Söll, Richard

Abstract The JAK2V617F mutation is present in the majority of cases of myeloproliferative disease, including polycythemia vera (PV), essential thrombocythemia (ET) and primary myelofibrosis (PMF), and is an attractive candidate for molecularly targeted therapy. However, the potential toxicities of JAK2 inhibition in vivo, and identification of appropriate surrogate endpoints for response, are challenges that may limit clinical usefulness in treatment of these relatively indolent diseases. We report efficacy and assessment of surrogate endpoints for response of a small molecule JAK2 inhibitor, TG101348 in a murine model of polycythemia vera. TG101348 is selective for JAK2 with an in vitro IC50 of ∼3 nM that is ∼334 fold more potent than for inhibition of JAK3. TG101348 showed therapeutic efficacy in the murine model of PV that included a statistically significant reduction in hematocrit, normalization of white blood cell count, a dose dependent reduction/elimination of extramedullary hematopoiesis in the spleen and liver, and marked attenuation of myelofibrosis. Consistent with its selective inhibition of JAK2 and not JAK3, there was no significant change in T-cell number in treated animals. These clinical responses correlated with surrogate endpoints for response, including reduction or elimination of JAK2V617F expressing clones based on quantitative genomic PCR, suppression of JAK2V617F positive endogenous erythroid colony growth of JAK2V617F MPD bone marrow, and inhibition of JAK-STAT signal transduction as assessed by phosphoflow cytometry for phosphorylated STAT5. Thus, TG101348 is efficacious in treatment of a murine model of PV, and surrogate endpoints have been identified that may be of value in clinical trials in humans.

Abstract Myeloproliferative disorders (MPDs), diagnosed in 15,000 individuals annually, are characterized by overproduction of lineage-committed blood cells, thrombotic events, occasionally marrow fibrosis or progression to acute myelogenous leukemia and frequently a point mutation (V617F) in the JAK2 kinase. Mutant JAK2 expression results in erythrocyte overproduction in almost all cases of polycythemia Vera (PV). We investigated the molecular mechanisms driving erythroid skewed differentiation and the capacity of a selective JAK2 inhibitor (TG101348) to normalize PV progenitor differentiation. Both JAK2 V617F+ transduced cord blood and PV progenitor erythroid colony formation was potently inhibited by TG101348 (300 nM). Bioluminescent immunocompromised mouse transplantation studies revealed that TG101348 (150 mg/kg) treatment significantly reduced human erythroid engraftment by both PV and JAK2 V617F+ cord blood progenitors. Moreover, the imbalance between GATA-1 and PU.1 transcripts typical of JAK2 V617F+ progenitors normalized after treatment with TG101348. In addition, TG101348 inhibited both JAK2-mediated STAT5 phosphorylation and AKT-regulated GATA-1 phosphorylation in an erythropoietin responsive cell line suggesting a dual mechanism for the erythroid inhibitory effects of TG101348. Because of selective inhibition of JAK2 V617F+ progenitors both in vitro and in vivo, TG101348 may be an effective molecularly targeted inhibitor of JAK2 V617F+ driven MPDs in clinical trials.

