RESUMO
A large body of evidence suggests that B-cell lymphomas with enhanced Myc expression are associated with an aggressive phenotype and poor prognosis, which makes Myc a compelling therapeutic target. Phosphodiesterase 4B (PDE4B), a main hydrolyzer of cyclic AMP (cAMP) in B cells, was shown to be involved in cell survival and drug resistance in diffuse large B cell lymphomas (DLBCL). However, the interrelationship between Myc and PDE4B remains unclear. Here, we first demonstrate the presence of the Myc-PDE4B feed-forward loop, in which Myc and PDE4B mutually reinforce the expression of each other. Next, the combined targeting of Myc and PDE4 synergistically prevented the proliferation and survival of B lymphoma cells in vitro and in a mouse xenograft model. We finally recapitulated this combinatorial effect in Eµ-myc transgenic mice; co-inhibition of Myc and PDE4 suppressed lymphomagenesis and restored B cell development to the wild type level that was associated with marked reduction in Myc levels, unveiling the critical role of the Myc-PDE4B amplification loop in the regulation of Myc expression and the pathogenesis of B cell lymphoma. These findings suggest that the disruption of the Myc-PDE4B circuitry can be exploited in the treatment of B cell malignancies.
Assuntos
Nucleotídeo Cíclico Fosfodiesterase do Tipo 4/genética , Regulação Neoplásica da Expressão Gênica , Linfoma de Células B/genética , Linfoma de Células B/mortalidade , Proteínas Proto-Oncogênicas c-myc/genética , Animais , Biomarcadores Tumorais , Linhagem Celular Tumoral , AMP Cíclico/metabolismo , Nucleotídeo Cíclico Fosfodiesterase do Tipo 4/metabolismo , Modelos Animais de Doenças , Humanos , Imuno-Histoquímica , Linfoma de Células B/metabolismo , Linfoma de Células B/patologia , Linfoma Difuso de Grandes Células B/genética , Linfoma Difuso de Grandes Células B/metabolismo , Linfoma Difuso de Grandes Células B/mortalidade , Linfoma Difuso de Grandes Células B/patologia , Camundongos Transgênicos , Prognóstico , Ligação Proteica , Proteínas Proto-Oncogênicas c-myc/metabolismoRESUMO
Angelica gigas Nakai (AGN) is an oriental traditional medicine to treat anemia, dysmenorrhea, and migraine. However, its anti-lymphoma effect is yet to be tested. Here, we demonstrated that AGN and its major component decursin target Myc to suppress lymphomagenesis in vitro and in vivo. AGN inhibited cell viability in multiple B lymphoma cells, while sparing normal splenocytes and bone marrow cells. Increased cleaved PARP level and caspase 3/7 activity and the repression of survival-promoting AKT/mTOR and MAPK pathways downstream of BCR, were responsible for the pro-apoptotic effects of AGN. We found that Myc, a prominent downstream target of these signaling pathways, contributes to AGN-induced cell death. Moreover, co-treatment with AGN and a Myc inhibitor, JQ1 or 10058-F4 yielded synergistic cytotoxic activities against cancer cells with markedly reduced Myc expression. AGN downregulated Myc expression and suppressed tumorigenesis in Eµ-myc transgenic mice. The proapoptotic activities of AGN were recapitulated by decursin, indicating that the anti-tumor effect of AGN was mainly caused by decursin. These findings suggest that AGN and decursin possess potent anti-lymphoma activity, and combination therapies with AGN/decursin and a Myc inhibitor to target Myc more efficiently could be a valuable avenue to explore in the treatment of B-cell lymphoma.
