Wnt/Ca2+/NFAT Signaling Maintains Survival of Ph+ Leukemia Cells upon Inhibition of Bcr-Abl

SummaryAlthough Bcr-Abl kinase inhibitors have proven effective in the treatment of chronic myeloid leukemia (CML), they generally fail to eradicate Bcr-Abl+ leukemia cells. To identify genes whose inhibition sensitizes Bcr-Abl+ leukemias to killing by Bcr-Abl inhibitors, we performed an RNAi-based synthetic lethal screen with imatinib mesylate in CML cells. This screen identified numerous components of a Wnt/Ca2+/NFAT signaling pathway. Antagonism of this pathway led to impaired NFAT activity, decreased cytokine production, and enhanced sensitivity to Bcr-Abl inhibition. Furthermore, NFAT inhibition with cyclosporin A facilitated leukemia cell elimination by the Bcr-Abl inhibitor dasatinib and markedly improved survival in a mouse model of Bcr-Abl+ acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). Targeting this pathway in combination with Bcr-Abl inhibition could improve treatment of Bcr-Abl+ leukemias.

► RNAi screen identifies targets that are synthetic lethal with Bcr-Abl inhibitors
► Bcr-Abl inhibition reveals a role for Wnt/NFAT signaling in leukemia cell survival
► Inhibition of NFAT signaling improves treatment of Bcr-Abl+ leukemia in mice