title: Vincristine but not imatinib could suppress mesenchymal niche's support to lymphoid leukemic cells.
abstract: Bone marrow mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) can rescue acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) cells from L-asparaginase by replenishing the depleted asparagine. As both vincristine (VCR) and imatinib mesylate (IM) can inhibit MSCs' proliferation, we hypothesized that these drugs might reduce the niche support of MSCs to ALL cells. As a consequence, they can help to re-establish the cytotoxic potential of L-asparaginase on ALL cells even under MSCs support. In our study, pre-treating human MSCs with VCR but not IM, markedly reduced the protective capacity of MSCs. Furthermore, differential rescue effects were observed during addition of exogenous L-asparagine to co-culture with or without VCR pre-treatment. This supported the postulation that VCR could suppress the protective effect of MSCs to ALL cells by suppressing L-asparagine secretion. Our results suggested that the combined VCR and L-asparaginase treatment in ALL were synergistic and VCR can serve as an effective agent in suppressing the leukemic marrow microenvironment.
authors.affiliation: Department of Paediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China.
authors.forename: Kwong-Lam
authors.initials: KL
authors.lastname: Fung
authors.forename: Raymond Hin-Suen
authors.initials: RH
authors.lastname: Liang
authors.forename: Godfrey Chi-Fung
authors.initials: GC
authors.lastname: Chan
mesh_terms: D000970:Antineoplastic Agents / Q000494:pharmacology; D001215:Asparaginase / Q000378:metabolism; D001549:Benzamides; D001854:Bone Marrow Cells / Q000166:cytology; D018920:Coculture Techniques; D004354:Drug Screening Assays, Antitumor; D006801:Humans; D000068877:Imatinib Mesylate; D020128:Inhibitory Concentration 50; D007945:Leukemia, Lymphoid / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000473:pathology*; D059630:Mesenchymal Stem Cells / Q000166:cytology; D008648:Mesoderm / Q000378:metabolism*; D008954:Models, Biological; D010879:Piperazines / Q000494:pharmacology*; D011743:Pyrimidines / Q000494:pharmacology*; D017154:Stromal Cells / Q000378:metabolism; D013778:Tetrazolium Salts / Q000494:pharmacology; D014750:Vincristine / Q000494:pharmacology*
chemical_list: D000970:Antineoplastic Agents; D001549:Benzamides; D010879:Piperazines; D011743:Pyrimidines; D013778:Tetrazolium Salts; C059087:2,3-bis(2-methoxy-4-nitro-5-sulfophenyl)-5-((phenylamino)carbonyl)-2H-tetrazolium hydroxide; D014750:Vincristine; D000068877:Imatinib Mesylate; D001215:Asparaginase