Pharmacological Inhibition of Insulin Growth Factor-1 Receptor (IGF-1R) Alone or in Combination With Ruxolitinib Shows Therapeutic Efficacy in Preclinical Myeloproliferative Neoplasm Models

Even after development of the JAK1/JAK2 inhibitor ruxolitinib, myeloproliferative neoplasm (MPN) patients require novel therapeutic options. While ruxolitinib can considerably improve quality of life and prolong survival, it does not modify the natural disease course in most patients. Moreover, resistance develops with prolonged use. Therefore, various combination treatments are currently being investigated. Published data provide a compelling rationale for the inhibition of insulin growth factor-1 receptor (IGF-1R) signaling in MPN. Here we report that genetic and pharmacological inhibition of IGF-1R selectively reduced Jak2V617F-driven cytokine-independent proliferation ex vivo. Two different structurally unrelated IGF-1R inhibitors ameliorated disease phenotype in a murine MPN model and significantly prolonged survival. Moreover, in mice, low-dose ruxolitinib synergized with IGF-1R inhibition to increase survival. Our data demonstrate preclinical efficacy of IGF-1R inhibition in a murine MPN model

Nuclear Factor I X Deficiency Causes Brain Malformation and Severe Skeletal Defects▿

The transcription factor family of nuclear factor I (NFI) proteins is encoded by four closely related genes: Nfia, Nfib, Nfic, and Nfix. A potential role for NFI proteins in regulating developmental processes has been implicated by their specific expression pattern during embryonic development and by analysis of NFI-deficient mice. It was shown that loss of NFIA results in hydrocephalus and agenesis of the corpus callosum and that NFIB deficiency leads to neurological defects and to severe lung hypoplasia, whereas Nfic knockout mice exhibit specific tooth defects. Here we report the knockout analysis of the fourth and last member of this gene family, Nfix. Loss of NFIX is postnatally lethal and leads to hydrocephalus and to a partial agenesis of the corpus callosum. Furthermore, NFIX-deficient mice develop a deformation of the spine, which is due to a delay in ossification of vertebral bodies and a progressive degeneration of intervertebral disks. Impaired endochondral ossification and decreased mineralization were also observed in femoral sections of Nfix−/− mice. Consistent with the defects in bone ossification we could show that the expression level of tetranectin, a plasminogen-binding protein involved in mineralization, is specifically downregulated in bones of NFIX-deficient mice

Increased Turnover of Dopamine in Caudate Nucleus of Detoxified Alcoholic Patients

A previous study of the DOPA decarboxylase substrate 6-[18F]fluoro-L-DOPA (FDOPA) with positron emission tomography (PET) detected no difference of the net blood-brain transfer rate (Kinapp) between detoxified alcoholic patients and healthy controls. Instead, the study revealed an inverse correlation between Kinapp in left ventral striatum and alcohol craving scores. To resolve the influx and efflux phases of radiolabeled molecules, we independently estimated the unidirectional blood-brain FDOPA clearance rate (K) and the washout rate of [18F]fluorodopamine and its deaminated metabolites (kloss), and we also calculated the total distribution volume of decarboxylated metabolites and unmetabolized FDOPA as a steady-state index of the dopamine storage capacity (Vd) in brain. The craving scores in the 12 alcoholics correlated positively with the rate of loss (kloss) in the left ventral striatum. We conclude that craving is most pronounced in the individuals with relatively rapid dopamine turnover in the left ventral striatum. The blood-brain clearance rate (K), corrected for subsequent loss of radiolabeled molecules from brain, was completely normal throughout the brain of the alcoholics, in whom the volume of distribution (Vd) was found to be significantly lower in the left caudate nucleus. The magnitude of Vd in the left caudate head was reduced by 43% relative to the 16 controls, consistent with a 58% increase of kloss. We interpret the findings as indicating that a trait for rapid dopamine turnover in the ventral striatum subserves craving and reward-dependence, leading to an acquired state of increased dopamine turnover in the dorsal striatum of detoxified alcoholic patients

New C3H Kit(N824K/WT) cancer mouse model develops late-onset malignant mammary tumors with high penetrance

Gastro-intestinal stromal tumors and acute myeloid leukemia induced by activating stem cell factor receptor tyrosine kinase (KIT) mutations are highly malignant. Less clear is the role of KIT mutations in the context of breast cancer. Treatment success of KIT-induced cancers is still unsatisfactory because of primary or secondary resistance to therapy. Mouse models offer essential platforms for studies on molecular disease mechanisms in basic cancer research. In the course of the Munich N-ethyl-N-nitrosourea (ENU) mutagenesis program a mouse line with inherited polycythemia was established. It carries a base-pair exchange in the Kit gene leading to an amino acid exchange at position 824 in the activation loop of KIT. This KIT variant corresponds to the N822K mutation found in human cancers, which is associated with imatinib-resistance. C3H Kit(N824K/WT) mice develop hyperplasia of interstitial cells of Cajal and retention of ingesta in the cecum. In contrast to previous Kit-mutant models, we observe a benign course of gastrointestinal pathology associated with prolonged survival. Female mutants develop mammary carcinomas at late onset and subsequent lung metastasis. The disease model complements existing oncology research platforms. It allows for addressing the role of KIT mutations in breast cancer and identifying genetic and environmental modifiers of disease progression

The scatter plots show the correlation between acute alcohol craving and the magnitude of the fractional rate constant for elimination of [18F]-fluorodopamine formed in brain (upper: <i>k_loss</i>, min⁻¹), and steady-state storage of FDOPA and its decarboxylated metabolites (lower: <i>V_d</i>, ml g⁻¹) for the left ventral striatum cluster.

<p>The lines indicate simple linear regressions in these scatter plots.</p

The parametric maps show mean steady-state storage capacity for FDOPA (<i>V_d</i>; ml g⁻¹) in age-matched control subjects (A) and in abstinent patients with alcoholism (B), together with the subtraction map in horizontal (C) and coronal (D) planes projected onto the MNI brain atlas.

<p>The t-maps show clusters of voxels with t >2.8 (E: green area) for the contrast between patients (N = 12) and age-matched healthy control subjects (N = 16), and the cluster of voxels with t >2.5 (F: green area) for the correlation between FDOPA-<i>V_d</i> and the individual score in the ACQ questionnaire of craving in the alcoholic group, accounting for the effect of the nuisance covariate (smoking).</p