Human Chronic Myeloid Leukemia Cells Research Articles

Modulation of Leukotriene Signaling Affecting Cell Growth in Chronic Myeloid Leukemia: A Key Pathway to Cure?

▪Background: Recent data suggest that tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI)-insensitive leukemic stem cells often prevail in chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) patients subjected to long-term TKI treatment. To achieve cure additional aberrant pathways in these patients, such as leukotriene (LT) signaling, may need to be targeted. We have previously shown that human CML cells have an increased capacity to produce LT and that LT can stimulate normal myelopoiesis (Tornhamre ExpHem 2003). Chen later noted a striking up-regulation of ALOX5/5LO (catalyzing an initial step in LT formation) in CML mice, and that inhibition of this enzyme improved survival of these animals by a magnitude similar to that induced by imatinib (Chen NatureGen 2009). Here wexve assessed the effect of LT modulating agents on the growth of human CML cells in vitro.Materials and methods: Human CML cells, derived from the three cell lines K562, Kcl22 and KU812, were grown in microtitre plate cultures, in the presence of RPMI 1640. The MTT technique was used to evaluate the number of viable cells at 72 hours. Protein expression was assessed by Western blot and immunocytochemistry.Results: Several specific modulators of LT-signaling were capable of inducing dose-dependent growth inhibitory effects on CML cells. Thus, the cysteinyl-LT receptor antagonist montelukast, a drug with approved clinical use in human asthma, was shown to reduce the growth of all three tested CML cell lines. In Fig. 1 this is examplified by K562 cells, where also additive effects between montelukast and imatinib are indicated. All cell lines expressed the cysLT1-receptor. Furthermore, the LTB4 receptor antagonist etalocib, as well as the 5-LO activating protein (FLAP) inhibitors licofelone and Bay-X-1005, also executed inhibitory effects at concentrations considered as physiological. As expected, addition of the TKIs imatinib, nilotinib or dasatinib to the cultures also generated dose-dependent inhibitory effects on the growth of all tested CML cell lines. An LD50 of approximately 0.5 µM, 10 nM and 0.1 nM was noted for imatinib, nilotinib and dasatinib, respectively, for K562 cells at 72 hours.Conclusions: We demonstrate that several compounds, known to specifically inhibit leukotriene signaling by different mechanisms, were at clinically relevant concentrations capable of significantly suppressing the growth of human CML cells. Some of these compounds are already in clinical practice for non-hematological disorders. They could provide an additional therapeutic possibility in the quest to cure CML. [Display omitted] DisclosuresNo relevant conflicts of interest to declare.

Alox-5 As a Potent Therapeutic Target on Overcoming TKI-Resistance in Chronic Myeloid Leukemia with T315I Mutation in Bcr-Abl

Background&Significance: Chronic myeloid leukemia(CML) is a malignant disease of a primitive haematological cell, characterised by inappropriate expansion of myeloid cells. Although the disease is readily controlled by Tyrosine kinase inhibitors, approximately one third of patients will eventually fail treatment. And we believed it corresponds to insensitive leukemia stem cells(LSCs) with unresponsive genes to the kinase inhibitors in CML and mutation of Bcr-Abl. 5-lipoxygenase gene(Alox5) was proved as a novel therapeutic target in cancer stem cells of CML. It encodes a member of the lipoxygenase gene family and plays a role in the synthesis of leukotrienes from arachidonic acid. Without Alox5, Bcr-Abl fails to induce CML in mice due to the impairments of the functions of LSCs. However, recent report suggest that Alox5 regulation may not be important for the development of CML in human. Interestingly, we found specific upregulation of Alox5 in CML patients with strongly positive expression of p210 in mRNA level, including the patients primary diagnosed as CML and who suffered in relapse for TKI resistance. Therefore, we characterized the function and regulation of Alox5 in TKI-resistant CML.Results: Firstly, we verified the upregulation of Alox5 by real-time PCR on sorted human CML progenitor populations with strongly positive expression of Bcr-Abl(p210), but not on CML patients obtained remission after treatment of TKI. To evaluate the function and regulation of Alox5, we silenced Alox5 by siRNA and chemical inhibitior in human CML cell lines K562, its TKI-resistant cell lines K562R, murine CML cell lines BaF3wild, and its TKI-resistant cell line BaF3T315I. As a result, the apoptotic rate induced by Alox5 inhibition alone in K562 and BaF3wild cells was lower than by TKI. Conversely, blockage of Alox5 in BaF3T315I cells caused increasingly apoptotic rate, which was higher than imatinib treatment. To further study if Alox5 could play an important role in impairing leukemia stem cells in CML, we cultured LSCs(Lin-c-Kit+Sca-1+) derived from CML patients with Bcr-Abl-T315I mutation in the presence of Alox5 inhibitor or imatinib alone. For 24h treatment, obvious apoptosis was observed in cells cultured with Zileuton, a kind of Alox5 inhibitor, but not in cells cultured with imatinib. Therefore, apoptosis related genes were detected, significant downregulation of Bcl-2 was found compared to in LSCs without Alox5 knockouted. In addition, downregulation of Alox5 followed Bcr-Abl inhibition in CML, we hypothesised that Alox5 was a downstream of Bcr-Abl, genomic array was used to uncover the signaling pathway connected Alox5 with Bcr-Abl. The results shown us that PKC-β was significantly downregulated when Bcr-Abl was inactivated by TKI. Selectivly inhibited PKC-β could decreased Alox5 expression in mRNA level. As for this mechanism, we found p38/MAPK signaling pathway mediated regulation of Alox5 by PKC-β. Next, we evaluated the in vivo anti-CML effect of Alox5 inhibition with a xenograft mice model. Two weeks after the transplantation of human CML cells with mutant Bcr-Abl-T315I(n=12). NOD/SCID/IL2Rg-KO(KOG) mice were treated with normal saline, 10mg/kg Zileuton or imatinib intraperitoneally on everyday schedule. At first, we confirmed that Zileuton doesn't affect normal hematopoiesis(n=3), but eventually inhibite LSCs growth(n=3). Eight to ten weeks after the transplantation, the frequencies of human CD45+ CML cells and LSCs were significantly reduced by Zileuton treatment in bone marrow((BM) of the recipient mice compared with normal saline-treated control mice and imatinib treated mice, indicating that Alox5 inhibition can inhibit the survival of CML-T315I mutant cells and LSCs in vivo.Conclusion: Together, these results suggest that Alox5 would be a potent therapeutic target on overcoming TKI-resistance involved in Bcr-Abl-T315I mutation. DisclosuresNo relevant conflicts of interest to declare.