Abstract Introduction: Several groups are developing orally bioavailable small molecule JAK2 inhibitors as an approach to targeted therapy of myeloproliferative disorders. We previously reported that one such inhibitor (TG101209) potently inhibits JAK2V617F in vitro, and was effective in reducing tumor growth in a mouse xenograft model (Leukemia, 2007 Aug;21(8):1658–68). Here, we expand our analysis using TG101348, a highly selective JAK2 inhibitor currently in preclinical development, using cell lines and primary cells harboring JAK2V617F, MPLW515L/K, or JAK2 exon 12 mutations. Methods: Cell proliferation was assessed using the XTT assay. For primary cell experiments, PBMCs were plated in methylcellulose medium at 0, 300nM, 600nM, and 1200nM TG101348, both with and without erythropoietin (Epo). Hematopoietic colonies were scored after 12–16 days culture, and harvested for genotyping. Results: TG101348 inhibits growth of human erythroleukemia (HEL) and Ba/F3-V617F cells (IC50=300nM and 580nM, respectively), as well as Ba/F3-(MPL)W515L cells (IC50=620nM). JAK2:JAK3 selectivity of TG101348 was demonstrated by its 10-fold more potent inhibition of CHRF (JAK2T875N) as compared to CMK (JAK3A572V) cell proliferation. TG101348’s inhibitory effect on ex vivo hematopoietic colony growth was studied in 12 MPD patients (JAK2V617F=9, MPLW515L/K=1, JAK2 exon 12 mutation [N542-E543del]=1, no mutation=1), and 2 healthy controls (Table). Conclusions: (1) TG101348 inhibits colony growth from MPD patients more potently than healthy controls, reflecting its potential therapeutic window. (2) Endogenous colony growth is inhibited at nanomolar concentrations in all cases, with some alleles showing greater sensitivity than others (MPLW515K = exon 12 mutation > JAK2V617F). The corresponding Epo-supported erythroid colonies are less potently inhibited, reflecting the generally lower prevalence of JAK2 mutations in such colonies. (3) EEC growth in the absence of known JAK2 or MPLW515 mutations is also inhibited, indicating a similar dependence on dysregulated JAK-STAT signaling in such cases. (4) The ability of TG101348 to selectively suppress mutation-positive hematopoietic colonies will be discussed. Inhibitor effect on ex vivo hematopoietic colony growth Paient Mutation IC50 (nM) % Mutation-positive colonies Epo No Epo Epo No Epo (EEC) Normal 1 None >1200 n/a n/a n/a Normal 2 None >1200 n/a n/a n.a PV1 V617F 600 <300 5 40 PV2 V617F 600 300 33 50 PV3 V617F 600–1200 300–600 9 70 PV4 V617F 300–600 600 0 15 PV5 V617F 600–1200 300 80 100 PV6 V617F 600 300–600 7 19 PV7 V617F 600–1200 600 32 36 PV8 V617F 600–1200 <300 45 37 PV9 V617F 600 600–1200 20 12 PV10 Exon 12 (N542–E543del) 900 <300 9 60 PMF1 W515K 300–600 <300 100 33 PMF2 None >1200 300 n/a n/a

Abstract Background: acquisition of somatic mutations including JAK2V617F or MPLW515L/K results in constitutive activation of JAK-STAT signaling that commonly characterizes myeloproliferative disorders (MPD). JAK2 is the central signaling mediator for most hematopoietic cytokines in this signaling pathway. Hypothesis: small molecule JAK2 inhibitors may have a therapeutic role in MPD regardless of JAK2 mutation status. Methods: We studied effects of the JAK2 inhibitor, TG101209, in a cell-free kinase assay, relevant cell lines, an in vivo phosphorylation assay, and primary cells from MPD patients carrying JAK2V617F or MPLW515L/K mutations. Results: in a cell-free kinase assay, TG101209 inhibited JAK2 potently (IC50=6nM) and displayed selectivity relative to JAK3, ABL, and VEGFR2 kinases (IC50=170nM, 820nM, and 150nM, respectively). In cell proliferation assays, TG101209 inhibited JAK2-expressing Ba/F3 cells (IC50=280nM) and JAK2V617F-homozygous human erythroleukemia (HEL) cells (IC50=300nM), but not BCR-ABL-carrying K562 cells (IC50>2μM). At 24 hours, TG101209 (600nM) induced apoptosis of HEL cells but not K562 cells (40% and 5%, respectively). SCID mice injected intravenously with Ba/F3-JAK2V617F cells developed significant disease burden including massive splenomegaly due to tumor infiltration (day 12). We observed marked decrease in STAT5 phosphorylation in splenic tumors 5 hours after administration of 2 oral doses of TG101209 (50 mg/kg) in this in vivo model. Based on the above data, we plated patient-derived CD34+ cells in methylcellulose (0nM, 300nM, and 600nM TG101209) with and without cytokines. We studied 2 controls and 9 MPD patients: PV=5 (all JAK2V617F+) and AMM=4 (3 were MPLW515L/K+) for colony number, colony size, and colony mutation burden, under each assay condition. TG101209 inhibited overall colony growth from MPD patients (IC50=300–600nM), and it preferentially suppressed growth of mutant colonies relative to wild type in both of 2 MPLW515K+ patients (AMM1 and AMM2) and in 3 of 5 JAK2V617+ patients (PV1-PV3) (Table). Conclusions: TG101209 potently inhibits cell growth that is dependent on constitutive JAK-STAT signaling. Furthermore, for MPD patient-derived cells, TG101209 preferentially suppresses growth of progenitors carrying JAK-activating mutations (MPLW515K>JAK2V617F>MPLW515L). Hence, our data supports the strategy of targeting aberrant JAK-pathway signaling in MPD as a viable therapeutic approach. Patient Mutation IC50 (nM) No Drug (% colonies mutation-positive) TG101209 (% colonies mutation-positive) Erythroid Myeloid Erythroid Myeloid Erythroid Myeloid Normal WT 1000 600 n/a PV1 JAK2V617F ~600 300–600 82 90 36 70 PV2 JAK2V617F ~300 70 55 60 20 PV3 JAK2V617F NA 20 30 30 0 PV4 JAK2V617F >600 ~600 7 10 17 10 PV5 JAK2V617F ~300 300–600 64 92 82 100 AMM1 MPLW515K <300 ~300 100 90 0 20 AMM2 MPLW515K 300–600 ~300 100 90 25 36 AMM3 MPLW515L 300–600 300–600 100 100 92 90 AMM4 WT >600 300–600 n/a

