Molecular Mechanisms of Antitumor Activity of the Selective Inhibitor of Nuclear Export (SINE) CRM1 Antagonist KPT-185 in Mantle Cell Lymphoma.

Abstract 2438

CRM1, a member of the importin b super family of nuclear transport receptors, functions as a major nuclear export factor by shuttling transcription factors including p53, p21, I-kB, and FOXO3a from nucleus to cytoplasm, thereby preventing their activity. CRM1 is also involved in the transport of rRNA and a certain subset of mRNAs including Cyclin D1. Upregulated CRM1 expression has been reported to correlate with poor prognosis in various hematopoietic malignancies. MCL is a subtype of B-cell lymphoma which is frequently resistant to standard chemotherapy. The t(11,14)(q13;32) translocation of MCL juxtaposes the cyclin D1 gene, and constitutively overexpressed cyclin D1 is believed to be associated with oncogenesis. Additional genetic events such as mutation/overexpression of TP53 have been reported as adverse prognostic indicators. TP53 mutations are rare in typical MCL, although about 30% of aggressive blastoid MCL have mt-TP53. Because of the multiple signaling pathways that are dysregulated in MCL, a novel strategy aimed at restoring multiple anti-oncogenetic pathways, especially targeting p53-independent signaling pathways, is of considerable interest.

In this study, we investigated the antitumor effects and molecular mechanisms of the SINE CRM1 antagonist KPT-185 (Karyopharm Therapeutics) in 4 MCL cells with known TP53 mutation status (wt-TP53: JVM2, Z138; mt-TP53: MINO, Jeko-1).

Treatment with KPT-185 resulted in reduction of cell proliferation in a concentration-dependent manner without significant differences between wt- and mt-TP53 cells (IC₅₀ at 72hrs by trypan blue exclusion method; 35nM for Z138, 92 nM for JVM2, 96 nM for MINO, 103 nM for Jeko-1). KPT-185 exhibited limited pro- apoptotic activity in the tested MCL cells except Z138 (ED₅₀ at 48hrs by Annexin V positivity; 62 nM for Z138, 910 nM for JVM2, 665 nM for MINO, 618 nM for Jeko-1).

We then investigated KPT-185-induced TP53 target gene expression changes (24 genes) by TaqMan low density arrays (TLDA) (Applied Biosystems). In wt-TP53 JVM2 and Z138 cells, KPT-185 (100nM for Z138, MINO, and 500nM for JVM2, Jeko-1) upregulated classical p53 targets such as p21 and MDM2 mRNA (>2.0 fold), while there was no increase in mt-TP53 MINO and Jeko-1 cells. Of note, in both wt- and mt-TP53 cells, KPT-185 upregulated gene expression of PUMA which is a target of FOXO3a, p73 and p53 (3.3 fold for JVM2, 2.5 fold for Z138, 3.3 fold for MINO, 4.8 fold for Jeko-1).

Recently, CRM1 has been reported to positively modulate the nuclear export of Cyclin D1 mRNA in a eIF4E-dependent manner. We therefore examined Cyclin D1 protein levels by western blot analysis, and observed significantly high baseline expression of Cyclin D1 in Z-138 cells which are highly sensitive to KPT-185, as compared to less sensitive MCL cells. KPT-185 treatment decreased Cyclin D1 expression in a dose-dependent manner (50nM and 100nM) after 12hrs of treatment accompanied by p21 induction and decreased p-Rb.

These findings demonstrate that KPT-185 successfully inhibits CRM1 activity in MCL resulting in inhibition of Cyclin D1 and cell proliferation, and in the p-53-independent upregulation of pro-apoptotic PUMA. In conclusion, CRM1 inhibition by KPT-185 results in cell growth inhibition and in moderate cell death in a TP-53 independent manner. Results also suggest that the sensitivity to KPT-185 in MCL may be dependent on Cyclin D1 expression. Therefore, KPT-185may be an effective agent for the treatment of MCL.