Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: UMLS:C0023418 (leukemia)
 93,477 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Philadelphia chromosome-positive (Ph(+)) chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) induced by the BCR-ABL oncogene is believed to be developed from leukemic stem cells (LSCs), and we have previously shown in mice that LSCs for CML express the same cell surface markers that are also expressed on normal hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs). Although the inhibition of BCR-ABL kinase activity by imatinib is highly effective in treating human Ph(+) CML in chronic phase, it is difficult to achieve molecular remission of the disease, suggesting that LSCs remain in patients. In this study, we find that following imatinib treatment, LSCs not only remained but also accumulated increasingly in bone marrow of CML mice. This insensitivity of LSCs to imatinib was not because of the lack of BCR-ABL kinase inhibition by imatinib, and proliferating leukemic cells derived from LSCs were still sensitive to growth inhibition by imatinib. These results identify an LSC survival pathway that is not inhibited by imatinib. Furthermore, we show that beta-catenin in the Wnt signaling pathway is essential for survival and self-renewal of LSCs, providing a new strategy for targeting these cells.
Leukemia 2009 Jan
PMID:beta-Catenin is essential for survival of leukemic stem cells insensitive to kinase inhibition in mice with BCR-ABL-induced chronic myeloid leukemia. 1881 3

During blast crisis of chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML), abnormal granulocyte macrophage progenitors (GMP) with nuclear beta-catenin acquire self-renewal potential and may function as leukemic stem cells (Jamieson et al. N Engl J Med, 2004). To develop a mouse model for CML-initiating GMP, we expressed p210(BCR-ABL) in an established line of E2A-knockout mouse BM cells that retain pluripotency in ex vivo culture. Expression of BCR-ABL in these cells reproducibly stimulated myeloid expansion in culture and generated leukemia-initiating cells specifically in the GMP compartment. The leukemogenic GMP displayed higher levels of beta-catenin activity than either the nontransformed GMP or the transformed nonGMP, both in culture and in transplanted mouse BM. Although E2A-deficiency may have contributed to the formation of leukemogenic GMP, restoration of E2A-function did not reverse BCR-ABL-induced transformation. These results provide further evidence that BCR-ABL-transformed GMP with abnormal beta-catenin activity can function as leukemic stem cells.
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PMID:BCR-ABL-transformed GMP as myeloid leukemic stem cells. 1900 99

Recent evidence suggests that a rare population of self-renewing cancer stem cells (CSC) is responsible for cancer progression and therapeutic resistance. Chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) represents an important paradigm for understanding the genetic and epigenetic events involved in CSC production. CML progresses from a chronic phase (CP) in hematopoietic stem cells (HSC) that harbor the BCR-ABL translocation, to blast crisis (BC), characterized by aberrant activation of beta-catenin within granulocyte-macrophage progenitors (GMP). A major barrier to predicting and inhibiting blast crisis transformation has been the identification of mechanisms driving beta-catenin activation. Here we show that BC CML myeloid progenitors, in particular GMP, serially transplant leukemia in immunocompromised mice and thus are enriched for leukemia stem cells (LSC). Notably, cDNA sequencing of Wnt/beta-catenin pathway regulatory genes, including adenomatous polyposis coli, GSK3beta, axin 1, beta-catenin, lymphoid enhancer factor-1, cyclin D1, and c-myc, revealed a novel in-frame splice deletion of the GSK3beta kinase domain in the GMP of BC samples that was not detectable by sequencing in blasts or normal progenitors. Moreover, BC CML progenitors with misspliced GSK3beta have enhanced beta-catenin expression as well as serial engraftment potential while reintroduction of full-length GSK3beta reduces both in vitro replating and leukemic engraftment. We propose that CP CML is initiated by BCR-ABL expression in an HSC clone but that progression to BC may include missplicing of GSK3beta in GMP LSC, enabling unphosphorylated beta-catenin to participate in LSC self-renewal. Missplicing of GSK3beta represents a unique mechanism for the emergence of BC CML LSC and might provide a novel diagnostic and therapeutic target.
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PMID:Glycogen synthase kinase 3beta missplicing contributes to leukemia stem cell generation. 1923 56

