Protein-tyrosine phosphatase DEP-1 controls receptor tyrosine kinase FLT3 signaling

Fms-like tyrosine kinase 3 (FLT3) plays an important role in hematopoietic differentiation, and constitutively active FLT3 mutant proteins contribute to the development of acute myeloid leukemia. Little is known about the protein-tyrosine phosphatases (PTP) affecting the signaling activity of FLT3. To identify such PTP, myeloid cells expressing wild type FLT3 were infected with a panel of lentiviral pseudotypes carrying shRNA expression cassettes targeting different PTP. Out of 20 PTP tested, expressed in hematopoietic cells, or presumed to be involved in oncogenesis or tumor suppression, DEP-1 (PTPRJ) was identified as a PTP negatively regulating FLT3 phosphorylation and signaling. Stable 32D myeloid cell lines with strongly reduced DEP-1 levels showed site-selective hyperphosphorylation of FLT3. In particular, the sites pTyr-589, pTyr-591, and pTyr-842 involved in the FLT3 ligand (FL)-mediated activation of FLT3 were hyperphosphorylated the most. Similarly, acute depletion of DEP-1 in the human AML cell line THP-1 caused elevated FLT3 phosphorylation. Direct interaction of DEP-1 and FLT3 was demonstrated by "substrate trapping" experiments showing association of DEP-1 D1205A or C1239S mutant proteins with FLT3 by co-immunoprecipitation. Moreover, activated FLT3 could be dephosphorylated by recombinant DEP-1 in vitro. Enhanced FLT3 phosphorylation in DEP-1-depleted cells was accompanied by enhanced FLT3-dependent activation of ERK and cell proliferation. Stable overexpression of DEP-1 in 32D cells and transient overexpression with FLT3 in HEK293 cells resulted in reduction of FL-mediated FLT3 signaling activity. Furthermore, FL-stimulated colony formation of 32D cells expressing FLT3 in methylcellulose was induced in response to shRNA-mediated DEP-1 knockdown. This transforming effect of DEP-1 knockdown was consistent with a moderately increased activation of STAT5 upon FL stimulation but did not translate into myeloproliferative disease formation in the 32D-C3H/HeJ mouse model. The data indicate that DEP-1 is negatively regulating FLT3 signaling activity and that its loss may contribute to but is not sufficient for leukemogenic cell transformation.     

Wild‐type FLT3 and FLT3 ITD exhibit similar ligand‐induced internalization characteristics

Class III receptor tyrosine kinases control the development of hematopoietic stem cells. Constitutive activation of FLT3 by internal tandem duplications (ITD) in the juxtamembrane domain has been causally linked to acute myeloid leukaemia. Oncogenic FLT3 ITD is partially retained in compartments of the biosynthetic route and aberrantly activates STAT5, thereby promoting cellular transformation. The pool of FLT3 ITD molecules in the plasma membrane efficiently activates RAS and AKT, which is likewise essential for cell transformation. Little is known about features and mechanisms of FLT3 ligand (FL)‐dependent internalization of surface‐bound FLT3 or FLT3 ITD. We have addressed this issue by internalization experiments using human RS4‐11 and MV4‐11 cells with endogenous wild‐type FLT3 or FLT3 ITD expression, respectively, and surface biotinylation. Further, FLT3 wild‐type, or FLT3 ITD‐GFP hybrid proteins were stably expressed and characterized in 32D cells, and internalization and stability were assessed by flow cytometry, imaging flow cytometry, and immunoblotting. FL‐stimulated surface‐exposed FLT3 WT or FLT3 ITD protein showed similar endocytosis and degradation characteristics. Kinase inactivation by mutation or FLT3 inhibitor treatment strongly promoted FLT3 ITD surface localization, and attenuated but did not abrogate FL‐induced internalization. Experiments with the dynamin inhibitor dynasore suggest that active FLT3 as well as FLT3 ITD is largely endocytosed via clathrin‐dependent endocytosis. Internalization of kinase‐inactivated molecules occurred through a different yet unidentified mechanism. Our data demonstrate that FLT3 WT and constitutively active FLT3 ITD receptor follow, despite very different biogenesis kinetics, similar internalization and degradation routes.     

