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Zhang D, Harris HM, Chen J, Judy J, James G, Kelly A, McIntosh J, Tenn-McClellan A, Ambing E, Tan YS, Lu H, Gajewski S, Clifton MC, Yung S, Robbins DW, Pirooznia M, Skånland SS, Gaglione E, Mhibik M, Underbayev C, Ahn IE, Sun C, Herman SEM, Noviski M, Wiestner A. NRX-0492 degrades wild-type and C481 mutant BTK and demonstrates in vivo activity in CLL patient-derived xenografts. Blood 2023; 141:1584-1596. [PMID: 36375120 PMCID: PMC10163313 DOI: 10.1182/blood.2022016934] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/12/2022] [Revised: 10/03/2022] [Accepted: 10/28/2022] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Bruton tyrosine kinase (BTK) is essential for B-cell receptor (BCR) signaling, a driver of chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL). Covalent inhibitors bind C481 in the active site of BTK and have become a preferred CLL therapy. Disease progression on covalent BTK inhibitors is commonly associated with C481 mutations. Here, we investigated a targeted protein degrader, NRX-0492, that links a noncovalent BTK-binding domain to cereblon, an adaptor protein of the E3 ubiquitin ligase complex. NRX-0492 selectively catalyzes ubiquitylation and proteasomal degradation of BTK. In primary CLL cells, NRX-0492 induced rapid and sustained degradation of both wild-type and C481 mutant BTK at half maximal degradation concentration (DC50) of ≤0.2 nM and DC90 of ≤0.5 nM, respectively. Sustained degrader activity was maintained for at least 24 hours after washout and was equally observed in high-risk (deletion 17p) and standard-risk (deletion 13q only) CLL subtypes. In in vitro testing against treatment-naïve CLL samples, NRX-0492 was as effective as ibrutinib at inhibiting BCR-mediated signaling, transcriptional programs, and chemokine secretion. In patient-derived xenografts, orally administered NRX-0492 induced BTK degradation and inhibited activation and proliferation of CLL cells in blood and spleen and remained efficacious against primary C481S mutant CLL cells collected from a patient progressing on ibrutinib. Oral bioavailability, >90% degradation of BTK at subnanomolar concentrations, and sustained pharmacodynamic effects after drug clearance make this class of targeted protein degraders uniquely suitable for clinical translation, in particular as a strategy to overcome BTK inhibitor resistance. Clinical studies testing this approach have been initiated (NCT04830137, NCT05131022).
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MESH Headings
- Humans
- Agammaglobulinaemia Tyrosine Kinase
- Leukemia, Lymphocytic, Chronic, B-Cell/drug therapy
- Leukemia, Lymphocytic, Chronic, B-Cell/genetics
- Leukemia, Lymphocytic, Chronic, B-Cell/metabolism
- Heterografts
- Drug Resistance, Neoplasm
- Protein Kinase Inhibitors/pharmacology
- Protein Kinase Inhibitors/therapeutic use
- Pyrimidines/therapeutic use
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Affiliation(s)
- Deyi Zhang
- Laboratory of Lymphoid Malignancies, Hematology Branch, National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD
| | - Hailey M. Harris
- Laboratory of Lymphoid Malignancies, Hematology Branch, National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD
| | - Jonathan Chen
- Laboratory of Lymphoid Malignancies, Hematology Branch, National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD
| | - Jen Judy
- Bioinformatics Core, National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD
| | - Gabriella James
- Laboratory of Lymphoid Malignancies, Hematology Branch, National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD
| | | | | | | | | | | | - Hao Lu
- Nurix Therapeutics, Inc, San Francisco, CA
| | | | | | | | | | - Mehdi Pirooznia
- Bioinformatics Core, National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD
| | - Sigrid S. Skånland
- Laboratory of Lymphoid Malignancies, Hematology Branch, National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD
- Department of Cancer Immunology, Institute for Cancer Research, Oslo University Hospital, Oslo, Norway
- K. G. Jebsen Centre for B Cell Malignancies, Institute of Clinical Medicine, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
| | - Erika Gaglione
- Laboratory of Lymphoid Malignancies, Hematology Branch, National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD
| | - Maissa Mhibik
- Laboratory of Lymphoid Malignancies, Hematology Branch, National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD
| | - Chingiz Underbayev
- Laboratory of Lymphoid Malignancies, Hematology Branch, National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD
| | - Inhye E. Ahn
- Laboratory of Lymphoid Malignancies, Hematology Branch, National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD
| | - Clare Sun
- Laboratory of Lymphoid Malignancies, Hematology Branch, National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD
| | - Sarah E. M. Herman
- Laboratory of Lymphoid Malignancies, Hematology Branch, National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD
| | | | - Adrian Wiestner
- Laboratory of Lymphoid Malignancies, Hematology Branch, National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD
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Pleyer C, Tian X, Rampertaap S, Mu R, Soto S, Superata J, Gaglione E, Sun C, Lotter J, Stetler-Stevenson M, Yuan CM, Maric I, Pittaluga S, Rosenzweig S, Fleisher T, Wiestner A, Ahn IE. A phase II study of ibrutinib and short-course fludarabine in previously untreated patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia. Am J Hematol 2020; 95:E310-E313. [PMID: 32808680 DOI: 10.1002/ajh.25968] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/10/2020] [Accepted: 08/13/2020] [Indexed: 11/07/2022]
MESH Headings
- Adenine/administration & dosage
- Adenine/adverse effects
- Adenine/analogs & derivatives
- Aged
- Aged, 80 and over
- Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols/administration & dosage
- Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols/adverse effects
- Disease-Free Survival
- Female
- Humans
- Leukemia, Lymphocytic, Chronic, B-Cell/blood
- Leukemia, Lymphocytic, Chronic, B-Cell/drug therapy
- Leukemia, Lymphocytic, Chronic, B-Cell/mortality
- Male
- Piperidines/administration & dosage
- Piperidines/adverse effects
- Survival Rate
- Vidarabine/administration & dosage
- Vidarabine/adverse effects
- Vidarabine/analogs & derivatives
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Affiliation(s)
- Christopher Pleyer
- Hematology Branch, National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD
| | - Xin Tian
- Office of Biostatistics Research, National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD
| | - Shakuntala Rampertaap
- Hematology Section, Department of Laboratory Medicine, Clinical Center, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD
| | - Rui Mu
- Hematology Branch, National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD
| | - Susan Soto
- Hematology Branch, National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD
| | - Jeanine Superata
- Hematology Branch, National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD
| | - Erika Gaglione
- Hematology Branch, National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD
| | - Clare Sun
- Hematology Branch, National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD
| | - Jennifer Lotter
- Hematology Branch, National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD
| | - Maryalice Stetler-Stevenson
- Laboratory of Pathology, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD
| | - Constance M Yuan
- Laboratory of Pathology, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD
| | - Irina Maric
- Hematology Section, Department of Laboratory Medicine, Clinical Center, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD
| | - Stefania Pittaluga
- Laboratory of Pathology, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD
| | - Sergio Rosenzweig
- Hematology Section, Department of Laboratory Medicine, Clinical Center, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD
| | - Thomas Fleisher
- Hematology Section, Department of Laboratory Medicine, Clinical Center, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD
| | - Adrian Wiestner
- Hematology Branch, National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD
| | - Inhye E Ahn
- Hematology Branch, National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD
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