Mitochondrial carrier homolog 2 is necessary for AML survival.

Through a clustered regularly insterspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR) screen to identify mitochondrial genes necessary for the growth of acute myeloid leukemia (AML) cells, we identified the mitochondrial outer membrane protein mitochondrial carrier homolog 2 (MTCH2). In AML, knockdown of MTCH2 decreased growth, reduced engraftment potential of stem cells, and induced differentiation. Inhibiting MTCH2 in AML cells increased nuclear pyruvate and pyruvate dehydrogenase (PDH), which induced histone acetylation and subsequently promoted the differentiation of AML cells. Thus, we have defined a new mechanism by which mitochondria and metabolism regulate AML stem cells and gene expression.

The ubiquitin-activating enzyme E1 as a therapeutic target for the treatment of leukemia and multiple myeloma.

The proteasomal pathway of protein degradation involves 2 discrete steps: ubiquitination and degradation. Here, we evaluated the effects of inhibiting the ubiquitination pathway at the level of the ubiquitin-activating enzyme UBA1 (E1). By immunoblotting, leukemia cell lines and primary patient samples had increased protein ubiquitination. Therefore, we examined the effects of genetic and chemical inhibition of the E1 enzyme. Knockdown of E1 decreased the abundance of ubiquitinated proteins in leukemia and myeloma cells and induced cell death. To further investigate effects of E1 inhibition in malignancy, we discovered a novel small molecule inhibitor, 3,5-dioxopyrazolidine compound, 1-(3-chloro-4-fluorophenyl)-4-[(5-nitro-2-furyl)methylene]-3,5-pyrazolidinedione (PYZD-4409). PYZD-4409 induced cell death in malignant cells and preferentially inhibited the clonogenic growth of primary acute myeloid leukemia cells compared with normal hematopoietic cells. Mechanistically, genetic or chemical inhibition of E1 increased expression of E1 stress markers. Moreover, BI-1 overexpression blocked cell death after E1 inhibition, suggesting ER stress is functionally important for cell death after E1 inhibition. Finally, in a mouse model of leukemia, intraperitoneal administration of PYZD-4409 decreased tumor weight and volume compared with control without untoward toxicity. Thus, our work highlights the E1 enzyme as a novel target for the treatment of hematologic malignancies.

Cyproheptadine displays preclinical activity in myeloma and leukemia.

D-cyclins are regulators of cell division that act in a complex with cyclin-dependent kinases to commit cells to a program of DNA replication. D-cyclins are overexpressed in many tumors, including multiple myeloma and leukemia, and contribute to disease progression and chemoresistance. To better understand the role and impact of D-cyclins in hematologic malignancies, we conducted a high throughput screen for inhibitors of the cyclin D2 promoter and identified the drug cyproheptadine. In myeloma and leukemia cells, cyproheptadine decreased expression of cyclins D1, D2, and D3 and arrested these cells in the G(0)/G(1) phase. After D-cyclin suppression, cyproheptadine induced apoptosis in myeloma and leukemia cell lines and primary patient samples preferentially over normal hematopoietic cells. In mouse models of myeloma and leukemia, cyproheptadine inhibited tumor growth without significant toxicity. Cyproheptadine-induced apoptosis was preceded by activation of the mitochondrial pathway of caspase activation and was independent of the drug's known activity as an H1 histamine and serotonin receptor antagonist. Thus, cyproheptadine represents a lead for a novel therapeutic agent for the treatment of malignancy. Because the drug is well tolerated and already approved in multiple countries for clinical use as an antihistamine and appetite stimulant, it could be moved directly into clinical trials for cancer.

Potential use of cetrimonium bromide as an apoptosis-promoting anticancer agent for head and neck cancer.

A potential therapeutic agent for human head and neck cancer (HNC), cetrimonium bromide (CTAB), was identified through a cell-based phenotype-driven high-throughput screen (HTS) of 2000 biologically active or clinically used compounds, followed by in vitro and in vivo characterization of its antitumor efficacy. The preliminary and secondary screens were performed on FaDu (hypopharyngeal squamous cancer) and GM05757 (primary normal fibroblasts), respectively. Potential hit compounds were further evaluated for their anticancer specificity and efficacy in combination with standard therapeutics on a panel of normal and cancer cell lines. Mechanism of action, in vivo antitumor efficacy, and potential lead compound optimizations were also investigated. In vitro, CTAB interacted additively with gamma radiation and cisplatin, two standard HNC therapeutic agents. CTAB exhibited anticancer cytotoxicity against several HNC cell lines, with minimal effects on normal fibroblasts; a selectivity that exploits cancer-specific metabolic aberrations. The central mode of cytotoxicity was mitochondria-mediated apoptosis via inhibition of H(+)-ATP synthase activity and mitochondrial membrane potential depolarization, which in turn was associated with reduced intracellular ATP levels, caspase activation, elevated sub-G(1) cell population, and chromatin condensation. In vivo, CTAB ablated tumor-forming capacity of FaDu cells and delayed growth of established tumors. Thus, using an HTS approach, CTAB was identified as a potential apoptogenic quaternary ammonium compound possessing in vitro and in vivo efficacy against HNC models.

