Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
Pivot Concepts:   Target Concepts:
Query: UMLS:C0023473 (chronic myeloid leukemia)
 18,916 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

The mitogen-activated protein (MAP) kinase family is activated in response to a wide variety of external stress signals such as UV irradiation, heat shock, and many chemotherapeutic drugs and leads to the induction of apoptosis. A novel series of pyrrolo-1,5-benzoxazepines have been shown to potently induce apoptosis in chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML) cells, which are resistant to many chemotherapeutic agents. In this study we have delineated part of the mechanism by which a representative compound known as PBOX-6 induces apoptosis. We have investigated whether PBOX-6 induces activation of MAP kinase signaling pathways in CML cells. Treatment of K562 cells with PBOX-6 resulted in the transient activation of two JNK isoforms, JNK1 and JNK2. In contrast, PBOX-6 did not activate the extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) or p38. Apoptosis was found to occur independently of the small GTPases Ras, Rac, and Cdc42 but involved phosphorylation of the JNK substrates, c-Jun and ATF-2. Pretreatment of K562 cells with the JNK inhibitor, dicoumarol, abolished PBOX-6-induced phosphorylation of c-Jun and ATF-2 and inhibited the induced apoptosis, suggesting that JNK activation is an essential component of the apoptotic pathway induced by PBOX-6. Consistent with this finding, transfection of K562 cells with the JNK scaffold protein, JIP-1, inhibited JNK activity and apoptosis induced by PBOX-6. JIP-1 specifically scaffolds JNK, MKK7, and members of the mixed-lineage kinase (MLK) family, implicating these kinases upstream of JNK in the apoptotic pathway induced by PBOX-6 in K562 cells.
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PMID:Activation of the c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK) signaling pathway is essential during PBOX-6-induced apoptosis in chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML) cells. 1185 43

Tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKI) against Bcr-Abl are the first-line therapeutics for chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML). However, the resistance to Bcr-Abl TKIs is induced in leukemic cells not only by loss of sensitivity to TKIs through Bcr-Abl-related molecular mechanisms but also by loss of addiction to Bcr-Abl TK activity by acquiring Bcr-Abl-unrelated additional oncogenic mutations. Therefore, the identification of an additional therapeutic target has been anticipated for achievement of a complete cure and to overcome resistance to treatment. We here showed that modified human Galectin-9 (hGal9), a lectin that show specific affinity for beta-galactosides, inhibits the proliferation of five CML-derived cell lines by inducing apoptosis at their IC(50)s from 17.5 to 164.9 nmol/L. Our study revealed that activating transcription factor 3 (ATF3), a member of the ATF/cAMP-responsive element binding protein family transcription factors, is the critical mediator for cell killing by hGal9, and that Noxa is one of the downstream effector molecules of ATF3. Bim, on the other hand, the BH3-only protein essential for apoptosis by Bcr-Abl TKIs, was not associated with hGal9-induced cell death. ATF3-mediated cell death by hGal9 was not hampered by the absence of p53, the presence of mutant Abl(T315I), or by P-glycoprotein overexpression. In addition, hGal9 showed the additive growth-inhibitory effect with imatinib on CML cell lines. Collectively, hGal9 is a candidate agent that may overcome various kinds of resistance to treatment for CML and may suggest that ATF3 may be a new target molecule for the development of new treatment modalities that can overcome resistance to currently available chemotherapeutics.
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PMID:Targeting activating transcription factor 3 by Galectin-9 induces apoptosis and overcomes various types of treatment resistance in chronic myelogenous leukemia. 2057 Oct 63