Abstract 4429: Characterization of the kinesin spindle protein inhibitor AZD4877

The process of mitosis is a validated point of intervention in cancer therapy and a variety of anti-mitotic drugs are successfully being used in the clinic. To date, all approved antimitotics target the spindle microtubules, thus interfering with spindle dynamics, leading to mitotic arrest and apoptosis. While effective, these drugs are also associated with a variety of side effects, including neurotoxicity. In recent years, mitotic kinesins have attracted significant attention in the search for novel, alternative mitotic drug targets. In addition, kinesin inhibitors may overcome resistance to microtubule targeting drugs.

Here we describe the pharmacological evaluation of AZD4877, a selective Eg5 inhibitor. AZD4877 exhibits potent cell growth inhibition in vitro against a broad panel of both solid and hematological tumor cell lines. Efficacy is associated with formation of monoastral spindles, mitotic block and the induction of apoptosis. AZD4877 also demonstrates activity in multiple tumor xenograft models, including primary bladder tumor explants and a Rituximab-insensitive non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma model (DoHH2T53). Combination studies with a taxane agent (Docetaxel) demonstrate additive efficacy of tumor growth inhibition, with notable tumor regrowth delay in the combination arm. In summary, AZD4877 is an active Eg5 inhibitor with potent anti-tumor activities in vitro and in vivo. The efficacy observed in combination studies and in a rituximab-resistant tumor model suggests possible clinical applications for this agent.

Citation Format: {Authors}. {Abstract title} [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 101st Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2010 Apr 17-21; Washington, DC. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2010;70(8 Suppl):Abstract nr 4429.

The JAK2 inhibitor AZD1480 potently blocks Stat3 signaling and oncogenesis in solid tumors

Persistent activation of Stat3 is oncogenic and is prevalent in a wide variety of human cancers. Chronic cytokine stimulation is associated with Stat3 activation in some tumors, implicating cytokine receptor-associated Jak family kinases. Using Jak2 inhibitors, we demonstrate a central role of Jaks in modulating basal and cytokine-induced Stat3 activation in human solid tumor cell lines. Inhibition of Jak2 activity is associated with abrogation of Stat3 nuclear translocation and tumorigenesis. The Jak2 inhibitor AZD1480 suppresses the growth of human solid tumor xenografts harboring persistent Stat3 activity. We demonstrate the essential role of Stat3 downstream of Jaks by inhibition of tumor growth using short hairpin RNA targeting Stat3. Our data support a key role of Jak kinase activity in Stat3-dependent tumorigenesis.

Short-term and long-term variability of standard deviation scores for size in children

PRIMARY OBJECTIVE

To quantify long-term and short-term variability in the standard deviation scores (SDS's) for six skeletal size variables and body mass index (BMI) in children and to compare average values of these quantities for boys with those of girls and to make comparisons across variables.

METHODS AND PROCEDURES

The analysis is based on measurements made regularly for 120 boys and 112 girls from 1 month until 20 years for seven variables (standing height, sitting height, leg height, arm length, biiliac width, bihumeral width and BMI) as part of the first Zurich longitudinal growth study. Variation in these scores due to variablity in the timing of the pubertal spurt (PS) is separated out by rescaling the age axis on an individual basis and comparing children with the same developmental age rather than the same chronological age. For a given child, the relationship between the value of its SDS and age is modelled as the sum of an arbitrary (child dependent) smooth function plus an error term. The long-term variability for that child is defined to be the mean square of the departures of this smooth function from its mean level while the short-term variability is defined to be the variance of the error term.

MAIN OUTCOMES AND RESULTS

Girls' SDS scores have significantly more long-term variability than those of boys, while there is no significant difference between the sexes for short-term variability. Bihumeral width, BMI and sitting height have significantly more long-term variation than the other variables. Bihumeral width and BMI have the largest short-term variability and standing height has the smallest. Correlations between long-term variability and adult size and timing and intensity of the PS were small.

CONCLUSIONS

A useful way of assessing long-term and short-term variability of SDS's, which is widely applicable has been described and applied to data relating to the growth of children. The results of this analysis are intriguing. Why is the underlying growth process of girls more variable than that of boys? Differences across skeletal parameters are also interesting and deserve further consideration.

