Selective inhibition of Aurora A and B kinases effectively induces cell cycle arrest in t(8;21) acute myeloid leukemia

Shikonin, a natural naphthoquinone phytochemical, exerts anti-leukemia effects in human CBF-AML cell lines and zebrafish xenograft models

Core binding factor acute myeloid leukemia (CBF-AML) stands out as the most common type of adult AML, characterized by specific chromosomal rearrangements involving CBF genes, particularly t(8;21). Shikonin (SHK), a naphthoquinone phytochemical widely employed as a food colorant and traditional Chinese herbal medicine, exhibits antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and anti-cancer activities. In this study, we aim to investigate the antileukemic effects of SHK and its underlying mechanisms in human CBF-AML cells and zebrafish xenograft models. Our study revealed that SHK reduced the viability of CBF-AML cells. SHK induced cell cycle arrest, promoted cell apoptosis, and induced differentiation in Kasumi-1 cells. Additionally, SHK downregulated the gene expression of AML1-ETO and c-KIT in Kasumi-1 cells. In animal studies, SHK showed no toxic effects in zebrafish and markedly inhibited the growth of leukemia cells in zebrafish xenografts. Transcriptomic analysis showed that differentially expressed genes (DEGs) altered by SHK are linked to key biological processes like DNA repair, replication, cell cycle regulation, apoptosis, and division. Furthermore, KEGG pathways associated with cell growth, such as the cell cycle and p53 signaling pathway, were significantly enriched by DEGs. Analysis of AML-associated genes in response to SHK treatment using DisGeNET and the STRING database indicated that SHK downregulates the expression of cell division regulators regarding AML progression. Finally, we found that SHK combined with cytarabine synergistically reduced the viability of Kasumi-1 cells. In conclusion, our findings provide novel insights into the mechanisms of SHK in suppressing leukemia cell growth, suggesting its potential as a chemotherapeutic agent for human CBF-AML.

Lactiplantibacillus plantarum RS20D Alleviates Male Reproductive Toxicity Induced by Pubertal Exposure to Di-n-butyl Phthalate and Mono-n-butyl Phthalate

Phthalate acid esters (PAEs) and their metabolites, such as di-n-butyl phthalate (DBP) and mono-n-butyl phthalate (MBP), are known to cause male reproductive damage. Lactiplantibacillus plantarum RS20D has demonstrated the ability to remove both DBP and MBP in vitro, suggesting its potential as a detoxifying agent against these compounds. This study aimed to investigate the protective effects of RS20D on DBP or MBP-induced male reproductive toxicity in adolescent rats. Oral administration of RS20D significantly mitigated the histological damage to the testes caused by MBP or DBP, restored sperm concentration, morphological abnormalities, and the proliferation index in MBP-exposed rats, and partially reversed spermatogenic damage in DBP-exposed rats. Furthermore, RS20D restored serum levels of estradiol (E2) and testosterone, and superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity in DBP-exposed rats, significantly increased testosterone levels in MBP-exposed rats, and restored copper (Cu) concentrations in the testes after exposure to DBP or MBP. Additionally, RS20D effectively modulated the intestinal microbiota in DBP-exposed rats and partially ameliorated dysbiosis induced by MBP, which may be associated with the alleviation of reproductive toxic effects induced by DBP or MBP. In conclusion, this study demonstrates that RS20D administration can alleviate male reproductive toxicity and gut dysbacteriosis induced by DBP or MBP exposure, providing a dietary strategy for the bioremediation of PAEs and their metabolites.

Phosphoproteomic Characterization and Kinase Signature Predict Response to Venetoclax Plus 3+7 Chemotherapy in Acute Myeloid Leukemia

