:8014–21). In this study, we evaluated the antitumor activity of YM155 alone and in combination with rituximab, R-ICE (rituximab + ifosfamide + carboplatin + etoposide), or [rituximab + cytarabin + cisplatin] in DLBCL xenograft models. Methods: Antiproliferative effect of YM155 in a panel of human DLBCL cell lines (DB, Pfeiffer, SU-DHL5, SU-DHL8, WSU-DLCL-2, and RL) was evaluated by sulforhodamine B assay. In in vivo studies, WSU-DLCL-2 and DB were subcutaneously implanted into male BALB/c nu/nu mice. When tumors reached a volume of 300 to 600 mm3, YM155 was administered as a 7-day continuous sc infusion, and the other drugs were administered via iv bolus. Dose and schedule of each drug were adjusted to clinical equivalent dose. PET imaging studies were performed using a Inveon PET/CT system (Siemens Medical Solusion). WSU-DLCL-2 xenografted mice were intravenously injected with [18F] FLT, and five-minute static PET scans were accqiured at 1h after injection. For each small-animal PET scan, region of interest was drawn over each tumor and over normal tissue on decay-corrected whole-body sagittal imagies. Results: In in vitro proliferation assays, YM155 showed potent antiproliferative activity against all six DLBCL cell lines, with GI50 values of 0.35 to 3.9 nM. In in vivo studies using WSU-DLCL2 xenograft model, YM155 at 1 and 3 mg/kg induced tumor regression without body weight loss. In combination studies using WSU-DLCL2 xenograft model, YM155 2 mg/kg enhanced antitumor effects of rituximab, R-ICE and [rituximab + cytarabin + cisplatin] without enhancement of the body weight loss. Tumor regression in the combination groups was sustained longer than single treatment groups, and even complete regressions were achievable. Moreover, combination of YM155 1 mg/kg and rituximab induced strong tumor regression in the DB xenograft model, while single-agent treatments did not show significant antitumor effect compared to vehicle control. In [18F]FLT-PET imaging, a significant reduction of FLT uptake in tumor was observed in rituximab combination group, which was more sensitive than the reduction in tumor volume. Conclusions: YM155 improves the antitumor effect of rituximab and rituximab-containing regimens in diffuse large B cell lymphoma (DLBCL) xenograft mouse models. Disclosures: Nakata: Astellas Pharma Inc.: Employment. Nakahara:Astellas Pharma Inc.: Employment. Kita:Astellas Pharma Inc.: Employment. Mitsuoka:Astellas Pharma Inc.: Employment. Yamanaka:Astellas Pharma Inc.: Employment. Kaneko:Astellas Pharma Inc.: Employment. Miyoshi:Astellas Pharma Inc.: Employment. Mori:Astellas Pharma Inc.: Employment. Koutoku:Astellas Pharma Inc.: Employment. Sasamata:Astellas Pharma Inc.: Employment.


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