Abstract 2964: Pharmacological inhibition of WIP1 by GSK2830371 sensitizes AML cells to MDM2 inhibitor Nutlin-3a
Authors: Fontana Maria Chiara , Nanni Jacopo , Marconi Giovanni , Pazzaglia Martina , Bocconcelli Matteo , Padella Antonella , Soverini Simona , Iacobucci Ilaria , Papayannidis Cristina , Ferrari Anna , Bochicchio Maria Teresa , Imbrogno Enrica , Cavo Michele , Rora Andrea Ghelli Luserna di , Simonetti Giorgia , Martinelli Giovanni 
Published: August 2019

Introduction: PPM1D (wild-type p53-inducible protein phosphatase WIP1) is a member of the PP2C family serine/threonine phosphatase involved in negative regulation of cell stress response pathways, leading to suppression of p53 after stress. To restore p53 function through MDM2 inhibition (Nutlin-3a) is a promising approach in AML. Promising results of the combination of MDM2 inhibitors and WIP1 inhibitor (WIP1i), obtained in many preclinical studies of solid tumors, paved the way for their application in AML. We investigated whether the inhibition of WIP1 (GSK2830371) could sensitize AML cell lines and primary cells to Nutlin-3a (Nut-3a) in order to obtain a novel therapeutic strategy for AML patients, based on restoration of p53 activity.

Methods: In vitro viability (by WST-1 reagent) and Annexin-V/PI apoptosis assay were performed on a panel of TP53-wt AML cells (MOLM-13, MV-4-11 and OCI-AML3), on TP53-mutated NOMO-1 AML cells and on primary AML samples. Gene expression profile (GEP) and Western Blot (WB) analyses were performed on MV-4-11 and NOMO-1 after 16h.

Results: Combined inhibition of increasing dosage of Nut-3a (0.5 to 5 uM) and WIP1i (5 to 20 uM) synergistically reduces TP53-wt AML cells viability, while NOMO-1 resulted to be insensitive to the combination. The combination index analyses showed a synergistically effect of the combination of both compounds on TP53-wt AML cells. Annexin V/PI staining showed that WIP1i sensitizes TP53-wt AML cell lines and primary samples to Nut-3a-induced apoptosis, when compared with single treatment. No effect was seen in NOMO-1. GEP demonstrated that MV-4-11 cells exhibits a major response to drug combination with an upregulation of cell cycle control genes, a downregulation of DNA repair machinery genes, upregulation of MDM2 and of TP53-downstream genes (eg.CDKN1A), confirming the activation of p53 pathway. NOMO-1 cells showed upregulation of resiliency-mechanism and confirmed insensitivity to both treatment. WB analysis confirmed GEP data showing an increased expression of p53 and p21 in wt-TP53 cell line after 16h of combined-treatment.

Conclusions: We identified a novel synergistic drug combination between Nut-3a and WIP1i that induces apoptosis in AML cell lines and primary samples. GEP and WB of TP53-wt MV-4-11 and TP53-mutated NOMO-1 cells showed mechanisms underlying drug sensitivity and resistance giving novel insights on potential markers of response and novel drugable targets. In vivo studies are needed to confirm these preclinical data. Supported by: AIRC, FP7-NGS-PTL, Fondazione del Monte, HARMONY.

Citation Format: Maria Chiara Fontana, Jacopo Nanni, Giovanni Marconi, Martina Pazzaglia, Matteo Bocconcelli, Antonella Padella, Simona Soverini, Ilaria Iacobucci, Cristina Papayannidis, Anna Ferrari, Maria Teresa Bochicchio, Enrica Imbrogno, Michele Cavo, Andrea Ghelli Luserna di Rora, Giorgia Simonetti, Giovanni Martinelli. Pharmacological inhibition of WIP1 by GSK2830371 sensitizes AML cells to MDM2 inhibitor Nutlin-3a [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2019; 2019 Mar 29-Apr 3; Atlanta, GA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2019;79(13 Suppl):Abstract nr 2964.