Neuromotor development from 5 to 18 years. Part 1: timed performance

Timed performance in specific motor tasks is an essential component of a neurological examination applied to children with motor dysfunctions. This article provides centile curves describing normal developmental course and interindividual variation of timed performances of non-disabled children from 5 to 18 years. In a cross-sectional study (n=662) the following motor tasks were investigated: repetitive finger movements, hand and foot movements, alternating hand and foot movements, sequential finger movements, pegboard, and dynamic and static balance. Intraobserver, interobserver, and test-retest reliability for timed measurements were moderate to high. Timed performances improved throughout the entire prepubertal period, but differed among various motor tasks with respect to increase in speed and when the 'adolescent plateau' was reached. Centile curves of timed performance displayed large interindividual variation for all motor tasks. At no age were clinically relevant sex differences noted, nor did socioeconomic status significantly correlate with timed performance. Our results demonstrate that timed motor performances between 5 and 18 years are characterized by a long-lasting developmental change and a large interindividual variation. Therefore, a well standardized test instrument, and age-specific standards for motor performances are necessary preconditions for a reliable assessment of motor competence in school-age children.

Statistical characterization of the pubertal growth spurt

BACKGROUND

This is a methodical investigation into the problem of estimating parameters for the pubertal spurt (PS). The variability involved in determining the timing, intensity and duration of the PS for height, leg height and biiliac width is estimated via a realistic simulation. Further, a decomposition of adolescent growth into a component due to the pubertal peak and one due to ongoing prepubertal velocity is evaluated.

METHODS

Data for 120 boys and 112 girls are available from 4 weeks to adulthood. The curve-fitting method is kernel estimation for distance, velocity and acceleration.

RESULTS

The age of peak velocity and the age of stopping of the PS are well determined. In contrast, the age of onset of the PS is less well determined. Intensity is less variable for the parameter peak velocity than for maximal acceleration. It is feasible to decompose adolescent growth into a component due to the pubertal peak and one due to ongoing prepubertal growth.

CONCLUSIONS

Nonparametric curve-fitting methods which do not rely on a parametric growth model can be successfully used to extract individual characteristics of the PS.

Growth processes leading to a large or small adult size

BACKGROUND

The way in which a large size in anthropometric variables is achieved is a longstanding problem, since the pubertal spurt shows statistically and clinically little association with adult size (mostly studied for height). By analysing longitudinal growth of groups of subjects with a large or a small adult size separately for height, leg and sitting height, and bihumeral and biiliac width, we studied this problem in some detail. Of interest are growth patterns specific for these variables and for boys or girls.

METHODS

The data consist of 120 boys and 112 girls followed longitudinally from 4 weeks until adulthood. Statistically, structural average velocity curves were computed for each variable and each subgroup separately for comparison. This velocity curve represents the average intensity and the average tempo of growth. Since the area under the velocity curve is adult size, differences in the growth process can be visualized.

RESULTS

Both sexes show similar patterns in reaching a small or large adult size. The different variables, however, show marked differences. Only for legs is the pubertal spurt delayed for the large groups (with additional gains in prepubertal years). For sitting height and biiliac width, a slightly elevated velocity all along development (after 2 years) leads to a larger size and for bihumeral width the size of the pubertal peak is decisive.

CONCLUSIONS

The steering of growth to a certain target size is qualitatively similar for boys and girls, but quite different for different anthropometric variables. This leads to questions about endocrinological control for various parts of the body and differential bone growth in development.

Growth of early and late maturers

BACKGROUND

This is a study on the growth of subgroups of normal children, maturing early or late, in the variables height, leg and sitting height, arm length, biiliac and bihumeral width. While a longer growth period affects adult height only marginally, less is known about the other variables. It is also of interest to see in what way a shorter growth period is compensated by a higher velocity.

METHODS

Out of 120 boys and 112 girls followed from 4 weeks until adulthood, subgroups of 40 boys and 37 girls were formed with respect to the average timing (across variables) of the pubertal spurt as an indicator of maturity.

RESULTS

Only leg height shows a smaller adult size for early maturers. The shorter growth period is compensated by a higher prepubertal velocity and a higher level in pubertal years. The pubertal peak is a little larger for early maturing boys but not for girls.

CONCLUSIONS

There is an inherent pacemaker for growth that leads to the same adult size for a shorter growth period via a higher basic intensity. Legs are an exception since late maturers have, on average, longer legs as adults.

Contribution of growth phases to adult size

Based on the data of the First Zurich Longitudinal Growth Study we investigate how interindividual differences in adult size arise in the variables leg height, sitting height and standing height, arm length, bi-iliac width and bihumeral width. Specifically, we are also interested in the question of whether across sexes and variables the same growth phases and the same parameters are predictive for achieving a certain adult size. A rather complex pattern emerges, demonstrating that regulation of growth is not the same for boys and girls and moreover is not the same for the six anthropometric variables studied. Prepubertal growth is characterized by its intensity (average velocity) and by its duration. Whereas duration has by itself no appreciable influence on adult size, prepubertal intensity determines adult size to a high degree across all variables and both sexes. The intensity of prepubertal growth determines adult size to a larger degree for boys than for girls. For a given size at the end of the prepubertal period, a small duration enhances the chance of obtaining a large adult size. Compared with prepubertal growth, the amount of variance of adult size explained is small for pubertal parameters, and--with respect to linear measures--significant for girls only. A small duration of prepubertal growth is in the following mainly compensated by a stronger pubertal spurt (PS), to a varying degree across variables. The overall picture which emerges indicates that sitting height--and to a lesser extent bihumeral width--develop in a more irregular fashion than the variables bi-iliac width and leg height.