Deletion of Pleiotrophin (PTN), a Vascular Niche Paracrine Factor, Abrogates Chronic Myeloid Leukemia Pathogenesis In Vivo

Tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI) therapy revolutionized the treatment of patients with chronic myeloid leukemia (CML), but TKI therapy alone is not curative. Leukemic stem cells (LSCs) are considered to be resistant to TKI therapy in CML, although the mechanisms which confer LSC resistance to TKI-mediated eradication remain poorly understood. Our laboratory has previously described the role of PTN, a paracrine factor which is secreted by bone marrow endothelial cells (BM ECs) and is necessary for the self-renewal and regeneration of normal hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) in vivo. We hypothesized that PTN signaling in the BM vascular niche might also be important in CML pathogenesis and perpetuation of LSCs. In order to test our hypothesis, we crossed SCL-tTA/BCR-ABL mice, which develop CML over time under the control of doxycycline-treatment, with either PTN-/- or PTN+/+ mice, and compared CML pathogenesis in vivo. SCLtTA/BCR-ABL;PTN+/+ mice displayed evolution of chronic phase CML (splenomegaly, increased WBCs, left-shifted myelopoiesis, decreased survival) within 90-120 days. In contrast, SCLtTA/BCR-ABL;PTN-/- mice displayed normal range WBCs, decreased splenomegaly and significantly increased survival over the same time period. At 300 days post-induction of BCR-ABL, 33% percent of SCLtTA/BCR-ABL;PTN-/- mice remain alive compared to only 7% of SCLtTA/BCR-ABL;PTN+/+ mice (p<0.0001). Importantly, treatment of human CML cells with a specific anti-PTN antibody (BD Biosciences) significantly decreased CML colony formation in methylcellulose (P=0.02), whereas normal human CD34+ cells were unaffected. This result suggested the novel possibility that human CML cells may produce PTN in an autocrine manner as a means to propagate disease. These studies suggest that genetic or pharmacologic antagonism of PTN signaling is a potent strategy to inhibit CML pathogenesis. Ongoing studies will determine if PTN-targeted therapy, with or without TKIs, can mediate the eradication of LSCs which are responsible for perpetuation of this disease. DisclosuresHimburg:Duke University: Patents & Royalties: Patent Application for use of Pleiotrophin as a hematopoietic stem cell growth factor. Chute:C2 Regenerate: Equity Ownership; Duke University: Patents & Royalties: Application to use PTN as growth factor as hematopoietic stem cell growth factor.

