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Elgamal OA, Fobare S, Vibhute S, Mehmood A, Vroom DC, Johnson ML, Stearns B, Lerma JR, Truxall J, Stahl E, Carmichael B, Orwick SJ, Mims AS, Curran E, Santhanam R, Tridandapani S, Phelps MA, Xie Z, Coss CC, Baker SD, Patrick J, Ezzell JK, Rai J, Pan J, Rai SN, Stillwell C, Wunderlich M, Abdulrahim M, Goodwin TE, Hilinski G, Bennett CE, Hertlein E, Byrd JC. Pyrimidine depletion enhances targeted and immune therapy combinations in acute myeloid leukemia. JCI Insight 2024; 9:e173646. [PMID: 38646934 DOI: 10.1172/jci.insight.173646] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/12/2023] [Accepted: 03/05/2024] [Indexed: 04/25/2024] Open
Abstract
Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is a fatal disease characterized by the accumulation of undifferentiated myeloblasts, and agents that promote differentiation have been effective in this disease but are not curative. Dihydroorotate dehydrogenase inhibitors (DHODHi) have the ability to promote AML differentiation and target aberrant malignant myelopoiesis. We introduce HOSU-53, a DHODHi with significant monotherapy activity, which is further enhanced when combined with other standard-of-care therapeutics. We further discovered that DHODHi modulated surface expression of CD38 and CD47, prompting the evaluation of HOSU-53 combined with anti-CD38 and anti-CD47 therapies, where we identified a compelling curative potential in an aggressive AML model with CD47 targeting. Finally, we explored using plasma dihydroorotate (DHO) levels to monitor HOSU-53 safety and found that the level of DHO accumulation could predict HOSU-53 intolerability, suggesting the clinical use of plasma DHO to determine safe DHODHi doses. Collectively, our data support the clinical translation of HOSU-53 in AML, particularly to augment immune therapies. Potent DHODHi to date have been limited by their therapeutic index; however, we introduce pharmacodynamic monitoring to predict tolerability while preserving antitumor activity. We additionally suggest that DHODHi is effective at lower doses with select immune therapies, widening the therapeutic index.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ola A Elgamal
- Division of Hematology and Oncology, Department of Internal Medicine, College of Medicine, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, Ohio, USA
- Division of Hematology, Department of Internal Medicine, College of Medicine
| | - Sydney Fobare
- Division of Hematology and Oncology, Department of Internal Medicine, College of Medicine, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, Ohio, USA
- Division of Hematology, Department of Internal Medicine, College of Medicine
| | - Sandip Vibhute
- Medicinal Chemistry Shared Resource, Comprehensive Cancer Center
| | - Abeera Mehmood
- Division of Hematology, Department of Internal Medicine, College of Medicine
| | - Dennis C Vroom
- Division of Hematology and Oncology, Department of Internal Medicine, College of Medicine, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, Ohio, USA
| | - Mariah L Johnson
- Division of Hematology, Department of Internal Medicine, College of Medicine
| | - Blaise Stearns
- Division of Hematology and Oncology, Department of Internal Medicine, College of Medicine, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, Ohio, USA
| | - James R Lerma
- Division of Hematology and Oncology, Department of Internal Medicine, College of Medicine, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, Ohio, USA
| | - Jean Truxall
- Division of Hematology, Department of Internal Medicine, College of Medicine
| | - Emily Stahl
- Division of Hematology, Department of Internal Medicine, College of Medicine
| | - Bridget Carmichael
- Division of Hematology, Department of Internal Medicine, College of Medicine
| | - Shelley J Orwick
- Division of Hematology, Department of Internal Medicine, College of Medicine
| | - Alice S Mims
- Division of Hematology, Department of Internal Medicine, College of Medicine
| | - Emily Curran
- Division of Hematology and Oncology, Department of Internal Medicine, College of Medicine, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, Ohio, USA
| | - Ramasamy Santhanam
- Division of Hematology, Department of Internal Medicine, College of Medicine
| | | | - Mitch A Phelps
- College of Pharmacy and Comprehensive Cancer Center; and
| | - Zhiliang Xie
- College of Pharmacy and Comprehensive Cancer Center; and
| | - Christopher C Coss
- Drug Development Institute, Comprehensive Cancer Center, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio, USA
| | - Sharyn D Baker
- College of Pharmacy and Comprehensive Cancer Center; and
| | - Jeffrey Patrick
- Drug Development Institute, Comprehensive Cancer Center, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio, USA
| | - Janel K Ezzell
- Drug Development Institute, Comprehensive Cancer Center, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio, USA
| | - Jayesh Rai
- Division of Biostatistics and Bioinformatics, Department of Environmental and Public Health Sciences, College of Medicine
- Cancer Data Science Center, College of Medicine; and
- Biostatistics and Informatics Shared Resource, University of Cincinnati Cancer Center, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, Ohio, USA
