Activity of the pan-class I phosphoinositide 3-kinase inhibitor NVP-BKM120 in T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia

Leukemia. 2014 Jun;28(6):1196-206. doi: 10.1038/leu.2013.369. Epub 2013 Nov 6.

Abstract

Constitutively active phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K) signaling is a common feature of T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (T-ALL), where it upregulates cell proliferation, survival and drug resistance. These observations lend compelling weight to the application of PI3K inhibitors in the therapy of T-ALL. Here, we have analyzed the therapeutic potential of the pan-PI3K inhibitor NVP-BKM120 (BKM120), an orally bioavailable 2,6-dimorpholino pyrimidine derivative, which has entered clinical trials for solid tumors, on both T-ALL cell lines and patient samples. BKM120 treatment resulted in G2/M phase cell cycle arrest and apoptosis, being cytotoxic to a panel of T-ALL cell lines and patient T lymphoblasts, and promoting a dose- and time-dependent dephosphorylation of Akt and S6RP. BKM120 maintained its pro-apoptotic activity against Jurkat cells even when cocultured with MS-5 stromal cells, which mimic the bone marrow microenvironment. Remarkably, BKM120 synergized with chemotherapeutic agents currently used for treating T-ALL patients. Moreover, in vivo administration of BKM120 to a subcutaneous xenotransplant model of human T-ALL significantly delayed tumor growth, thus prolonging survival time. Taken together, our findings indicate that BKM120, either alone or in combination with chemotherapeutic drugs, may be an efficient treatment for T-ALLs that have aberrant upregulation of the PI3K signaling pathway.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Aminopyridines / pharmacology*
  • Animals
  • Apoptosis / drug effects*
  • Blotting, Western
  • Cell Cycle / drug effects*
  • Cell Proliferation / drug effects*
  • Flow Cytometry
  • Humans
  • Mice
  • Mice, Inbred NOD
  • Mice, SCID
  • Morpholines / pharmacology*
  • Phosphoinositide-3 Kinase Inhibitors*
  • Precursor T-Cell Lymphoblastic Leukemia-Lymphoma / drug therapy*
  • Precursor T-Cell Lymphoblastic Leukemia-Lymphoma / metabolism
  • Precursor T-Cell Lymphoblastic Leukemia-Lymphoma / pathology
  • Tumor Cells, Cultured
  • Xenograft Model Antitumor Assays

Substances

  • Aminopyridines
  • Morpholines
  • NVP-BKM120
  • Phosphoinositide-3 Kinase Inhibitors