Selective Targeting of the Proliferating Compartment in Chronic Lymhocytic Leukemia by Inhibition or Downregulation of Aurora Kinases

ABSTRACT: 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.

ORGANISM(S): Homo sapiens

PROVIDER: GSE30896 | GEO | 2011/07/26

SECONDARY ACCESSION(S): PRJNA144237

REPOSITORIES: GEO