Sex dimorphism in growth

While there is agreement that sex differences in height are small up to the onset of the pubertal spurt in girls, there has been some debate about the question of which, and to what extent, various growth phases contribute to the average adult sex difference of about 13 cm. There has been no consistent agreement between authors as to what extent this difference is due to the late onset of the pubertal spurt (PS) for boys and to what extent it is due to their more intense PS. In this paper, we investigate this question for the variables height, sitting and leg height, arm length, bihumeral and biiliac width. Biiliac width is a special case since both sexes have roughly the same adult size, but girls still have a shorter growing period. The gains for boys, when compared to girls, show a very different pattern across variables: for the legs, the additional growth due to the later spurt is responsible for most of the adult sex difference (64%). On the other hand, for bihumeral width and sitting height, the more intense PS contributes almost 50% to the adult sex difference. An analysis across variables indicates that increments from 1.5 to 6 years largely compensate for deviations in infant morphology from adult morphology.

An analysis of variance of the pubertal and midgrowth spurts for length and width

Using data from the first Zurich Longitudinal Growth Study characteristics of the growth of six variables--bihumeral width, biiliac width, standing height, sitting height, leg height and arm length--are studied. The main interest is in differences between boys and girls, and across variables and in particular in whether there are sex differences that are specific for some variables. For each child and variable, individual velocity and acceleration curves are estimated using a kernal smoother. From these curves, parameters characterizing the midgrowth spurt (MS) and the pubertal spurt (PS) are estimated: timings, durations and intensities. The level of childhood velocity is used for characterizing early growth. These parameters are analysed using a repeated measures analysis of variance (ANOVA) to assess the statistical significance of differences between boys and girls and across variables. This necessitates some kind of standardization and two types of standardization are used here. The MS shows negligible or small differences between boys and girls, and the same is true for velocity in childhood. Differences across variables during the MS are much more pronounced: with respect to intensity, bihumeral width has an MS about six times more intense than height. The PS is later for boys (as is well known), and there are significant differences across variables: bihumeral width and sitting height are late while legs are early. With the exception of biiliac width, the duration of the PS (which has been subdivided into three phases-early, middle and late) is slightly longer for boys for all variables: boys have a longer starting phase, the middle phase is about equal in length for both boys and girls, and girls have a slightly longer late phase. Leg height and height experience a PS of short duration while bihumeral and biiliac width experience a long one and these differences are highly statistically significant. For all variables, with the exception of biiliac width, boys have a more intense PS (in terms of maximal acceleration), even having adjusted for their larger adult size. Differences in intensity are also marked across variables, bihumeral width and sitting height having the highest intensity and legs the lowest. Differences between sexes and across variables are much smaller for the stopping intensity, characterized by maximal deceleration.

Both E12 and E47 allow commitment to the B cell lineage

The E2A gene products, E12 and E47, are required for proper B cell development. Mice lacking the E2A gene products generate only a very small number of B220+ cells, which lack immunoglobulin DJ(H) rearrangements. We have now generated mice expressing either E12 or E47. B cell development in mice expressing E12 but lacking E47 is perturbed at the pro-B cell stage, and these mice lack IgM+B220+ B cells in both bone marrow and spleen. IgM+B220+ B cells can be detected, albeit at significantly reduced levels, in the bone marrow and spleen of mice lacking E12. Ectopic expression of both E12 and E47 in a null mutant background shows that E12 and E47 act in concert to promote B lineage development. Taken together, the data indicate that both E12 and E47 allow commitment to the B cell lineage and act synergistically to promote B lymphocyte maturation.

Spinal flexibility and individual factors that influence it

We conducted an investigation to examine the spinal flexibility of a large, adult population and to study the effects of other individual physical characteristics on spinal range of motion. The study group consisted of 3,020 blue collar employees (2,350 men and 670 women) who underwent a physical examination that included assessments of standing and sitting height, weight, shoulder flexibility, and spinal flexibility in the sagittal and frontal planes. Flexibility measures were correlated positively to one another; however, lumbosacral flexion measurements assessed by the modified Schober method correlated to the other flexibility measurements to a much lesser degree. Age, sex, and height affected ROM, as did obesity and the ratio of standing height to sitting height. The study findings indicate that spinal ROM covers a wide spectrum of values and is affected by many individual factors. Any attempts to determine what is normal, excessive, or diminished must take into account variations caused by age, sex, and other physical attributes.