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Zeng J, Liang X, Duan L, Tan F, Chen L, Qu J, Li J, Li K, Luo D, Hu Z. Targeted disruption of the BCR-ABL fusion gene by Cas9/dual-sgRNA inhibits proliferation and induces apoptosis in chronic myeloid leukemia cells. Acta Biochim Biophys Sin (Shanghai) 2024; 56:525-537. [PMID: 38414349 DOI: 10.3724/abbs.2023280] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/29/2024] Open
Abstract
The BCR-ABL fusion gene, formed by the fusion of the breakpoint cluster region protein ( BCR) and the Abl Oncogene 1, Receptor Tyrosine Kinase ( ABL) genes, encodes the BCR-ABL oncoprotein, which plays a crucial role in leukemogenesis. Current therapies have limited efficacy in patients with chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) because of drug resistance or disease relapse. Identification of novel strategies to treat CML is essential. This study aims to explore the efficiency of novel CRISPR-associated protein 9 (Cas9)/dual-single guide RNA (sgRNA)-mediated disruption of the BCR-ABL fusion gene by targeting BCR and cABL introns. A co-expression vector for Cas9 green fluorescent protein (GFP)/dual-BA-sgRNA targeting BCR and cABL introns is constructed to produce lentivirus to affect BCR-ABL expression in CML cells. The effects of dual-sgRNA virus-mediated disruption of BCR-ABL are analyzed via the use of a genomic sequence and at the protein expression level. Cell proliferation, cell clonogenic ability, and cell apoptosis are assessed after dual sgRNA virus infection, and phosphorylated BCR-ABL and its downstream signaling molecules are detected. These effects are further confirmed in a CML mouse model via tail vein injection of Cas9-GFP/dual-BA-sgRNA virus-infected cells and in primary cells isolated from patients with CML. Cas9-GFP/dual-BA-sgRNA efficiently disrupts BCR-ABL at the genomic sequence and gene expression levels in leukemia cells, leading to blockade of the BCR-ABL tyrosine kinase signaling pathway and disruption of its downstream molecules, followed by cell proliferation inhibition and cell apoptosis induction. This method prolongs the lifespan of CML model mice. Furthermore, the effect is confirmed in primary cells derived from patients with CML.
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MESH Headings
- Animals
- Humans
- Mice
- Apoptosis/genetics
- Cell Proliferation/genetics
- CRISPR-Cas Systems
- Fusion Proteins, bcr-abl/genetics
- Fusion Proteins, bcr-abl/metabolism
- Genes, abl
- Leukemia, Myelogenous, Chronic, BCR-ABL Positive/genetics
- Leukemia, Myelogenous, Chronic, BCR-ABL Positive/metabolism
- Leukemia, Myelogenous, Chronic, BCR-ABL Positive/therapy
- Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-bcr/genetics
- Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-bcr/metabolism
- RNA, Guide, CRISPR-Cas Systems
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Affiliation(s)
- Jianling Zeng
- Translational Medicine Institute, the First People's Hospital of Chenzhou, Hengyang Medical School, University of South China, Chenzhou 423000, China
- The First Affiliated Hospital of Xiangnan University, Chenzhou 423000, China
| | - Xinquan Liang
- Translational Medicine Institute, the First People's Hospital of Chenzhou, Hengyang Medical School, University of South China, Chenzhou 423000, China
- The First Affiliated Hospital of Xiangnan University, Chenzhou 423000, China
| | - Lili Duan
- Translational Medicine Institute, the First People's Hospital of Chenzhou, Hengyang Medical School, University of South China, Chenzhou 423000, China
- The First Affiliated Hospital of Xiangnan University, Chenzhou 423000, China
| | - Fenghua Tan
- Translational Medicine Institute, the First People's Hospital of Chenzhou, Hengyang Medical School, University of South China, Chenzhou 423000, China
- The First Affiliated Hospital of Xiangnan University, Chenzhou 423000, China
| | - Liujie Chen