A Novel Compound Inhibits Chronic Myeloid Leukemia Via Upregulating Apoptosis

Chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) is a myeloid proliferative disorder mainly result from chimeric protein BCR-ABL1 encoded by a fusion gene at the t(9;22) (q34;q11) chromosomal translocation. Intrinsically, this recombined protein results in an increased tyrosine kinase (TK) activity that directly related to hematopoietic stem cell malignant proliferation. Consequently, the drugs derived from tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKI) have been developed as an infective therapy, and greatly improved patients survival in clinic. Unfortunately, single TKI administration led to toxicities or tolerance in long-term treated CML patients. Even worse is, about 5% CML patients were not caused by bcr-abl gene mutation. Thus better medicines are badly needed to compensate CML therapy. Herein, we investigated the undefined function of a biscoumarins. The new synthesized compound exhibited a null toxicity on HUVECs but intensive toxicity on K562 leukemic cells. Subsequent results demonstrated that it efficiently inhibited the expansion of human CML cell line and bone marrow cells of SCL-tTA-BCL/ABL transgenic model mice via increased apoptosis. Critically, we also showed that CD34+ bone marrow leukemic cells collected from patients underwent more apoptosis after treated by the biscoumarins derivate. To extend these results into vivo, we observed a prolonged survival of bcr-abl transgenic mice treated by derivate mono-therapy or combination with imatinib compared to those of untreated or imatinib-treated CML mice. All together, these results indicated that this biscoumarins derivate may have novel potential as a therapeutic agent against CML. DisclosuresNo relevant conflicts of interest to declare.

Knockdown of Peripheral Myelin Protein 22 Inhibits the Progression of Chronic Myeloid Leukemia.

We aimed to explore the underlying mechanism of peripheral myelin protein 22 (PMP22) in the development of chronic myeloid leukemia (CML). The level of PMP22 expression in CD34+ cells isolated from CML patients’ bone marrow samples (BMMCs) and peripheral blood samples (PBMCs) was determined by RT-PCR. In addition, PMP22-siRNA and scrambled control siRNA were transfected into human CML cell line K562 with Lipofectamine 2000 reagent. Cell viability and apoptosis were, respectively, determined by MTT assay and flow cytometry. Besides, the level of caspase 3 and Bcl-xL was then detected using Western blot. The level of PMP22 expression in CML patients’ CD34+ cells isolated from both PBMCs and BMMCs was significantly higher than the control group. PMP22 expression in K562 cells was successfully knocked down by siRNA. MTT analysis showed that knockdown of PMP22 inhibited the proliferation of CML cells. Flow cytometry showed that knockdown of PMP22 promoted the apoptosis of CML cells. Besides, Bcl-xL expression markedly decreased, while the expression of caspase 3 in CML cells significantly increased after knockdown of PMP22 expression. Our findings indicate that high expression of PMP22 may promote cell proliferation and inhibit cell apoptosis via upregulation of Bcl-xL or inhibition of caspase 3 activation, and thus may contribute to the development of CML. PMP22 may serve as a novel therapeutic target for the treatment of CML.

Synthesis and Anti-tumor Activity of Novel Amino Acid Glyceroglycolipid†

Glyceroglycolipids have been identified as one of the most important anticancer drug. In this work,novel amino acid glyceroglycolipids were synthesized through the esterification of glycosylglycerol and N-acyl amino acid and characterized by means of~1 H NMR and ESI-MS. The anti-tumor activities against human breast cancer cell line,human liver cancer cell line and chronic myeloid leukemia cell line in vitro were tested by MTT method. The preliminary results demonstrated that compounds 27( IC_(50)= 3. 53,4. 71,4. 13 μmol/L),28( IC_(50)= 4. 35,4. 57,5. 79 μmol/L),31( IC_(50)= 3. 91,3. 73,4. 54 μmol/L) and32( IC_(50)= 5. 17,5. 52,5. 93 μmol/L) exhibited significant anti-tumor activities. The preliminary studies on the structure-activity relationship showed that when the acyl was decanoyl or lauroyl,good activity was exhibited in all the eight different kinds of glycosyl diacylglycerols. The preliminary prediction of this type of compound had certain inhibitory effect on the growth of tumor cells,they are non-toxic to normal cells. Such novel amino acid glyceroglycolipids as antineoplastic drugs or excellent surfactants could be widely investigated in the future.

Hyaluronan oligomers sensitize chronic myeloid leukemia cell lines to the effect of Imatinib.

