Antileukemic activity of the HSP70 inhibitor pifithrin-μ in acute leukemia

Heat shock protein (HSP) 70 is aberrantly expressed in different malignancies and has emerged as a promising new target for anticancer therapy. Here, we analyzed the in vitro antileukemic effects of pifithrin-μ (PFT-μ), an inhibitor of inducible HSP70, in acute myeloid leukemia (AML) and acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) cell lines, as well as in primary AML blasts. PFT-μ significantly inhibited cell viability at low micromolar concentrations in all cell lines tested, with IC50 values ranging from 2.5 to 12.7 μ, and was highly active in primary AML blasts with a median IC50 of 8.9 μ (range 5.7–37.2). Importantly, higher IC50 values were seen in normal hematopoietic cells. In AML and ALL, PFT-μ induced apoptosis and cell cycle arrest in a dose-dependent fashion. PFT-μ also led to an increase of the active form of caspase-3 and reduced the intracellular concentrations of AKT and ERK1/2 in NALM-6 cells. Moreover, PFT-μ enhanced cytotoxicity of cytarabine, 17-(allylamino)-17-desmethoxygeldanamycin, suberoylanilide hydroxamic acid, and sorafenib in NALM-6, TOM-1 and KG-1a cells. This is the first study demonstrating significant antileukemic effects of the HSP70 inhibitor PFT-μ, alone and in combination with different antineoplastic drugs in both AML and ALL. Our results suggest a potential therapeutic role for PFT-μ in acute leukemias

The Necrotic Signal Induced by Mycophenolic Acid Overcomes Apoptosis-Resistance in Tumor Cells

The amount of inosine monophosphate dehydrogenase (IMPDH), a pivotal enzyme for the biosynthesis of the guanosine tri-phosphate (GTP), is frequently increased in tumor cells. The anti-viral agent ribavirin and the immunosuppressant mycophenolic acid (MPA) are potent inhibitors of IMPDH. We recently showed that IMPDH inhibition led to a necrotic signal requiring the activation of Cdc42.Herein, we strengthened the essential role played by this small GTPase in the necrotic signal by silencing Cdc42 and by the ectopic expression of a constitutive active mutant of Cdc42. Since resistance to apoptosis is an essential step for the tumorigenesis process, we next examined the effect of the MPA–mediated necrotic signal on different tumor cells demonstrating various mechanisms of resistance to apoptosis (Bcl2-, HSP70-, Lyn-, BCR-ABL–overexpressing cells). All tested cells remained sensitive to MPA–mediated necrotic signal. Furthermore, inhibition of IMPDH activity in Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia cells was significantly more efficient at eliminating malignant cells than apoptotic inducers.These findings indicate that necrosis and apoptosis are split signals that share few if any common hub of signaling. In addition, the necrotic signaling pathway induced by depletion of the cellular amount of GTP/GDP would be of great interest to eliminate apoptotic-resistant tumor cells

GILZ inhibits the mTORC2/AKT pathway in BCR-ABL+ cells

The malignant phenotype of chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) is due to the abnormal tyrosine kinase activity of the BCR-ABL oncoprotein, which signals several downstream cell survival pathways, including phosphoinositide 3-kinase/AKT, signal transducer and activator of transcription 5 and extracellular signal-regulated kinase 1/2. In patients with CML, tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) are used to suppress the BCR-ABL tyrosine kinase, resulting in impressive response rates. However, resistance can occur, especially in acute-phase CML, through various mechanisms. Here, we show that the glucocorticoid-induced leucine zipper protein (GILZ) modulates imatinib and dasatinib resistance and suppresses tumor growth by inactivating the mammalian target of rapamycin complex-2 (mTORC2)/AKT signaling pathway. In mouse and human models, GILZ binds to mTORC2, but not to mTORC1, inhibiting phosphorylation of AKT (at Ser473) and activating FoxO3a-mediated transcription of the pro-apoptotic protein Bim; these results demonstrate that GILZ is a key inhibitor of the mTORC2 pathway. Furthermore, CD34+ stem cells isolated from relapsing CML patients underwent apoptosis and showed inhibition of mTORC2 after incubation with glucocorticoids and imatinib. Our findings provide new mechanistic insights into the role of mTORC2 in BCR-ABL+ cells and indicate that regulation by GILZ may influence TKI sensitivity

Development and characterization of a novel C-terminal inhibitor of Hsp90 in androgen dependent and independent prostate cancer cells

Background: The molecular chaperone, heat shock protein 90 (Hsp90) has been shown to be overexpressed in a number of cancers, including prostate cancer, making it an important target for drug discovery. Unfortunately, results with N-terminal inhibitors from initial clinical trials have been disappointing, as toxicity and resistance resulting from induction of the heat shock response (HSR) has led to both scheduling and administration concerns. Therefore, Hsp90 inhibitors that do not induce the heat shock response represent a promising new direction for the treatment of prostate cancer. Herein, the development of a C-terminal Hsp90 inhibitor, KU174, is described, which demonstrates anti-cancer activity in prostate cancer cells in the absence of a HSR and describe a novel approach to characterize Hsp90 inhibition in cancer cells.Methods: PC3-MM2 and LNCaP-LN3 cells were used in both direct and indirect in vitro Hsp90 inhibition assays (DARTS, Surface Plasmon Resonance, co-immunoprecipitation, luciferase, Western blot, anti-proliferative, cytotoxicity and size exclusion chromatography) to characterize the effects of KU174 in prostate cancer cells. Pilot in vivo efficacy studies were also conducted with KU174 in PC3-MM2 xenograft studies.Results: KU174 exhibits robust anti-proliferative and cytotoxic activity along with client protein degradation and disruption of Hsp90 native complexes without induction of a HSR. Furthermore, KU174 demonstrates direct binding to the Hsp90 protein and Hsp90 complexes in cancer cells. In addition, in pilot in-vivo proof-of-concept studies KU174 demonstrates efficacy at 75 mg/kg in a PC3-MM2 rat tumor model.Conclusions: Overall, these findings suggest C-terminal Hsp90 inhibitors have potential as therapeutic agents for the treatment of prostate cancer.Peer reviewedBiochemistry and Molecular Biolog

Overexpression of the heat-shock protein 70 is associated to imatinib resistance in chronic myeloid leukemia

International audienceImatinib is an effective therapy for chronic myeloid leukemia (CML), a myeloproliferative disorder characterized by the expression of the recombinant oncoprotein Bcr-Abl. In this investigation, we studied an imatinib-resistant cell line (K562-r) generated from the K562 cell line in which none of the previously described mechanisms of resistance had been detected. A threefold increase in the expression of the heat-shock protein 70 (Hsp70) was detected in these cells. This increase was not associated to heat-shock transcription factor-1 (HSF-1) overexpression or activation. RNA silencing of Hsp70 decreased dramatically its expression (90%), and was accompanied by a 34% reduction in cell viability. Overexpression of Hsp70 in the imatinib-sensitive K562 line induced resistance to imatinib as detected by a large reduction in cell death in the presence of 1 muM of imatinib. Hsp70 level was also increased in blast cells of CML patients resistant to imatinib, whereas the level remained low in responding patients. Taken together, the results demonstrate that overexpression of Hsp70 can lead to both in vitro and in vivo resistance to imatinib in CML cells. Moreover, the overexpression of Hsp70 detected in imatinib-resistant CML patients supports this mechanism and identifies potentially a marker and a therapeutic target of CML evolution