1 5056 107 PHASE I TRIAL OF LOW DOSE DECITABINE TARGETING DNA HYPERMETHYLATION IN PATIENTS WITH CHRONIC LYMPHOCYTIC LEUKAEMIA AND NON-HODGKIN LYMPHOMA: DOSE-LIMITING MYELOSUPPRESSION WITHOUT EVIDENCE OF DNA HYPOMETHYLATION. TARGETING ABERRANT DNA HYPERMETHYLATION IN CHRONIC LYMPHOCYTIC LEUKAEMIA (CLL) AND NON-HODGKIN LYMPHOMA (NHL) WITH DECITABINE MAY REVERSE EPIGENETIC SILENCING IN B-CELL MALIGNANCIES. TWENTY PATIENTS WERE ENROLLED IN TWO PHASE I TRIALS TO DETERMINE THE MINIMUM EFFECTIVE PHARMACOLOGICAL DOSE OF DECITABINE IN PATIENTS WITH RELAPSED/REFRACTORY CLL (N = 16) AND NHL (N = 4). PATIENTS RECEIVED 1-3 CYCLES OF DECITABINE. DOSE-LIMITING TOXICITY (DLT) WAS OBSERVED IN 2 OF 4 CLL AND 2 OF 2 NHL PATIENTS RECEIVING DECITABINE AT 15 MG/M(2) PER D DAYS 1-10, CONSISTING OF GRADE 3-4 THROMBOCYTOPENIA AND HYPERBILIRUBINAEMIA. SIX PATIENTS WITH CLL RECEIVED DECITABINE AT 10 MG/M(2) PER D DAYS 1-10 WITHOUT DLT; HOWEVER, RE-EXPRESSION OF METHYLATED GENES OR CHANGES IN GLOBAL DNA METHYLATION WERE NOT OBSERVED. THEREFORE, A 5-DAY DECITABINE SCHEDULE WAS EXAMINED. WITH 15 MG/M(2) PER D DECITABINE DAYS 1-5, DLT OCCURRED IN 2 OF 6 CLL AND 2 OF 2 NHL PATIENTS, CONSISTING OF GRADE 3-4 NEUTROPENIA, THROMBOCYTOPENIA, AND FEBRILE NEUTROPENIA. EIGHT PATIENTS HAD STABLE DISEASE. IN 17 PATIENTS, THERE WERE NO SIGNIFICANT CHANGES IN GENOME-WIDE METHYLATION OR IN TARGET GENE RE-EXPRESSION. IN CONCLUSION, DOSE-LIMITING MYELOSUPPRESSION AND INFECTIOUS COMPLICATIONS PREVENTED DOSE ESCALATION OF DECITABINE TO LEVELS ASSOCIATED WITH CHANGES IN GLOBAL METHYLATION OR GENE RE-EXPRESSION IN CLL AND NHL. 2010 2 6689 31 VALPROIC ACID AT THERAPEUTIC PLASMA LEVELS MAY INCREASE 5-AZACYTIDINE EFFICACY IN HIGHER RISK MYELODYSPLASTIC SYNDROMES. PURPOSE: EPIGENETIC CHANGES PLAY A ROLE AND COOPERATE WITH GENETIC ALTERATIONS IN THE PATHOGENESIS OF MYELODYSPLASTIC SYNDROMES (MDS). WE CONDUCTED A PHASE II MULTICENTER STUDY ON THE COMBINATION OF THE DNA-METHYLTRANSFERASE INHIBITOR 5-AZACYTIDINE (5-AZA) AND THE HISTONE DEACETYLASE INHIBITOR VALPROIC ACID (VPA) IN PATIENTS WITH HIGHER RISK MDS. EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN: WE ENROLLED 62 PATIENTS WITH MDS (REFRACTORY ANEMIA WITH EXCESS BLASTS, 39 PATIENTS; REFRACTORY ANEMIA WITH EXCESS BLASTS IN TRANSFORMATION, 19 PATIENTS; AND CHRONIC MYELOMANOCYTIC LEUKEMIA (CMML), 4 PATIENTS) AND AN INTERNATIONAL PROGNOSTIC SCORING SYSTEM (IPSS) RATING OF INTERMEDIATE-2 (42 PATIENTS) OR HIGH (20 PATIENTS). VPA WAS GIVEN TO REACH A PLASMA CONCENTRATION OF >50 MICROG/ML, THEN 5-AZA WAS ADDED S.C. AT 75 MG/M(2) FOR 7 DAYS IN EIGHT MONTHLY CYCLES. RESULTS: THE MEDIAN OVERALL SURVIVAL WAS 14.4 MONTHS. AT A MEDIAN FOLLOW-UP OF 12 MONTHS (RANGE, 0.7-21.0), THE DISEASE PROGRESSED IN 20 PATIENTS, WITH 21% CUMULATIVE INCIDENCE OF PROGRESSION. OF 26 PATIENTS WHO COMPLETED EIGHT CYCLES, 30.7% OBTAINED COMPLETE OR PARTIAL REMISSION, 15.4% HAD A MAJOR HEMATOLOGIC IMPROVEMENT, WHEREAS 