TAL1 mediates imatinib-induced CML cell apoptosis via the PTEN/PI3K/AKT pathway.

Chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) is associated with chromosomal translocation t(9; 22), which results in formation of the BCR-ABL oncogene. CML is treated with tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs), which target BCR-ABL, to eradicate BCR-ABL + cells. However, the TKI imatinib (IM) fails to eliminate quiescent leukemia stem cells (LSCs) in CML. In this study, we demonstrate that transcription factor TAL1 is down-regulated in CML LSCs by BCR-ABL, and IM triggers TAL1 mRNA expression. In addition, loss of TAL1 abrogates IM-induced CML cell apoptosis. RNA-seq analysis suggests that TAL1 expression may affect PI3K/AKT pathway. Moreover, depletion of TAL1 inhibits the expression of PTEN, which is a negative regulator of the PI3K/AKT pathway. Our results reveal an unexpected involvement of TAL1 in CML etiology and demonstrate that TAL1 may regulate PTEN expression and lead to inhibition of the PI3K/AKT pathway in the response of CML cells to TKI. These results implicate regulation of PTEN expression as a novel mechanism for the transcriptional regulatory networks of TAL1 in CML.

Wu Y ，Hu Y ，Yu X ，Zhang Y ，Huang X ，Chen S ，Li Y ，Zeng C ... -  《-》

TSPAN32 suppresses chronic myeloid leukemia pathogenesis and progression by stabilizing PTEN.

We report herein that TSPAN32 is a key node factor for Philadelphia (Ph+) leukemia pathogenesis. We found that TSPAN32 expression was repressed by BCR-ABL and ectopic TSPAN32 expression upon Imatinib treatment inhibited the proliferation of Ph+ cell lines. Tspan32 overexpression significantly prevented BCR-ABL induced leukemia progression in a murine model and impaired leukemia stem cell (LSC) proliferation. LSCs represent an obstacle for chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) elimination, which continually replenish leukemia cells and are associated with disease relapse. Therefore, the identification of essential targets that contribute to the survival and self-renewal of LSCs is important for novel curative CML. Mechanistically, TSPAN32 was shown to interact with PTEN, increased its protein level and caused a reduction in PI3K-AKT signaling activity. We also found that TSPAN32 was repressed by BCR-ABL via the suppression of an important transcription factor, TAL1. Ectopic expression of TAL1 significantly increased TSPAN32 mRNA and protein level, which indicated that BCR-ABL repressed TSPAN32 transcription by decreasing TAL1 expression. Overall, we identified a new signaling axis composed of "BCR-ABL-TAL1-TSPAN32-PTEN-PI3K-AKT". Our findings further complement the known mechanisms underlying the transformation potential of BCR-ABL in CML pathogenesis. This new signaling axis also provides a potential means to target PI3K-AKT for CML treatment.

Qiu Q ，Sun Y ，Yang L ，Li Q ，Feng Y ，Li M ，Yin Y ，Zheng L ，Li N ，Qiu H ，Cui X ，He W ，Wang B ，Pan C ，Wang Z ，Huang J ，Sample KM ，Li Z ，Hu Y ... -  《-》

Compensatory PI3-kinase/Akt/mTor activation regulates imatinib resistance development.

Burchert A ，Wang Y ，Cai D ，von Bubnoff N ，Paschka P ，Müller-Brüsselbach S ，Ottmann OG ，Duyster J ，Hochhaus A ，Neubauer A ... -  《LEUKEMIA》

Silencing of miR-21 sensitizes CML CD34+ stem/progenitor cells to imatinib-induced apoptosis by blocking PI3K/AKT pathway.

BCR-ABL tyrosine kinase inhibitor imatinib fails to eradicate leukemia stem cells (LSCs), the underlying mechanisms maintaining CML LSCs remain poorly understood. Here, we showed that transient inhibition of miR-21 by antagomiR-21 markedly increased imatinib-induced apoptosis in CML, but not normal CD34+ stem/progenitor cells. Furthermore, PI3K inhibitors also significantly sensitized CML CD34+ cells to imatinib-induced apoptosis. MiR-21 or PI3K inhibitor in combination with imatinib treatment significantly decreased AKT phosphorylation and c-Myc expression than either agent did alone, but did not affect Bim and Bcl-6 expresssion. These findings indicate that miR-21 is required for maintaining the imatinib-resistant phenotype of CML CD34+ cells through PI3K/AKT signaling pathway, thus providing the basis for a promising therapeutic approach to eliminate CML LSCs.

Wang WZ ，Pu QH ，Lin XH ，Liu MY ，Wu LR ，Wu QQ ，Chen YH ，Liao FF ，Zhu JY ，Jin XB ... -  《-》

HOXA10 expression induced by Abl kinase inhibitors enhanced apoptosis through PI3K pathway in CML cells.

Sugimoto Y ，Nakamura S ，Okinaka K ，Hirano I ，Ono T ，Shigeno K ，Shinjo K ，Ohnishi K ... -  《LEUKEMIA RESEARCH》