Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
Pivot Concepts:   Target Concepts:
Query: EC:2.7.10.2 (focal adhesion kinase)
44,029 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

The SRC family of kinases is rarely mutated in primary human tumors. We report the identification of a SRC-like tyrosine kinase gene, FRK (Fyn-related kinase), fused with ETV6 in a patient with acute myelogenous leukemia carrying t(6;12)(q21;p13). Both reciprocal fusion transcripts, ETV6/FRK and FRK/ETV6, were expressed. In ETV6/FRK, exon 4 of ETV6 was fused in-frame to exon 3 of FRK, producing a chimeric protein consisting of the entire oligomerization domain of ETV6 and the kinase domain of FRK. The ETV6/FRK protein was shown to be constitutively autophosphorylated on its tyrosine residues. ETV6/FRK phosphorylated histones H2B and H4 in vitro to a greater extent than did FRK, suggesting it had elevated kinase activity. ETV6/FRK could transform both Ba/F3 cells and NIH3T3 cells, which depended on its kinase activity. Moreover, ETV6/FRK inhibited ETV6-mediated transcriptional repression in a dominant-negative manner. This report provides the first evidence that a SRC-like kinase gene, FRK fused with ETV6, could directly contribute to leukemogenesis by producing an oncoprotein, ETV6/FRK, with dual functions: constitutive activation of the ETV6/FRK tyrosine kinase and dominant-negative modulation of ETV6-mediated transcriptional repression.
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PMID:Identification of a SRC-like tyrosine kinase gene, FRK, fused with ETV6 in a patient with acute myelogenous leukemia carrying a t(6;12)(q21;p13) translocation. 1561 31

Progress in understanding the molecular basis of signal transmission and transduction has contributed substantially to clarifying the mechanisms of leukemogenesis and of leukemia progression and has led to the identification of a number of specific molecular targets for treatment. Chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) has provided one of the best models, as the identification of a leukemia-specific hybrid tyrosine kinase (BCR-ABL, p210, p190) has led to the identification and the successful therapeutic application of a powerful tyrosine kinase inhibitor, imatinib. The BCR-ABL fusion gene is the result of a reciprocal translocation between the long arms of chromosomes 9 and 22, t(9;22)(q34;q11), which characterizes more than 95% of the cases of CML. The resulting chimeric proteins (P210 and P190), which retain a constitutively activated tyrosine kinase activity, have a causative role in the genesis of the leukemia process. In agreement with this observation, BCR-ABL tyrosine kinase inhibitors have recently emerged as powerful new therapeutic tools, obtaining extraordinary results in early chronic-phase CML as well as in more advanced phases of the disease. Although these results represent a remarkable breakthrough, there are still numerous issues, such as the emergence of resistance, that remain unsolved and that will need further investigation. In spite of its low incidence, CML remains a paradigmatic model for understanding the pathogenesis and therapeutic options of human leukemias.
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PMID:Rational approaches to the design of therapeutics targeting molecular markers: the case of chronic myelogenous leukemia. 1565 Feb 67

