OPEN
LETTER TO THE EDITOR
In silico and p eclinical d ug sc eening iden ifies dasa inib as a
a ge ed he apy o T-ALL
Blood Cance Jou nal (2017) 7, e604; doi:10.1038/bcj.2017.87;
published online 8 Sep embe 2017
Sys ema ic de elopmen o combina ion chemo he apies has
significan ly imp o ed he p ognosis o acu e lymphoblas ic
leukemia (ALL). Pa ien s wi h T-cell ALL (T-ALL) s ill ha e less
a o able ou comes, and he p ognosis o elapsed T-ALL is
dismal.
1
In o de o find no el a ge ed he apies o T-ALL, we
e ie ed he gene exp ession p ofiles o 4430 leukemia samples
om he Gene Exp ession Omnibus (GEO) and pe o med an in
silico d ug a ge sc eening, whe e he exp ession p ofiles we e
compa ed wi h known d ug a ge s in he D ug signa u e
da abase (DsigDB).
2,3
This compound lib a y con ains bo h FDA
(Food and D ug Adminis a ion) –app o ed and no el in es iga-
ional d ugs. S ong exp ession o S c amily y osine kinase LCK
was de ec ed in T-ALL samples, exceeding ha o o he leukemias
and no mal T cells (Figu e 1a), whe eas a LCK- a ge ing d ug,
dasa inib, dec eased he kinase ac i i y o LCK o 1% in
compa ison wi h he con ol a a 100 nMconcen a ion.
4
Dasa inib
is known o ha e mul iple in acellula a ge s, and we no iced
ha some o hem had a simila ly ele a ed exp ession in T-ALL
pa ien s (Figu e 1b and Supplemen a y Figu e S1). The e o e, ou
combina o ial d ug/ a ge sc eening sugges s dasa inib as a
candida e a ge ed he apy o T-ALL pa ien s.
To expe imen ally e alua e he po ency o dasa inib, we ea ed
T-ALL cell lines wi h inc easing concen a ions o dasa inib (1–
1000 nM). A e 72 h, he mos significan esponse was seen in
Figu e 1. The in silico and in i o esul s indica e dasa inib as a po en ial d ug o T-ALL wi h LCK as i s p ime a ge . (a)LCK exp ession in
di e en hema ological sample g oups: acu e leukemia (n=4430), p e-B-ALL (n=1304), T-ALL (n=385) and T lymphoids (n=247). (b) The
fil e ed lis o a ge s o dasa inib om in silico sc eening. The lis con ains a ge s wi h a lowe exp ession in no mal cells (myeloid, B lymphoid
and T lymphoid) in compa ison wi h hei leukemic coun e pa s; a significan exp ession di e ence be ween T-ALL and T-lymphoid samples
(adjus ed Po0.001 and a 41.25- old change) and dasa inib is capable o inhibi ing hem wi h high e ficiency. Pe cen age o con ol (POC) o
Kd alues we e used o es ima e he e ficacy o dasa inib agains i s a ge s. The POC alue indica es he pe cen age o emaining ac i i y a e
inhibi o ea men in compa ison wi h he un ea ed con ol sample. In addi ion o 0.5 μM, POC alues a 100 nMconcen a ions we e also
a ailable o LCK and ABL1, and hey we e 1 and 0, espec i ely. (c) E ec o dasa inib o cell iabili y in se e al T-ALL cell lines measu ed by
alama Blue assay a e 72 h o incuba ion in 10- old dasa inib dilu ion se ies (1–1000 nM). Values a e ela i e cell iabili es in compa ison wi h
dime hyl sul oxide (DMSO) con ol and esul s a e median alues om h ee independen expe imen s pe o med in iplica e, excep o
CCRF-CEM and HPB-ALL ha a e om wo independen expe imen s. (d) The exp ession o 21 po en ial dasa inib a ge s in Ju ka cells. Ba s
indica e median alues. (e) The e ec o LCK knockdown o Ju ka cell p oli e a ion measu ed in ime se ies (0h, 24h, 48 and 72 h) wi h
alama Blue assay. P oli e a ion end lines a e d awn h ough median alues. A ime poin 72 h, he p oli e a ion had dec eased by 14% in
compa ison wi h he mock- ea ed con ol (P=0.0289, Mann–Whi ney U- es ). The da a consis o se en indi idual expe imen s pe o med in
iplica e, and each ime poin is no malized o he 0 h ime poin . RT-qPCR and wes e n blo esul s show he e ficiency o LCK knockdown.
