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Synergistic growth inhibition of anaplastic large cell lymphoma cells by combining cellular ALK gene silencing and a low dose of the kinase inhibitor U0126

Cancer Gene Therapy volume 17, pages 633–644 (2010)Cite this article

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Abstract

Abnormal expression of anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK) gene is an important pathogenic factor for anaplastic large cell lymphoma (ALCL). To study the function of ALK, an inducible short hairpin RNA (shRNA) system was stably introduced into cultured human ALCL cells. Inducing shRNA expression in the generated cells resulted in cellular ALK gene silencing and led to inactivation of multiple signaling pathways and growth arrest. Interestingly, a combination of ALK gene silencing with U0126, a kinase inhibitor specific for the extracellular signal-regulated kinases 1/2 pathway, resulted in an augmented reduction in cellular JunB expression. Functional studies indicated that combining ALK gene silencing with U0126 treatment provided a synergistic growth inhibition, which occurred faster and was more profound than with either treatment alone. This synergistic effect was also observed when measuring cell proliferation, apoptosis, and in vitro cell colony formation. Importantly, the combination of ALK gene silencing and U0126 had a prolonged inhibitory effect, preventing recovery of ALCL cell growth even after treatments were removed. Moreover, this synergistic inhibitory effect was confirmed in vivo using a mouse model with xenografted ALCL tumors. Our findings indicate that combining cellular ALK gene silencing with a low dose of U0126 may prove to be an effective and more specific therapeutic approach to treating ALCL.

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Acknowledgements

This study was supported in part by research funding from the Methodist Hospital Research Institute (CTSA) and grants from the National Cancer Institutes (1K22CA113493 and 5P50CA126752).

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  1. N Zhao and Z Zeng: These authors contributed equally.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Pathology, The Methodist Hospital and the Methodist Hospital Research Institute, Houston, TX, USA

    M Ito, N Zhao, Z Zeng, C C Chang & Y Zu

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  1. M Ito
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  2. N Zhao
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Correspondence to Y Zu.

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Supplementary Information accompanies the paper on Cancer Gene Therapy website

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Ito, M., Zhao, N., Zeng, Z. et al. Synergistic growth inhibition of anaplastic large cell lymphoma cells by combining cellular ALK gene silencing and a low dose of the kinase inhibitor U0126. Cancer Gene Ther 17, 633–644 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1038/cgt.2010.20

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