The juxtamembrane domain in ETV6/FLT3 is critical for PIM-1 up-regulation and cell proliferation

We recently reported that the ETV6/FLT3 fusion protein conferred interleukin-3-independent growth on Ba/F3 cells. The present study has been conducted to assess role of the juxtamembrane domain of FLT3 for signal transduction and cell transformation. The wild-type ETV6/FLT3 fusion protein in transfected cells was a constitutively activated tyrosine kinase that led to up-regulation of PIM-1 and activations of STAT5, AKT, and MAPK. Deletion of the juxtamembrane domain abrogated interleukin-3-independent growth of the transfected cells and PIM-1 up-regulation, whereas it retained compatible levels of phosphorylations of STAT5, AKT, and MAPK. Further deletion of N-terminal region of the tyrosine kinase I domain of FLT3 completely abolished these phosphorylations. Our data indicate that the juxtamembrane domain of FLT3 in ETV6/FLT3 fusion protein is critical for cell proliferation and PIM-1 up-regulation that might be independent of a requirement for signaling through STAT5, MAPK, and AKT pathways.     

MicroRNA-16 Is Down-Regulated in Mutated FLT3 Expressing Murine Myeloid FDC-P1 Cells and Interacts with Pim-1

Activating mutations in the receptor tyrosine kinase FLT3 are one of the most frequent somatic mutations in acute myeloid leukemia (AML). Internal tandem duplications of the juxtamembrane region of FLT3 (FLT3/ITD) constitutively activate survival and proliferation pathways, and are associated with a poor prognosis in AML. We suspected that alteration of small non-coding microRNA (miRNA) expression in these leukemia cells is involved in the transformation process and used miRNA microarrays to determine the miRNA signature from total RNA harvested from FLT3/ITD expressing FDC-P1 cells (FD-FLT3/ITD). This revealed that a limited set of miRNAs appeared to be affected by expression of FLT3/ITD compared to the control group consisting of FDC-P1 parental cells transfected with an empty vector (FD-EV). Among differentially expressed miRNAs, we selected miR-16, miR-21 and miR-223 to validate the microarray data by quantitative real-time RT-PCR showing a high degree of correlation. We further analyzed miR-16 expression with FLT3 inhibitors in FLT3/ITD expressing cells. MiR-16 was found to be one of most significantly down-regulated miRNAs in FLT3/ITD expressing cells and was up-regulated upon FLT3 inhibition. The data suggests that miR-16 is acting as a tumour suppressor gene in FLT3/ITD-mediated leukemic transformation. Whilst miR-16 has been reported to target multiple mRNAs, computer models from public bioinformatic resources predicted a potential regulatory mechanism between miR-16 and Pim-1 mRNA. In support of this interaction, miR-16 was shown to suppress Pim-1 reporter gene expression. Further, our data demonstrated that over-expression of miR-16 mimics suppressed Pim-1 expression in FD-FLT3/ITD cells suggesting that increased miR-16 expression contributes to depletion of Pim-1 after FLT3 inhibition and that miR-16 repression may be associated with up-regulated Pim-1 in FLT3/ITD expressing cells.     

Tyrosine phosphorylation regulates maturation of receptor tyrosine kinases

Constitutive activation of receptor tyrosine kinases (RTKs) is a frequent event in human cancer cells. Activating mutations in Fms-like tyrosine kinase 3 (FLT-3), notably, internal tandem duplications in the juxtamembrane domain (FLT-3 ITD), have been causally linked to acute myeloid leukemia. As we describe here, FLT-3 ITD exists predominantly in an immature, underglycosylated 130-kDa form, whereas wild-type FLT-3 is expressed predominantly as a mature, complex glycosylated 150-kDa molecule. Endogenous FLT-3 ITD, but little wild-type FLT-3, is detectable in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) compartment. Conversely, cell surface expression of FLT-3 ITD is less efficient than that of wild-type FLT-3. Inhibition of FLT-3 ITD kinase by small molecules, inactivating point mutations, or coexpression with the protein-tyrosine phosphatases (PTPs) SHP-1, PTP1B, and PTP-PEST but not RPTPalpha promotes complex glycosylation and surface localization. However, PTP coexpression has no effect on the maturation of a surface glycoprotein of vesicular stomatitis virus. The maturation of wild-type FLT-3 is impaired by general PTP inhibition or by suppression of endogenous PTP1B. Enhanced complex formation of FLT-3 ITD with the ER-resident chaperone calnexin indicates that its retention in the ER is related to inefficient folding. The regulation of RTK maturation by tyrosine phosphorylation was observed with other RTKs as well, defines a possible role for ER-resident PTPs, and may be related to the altered signaling quality of constitutively active, transforming RTK mutants.     