( ) The e ec o dasa inib on cell iabili y in he LCK-deficien Ju ka cell line in compa ison wi h he no mal Ju ka cell line measu ed by
alama Blue assay a e 72 h o incuba ion in a 10- old dasa inib dilu ion se ies (1–1000 nM). The di e ence be ween he wo cell lines was
s a is ically significan al eady a a 10 nMconcen a ion (P=0.014, Mann–Whi ney U- es ). The alues a e ela i e cell iabili ies in compa ison
wi h he DMSO con ol, and he esul s a e he median alues om h ee independen expe imen s pe o med in iplica e. The e o ba s
indica e 95% confidence in e als.
Blood Cance Jou nal
Ci a ion: Blood Cance Jou nal (2017) 7, e604; doi:10.1038/bcj.2017.87
www.na u e.com/bcj
Ju ka cells, wi h a 31% iabili y dec ease a a 10 nMconcen a ion
(n=3, P= 0.0039; Figu e 1c and Supplemen a y Figu e S2). As
dasa inib inhibi s se e al kinases ha a e key egula o s o cellula
p oli e a ion and iabili y, we chose a panel o likely candida es (9
a ge s based on he in silico sc eening and 12 o he well-known
a ge s om he li e a u e), and analyzed hei exp ession in T-ALL
cell lines by quan i a i e e e se ansc ip ase-PCR (RT-qPCR) and
wes e n blo ing. LCK was he mos p ominen ly exp essed gene
in T-ALL cell lines, whe eas FYN,ABL1,MAP2K5,MAP4K5 and LYN
we e exp essed a lowe le els (Figu e 1d and Supplemen a y
Figu e S3). Knockdown o LCK in a dasa inib-sensi i e cell line
(Ju ka ) significan ly dec eased cell p oli e a ion (14% dec ease,
P= 0.0289, n= 7, Figu e 1e), whe eas knockdown o FYN,ABL1,
MAP2K5 and MAP4K5 had no significan e ec (Supplemen a y
Figu es S4a–d). Impo an ly, Ju ka cells wi h educed LCK ac i i y
due o a dele ion o exon 7 (cell line J.CaM1.6) los dasa inib
sensi i i y (Figu e 1 ). Mo eo e , LCK knockdown did no cause
s a is ically significan dec ease o p oli e a ion in ela i ely
dasa inib-insensi i e P12-Ichikawa cell line (Supplemen a y
Figu e S4e). These esul s sugges ha LCK is he p ime a ge
o dasa inib in T-ALL.
We nex pe o med ex i o d ug es ing o 22 p ima y T-ALL
samples. In 6 cases (27%), he esponse o dasa inib was
significan based on d ug sensi i i y sco es (DSS, using a cu o
alue o 10, Figu e 2a).
5
Hal -maximal g ow h inhibi ion concen-
a ions (IC
50
) anged be ween 1.3 and 16 nM, whe eas he con ol
samples had an IC
50
o 41000 nM(Supplemen a y Figu e S5). We
also no ed a nega i e co ela ion be ween dasa inib and
glucoco icoid DSS sco es (Supplemen a y Figu e S6). P e iously,
dasa inib sensi i i y has been epo ed in T-ALL cases wi h
NUP214-ABL1 usion.
6–8
In con as , none o he dasa inib
esponde s in ou sample se ca ied he usion gene based on
ei he genomic PCR o RNA-sequencing analysis (Supplemen a y
Figu e S7). LCK was s ongly exp essed in ou ou o he fi e
dasa inib- esponsi e pa ien samples, whe eas he exp ession o
o he po en ial a ge s a ied om a low (LYN,ABL1) o medium
le el (FYN,MAP2K5 and MAP4K5, Supplemen a y Figu e S8a). As
LCK was also ela i ely s ongly exp essed in dasa inib-insensi i e
pa ien samples, no co ela ion be ween dasa inib esponse and
LCK exp ession was obse ed (Supplemen a y Figu e S8b).
As T-ALL subg oups can be sepa a ed by exp ession o specific
ansc ip ion ac o s, we explo ed whe he dasa inib sensi i i y
was associa ed wi h any specific subg oups.
