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Functional Drug Screening of Small Molecule Inhibitors of Epigenetic Modifiers in Refractory AML Patients. Cancers (Basel) 2022; 14:cancers14174094. [PMID: 36077629 PMCID: PMC9455071 DOI: 10.3390/cancers14174094] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/14/2022] [Revised: 08/13/2022] [Accepted: 08/20/2022] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
The use of inhibitors of epigenetic modifiers in the treatment of acute myeloid leukemia (AML) has become increasingly appealing due to the highly epigenetic nature of the disease. We evaluated a library of 164 epigenetic compounds in a cohort of 9 heterogeneous AML patients using an ex vivo drug screen. AML blasts were isolated from bone marrow biopsies according to established protocols and treatment response to the epigenetic library was evaluated. We find that 11 histone deacetylase (HDAC) inhibitors, which act upon mechanisms of cell cycle arrest and apoptotic pathways through inhibition of zinc-dependent classes of HDACs, showed efficacy in all patient-derived samples. Other compounds, including bromodomain and extraterminal domain (BET) protein inhibitors, showed efficacy in most samples. Specifically, HDAC inhibitors are already clinically available and can be repurposed for use in AML. Results in this cohort of AML patient-derived samples reveal several epigenetic compounds with high anti-blast activity in all samples, despite the molecular diversity of the disease. These results further enforce the notion that AML is a predominantly epigenetic disease and that similar epigenetic mechanisms may underlie disease development and progression in all patients, despite differences in genetic mutations.
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Image-Based Annotation of Chemogenomic Libraries for Phenotypic Screening. MOLECULES (BASEL, SWITZERLAND) 2022; 27:molecules27041439. [PMID: 35209227 PMCID: PMC8878468 DOI: 10.3390/molecules27041439] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/07/2022] [Revised: 02/15/2022] [Accepted: 02/16/2022] [Indexed: 12/26/2022]
Abstract
Phenotypical screening is a widely used approach in drug discovery for the identification of small molecules with cellular activities. However, functional annotation of identified hits often poses a challenge. The development of small molecules with narrow or exclusive target selectivity such as chemical probes and chemogenomic (CG) libraries, greatly diminishes this challenge, but non-specific effects caused by compound toxicity or interference with basic cellular functions still pose a problem to associate phenotypic readouts with molecular targets. Hence, each compound should ideally be comprehensively characterized regarding its effects on general cell functions. Here, we report an optimized live-cell multiplexed assay that classifies cells based on nuclear morphology, presenting an excellent indicator for cellular responses such as early apoptosis and necrosis. This basic readout in combination with the detection of other general cell damaging activities of small molecules such as changes in cytoskeletal morphology, cell cycle and mitochondrial health provides a comprehensive time-dependent characterization of the effect of small molecules on cellular health in a single experiment. The developed high-content assay offers multi-dimensional comprehensive characterization that can be used to delineate generic effects regarding cell functions and cell viability, allowing an assessment of compound suitability for subsequent detailed phenotypic and mechanistic studies.
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Xie J, Wang Z, Fan W, Liu Y, Liu F, Wan X, Liu M, Wang X, Zeng D, Wang Y, He B, Yan M, Zhang Z, Zhang M, Hou Z, Wang C, Kang Z, Fang W, Zhang L, Lam EWF, Guo X, Yan J, Zeng Y, Chen M, Liu Q. Targeting cancer cell plasticity by HDAC inhibition to reverse EBV-induced dedifferentiation in nasopharyngeal carcinoma. Signal Transduct Target Ther 2021; 6:333. [PMID: 34482361 PMCID: PMC8418605 DOI: 10.1038/s41392-021-00702-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/08/2021] [Revised: 05/28/2021] [Accepted: 06/22/2021] [Indexed: 12/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Application of differentiation therapy targeting cellular plasticity for the treatment of solid malignancies has been lagging. Nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) is a distinctive cancer with poor differentiation and high prevalence of Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) infection. Here, we show that the expression of EBV latent protein LMP1 induces dedifferentiated and stem-like status with high plasticity through the transcriptional inhibition of CEBPA. Mechanistically, LMP1 upregulates STAT5A and recruits HDAC1/2 to the CEBPA locus to reduce its histone acetylation. HDAC inhibition restored CEBPA expression, reversing cellular dedifferentiation and stem-like status in mouse xenograft models. These findings provide a novel mechanistic epigenetic-based insight into virus-induced cellular plasticity and propose a promising concept of differentiation therapy in solid tumor by using HDAC inhibitors to target cellular plasticity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jiajun Xie
- Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center; State Key Laboratory of Oncology in South China; Collaborative Innovation Center for Cancer Medicine; Guangdong Key Laboratory of Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma Diagnosis and Therapy, Guangzhou, China
- Institute of Cancer Stem Cell, Cancer Center, Dalian Medical University, Dalian, China
- Department of Hematology; Liaoning Key Laboratory of Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation and Translational Medicine; Liaoning Medical Center for Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation; Dalian Key Laboratory of Hematology; Diamond Bay Institute of Hematology, The Affiliated Second Hospital of Dalian Medical University, Dalian, China
| | - Zifeng Wang
- Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center; State Key Laboratory of Oncology in South China; Collaborative Innovation Center for Cancer Medicine; Guangdong Key Laboratory of Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma Diagnosis and Therapy, Guangzhou, China
| | - Wenjun Fan
- Institute of Cancer Stem Cell, Cancer Center, Dalian Medical University, Dalian, China
| | - Youping Liu
- Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center; State Key Laboratory of Oncology in South China; Collaborative Innovation Center for Cancer Medicine; Guangdong Key Laboratory of Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma Diagnosis and Therapy, Guangzhou, China
| | - Fang Liu
- Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center; State Key Laboratory of Oncology in South China; Collaborative Innovation Center for Cancer Medicine; Guangdong Key Laboratory of Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma Diagnosis and Therapy, Guangzhou, China
| | - Xiangbo Wan
- Department of Radiation Oncology, The Sixth Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Meiling Liu
- Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center; State Key Laboratory of Oncology in South China; Collaborative Innovation Center for Cancer Medicine; Guangdong Key Laboratory of Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma Diagnosis and Therapy, Guangzhou, China
| | - Xuan Wang
- Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center; State Key Laboratory of Oncology in South China; Collaborative Innovation Center for Cancer Medicine; Guangdong Key Laboratory of Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma Diagnosis and Therapy, Guangzhou, China
| | - Deshun Zeng
- Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center; State Key Laboratory of Oncology in South China; Collaborative Innovation Center for Cancer Medicine; Guangdong Key Laboratory of Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma Diagnosis and Therapy, Guangzhou, China
| | - Yan Wang
- Institute of Cancer Stem Cell, Cancer Center, Dalian Medical University, Dalian, China
| | - Bin He
- Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center; State Key Laboratory of Oncology in South China; Collaborative Innovation Center for Cancer Medicine; Guangdong Key Laboratory of Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma Diagnosis and Therapy, Guangzhou, China
| | - Min Yan
- Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center; State Key Laboratory of Oncology in South China; Collaborative Innovation Center for Cancer Medicine; Guangdong Key Laboratory of Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma Diagnosis and Therapy, Guangzhou, China
| | - Zijian Zhang
- Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center; State Key Laboratory of Oncology in South China; Collaborative Innovation Center for Cancer Medicine; Guangdong Key Laboratory of Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma Diagnosis and Therapy, Guangzhou, China
| | - Mengjuan Zhang
- Institute of Cancer Stem Cell, Cancer Center, Dalian Medical University, Dalian, China
| | - Zhijie Hou
- Institute of Cancer Stem Cell, Cancer Center, Dalian Medical University, Dalian, China
| | - Chunli Wang
- Institute of Cancer Stem Cell, Cancer Center, Dalian Medical University, Dalian, China
| | - Zhijie Kang
- Institute of Cancer Stem Cell, Cancer Center, Dalian Medical University, Dalian, China
| | - Wenfeng Fang
- Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center; State Key Laboratory of Oncology in South China; Collaborative Innovation Center for Cancer Medicine; Guangdong Key Laboratory of Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma Diagnosis and Therapy, Guangzhou, China
| | - Li Zhang
- Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center; State Key Laboratory of Oncology in South China; Collaborative Innovation Center for Cancer Medicine; Guangdong Key Laboratory of Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma Diagnosis and Therapy, Guangzhou, China
| | - Eric W-F Lam
- Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center; State Key Laboratory of Oncology in South China; Collaborative Innovation Center for Cancer Medicine; Guangdong Key Laboratory of Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma Diagnosis and Therapy, Guangzhou, China
| | - Xiang Guo
- Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center; State Key Laboratory of Oncology in South China; Collaborative Innovation Center for Cancer Medicine; Guangdong Key Laboratory of Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma Diagnosis and Therapy, Guangzhou, China
| | - Jinsong Yan
- Department of Hematology; Liaoning Key Laboratory of Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation and Translational Medicine; Liaoning Medical Center for Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation; Dalian Key Laboratory of Hematology; Diamond Bay Institute of Hematology, The Affiliated Second Hospital of Dalian Medical University, Dalian, China.
| | - Yixin Zeng
- Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center; State Key Laboratory of Oncology in South China; Collaborative Innovation Center for Cancer Medicine; Guangdong Key Laboratory of Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma Diagnosis and Therapy, Guangzhou, China.
| | - Mingyuan Chen
- Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center; State Key Laboratory of Oncology in South China; Collaborative Innovation Center for Cancer Medicine; Guangdong Key Laboratory of Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma Diagnosis and Therapy, Guangzhou, China.
| | - Quentin Liu
- Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center; State Key Laboratory of Oncology in South China; Collaborative Innovation Center for Cancer Medicine; Guangdong Key Laboratory of Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma Diagnosis and Therapy, Guangzhou, China.
- Institute of Cancer Stem Cell, Cancer Center, Dalian Medical University, Dalian, China.
- Sun Yat-sen Institute of Hematology, The Third Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China.
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