Preclinical evaluation of the selective small-molecule UBA1 inhibitor, TAK-243, in acute myeloid leukemia.

Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is an aggressive hematologic malignancy for which new therapeutic approaches are required. One such potential therapeutic strategy is to target the ubiquitin-like modifier-activating enzyme 1 (UBA1), the initiating enzyme in the ubiquitylation cascade in which proteins are tagged with ubiquitin moieties to regulate their degradation or function. Here, we evaluated TAK-243, a first-in-class UBA1 inhibitor, in preclinical models of AML. In AML cell lines and primary AML samples, TAK-243 induced cell death and inhibited clonogenic growth. In contrast, normal hematopoietic progenitor cells were more resistant. TAK-243 preferentially bound to UBA1 over the related E1 enzymes UBA2, UBA3, and UBA6 in intact AML cells. Inhibition of UBA1 with TAK-243 decreased levels of ubiquitylated proteins, increased markers of proteotoxic stress and DNA damage stress. In vivo, TAK-243 reduced leukemic burden and targeted leukemic stem cells without evidence of toxicity. Finally, we selected populations of AML cells resistant to TAK-243 and identified missense mutations in the adenylation domain of UBA1. Thus, our data demonstrate that TAK-243 targets AML cells and stem cells and support a clinical trial of TAK-243 in this patient population. Moreover, we provide insight into potential mechanisms of acquired resistance to UBA1 inhibitors.

The Mitochondrial Transacylase, Tafazzin, Regulates for AML Stemness by Modulating Intracellular Levels of Phospholipids.

Tafazzin (TAZ) is a mitochondrial transacylase that remodels the mitochondrial cardiolipin into its mature form. Through a CRISPR screen, we identified TAZ as necessary for the growth and viability of acute myeloid leukemia (AML) cells. Genetic inhibition of TAZ reduced stemness and increased differentiation of AML cells both in vitro and in vivo. In contrast, knockdown of TAZ did not impair normal hematopoiesis under basal conditions. Mechanistically, inhibition of TAZ decreased levels of cardiolipin but also altered global levels of intracellular phospholipids, including phosphatidylserine, which controlled AML stemness and differentiation by modulating toll-like receptor (TLR) signaling.

A high-content chemical screen identifies ellipticine as a modulator of p53 nuclear localization.

p53 regulates apoptosis and the cell cycle through actions in the nucleus and cytoplasm. Altering the subcellular localization of p53 can alter its biological function. Therefore, small molecules that change the localization of p53 would be useful chemical probes to understand the influence of subcellular localization on the function of p53. To identify such molecules, a high-content screen for compounds that increased the localization of p53 to the nucleus or cytoplasm was developed, automated, and conducted. With this image-based assay, we identified ellipticine that increased the nuclear localization of GFP-mutant p53 protein but not GFP alone in Saos-2 osteosarcoma cells. In addition, ellipticine increased the nuclear localization of endogenous p53 in HCT116 colon cancer cells with a resultant increase in the transactivation of the p21 promoter. Increased nuclear p53 after ellipticine treatment was not associated with an increase in DNA double stranded breaks, indicating that ellipticine shifts p53 to the nucleus through a mechanism independent of DNA damage. Thus, a chemical biology approach has identified a molecule that shifts the localization of p53 and enhances its nuclear activity.

Mutations in UBA3 confer resistance to the NEDD8-activating enzyme inhibitor MLN4924 in human leukemic cells.

