title: Targeting phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase signaling in acute myelogenous leukemia.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Despite continuous advances in our knowledge of the biology of acute myelogenous leukemia (AML), the prognosis of AML patients treated with standard chemotherapy is still poor, especially in the elderly. Therefore, there is a need for novel targeted and less toxic therapies, particularly for patients who develop resistance to traditional chemotherapeutic drugs. Constitutively active phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K) signaling characterizes many types of tumors, including AML, where it negatively influences response to therapeutic treatments.
  
  
  METHODS
  The literature data showed that small inhibitor molecules targeting PI3K signaling induced cell cycle arrest, apoptosis and decreased drug-resistance in AML cells. PI3K inhibitors were also capable of targeting leukemic initiating cells (LICs), the most relevant target for leukemia eradication, whereas they tended to spare healthy hematopoietic stem cells.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Data emerging from pre-clinical settings suggest that the PI3K pathway is critically involved in regulating proliferation, survival and drug-resistance of AML cells. Therefore, we propose that novel drugs targeting this signaling pathway may offer a novel and less toxic treatment option for AML patients, most likely in combination with a lower dosage of traditional chemotherapeutic agents or other innovative therapeutic agents.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Molecular Genetics, National Research Council-Rizzoli Orthopedic Institute, Bologna, Italy. camilla.evangelisti@gmail.com
authors.forename: Camilla
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Evangelisti
authors.forename: Cecilia
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Evangelisti
authors.forename: Daniela
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Bressanin
authors.forename: Francesca
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Buontempo
authors.forename: Francesca
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Chiarini
authors.forename: Annalisa
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Lonetti
authors.forename: Marina
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Soncin
authors.forename: Antonino
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Spartà
authors.forename: James A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: McCubrey
authors.forename: Alberto M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Martelli
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D006801:Humans; D015470:Leukemia, Myeloid, Acute / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000378:metabolism*; D058539:Phosphatidylinositol 3-Kinase / Q000378:metabolism*; D000081082:Phosphoinositide-3 Kinase Inhibitors; D015398:Signal Transduction
chemical_list: D000081082:Phosphoinositide-3 Kinase Inhibitors; D058539:Phosphatidylinositol 3-Kinase