Project description:B cell chronic lymphocytic leukemia - A model with immune response
Seema Nanda 1, , Lisette dePillis 2, and Ami Radunskaya 3,
1.
Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Centre for Applicable Mathematics, Bangalore 560065, India
2.
Department of Mathematics, Harvey Mudd College, Claremont, CA 91711
3.
Department of Mathematics, Pomona College, Claremont, CA, 91711, United States
Abstract
B cell chronic lymphocytic leukemia (B-CLL) is known to have substantial clinical heterogeneity. There is no cure, but treatments allow for disease management. However, the wide range of clinical courses experienced by B-CLL patients makes prognosis and hence treatment a significant challenge. In an attempt to study disease progression across different patients via a unified yet flexible approach, we present a mathematical model of B-CLL with immune response, that can capture both rapid and slow disease progression. This model includes four different cell populations in the peripheral blood of humans: B-CLL cells, NK cells, cytotoxic T cells and helper T cells. We analyze existing data in the medical literature, determine ranges of values for parameters of the model, and compare our model outcomes to clinical patient data. The goal of this work is to provide a tool that may shed light on factors affecting the course of disease progression in patients. This modeling tool can serve as a foundation upon which future treatments can be based.
Keywords: NK cell, chronic lymphocytic leukemia, mathematical model, T cell., B-CLL.
Project description:Inflammatory factors that activate NFkB play an important role in the pathogenesis of chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) but are not addressed specifically by current therapies. Interleukin-1 (IL-1) is a master-regulator of inflammation that is inhibited safely in humans by the IL-1 receptor antagonist anakinra. Anakinra (K) was found to inhibit NFkB activity in CLL cells in an IL-1 receptor independent manner and had properties of an intracellular anti-oxidant in vitro.
Project description:Chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) is characterized by the accumulation of malignant CD5+ B lymphocytes (CLL cells) in the peripheral blood, and their progressive infiltration in lymphoid organs. MMP-9 plays an important role in cell migration and survival, contributes to CLL pathogenesis by proteolytic and non-proteolytic mechanisms and may constitutive a therapeutic target. We used Affimetrix microarray technology to characterize the global gene expression profile of chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) cells upon MMP-9 transfection. The aim was to establish whether MMP-9 regulates gene expression and to identify new therapeutic targets in CLL.
Project description:Chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) B-cells receive signals from the lymph node and bone marrow (BM) microenvironments that regulate their survival and proliferation. These signals and the pathways that propagate them to the interior of the cell represent potential targets for therapeutic intervention. To characterize the pathways that are activated by the BM microenvironment in CLL cells in vivo, we performed gene expression profiling of tumor cells purified from BM and peripheral blood. Functional classification analysis revealed that the most frequently upregulated genes in BM-CLL cells are genes involved in cell cycle and mitosis. Among the most significantly overexpressed were the Aurora A and B kinases. To investigate whether these kinases could represent potential therapeutic targets in CLL, we performed RNA interference experiments in the CLL cell lines MEC1 and EHEB. Downregulation of Aurora A and B inhibited the proliferation and induced apoptosis in these cells. Similar effects were observed with the pan-Aurora kinase inhibitor VX-680 in primary CLL cells induced to proliferate by CpG-ODN and IL-2. VX-680 also inhibited leukemia growth in vivo in a mouse model of CLL. These data suggest that inhibition of Aurora kinases could represent a potential strategy to selectively target the proliferating compartment in CLL. To identify gene expression related to microenvironmental stimuli in B-cell Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia (CLL) cells in vivo, expression profiles of CLL cells purified (>95%) from bone marrow (BM) and peripheral blood (PB) were compared. Paired BM and PB samples from 6 individuals were used for this analysis.
Project description:Inflammatory factors that activate NFkB play an important role in the pathogenesis of chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) but are not addressed specifically by current therapies. Interleukin-1 (IL-1) is a master-regulator of inflammation that is inhibited safely in humans by the IL-1 receptor antagonist anakinra. Anakinra was found to inhibit NFkB activity in CLL cells in an IL-1 receptor independent manner and had properties of an intracellular anti-oxidant in vitro. A phase I dose-escalation trial in 11 previously untreated CLL patients (NCT04691765) indicated anakinra was safe at doses up to 400 mg daily and produced transient clinical responses associated with down-regulation of NFkB and oxidative stress in circulating CLL cells in vivo. However, type 1 interferon (IFN)-signaling and c-MYC-regulated genes and proteins were induced at the same time.