The NEDD8-activating enzyme (NAE) initiates neddylation, the cascade of post-translational NEDD8 conjugation onto target proteins. MLN4924, a selective NAE inhibitor, has displayed preclinical anti-tumor activity in vitro and in vivo, and promising clinical activity has been reported in patients with refractory hematologic malignancies. Here, we sought to understand the mechanisms of resistance to MLN4924. K562 and U937 leukemia cells were exposed over a 6 month period to MLN4924 and populations of resistant cells (R-K562(MLN), R-U937(MLN)) were selected. R-K562(MLN) and R-U937(MLN) cells contain I310N and Y352H mutations in the NAE catalytic subunit UBA3, respectively. Biochemical analyses indicate that these mutations increase the enzyme's affinity for ATP while decreasing its affinity for NEDD8. These mutations effectively contribute to decreased MLN4924 potency in vitro while providing for sufficient NAE function for leukemia cell survival. Finally, R-K562(MLN) cells showed cross-resistance to other NAE-selective inhibitors, but remained sensitive to a pan-E1 (activating enzyme) inhibitor. Thus, our work provides insight into mechanisms of MLN4924 resistance to facilitate the development of more effective second-generation NAE inhibitors.

Identification of NAE Inhibitors Exhibiting Potent Activity in Leukemia Cells: Exploring the Structural Determinants of NAE Specificity.

MLN4924 is a selective inhibitor of the NEDD8-activating enzyme (NAE) and has advanced into clinical trials for the treatment of both solid and hematological malignancies. In contrast, the structurally similar compound 1 (developed by Millennium: The Takeda Oncology Company) is a pan inhibitor of the E1 enzymes NAE, ubiquitin activating enzyme (UAE), and SUMO-activating enzyme (SAE) and is currently viewed as unsuitable for clinical use given its broad spectrum of E1 inhibition. Here, we sought to understand the determinants of NAE selectivity. A series of compound 1 analogues were synthesized through iterative functionalization of the purine C6 position and evaluated for NAE specificity. Optimal NAE specificity was achieved through substitution with primary N-alkyl groups, while bulky or secondary N-alkyl substituents were poorly tolerated. When assessed in vitro, inhibitors reduced the growth and viability of malignant K562 leukemia cells. Through this study, we have successfully identified a series of sub-10 nM NAE-specific inhibitors and thereby highlighted the functionalities that promote NAE selectivity.

Inactivation of p53 sensitizes astrocytic glioma cells to BCNU and temozolomide, but not cisplatin.

p53 inactivation sensitizes U87MG astrocytic glioma cells to 1,3-bis(2-chloroethyl)-1-nitrosourea (BCNU) and temozolomide (TMZ), drugs used clinically to treat high-grade astrocytomas. In this report, we examined the effect of p53 inactivation on the chemosensitivity of two additional human astrocytic glioma cell lines, D54 and A172, in order to assess whether sensitization is a general property of astrocytic tumor cells. Compared to control cells with intact p53 function, derived lines in which p53 was inactivated displayed significantly reduced clonogenic survival after exposure to BCNU and TMZ. Sensitization to both BCNU and TMZ was associated with failure of p21(WAF1) induction, lack of a sustained G2 cell cycle arrest and significant tumor cell death. These findings suggest that enhanced sensitivity to BCNU and TMZ is a general property of human astrocytic glioma cells in which p53 was disrupted. In contrast, p53 inactivation rendered D54 and U87MG cells significantly more resistant to cis-dichlorodiamminoplatinum (CDDP), another chemotherapeutic to which high-grade astrocytomas sometimes respond. These results indicate that p53 status influences the chemosensitivity of astrocytic glioma cells in a drug-type specific manner, a finding that may have implications for the selection of drug treatments for patients with astrocytic gliomas.

Pharmaceutical-mediated inactivation of p53 sensitizes U87MG glioma cells to BCNU and temozolomide.

Pifithrin-alpha (PFTalpha) is a small molecule inhibitor of p53. By reversibly blocking apoptosis in response to DNA damage, PFTalpha protects normal cells from lethal doses of gamma-radiation (Komarov et al., Science, 1999;285:1733-7). We examined the effect of PFTalpha on the chemosensitivity of a human cancer in which cell cycle arrest, not apoptosis, is the principle cellular consequence of p53 activation. This was of interest because E6 silencing of p53 sensitizes U87MG astrocytic glioma cells to BCNU and temozolomide (TMZ), cytotoxic drugs that are modestly helpful in the treatment of aggressive astrocytic gliomas. We observed that exposure of U87MG cells to PFTalpha before cytotoxic chemotherapy attenuated p53-mediated induction of p21WAF1 protein levels, sensitizing U87MG cells to BCNU and TMZ. Sensitization of U87MG cells was associated with G1 arrest, delayed entry into S-phase and decreased repair of DNA damage by BCNU. Our findings suggest that in addition to protecting normal cells from the toxic effects of radiation and chemotherapy, small molecule inhibitors of p53, like PFTalpha, might play a role in clinical oncology by sensitizing certain resistant cancers to cytotoxic chemotherapies.