A novel family of experimental agents that blocks a molecule from shuttling proteins out of the cell nucleus might offer a new treatment for people with acute leukemia, according to a study by researchers at the Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center - Arthur G. James Cancer Hospital and Richard J. Solove Research Institute.
The agents, called KPT-SINEs (selective inhibitors of nuclear export), target a transport protein called CRM1. Using acute myeloid leukemia (AML) cells and an animal model, the researchers showed that these agents inhibited leukemia-cell proliferation, arrested cell division, and induced cell death and differentiation.
In the animal model of AML, KPT-SINEs - described by the researchers as one of the most advanced agents in pre-clinical development - extended survival by 46 percent compared with controls.
KPT-SINEs were particularly effective when the leukemia cells also had mutations in the tumor-suppressor gene NPM1, which are present in about one-third of all adult AML.
The findings were published online in the journal Blood.
"Our study suggests that these agents might be an effective therapy for AML, particularly for patients with NPM1 mutations," says principal investigator Dr. Ramiro Garzon, assistant professor of medicine and a researcher with the OSUCCC - James Molecular Biology and Cancer Genetics Program.
"We hope to start a phase I trial using one of these agents soon and to pursue further preclinical studies using this drug in combination with other current chemotherapies," Garzon says.