38.5% SHOWED STABLE DISEASE. DRUG-RELATED TOXICITY WAS MILD. FAVORABLE PROGNOSTIC FACTORS FOR SURVIVAL WERE IPSS INTERMEDIATE-2 AND PLASMA VPA OF > OR =50 MICROG/ML (LOG RANK = 0.013 AND 0.007, RESPECTIVELY). ANALYSIS OF POLYMORPHISMS IMPORTANT FOR THE METABOLISM OF THE DRUGS USED IN THE TRIAL SHOWED THAT CARRIERS OF THE CYP2C19*2 VARIANT OF CYTOCHROME P450 REQUIRED HIGHER VPA DOSES TO ACHIEVE THE TARGET VPA PLASMA CONCENTRATION OF 50 MICROG/ML ON DAY 1 OF 5-AZA TREATMENT (P = 0.0021). CONCLUSION: OUR DATA SHOW THAT THE 5-AZA/VPA COMBINATION IS ACTIVE AND SAFE IN PATIENTS WITH MDS WITH A POOR PROGNOSIS. ACHIEVEMENT OF VPA THERAPEUTIC LEVELS MAY INDEED INCREASE 5-AZA EFFICACY. 2009 3 5478 26 RESULTS OF A RANDOMIZED STUDY OF 3 SCHEDULES OF LOW-DOSE DECITABINE IN HIGHER-RISK MYELODYSPLASTIC SYNDROME AND CHRONIC MYELOMONOCYTIC LEUKEMIA. EPIGENETIC THERAPY WITH HYPOMETHYLATING DRUGS IS NOW THE STANDARD OF CARE IN MYELODYSPLASTIC SYNDROME (MDS). RESPONSE RATES REMAIN LOW, AND MECHANISM-BASED DOSE OPTIMIZATION HAS NOT BEEN REPORTED. WE INVESTIGATED THE CLINICAL AND PHARMACODYNAMIC RESULTS OF DIFFERENT DOSE SCHEDULES OF DECITABINE. ADULTS WITH ADVANCED MDS OR CHRONIC MYELOMONOCYTIC LEUKEMIA (CMML) WERE RANDOMIZED TO 1 OF 3 DECITABINE SCHEDULES: (1) 20 MG/M2 INTRAVENOUSLY DAILY FOR 5 DAYS; (2) 20 MG/M2 SUBCUTANEOUSLY DAILY FOR 5 DAYS; AND (3) 10 MG/M2 INTRAVENOUSLY DAILY FOR 10 DAYS. RANDOMIZATION FOLLOWED A BAYESIAN ADAPTIVE DESIGN. NINETY-FIVE PATIENTS WERE TREATED (77 WITH MDS, AND 18 WITH CMML). OVERALL, 32 PATIENTS (34%) ACHIEVED A COMPLETE RESPONSE (CR), AND 69 (73%) HAD AN OBJECTIVE RESPONSE BY THE NEW MODIFIED INTERNATIONAL WORKING GROUP CRITERIA. THE 5-DAY INTRAVENOUS SCHEDULE, WHICH HAD THE HIGHEST DOSE-INTENSITY, WAS SELECTED AS OPTIMAL; THE CR RATE IN THAT ARM WAS 39%, COMPARED WITH 21% IN THE 5-DAY SUBCUTANEOUS ARM AND 24% IN THE 10-DAY INTRAVENOUS ARM (P < .05). THE HIGH DOSE-INTENSITY ARM WAS ALSO SUPERIOR AT INDUCING HYPOMETHYLATION AT DAY 5 AND AT ACTIVATING P15 EXPRESSION AT DAYS 12 OR 28 AFTER THERAPY. WE CONCLUDE THAT A LOW-DOSE, DOSE-INTENSITY SCHEDULE OF DECITABINE OPTIMIZES EPIGENETIC MODULATION AND CLINICAL RESPONSES IN MDS. 2007 4 2132 32 EPIGENETIC INACTIVATION OF THE MIR-124-1 IN HAEMATOLOGICAL MALIGNANCIES. MIR-124-1 IS A TUMOUR SUPPRESSOR MICRORNA (MIR). EPIGENETIC DEREGULATION OF MIRS IS IMPLICATED IN CARCINOGENESIS. PROMOTER DNA METHYLATION AND HISTONE MODIFICATION OF MIR-124-1 WAS STUDIED IN 5 NORMAL MARROW CONTROLS, 4 LYMPHOMA, 8 MULTIPLE MYELOMA (MM) CELL LINES, 230 DIAGNOSTIC PRIMARY SAMPLES OF ACUTE MYELOID LEUKAEMIA (AML), ACUTE LYMPHOBLASTIC LEUKAEMIA (ALL), CHRONIC MYELOID LEUKAEMIA (CML), CHRONIC LYMPHOCYTIC LEUKAEMIA (CLL), MM, AND NON-HODGKIN'S LYMPHOMA (NHL), AND 53 MM SAMPLES AT STABLE DISEASE OR RELAPSE. PROMOTER OF MIR-124-1 WAS UNMETHYLATED IN NORMAL CONTROLS BUT HOMOZYGOUSLY METHYLATED IN 4 OF 4 LYMPHOMA AND 4 OF 8 MYELOMA CELL LINES. TREATMENT OF 