Pan-SRC kinase inhibition blocks B-cell receptor oncogenic signaling in non-Hodgkin lymphoma

• Published in: Blood 2018-05, Vol.131 (21), p.2345-2356
• Main Authors: Battistello, Elena, Katanayeva, Natalya, Dheilly, Elie, Tavernari, Daniele, Donaldson, Maria C., Bonsignore, Luca, Thome, Margot, Christie, Amanda L., Murakami, Mark A., Michielin, Olivier, Ciriello, Giovanni, Zoete, Vincent, Oricchio, Elisa
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adenine - analogs & derivatives; Animals; Cell Line, Tumor; Cell Transformation, Neoplastic - metabolism; Disease Models, Animal; Drug Resistance, Neoplasm - genetics; Gene Expression; Genes, myc; Humans; Lymphoid Neoplasia; Lymphoma, Non-Hodgkin - drug therapy; Lymphoma, Non-Hodgkin - etiology; Lymphoma, Non-Hodgkin - metabolism; Lymphoma, Non-Hodgkin - pathology; Mice; Mice, Knockout; Piperidines; Protein Kinase Inhibitors - pharmacology; Pyrazoles - pharmacology; Pyrimidines - pharmacology; Receptors, Antigen, B-Cell - metabolism; Signal Transduction - drug effects; src-Family Kinases - antagonists & inhibitors; Xenograft Model Antitumor Assays
• ISSN: 0006-4971; 1528-0020
• DOI: 10.1182/blood-2017-10-809210

In diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL), activation of the B-cell receptor (BCR) promotes multiple oncogenic signals, which are essential for tumor proliferation. Inhibition of the Bruton's tyrosine kinase (BTK), a BCR downstream target, is therapeutically effective only in a subgroup of patients with DLBCL. Here, we used lymphoma cells isolated from patients with DLBCL to measure the effects of targeted therapies on BCR signaling and to anticipate response. In lymphomas resistant to BTK inhibition, we show that blocking BTK activity enhanced tumor dependencies from alternative oncogenic signals downstream of the BCR, converging on MYC upregulation. To completely ablate the activity of the BCR, we genetically and pharmacologically repressed the activity of the SRC kinases LYN, FYN, and BLK, which are responsible for the propagation of the BCR signal. Inhibition of these kinases strongly reduced tumor growth in xenografts and cell lines derived from patients with DLBCL independent of their molecular subtype, advancing the possibility to be relevant therapeutic targets in broad and diverse groups of DLBCL patients. •Inhibition of BTK in patients who are resistant to ibrutinib changes signaling tumor dependencies and promotes MYC upregulation.•Multitarget inhibition of LYN, FYN, and BLK is therapeutically effective in patients with DLBCL independent of their molecular subtypes. [Display omitted]