Bcl-XL down-regulation suppresses the tumorigenic potential of NPM/ALK in vitro and in vivo

Deregulated apoptosis is a common finding in tumorigenesis. The oncogenic tyrosine kinase nucleophosmin/anaplastic lymphoma kinase (NPM/ALK) delivers a strong survival signal in anaplastic large cell lymphomas (ALCLs). Although NPM/ALK activates multiple antiapoptotic pathways, the biologic relevance and therapeutic potential of more downstream apoptotic effectors are mostly unknown. In this report, the NPM/ALK-mediated induction of BCl-X-L (but not of Bcl-2) was identified in human ALCL-derived cells. NPM/ALK kinase activity was required to promote Bcl-X-L expression and its protective effect on mitochondrial homeostasis. Down-regulation of BCl-X-L significantly reduced the antiapoptotic potential of NPM/ALK in both transformed murine Ba/F3 pro-B cells and human ALCL-derived KARPAS-299 cells. To elucidate the role of BCl-X-L in vivo, Ba/F3-NPM/ALK(+) cells expressing a doxycycline (Dox)-inducible Bcl-X-L antisense transgene (pTet-ON) were injected into nude mice. Doxycycline administration prevented a fatal systemic disease in 15 of 15 intravenously injected mice and the appearance of subcutaneous tumor xenografts in 9 of 12 mice; in vivo downregulation of Bcl-X-L was also documented. Our results show a pivotal role for BCl-X-L in ALK-mediated oncogenicity; a single protein placed downstream of a known oncogene can be crucial for the survival of neoplastic cells both in vitro and in vivo. Bcl-XL deserves further investigation as a possible therapeutic target in ALK(+) ALCLs. (C) 2004 by The American Society of Hematology.