Chronic myeloid leukemia is a myeloproliferative syndrome characterized by the presence of the Philadelphia chromosome (Ph), generated by a reciprocal translocation occurring between chromosomes 9 and 22 [t(9;22)(q34;q11)]. As a consequence, a fusion gene (bcr-abl) encoding a constitutively active kinase is generated. The first-line treatment consists on BCR-ABL inhibitors such as Imatinib, Nilotinib and Dasatinib. Nevertheless, such treatment may lead to the selection of resistant cells. Therefore, finding molecules that enhance the anti-proliferative effect of first-line drugs is of value. Hyaluronan oligomers (oHA) are known to be able to sensitize several tumor cells to chemotherapy. We have previously demonstrated that oHA can revert Vincristine resistance in mouse lymphoma and human leukemia cell lines. However, little is known about the role of oHA in hematological malignancies. The aim of this work was to determine whether oHA are able to modulate the anti-proliferative effect of Imatinib in chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) cell lines. The effect on apoptosis and senescence as well as the involvement of signaling pathways were also evaluated. For this purpose, the human CML cell lines K562 and Kv562 (resistant) were used. We demonstrated that oHA sensitized both cell lines to the anti-proliferative effect of Imatinib increasing apoptosis and senescence. Moreover, this effect would be accomplished through the down-regulation of the PI3K signaling pathway. These findings highlight the potential of oHA when used as a co-adjuvant therapy for chronic myeloid leukemia.

Synergistic cytotoxicity from combination of imatinib and platinum-based anticancer drugs specifically in Bcr-Abl positive leukemia cells

Imatinib, a multitargeted tyrosine kinase inhibitor, exhibits potent anticancer activity against leukemia harboring the Bcr-Abl oncogene and some solid tumors overexpressing c-kit and PDGFR. However, its clinical efficacy is severely compromised by the emergence of resistance primarily due to acquired mutations in the Bcr-Abl kinase domain. In this study, we showed that combination of imatinib with platinum (Pt)-based anticancer agents, including cisplatin and oxaliplatin, exhibited synergistic cytotoxic effect specifically in Bcr-Abl+ human chronic myeloid leukemia cell line K562 but not in Bcr-Abl− RPMI8226 cells. Importantly, the synergistic effect was also found to circumvent imatinib resistance in an imatinib-selected resistant subline K562 ima1.0. The combination treatment increased apoptosis and DNA damage. Mechanistic study revealed that increased inhibition of Bcr-Abl and downstream ERK phosphorylation by the drug combination may contribute to the synergistic effect.

2-Hydroxypropyl-β-Cyclodextrin Acts as a Novel Anticancer Agent.

2-Hydroxypropyl-β-cyclodextrin (HP-β-CyD) is a cyclic oligosaccharide that is widely used as an enabling excipient in pharmaceutical formulations, but also as a cholesterol modifier. HP-β-CyD has recently been approved for the treatment of Niemann-Pick Type C disease, a lysosomal lipid storage disorder, and is used in clinical practice. Since cholesterol accumulation and/or dysregulated cholesterol metabolism has been described in various malignancies, including leukemia, we hypothesized that HP-β-CyD itself might have anticancer effects. This study provides evidence that HP-β-CyD inhibits leukemic cell proliferation at physiologically available doses. First, we identified the potency of HP-β-CyD in vitro against various leukemic cell lines derived from acute myeloid leukemia (AML), acute lymphoblastic leukemia and chronic myeloid leukemia (CML). HP-β-CyD treatment reduced intracellular cholesterol resulting in significant leukemic cell growth inhibition through G2/M cell-cycle arrest and apoptosis. Intraperitoneal injection of HP-β-CyD significantly improved survival in leukemia mouse models. Importantly, HP-β-CyD also showed anticancer effects against CML cells expressing a T315I BCR-ABL mutation (that confers resistance to most ABL tyrosine kinase inhibitors), and hypoxia-adapted CML cells that have characteristics of leukemic stem cells. In addition, colony forming ability of human primary AML and CML cells was inhibited by HP-β-CyD. Systemic administration of HP-β-CyD to mice had no significant adverse effects. These data suggest that HP-β-CyD is a promising anticancer agent regardless of disease or cellular characteristics.

A molecular and biophysical comparison of macromolecular changes in imatinib-sensitive and imatinib-resistant K562 cells exposed to ponatinib.

Chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) is a type of hematological malignancy that is characterized by the generation of Philadelphia chromosome encoding BCR/ABL oncoprotein. Tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs), imatinib, nilotinib, and dasatinib, are used for the frontline therapy of CML. Development of resistance against these TKIs in the patients bearing T315I mutation is a major obstacle in CML therapy. Ponatinib, the third-generation TKI, is novel drug that is effective even in CML patients with T315I mutation. The exact mechanism of ponatinib in CML has been still unknown. In this study, we aimed to determine the potential mechanisms and structural metabolic changes activated by ponatinib treatment in imatinib-sensitive K562 human CML cell lines and 3μM-imatinib-resistant K562/IMA3 CML cell lines generated at our lab. Apoptotic and antiproliferative effects of ponatinib on imatinib-sensitive and 3μM-imatinib-resistant K562/IMA3 CML cells were determined by proliferation and apoptosis assays. Additionally, the effects of ponatinib on macromolecules and lipid profiles were also analyzed using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). Our results revealed that ponatinib inhibited cell proliferation and induced apoptosis as determined by loss of mitochondrial membrane potential, increased caspase-3 enzyme activity, and transfer of phosphatidylserine to the plasma membrane in both K562 and K562/IMA-3 cells. Furthermore, cell cycle analyses revealed that ponatinib arrested K562 and K562/IMA-3 cells at G1 phase. Moreover, ponatinib treatment created a more ordered nucleic acid structure in the resistant cells. Although the lipid to protein ratio increased in imatinib-sensitive K562 cells with a little decrease in the K562/IMA-3 cells, ponatinib treatment indicated significant changes in the lipid composition such as a significant increase in the cellular cholesterol amounts much more in the K562/IMA-3 cells than the sensitive counterparts. Unsaturation in lipids was higher in the resistant cells; however, increases in lipids without phosphate and the number of acyl chains were much higher in the K562 cells. Taken together, all these results showed powerful antiproliferative and apoptotic effects of ponatinib in both imatinib-sensitive and imatinib-resistant CML cells in a dose-dependent manner, and hence, the use of ponatinib for the treatment of TKI-resistant CML patients may be an effective treatment approach in the clinic. More importantly, these results showed that FTIR spectroscopy can detect drug-induced physiological changes in cancer drug resistance.

Ruxolitinib induces autophagy in chronic myeloid leukemia cells.

Ruxolitinib is the first agent used in myelofibrosis treatment with its potent JAK2 inhibitory effect. In this novel study, we aimed to discover the anti-leukemic effect of ruxolitinib in K-562 human chronic myeloid leukemia cell line compared to NCI-BL 2171 human healthy B lymphocyte cell line. Cytotoxic effect of ruxolitinib was determined by using WST-1 assay. IC50 values for K-562 and NCI-BL 2171 cell lines were defined as 20 and 23.6μM at the 48th hour, respectively. Autophagic effects of ruxolitinib were detected by measuring LC3B-II protein formation. Ruxolitinib induced autophagic cell death in K-562 and NCI-BL 2171 cell lines 2.11- and 1.79-fold compared to control groups, respectively. To determine the autophagy-related gene expression changes, total RNA was isolated from K-562 and NCI-BL 2171 cells treated with ruxolitinib and untreated cells as control group. Reverse transcription procedure was performed for cDNA synthesis, and gene expressions were shown by RT-qPCR. Ruxolitinib treatment caused a notable decrease in expression of AKT, mTOR, and STAT autophagy inhibitor genes in K-562 cells, contrariwise control cell line. Ruxolitinib is a promising agent in chronic myeloid leukemia treatment by blocking JAK/STAT pathway known as downstream of BCR-ABL and triggering autophagy. This is the first study that reveals the relationship between ruxolitinib and autophagy induction.

Epipolythiodiketopiperazines from the Marine Derived Fungus Dichotomomyces cejpii with NF-κB Inhibitory Potential.

The Ascomycota Dichotomomyces cejpii was isolated from the marine sponge Callyspongia cf. C. flammea. A new gliotoxin derivative, 6-acetylmonodethiogliotoxin (1) was obtained from fungal extracts. Compounds 2 and 3, methylthio-gliotoxin derivatives were formerly only known as semi-synthetic compounds and are here described as natural products. Additionally the polyketide heveadride (4) was isolated. Compounds 1, 2 and 4 dose-dependently down-regulated TNFα-induced NF-κB activity in human chronic myeloid leukemia cells with IC50s of 38.5 ± 1.2 µM, 65.7 ± 2.0 µM and 82.7 ± 11.3 µM, respectively. The molecular mechanism was studied with the most potent compound 1 and results indicate downstream inhibitory effects targeting binding of NF-κB to DNA. Compound 1 thus demonstrates potential of epimonothiodiketopiperazine-derived compounds for the development of NF-κB inhibitors.

Toxicity of doxorubicin-transferrin conjugate is connected to the modulation of Wnt/β-catenin pathway in human leukemia cells

Chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) is a disorder of hematopoietic stem cells caused by constitutive activation of the BCR/ABL tyrosine kinase. However, the tyrosine kinase inhibitors like imatinib mesylate are not effective in the patients with advanced-stage of CML. Hence, there is an urgent need for new approaches to overcome a cancer cell's resistance in CML long term therapy. Development of new drug carriers, is presently one of the most challenging tasks in experimental oncology.In this report we investigated whether the toxicity of newly synthetized doxorubicin transferrin conjugate (DOX-TRF) may be connected to the limitation of multidrug resistance in CML cells by the alternations of Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway. The studies were performed on human chronic myeloid leukemia cell lines sensitive (K562) and resistant (K562/DOX) to doxorubicin. Our research proves that DOX-TRF conjugate displays higher cytotoxicity toward both examined cell lines than the reference free drug (DOX) and induces more extensive pro-apoptotic changes. Moreover, by the of engagement of Wnt pathway agonist (LiCl) and antagonist (ICG 001) we demonstrate that DOX-TRF conjugate effectively reduces transcription of key genes involved in β-catenin signaling transduction trial (Wnt3a, DVL-1, FZD-3, LRP5, β-catenin, DKK2) and triggers morphology alternations of CML cells.