5-AZA-2'-DEOXYCYTIDINE LED TO MIR-124-1 DEMETHYLATION AND RE-EXPRESSION OF MATURE MIR-124, WHICH ALSO ASSOCIATED WITH EMERGENCE OF EUCHROMATIC TRIMETHYL H3K4 AND CONSEQUENT DOWNREGULATION OF CDK6 IN MYELOMA CELLS HARBORING HOMOZYGOUS MIR-124-1 METHYLATION. IN PRIMARY SAMPLES AT DIAGNOSIS, MIR-124-1 METHYLATION WAS ABSENT IN CML BUT DETECTED IN 2% EACH OF MM AT DIAGNOSIS AND RELAPSE/PROGRESSION, 5% ALL, 15% AML, 14% CLL AND 58.1% OF NHL (P<0.001). AMONGST LYMPHOID MALIGNANCIES, MIR-124-1 WAS PREFERENTIALLY METHYLATED IN NHL THAN MM, CLL OR ALL. IN PRIMARY LYMPHOMA SAMPLES, MIR-124-1 WAS PREFERENTIALLY HYPERMETHYLATED IN B- OR NK/T-CELL LYMPHOMAS AND ASSOCIATED WITH REDUCED MIR-124 EXPRESSION. IN CONCLUSION, MIR-124-1 WAS HYPERMETHYLATED IN A TUMOUR-SPECIFIC MANNER, WITH A HETEROCHROMATIC HISTONE CONFIGURATION. HYPOMETHYLATION LED TO PARTIAL RESTORATION OF EUCHROMATIC HISTONE CODE AND MIR RE-EXPRESSION. INFREQUENT MIR-124-1 METHYLATION DETECTED IN DIAGNOSTIC AND RELAPSE MM SAMPLES SHOWED AN UNIMPORTANT ROLE IN MM PATHOGENESIS, DESPITE FREQUENT METHYLATION FOUND IN CELL LINES. AMONGST HAEMATOLOGICAL CANCERS, MIR-124-1 WAS MORE FREQUENTLY HYPERMETHYLATED IN NHL, AND HENCE WARRANTS FURTHER STUDY. 2011 5 3722 27 INHIBITION OF DNA METHYLATION DURING CHRONIC OBSTRUCTIVE BLADDER DISEASE (COBD) IMPROVES FUNCTION, PATHOLOGY AND EXPRESSION. PARTIAL BLADDER OUTLET OBSTRUCTION DUE TO PROSTATE HYPERPLASIA OR POSTERIOR URETHRAL VALVES, IS A WIDESPREAD CAUSE OF URINARY DYSFUNCTION, PATIENT DISCOMFORT AND ALSO RESPONSIBLE FOR IMMENSE HEALTH CARE COSTS. EVEN AFTER REMOVAL OR RELIEF OF OBSTRUCTION, THE FUNCTIONAL AND PATHOLOGIC ASPECTS OF OBSTRUCTION REMAIN AS A CHRONIC OBSTRUCTIVE BLADDER DISEASE (COBD). EPIGENETIC CHANGES, SUCH AS DNA METHYLATION, CONTRIBUTE TO THE PERSISTENT CHARACTER OF MANY CHRONIC DISEASES, AND MAY BE ALTERED IN COBD. WE TESTED WHETHER CANDIDATE GENES AND PATHWAYS AND THE PATHOPHYSIOLOGY OF COBD WERE AFFECTED BY A HYPOMETHYLATING AGENT, DECITABINE (DAC). COBD WAS CREATED IN FEMALE SPRAGUE-DAWLEY RATS BY SURGICAL LIGATION OF THE URETHRA FOR 6 WEEKS, FOLLOWED BY REMOVAL OF THE SUTURE. SHAM LIGATIONS WERE PERFORMED BY PASSING THE SUTURE BEHIND THE URETHRA. AFTER REMOVAL OF THE OBSTRUCTION OR SHAM REMOVAL, ANIMALS WERE RANDOMIZED TO DAC TREATMENT (1 MG/KG/3-TIMES/WEEK INTRAPERITONEALLY) OR VEHICLE (NORMAL SALINE). BLADDER FUNCTION WAS NON-INVASIVELY TESTED USING METABOLIC CAGES, BOTH ONE DAY PRIOR TO DE-OBSTRUCTION AT 6 WEEKS AND PRIOR TO SACRIFICE AT 10 WEEKS. RESIDUAL VOLUME AND BLADDER MASS WERE MEASURED FOR EACH BLADDER. BLADDERS WERE EXAMINED BY IMMUNOSTAINING AS WELL AS QPCR. THE EFFECTS OF DNA METHYLTRANSFERASE (DNMT)-3A KNOCKOUT OR OVEREXPRESSION ON SMOOTH MUSCLE CELL (SMC) FUNCTION AND PHENOTYPE WERE ALSO EXAMINED IN BLADDER SMC AND EX VIVO CULTURE. RESIDUAL VOLUMES OF THE DAC TREATED GROUP WERE NOT SIGNIFICANTLY DIFFERENT FROM THE NS GROUP. COMPARED TO COBD NS, COBD DAC TREATMENT