Targeting the Oligomerization of BCR/ABL by Membrane Permeable Competitive Peptides Inhibits the Proliferation of Philadelphia Chromosome Positive Leukemic Cells
Date
2011-12-30
Authors
Mian, Afsar Ali
Schull, Marion
Oancea, Claudia
Najajreh, Yousef
Mahajna, Jamal
Goldblum, Amiram
Ottmann, Oliver Gerhard
Beissert, Tim
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Bentham Science Publishers
Abstract
The BCR/ABL fusion protein is the hallmark of Philadelphia Chromosome positive (Ph+) leukemia. The
constitutive activation of the ABL-kinase in BCR/ABL cells induces the leukemic phenotype. Targeted inhibition of
BCR/ABL by small molecule inhibitors reverses the transformation potential of BCR/ABL. Recently, we definitively
proved that targeting the tetramerization of BCR/ABL mediated by the N-terminal coiled-coil domain (CC) using competitive
peptides, representing the helix-2 of the CC, represents a valid therapeutic approach for treating Ph+ leukemia.
To further develop competitive peptides for targeting BCR/ABL, we created a membrane permeable helix-2 peptide
(MPH-2) by fusing the helix-2 peptide with a peptide transduction tag. In this study, we report that the MPH-2:
(i) interacted with BCR/ABL in vivo; (ii) efficiently inhibited the autophosphorylation of BCR/ABL; (iii) suppressed
the growth and viability of Ph+ leukemic cells; and (iv) was efficiently transduced into mononuclear cells (MNC) in an
in vivo mouse model.
Description
Keywords
Philadelphia Chromosome-positive leukemia , BCR/ABL , molecular targeting , competitive peptide , oligomerization