A novel treatment strategy targeting polo-like kinase 1 in hematological malignancies.
Polo-like kinase1 (PLK1) belongs to the family of serine/threonine kinases and plays an important role in centrosome maturation, bipolar spindle formation, and cytokinesis during mitosis. We found in this study that PLK1 was aberrantly highly expressed in a variety of human leukemia cell lines (n=20), as well as, freshly isolated leukemia cells from individuals with acute myelogenous leukemia (n=50) and acute lymphoblastic leukemia (n=15) compared with bone marrow mononuclear cells from healthy volunteers (n=13) (acute myelogenous leukemia, P=0.016; acute lymphoblastic leukemia, P=0.008), as measured by real-time RT-PCR. Downregulation of PLK1 by a small interfering RNA in NB4 acute myelogenous leukemia cells inhibited their proliferation. GW843682X is a novel selective PLK1 inhibitor. The compound-induced growth inhibition, caused accumulation of cells in the G2/M phase of the cell cycle and mediated apoptosis of human leukemia cells. Pre-treatment of cells with the caspase inhibitor Z-VAD-FMK attenuated the action of GW843682X in leukemia cells, indicating the involvement of the caspase pathway in the PLK1 inhibitor-mediated apoptosis. Furthermore, we found that the PLK1 inhibitor synergistically potentiated the growth inhibition and apoptosis of leukemia cells when combined with tubulin-depolymerizing agent vincristine. Taken together, targeting PLK1 may be a promising treatment strategy for individuals with leukemia.
Ikezoe
T
T
Department of Hematology and Respiratory Medicine, Kochi University, Nankoku, Kochi, Japan. ikezoet@kochi-u.ac.jp
Yang
J
J
Nishioka
C
C
Takezaki
Y
Y
Tasaka
T
T
Togitani
K
K
Koeffler
H P
HP
Yokoyama
A
A
D017209:Apoptosis / Q000187:drug effects; D001562:Benzimidazoles / Q000494:pharmacology*; D018797:Cell Cycle Proteins / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors* / Q000235:genetics; D002455:Cell Division / Q000187:drug effects; D045744:Cell Line, Tumor; D049109:Cell Proliferation / Q000187:drug effects; D016195:G2 Phase / Q000187:drug effects; D006801:Humans; D007938:Leukemia / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000201:enzymology; D010766:Phosphorylation; D047428:Protein Kinase Inhibitors / Q000494:pharmacology*; D017346:Protein Serine-Threonine Kinases / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors* / Q000235:genetics; D011518:Proto-Oncogene Proteins / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors* / Q000235:genetics; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000032:analysis; D013876:Thiophenes / Q000494:pharmacology*; D014750:Vincristine / Q000494:pharmacology; D000097869:Polo-Like Kinase 1
D001562:Benzimidazoles; D018797:Cell Cycle Proteins; D047428:Protein Kinase Inhibitors; D017346:Protein Serine-Threonine Kinases; D011518:Proto-Oncogene Proteins; D012333:RNA, Messenger; D013876:Thiophenes; D014750:Vincristine; D000097869:Polo-Like Kinase 1; C524135:5-(5,6-dimethoxy-1H-benzimidazol-1-yl)-3-((2-(trifluoromethyl)benzyl)oxy)thiophene-2-carboxamide