Activating mutations in ALK provide a therapeutic target in neuroblastoma.

Nature
Authors
Keywords
Abstract

Neuroblastoma, an embryonal tumour of the peripheral sympathetic nervous system, accounts for approximately 15% of all deaths due to childhood cancer. High-risk neuroblastomas are rapidly progressive; even with intensive myeloablative chemotherapy, relapse is common and almost uniformly fatal. Here we report the detection of previously unknown mutations in the ALK gene, which encodes a receptor tyrosine kinase, in 8% of primary neuroblastomas. Five non-synonymous sequence variations were identified in the kinase domain of ALK, of which three were somatic and two were germ line. The most frequent mutation, F1174L, was also identified in three different neuroblastoma cell lines. ALK complementary DNAs encoding the F1174L and R1275Q variants, but not the wild-type ALK cDNA, transformed interleukin-3-dependent murine haematopoietic Ba/F3 cells to cytokine-independent growth. Ba/F3 cells expressing these mutations were sensitive to the small-molecule inhibitor of ALK, TAE684 (ref. 4). Furthermore, two human neuroblastoma cell lines harbouring the F1174L mutation were also sensitive to the inhibitor. Cytotoxicity was associated with increased amounts of apoptosis as measured by TdT-mediated dUTP nick end labelling (TUNEL). Short hairpin RNA (shRNA)-mediated knockdown of ALK expression in neuroblastoma cell lines with the F1174L mutation also resulted in apoptosis and impaired cell proliferation. Thus, activating alleles of the ALK receptor tyrosine kinase are present in primary neuroblastoma tumours and in established neuroblastoma cell lines, and confer sensitivity to ALK inhibition with small molecules, providing a molecular rationale for targeted therapy of this disease.

Year of Publication
2008
Journal
Nature
Volume
455
Issue
7215
Pages
975-8
Date Published
2008 Oct 16
ISSN
1476-4687
URL
DOI
10.1038/nature07397
PubMed ID
18923525
PubMed Central ID
PMC2587486
Links
Grant list
K08 NS047983-05 / NS / NINDS NIH HHS / United States
K08 NS047983-04 / NS / NINDS NIH HHS / United States
R01 CA069129 / CA / NCI NIH HHS / United States
CA21765 / CA / NCI NIH HHS / United States
P30 CA021765 / CA / NCI NIH HHS / United States
K08 NS047983-03 / NS / NINDS NIH HHS / United States
CA69129 / CA / NCI NIH HHS / United States
K08 NS047983 / NS / NINDS NIH HHS / United States