In the last twenty years, using all-trans retinoic acid (ATRA) as a differentiation inducer, Shanghai Institute of Hematology has achieved an important breakthrough in the treatment of acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL), which realized the theory of reversing phenotype of cells and provided a successful model of differentiation therapy in cancers. Our group first discovered in the world the variant chromosome translocation t(11;17)(q23;q21) of APL, and cloned the PML-RAR alpha, PLZF-RAR alpha and NPM-RAR alpha fusion genes corresponding to the characterized chromosome translocations t(15;17); t(11;17) and t(5;17) in APL. Moreover, establishment of transgenic mice model of APL proved their effects on leukemogenesis. The ability of ATRA to modify the recruitment of nuclear receptor co-repressor with PML-RAR alpha but not PLZF-RAR alpha caused by the variant chromosome translocation elucidated the therapeutic mechanism of ATRA from the molecular level and provides new insight into transcription-modulating therapy. Since 1994, our group has successfully applied arsenic trioxide (As(2)O(3)) in treating relapsed APL patients, with the complete remission rate of 70% - 80%. The molecular mechanism study revealed that As(2)O(3) exerts a dose-dependent dual effect on APL. Low-dose As(2)O(3) induced partial differentiation of APL cells, while the higher dose induced apoptosis. As(2)O(3) binds ubiquitin like SUMO-1 through the lysine 160 of PML, resulting in the degradation of PML-RAR alpha. Taken together, ATRA and As(2)O(3) target the transcription factor PML-RAR alpha, the former by retinoic acid receptor and the latter by PML sumolization, both induce PML-RAR alpha degradation and APL cells differentiation and apoptosis. Because of the different acting pathways, ATRA and As(2)O(3) have no cross-resistance and can be used as combination therapy. Clinical trial in newly diagnosed APL patients showed that ATRA/As(2)O(3) in combination yields a longer disease-free survival time. With the median survival of 18 months, none of the 20 cases in combination treatment relapsed, whereas 7 relapsed in 37 cases in mono-treatment. This is the best clinical effect achieved in treating adult acute leukemia to this day, possibly making APL the first adult curable leukemia. Based on the great success of the pathogenetic gene target therapy in APL, this strategy may extend to other leukemias. Combination of Gleevec and arsenic agents in treating chronic myeloid leukemia has already make a figure both in clinical and laboratory research, aiming at counteracting the abnormal tyrosine kinase activity of ABL and the degradating BCR-ABL fusion protein. In acute myeloid leukemia M(2b), using new target therapy degradating AML1-ETO fusion protein and reducing the abnormal tyrosine kinase activity of c-kit will also lead to new therapeutic management in acute leukemias.
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PMID:[Basic and clinical studies of the gene product-targeting therapy based on leukemogenesis--editorial]. 1574 26

The BCR-ABL oncogene is responsible for most cases of chronic myelogenous leukemia and some acute lymphoblastic leukemias. The fusion protein encoded by BCR-ABL possesses an aberrantly regulated tyrosine kinase activity. Imatinib mesylate (Gleevec, STI-571) is an inhibitor of ABL tyrosine kinase activity that has been remarkably effective in slowing disease progression in patients with chronic phase chronic myelogenous leukemia, but the emergence of imatinib resistance underscores the need for additional therapies. Targeting signaling pathways activated by BCR-ABL is a promising approach for drug development. The study of signaling components downstream of BCR-ABL and the related murine oncogene v-Abl has revealed a complex web of signals that promote cell division and survival. Of these, activation of phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K) has emerged as one of the essential signaling mechanisms in ABL leukemogenesis. This review describes molecular mechanisms by which PI3K is activated and the downstream PI3K effectors that propagate the signal to promote myeloid and lymphoid transformation. Of particular recent interest is the mammalian target of rapamycin, a PI3K-regulated kinase that regulates protein synthesis and contributes to leukemogenesis.
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PMID:ABL oncogenes and phosphoinositide 3-kinase: mechanism of activation and downstream effectors. 1578 10

Hematologic malignancies are characterized by fusion genes of biological/clinical importance. Immortalized cell lines with such aberrations are today widely used to model different aspects of leukemogenesis. Using cDNA microarrays, we determined the gene expression profiles of 40 cell lines as well as of primary leukemias harboring 11q23/MLL rearrangements, t(1;19)[TCF3/PBX1], t(12;21)[ETV6/RUNX1], t(8;21)[RUNX1/CBFA2T1], t(8;14)[IGH@/MYC], t(8;14)[TRA@/MYC], t(9;22)[BCR/ABL1], t(10;11)[PICALM/MLLT10], t(15;17)[PML/RARA], or inv(16)[CBFB/MYH11]. Unsupervised classification revealed that hematopoietic cell lines of diverse origin, but with the same primary genetic changes, segregated together, suggesting that pathogenetically important regulatory networks remain conserved despite numerous passages. Moreover, primary leukemias cosegregated with cell lines carrying identical genetic rearrangements, further supporting that critical regulatory pathways remain intact in hematopoietic cell lines. Transcriptional signatures correlating with clinical subtypes/primary genetic changes were identified and annotated based on their biological/molecular properties and chromosomal localization. Furthermore, the expression profile of tyrosine kinase-encoding genes was investigated, identifying several differentially expressed members, segregating with primary genetic changes, which may be targeted with tyrosine kinase inhibitors. The identified conserved signatures are likely to reflect regulatory networks of importance for the transforming abilities of the primary genetic changes and offer important pathogenetic insights as well as a number of targets for future rational drug design.
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PMID:Gene expression profiling of leukemic cell lines reveals conserved molecular signatures among subtypes with specific genetic aberrations. 1584 27