9
In addi ion o Ju ka
cells ha belong o he TAL1 subg oup, fi e ou o six dasa inib-
sensi i e pa ien samples showed ei he p ominen TAL1 exp es-
sion (Figu e 2b) o ca ied SIL-TAL1 usion (da a no shown). The e
was also inc eased exp ession o LMO2 and HOXA9/10 genes in
some samples (Supplemen a y Figu e S9). 6q dele ions ha e also
Figu e 2. Dasa inib-sensi i e subg oup o T-ALL samples. (a) D ug sensi i i y sco es (DSS) o dasa inib in a coho o 22 pa ien samples. These
DSS alues a e calcula ed om g ow h inhibi ion measu emen s a e 72 h o ea men in a 10- old dasa inib dilu ion se ies (0.1–1000 nM),
and a DSS alue o 10 was used as he h eshold o dasa inib sensi i i y. (b) The exp ession o he T-ALL sub ype defining ansc ip ion ac o
TAL1 in T-ALL pa ien samples and cell lines measu ed by RT-qPCR. The h eshold o ec opic TAL1 exp ession (dashed line) is defined by he
exp ession o TAL1 in SIL-TAL1 usion-posi i e cell lines, indica ed wi h black columns, and he s iped columns ep esen he dasa inib-
sensi i e samples.
17
Pa ien sample 4 was p ocessed in a sepa a e RT-qPCR ba ch. (c) The hea map o LCK,FYN,MAP2K5,MAP4K5,ABL1 and LYN
exp ession in a sepa a e GEO-based T-ALL sample da a se (n=385). Samples a e clus e ed based on he exp ession o T-ALL sub ype-defining
ansc ip ion ac o s: TAL1 (n=61+103), NKX2-1 (n=18), TLX1 (n=33), TLX3 (n=51), HOXA (n=56) and LYL (n=63). (d)LCK exp ession in T-ALL
sub ype clus e s. The di e ence be ween TAL1 clus e s and any o he clus e was s a is ically significan (Po0.001, Mann–Whi ney U- es ).
Le e o he Edi o
2
been associa ed wi h he TAL1 subg oup, and h ee ou o six
samples ca ied he 6q dele ion in cy ogene ic analyses
(Supplemen a y Table S1).
9
When LCK exp ession was co ela ed
wi h he subg oup in o ma ion in ou GEO-based gene exp ession
da a se , a s a is ically significan co ela ion was ound be ween
LCK exp ession and he TAL1 subg oup (Figu es 2c and d and
Supplemen a y Figu e S10). Howe e , no di ec ansc ip ional
egula ion o LCK by TAL1 was seen when he exp ession o TAL1
was knocked down (Supplemen a y Figu e S11, da a ep oduced
om Sanda e al.
10
).
Taken oge he , he combina ion o in silico,in i o and ex i o
da a indica e ha dasa inib exe s clinical u ili y beyond he
o iginally sugges ed NUP214-ABL1 cases ha only ep esen 4–
10% o T-ALL pa ien s.
6,11
Ou esul s a e in line wi h he da a by
F isman as e al.
12
who iden ified a sligh ly highe pe cen age o
dasa inib-sensi i e pa ien s (30–40%) in hei T-ALL coho s. In
addi ion o confi ming hei main findings, we expand on hem in
wo di e en ways. Fi s , we iden ified LCK y osine kinase as he
po en ial p ime a ge o dasa inib, whe eas F isman as e al.
12
did
no ecognize any ecu en gene usions, mu a ions o ansc ip-
ome p ofiles associa ed wi h dasa inib sensi i i y; a he , hey
associa ed SRC exp ession and phospho yla ion s a us wi h
dasa inib sensi i i y. They suppo ed hei hypo hesis by epo ing
a posi i e co ela ion be ween dasa inib and SRC inhibi o KX2-
391 esponses in T-ALL pa ien samples.
12
Howe e , DsigDB
iden ifies bo h SRC and LCK as a ge s o KX2-391. In ou GEO-
based gene exp ession da a se and T-ALL cell lines, he
exp ession o SRC was e y low when compa ed wi h LCK, and
he e was no di e ence in he exp ession le els o T-ALL and
no mal T-cell samples (Supplemen a y Figu e S1). A low le el o
SRC exp ession was also obse ed in he da a se o F isman as
e al.
