Identification of BCR-ABL point mutations conferring resistance to the Abl kinase inhibitor AMN107 (nilotinib) by a random mutagenesis study

Patients with advanced stages of chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) often manifest imatinib mesylate resistance associated with point mutations in BCR-ABL. AMN107 is a new higher-potency inhibitor of BCR-ABL. To identify mutations in BCR-ABL that could result in resistance to AMN107, a cDNA library of BCR-ABL mutants was introduced into Ba/F3 cells followed by selection in AMN107 (0.125-0.5 mu M). A total of 86 individual, drug-resistant colonies were recovered, and the SH3, SH2, and kinase domains of BCR-ABL were sequenced. A total of 46 colonies had single point mutations in BCR-ABL, with a total of 17 different mutations, all within the kinase domain. The other 40 colonies had multiple point mutations and were not analyzed further. Each of the 17 single point mutants were reconstructed by site-directed mutagenesis of native BCR-ABL and found to be approximately 2.5- to 800-fold more resistant to AMN107 than native BCR-ABL. The mutations included 6 known imatinib mesylate-resistant mutations, including T3151, which showed complete resistance to AMN107. Interestingly, most AMN107-resistant mutants were also resistant to imatinib mesylate. These results may predict some of the resistance mutations that will be detected in clinical trials with this kinase inhibitor.