The structure of a full turn of an A-DNA duplex d(CGCGGGTACCCGCG)₂

Fms-like tyrosine kinase-3 (FLT3) is a growth factor receptor normally expressed on hematopoietic progenitor cells. Approximately one third of all patients with AML carry an activating mutation in FLT3 that drives proliferation and survival of the leukemic cells. The most common activating mutation is the so-called internal tandem duplication (ITD), which involves an in-frame duplication of a segment of varying length in the region of the FLT3 gene that encodes the juxtamembrane domain. The pathways downstream of FLT3-ITD are partially known but further knowledge regarding the downstream signal transduction molecules is important in order to develop alternative strategies for pharmacological intervention.In this paper we have studied the role of MEK/ERK5 in FLT3-ITD mediated transformation. We have found that both wild-type FLT3 and FLT3-ITD activate MEK5 leading to the activation of ERK5. By use of the selective inhibitor of MEK5, BIX02188, we have shown that activation of AKT downstream of FLT3 is partially dependent on ERK5. Furthermore, inhibition of MEK5/ERK5 induces apoptosis of both FLT3-ITD transfected Ba/F3 cells as well as the FLT3-ITD carrying leukemic cell lines MV4-11 and MOLM-13. These results suggest that MEK5/ERK5 is important for FLT3-ITD induced hematopoietic transformation and may thus represent an alternative therapeutic target in the treatment of FLT3-ITD positive leukemia.     

H2O2 production downstream of FLT3 is mediated by p22phox in the endoplasmic reticulum and is required for STAT5 signalling

The internal tandem duplication (ITD) of the juxtamembrane region of the FLT3 receptor has been associated with increased reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation in acute myeloid leukemia (AML). How this elevated level of ROS contributes to the leukemic phenotype, however, remains poorly understood. In this work we show that ROS in the FLT3-ITD expressing AML cell line MV4-11 is reduced by treatment with PKC412, an inhibitor of FLT3, DPI, a flavoprotein inhibitor, and VAS2870, a Nox specific inhibitor, suggesting that ROS production is both FLT3 and NADPH oxidase dependent. The majority of these ROS co-localize to the endoplasmic reticulum (ER), as determined with the H(2)O(2)-specific aryl-boronate dye Peroxyorange 1, which also corresponds to co-localization of p22phox. Moreover, knocking down p22phox dramatically reduces H(2)O(2) after 24 hours in the ER, without affecting mitochondrial ROS. Significantly, the FLT3 inhibitor PKC412 reduces H(2)O(2) in FLT3-ITD expressing cell lines (MV4-11, MOLM-13) through reduction of p22phox over 24 hours. Reduced p22phox is achieved by proteasomal degradation and is prevented upon GSK3-β inhibition. Knockdown of p22phox resulted in reduced STAT5 signalling and reduced Pim-1 levels in the cells after 24 hours. Thus, we have shown that FLT3 driven H(2)O(2) production in AML cells is mediated by p22phox and is critical for STAT5 signalling.     

SU11652 Inhibits tyrosine kinase activity of FLT3 and growth of MV-4-11 cells

FLT3-ITD and FLT3-TKD mutations are frequently found in acute myeloid leukemia (AML). This makes tyrosine kinase FLT3 a highly attractive target for therapeutic drug development. However, effective drugs have not yet emerged. This study is intended to identify and to characterize new FLT3 inhibitors. By using the protein substrate GST-FLT3S to analyze kinase activity of recombinant proteins carrying the catalytic domain of wild type and mutant forms of FLT3, we screened a chemical library containing 80 known protein kinase inhibitors. We identified SU11652 as a potent FLT3 inhibitor and further employed FLT3-ITD-positive MV- 4–11 cells to study its effects on cell growth, apoptosis, cell cycles, and cell signaling. SU11652 strongly inhibited the activity of wild type, D835Y, and D835H mutant forms of FLT3 with IC50 values of 1.5, 16, and 32 nM, respectively. It effectively blocked the growth of FLT3-ITD -positive MV-4-11 cells at nanomolar concentrations but exhibited much less effects on several other cells which do not carry mutations of FLT3. SU11652 inhibited growth of MV-4-11 cells by inducing apoptosis, causing cell cycle arrest, and blocking activation of the ERK, Akt, and STAT signaling pathways. SU11652 is a potent FLT3 inhibitor which selectively targets FLT3-ITD-positive cells. It should serve as a good candidate for development of therapeutic drugs to treat AML.     

