摘要
Treatment of resistant or recurrent acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) remains a challenge. It was previously demonstrated that the adhesion molecule integrin alpha 4, referred to hereafter as alpha 4, mediates the cell adhesion-mediated drug resistance (CAM-DR) of B-cell ALL by binding to vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 (VCAM-1) on bone marrow stroma. In addition, it was previously observed that the blockade of alpha 4 with natalizumab or inhibition using the small molecule antagonist TBC3486 sensitized relapsed ALL cells to chemotherapy. However, alpha 4-targeted therapy is not clinically available for the treatment of leukemia to date. In the present study, the use of a novel non-peptidic small molecule integrin alpha 4 antagonist, AVA4746, as a potential new approach to combat drug-resistant B-ALL was explored. An in vitro co-culture = model of primary B-ALL cells and an in vivo xenograft model of patient-derived B-ALL cells were utilized for evaluation of AVA4746. VLA-4 conformation activation, cell adhesion/de-adhesion, endothelial tube formation, in vivo leukemia cell mobilization and survival assays were performed. AVA4746 exhibited high affinity for binding to B-ALL cells, where it also efficiently blocked ligand-binding to VCAM-1. In addition, AVA4746 caused the functional de-adhesion of primary B-ALL cells from VCAM-1. Inhibition of alpha 4 using AVA4746 also prevented angiogenesis in vitro and when applied in combination with chemotherapy consisting of Vincristine, Dexamethasone and L-asparaginase, it prolonged the survival of similar to 33% of the mice in an in vivo xenograft model of B-ALL. These data implicate the potential of targeting the alpha 4-VCAM-1 interaction using AVA4746 for the treatment of drug-resistant B-lineage ALL.
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单位中山大学; 南方医科大学