Bcr-Abl causes chronic myelogenous leukemia, a myeloproliferative disorder characterized by clonal expansion of hematopoietic progenitor cells. In this study, inducible expression of Bcr-Abl in TonB.210 cells is associated with increased production of intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS), which is thought to play a role in survival signaling when generated at specific levels. Elevated ROS in Bcr-Abl-expressing cells were found to activate PI3k/Akt pathway members such as Akt and GSK3beta as well as downstream targets beta-catenin and Mcl-1. The activation of these proteins was inhibited by the flavoprotein inhibitor diphenyleneiodonium, which is commonly used to inhibit NADPH oxidase (Nox). This indicated that increased ROS might be related to increased activity of one member of the Nox family. Knock-down experiments using siRNA suggest that Nox-4 is the main source of increased ROS following Bcr-Abl expression. We showed that Bcr-Abl-induced ROS could also increase survival pathway signaling through redox inhibition of PP1alpha, a serine threonine phosphatase that negatively regulates the PI3k/Akt pathway. Overall our results demonstrate that Bcr-Abl expression increases Nox-4-generated ROS, which in turn increases survival signaling through PI3k/Akt pathway by inhibition of PP1alpha, thus contributing to the high level of resistance to apoptosis seen in these Bcr-Abl-expressing cells.
Leukemia 2009 Aug
PMID:Bcr-Abl-mediated redox regulation of the PI3K/AKT pathway. 1929 48

The success of imatinib mesylate (STI571, Gleevec) in treating chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) is, to date, the crowning achievement of targeted molecular therapy in cancer. Nearly 90% of newly diagnosed patients treated with imatinib in the chronic phase of the disease achieve a complete cytogenetic response. However, more than 95% of these patients retain detectable levels of BCR-ABL mRNA and patients discontinuing imatinib therapy almost invariably relapse, demonstrating that an imatinib insensitive population of leukemia-initiating cells (LICs) persists in nearly all patients. These findings underscore the need for treatments specifically targeting the leukemia-initiating population of CML cells. While mounting evidence suggests that the LIC in the chronic phase of CML is the BCR-ABL positive hematopoietic stem cell, several recent publications suggest that during CML blast crisis, a granulocyte-macrophage progenitor (GMP) population also acquires LIC properties through activation of the beta-catenin pathway. Characterization of these cells and evaluation of their sensitivity to imatinib is critical to our understanding and treatment of CML blast crisis.
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PMID:The CML stem cell: evolution of the progenitor. 1934 94

We cloned and characterized human WNT2B in 1996, and then others cloned and characterized mouse, chicken, and zebrafish WNT2B orthologs. WNT2B is expressed in several types of human cancer, such as basal cell carcinoma, gastric cancer, breast cancer, head/neck squamous cell carcinoma, cervical cancer and leukemia. WNT2B is one of canonical WNTs transducing signals through Frizzled (FZD) and LRP5/LRP6 receptors to beta-catenin-TCF/LEF signaling cascade. Here, refined integrative genomic analyses on WNT2B orthologs were carried out to elucidate its transcriptional mechanisms. GLI-, double FOX-, HES/HEY-, bHLH-, and Sp1-binding sites within mammalian WNT2B promoter were well conserved. Because GLI1, FOXA2, FOXC2, FOXE1, FOXF1 and FOXL1 are direct target genes of Hedgehog-GLI2 signaling cascade, Hedgehog signals should induce WNT2B upregulation through GLI family members as well as FOX family members. Notch, BMP and Hedgehog signals inhibit WNT2B expression via HES/HEY-binding to N-box, whereas BMP and WNT signals inhibit bHLH transcription factor-induced WNT2B expression via ID1, ID2, ID3, MSX1 or MSX2. Together these facts indicate that Hedgehog signals and bHLH transcription factors are involved in WNT2B upregulation, which is counteracted by BMP, WNT and Notch signals. Mesenchymal BMP induces IHH expression in gastrointestinal epithelial cells, and then epithelial Hedgehog induces WNT2B and BMP4 expression in mesenchymal cells. NF-kappaB signals induce SHH upregulation, and WNT2B is upregulated in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). BMP-IHH and inflammation-SHH signaling loops are involved in WNT2B up-regulation during embryogenesis, adult tissue homeostasis, and carcinogenesis.
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PMID:Transcriptional regulation of WNT2B based on the balance of Hedgehog, Notch, BMP and WNT signals. 1936 Mar 54

Activation of the Wnt signaling pathway has been implicated recently in the pathogenesis of leukemia. We studied the function of epigenetic regulation of the Wnt pathway and its prognostic relevance in acute myelogenous leukemia (AML). We used a methylation-specific polymerase chain reaction approach to analyze the promoter methylation status of a panel of Wnt antagonists including sFRP1, sFRP2, sFRP4, sFRP5, DKK1 and DKK3. Aberrant methylation of Wnt antagonists was detected in four AML cell lines and in up to 64% of AML marrow samples. Treatment of the cell lines with 5-aza-2'-deoxycytidine induced reexpression of methylated Wnt antagonists and inactivation of the Wnt pathway by downregulating the Wnt pathway genes cyclin D1, TCF1 and LEF1 and reducing nuclear localization of beta-catenin. In a subgroup of patients 60 years and younger with newly diagnosed AML and intermediate-risk cytogenetics, abnormal methylation of Wnt antagonists was associated with decreased 4-year relapse-free survival (28 vs 61%, respectively, P=0.03). Our results indicate a function of the epigenetic regulation of the Wnt pathway in predicting relapse in a subgroup of AML patients.
Leukemia 2009 Sep
PMID:Wnt signaling pathway is epigenetically regulated by methylation of Wnt antagonists in acute myeloid leukemia. 1938 64