HELPED PRESERVE MICTURITION VOLUME WITH A SIGNIFICANT RECOVERY OF THE VOIDING EFFICIENCY (RATIO OF THE MAXIMUM VOIDED VOLUME/MAXIMUM BLADDER CAPACITY) BY ONE THIRD (FIG. 1, P > 0.05). BRAIN-DERIVED NEUROTROPHIC FACTOR (BDNF) VARIANTS 1 AND 5 WERE UPREGULATED BY COBD AND SIGNIFICANTLY REDUCED BY DAC TREATMENT. DEPOSITION OF COLLAGEN IN THE COBD BLADDER WAS REDUCED BY DAC, BUT GROSS HYPERTROPHY REMAINED. IN BLADDER SMC, DNMT3A OVEREXPRESSION LED TO A LOSS OF CONTRACTILE FUNCTION AND PHENOTYPE. IN BLADDERS, PERSISTENTLY ALTERED BY COBD, INHIBITION OF DNA-METHYLATION ENHANCES FUNCTIONAL RECOVERY, UNLIKE TREATMENT DURING PARTIAL OBSTRUCTION, WHICH EXACERBATES OBSTRUCTIVE PATHOLOGY. THE UNDERLYING MECHANISMS MAY RELATE TO THE GENE EXPRESSION CHANGES IN BDNF AND THEIR EFFECTS ON SIGNALING IN THE BLADDER. 2021 6 5612 45 SAFETY AND ACTIVITY OF RRX-001 IN PATIENTS WITH ADVANCED CANCER: A FIRST-IN-HUMAN, OPEN-LABEL, DOSE-ESCALATION PHASE 1 STUDY. BACKGROUND: EPIGENETIC ALTERATIONS HAVE BEEN STRONGLY ASSOCIATED WITH TUMOUR FORMATION AND RESISTANCE TO CHEMOTHERAPEUTIC DRUGS, AND EPIGENETIC MODIFICATIONS ARE AN ATTRACTIVE TARGET IN CANCER RESEARCH. RRX-001 IS ACTIVATED BY HYPOXIA AND INDUCES THE GENERATION OF REACTIVE OXYGEN AND NITROGEN SPECIES THAT CAN EPIGENETICALLY MODULATE DNA METHYLATION, HISTONE DEACETYLATION, AND LYSINE DEMETHYLATION. THE AIM OF THIS PHASE 1 STUDY WAS TO ASSESS THE SAFETY, TOLERABILITY, AND PHARMACOKINETICS OF RRX-001. METHODS: IN THIS OPEN-LABEL, DOSE-ESCALATION, PHASE 1 STUDY, WE RECRUITED ADULT PATIENTS (AGED >18 YEARS) WITH HISTOLOGICALLY OR CYTOLOGICALLY CONFIRMED DIAGNOSIS OF ADVANCED, MALIGNANT, INCURABLE SOLID TUMOURS FROM UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA AT SAN DIEGO, CA, USA, AND SARAH CANNON RESEARCH INSTITUTE, NASHVILLE, TN, USA. KEY ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA INCLUDED EVALUABLE DISEASE, EASTERN COOPERATIVE GROUP PERFORMANCE STATUS OF 2 OR LESS, AN ESTIMATED LIFE EXPECTANCY OF AT LEAST 12 WEEKS, ADEQUATE LABORATORY PARAMETERS, DISCONTINUATION OF ALL PREVIOUS ANTINEOPLASTIC THERAPIES AT LEAST 6 WEEKS BEFORE INTERVENTION, AND NO RESIDUAL SIDE-EFFECTS FROM PREVIOUS THERAPIES. PATIENTS WERE ASSIGNED TO RECEIVE INTRAVENOUS INFUSIONS OF RRX-001 AT INCREASING DOSES (10 MG/M(2), 16.7 MG/M(2), 24.6 MG/M(2), 33 MG/M(2), 55 MG/M(2), AND 83 MG/M(2)) EITHER ONCE OR TWICE-WEEKLY FOR AT LEAST 4 WEEKS, WITH AT LEAST THREE PATIENTS PER DOSE COHORT AND ALLOWING A 2-WEEK OBSERVATION PERIOD BEFORE DOSE ESCALATION. SAMPLES FOR SAFETY AND PHARMACOKINETICS ANALYSIS, INCLUDING STANDARD CHEMISTRY AND HAEMATOLOGICAL PANELS, WERE TAKEN ON EACH TREATMENT DAY. THE PRIMARY OBJECTIVE WAS TO ASSESS SAFETY, TOLERABILITY, AND DOSE-LIMITING TOXIC EFFECTS OF RRX-001, TO DETERMINE SINGLE-DOSE PHARMACOKINETICS, AND TO IDENTIFY A RECOMMENDED DOSE FOR PHASE 2 TRIALS. ALL ANALYSES WERE DONE PER PROTOCOL. ACCRUAL IS COMPLETE AND FOLLOW-UP IS STILL ON-GOING. THIS