| | - Jianmin Pan
- Division of Biostatistics and Bioinformatics, Department of Environmental and Public Health Sciences, College of Medicine
- Cancer Data Science Center, College of Medicine; and
- Biostatistics and Informatics Shared Resource, University of Cincinnati Cancer Center, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, Ohio, USA
| | - Shesh N Rai
- Division of Biostatistics and Bioinformatics, Department of Environmental and Public Health Sciences, College of Medicine
- Cancer Data Science Center, College of Medicine; and
- Biostatistics and Informatics Shared Resource, University of Cincinnati Cancer Center, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, Ohio, USA
| | - Cody Stillwell
- Division of Experimental Hematology and Cancer Biology, Cancer and Blood Diseases Institute, Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, Ohio, USA
| | - Mark Wunderlich
- Division of Experimental Hematology and Cancer Biology, Cancer and Blood Diseases Institute, Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, Ohio, USA
| | | | | | - Gerard Hilinski
- Drug Development Institute, Comprehensive Cancer Center, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio, USA
| | - Chad E Bennett
- Medicinal Chemistry Shared Resource, Comprehensive Cancer Center
- Drug Development Institute, Comprehensive Cancer Center, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio, USA
| | - Erin Hertlein
- Division of Hematology and Oncology, Department of Internal Medicine, College of Medicine, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, Ohio, USA
- Division of Hematology, Department of Internal Medicine, College of Medicine
| | - John C Byrd
- Division of Hematology and Oncology, Department of Internal Medicine, College of Medicine, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, Ohio, USA
- Division of Hematology, Department of Internal Medicine, College of Medicine
- College of Pharmacy and Comprehensive Cancer Center; and
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Makowka L, Sher LS, Cramer DV. The development of Brequinar as an immunosuppressive drug for transplantation. Immunol Rev 1993; 136:51-70. [PMID: 8132203 DOI: 10.1111/j.1600-065x.1993.tb00654.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 46] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/29/2023]
Abstract
The preclinical and clinical characterization of Brequinar sodium has demonstrated the potential for the use of this drug as a component of a polytherapeutic treatment strategy to prevent the rejection of organ grafts. Brequinar, along with several other new immunosuppressive drugs, including Mizorbine, 15-deoxyspergualin, and Mycophenolate mofetil, is an antimetabolite with immunosuppressive activity and toxic side effects that are distinctly different from those of CsA and the newly characterized FK 506. This combination of effective antiproliferative activity exhibited by these newer agents and the well-established effect of CsA on T-lymphocyte activation offers the potential for the development of immunosuppressive regimens that are significantly more effective with fewer side effects for the patient. The concept of synergistic interaction between these two classes of immunosuppressive agents has been tested experimentally and found to be extremely effective for both allograft and xenograft models of graft rejection (Cosenza et al. 1993, 1993a, Stepkowski & Kahan 1993). It remains to be established that a similar synergism will exist for clinical transplantation. The effectiveness of CsA as a primary immunosuppressive agent, however, assures the inclusion of CsA in any polytherapeutic approach to be tested in the near future. New clinical trials designed to prove efficacy for immunosuppressive agents, such as BQR, will use CsA or FK 506 as a primary component of the treatment protocol. The combination of immunosuppressive agents that will eventually be applied in wide clinical use is not clear. While some new immunosuppressive agents have been more extensively tested clinically, BQR exhibits a number of unique features that make this compound particularly attractive for inclusion in new immunosuppressive regimens. The drug is readily soluble in aqueous solutions and can be administered intravenously or orally with equal effectiveness. Brequinar exhibits a high level of bioavailability following oral administration and an extended half-life that permits less frequent administration. While the metabolic byproducts of BQR have not been clearly described, there is good evidence that the parent compound exhibits the majority, if not all, of the immunosuppressive activity. The ability to monitor the parent drug directly or measure the depletion of enzyme products that reflect the activity of the drug are important features of the drug that simplify its use in a clinical setting. Although BQR exhibits important adverse side effects at high doses, the effects of the drug are characteristic of antimetabolites and are therefore predictable, constant, and reversible.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)
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Affiliation(s)
- L Makowka
- Department of Surgery, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles, California 90048
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