Adiponectin enhances Imatinib anti-tumour activity in human chronic myeloid leukaemia cells with serum levels associated with Imatinib efficacy in early chronic phase patients.

Adiponectin, a functional ligand of adiponectin receptor-1 (AdipoR1) and adiponectin receptor-2 (AdipoR2), has been found to be linked to risk of development of chronic myeloid leukaemia (CML). Imatinib, as its first-line therapy, exhibits striking activity in both chronic and accelerated phases of the condition. However, numerous clinical trials have shown that many patients become refractory or experience relapses. Thus, development of new, hopefully effective Imatinib-based treatment strategies, are still needed. Effects of recombinant adiponectin protein, in enhancing Imatinib anti-tumour activities, in K562 and MEG-01 CML cells, were examined in vitro and in vivo. Forty-eight consecutive newly diagnosed adult patients with Bcr-Abl-positive CML, in the early chronic phase (ECP), were enrolled in the study. Imatinib efficacy, plasma adiponectin levels and their correlations were analysed. Data presented here indicate that adiponectin enhanced Imatinib efficacy in vitro and in vivo. Furthermore, this augmented effect was due to inhibition of Bcr-Abl tyrosine kinase activity in an AdipoR1-dependent way, while AdipoR2 was not involved. Most importantly, additional clinical data revealed that adiponectin plasma levels in CML ECP patients, correlated with Imatinib efficacy. Adiponectin enhanced Imatinib anti-tumour activity in human chronic myeloid leukaemia cells and its serum levels were associated with Imatinib efficacy, in early chronic phase patients.

Synergistic effect of HMGB1 knockdown and cordycepin in the K562 human chronic myeloid leukemia cell line.

The high-mobility group box 1 (HMGB1) protein is a DNA-binding nuclear protein, which is overexpressed in leukemia cells. Cordycepin is characterized by strong antileukemic properties and is regarded as an effective natural compound for leukemia therapy. The aim of the present study was to investigate the impact of HMGB1 knockdown and cordycepin treatment on proliferation, apoptosis, reactive oxygen species (ROS) levels and adhesion of K562 human chronic myeloid leukemia cells. The Cell Counting kit‑8 assay was used to determine the proliferation of K562 cells. The cell cycle and apoptosis of K562 cells was determined using flow cytometric analysis. In addition, a cell adhesion assay was performed. Western blotting was used to determine the protein expression of cyclooxygenase 2, Bax, receptor for advanced glycation end-products and Bcl‑2. The data collected demonstrated that HMGB1 knockdown combined with cordycepin treatment had significant anti‑proliferative and pro‑apoptotic effects. In addition, it increased the ROS levels and reduced the adhesion of K562 cells. It was also identified that HMGB1 knockdown had synergistic effects with cordycepin, which aided in accelerating apoptosis, and inhibiting proliferation and adhesion in chronic myeloid leukemia cells. These results indicated that HMGB1 may be used as a potential therapeutic target, with cordycepin having potential as an auxiliary drug. Therefore, it is suggested that HMGB1 knockdown and corycepin treatement may present a promising therapeutic strategy for leukemia.

Effects of azidothymidine on protein kinase C activity and expression in erythroleukemic cell K562 and acute lymphoblastic leukemia cell HSB-2.

Azidothymidine (AZT) is one of the anti-retroviral drugs currently used for the treatment of HIV-infected patients. Several other effects of the drug have been studied in vitro, such as the alterations of some enzymes, the inhibition of cell proliferation, and the increase of transferrin receptor expression. In this study, we investigated the alterations of protein kinase C (PKC) activity, PKCα and PKCβII expressions and plasmatic membrane fluidity induced by AZT in two cancer cell lines, human chronic myeloid (K562) and human acute lymphoblastic (HSB-2) leukemia cells, respectively. The results showed that both PKC activity and membrane fluidity in HSB-2 cells increased after 24 h of drug incubation. PKCα expression in HSB-2 cells decreased after 48 h of AZT exposure, when the cell growth also decreased. However, in K562 cells, the PKCα and PKCβII expressions enhanced in the presence of the drug when the growth was inhibited. The results indicate that AZT is less effective in inhibiting the growth of acute lymphoblastic HSB-2 leukemia cells than inhibiting that of chronic myeloid K562 cells. In fact, after 24 h exposure, the HSB-2 cell growth decreased less than K562 cell growth.

