The Heatshockprotein-90 Inhibitor IPI-504 Potently Overcomes Tyrosinekinase Inhibitor-Induced Activation of Cell Protection Mechanisms and Degrades HSP-Client Proteins KIT and FLT3 In Acute Leukemia Models

Abstract 3982

Activating mutations of FLT3 and KIT class III receptor tyrosine kinases (TK) are associated with acute leukemias and systemic mastocytosis. Despite the encouraging therapeutic potential of TK inhibitors (TKI), monotherapy often is not sufficient to obtain lasting responses. Here we show that TKI therapy may lead to cellular protection mechanisms including stabilization/repair of DNA, as well as protection of the function of heat shock proteins. We further demonstrate that degradation of heat shock protein 90 (HSP90) client proteins, FLT3 and KIT, by the HSP90 inhibitor IPI-504, leads to antitumor effects in acute leukemia and mastocytosis models; including additive to synergistic antiproliferative and proapoptotic activity after TKI treatment. To explore the immediate downstream signaling effects of mutant FLT3 and KIT inhibition in acute leukemia and mastocytosis models, we performed unbiased phoshoproteomic analyses of cells before and after TKI treatment. Phosphopeptides that displayed a significant difference in phosphorylation before and after FLT3/KIT inhibition with Imatinib or Sunitinib at IC90 were immunoaffinity purified, and identified by tandem mass spectrometry. Degradation of FLT3 and KIT after HSP90 inhibition was studied by immunoblotting. Antiproliferative and proapoptotic effects of the HSP90 inhibitor IPI-504 alone, or in combination with TKI treatment, were studied in different leukemia and mastocytosis cell models, and in an isogenic BaF/3 model harboring different clinically relevant KIT and FLT3 mutations. Phoshoproteomics revealed a significant upregulation in phosphorylation of DNA and protein function stabilizing proteins, including HSP members in mutant KIT and FLT3 cell lines. Both FLT3 and KIT turned out to be client proteins of HSP90, and IPI-504 was able to degrade FLT3 and KIT protein, resulting in a strong potentiation of the antiproliferative and proapoptotic effects achieved by TK inhibitors alone. Of interest, IPI-504 displayed antitumor activity even as monotherapy in some leukemia and mastocytosis cell line models. Our data suggest that TK inhibition of FLT3 or KIT causes initiation of cell protective mechanisms, including activation of HSPs, which can therapeutically be targeted by HSP90 inhibitors such as IPI-504. These results provide a rationale to combine TKI with HSP inhibitors to optimize TKI therapy in patients with hematopoietic malignancies.