Induction of acute lymphocytic leukemia differentiation by maintenance therapy

Despite extensive study in many malignancies, maintenance therapy has clinically benefited only two diseases: acute lymphocytic leukemia (ALL) and acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL). ALL maintenance therapy utilizes low-dose 6-mercaptopurine (6MP) and methotrexate (MTX), while maintenance in APL primarily consists of all-trans-retinoic acid (ATRA). 6MP and MTX as used in ALL are also now usually added to maintenance ATRA for APL, based on data suggesting an improved disease-free survival. Although the mechanism of action of MTX and 6MP as maintenance is unknown, low-dose cytotoxic agents are potent inducers of differentiation in vitro. Thus, we studied whether maintenance therapy in ALL, like ATRA in APL, may be inducing terminal differentiation of ALL progenitors. The APL cell line NB4, the ALL cell lines REH and RS4;11, and patients' ALL blasts were incubated with ATRA, 6MP, and MTX in vitro. All three drugs inhibited the clonogenic growth of the APL and ALL cell lines without inducing immediate apoptosis, but associated with induction of phenotypic differentiation. The three drugs similarly upregulated lymphoid antigen expression, while decreasing CD34 expression, on patients' ALL blasts. These data suggest that induction of leukemia progenitor differentiation plays an important role in the mechanism of action of maintenance therapy in ALL.

Inhibited apoptosis and drug resistance in acute myeloid leukaemia

Despite extensive investigation into mechanisms of drug resistance in acute myeloid leukaemia (AML), the aetiology of therapeutic resistance is unclear. We found that five leukaemia cell lines (K562, HL-60, CEM. CEM induced to overexpress bcl-2, and REH) displayed parallel sensitivity to four antileukaemia drugs with different mechanisms of action, with K562 generally being the least sensitive and REH being the most sensitive. The amount of spontaneous apoptosis in the cell lines after serum-free culture paralleled their drug sensitivity: K562 cells displayed the least apoptosis at 24h (2.50 +/- 0.24%) and REH the most (24.47 +/- 8.22%). The extent of spontaneous apoptosis of leukaemic blasts from 39 patients with newly diagnosed de novo AML also correlated with the success of the intensive, infusional cytarabine-based induction therapy. There was a median of 19.5% (range 3.6-64%) apoptotic AML cells after 24 h of serum-free culture in patients who entered a complete remission compared with 4.2% (1.8-7.0%) apoptotic AML cells in patients who did not achieve a complete remission (P = 0.0007). Thus, inhibited apoptosis was associated with both in vitro and in vivo pan-resistance to antileukaemic chemotherapy. The cause of inhibited apoptosis in AML is probably a function of interactions among multiple signals that influence apoptosis. Assessment of spontaneous apoptosis may serve as an important prognostic factor for AML.

Phenotypic and functional characterization of the hematopoietic stem cell

The purpose of this report is to demonstrate the phenotypic and functional characteristics of a primitive hematopoietic stem cell (HSC). We present evidence that an isolated murine HSC can repopulate the hematopoietic tissues of lethally irradiated recipient animals long term. By limiting dilution, as few as ten isolated stem cells can reconstitute mice for their lifetime. The stem cell which we have isolated does not copurify with colony forming unit-spleen or radioprotect recipients from lethal radiation. The phenotypic characterization of this rare cell, which represents 0.005% of total bone marrow, includes either the absence or very low expression of markers associated with long-term repopulating cells described by other groups. We believe this stem cell represents a very early self-renewing stem cell in the mouse.

Resistance to apoptosis caused by PIG-A gene mutations in paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria

Paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria (PNH) is a clonal hematopoietic stem cell disorder resulting from mutations in an X-linked gene, PIG-A, that encodes an enzyme required for the first step in the biosynthesis of glycosylphosphatidylinositol (GPI) anchors. PIG-A mutations result in absent or decreased cell surface expression of all GPI-anchored proteins. Although many of the clinical manifestations (e.g., hemolytic anemia) of the disease can be explained by a deficiency of GPI-anchored complement regulatory proteins such as CD59 and CD55, it is unclear why the PNH clone dominates hematopoiesis and why it is prone to evolve into acute leukemia. We found that PIG-A mutations confer a survival advantage by making cells relatively resistant to apoptotic death. When placed in serum-free medium, granulocytes and affected CD34(+) (CD59(-)) cells from PNH patients survived longer than their normal counterparts. PNH cells were also relatively resistant to apoptosis induced by ionizing irradiation. Replacement of the normal PIG-A gene in PNH cell lines reversed the cellular resistance to apoptosis. Inhibited apoptosis resulting from PIG-A mutations appears to be the principle mechanism by which PNH cells maintain a growth advantage over normal progenitors and could play a role in the propensity of this disease to transform into more aggressive hematologic disorders. These data also suggest that GPI anchors are important in regulating apoptosis.