Matrine suppresses cell growth of human chronic myeloid leukemia cells via its inhibition of the interleukin-6/Janus activated kinase/signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 signaling cohort

Matrine, alkaloid isolated from Sophora flavescens, is known to be pleiotropic by exerting anti-inflammatory, anti-oxidation, as well as anti-cancer effects. However, the precise molecular targets or pathways responsible for its activities still remain unclear. The present study aimed to determine the underlying mechanisms of matrine in inhibiting the chronic myeloid leukemia cells (CML). It was observed that matrine treatment significantly suppressed CML cells proliferation, induced apoptosis and resulted in the accumulation of cells in the G0/G1 phase, accompanied by a significant decrease in Bcl-xL, Cyclin D1, and c-Myc expression. Western blot analyses revealed that matrine treatment resulted in the down-regulation in phospho-STAT3 and phospho-JAK2 without significantly effects on STAT3 and JAK2 protein levels. Matrine significantly reduced the expression of IL-6, a potent upstream activating factor of STAT3. These results strongly suggested the IL-6/JAK/STAT3 pathway play an important role in matrine’s anti-leukemia effects in K562 cells.

Abstract A49: Efficiency of 11a-N-tosyl-5-deoxi-pterocarpan (LQB-223) in a panel of myeloid leukemia cell lines with different chemoresistance backgrounds

Abstract Introduction and Objective: Chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) is a myeloproliferative disease characterized by Philadelphia chromosome while acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is a highly heterogeneous disease, with biologically distinct profile of cytogenetic and molecular features. The chemoresistance is one of the major obstacles in treating of chronic and acute myeloid leukemias. In this context, the novel 11a-N-tosyl-5-deoxi-pterocarpan compound, LQB-223, synthesized at the Laboratory of Bioorganic Chemistry Research Center of Natural Products, UFRJ, Brazil, has shown activity in leukemias. In this study we analyzed the LQB-223 compound activity in a panel of five myeloid leukemia cell lineages. Materials and Methods: In this study we used the human CML cells K562 and multidrug resistant (MDR) variant Lucena; three AML cell lines: Kasumi-1, HL-60 and U-937; and peripheral blood mononucleated cells (PBMC) of five healthy individuals. All cell lines were treated with LQB-223 and the cell viability was performed by MTT assay and the cell death was assessed by annexin V/propidium iodide (PI) staining and caspase-3 activation. Also, the cell cycle and DNA fragmentation were performed by PI staining using flow cytometry. Antiapoptotic proteins – XIAP and survivin – were assessed by Western blot. Results: The PBMC samples were incubated with different concentrations of LQB-223 for 24, 48 and 72 h and our results show that concentrations of up to LQB-223 30.0 μM is innocuous to PBMC. However, LQB-223 induced significant decrease of cell viability in all leukemia cells at 2.5, 5.0 and 10.0 μM, during 24, 48 and 72 h of treatment. In addition, LQB-223 5.0 μM was effective in promoting cell death in all cell lines, associated with high levels of annexin V/PI staining and caspase-3 activation. Moreover, LQB-223 5.0 μM induced changes in cell cycle distribution and cell fragmentation in all cell lines. Furthermore, we observed G2/M arrest in CML cells after LQB-223 treatment. In AML cells, LQB-223 treatment induced reduction in XIAP and survivin expression levels. Conclusion: The novel compound LQB-223 inhibits cell-viability and increases cell death of CML and AML leukemia cell lines. Because LQB-223 inhibits the expression of XIAP and survivin antiapoptotic proteins, it may be contributing to the compound´s cytotoxic activity. Indeed, results of Buarque CD et al., 2014, suggest that LQB-223 could reverse ABCB1/Pgp-mediated MDR. As the novel compound LQB-223 was efficient in both types of myeloid leukemias, it suggests a mechanism of action involving pathways common to both diseases. Besides, LQB-223 did not affect PBMC from healthy individuals indicating tolerance of normal cells. Together, these results point out the LQB-223 as a promising agent in CML in blastic phase and in AML. Financial support: INCT, FAPERJ, CNPq and Programa de Oncobiologia. Citation Format: Flaviana Ruade de Souza Reis, Janio da Silva Mororó, Karina Lani Silva, Camila D. Buarque, Paulo R.R Costa, Raquel Ciuvalschi Maia. Efficiency of 11a-N-tosyl-5-deoxi-pterocarpan (LQB-223) in a panel of myeloid leukemia cell lines with different chemoresistance backgrounds. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the AACR Precision Medicine Series: Drug Sensitivity and Resistance: Improving Cancer Therapy; Jun 18-21, 2014; Orlando, FL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Clin Cancer Res 2015;21(4 Suppl): Abstract nr A49.