BCR-ABL oncogene, the molecular hallmark of chronic myelogenous leukemia, arises in a primitive hematopoietic stem cell that has the capacity for both differentiation and self-renewal. Its product, Bcr-Abl protein, has been shown to activate signal transducers and activators of transcription 3 (STAT3) and to promote self-renewal in embryonic stem (ES) cells, even in the absence of leukemia inhibitory factor (LIF). MEK kinase 1 (MEKK1) is a 196-kDa mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) kinase kinase involved in Bcr-Abl signal transduction. To investigate the role of MEKK1 in Bcr-Abl-induced transformation of stem cells, p210 Bcr-Abl was stably transfected into wild-type (WT(p210)) and MEKK1-/- (MEKK1-/-(p210)) ES cells. Bcr-Abl enhanced MEKK1 expression in ES transfectants, as it does in other Bcr-Abl-transformed cells. In the absence of LIF, WT(p210) cells showed constitutive STAT3 activation and formed rounded, compact colonies having strong alkaline phosphatase activity, a characteristic phenotype of undifferentiated ES cells. MEKK1-/-(p210) cells, by contrast, showed less STAT3 activity than WT(p210) cells and formed large, flattened colonies having weak alkaline phosphatase activity, a phenotype of differentiated ES cells. These results indicate that MEKK1 plays a key role in Bcr-Abl-induced STAT3 activation and in ES cells' capacity for LIF-independent self-renewal, and may thus be involved in Bcr-Abl-mediated leukemogenesis in stem cells.
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PMID:MEK kinase 1 is essential for Bcr-Abl-induced STAT3 and self-renewal activity in embryonic stem cells. 1604 53

We attempted to extend the lifespan of CD34+ stem/progenitor cells in human cord blood (CB) by transduction with lentiviral vectors carrying the human telomerase catalytic subunit (hTERT) and/or the human papillomavirus type 16 (HPV16) E6 and E7 oncogenes. We found that hTERT was incapable of prolonging the replicative capacity of CB cells maintained under serum-free conditions in the presence of stem cell factor, Flt3 ligand, thrombopoietin, and interleukin-3 beyond 4 months (n=3). However, transduced CB cells cultured in the same cytokine cocktail constitutively expressing HPV16 E6/E7 alone (n=2) or in concert with hTERT (n=9) continued to proliferate, giving rise to permanent (>2 years) cell lines with a CD45+ CD34- CD133+/- CD44+ CD235a+ CD71+ CD203+ CD33+ CD13+ myeloerythroid/mast cell progenitor phenotype. Notably, CB cell cultures expressing only HPV16 E6/E7 went through a crisis period, and the resulting oligoclonal cell lines were highly aneuploid. By comparison, the CB cell lines obtained by coexpression of HPV16 E6/E7 plus hTERT exhibited near-diploid karyotypes with minimal chromosomal aberrations, concomitant with stabilization of telomere length, yet were clonally derived. The immortalized E6/E7 plus hTERT-expressing CB cells were not tumorigenic when injected intravenously or subcutaneously into sublethally irradiated immunodeficient nonobese diabetic/severe combined immunodeficient mice but could be converted to a malignant state by ectopic expression of a v-H-ras or BCR-ABL oncogene. These findings provide new insights into the mechanisms governing the senescence checkpoint of primitive human hematopoietic precursors and establish a paradigm for studies of the multistep process of human leukemogenesis.
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PMID:Bypass of senescence, immortalization, and transformation of human hematopoietic progenitor cells. 1614 74

