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Sbirkov Y, Schenk T, Kwok C, Stengel S, Brown R, Brown G, Chesler L, Zelent A, Fuchter MJ, Petrie K. Dual inhibition of EZH2 and G9A/GLP histone methyltransferases by HKMTI-1-005 promotes differentiation of acute myeloid leukemia cells. Front Cell Dev Biol 2023; 11:1076458. [PMID: 37035245 PMCID: PMC10076884 DOI: 10.3389/fcell.2023.1076458] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/21/2022] [Accepted: 03/07/2023] [Indexed: 04/11/2023] Open
Abstract
All-trans-retinoic acid (ATRA)-based differentiation therapy of acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL) represents one of the most clinically effective examples of precision medicine and the first example of targeted oncoprotein degradation. The success of ATRA in APL, however, remains to be translated to non-APL acute myeloid leukemia (AML). We previously showed that aberrant histone modifications, including histone H3 lysine 4 (H3K4) and lysine 27 (H3K27) methylation, were associated with this lack of response and that epigenetic therapy with small molecule inhibitors of the H3K4 demethylase LSD1/KDM1A could reprogram AML cells to respond to ATRA. Serving as the enzymatic component of Polycomb Repressive Complex 2, EZH2/KMT6A methyltransferase plays a critical role in normal hematopoiesis by affecting the balance between self-renewal and differentiation. The canonical function of EZH2 is methylation of H3K27, although important non-canonical roles have recently been described. EZH2 mutation or deregulated expression has been conclusively demonstrated in the pathogenesis of AML and response to treatment, thus making it an attractive therapeutic target. In this study, we therefore investigated whether inhibition of EZH2 might also improve the response of non-APL AML cells to ATRA-based therapy. We focused on GSK-343, a pyridone-containing S-adenosyl-L-methionine cofactor-competitive EZH2 inhibitor that is representative of its class, and HKMTI-1-005, a substrate-competitive dual inhibitor targeting EZH2 and the closely related G9A/GLP H3K9 methyltransferases. We found that treatment with HKMTI-1-005 phenocopied EZH2 knockdown and was more effective in inducing differentiation than GSK-343, despite the efficacy of GSK-343 in terms of abolishing H3K27 trimethylation. Furthermore, transcriptomic analysis revealed that in contrast to treatment with GSK-343, HKMTI-1-005 upregulated the expression of differentiation pathway genes with and without ATRA, while downregulating genes associated with a hematopoietic stem cell phenotype. These results pointed to a non-canonical role for EZH2, which was supported by the finding that EZH2 associates with the master regulator of myeloid differentiation, RARα, in an ATRA-dependent manner that was enhanced by HKMTI-1-005, possibly playing a role in co-regulator complex exchange during transcriptional activation. In summary, our results strongly suggest that addition of HKMTI-1-005 to ATRA is a new therapeutic approach against AML that warrants further investigation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Y. Sbirkov
- Division of Clinical Studies, The Institute of Cancer Research, London, United Kingdom
- Department of Medical Biology, Medical University of Plovdiv, Plovdiv, Bulgaria
- Research Institute at Medical University of Plovdiv, Plovdiv, Bulgaria
| | - T. Schenk
- Division of Clinical Studies, The Institute of Cancer Research, London, United Kingdom
- Department of Hematology and Medical Oncology, Clinic of Internal Medicine II, Jena University Hospital, Jena, Germany
- Institute of Molecular Cell Biology, CMB, Jena University Hospital, Jena, Germany
| | - C. Kwok
- Division of Clinical Studies, The Institute of Cancer Research, London, United Kingdom
| | - S. Stengel
- Division of Clinical Studies, The Institute of Cancer Research, London, United Kingdom
- Division of Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Infectious Diseases, Department of Internal Medicine IV, Jena University Hospital, Jena, Germany
| | - R. Brown
- Department of Surgery and Cancer, Imperial College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - G. Brown
- Institute of Clinical Sciences, School of Biomedical Sciences, College of Medical and Dental Sciences, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, United Kingdom
| | - L. Chesler
- Division of Clinical Studies, The Institute of Cancer Research, London, United Kingdom
| | - A. Zelent
- Division of Clinical Studies, The Institute of Cancer Research, London, United Kingdom
- Department of Molecular Biology, Institute of Genetics and Animal Biotechnology, Polish Academy of Science, Magdalenka, Poland
| | - M. J. Fuchter
- Department of Chemistry, Molecular Sciences Research Hub, Imperial College London, White City Campus, London, United Kingdom
| | - K. Petrie
- Division of Clinical Studies, The Institute of Cancer Research, London, United Kingdom
- School of Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences and Wellbeing, University of Sunderland, Sunderland, United Kingdom
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Ali S, Patel H, Periyasamy M, Sava G, Bondke A, Slafer BW, Kroll SHB, Barbazanges M, Starkey R, Ottaviani S, Harrod A, Aboagye EO, Buluwela L, Fuchter MJ, Barrett AGM, Coombes RC. Abstract P1-10-05: ICEC0942, a new oral selective inhibitor of the cell cycle and transcriptional regulator CDK7 for the treatment of estrogen receptor positive and negative breast cancer. Cancer Res 2018. [DOI: 10.1158/1538-7445.sabcs17-p1-10-05] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Abstract
CDK7 is remarkable as a key regulator of both cell cycle progression and gene expression. CDK7 promotes cell cycle progression by phosphorylating cell cycle CDKs in the T-loop, thus stimulating their activities. Additionally, phosphorylation of RNA polymerase II (PolII) by CDK7 is required for transcription initiation. Deregulation of cell cycle and transcription processes is common to most cancer types, so CDK7 inhibitors offer considerable promise as cancer therapeutics.