12
Impo an ly, he LCK-mu an de i a i e o he Ju ka cell
line ailed o espond o dasa inib, hus s ongly sugges ing he
cen al ole played by LCK i sel . We ailed o de ec an associa ion
be ween he phospho yla ion s a us o LCK kinase and dasa inib
sensi i i y in T-ALL cell lines (da a no shown).
Second, we show he e ha pa ien s belonging o he TAL1
subg oup a e he mos likely o espond o dasa inib, al hough no
exclusi ely. A high exp ession o LCK associa es wi h he TAL1
subg oup, bu TAL1 does no di ec ly egula e LCK exp ession. As
up o 60% o T-ALL pa ien s belong o he TAL1 subg oup and
only 30–40% espond o dasa inib, he e is clea ly a need o mo e
accu a e bioma ke s o be iden ified.
Dasa inib is known o supp ess p oli e a ion o heal hy T cells
by LCK inhibi ion.
13–15
We no iced a significan ly highe
exp ession o LCK in T-ALL samples compa ed wi h heal hy
T cells (a 1.46- old change, Po0.001), and a highe sensi i i y o
T-ALL cells owa d dasa inib compa ed wi h heal hy bone
ma ow cells. Al hough we iden ified LCK as he main a ge
o dasa inib, ou esul s do no exclude he con ibu ion by
o he kinases, including o he S c amily kinases. Many o he
a ge candida es unc ion in ecep o signaling pa hways
ela ed o cell p oli e a ion and su i al. LCK and FYN a e
componen s o he T-cell ecep o (TCR) signaling cascade.
16
Du ing T-cell de elopmen , LCK is equi ed o he no mal
de elopmen o hymocy es, whe eas in ma u e T cells, FYN is
capable o ac i a ing se e al TCR signaling pa hways in he
absence o LCK, including he Ras/ex acellula signal- egula ed
kinase and phospha idylinosi ol 3-kinase pa hways.
16
In knock-
down expe imen s, we obse ed ecip ocal eedback mechan-
isms be ween LCK and FYN (da a no shown), in ag eemen wi h
hei known pa ially o e lapping unc ions.
Dasa inib is a y osine kinase inhibi o ha is cu en ly app o ed
o ima inib- esis an Philadelphia ch omosome-posi i e (Ph+)
ch onic myeloid leukemia and he second-line ea men o Ph+
ALL. We epo he e he po en ial u ili y o dasa inib in he
ea men o a subse o T-ALL. As ou pa ien coho is ela i ely
small, u he s udies a e needed o explo e he bioma ke
findings and o deepen he mechanis ic basis be o e emba king
on animal and human s udies.
CONFLICT OF INTEREST
The au ho s decla e no conflic o in e es .
S Laukkanen
1
, T G ön oos
1
, P Pölönen
2
, H Kuusanmäki
3
,
J Meh onen
2
, J Cloos
4
, G Ossenkoppele
5
, B Gje sen
6,7
, B Øys ein
6,7
,
C Heckman
3
, M Heinäniemi
2
, M Kon o
8
and O Lohi
1
1
Tampe e Cen e o Child Heal h Resea ch, Uni e si y o Tampe e,
and Tampe e Uni e si y Hospi al, Tampe e, Finland;
2
Ins i u e o Biomedicine, School o Medicine, Uni e si y o Eas e n
Finland, Kuopio, Finland;
3
Ins i u e o Molecula Medicine Finland FIMM, Uni e si y o Helsinki,
Helsinki, Finland;
4
Depa men o Pedia ic Oncology/Hema ology, VU Uni e si y
Medical Cen e , Ams e dam, The Ne he lands;
5
Depa men o Hema ology, VU Uni e si y Medical Cen e ,
Ams e dam, The Ne he lands;
6
Depa men o Clinical Science, Hema ology Sec ion, Uni e si y o
Be gen, Be gen, No way;
7
Depa men o In e nal Medicine, Hema ology Sec ion, Haukeland
Uni e si y Hospi al, Be gen, No way and
8
Depa men o Hema ology, Hema ology Resea ch Uni Helsinki,
Uni e si y o Helsinki, and Helsinki Uni e si y Cen al Hospi al Cance
Cen e , Helsinki, Finland
E-mail: [email p o ec ed].fi
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