Discovery and evaluation of 3-phenyl-1H-5-pyrazolylamine-based derivatives as potent, selective and efficacious inhibitors of FMS-like tyrosine kinase-3 (FLT3)

Preclinical investigations and early clinical trial studies suggest that FLT3 inhibitors offer a viable therapy for acute myeloid leukemia. However, early clinical data for direct FLT3 inhibitors provided only modest results because of the failure to fully inhibit FLT3. We have designed and synthesized a novel class of 3-phenyl-1H-5-pyrazolylamine-derived compounds as FLT3 inhibitors which exhibit potent FLT3 inhibition and high selectivity toward different receptor tyrosine kinases. The structure-activity relationships led to the discovery of two series of FLT3 inhibitors, and some potent compounds within these two series exhibited comparable potency to FLT3 inhibitors sorafenib (3) and ABT-869 (4) in both wt-FLT3 enzyme inhibition and FLT3-ITD inhibition on cell growth (MOLM-13 and MV4;11 cells). In particular, the selected compound 12a exhibited the ability to regress tumors in mouse xenograft models using MOLM-13 and MV4;11 cells.     

Flavonoids as receptor tyrosine kinase FLT3 inhibitors

The Fms-like tyrosine kinase 3 (FLT3), a receptor tyrosine kinase, is involved in the proliferation, differentiation and apoptosis of hematopoietic cells. FLT3 is highly overexpressed in acute myeloid leukemia (AML) of the majority of patients. Screening for flavonoids including flavones, flavanones, flavonols, and flavanonols disclosed that luteolin was potent FLT3 enzyme inhibitor. Furthermore, luteolin suppressed cell proliferation in MV4;11 cells with constitutively activated FLT3.     

Autoregulation by the juxtamembrane region of the human ephrin receptor tyrosine kinase A3 (EphA3)

Ephrin receptors (Eph) affect cell shape and movement, unlike other receptor tyrosine kinases that directly affect proliferative pathways. The kinase domain of EphA3 is activated by ephrin binding and receptor oligomerization. This activation is associated with two tyrosines in the juxtamembrane region; these tyrosines are sites of autophosphorylation and interact with the active site of the kinase to modulate activity. This allosteric event has important implications both in terms of understanding signal transduction pathways mediated by Eph kinases as well as discovering specific therapeutic ligands for receptor kinases. In order to provide further details of the molecular mechanism through which the unphosphorylated juxtamembrane region blocks catalysis, we studied wild-type and site-specific mutants in detail. High-resolution structures of multiple states of EphA3 kinase with and without the juxtamembrane segment allowed us to map the coupled pathway of residues that connect the juxtamembrane segment, the activation loop, and the catalytic residues of the kinase domain. This highly conserved set of residues likely delineates a molecular recognition pathway for most of the Eph RTKs, helping to characterize the dynamic nature of these physiologically important enzymes.     

Novel Oncogenic Mutations of CBL in Human Acute Myeloid Leukemia That Activate Growth and Survival Pathways Depend on Increased Metabolism

Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is characterized by multiple mutagenic events that affect proliferation, survival, as well as differentiation. Recently, gain-of-function mutations in the α helical structure within the linker sequence of the E3 ubiquitin ligase CBL have been associated with AML. We identified four novel CBL mutations, including a point mutation (Y371H) and a putative splice site mutation in AML specimens. Characterization of these two CBL mutants revealed that coexpression with the receptor tyrosine kinases FLT3 (Fms-like tyrosine kinase 3) or KIT-induced ligand independent growth or ligand hyperresponsiveness, respectively. Growth of cells expressing mutant CBL required expression and kinase activity of FLT3. In addition to the CBL-dependent phosphorylation of FLT3 and CBL itself, transformation was associated with activation of Akt and STAT5 and required functional expression of the small GTPases Rho, Rac, and Cdc42. Furthermore, the mutations led to constitutively elevated intracellular reactive oxygen species levels, which is commonly linked to increased glucose metabolism in cancer cells. Inhibition of hexokinase with 2-deoxyglucose blocked the transforming activity of CBL mutants and reduced activation of signaling mechanisms. Overall, our data demonstrate that mutations of CBL alter cellular biology at multiple levels and require not only the activation of receptor proximal signaling events but also an increase in cellular glucose metabolism. Pathways that are activated by CBL gain-of-function mutations can be efficiently targeted by small molecule drugs.     