We previously reported the identification of the first selective CDK7 inhibitor, BS-181, and demonstrated its ability to inhibit breast cancer cell growth in vitro and in vivo (Ali et al 2009 Cancer Res). Screening of more than one thousand analogues has allowed development of a clinical candidate CDK7 inhibitor, named ICEC0942. ICEC0942 selectively inhibits CDK7 with an IC50 of 40nM. In vitro analyses reveal that ICEC0942 inhibits hormone receptor positive and triple-negative breast cancer cell lines, with GI50 values ranging between 0.2-0.3 μM. Growth inhibition is accompanied by inhibition of CDK7 targets, including CDK1, CDK2 and PolII phosphorylation. In xenograft studies using several cancer cell lines, the drug shows substantial anti-tumor effects, with a notable lack of toxicity at efficacious doses. In the combination setting with tamoxifen, ICEC0942 completely blocks growth of ER-positive tumor xenografts, indicative of potential for co-treatment with hormonal agents.
Extensive ADMET and PK/PD studies confirm the suitability of ICEC0942 as a cancer drug and have shown that ICEC0942 is orally bioavailable. Moreover, xenograft tumor studies have allowed definition of surrogate biomarkers of tumor response.
Taken together, our findings confirm CDK7 as an important drug target for ER-positive and -negative breast cancer and identify ICEC0942 as a prototype drug with utility as a single agent or in the combination setting. Our findings also point to the potential value of CDK7 inhibition by ICEC0942 in other cancer types that have characteristics of transcription factor addiction and/or cell cycle deregulation.
Development of ICEC0942 was made possible through funding by EPSRC, Cancer Research UK and Cancer Research Technologies.
Citation Format: Ali S, Patel H, Periyasamy M, Sava G, Bondke A, Slafer BW, Kroll SHB, Barbazanges M, Starkey R, Ottaviani S, Harrod A, Aboagye EO, Buluwela L, Fuchter MJ, Barrett AGM, Coombes RC. ICEC0942, a new oral selective inhibitor of the cell cycle and transcriptional regulator CDK7 for the treatment of estrogen receptor positive and negative breast cancer [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 2017 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium; 2017 Dec 5-9; San Antonio, TX. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2018;78(4 Suppl):Abstract nr P1-10-05.
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Affiliation(s)
- S Ali
- Imperial College London, London, United Kingdom; Imperial College London, London
| | - H Patel
- Imperial College London, London, United Kingdom; Imperial College London, London
| | - M Periyasamy
- Imperial College London, London, United Kingdom; Imperial College London, London
| | - G Sava
- Imperial College London, London, United Kingdom; Imperial College London, London
| | - A Bondke
- Imperial College London, London, United Kingdom; Imperial College London, London
| | - BW Slafer
- Imperial College London, London, United Kingdom; Imperial College London, London
| | - SHB Kroll
- Imperial College London, London, United Kingdom; Imperial College London, London
| | - M Barbazanges
- Imperial College London, London, United Kingdom; Imperial College London, London
| | - R Starkey
- Imperial College London, London, United Kingdom; Imperial College London, London
| | - S Ottaviani
- Imperial College London, London, United Kingdom; Imperial College London, London
| | - A Harrod
- Imperial College London, London, United Kingdom; Imperial College London, London
| | - EO Aboagye
- Imperial College London, London, United Kingdom; Imperial College London, London
| | - L Buluwela
- Imperial College London, London, United Kingdom; Imperial College London, London
| | - MJ Fuchter
- Imperial College London, London, United Kingdom; Imperial College London, London
| | - AGM Barrett
- Imperial College London, London, United Kingdom; Imperial College London, London
| | - RC Coombes
- Imperial College London, London, United Kingdom; Imperial College London, London
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Montgomery KS, Davidson RWM, Cao B, Williams B, Simpson GW, Nilsson SK, Chiefari J, Fuchter MJ. Effective macrophage delivery using RAFT copolymer derived nanoparticles. Polym Chem 2018. [DOI: 10.1039/c7py01363a] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/21/2022]
Abstract
We use reversible addition fragmentation chain transfer (RAFT) polymerisation to prepare block copolymers that are subsequently assembled into nanoparticles. The prepared nanoparticles were extensively taken up by primary murine macrophages and are effective in the delivery of a cell impenetrable cargo.