Abstract Introduction Polycythemia vera (PV) is characterized by excessive production of erythroid cells and in most cases a point mutation (V617F) in the Jak2 cytokine signaling kinase. We investigated whether a selective JAK2 inhibitor decreased Jak2 V617F induced erythroid differentiation. Methods Wild-type and mutant Jak2 V617F genes were excised from the retroviral Jak2-mus-MSCV-neo vector (Levine et al), cloned into the lentiviral vector pLV CMV IRES2 GFP and their presence verified by DNA sequencing. Lentiviral vectors bearing the wild-type and mutant Jak2 genes or vector alone were used to transduce human peripheral blood CD34+ cells, which were then divided for plating into megacult medium for megakaryocytic colony growth and methylcellulose culture for enumeration of all other progenitor cell types. Normal cord blood HSC (CD34+/CD38−/CD90+) were clone sorted with the FACS Aria and transduced with no vector, backbone vector, wild-type JAK2 or mutant JAK2 vector in methocult media (Stem Cell Technologies Inc, GF+ H4435) +/− 300 nM of a selective JAK2 inhibitor, TG101348. Colonies were scored at day 14. RNA was isolated from the colonies (Qiagen RNeasy kit) and RT-PCR was performed with wild-type and mutant JAK2 allele specific primers. Results Transduction of cord blood HSC with the mutant Jak2 vector resulted in skewed erythroid colony formation compared to wild-type Jak2, vector alone and untransduced HSC (Figure 1; n=3). RT-PCR with murine Jak2 specific primers resulted in ~900 bp fragments corresponding to murine Jak2 from colonies transduced with the wild-type and mutant Jak2 and confirmed by sequencing, but not those from colonies transduced with the vector alone or the untransduced cells. Like the results in cord blood cells, adult peripheral blood CD34+ cells transduced with the mutant Jak2 developed a skewed developmental pattern, with far greater erythroid colony formation compared to wild-type Jak2 or vector alone. In megacult assays, CD34+ cells transduced with the mutant Jak2 had similar megakaryocytic potential as wild-type Jak2 or vector alone. Addition of TG101348 (300 nM), inhibited mutant kinase-induced erythroid colony formation (Figure 1) in 3 experiments while 100– 300 nM was inhibitory to PV (n=2 patients) HSC and progenitors. Current experiments focus on inhibition of Jak2 in a bioluminescent highly immunocompromised mouse model of Jak2V617F-induced myeloproliferation (Figure 2). Conclusion JAK2 V617F skews differentiation of HSC toward the erythroid lineage and may be inhibited with a selective JAK2 inhibitor - TG101348. Figure 1. In vitro JAK2 Inhibition. Figure 1. In vitro JAK2 Inhibition. Figure 2. Bioluminescent JAK2 V617F-induced Myeloproliferation Model. Figure 2. Bioluminescent JAK2 V617F-induced Myeloproliferation Model.