Tissue microenvironment and stroma-derived extracellular matrix (ECM) molecules play important roles in the survival and differentiation of cells. Mouse natural killer (NK) cells usually die within 24 hours once isolated ex vivo. Exogenous cytokines such as interleukin-12 (IL-12) and IL-15 are required to maintain the survival and activity of mouse NK cells cultured in vitro. Whether and how ECM molecules such as fibronectin can support the survival of NK cells remain unknown. We demonstrate that fibronectin, just like IL-15, can maintain survival of mouse NK cells in vitro. Furthermore, we show that fibronectin binds to the CD11b on NK cells, and then CD11b recruits and activates Src. Src can directly interact with beta-catenin and trigger nuclear translocation of beta-catenin. The activation of beta-catenin promotes extracellular signal-related kinase (ERK) phosphorylation, resulting in the increased expression of antiapoptotic protein B-cell leukemia 2 (Bcl-2), which may contribute to the maintenance of NK-cell survival. Consistently, fibronectin cannot maintain the survival of CD11b(-) NK cells and beta-catenin-deficient NK cells in vitro, and the number of NK cells is dramatically decreased in the beta-catenin-deficient mice. Therefore, fibronectin can maintain survival of mouse NK cells by activating ERK and up-regulating Bcl-2 expression via CD11b/Src/beta-catenin pathway.
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PMID:Fibronectin maintains survival of mouse natural killer (NK) cells via CD11b/Src/beta-catenin pathway. 1973 28

Epigenetic modifications of chromatin play an important role in the regulation of gene expression. KMT4/Dot1 is a conserved histone methyltransferase capable of methylating chromatin on Lys79 of histone H3 (H3K79). Here we report the identification of a multisubunit Dot1 complex (DotCom), which includes several of the mixed lineage leukemia (MLL) partners in leukemia such as ENL, AF9/MLLT3, AF17/MLLT6, and AF10/MLLT10, as well as the known Wnt pathway modifiers TRRAP, Skp1, and beta-catenin. We demonstrated that the human DotCom is indeed capable of trimethylating H3K79 and, given the association of beta-catenin, Skp1, and TRRAP, we investigated, and found, a role for Dot1 in Wnt/Wingless signaling in an in vivo model system. Knockdown of Dot1 in Drosophila results in decreased expression of a subset of Wingless target genes. Furthermore, the loss of expression for the Drosophila homologs of the Dot1-associated proteins involved in the regulation of H3K79 shows a similar reduction in expression of these Wingless targets. From yeast to human, specific trimethylation of H3K79 by Dot1 requires the monoubiquitination of histone H2B by the Rad6/Bre1 complex. Here, we demonstrate that depletion of Bre1, the E3 ligase required for H2B monoubiquitination, leads specifically to reduced bulk H3K79 trimethylation levels and a reduction in expression of many Wingless targets. Overall, our study describes for the first time the components of DotCom and links the specific regulation of H3K79 trimethylation by Dot1 and its associated factors to the Wnt/Wingless signaling pathway.
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PMID:Linking H3K79 trimethylation to Wnt signaling through a novel Dot1-containing complex (DotCom). 2020 30

Leukemia stem cells (LSCs) are capable of limitless self-renewal and are responsible for the maintenance of leukemia. Because selective eradication of LSCs could offer substantial therapeutic benefit, there is interest in identifying the signaling pathways that control their development. We studied LSCs in mouse models of acute myelogenous leukemia (AML) induced either by coexpression of the Hoxa9 and Meis1a oncogenes or by the fusion oncoprotein MLL-AF9. We show that the Wnt/beta-catenin signaling pathway is required for self-renewal of LSCs that are derived from either hematopoietic stem cells (HSC) or more differentiated granulocyte-macrophage progenitors (GMP). Because the Wnt/beta-catenin pathway is normally active in HSCs but not in GMP, these results suggest that reactivation of beta-catenin signaling is required for the transformation of progenitor cells by certain oncogenes. beta-catenin is not absolutely required for self-renewal of adult HSCs; thus, targeting the Wnt/beta-catenin pathway may represent a new therapeutic opportunity in AML.
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PMID:The Wnt/beta-catenin pathway is required for the development of leukemia stem cells in AML. 2033 75


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