Characterization of mouse lymphohematopoietic stem cells lacking spleen colony-forming activity

The classical definition of lymphohematopoietic stem cells (LHSC), the most primitive progenitors of all blood cells, requires that they have the capacity for self-renewal and for the long-term production of all blood cell lineages. However, other characteristics of LHSC have been debated. Our previous data suggested that mouse LHSC are very slowly proliferating cells that generate delayed multilineage engraftment, while "radioprotection" (rapid engraftment that will prevent early death from radiation-induced marrow aplasia) results from more committed progenitors. Alternatively, some groups have reported that mouse LHSC are responsible for both radioprotection and long-term repopulation of all blood cell lineages. A possible explanation for this difference is that cells with the capacity for long-term production of all blood cell lineages are biologically heterogeneous. We now show that 10 LHSC can generate all blood cell lineages for the lifetime of the animal. However, these cells lacked radioprotection and spleen colony-forming activity. LHSC were identified and isolated by their small size, their lack of expression of antigens characteristic of mature blood cell lineages, and their high expression of aldehyde dehydrogenase. In addition, these cells were found to express undetectable or low levels of many antigens presumed to mark LHSC, including Thy-1, Ly-6A/E (Sca-1), c-kit, and CD34. There appears to be at least two classes of LHSC with the capacity for long-term production of all blood cell lineages: one that generates both radioprotection and long-term engraftment and one that produces delayed but durable engraftment. Our data suggest that this latter class may represent a very primitive class of LHSC.

BCR-ABL-mediated inhibition of apoptosis with delay of G2/M transition after DNA damage: a mechanism of resistance to multiple anticancer agents

A critical determinant of the efficacy of antineoplastic therapy is the response of malignant cells to DNA damage induced by anticancer agents. The p53 tumor-suppressor gene is a critical component of two distinct cellular responses to DNA damage, the induction of a reversible arrest at the G1/S cell cycle checkpoint, and the activation of apoptosis, a genetic program of autonomous cell death. Expression of the BCR-ABL chimeric gene produced by a balanced translocation in chronic myeloid leukemia, confers resistance to multiple genotoxic anticancer agents. BCR-ABL expression inhibits the apoptotic response to DNA damage without altering either the p53-dependent WAF1/CIP1-mediated G1 arrest or DNA repair. BCR-ABL-mediated inhibition of DNA damage-induced apoptosis is associated with a prolongation of cell cycle arrest at the G2/M restriction point; the delay of G2/M transition may allow time to repair and complete DNA replication and chromosomal segregation, thereby preventing a mitotic catastrophe. The inherent resistance of human cancers to genotoxic agents may result not only by the loss or inactivation of the wild-type p53 gene, but also by genetic alterations such as BCR-ABL that can delay G2/M transition after DNA damage.

Assessment of aldehyde dehydrogenase in viable cells

Cytosolic aldehyde dehydrogenase (ALDH), an enzyme responsible for oxidizing intracellular aldehydes, has an important role in ethanol, vitamin A, and cyclophosphamide metabolism. High expression of this enzyme in primitive stem cells from multiple tissues, including bone marrow and intestine, appears to be an important mechanism by which these cells are resistant to cyclophosphamide. However, although hematopoietic stem cells (HSC) express high levels of cytosolic ALDH, isolating viable HSC by their ALDH expression has not been possible because ALDH is an intracellular protein. We found that a fluorescent aldehyde, dansyl aminoacetaldehyde (DAAA), could be used in flow cytometry experiments to isolate viable mouse and human cells based on their ALDH content. The level of dansyl fluorescence exhibited by cells after incubation with DAAA paralleled cytosolic ALDH levels determined by Western blotting and the sensitivity of the cells to cyclophosphamide. Moreover, DAAA appeared to be a more sensitive means of assessing cytosolic ALDH levels than Western blotting. Bone marrow progenitors treated with DAAA proliferated normally. Furthermore, marrow cells expressing high levels of dansyl fluorescence after incubation with DAAA were enriched for hematopoietic progenitors. The ability to isolate viable cells that express high levels of cytosolic ALDH could be an important component of methodology for identifying and purifying HSC and for studying cyclophosphamide-resistant tumor cell populations.

Growth factor-mediated terminal differentiation of chronic myeloid leukemia

Expression of the BCR-ABL chimeric gene in chronic myeloid leukemia results in the inhibition of apoptosis, a genetically programmed process of autonomous cell death. BCR-ABL and other genetic factors that suppress apoptosis confer cross-resistance to cytotoxic agents with diverse mechanisms of action. Eradication of the chronic myeloid leukemia clone requires strategies that circumvent this inherent resistance to cytotoxic therapy. We have determined that BCR-ABL expression augments the sensitivity of hematopoietic cells to growth factor-mediated signals of differentiation; hematopoietic growth factors induce the selective terminal differentiation of chronic myeloid leukemia progenitors at concentrations that allow optimal growth of normal progenitors. Hematopoietic growth factors may be an effective strategy for the elimination of cytotoxic therapy-resistant leukemic cells by inducing their terminal differentiation while allowing concomitant expansion of coexistent normal hematopoietic progenitors.