Resistance to chemotherapy remains a formidable obstacle in acute myeloid leukemia (AML) therapeutic management, necessitating the exploration of optimal strategies to maximize therapeutic benefits. Venetoclax with 3+7 daunorubicin and cytarabine (DAV regimen) in young adult de novo AML patients is evaluated. 90% of treated patients achieved complete remission, underscoring the potential of this regimen as a compelling therapeutic intervention. To elucidate underlying mechanisms governing response to DAV in AML, quantitative phosphoproteomics to discern distinct molecular signatures characterizing a subset of DAV-sensitive patients is used. Cluster analysis reveals an enrichment of phosphoproteins implicated in chromatin organization and RNA processing within DAV-susceptible and DA-resistant AML patients. Furthermore, kinase activity profiling identifies AURKB as a candidate indicator of DAV regimen efficacy in DA-resistant AML due to AURKB activation. Intriguingly, AML cells overexpressing AURKB exhibit attenuated MCL-1 expression, rendering them receptive to DAV treatment and maintaining them resistant to DA treatment. Moreover, the dataset delineates a shared kinase, AKT1, associated with DAV response. Notably, AKT1 inhibition augments the antileukemic efficacy of DAV treatment in AML. Overall, this phosphoproteomic study identifies the role of AURKB as a predictive biomarker for DA, but not DAV, resistance and proposes a promising strategy to counteract therapy resistance in AML.

Overexpression of Aurora Kinase B Is Correlated with Diagnosis and Poor Prognosis in Hepatocellular Carcinoma

Aurora kinase B (AURKB) overexpression promotes tumor initiation and development by participating in the cell cycle. In this study, we focused on the mechanism of AURKB in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) progression and on AURKB's value as a diagnostic and prognostic biomarker in HCC. We used data from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) and the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) to analyze AURKB expression in HCC. We found that the expression levels of AURKB in HCC samples were higher than those in the corresponding control group. R packages were used to analyze RNA sequencing data to identify AURKB-related differentially expressed genes (DEGs), and these genes were found to be significantly enriched during the cell cycle. The biological function of AURKB was verified, and the results showed that cell proliferation was slowed down and cells were arrested in the G2/M phase when AURKB was knocked down. AURKB overexpression resulted in significant differences in clinical symptoms, such as the clinical T stage and pathological stage. Kaplan-Meier survival analysis, Cox regression analysis, and Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) curve analysis suggested that AURKB overexpression has good diagnostic and prognostic potential in HCC. Therefore, AURKB may be used as a potential target for the diagnosis and cure of HCC.

Pan-cancer analysis and in vitro validation of the oncogenic and prognostic roles of AURKA in human cancers

Background

Aurora kinase A (AURKA) plays a pivotal role in regulating cell mitosis and tumor progression. However, its prognostic significance across diverse cancer types remains relatively unexplored.

Methods

We conducted a comprehensive analysis of AURKA expression in various cancers using data from The Cancer Genome Atlas, Genotype-Tissue Expression, and The Human Protein Atlas databases. Our investigation encompassed an exploration of the associations between AURKA expression and clinical characteristics, shedding light on potential functional roles of AURKA. Additionally, we delved into the relationship between AURKA and the tumor microenvironment. To substantiate the role of AURKA, we carried out in vitro experiments in esophageal adenocarcinoma (EAC), prostate cancer (PRAD), and pancreatic cancer (PAAD) cells.

Results

Our analysis revealed that AURKA is prominently overexpressed in a majority of the cancer types under investigation. Elevated AURKA expression correlated closely with poorer prognosis and advanced tumor stages. AURKA was found to be associated with key pathways involved in the cell cycle and arachidonic acid metabolism. Moreover, AURKA expression exhibited significant correlations with immunoregulatory genes and immune cell profiles. Notably, in vitro experiments demonstrated that silencing AURKA expression resulted in reduced cell viability in EAC, PRAD, and PAAD cells, as well as a decrease in clone formation, cell cycle elongation, diminished cell invasion and reduced spheroid size in EAC cells (OE33 and OE19).

Conclusion

Our study elucidates the oncogenic role of AURKA and underscores its prognostic value across a spectrum of cancers, including EAC. These findings suggest that AURKA holds promise as a predictive biomarker for EAC and various other tumor types.