TRIAL IS REGISTERED WITH CLINICALTRIALS.GOV, NUMBER NCT01359982. FINDINGS: BETWEEN OCT 10, 2011, AND MARCH 18, 2013, WE ENROLLED 25 PATIENTS AND TREATED SIX PATIENTS IN THE 10 MG/M(2) COHORT, THREE PATIENTS IN THE 16.7 MG/M(2) COHORT, THREE PATIENTS IN THE 24.6 MG/M(2) COHORT, FOUR PATIENTS IN THE 33 MG/M(2) COHORT, THREE PATIENTS IN THE 55 MG/M(2), AND SIX PATIENTS IN THE 83 MG/M(2) COHORT. PAIN AT THE INJECTION SITE, MOSTLY GRADE 1 AND GRADE 2, WAS THE MOST COMMON ADVERSE EVENT RELATED TO TREATMENT, EXPERIENCED BY 21 (84%) PATIENTS. OTHER COMMON DRUG-RELATED ADVERSE EVENTS INCLUDED ARM SWELLING OR OEDEMA (EIGHT [32%] PATIENTS), AND VEIN HARDENING (SEVEN [28%] PATIENTS). NO DOSE-LIMITING TOXICITIES WERE OBSERVED. TIME CONSTRAINTS RELATED TO MANAGEMENT OF INFUSION PAIN FROM RRX-001 RESULTED IN A MAXIMALLY FEASIBLE DOSE OF 83 MG/M(2). OF THE 21 EVALUABLE PATIENTS, ONE (5%) PATIENT HAD A PARTIAL RESPONSE, 14 (67%) PATIENTS HAD STABLE DISEASE, AND SIX (29%) PATIENTS HAD PROGRESSIVE DISEASE; ALL RESPONSES WERE ACROSS A VARIETY OF TUMOUR TYPES. FOUR PATIENTS WHO HAD RECEIVED RRX-001 WERE SUBSEQUENTLY RECHALLENGED WITH A TREATMENT THAT THEY HAD BECOME REFRACTORY TO; ALL FOUR RESPONDED TO THE RECHALLENGE. INTERPRETATION: RRX-001 IS A WELL-TOLERATED NOVEL COMPOUND WITHOUT CLINICALLY SIGNIFICANT TOXIC EFFECTS AT THE TESTED DOSES. PRELIMINARY EVIDENCE OF ACTIVITY IS PROMISING AND, ON THE BASIS OF ALL FINDINGS, A DOSE OF 16.7 MG/M(2) WAS RECOMMENDED AS THE TARGETED DOSE FOR PHASE 2 TRIALS. FUNDING: EPICENTRX (FORMERLY RADIORX). 2015 7 765 31 CC-486 MAINTENANCE AFTER STEM CELL TRANSPLANTATION IN PATIENTS WITH ACUTE MYELOID LEUKEMIA OR MYELODYSPLASTIC SYNDROMES. RELAPSE IS THE MAIN CAUSE OF TREATMENT FAILURE AFTER ALLOGENEIC STEM CELL TRANSPLANT (ALLOSCT) IN ACUTE MYELOID LEUKEMIA (AML) AND MYELODYSPLASTIC SYNDROMES (MDS). INJECTABLE AZACITIDINE CAN IMPROVE POST-TRANSPLANT OUTCOMES BUT PRESENTS CHALLENGES WITH EXPOSURE AND COMPLIANCE. ORAL CC-486 ALLOWS EXTENDED DOSING TO PROLONG AZACITIDINE ACTIVITY. WE INVESTIGATED USE OF CC-486 MAINTENANCE THERAPY AFTER ALLOSCT. ADULTS WITH MDS OR AML IN MORPHOLOGIC COMPLETE REMISSION AT CC-486 INITIATION (42 TO 84 DAYS AFTER ALLOSCT) WERE INCLUDED. PATIENTS RECEIVED 1 OF 4 CC-486 DOSING SCHEDULES PER 28-DAY CYCLE FOR UP TO 12 CYCLES. ENDPOINTS INCLUDED SAFETY, PHARMACOKINETICS, GRAFT-VERSUS-HOST DISEASE (GVHD) INCIDENCE, RELAPSE/PROGRESSION RATE, AND SURVIVAL. OF 30 PATIENTS, 7 RECEIVED CC-486 ONCE DAILY FOR 7 DAYS PER CYCLE (200 MG, N = 3; 300 MG, N = 4) AND 23 FOR 14 DAYS PER CYCLE (150 MG, N = 4; 200 MG, N = 19 [EXPANSION COHORT]). GRADES 3 TO 4 ADVERSE EVENTS WERE INFREQUENT AND OCCURRED WITH SIMILAR FREQUENCY ACROSS REGIMENS. STANDARD CONCOMITANT MEDICATIONS DID NOT ALTER CC-486 PHARMACOKINETIC PARAMETERS. THREE PATIENTS (10%) EXPERIENCED GRADE III ACUTE GVHD AND 9 EXPERIENCED CHRONIC GVHD. OF 28 EVALUABLE PATIENTS, 6 (21%) RELAPSED OR HAD PROGRESSIVE DISEASE: 