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Anaplastic Lymphoma Kinase-Related Cancers: Biological and Therapeutic Implications

A special issue of International Journal of Molecular Sciences (ISSN 1422-0067). This special issue belongs to the section "Molecular Pathology, Diagnostics, and Therapeutics".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 March 2019) | Viewed by 13094

Special Issue Editor

U1037, Paul Sabatier University, CNRS, Toulouse, France
Interests: oncogenic signaling; noncoding RNA; T lymphoma; ALK tyrosine kinase; targeted therapies; resistance
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK) is associated with oncogenesis in different cancers, such as anaplastic large cell lymphoma, lung cancer, neuroblastoma, and breast cancer, by abnormal fusion of ALK, ALK amplification or overexpression. The full-length ALK receptor tyrosine kinase is a receptor tyrosine kinase, which participates in embryonic nervous system development, but its expression decreases after birth. Upon ligand binding to the extracellular domain, the receptor undergoes dimerization and subsequent autophosphorylation of the intracellular kinase domain. In recent years, ALK inhibitors have been developed for cancer treatment. Tyrosine Kinase inhibitors (TKI) are directed against the ATP-binding site of the catalytic domain, which is highly conserved in ALK. However, the presence of different ALK fusions and also point mutations confer different sensitivity to ALK inhibitors and inevitably drug resistance emerge within a few years in most cases. New strategies are underway to overcome the limitations of current ALK inhibitors.

This Special Issue “Anaplastic Lymphoma Kinase-Related Cancers” will cover a selection of recent research topics and current review articles in the field of ALK. Experimental papers, up-to-date review articles, and commentaries are all welcome highlighting anaplastic large cell lymphoma, lung cancer neuroblastoma and breast cancers.

Dr. Fabienne Meggetto
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

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Keywords

  • Physiological function
  • ALK-expressing cancers
  • Molecular pathway, including non-coding RNA
  • Genomic and epigenetic alterations
  • Immune response
  • Therapeutic pathway
  • Clinical resistance

Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

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13 pages, 1834 KiB  
Article
Proteomic Phosphosite Analysis Identified Crucial NPM-ALK-Mediated NIPA Serine and Threonine Residues
by Anina Gengenbacher, Alina Müller-Rudorf, Teresa Poggio, Linda Gräßel, Veronica I. Dumit, Stefanie Kreutmair, Lena J. Lippert, Justus Duyster and Anna L. Illert
Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2019, 20(16), 4060; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms20164060 - 20 Aug 2019
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 2839
Abstract
Anaplastic large-cell lymphoma (ALCL) is an aggressive non-Hodgkin lymphoma that shows in 60% of cases a translocation t(2;5)(p23;q35), which leads to the expression of the oncogenic kinase NPM-ALK. The nuclear interaction partner of ALK (NIPA) defines an E3-SCF ligase that contributes to the [...] Read more.
Anaplastic large-cell lymphoma (ALCL) is an aggressive non-Hodgkin lymphoma that shows in 60% of cases a translocation t(2;5)(p23;q35), which leads to the expression of the oncogenic kinase NPM-ALK. The nuclear interaction partner of ALK (NIPA) defines an E3-SCF ligase that contributes to the timing of mitotic entry. It has been shown that co-expression of NIPA and NPM-ALK results in constitutive NIPA phosphorylation. By mass spectrometry-based proteomics we identified nine serine/threonine residues to be significantly upregulated in NIPA upon NPM-ALK expression. Generation of phospho-deficient mutants of the respective phospho-residues specified five serine/threonine residues (Ser-338, Ser-344, Ser-370, Ser-381 and Thr-387) as key phosphorylation sites involved in NPM-ALK-directed phosphorylation of NIPA. Analysis of the biological impact of NIPA phosphorylation by NPM-ALK demonstrated that the ALK-induced phosphorylation does not change the SCFNIPA-complex formation but may influence the localization of NIPA and NPM-ALK. Biochemical analyses with phospho-deficient mutants elucidated the importance of NIPA phosphorylation by NPM-ALK for the interaction of the two proteins and proliferation potential of respective cells: Silencing of the five crucial NIPA serine/threonine residues led to a highly enhanced NIPA-NPM-ALK binding capacity as well as a slightly reduced proliferation in Ba/F3 cells. Full article
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Review

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14 pages, 1196 KiB  
Review
Fluorescence in Situ Hybridization (FISH) for Detecting Anaplastic Lymphoma Kinase (ALK) Rearrangement in Lung Cancer: Clinically Relevant Technical Aspects
by Zhenya Tang, Lu Wang, Guilin Tang and L. Jeffrey Medeiros
Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2019, 20(16), 3939; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms20163939 - 13 Aug 2019
Cited by 25 | Viewed by 5566
Abstract
In 2011, the Vysis Break Apart ALK fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) assay was approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration as a companion diagnostic for detecting ALK rearrangement in lung cancer patients who may benefit from treatment of tyrosine kinase [...] Read more.
In 2011, the Vysis Break Apart ALK fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) assay was approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration as a companion diagnostic for detecting ALK rearrangement in lung cancer patients who may benefit from treatment of tyrosine kinase inhibitor therapy. This assay is the current “gold standard”. According to updated ALK testing guidelines from the College of American Pathologists, the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer and the Association for Molecular Pathology published in 2018, ALK immunohistochemistry is formally an alternative to ALK FISH, and simultaneous detection of multiple hot spots, including, at least, ALK, ROS1, RET, MET, ERBB2, BRAF and KRAS genes is also recommended while performing next generation sequencing (NGS)-based testing. Therefore, ALK status in a specimen can be tested by different methods and platforms, even in the same institution or laboratory. In this review, we discuss several clinically relevant technical aspects of ALK FISH, including pros and cons of the unique two-step (50- to 100-cell) analysis approach employed in the Vysis Break Apart ALK FISH assay, including: the preset cutoff value of ≥15% for a positive result; technical aspects and biology of discordant results obtained by different methods; and incidental findings, such as ALK copy number gain or amplification and co-existent driver mutations. These issues have practical implications for ALK testing in the clinical laboratory following the updated guidelines. Full article
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18 pages, 738 KiB  
Review
Non-Coding RNA Networks in ALK-Positive Anaplastic-Large Cell Lymphoma
by Steffen Fuchs, Julian Naderi and Fabienne Meggetto
Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2019, 20(9), 2150; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms20092150 - 30 Apr 2019
Cited by 10 | Viewed by 4398
Abstract
Non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs) are essential regulators of gene expression. In recent years, it has become more and more evident that the different classes of ncRNAs, such as micro RNAs, long non-coding RNAs and circular RNAs are organized in tightly controlled networks. It has [...] Read more.
Non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs) are essential regulators of gene expression. In recent years, it has become more and more evident that the different classes of ncRNAs, such as micro RNAs, long non-coding RNAs and circular RNAs are organized in tightly controlled networks. It has been suggested that deregulation of these networks can lead to disease. Several studies show a contribution of these so-called competing-endogenous RNA networks in various cancer entities. In this review, we highlight the involvement of ncRNA networks in anaplastic-large cell lymphoma (ALCL), a T-cell neoplasia. A majority of ALCL cases harbor the molecular hallmark of this disease, a fusion of the anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK) gene with the nucleophosmin (NPM, NPM1) gene leading to a permanently active kinase that promotes the malignant phenotype. We have focused especially on ncRNAs that are regulated by the NPM-ALK fusion gene and illustrate how their deregulation contributes to the pathogenesis of ALCL. Lastly, we summarize the findings and point out potential therapeutic implications. Full article
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