Abstract
AbstractDeregulated apoptosis is a common finding in tumorigenesis. The oncogenic tyrosine kinase nucleophosmin/anaplastic lymphoma kinase (NPM/ALK) delivers a strong survival signal inanaplasticlargecelllymphomas (ALCLs). Although NPM/ALK activates multiple antiapoptotic pathways, the biologic relevance and therapeutic potential of more downstream apoptotic effectors are mostly unknown. In this report, the NPM/ALK-mediated induction of Bcl-XL(but not of Bcl-2) was identified in human ALCL-derived cells. NPM/ALK kinase activity was required to promote Bcl-XLexpression and its protective effect on mitochondrial homeostasis. Down-regulation of Bcl-XLsignificantly reduced the antiapoptotic potential of NPM/ALK in both transformed murine Ba/F3 pro-B cells and human ALCL-derived KARPAS-299 cells. To elucidate the role of Bcl-XLin vivo, Ba/F3-NPM/ALK+cells expressing a doxycycline (Dox)-inducibleBcl-XLantisense transgene (pTet-ON) were injected into nude mice. Doxycycline administration prevented a fatal systemic disease in 15 of 15 intravenously injected mice and the appearance of subcutaneous tumor xenografts in 9 of 12 mice; in vivo down-regulation of Bcl-XLwas also documented. Our results show a pivotal role for Bcl-XLin ALK-mediated oncogenicity; a single protein placed downstream of a known oncogene can be crucial for the survival of neoplastic cells both in vitro and in vivo. Bcl-XLdeserves further investigation as a possible therapeutic target in ALK+ALCLs. (Blood. 2004;103:2787-2794)
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