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A chemical screen identifies the chemotherapeutic drug topotecan as a specific inhibitor of the B-MYB/MYCN axis in neuroblastoma.

ABSTRACT: The transcription factor MycN is the prototypical neuroblastoma oncogene and a potential therapeutic target. However, its strong expression caused by gene amplification in about 30% of neuroblastoma patients is a considerable obstacle to the development of therapeutic approaches aiming at eliminating its tumourigenic activity. We have previously reported that B-Myb is essentially required for transcription of the MYCN amplicon and have also shown that B-MYB and MYCN are engaged in a feed forward loop promoting the survival/proliferation of neuroblastoma cells. We postulated that pharmacological strategies breaking the B-MYB/MYCN axis should result in clinically desirable effects. Thus, we implemented a high throughput chemical screen, using a curated library of ~1500 compounds from the National Cancer Institute, whose endpoint was the identification of small molecules that inhibited B-Myb. At the end of the screening, we found that the compounds pinafide, ellipticine and camptothecin inhibited B-Myb transcriptional activity in luciferase assays. One of the compounds, the topoisomerase-1 inhibitor camptothecin, is of considerable clinical interest since its derivatives topotecan and irinotecan are currently used as first and second line treatment agents for various types of cancer, including neuroblastoma. We found that neuroblastoma cells with amplification of MYCN are more sensitive than MYCN negative cells to camptothecin and topotecan killing. Campothecin and topotecan caused selective down-regulation of B-Myb and MycN expression in neuroblastoma cells. Notably, forced overexpression of B-Myb could antagonize the killing effect of topotecan and camptothecin, demonstrating that the transcription factor is a key target of the drugs. These results suggest that camptothecin and its analogues should be more effective in patients whose tumours feature amplification of MYCN and/or overexpression of B-MYB.

SUBMITTER: Sottile F

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3388183 | biostudies-literature | 2012 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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A chemical screen identifies the chemotherapeutic drug topotecan as a specific inhibitor of the B-MYB/MYCN axis in neuroblastoma.

Sottile Francesco F Gnemmi Ilaria I Cantilena Sandra S D'Acunto Walter C WC Sala Arturo A

Oncotarget 20120501 5

The transcription factor MycN is the prototypical neuroblastoma oncogene and a potential therapeutic target. However, its strong expression caused by gene amplification in about 30% of neuroblastoma patients is a considerable obstacle to the development of therapeutic approaches aiming at eliminating its tumourigenic activity. We have previously reported that B-Myb is essentially required for transcription of the MYCN amplicon and have also shown that B-MYB and MYCN are engaged in a feed forward ...[more]

PMID: 22619121

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Project description:Neuroblastoma derived from primitive sympathetic neural precursors is a common type of solid tumor in infants. MYCN proto?oncogene bHLH transcription factor (MYCN) amplification and 1p36 deletion are important factors associated with the poor prognosis of neuroblastoma. Expression levels of MYCN and c?MYB proto?oncogene transcription factor (c?myb) decline during the differentiation of neuroblastoma cells; E2F transcription factor 1 (E2F1) activates the MYCN promoter. However, the underlying mechanism of MYCN overexpression and amplification requires further investigation. In the present study, potential c?Myb target genes, and the effect of c?myb RNA interference (RNAi) on MYCN expression and amplification were investigated in MYCN?amplified neuroblastoma cell lines. The mRNA expression levels and MYCN gene copy number in five neuroblastoma cell lines were determined by quantitative polymerase chain reaction. In addition, variations in potential target gene expression and MYCN gene copy number between pre? and post?c?myb RNAi treatment groups in MYCN?amplified Kelly, IMR32, SIMA and MHH?NB?11 cell lines, normalized to those of non?MYCN?amplified SH?SY5Y, were examined. To determine the associations between gene expression levels and chromosomal aberrations, MYCN amplification and 1p36 alterations in interphases/metaphases were analyzed using fluorescence in situ hybridization. Statistical analyses revealed correlations between 1p36 alterations and the expression of c?myb, MYB proto?oncogene like 2 (B?myb) and cyclin dependent kinase inhibitor 1A (p21). Additionally, the results of the present study also demonstrated that c?myb may be associated with E2F1 and L3MBTL1 histone methyl?lysine binding protein (L3MBTL1) expression, and that E2F1 may contribute to MYCN, B?myb, p21 and chromatin licensing and DNA replication factor 1 (hCdt1) expression, but to the repression of geminin (GMNN). On c?myb RNAi treatment, L3MBTL1 expression was silenced, while GMNN was upregulated, indicating G2/M arrest. In addition, MYCN gene copy number increased following treatment with c?myb RNAi. Notably, the present study also reported a 43.545% sequence identity between upstream of MYCN and Drosophila melanogaster amplification control element 3, suggesting that expression and/or amplification mechanisms of developmentally?regulated genes may be evolutionarily conserved. In conclusion, c?myb may be associated with regulating MYCN expression and amplification. c?myb, B?myb and p21 may also serve a role against chromosome 1p aberrations. Together, it was concluded that MYCN gene is amplified during S phase, potentially via a replication?based mechanism.

Project description:The prognosis of advanced stage neuroblastoma patients remains poor and, despite intensive therapy, the 5-year survival rate remains less than 50%. We previously identified histone deacetylase (HDAC) 8 as an indicator of poor clinical outcome and a selective drug target for differentiation therapy in vitro and in vivo. Here, we performed kinome-wide RNAi screening to identify genes that are synthetically lethal with HDAC8 inhibitors. These experiments identified the neuroblastoma predisposition gene ALK as a candidate gene. Accordingly, the combination of the ALK/MET inhibitor crizotinib and selective HDAC8 inhibitors (3-6?µM PCI-34051 or 10?µM 20a) efficiently killed neuroblastoma cell lines carrying wildtype ALK (SK-N-BE(2)-C, IMR5/75), amplified ALK (NB-1), and those carrying the activating ALK F1174L mutation (Kelly), and, in cells carrying the activating R1275Q mutation (LAN-5), combination treatment decreased viable cell count. The effective dose of crizotinib in neuroblastoma cell lines ranged from 0.05?µM (ALK-amplified) to 0.8?µM (wildtype ALK). The combinatorial inhibition of ALK and HDAC8 also decreased tumor growth in an in vivo zebrafish xenograft model. Bioinformatic analyses revealed that the mRNA expression level of HDAC8 was significantly correlated with that of ALK in two independent patient cohorts, the Academic Medical Center cohort (n?=?88) and the German Neuroblastoma Trial cohort (n?=?649), and co-expression of both target genes identified patients with very poor outcome. Mechanistically, HDAC8 and ALK converge at the level of receptor tyrosine kinase (RTK) signaling and their downstream survival pathways, such as ERK signaling. Combination treatment of HDAC8 inhibitor with crizotinib efficiently blocked the activation of growth receptor survival signaling and shifted the cell cycle arrest and differentiation phenotype toward effective cell death of neuroblastoma cell lines, including sensitization of resistant models, but not of normal cells. These findings reveal combined targeting of ALK and HDAC8 as a novel strategy for the treatment of neuroblastoma.

Dataset Information

A chemical screen identifies the chemotherapeutic drug topotecan as a specific inhibitor of the B-MYB/MYCN axis in neuroblastoma.

Publications

A chemical screen identifies the chemotherapeutic drug topotecan as a specific inhibitor of the B-MYB/MYCN axis in neuroblastoma.

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