FLT3/ITD mutation signaling includes suppression of SHP-1

Mutations in the FLT3 gene are the most common genetic alteration found in AML patients. FLT3 internal tandem duplication (ITD) mutations result in constitutive activation of FLT3 tyrosine kinase activity. The consequences of this activation are an increase in total phosphotyrosine content, persistent downstream signaling, and ultimately transformation of hematopoietic cells to factor-independent growth. The Src homology (SH)2 domain-containing protein-tyrosine phosphatase (SHP)-1 is involved in the down-regulation of a broad range of growth factor and cytokine-driven signaling cascades. Loss-of-function or deficiency of SHP-1 activity results in a hyperproliferative response of myelomonocytic cell populations to growth factor stimulation. In this study, we examined the possible role of SHP-1 in regulating FLT3 signaling. We found that transformation of TF-1 cells with FLT3/ITD mutations suppressed the activity of SHP-1 by approximately 3-fold. Suppression was caused by decreased SHP-1 protein expression, as analyzed at both the protein and RNA levels. In contrast, protein levels of SHP-2, a phosphatase that plays a stimulatory role in signaling through a variety of receptors, did not change significantly in FLT3 mutant cells. Suppressed SHP-1 protein levels in TF-1/ITD cells were partially overcome after cells were exposed to CEP-701, a selective FLT3 inhibitor. SHP-1 protein levels also increased in naturally occurring FLT3/ITD expressing AML cell lines and in primary FLT3/ITD AML samples after CEP-701 treatment. Furthermore, a small but reproducible growth/survival advantage was observed in both TF-1 and TF-1/ITD cells when SHP-1 expression was knocked down by RNAi. Taken together, these data provide the first evidence that suppression of SHP-1 by FLT3/ITD signaling may be another mechanism contributing to the transformation by FLT3/ITD mutations.     

The structural basis for autoinhibition of FLT3 by the juxtamembrane domain

FLT3 is a type III receptor tyrosine kinase that is thought to play a key role in hematopoiesis. Certain classes of FLT3 mutations cause constitutively activated forms of the receptor that are found in significant numbers of patients with acute myelogenous leukemia (AML). The mutations occur either in the activation loop, for example, as point mutations of Asp835 or as internal tandem duplication (ITD) sequences in the juxtamembrane (JM) domain. To further understand the nature of FLT3 autoinhibition and regulation, we have determined the crystal structure of the autoinhibited form of FLT3. This structure shows the autoinhibitory conformation of a complete JM domain in this class of receptor tyrosine kinases. The detailed inhibitory mechanism of the JM domain is revealed, which is likely utilized by other members of type III receptor tyrosine kinases.     

Effect of FLT3 Ligand on Survival and Disease Phenotype in Murine Models Harboring a FLT3 Internal Tandem Duplication Mutation

