Evidence map›Paper›PMID 26500025›Full record

ArticleTranslational oncology2015

Phospho-MEK1/2 and uPAR Expression Determine Sensitivity of AML Blasts to a Urokinase-Activated Anthrax Lethal Toxin (PrAgU2/LF).

Amira Bekdash, Manal Darwish, Zahra Timsah, Elias Kassab, Hadi Ghanem, Vicky Najjar, Marwan Ghosn, Selim Nasser, Hiba El-Hajj, Ali Bazerbachi and 4 more

Open access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Translational oncology, 2015. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 5 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
5citing papers in PubMed
0.6field-weighted citation impact, top 31% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

5 citing papers in PubMed, 12 citations in OpenAlex.

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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

14 authors at 6 institutions in 3 countries.

Amira BekdashDepartment of Natural Sciences, School of Arts and Sciences, Lebanese American University, Beirut 1102 2801, Lebanon.
Manal DarwishDepartment of Natural Sciences, School of Arts and Sciences, Lebanese American University, Beirut 1102 2801, Lebanon.
Zahra TimsahSchool of Molecular & Cellular Biology, University of Leeds, Leeds, LS2 9JT, UK.
Elias KassabDepartment of Natural Sciences, School of Arts and Sciences, Lebanese American University, Beirut 1102 2801, Lebanon.
Hadi GhanemDepartment of Internal Medicine, School of Medicine, Lebanese American University, Beirut 1102-2801, Lebanon.
Vicky NajjarDepartment of Pathology, School of Medicine, Lebanese American University, Beirut 1102-2801, Lebanon.
Marwan GhosnDepartment of Pathology, School of Medicine, Lebanese American University, Beirut 1102-2801, Lebanon.
Selim NasserDepartment of Pathology, School of Medicine, Lebanese American University, Beirut 1102-2801, Lebanon.
Hiba El-HajjDepartment of Internal Medicine and Experimental Pathology, School of Medicine, American University of Beirut, Lebanon; Department of Immunology and Microbiology, School of Medicine, American University of Beirut, Lebanon.
Ali BazerbachiDepartment of Internal Medicine, School of Medicine, American University of Beirut, Lebanon; Department of Anatomy, School of Medicine, American University of Beirut, Lebanon; Department of Cell Biology and Physiological Sciences, School of Medicine, American University of Beirut, Lebanon.
Shihui LiuMicrobial Pathogenesis Section, Laboratory of Parasitic Diseases, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland 20892.
Stephen H LepplaMicrobial Pathogenesis Section, Laboratory of Parasitic Diseases, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland 20892.
Arthur E FrankelSimmons Comprehensive Cancer Center, UT Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, Texas 75390.
Ralph J Abi-HabibDepartment of Natural Sciences, School of Arts and Sciences, Lebanese American University, Beirut 1102 2801, Lebanon. Electronic address: ralph.abihabib@lau.edu.lb.
Lebanese American University · LBAmerican University of Beirut · LBNational Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases · USNational Institutes of Health · USSouthwestern Medical Center · USUniversity of Leeds · GB

Funding

Vaccines and Therapeutics for AnthraxZIAAI000929 · NIAID · NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ALLERGY AND INFECTIOUS DISEASES · PI LEPPLA, STEPHEN · 2009 to 2025
$15.9M
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

In this study, we attempt to target both the urokinase plasminogen activator and the mitogen-activated protein kinase pathway in acute myeloid leukemia (AML) cell lines and primary AML blasts using PrAgU2/LF, a urokinase-activated anthrax lethal toxin. PrAgU2/LF was cytotoxic to five out of nine AML cell lines. Cytotoxicity of PrAgU2/LF appeared to be nonapoptotic and was associated with MAPK activation and urokinase activity because all the PrAgU2/LF-sensitive cell lines showed both uPAR expression and high levels of MEK1/2 phosphorylation. Inhibition of uPAR or desensitization of cells to MEK1/2 inhibition blocked toxicity of PrAgU2/LF, indicating requirement for both uPAR expression and MAPK activation for activity. PrAgU2/LF was also cytotoxic to primary blasts from AML patients, with blasts from four out of five patients showing a cytotoxic response to PrAgU2/LF. Cytotoxicity of primary AML blasts was also dependent on uPAR expression and phos-MEK1/2 levels. CD34(+) bone marrow blasts and peripheral blood mononuclear cells lacked uPAR expression and were resistant to PrAgU2/LF, demonstrating the lack of toxicity to normal hematological cells and, therefore, the tumor selectivity of this approach. Dose escalation in mice revealed that the maximal tolerated dose of PrAgU2/LF is at least 5.7-fold higher than that of the wild-type anthrax lethal toxin, PrAg/LF, further demonstrating the increased safety of this molecule. We have shown, in this study, that PrAgU2/LF is a novel, dual-specific molecule for the selective targeting of AML.

Identifiers

PMID26500025
PMCPMC4630967
OpenAlexW1927268846

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.