Acute myeloid leukemia: from NGS, through scRNA-seq, to CAR-T. dissect cancer heterogeneity and tailor the treatment

Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is a malignant blood cancer with marked cellular heterogeneity due to altered maturation and differentiation of myeloid blasts, the possible causes of which are transcriptional or epigenetic alterations, impaired apoptosis, and excessive cell proliferation. This neoplasm has a high rate of resistance to anticancer therapies and thus a high risk of relapse and mortality because of both the biological diversity of the patient and intratumoral heterogeneity due to the acquisition of new somatic changes. For more than 40 years, the old gold standard "one size fits all" treatment approach included intensive chemotherapy treatment with anthracyclines and cytarabine.The manuscript first traces the evolution of the understanding of the pathology from the 1970s to the present. The enormous strides made in its categorization prove to be crucial for risk stratification, enabling an increasingly personalized diagnosis and treatment approach.Subsequently, we highlight how, over the past 15 years, technological advances enabling single cell RNA sequencing and T-cell modification based on the genomic tools are affecting the classification and treatment of AML. At the dawn of the new millennium, the advent of high-throughput next-generation sequencing technologies has enabled the profiling of patients evidencing different facets of the same disease, stratifying risk, and identifying new possible therapeutic targets that have subsequently been validated. Currently, the possibility of investigating tumor heterogeneity at the single cell level, profiling the tumor at the time of diagnosis or after treatments exist. This would allow the identification of underrepresented cellular subclones or clones resistant to therapeutic approaches and thus responsible for post-treatment relapse that would otherwise be difficult to detect with bulk investigations on the tumor biopsy. Single-cell investigation will then allow even greater personalization of therapy to the genetic and transcriptional profile of the tumor, saving valuable time and dangerous side effects. The era of personalized medicine will take a huge step forward through the disclosure of each individual piece of the complex puzzle that is cancer pathology, to implement a "tailored" therapeutic approach based also on engineered CAR-T cells.

Aurora B Inhibitors as Cancer Therapeutics

The Aurora kinases (A, B, and C) are a family of three isoform serine/threonine kinases that regulate mitosis and meiosis. The Chromosomal Passenger Complex (CPC), which contains Aurora B as an enzymatic component, plays a critical role in cell division. Aurora B in the CPC ensures faithful chromosome segregation and promotes the correct biorientation of chromosomes on the mitotic spindle. Aurora B overexpression has been observed in several human cancers and has been associated with a poor prognosis for cancer patients. Targeting Aurora B with inhibitors is a promising therapeutic strategy for cancer treatment. In the past decade, Aurora B inhibitors have been extensively pursued in both academia and industry. This paper presents a comprehensive review of the preclinical and clinical candidates of Aurora B inhibitors as potential anticancer drugs. The recent advances in the field of Aurora B inhibitor development will be highlighted, and the binding interactions between Aurora B and inhibitors based on crystal structures will be presented and discussed to provide insights for the future design of more selective Aurora B inhibitors.

Is the AURKB Gene Involved in Aml Cell Proliferation Since It is Targeted by miR-34a-5p and let-7b-5p?

ABSTRACT Objective: The production of normal blood cells in the bone marrow is interrupted in AML, which is characterized by the proliferation and accumulation of leukemic blasts. Therefore, patients experience anemia and thrombocytopenia. When gene expression of Aurora kinases, which is reported to be highly expressed in AML, decreases, it may be possible to alleviate the clinical findings in AML. In this study, it was aimed to examine the relationship of AURKB with important miRNAs that have the potential to regulate gene expression. Method: HL60 and NB4 cells were transfected with important tumor suppressor miRNAs miR-34a-5p and let-7b-5p mimics. Then, its effects on proliferation were examined with WST-8 technique and its effects on AURKB gene expression were examined with qRT-PCR. Results: It was determined that these miRNAs negatively regulated proliferation in both AML cell lines and downregulated the expression level of the Aurora kinase B (AURKB) gene in the miRNA transfected group compared to the control group. Conclusion: In conclusion, it was determined that miR-34a-5p and let-7b-5p could regulate AURKB expression in AML cells. Therefore, it was thought that these miRNAs may have an important potential as a therapeutic biomarker in preventing excessive cell division and poor prognosis in AML.

