Associating Ex Vivo Drug Sensitivity with Differentiation Status Identifies Effective Drug Combinations for Acute Myeloid Leukemia
Authors: Eide Christopher A. , Kurtz Stephen E. , Kaempf Andy , Long Nicola , Bottomly Daniel , Nikolova Olga , Druker Brian J. , McWeeney Shannon K. , Tyner Jeffrey W. , Agarwal Anupriya 
Published: November 2021

The development of molecularly-targeted therapies to improve outcomes relative to chemotherapy for acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is impeded by the heterogeneity of genetic aberrations that contribute to disease. Among the multitude of biological mechanisms that lead to AML disease initiation and progression is dysregulation of cytokine signaling pathways, a hallmark of chronic inflammation, which contribute to the growth, survival, and differentiation state of AML cells. We have previously shown that IL-1β, a pro-inflammatory cytokine expressed by many cell types including macrophages and monocytes, stimulates proliferation of leukemic blasts independent of mutational status in primary AML samples via enhanced phosphorylation of p38α MAPK, an effect that can be blocked by IL-1 receptor knockdown or by pharmacologic inhibition (Carey 2017). Additionally, recent studies have shown sensitivity to the approved BCL2 inhibitor venetoclax in AML associates with undifferentiated leukemic cells (Pei 2020; Zhang 2018; Majumder 2020). Based on these associations, we evaluated the combination of doramapimod (DORA), a p38 MAPK inhibitor, with venetoclax (VEN) for potential enhanced sensitivity on primary AML cells. Ex vivo drug screening of primary AML patient samples (n=335) revealed significantly enhanced efficacy of VEN+DORA compared to either single agent (Nemenyi test; p&lt;0.0001). This broad sensitivity of the VEN+DORA combination was not significantly associated with an array of clinical, genetic, and mutational features in the patient samples tested, in contrast to single agents, particularly VEN. Analysis of blood cell differential counts of patient samples tested identified increased monocyte levels were significantly correlated with sensitivity to DORA and resistance to VEN as single agents (Spearman r = -0.3 and 0.6; p&lt;0.0001), associations that were not apparent with the combination. For patient samples with accompanying FAB differentiation state-based designations (n=108), sensitivities of the combination were similar across classifications of undifferentiated (M0/M1) through monocytic (M4/M5) acute leukemia. In contrast, single-agent VEN was significantly more sensitive in undifferentiated compared to monocytic specimens, whereas DORA sensitivity showed the reverse trend (though to a lesser degree). These differences in sensitivity were further validated by immunophenotyping data where available (n=105), which showed surface markers associated with resistance to VEN (CD11b, CD14, CD16, CD56, CD64, HLADR; Wilcoxon Rank Sum, p&lt;0.001 to p=0.007) or sensitivity to VEN (CD117; p=0.001) or DORA (CD14; HLADR; p=0.004). By contrast, none of these associations significantly distinguished sensitivity for the VEN+DORA combination. Expression levels of MAPK14 and BCL2, the respective primary targets of DORA and VEN, were concordant with their respective drug sensitivities associated with FAB classification; that is, significantly higher levels of BCL2 in M0/M1 leukemias and MAPK14 in M4/M5 cases (Mann-Whitney test; p&lt;0.0001; n=145). Further dissection of transcriptomic and drug sensitivity data revealed strong correlation and gene set enrichment for DORA and VEN sensitivities with monocyte-like and progenitor-like signatures, respectively (n=225), for cell differentiation states previously described for AML (van Galen 2019), and these associations diminished for the combination treatment. Lastly, the VEN+DORA combination enhanced efficacy and synergistic inhibition was confirmed using human AML cell line models tested with a matrix of potential dose concentrations. Taken together, these findings suggest that exploiting distinct, complementary sensitivity profiles of targeted therapies with respect to leukemic differentiation state, such as dual targeting of p38 MAPK and BCL2, offers an opportunity for broad, enhanced efficacy across the clinically challenging heterogeneous landscape of AML.

Disclosures

Druker: Novartis Pharmaceuticals: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Patents & Royalties; Recludix Pharma, Inc.: Consultancy; EnLiven: Consultancy, Research Funding; Pfizer: Research Funding; The RUNX1 Research Program: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Merck & Co: Patents & Royalties; Aileron: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; ALLCRON: Consultancy, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Amgen: Current equity holder in publicly-traded company, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Aptose Therapeutics: Consultancy, Current equity holder in publicly-traded company, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Blueprint Medicines: Consultancy, Current equity holder in publicly-traded company, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Bristol-Myers Squibb: Research Funding; Cepheid: Consultancy, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; GRAIL: Current equity holder in publicly-traded company; VB Therapeutics: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Iterion Therapeutics: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Nemucore Medical Innovations, Inc.: Consultancy; Third Coast Therapeutics: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Vincerx Pharma: Current equity holder in publicly-traded company, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Vivid Biosciences: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees. Tyner: Genentech: Research Funding; Takeda: Research Funding; Astrazeneca: Research Funding; Constellation: Research Funding; Agios: Research Funding; Petra: Research Funding; Incyte: Research Funding; Array: Research Funding; Gilead: Research Funding; Janssen: Research Funding; Seattle Genetics: Research Funding; Schrodinger: Research Funding.