3 OF 7 PATIENTS (43%) WHO HAD RECEIVED 7-DAY DOSING AND 3 OF 23 (13%) WHO HAD RECEIVED 14-DAY DOSING. TRANSPLANT-RELATED MORTALITY WAS 3%. AT 19 MONTHS OF FOLLOW-UP, MEDIAN OVERALL SURVIVAL WAS NOT REACHED. ESTIMATED 1-YEAR SURVIVAL RATES WERE 86% AND 81% IN THE 7-DAY AND 14-DAY DOSING COHORTS, RESPECTIVELY. CC-486 MAINTENANCE WAS GENERALLY WELL TOLERATED, WITH LOW RATES OF RELAPSE, DISEASE PROGRESSION, AND GVHD. CC-486 MAINTENANCE MAY PERMIT EPIGENETIC MANIPULATION OF THE ALLOREACTIVE RESPONSE POSTALLOGRAFT. FINDINGS REQUIRE CONFIRMATION IN RANDOMIZED TRIALS. (CLINICALTRIALS.GOV NCT01835587.). 2018 8 2769 33 EXTENDED DOSING WITH CC-486 (ORAL AZACITIDINE) IN PATIENTS WITH MYELOID MALIGNANCIES. CC-486 (ORAL AZACITIDINE) IS AN EPIGENETIC MODIFIER IN CLINICAL DEVELOPMENT FOR TREATMENT OF HEMATOLOGICAL CANCERS. THIS STUDY OF EXTENDED CC-486 DOSING INCLUDED PATIENTS WITH MYELODYSPLASTIC SYNDROMES (MDSS), CHRONIC MYELOMONOCYTIC LEUKEMIA (CMML), OR ACUTE MYELOID LEUKEMIA (AML). AFTER A PHARMACOKINETIC ASSESSMENT PERIOD, 31 PATIENTS (MDS N = 18, CMML N = 4, AND AML N = 9) ENTERED A CLINICAL PHASE IN WHICH THEY RECEIVED CC-486 300 MG ONCE-DAILY FOR 21 DAYS OF REPEATED 28-DAY CYCLES. MEDIAN AGE WAS 71 YEARS (RANGE: 53-93); 42% OF PATIENTS WERE AGED >/=75 YEARS. A TOTAL OF 5 PATIENTS WITH AML (63%) HAD PRIOR MDS. MEDIAN NUMBER OF CC-486 TREATMENT CYCLES WAS 4 (RANGE: 1-32). THE MOST COMMON TREATMENT-EMERGENT ADVERSE EVENTS (TEAES) WERE GASTROINTESTINAL (84% OF PATIENTS) AND HEMATOLOGIC (81%). MOST COMMON GRADE 3-4 TEAES WERE NEUTROPENIA (N = 13, 42%) AND ANEMIA (N = 9, 29%). TEN PATIENTS EXPERIENCED GRADE 4 NEUTROPENIA. INFREQUENTLY, CC-486 DOSE WAS INTERRUPTED OR REDUCED DUE TO GASTROINTESTINAL (N = 5, 16%) OR HEMATOLOGIC (N = 6, 19%) TEAES. OVERALL RESPONSE RATE (COMPLETE REMISSION [CR], CR WITH INCOMPLETE HEMATOLOGICAL RECOVERY [CRI], PARTIAL REMISSION [PR], MARROW CR) IN THE MDS/CMML SUBGROUPS WAS 32% AND IN THE AML SUBGROUP (CR/CRI/PR) WAS 22%. RED BLOOD CELL TRANSFUSION INDEPENDENCE RATES IN THE MDS/CMML AND AML SUBGROUPS WERE 33% AND 25%, RESPECTIVELY, AND 2 MDS/CMML PATIENTS ATTAINED HEMATOLOGIC IMPROVEMENT AS A BEST RESPONSE ON-STUDY. NO BASELINE GENE MUTATION WAS PREDICTIVE OF RESPONSE/NONRESPONSE. CC-486 ALLOWS FLEXIBLE DOSING AND SCHEDULES TO IMPROVE TOLERABILITY OR RESPONSE. NEUTROPENIA IN EARLY TREATMENT CYCLES DESERVES SCRUTINY AND MAY WARRANT INITIATION OF PROPHYLACTIC ANTIBIOTICS. KEY POINTS: THE SAFETY PROFILE OF ORAL CC-486 WAS COMPARABLE TO THAT OF INJECTABLE AZACITIDINE; MOST ADVERSE EVENTS WERE HEMATOLOGICAL AND GASTROINTESTINAL. EXTENDED (21-DAY/CYCLE) CC-486 DOSING INDUCED RESPONSES IN PATIENTS WITH HEMATOLOGICAL MALIGNANCIES, MANY OF WHOM HAD PRIOR DNMTI FAILURE. 