Many of the mutations contributing to leukemogenesis in acute myeloid leukemia have been identified. A common activating mutation is an internal tandem duplication (ITD) mutation in the FLT3 gene that is found in approximately 25% of patients and confers a poor prognosis. FLT3 inhibitors have been developed and have some efficacy, but patients often relapse. Levels of FLT3 ligand (FL) are significantly elevated in patients during chemotherapy and may be an important component contributing to relapse. We used a mouse model to investigate the possible effect of FL expression on leukemogenesis involving FLT3-ITD mutations in an in vivo system. FLT3^ITD/ITD FL^−/− (knockout) mice had a statistically significant increase in survival compared with FLT3^ITD/ITD FL^+/+ (wildtype) mice, most of which developed a fatal myeloproliferative neoplasm. These findings suggest that FL levels may have prognostic significance in human patients. We also studied the effect of FL expression on survival in a FLT3-ITD NUP98–HOX13 (NHD13) fusion mouse model. These mice develop an aggressive leukemia with short latency. We asked whether FL expression played a similar role in this context. The NUP98-HOX13 FLT3^ITD/wt FL^−/− mice did not have a survival advantage, compared with NUP98-HOX13 FLT3^ITD/wt FL^+/+ mice (normal FL levels). The loss of the survival advantage of the FL knockout group in the NUP98–HOX13 model suggests that adding a second mutation changes the effect of FL expression in the context of more aggressive disease.Abbreviations: AML, acute myeloid leukemia; FL, FLT3 ligand; FLT3, FMS-like tyrosine kinase 3; ITD, internal tandem duplication; MPN, myeloproliferative neoplasmFMS-like tyrosine kinase 3 (FLT3) is normally activated by binding of its ligand (FL) to 2 FLT3 molecules, causing them to dimerize, autophosphorylate, and activate downstream targets.^20,26,31 Although FL expression is relatively ubiquitous, the FLT3 receptor is found predominantly on hematopoietic cells and has an important role in hematopoiesis.^6,13,24 Several mutations in the FLT3 gene can lead to constitutive activation that occurs independent of ligand binding and leads to activation of downstream targets; these mutations typically are found in patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML). The most common mutation described in AML is an internal tandem duplication (ITD) that occurs in the juxtamembrane domain of FLT3. The ITD mutations vary in length,^17,25 but these forms all constitutively activate FLT3 kinase activity to result in autophosphorylation and phosphorylation of its downstream targets.^4,14,28,32 The ITD mutation is seen in approximately 25% of adult AML cases and is associated with a poor prognosis.^18,19,23Despite the fact that FTL3-ITD is constitutively activated, some evidence indicates that FL may continue to play a role in FLT3 signaling and affect AML prognosis.³⁵ Elevated plasma levels of FL have been reported in patients that have undergone chemotherapy.^2,30 In addition, elevated levels of FL have been shown to increase the amount of FLT3 inhibitor needed to reduce the levels of phosphorylated FLT3-ITD in a cell line (Molm14) model.^8,21,34 When a lentivirus was used to introduce a FLT3-ITD mutation into mouse embryonic fibroblast cells from FL-knockout mice, the addition of FL to the culture media resulted in an increase in the level of phosphorylated FLT3, further supporting the idea that FL may play a role in FLT3-ITD–associated AML.³³ These previous models have all used cell lines, cultured cells, and plasma from patient samples to address the potential importance of FL expression in cases where an ITD mutation is present.Here we use primary hematopoietic cells from a combination of genetically engineered mouse models to investigate the role of FLT3 and FL in the pathogenesis of AML. The first model is a FLT3-ITD knockin mouse model with an 18-bp insertion in the juxtamembrane domain of FLT3 that was generated and characterized by our lab. This mouse model consistently and predictably develops myeloproliferative neoplasia (MPN) with moderately elevated WBC counts, splenomegaly, and myeloid expansion in the bone marrow, as evidenced by histopathologic changes and increased granulocytic/ monocytic fractions by flow cytometry.¹¹ A small percentage (7%; 9 of 129) of the FLT3-ITD homozygous (FLT3^ITD/ITD) mice spontaneously developed fully transformed leukemia.¹⁰ The second mouse model uses transgenic expression of a Nup98–Hox13 fusion (NHD13) that is expressed primarily in hematopoietic tissues. Mice that carry this mutation typically develop a myelodysplastic syndrome that often progresses to acute leukemia after a long lag time.¹² When these mice were bred to our FLT3-ITD mice, the resulting double-mutant Nup98–Hox13 (NHD13) FLT3^wt/ITD mice predominantly developed an AML with minimal differentiation and demonstrated a markedly shorter latency to disease. Interestingly, a subset of mice display loss of heterozygosity of the wildtype Flt3 allele in the bone marrow⁷ as occurs in a fraction of human FLT3-ITD AML patients.^22,29 The third model is a FL-knockout mouse model that was developed at Immunex (Seattle, WA) and is currently commercially available. These mice have the majority of the FL extracellular domain coding region disrupted by insertion of a PKG–Neo cassette. These mice demonstrated reduced cellularity in the bone marrow and an overall reduction in hematopoietic precursors, especially of the myeloid and lymphoid lineages.¹⁶To examine the effect of FL expression on disease conferred by a FLT3-ITD mutation, we used 2 genetically engineered mouse models: the first is the model of MPN generated by the FLT3^ITD/ITD mutation alone. The second was a leukemia model that is generated by the combination of a FLT3^wt/ITD together with a NHD13 mutation. Into both of these models, we bred mice that were either wildtype for FL or that had FL knocked out. We then characterized survival and disease phenotype data from each cohort to ascertain the effect of FL expression on MPN and AML generated by FLT3-ITD expression.     