The Relevance of Aurora Kinase Inhibition in Hematological Malignancies

Aurora kinases are a family of serine/threonine protein kinases that play a central role in eukaryotic cell division. Overexpression of aurora kinases in cancer and their role as major regulators of the cell cycle quickly inspired the idea that their inhibition might be a potential pathway when treating oncologic patients. Over the past couple of decades, the search for designing and testing of molecules capable of inhibiting aurora activities fueled many pre-clinical and clinical studies. In this study, data from the past 10 years of in vitro and in vivo investigations, as well as clinical trials, utilizing aurora kinase inhibitors as therapeutics for hematological malignancies were compiled and discussed, aiming to highlight potential uses of these inhibitors as a novel monotherapy model or alongside conventional chemotherapies. While there is still much to be elucidated, it is clear that these kinases play a key role in oncogenesis, and their manageable toxicity and potentially synergistic effects still render them a focus of interest for future investigations in combinatorial clinical trials.

Transcriptional drug repositioning and cheminformatics approach for differentiation therapy of leukaemia cells

Differentiation therapy is attracting increasing interest in cancer as it can be more specific than conventional chemotherapy approaches, and it has offered new treatment options for some cancer types, such as treating acute promyelocytic leukaemia (APL) by retinoic acid. However, there is a pressing need to identify additional molecules which act in this way, both in leukaemia and other cancer types. In this work, we hence developed a novel transcriptional drug repositioning approach, based on both bioinformatics and cheminformatics components, that enables selecting such compounds in a more informed manner. We have validated the approach for leukaemia cells, and retrospectively retinoic acid was successfully identified using our method. Prospectively, the anti-parasitic compound fenbendazole was tested in leukaemia cells, and we were able to show that it can induce the differentiation of leukaemia cells to granulocytes in low concentrations of 0.1 μM and within as short a time period as 3 days. This work hence provides a systematic and validated approach for identifying small molecules for differentiation therapy in cancer.

The landscape of gene co-expression modules correlating with prognostic genetic abnormalities in AML

Background

The heterogenous cytogenetic and molecular variations were harbored by AML patients, some of which are related with AML pathogenesis and clinical outcomes. We aimed to uncover the intrinsic expression profiles correlating with prognostic genetic abnormalities by WGCNA.

Methods

We downloaded the clinical and expression dataset from BeatAML, TCGA and GEO database. Using R (version 4.0.2) and ‘WGCNA’ package, the co-expression modules correlating with the ELN2017 prognostic markers were identified (R² ≥ 0.4, p < 0.01). ORA detected the enriched pathways for the key co-expression modules. The patients in TCGA cohort were randomly assigned into the training set (50%) and testing set (50%). The LASSO penalized regression analysis was employed to build the prediction model, fitting OS to the expression level of hub genes by ‘glmnet’ package. Then the testing and 2 independent validation sets (GSE12417 and GSE37642) were used to validate the diagnostic utility and accuracy of the model.

Results

A total of 37 gene co-expression modules and 973 hub genes were identified for the BeatAML cohort. We found that 3 modules were significantly correlated with genetic markers (the ‘lightyellow’ module for NPM1 mutation, the ‘saddlebrown’ module for RUNX1 mutation, the ‘lightgreen’ module for TP53 mutation). ORA revealed that the ‘lightyellow’ module was mainly enriched in DNA-binding transcription factor activity and activation of HOX genes. The ‘saddlebrown’ module was enriched in immune response process. And the ‘lightgreen’ module was predominantly enriched in mitosis cell cycle process. The LASSO- regression analysis identified 6 genes (NFKB2, NEK9, HOXA7, APRC5L, FAM30A and LOC105371592) with non-zero coefficients. The risk score generated from the 6-gene model, was associated with ELN2017 risk stratification, relapsed disease, and prior MDS history. The 5-year AUC for the model was 0.822 and 0.824 in the training and testing sets, respectively. Moreover, the diagnostic utility of the model was robust when it was employed in 2 validation sets (5-year AUC 0.743–0.79).

Conclusions

We established the co-expression network signature correlated with the ELN2017 recommended prognostic genetic abnormalities in AML. The 6-gene prediction model for AML survival was developed and validated by multiple datasets.

Supplementary Information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12967-021-02914-2.