2018 9 6612 23 ULTRA-LOW-DOSE NALOXONE ENHANCES THE ANTINOCICEPTIVE EFFECT OF MORPHINE IN PTX-TREATED RATS: REGULATION ON GLOBAL HISTONE METHYLATION. OBJECTIVE: EPIGENETIC REPROGRAMMING MAY HAVE A POSSIBLE ROLE IN NEUROPATHIC PAIN DEVELOPMENT; THE PRESENT STUDY EXAMINED THE GLOBAL PATTERNS OF LYSINE HISTONE MODIFICATION. IN THIS SERIAL STUDY WE ANALYZED THE LEVELS OF HISTONE 3 LYSINE 4 MONOMETHYLATION, HISTONE 3 LYSINE 4 DIMETHYLATION, AND HISTONE 3 LYSINE 9 TRIMETHYLATION IN PERTUSSIS TOXIN (PTX)-INDUCED THERMAL HYPERALGESIC RAT SPINAL CORDS. METHODS: MALE WISTAR RATS IMPLANTED WITH AN INTRATHECAL CATHETER RECEIVED A SINGLE INTRATHECAL PTX (1 MUG IN 5 MUL SALINE) INJECTION. FOUR DAYS LATER, THEY WERE RANDOMLY ASSIGNED TO RECEIVE EITHER A SINGLE INJECTION OF SALINE, OR ULTRA-LOW-DOSE NALOXONE (15 NG IN 5 MUL SALINE), FOLLOWED BY MORPHINE (10 MUG IN 5 MUL SALINE) INJECTION 30 MINUTES LATER. RESULTS: THE RESULTS SHOWED THAT PTX INJECTION INDUCED THERMAL HYPERALGESIA AND SIGNIFICANT INCREASE OF GLOBAL HISTONE METHYLATION IN THE SPINAL CORDS. INTRATHECAL MORPHINE ALONE DID NOT AFFECT THE THERMAL HYPERALGESIA AND GLOBAL HISTONE METHYLATION. IN CONTRAST, INTRATHECAL ADMINISTRATION OF ULTRA-LOW-DOSE NALOXONE PLUS MORPHINE SIGNIFICANTLY ATTENUATED THE PTX-INDUCED THERMAL HYPERALGESIA AND DOWN-REGULATED THE GLOBAL HISTONE METHYLATION. CONCLUSION: THE RESULTS SUGGEST THAT ULTRA-LOW-DOSE NALOXONE MIGHT BE CLINICAL VALUABLE FOR NEUROPATHIC PAIN MANAGEMENT VIA REGULATING GLOBAL HISTONE MODIFICATION. 2012 10 2822 45 FIRST-IN-HUMAN STUDY OF INHALED AZACITIDINE IN PATIENTS WITH ADVANCED NON-SMALL CELL LUNG CANCER. BACKGROUND: AEROSOLIZED AZACITIDINE HAS BEEN SHOWN TO INHIBIT ORTHOTOPIC LUNG CANCER GROWTH AND INDUCE RE-EXPRESSION OF METHYLATED TUMOR SUPPRESSOR GENES IN MURINE MODELS. WE HYPOTHESIZED THAT INHALED AZACITIDINE IS SAFE AND EFFECTIVE IN REVERSING EPIGENETIC CHANGES IN THE BRONCHIAL EPITHELIUM SECONDARY TO CHRONIC SMOKING. PATIENTS AND METHODS: WE REPORT THE FIRST IN HUMAN STUDY OF INHALED AZACITIDINE. AZACITIDINE IN AQUEOUS SOLUTION WAS USED TO GENERATE AN AEROSOL SUSPENSION OF 0.25-5 MUM PARTICLE SIZE. MAIN INCLUSION CRITERIA: STAGE IV OR RECURRENT NSCLC WITH PREDOMINANTLY LUNG INVOLVEMENT, >/=1 PRIOR SYSTEMIC THERAPY, ECOG PS 0-1, AND ADEQUATE PULMONARY FUNCTION. PATIENTS RECEIVED INHALED AZACITIDINE DAILY ON DAYS 1-5 AND 15-19 OF 28-DAY CYCLES, AT 3 ESCALATING DOSES (15, 30 AND 45 MG/M(2) DAILY). THE PRIMARY OBJECTIVE WAS TO DETERMINE THE FEASIBILITY AND TOLERABILITY OF THIS NEW THERAPEUTIC MODALITY. THE KEY SECONDARY OBJECTIVES INCLUDED PHARMACOKINETICS, METHYLATION PROFILES AND EFFICACY. RESULTS: FROM 3/2015 TO 2/2018, EIGHT PATIENTS RECEIVED A MEDIAN NUMBER OF 2 (IQR = 1) CYCLES OF INHALED AZACITIDINE. NO CLINICALLY SIGNIFICANT ADVERSE EVENTS WERE OBSERVED, EXCEPT ONE PATIENT TREATED AT THE HIGHEST DOSE DEVELOPED AN ASYMPTOMATIC GRADE 2 DECREASED DLCO WHICH RESOLVED SPONTANEOUSLY. ONE PATIENT RECEIVING 12 CYCLES OF THERAPY HAD AN OBJECTIVE AND DURABLE PARTIAL RESPONSE, AND TWO PATIENTS HAD STABLE DISEASE. PLASMA AZACITIDINE WAS ONLY BRIEFLY DETECTABLE IN PATIENTS TREATED AT THE HIGHER DOSES. MOREOVER, IN 