Functional Pathway Analysis Using SCNP of FLT3 Receptor Pathway Deregulation in AML Provides Prognostic Information Independent from Mutational Status

FMS-like tyrosine kinase 3 receptor (FLT3) internal tandem duplication (ITD) mutations result in constitutive activation of this receptor and have been shown to increase the risk of relapse in patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML); however, substantial heterogeneity in clinical outcomes still exists within both the ITD mutated and unmutated AML subgroups, suggesting alternative mechanisms of disease relapse not accounted by FLT3 mutational status. Single cell network profiling (SCNP) is a multiparametric flow cytometry based assay that simultaneously measures, in a quantitative fashion and at the single cell level, both extracellular surface marker levels and changes in intracellular signaling proteins in response to extracellular modulators. We previously reported an initial characterization of FLT3 ITD-mediated signaling using SCNP. Herein SCNP was applied sequentially to two separate cohorts of samples collected from elderly AML patients at diagnosis. In the first (training) study, AML samples carrying unmutated, wild-type FLT3 (FLT3 WT) displayed a wide range of induced signaling, with a fraction having signaling profiles comparable to FLT3 ITD AML samples. Conversely, the FLT3 ITD AML samples displayed more homogeneous induced signaling, with the exception of patients with low (<40%) mutational load, which had profiles comparable to FLT3 WT AML samples. This observation was then confirmed in an independent (verification) cohort. Data from the second cohort were also used to assess the association between SCNP data and disease-free survival (DFS) in the context of FLT3 and nucleophosmin (NPM1) mutational status among patients who achieved complete remission (CR) to induction chemotherapy. The combination of SCNP read outs together with FLT3 and NPM1 molecular status improved the DFS prediction accuracy of the latter. Taken together, these results emphasize the value of comprehensive functional assessment of biologically relevant signaling pathways in AML as a basis for the development of highly predictive tests for guidance of post-remission therapy.     

Evaluation of the Antitumor Effects of BPR1J-340, a Potent and Selective FLT3 Inhibitor,Alone or in Combination with an HDAC Inhibitor,Vorinostat, in AML Cancer

Overexpression or/and activating mutation of FLT3 kinase play a major driving role in the pathogenesis of acute myeloid leukemia (AML). Hence, pharmacologic inhibitors of FLT3 are of therapeutic potential for AML treatment. In this study, BPR1J-340 was identified as a novel potent FLT3 inhibitor by biochemical kinase activity (IC₅₀ approximately 25 nM) and cellular proliferation (GC₅₀ approximately 5 nM) assays. BPR1J-340 inhibited the phosphorylation of FLT3 and STAT5 and triggered apoptosis in FLT3-ITD⁺ AML cells. The pharmacokinetic parameters of BPR1J-340 in rats were determined. BPR1J-340 also demonstrated pronounced tumor growth inhibition and regression in FLT3-ITD⁺ AML murine xenograft models. The combination treatment of the HDAC inhibitor vorinostat (SAHA) with BPR1J-340 synergistically induced apoptosis via Mcl-1 down-regulation in MOLM-13 AML cells, indicating that the combination of selective FLT3 kinase inhibitors and HDAC inhibitors could exhibit clinical benefit in AML therapy. Our results suggest that BPR1J-340 may be further developed in the preclinical and clinical studies as therapeutics in AML treatments.     

Structural basis for autoinhibition of the Ephb2 receptor tyrosine kinase by the unphosphorylated juxtamembrane region

The Eph receptor tyrosine kinase family is regulated by autophosphorylation within the juxtamembrane region and the kinase activation segment. We have solved the X-ray crystal structure to 1.9 A resolution of an autoinhibited, unphosphorylated form of EphB2 comprised of the juxtamembrane region and the kinase domain. The structure, supported by mutagenesis data, reveals that the juxtamembrane segment adopts a helical conformation that distorts the small lobe of the kinase domain, and blocks the activation segment from attaining an activated conformation. Phosphorylation of conserved juxtamembrane tyrosines would relieve this autoinhibition by disturbing the association of the juxtamembrane segment with the kinase domain, while liberating phosphotyrosine sites for binding SH2 domains of target proteins. We propose that the autoinhibitory mechanism employed by EphB2 is a more general device through which receptor tyrosine kinases are controlled.