Chromosomal Instability in Acute Myeloid Leukemia

Chromosomal instability (CIN), the increasing rate in which cells acquire new chromosomal alterations, is one of the hallmarks of cancer. Many studies highlighted CIN as an important mechanism in the origin, progression, and relapse of acute myeloid leukemia (AML). The ambivalent feature of CIN as a cancer-promoting or cancer-suppressing mechanism might explain the prognostic variability. The latter, however, is described in very few studies. This review highlights the important CIN mechanisms in AML, showing that CIN signatures can occur largely in all the three major AML types (de novo AML, secondary-AML, and therapy-related-AML). CIN features in AML could also be age-related and reflect the heterogeneity of the disease. Although most of these abnormalities show an adverse prognostic value, they also offer a strong new perspective on personalized therapy approaches, which goes beyond assessing CIN in vitro in patient tumor samples to predict prognosis. Current and emerging AML therapies are exploring CIN to improve AML treatment, which includes blocking CIN or increasing CIN beyond the limit threshold to induce cell death. We argue that the characterization of CIN features, not included yet in the routine diagnostic of AML patients, might provide a better stratification of patients and be extended to a more personalized therapeutic approach.

Targeting Aurora B kinase with Tanshinone IIA suppresses tumor growth and overcomes radioresistance

Aurora B kinase is aberrantly overexpressed in various tumors and shown to be a promising target for anti-cancer therapy. In human oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC), the high protein level of Aurora B is required for maintaining of malignant phenotypes, including in vitro cell growth, colony formation, and in vivo tumor development. By molecular modeling screening of 74 commercially available natural products, we identified that Tanshinone IIA (Tan IIA), as a potential Aurora B kinase inhibitor. The in silico docking study indicates that Tan IIA docks into the ATP-binding pocket of Aurora B, which is further confirmed by in vitro kinase assay, ex vivo pull-down, and ATP competitive binding assay. Tan IIA exhibited a significant anti-tumor effect on OSCC cells both in vitro and in vivo, including reduction of Aurora B and histone H3 phosphorylation, induction of G2/M cell cycle arrest, increase the population of polyploid cells, and promotion of apoptosis. The in vivo mouse model revealed that Tan IIA delayed tumor growth of OSCC cells. Tan IIA alone or in combination with radiation overcame radioresistance in OSCC xenograft tumors. Taken together, our data indicate that Tan IIA is an Aurora B kinase inhibitor with therapeutic potentials for cancer treatment.

Different p53 genotypes regulating different phosphorylation sites and subcellular location of CDC25C associated with the formation of polyploid giant cancer cells

BACKGROUND

Our previous studies have confirmed that cobalt chloride (CoCl2) can induce the formation of polyploid giant cancer cells (PGCCs), which is the key to the heterogeneity of solid tumors. PGCC formation is closely related to the abnormal expression of cell cycle-related proteins and cell fusion. In this study, we investigated the molecular mechanism of PGCCs formation by detecting the expression of cell cycle-related proteins in mutant and wild-type p53 cancer cell lines.

METHODS

HEY, BT-549, SKOv3 and MDA-MB-231 cells were treated with CoCl2 and the cell cycle was detected by flow cytometry. The expression and subcellular localization of cell cycle-related proteins, kinases, and P53 were compared before and after CoCl2 treatment. Immunoprecipitation was used to analyze the interacting proteins of pCDC25C-Ser216 and pCDC25C-Ser198. The clinicopathologic significances of these cell cycle-related proteins and protein kinases expression were studied.

RESULTS

CoCl2 induced the formation of PGCCs and G2/M arrest. CDC25C, cyclin B1, and CDK1 expressions after CoCl2 treatment were lower than that in control cells. Cytoplasmic CDC25C was degraded by ubiquitin-dependent proteasome. The expression of P53 and phosphokinases including CHK1, CHK2, PLK1, and Aurora A increased after CoCl2 treatment. The expression of pCDC25C-Ser216 and pCDC25C-Ser198 depended upon the genotype of p53. The expressions of cell cycle-related proteins and kinases gradually increased with the development of ovarian cancer and breast cancer.

CONCLUSION

CHK1, CHK2-pCDC25C-Ser216-cyclin B1-CDK1, and Aurora A-PLK1-pCDC25C-Ser198-cyclin B1-CDK1 signaling pathways may participate in the formation of PGCCs and different phosphorylation sites of CDC25C may be associated with the genotype of p53.