ABSTRACT
Activated B-cell-like (ABC) and germinal center B-cell-like diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) represent the 2 major molecular DLBCL subtypes. They are characterized by differences in clinical course and by divergent addiction to oncogenic pathways. To determine activity of novel compounds in these 2 subtypes, we conducted an unbiased pharmacologic in vitro screen. The phosphatidylinositol-3-kinase (PI3K) α/δ (PI3Kα/δ) inhibitor AZD8835 showed marked potency in ABC DLBCL models, whereas the protein kinase B (AKT) inhibitor AZD5363 induced apoptosis in PTEN-deficient DLBCLs irrespective of their molecular subtype. These in vitro results were confirmed in various cell line xenograft and patient-derived xenograft mouse models in vivo. Treatment with AZD8835 induced inhibition of nuclear factor κB signaling, prompting us to combine AZD8835 with the Bruton's tyrosine kinase inhibitor ibrutinib. This combination was synergistic and effective both in vitro and in vivo. In contrast, the AKT inhibitor AZD5363 was effective in PTEN-deficient DLBCLs through downregulation of the oncogenic transcription factor MYC. Collectively, our data suggest that patients should be stratified according to their oncogenic dependencies when treated with PI3K and AKT inhibitors.
Subject(s)
Antineoplastic Agents/pharmacology , Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic , Lymphoma, Large B-Cell, Diffuse/drug therapy , Oxadiazoles/pharmacology , Piperidines/pharmacology , Protein Kinase Inhibitors/pharmacology , Pyrazoles/pharmacology , Pyrimidines/pharmacology , Pyrroles/pharmacology , Adenine/analogs & derivatives , Agammaglobulinaemia Tyrosine Kinase , Animals , Apoptosis/drug effects , Drug Combinations , Drug Screening Assays, Antitumor , Drug Synergism , Humans , Lymphoma, Large B-Cell, Diffuse/classification , Lymphoma, Large B-Cell, Diffuse/genetics , Lymphoma, Large B-Cell, Diffuse/pathology , Mice , NF-kappa B/antagonists & inhibitors , NF-kappa B/genetics , NF-kappa B/metabolism , Organ Specificity , PTEN Phosphohydrolase/deficiency , PTEN Phosphohydrolase/genetics , Phosphatidylinositol 3-Kinases/genetics , Phosphatidylinositol 3-Kinases/metabolism , Phosphoinositide-3 Kinase Inhibitors , Protein-Tyrosine Kinases/antagonists & inhibitors , Protein-Tyrosine Kinases/genetics , Protein-Tyrosine Kinases/metabolism , Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-akt/antagonists & inhibitors , Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-akt/genetics , Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-akt/metabolism , Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-myc/antagonists & inhibitors , Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-myc/genetics , Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-myc/metabolism , Signal Transduction , Xenograft Model Antitumor AssaysABSTRACT
Mantle cell lymphoma (MCL) is a mature B-cell lymphoma characterized by poor clinical outcome. Recent studies revealed the importance of B-cell receptor (BCR) signaling in maintaining MCL survival. However, it remains unclear which role MALT1, an essential component of the CARD11-BCL10-MALT1 complex that links BCR signaling to the NF-κB pathway, plays in the biology of MCL. Here we show that a subset of MCLs is addicted to MALT1, as its inhibition by either RNA or pharmacologic interference induced cytotoxicity both in vitro and in vivo. Gene expression profiling following MALT1 inhibition demonstrated that MALT1 controls an MYC-driven gene expression network predominantly through increasing MYC protein stability. Thus, our analyses identify a previously unappreciated regulatory mechanism of MYC expression. Investigating primary mouse splenocytes, we could demonstrate that MALT1-induced MYC regulation is not restricted to MCL, but represents a common mechanism. MYC itself is pivotal for MCL survival because its downregulation and pharmacologic inhibition induced cytotoxicity in all MCL models. Collectively, these results provide a strong mechanistic rationale to investigate the therapeutic efficacy of targeting the MALT1-MYC axis in MCL patients.