- Translational Medicine Institute, the First People's Hospital of Chenzhou, Hengyang Medical School, University of South China, Chenzhou 423000, China
- The First Affiliated Hospital of Xiangnan University, Chenzhou 423000, China
| | - Jiayao Qu
- Translational Medicine Institute, the First People's Hospital of Chenzhou, Hengyang Medical School, University of South China, Chenzhou 423000, China
| | - Jia Li
- Translational Medicine Institute, the First People's Hospital of Chenzhou, Hengyang Medical School, University of South China, Chenzhou 423000, China
- The First Affiliated Hospital of Xiangnan University, Chenzhou 423000, China
| | - Kai Li
- Translational Medicine Institute, the First People's Hospital of Chenzhou, Hengyang Medical School, University of South China, Chenzhou 423000, China
- National Engineering Research Center of Personalized Diagnostic and Therapeutic Technology, Hunan University of Chinese Medicine, Changsha 410208, China
| | - Dixian Luo
- Department of Laboratory Medicine, Huazhong University of Science and Technology Union Shenzhen Hospital (Nanshan Hospital), Shenzhen 518000, China
| | - Zheng Hu
- Translational Medicine Institute, the First People's Hospital of Chenzhou, Hengyang Medical School, University of South China, Chenzhou 423000, China
- The First Affiliated Hospital of Xiangnan University, Chenzhou 423000, China
- National & Local Joint Engineering Laboratory for High-through Molecular Diagnosis Technology, the First People's Hospital of Chenzhou, Chenzhou 423000, China
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Wu A, Liu X, Fruhstorfer C, Jiang X. Clinical Insights into Structure, Regulation, and Targeting of ABL Kinases in Human Leukemia. Int J Mol Sci 2024; 25:3307. [PMID: 38542279 PMCID: PMC10970269 DOI: 10.3390/ijms25063307] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/21/2024] [Revised: 03/12/2024] [Accepted: 03/13/2024] [Indexed: 04/09/2024] Open
Abstract
Chronic myeloid leukemia is a multistep, multi-lineage myeloproliferative disease that originates from a translocation event between chromosome 9 and chromosome 22 within the hematopoietic stem cell compartment. The resultant fusion protein BCR::ABL1 is a constitutively active tyrosine kinase that can phosphorylate multiple downstream signaling molecules to promote cellular survival and inhibit apoptosis. Currently, tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs), which impair ABL1 kinase activity by preventing ATP entry, are widely used as a successful therapeutic in CML treatment. However, disease relapses and the emergence of resistant clones have become a critical issue for CML therapeutics. Two main reasons behind the persisting obstacles to treatment are the acquired mutations in the ABL1 kinase domain and the presence of quiescent CML leukemia stem cells (LSCs) in the bone marrow, both of which can confer resistance to TKI therapy. In this article, we systemically review the structural and molecular properties of the critical domains of BCR::ABL1 and how understanding the essential role of BCR::ABL1 kinase activity has provided a solid foundation for the successful development of molecularly targeted therapy in CML. Comparison of responses and resistance to multiple BCR::ABL1 TKIs in clinical studies and current combination treatment strategies are also extensively discussed in this article.
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MESH Headings
- Humans
- Drug Resistance, Neoplasm/genetics
- Fusion Proteins, bcr-abl
- Leukemia, Myelogenous, Chronic, BCR-ABL Positive/drug therapy
- Leukemia, Myelogenous, Chronic, BCR-ABL Positive/genetics
- Leukemia, Myelogenous, Chronic, BCR-ABL Positive/metabolism
- Protein Kinase Inhibitors/pharmacology
- Protein Kinase Inhibitors/therapeutic use
- Signal Transduction
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrew Wu
- Collings Stevens Chronic Leukemia Research Laboratory, Terry Fox Laboratory, British Columbia Cancer Research Institute, Vancouver, BC V5Z 1L3, Canada; (A.W.); (X.L.)
