Responsiveness Of Cytogenetically Discrete Human Myeloma Cell Lines To Lenalidomide: Lack Of Correlation With Cereblon and Interferon Regulatory Factor 4 Expression Levels

The introduction of novel immunomodulatory drugs (IMiDs), such as lenalidomide, has drastically improved the survival of patients with multiple myeloma (MM). While it has been shown that patients with specific cytogenetic subtypes, namely t(4;14), have the best outcomes when treated with bortezomib-based regimens, the relationship between cytogenetic subtypes and response to IMiDs remains unclear. Using DNA synthesis and apoptosis assays, we investigated the relationship between cytogenetic subtype and lenalidomide response in a representative panel of human myeloma cell lines (HMCLs). Additionally, we examined HMCL protein expression levels of the lenalidomide target cereblon (CRBN) and its putative downstream target interferon regulatory factor 4 (IRF4), both of which have previously been shown to be predictive of lenalidomide response in HMCLs. Our results reveal that response to lenalidomide did not correlate with specific cytogenetic translocations. There were, however, distinct groups of lenalidomide-responsive and non-responsive HMCLs, as defined by inhibition of cellular proliferation; notably, all of the hyperdiploid HMCLs fell into the latter category. Repeated dosing of lenalidomide significantly lowered the IC50 of the responsive HMCL ALMC-1 (IC50 = 2.6 μM versus 0.005 μM, p=0.004), but did not have an effect on the IC50 of the non-responsive HMCL DP-6 (p>0.05). Moreover, no association was found between lenalidomide responsiveness and CRBN or IRF4 expression levels. In summary, our data indicate that lenalidomide sensitivity is independent of cytogenetic subtype in HMCLs. Additionally, while CRBN and IRF-4 have been shown to be associated with response to lenalidomide in patients, these findings do not translate back to HMCLs, which could be attributable to factors present in the bone marrow microenvironment. These results suggest that the development of a new treatment paradigm based on cytogenetic subtype of MM alone may be insufficient, and that additional markers may need to be incorporated. Furthermore, the disconnect between our findings of expression of CRBN and IRF-4 in lenalidomide-treated HMCLs and patient data highlights the need for further investigation into the role of the bone marrow microenvironment on the regulation of these previously demonstrated markers of lenalidomide response.