RÉSUMÉ
Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) patients' outcome is usually poor, mainly because of drug resistance phenotype. The identification of new drugs able to overcome mechanisms of chemoresistance is essential. The pterocarpanquinone LQB-118 compound has been shown to have a potent cytotoxic activity in myeloid leukemia cell lines and patient cells. Our aim was to investigate if LQB-118 is able to target FoxO3a and FoxM1 signaling pathways while sensitizing AML cell lines. LQB-118 induced apoptosis in both AML cell lines HL60 (M3 FAB subtype) and U937 (M4/M5 FAB subtype). Cell death occurred independently of alterations in cell cycle distribution. In vivo administration revealed that LQB-118 was not cytotoxic to normal bone marrow-derived cells isolated from mice. LQB-118 induced FoxO3a nuclear translocation and upregulation of its direct transcriptional target Bim, in HL60 cells. However, LQB-118 induced FoxO3a nuclear exclusion, followed by Bim downregulation, in U937 cells. Concomitantly, LQB-118 exposure reduced FoxM1 and Survivin expression in U937 cells, but this effect was more subtle in HL60 cells. Taken together, our data suggest that LQB-118 has a selective and potent antitumor activity against AML cells with distinct molecular subtypes, and it involves differential modulation of the signaling pathways associated with FoxO3a and FoxM1 transcription factors.
Sujet(s)
Facteurs de transcription Forkhead/biosynthèse , Leucémie aigüe myéloïde/traitement médicamenteux , Naphtoquinones/administration et posologie , Ptérocarpanes/administration et posologie , Animaux , Apoptose/effets des médicaments et des substances chimiques , Cycle cellulaire/effets des médicaments et des substances chimiques , Lignée cellulaire tumorale , Protéine M1 à motif en tête de fourche , Protéine O3 à motif en tête de fourche , Régulation de l'expression des gènes dans la leucémie/effets des médicaments et des substances chimiques , Cellules HL-60 , Humains , Leucémie aigüe myéloïde/génétique , Leucémie aigüe myéloïde/anatomopathologie , SourisRÉSUMÉ
OBJECTIVES: This paper describes the antileishmanial properties of LQB-118, a new compound designed by molecular hybridization, orally active in Leishmania amazonensis-infected BALB/c mice. METHODS: In vitro antileishmanial activity was determined in L. amazonensis-infected macrophages. For in vivo studies, LQB-118 was administered intralesionally (15 µg/kg/day, five times a week), intraperitoneally (4.5 mg/kg/day, five times a week) or orally (4.5 mg/kg/day, five times a week) to L. amazonensis-infected BALB/c mice throughout experiments lasting 85 or 105 days. At the end of the experiments, serum levels of alanine aminotransferase, aspartate aminotransferase and creatinine were measured as toxicological parameters. RESULTS: LQB-118 was active against intracellular amastigotes of L. amazonensis [50% inhibitory concentration (IC(50)) 1.4 µM] and significantly less so against macrophages (IC(50) 18.5 µM). LQB-118 administered intralesionally, intraperitoneally or orally was found to control both lesion and parasite growth in L. amazonensis-infected BALB/c mice, without altering serological markers of toxicity. CONCLUSIONS: These results demonstrate that the molecular hybridization of a naphthoquinone core to pterocarpan yielded a novel antileishmanial compound that was locally and orally active in an experimental cutaneous leishmaniasis model.