[HTML][HTML] Identification of diterpenoid compounds that interfere with Fli-1 DNA binding to suppress leukemogenesis

T Liu, L Xia, Y Yao, C Yan, Y Fan, B Gajendran… - Cell Death & …, 2019 - nature.com
T Liu, L Xia, Y Yao, C Yan, Y Fan, B Gajendran, J Yang, YJ Li, J Chen, J Filmus, DE Spaner…
Cell Death & Disease, 2019nature.com
The ETS transcription factor Fli-1 controls the expression of genes involved in
hematopoiesis including cell proliferation, survival, and differentiation. Dysregulation of Fli-1
induces hematopoietic and solid tumors, rendering it an important target for therapeutic
intervention. Through high content screens of a library of chemicals isolated from medicinal
plants in China for inhibitors of a Fli-1 transcriptional reporter cells, we hereby report the
identification of diterpenoid-like compounds that strongly inhibit Fli-1 transcriptional activity …
Abstract
The ETS transcription factor Fli-1 controls the expression of genes involved in hematopoiesis including cell proliferation, survival, and differentiation. Dysregulation of Fli-1 induces hematopoietic and solid tumors, rendering it an important target for therapeutic intervention. Through high content screens of a library of chemicals isolated from medicinal plants in China for inhibitors of a Fli-1 transcriptional reporter cells, we hereby report the identification of diterpenoid-like compounds that strongly inhibit Fli-1 transcriptional activity. These agents suppressed the growth of erythroleukemic cells by inducing apoptosis and differentiation. They also inhibited survival and proliferation of B-cell leukemic cell lines as well as primary B-cell lymphocytic leukemia (B-CLL) isolated from 7 patients. Moreover, these inhibitors blocked leukemogenesis in a mouse model of erythroleukemia, in which Fli-1 is the driver of tumor initiation. Computational docking analysis revealed that the diterpenoid-like compounds bind with high affinity to nucleotide residues in a pocket near the major groove within the DNA-binding sites of Fli-1. Functional inhibition of Fli-1 by these compounds triggered its further downregulation through miR-145, whose promoter is normally repressed by Fli-1. These results uncover the importance of Fli-1 in leukemogenesis, a Fli-1-miR145 autoregulatory loop and new anti-Fli-1 diterpenoid agents for the treatment of diverse hematological malignancies overexpressing this transcription factor.
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