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Affiliation(s)
- K. S. Montgomery
- Chemistry Department
- Imperial College London
- UK
- CSIRO Manufacturing
- Australia
| | | | - B. Cao
- CSIRO Manufacturing
- Australia
- ARMI
- Monash University
- Clayton
| | - B. Williams
- CSIRO Manufacturing
- Australia
- ARMI
- Monash University
- Clayton
| | | | - S. K. Nilsson
- CSIRO Manufacturing
- Australia
- ARMI
- Monash University
- Clayton
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Udemba A, Smith G, Nguyen QD, Kaliszczak M, Carroll L, Fortt R, Fuchter MJ, Aboagye EO. Design, synthesis and initial characterisation of a radiolabelled [(18)F]pyrimidoindolone probe for detecting activated caspase-3/7. Org Biomol Chem 2015; 13:5418-23. [PMID: 25865735 DOI: 10.1039/c5ob00058k] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/21/2022]
Abstract
Evasion of apoptosis is one of the six initially proposed hallmarks of cancer, and as such, a method to detect apoptosis in a tumour would be of considerable interest in both clinical trials of new cancer therapeutics, as well as for routine patient management. Activation of caspase-3/7 is a key biomarker of cellular apoptosis. Herein we describe the design, synthesis and initial characterisation of the first pyrimidoindolone compound for detection of caspase-3/7 activation using positron emission tomography.
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Affiliation(s)
- A Udemba
- Comprehensive Cancer Imaging Centre, Department of Surgery and Cancer, Imperial College London, Hammersmith Campus, Du Cane Road, London, W12 0NN, UK.
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Anwar A, Archibald S, Audisio D, Badman G, Bergin J, Bew SP, Bloom J, Bushby N, Busigin A, Chan MYT, Davies J, Dilworth J, Dunscombe M, Elmore CS, Engstrom P, Fuchter MJ, Geach NJ, Georgin D, Griffiths A, Hansen P, Hardcastle G, Hiatt-Gipson GD, Hickey MJ, Kitson SL, Lashford A, Lenz E, Lewinton S, Lockley WJS, Loreau O, Maddocks S, Marlière P, McEwen A, Moody TS, Morgan P, Roe SJ, Schenk DJ, Speed DJ, Stockman RA, Sumal K, Taran F, Thurston S, Waring M, Watters WH. Abstracts of the 23rd International Isotope Society (UK group) Symposium: synthesis and applications of labelled compounds 2014. J Labelled Comp Radiopharm 2015. [DOI: 10.1002/jlcr.3276] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
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Kaliszczak M, Patel H, Kroll SHB, Carroll L, Smith G, Delaney S, Heathcote DA, Bondke A, Fuchter MJ, Coombes RC, Barrett AGM, Ali S, Aboagye EO. Development of a cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor devoid of ABC transporter-dependent drug resistance. Br J Cancer 2013; 109:2356-67. [PMID: 24071597 PMCID: PMC3817326 DOI: 10.1038/bjc.2013.584] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Revised: 08/30/2013] [Accepted: 09/04/2013] [Indexed: 01/15/2023] Open
Abstract
Background: Cyclin-dependent kinases (CDKs) control cell cycle progression, RNA transcription and apoptosis, making them attractive targets for anticancer drug development. Unfortunately, CDK inhibitors developed to date have demonstrated variable efficacy. Methods: We generated drug-resistant cells by continuous low-dose exposure to a model pyrazolo[1,5-a]pyrimidine CDK inhibitor and investigated potential structural alterations for optimal efficacy. Results: We identified induction of the ATP-binding cassette (ABC) transporters, ABCB1 and ABCG2, in resistant cells. Assessment of features involved in the ABC transporter substrate specificity from a compound library revealed high polar surface area (>100 Å2) as a key determinant of transporter interaction. We developed ICEC-0782 that preferentially inhibited CDK2, CDK7 and CDK9 in the nanomolar range. The compound inhibited phosphorylation of CDK substrates and downregulated the short-lived proteins, Mcl-1 and cyclin D1. ICEC-0782 induced G2/M arrest and apoptosis. The permeability and cytotoxicity of ICEC-0782 were unaffected by ABC transporter expression. Following daily oral dosing, the compound inhibited growth of human colon HCT-116 and human breast MCF7 tumour xenografts in vivo by 84% and 94%, respectively. Conclusion: We identified a promising pyrazolo[1,5-a]pyrimidine compound devoid of ABC transporter interaction, highly suitable for further preclinical and clinical evaluation for the treatment of cancer.
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Affiliation(s)
- M Kaliszczak
- Faculty of Medicine, Department of Surgery and Cancer, Imperial College London, Hammersmith Hospital Campus, Du Cane Road, London W12 0NN, UK
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