Chronic myeloid leukemia cells contain a BCR-ABL oncoprotein with an enhanced tyrosine kinase activity, which is considered to be the principal 'cause' of the leukemia. Though the precise mechanisms underlying the leukemogenesis remains enigmatic, the use of imatinib to inhibit the dysregulated kinase activity has proved remarkably successful in clinical practice. Imatinib was the first small molecule developed to inhibit BCR-ABL tyrosine kinase activity and its success introduced the current era of molecularly targeted therapies for a number of other malignancies. In patients with chronic myeloid leukaemia who develop resistance to imatinib, the Bcr-Abl signaling pathway is often re-established. This has led to the emergence of a number of alternative treatment strategies designed to target the leukemic cell which are resistant to imatinib.
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PMID:Molecularly targeted treatment of chronic myeloid leukemia: beyond the imatinib era. 1614 26

Up to 30% of patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) harbor internal tandem duplications (ITD) within the FLT3 gene, encoding a receptor tyrosine kinase. These mutations induce constitutive tyrosine kinase activity in the absence of the natural Flt3 ligand and confer growth factor independence, increased proliferation, and survival to myeloid precursor cells. The signaling pathways and downstream nuclear targets mediating leukemic transformation are only partly identified. Here, we show that the presence of Flt3-ITD constitutively activates Akt (PKB), a key serine-threonine kinase within the phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase pathway. Constitutive activation of Akt phosphorylated and inhibited the transcription factor Foxo3a. Restored Foxo3a activity reversed Flt3-ITD-mediated growth properties and dominant-negative Akt prevented Flt3-ITD-mediated cytokine independence. Conditional Akt activation targeted to the cell membrane induced cytokine-independent survival, cell cycle progression, and proliferation. Importantly, Akt activation was sufficient to cause in vitro transformation of 32D myeloid progenitor cells and in vivo promoted the development of a leukemia-like myeloid disease. Akt phosphorylation was found in myeloid blasts of 86% of AML patients, suggesting an important role in leukemogenesis. In summary, Akt is necessary for increased survival, proliferation, and leukemic transformation by Flt3-ITD, possibly by inactivation of Foxo transcription factors. These findings indicate that Akt and Foxo transcription factors are attractive targets for therapeutic intervention in AML.
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PMID:Constitutive activation of Akt by Flt3 internal tandem duplications is necessary for increased survival, proliferation, and myeloid transformation. 1626 83

Chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) originates from the hematopoietic stem cell and is characterized by the reciprocal translocation t(9;22)(q34;q11), which results in the BCR-ABL fusion gene on chromosome 22q-, also known as the Philadelphia chromosome. This chimeric gene codes for a cytoplasmic protein with constitutive tyrosine-kinase activity, responsible for cellular transformation and leukemogenesis in CML. The aim of this observational cohort study was to discriminate and quantify BCR-ABL transcripts in the peripheral blood of patients with CML who were treated with imatinib mesylate (Glivec, Novartis). Twenty-two patients were followed for six months during treatment. Quantitative real time polymerase chain reaction was performed before treatment and after 3 and 6 months from treatment initiation. As compared with the third month, there was a significant decrease in BCR-ABL expression in the sixth month of treatment (P = 0.0002). At the sixth month, there was a significant difference in the levels of the two major transcripts of BCR-ABL, B2A2 and B3A2 (P = 0.0347), indicating that B2A2 may be more sensitive to imatinib. The results of our study indicate that imatinib is able to modify the natural history of CML, and raise the hypothesis that patients who express the B2A2 transcript may have a better prognosis.
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PMID:Differential molecular response of the transcripts B2A2 and B3A2 to imatinib mesylate in chronic myeloid leukemia. 1647 28


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