ST1926, an orally active synthetic retinoid, induces apoptosis in chronic myeloid leukemia cells and prolongs survival in a murine model.

The tyrosine kinase inhibitor, imatinib, is the first line of treatment for chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) patients. Unfortunately, patients develop resistance and relapse due to bcr-abl point mutations and the persistence of leukemia initiating cells (LIC). Retinoids regulate vital biological processes such as cellular proliferation, apoptosis, and differentiation, in particular of hematopoietic progenitor cells. The clinical usage of natural retinoids is hindered by acquired resistance and undesirable side effects. However, bioavailable and less toxic synthetic retinoids, such as the atypical adamantyl retinoid ST1926, have been developed and tested in cancer clinical trials. We investigated the preclinical efficacy of the synthetic retinoid ST1926 using human CML cell lines and the murine bone marrow transduction/transplantation CML model. In vitro, ST1926 induced irreversible growth inhibition, cell cycle arrest and apoptosis through the dissipation of the mitochondrial membrane potential and caspase activation. Furthermore, ST1926 induced DNA damage and downregulated BCR-ABL. Most importantly, oral treatment with ST1926 significantly prolonged the longevity of primary CML mice, and reduced tumor burden. However, ST1926 did not eradicate LIC, evident by the ability of splenocytes isolated from treated primary mice to develop CML in untreated secondary recipients. These results support a potential therapeutic use of ST1926 in CML targeted therapy.

Cellular Reprogramming Erases Aberrant DNA Methylation and the Malignant Phenotype in Chronic Myeloid Leukemia

Chronic Myeloid Leukemia (CML) is a myeloproliferative disorder characterized by the presence of the Philadelphia chromosome deriving from the genetic translocation t(9;22)(q34;q11.2) that encodes for the BCR-ABL fusion gene. BCR-ABL is a constitutively active tyrosine kinase believed to be the primary genetic event driving CML development (Daley and Baltimore, 1988; Huettner et al., 2000). Tyrosine Kinase Inhibitors (TKI) targeting the BCR-ABL kinase have revolutionized CML therapy, however, they fail to fully eradicate the disease due to the presence of a drug-resistant stem cell pool that sustains continued growth of the malignant cells. Indeed, discontinuation of TKI results in relapse and/or disease progression.It has been shown that the emergence of leukemic clones resistant to TKI and responsible for CML evolution is correlated with aberrant DNA methylation (Machova Polakova et al., 2013). DNA methylation is a key epigenetic signature implicated in regulation of gene expression (Robertson, 2001), that occurs predominantly within CpG dinucleotides. CpG-rich regions (namely CpG islands) are frequently located within promoter regions (~70%) of human protein-coding genes (Illingworth et al., 2010). Methylation of CpG-rich promoters negatively correlates with gene expression levels and it is considered an important regulatory mechanism for long-term gene silencing (Herman and Baylin, 2003). Although numerous studies have established a link between aberrant promoter DNA methylation and cancer (Costello et al., 2000; Feinberg et al., 2006), the impact of DNA methylation in CML is still poorly understood (Yamazaki et al., 2012), particularly due to the lack of the specific animal models.In this study we tested the functional relevance of aberrant methylome in CML development and investigated the possibility that BCR-ABL oncogene triggers DNA methylation changes leading to an aggressive leukemic phenotype. To this end, we have combined cellular reprogramming (Amabile and Meissner, 2009; Carette et al., 2010; Kumano et al., 2012; Miyoshi et al., 2010; Takahashi et al., 2007), due to its ability to erase tissue-specific DNA methylation and to re-establish an embryonic stem-like DNA methylation state (Mikkelsen et al., 2008), with a previously developed BCR-ABL inducible murine model (Koschmieder et al., 2005). Using this approach, we demonstrate that the presence of a single genetic aberration is sufficient to trigger DNA methylation changes and leads to an aggressive leukemic phenotype. We show that by resetting the normal DNA methylation profile of primary human CML cells through cellular reprogramming, we are able to re-establish normal myeloid differentiation, despite the persistence of the native genetic lesion. Finally, by combining a comprehensive genome-scale methylation analysis with cellular reprogramming of leukemic cells, we elucidate the sequential events driving leukemogenesis and reveal the reciprocal interplay of genetic and epigenetic mechanisms during malignant transformation.In conclusion, these results dissect the role of DNA methylation alterations in CML development and warrant an application of demethylating agents such as 5-azacytidine as adjuvant treatment in therapeutic approaches to CML. DisclosuresMartinelli:Novartis: Speakers Bureau; Bristol Myers Squibb: Speakers Bureau; Pfizer: Speakers Bureau.