- Department of Medicine, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z4, Canada
| | - Xiaohu Liu
- Collings Stevens Chronic Leukemia Research Laboratory, Terry Fox Laboratory, British Columbia Cancer Research Institute, Vancouver, BC V5Z 1L3, Canada; (A.W.); (X.L.)
- Department of Medicine, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z4, Canada
| | - Clark Fruhstorfer
- Collings Stevens Chronic Leukemia Research Laboratory, Terry Fox Laboratory, British Columbia Cancer Research Institute, Vancouver, BC V5Z 1L3, Canada; (A.W.); (X.L.)
| | - Xiaoyan Jiang
- Collings Stevens Chronic Leukemia Research Laboratory, Terry Fox Laboratory, British Columbia Cancer Research Institute, Vancouver, BC V5Z 1L3, Canada; (A.W.); (X.L.)
- Department of Medicine, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z4, Canada
- Department of Medical Genetics, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z4, Canada
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Bowland K, Lai J, Skaist A, Zhang Y, Teh SSK, Roberts NJ, Thompson E, Wheelan SJ, Hruban RH, Karchin R, Iacobuzio-Donahue CA, Eshleman JR. Islands of genomic stability in the face of genetically unstable metastatic cancer. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2024:2024.01.26.577508. [PMID: 38352348 PMCID: PMC10862738 DOI: 10.1101/2024.01.26.577508] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/20/2024]
Abstract
Introduction Metastatic cancer affects millions of people worldwide annually and is the leading cause of cancer-related deaths. Most patients with metastatic disease are not eligible for surgical resection, and current therapeutic regimens have varying success rates, some with 5-year survival rates below 5%. Here we test the hypothesis that metastatic cancer can be genetically targeted by exploiting single base substitution mutations unique to individual cells that occur as part of normal aging prior to transformation. These mutations are targetable because ~10% of them form novel tumor-specific "NGG" protospacer adjacent motif (PAM) sites targetable by CRISPR-Cas9. Methods Whole genome sequencing was performed on five rapid autopsy cases of patient-matched primary tumor, normal and metastatic tissue from pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma decedents. CRISPR-Cas9 PAM targets were determined by bioinformatic tumor-normal subtraction for each patient and verified in metastatic samples by high-depth capture-based sequencing. Results We found that 90% of PAM targets were maintained between primary carcinomas and metastases overall. We identified rules that predict PAM loss or retention, where PAMs located in heterozygous regions in the primary tumor can be lost in metastases (private LOH), but PAMs occurring in regions of loss of heterozygosity (LOH) in the primary tumor were universally conserved in metastases. Conclusions Regions of truncal LOH are strongly retained in the presence of genetic instability, and therefore represent genetic vulnerabilities in pancreatic adenocarcinomas. A CRISPR-based gene therapy approach targeting these regions may be a novel way to genetically target metastatic cancer.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kirsten Bowland
- Department of Pathology, The Sol Goldman Pancreatic Cancer Research Center, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Jiaying Lai
- Institute for Computational Medicine, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland, USA
| | - Alyza Skaist
- Department of Oncology, Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Yan Zhang
- Department of Oncology, Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Selina Shiqing K Teh
- Department of Pathology, The Sol Goldman Pancreatic Cancer Research Center, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Nicholas J. Roberts
- Department of Pathology, The Sol Goldman Pancreatic Cancer Research Center, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA
- Department of Oncology, Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Elizabeth Thompson
- Department of Oncology, Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Sarah J. Wheelan
- National Human Genome Research Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland, USA
| | - Ralph H. Hruban
- Department of Pathology, The Sol Goldman Pancreatic Cancer Research Center, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA
- Department of Oncology, Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Rachel Karchin
- Institute for Computational Medicine, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland, USA
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland, USA
| | - Christine A. Iacobuzio-Donahue
- Human Oncology and Pathogenesis Program, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY, USA; Department of Pathology, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY, USA
| | - James R. Eshleman
- Department of Pathology, The Sol Goldman Pancreatic Cancer Research Center, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA
- Department of Oncology, Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins, Baltimore, MD, USA
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