Inhibition of Chronic Myelogenous Leukemia Stem Cells with Novel Wnt Antagonists.
Authors: Kavalerchik Edward , Gotlib Jason , Geron Ifat , Abrahamsson Annelie , Wrasidlo Wolfgang , Goff Daniel , Lu Desheng , Molinski Ted , Giles Francis , Weissman Irving , Carson Dennis , Jamieson Catriona 
Published: October 2019

Introduction

A growing proportion of chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML) patients show evidence of disease progression. Recent research suggests that leukemia stem cells (LSC) that share phenotypic characteristics with granulocyte-macrophage progenitors (GMP) are involved in CML progression. These LSC have aberrantly gained self-renewal capacity as a result of enhanced Wnt/beta-catenin signaling. We assayed the capacity of novel Wnt/beta-catenin antagonists to inhibit CML LSC.

Methods

To assay the efficacy of a novel Wnt inhibitor, MC-001, HEK293 cells were transfected with a Wnt-dependent reporter gene and expression plasmid for Dsh. After 16h, the cells were treated for 24 h with MCC-001, a novel marine sponge derived inhibitor, at varying concentrations and the reporter gene activity was measured. All cells were also transfected with a b-gal reporter gene to control for transfection efficiency. To assess the effects of MCC-001 and other Wnt inhibitors on Wnt/beta-catenin induced self-renewal, hematopoietic stem cells (HSC), GMP and lineage positive cells from normal (n=8) and advanced phase CML (n=8) peripheral blood and marrow (n=8) were clone sorted with the aid of a FACS Aria into methocult media (Stem Cell Technologies) with or without Wnt inhibitors including recombinant Dkk1, lentiviral axin or MCC-001. On day 10, individual colonies were plucked and replated in new methylcellulose and the replating efficiency determined at day 10. To establish an in vivo CML LSC model, HSC, GMP and lineage positive cells were transduced with a lentiviral luciferase GFP for 48 hours and transplanted intrahepatically into newborn immunocompromised mice (RAG2−/−gamma−/−) mice that facilitate high levels of human hematopoietic progenitor engraftment.

Results

The HEK293 beta-catenin reporter assay revealed that the MC-001 IC50 was 2.1 microM. In comparative Wnt inhibitor replating assays (n=8), recombinant Dkk1 did not inhibit CML HSC (n=8) while lentiviral axin and MCC-001 (at 2 and 10 microM) inhibited both CML HSC and CML GMP at doses that spared normal HSC replating (Figure 1). Transplantation of CML HSC, GMP and lineage positive cells into RAG2−/−gamma−/− mice demonstrated that only CML GMP provided serial transplantation potential and thus, were enriched for the LSC population (Figure 2).

Conclusions

Selective Wnt/beta-catenin inhibition with a marine sponge derived beta-catenin antagonist, MCC-001, blocks in vitro replating capacity of CML LSC at doses that spare normal HSC. Current experiments focus on in vivo inhibition of LSC self-renewal with novel Wnt inhibitors in a robust CML LSC bioluminescent imaging model (Figure 2).

Figure 1. Chronic Myelogenous Leukemia Stem Cell Inhibition with MCC-001: A novel β-catenin Inhibitor Figure 1. Chronic Myelogenous Leukemia Stem Cell Inhibition with MCC-001: A novel β-catenin Inhibitor Figure 2. Bioluminescent Chronic Myelogenous Leukemia Stem Cell Transplantation Model. Figure 2. Bioluminescent Chronic Myelogenous Leukemia Stem Cell Transplantation Model.