2 OF 3 PARTICIPANTS WHO AGREED AND UNDERWENT PRE- AND POST-TREATMENT BRONCHOSCOPY, THE GLOBAL DNA METHYLATION IN THE BRONCHIAL EPITHELIUM DECREASED BY 24 % AND 79 % POST-THERAPY, RESPECTIVELY. THE INTERVAL BETWEEN LAST INHALED TREATMENT AND BRONCHOSCOPY WAS 3 DAYS. CONCLUSIONS: INHALED AZACITIDINE RESULTED IN NEGLIGIBLE PLASMA LEVELS COMPARED TO THE PREVIOUSLY REPORTED SUBCUTANEOUS ADMINISTRATION AND WAS WELL-TOLERATED. THE RESULTS JUSTIFY THE CONTINUED DEVELOPMENT OF INHALED AZACITIDINE AT NON-CYTOTOXIC DOSES FOR PATIENTS WITH LUNG-CONFINED MALIGNANT AND/OR PREMALIGNANT LESIONS. 2021 11 4579 18 N(6)-METHYLADENOSINE METHYLASE METTL3 CONTRIBUTES TO NEUROPATHIC PAIN BY EPIGENETIC SILENCING OF MU OPIOID RECEPTOR. WE AIMED AT EXPLORING THE ROLE AND MECHANISM OF METTL3-MEDIATED M(6)A MODIFICATION IN NEUROPATHIC PAIN. MALE SPRAGUE-DAWLEY RATS WERE RANDOMLY DIVIDED INTO FOUR GROUPS: SHAM OPERATION GROUP (SHAM GROUP), CHRONIC CONSTRICTION INJURY (CCI) OF THE SCIATIC NERVE MODEL GROUP (NPP GROUP), INTRATHECAL INJECTION OF VIRUS DOWN-REGULATED METTL3 + CCI MODEL GROUP (M3 + NPP GROUP) AND INTRATHECAL INJECTION OF NEGATIVE CONTROL VIRUS + CCI MODEL GROUP (SCR + NPP GROUP). THE M3 + NPP GROUP AND THE SCR + NPP GROUP WERE INTRATHECALLY INJECTED WITH VIRUS NINETEEN DAYS BEFORE OPERATION. THE PAW WITHDRAWAL MECHANICAL THRESHOLDS AND PAW WITHDRAWAL LATENCY WERE RESPECTIVELY RECORDED ONE DAY BEFORE OPERATION, THREE DAYS, FIVE DAYS AND SEVEN DAYS AFTER OPERATION. THE RATS WERE SACRIFICED ON THE SEVENTH DAY AFTER OPERATION, AND THEIR SPINAL CORD TISSUES WERE TAKEN. THE FROZEN SECTIONS OF RATS WERE PERFORMED TO OBSERVE THE EXPRESSION OF GREEN FLUORESCENT PROTEIN OF THE VIRUS. THE METHYLATION LEVEL OF RNA, THE PROTEIN EXPRESSION OF M(6)A-RELATED ENZYME (METTL3) AND MU OPIOID RECEPTOR (MOR) IN SPINAL CORD TISSUES OF THE FOUR GROUPS WERE MEASURED. DOWNREGULATION OF METTL3 HAD NO EFFECT ON THE OVERALL METHYLATION LEVEL OF THE SPINAL CORD, BUT IT COULD REGULATE THE METHYLATION LEVEL OF THE OPRM1 GENE RNA ENCODING MOR, PARTIALLY RESTORE THE EXPRESSION OF MOR, AND RELIEVE PAIN IN RATS. IN THE PROCESS OF NPP, METTL3 MAY INHIBIT THE EXPRESSION OF MOR BY REGULATING THE METHYLATION LEVEL OF OPRM1 GENE RNA ENCODING MOR, AND ULTIMATELY PROMOTE THE OCCURRENCE AND DEVELOPMENT OF NPP. 2023 12 2300 18 EPIGENETIC REGULATION OF BDNF EXPRESSION IN THE PRIMARY SENSORY NEURONS AFTER PERIPHERAL NERVE INJURY: IMPLICATIONS IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF NEUROPATHIC PAIN. BRAIN-DERIVED NEUROTROPHIC FACTOR (BDNF) IS KNOWN TO BE UP-REGULATED IN THE DORSAL ROOT GANGLION (DRG) AFTER PERIPHERAL NERVE INJURY, AND TO CONTRIBUTE TO NEUROPATHIC PAIN. HERE, WE FOUND THAT THERMAL HYPERALGESIA AND MECHANICAL ALLODYNIA AT DAY 7 POST-INJURY WERE INHIBITED ONLY WHEN ANTI-BDNF ANTIBODY WAS INTRATHECALLY ADMINISTRATED AT DAY 2 POST-INJURY. CONSISTENT WITH BEHAVIORAL RESULTS, WESTERN BLOT ANALYSIS SHOWED THAT THE EXPRESSION LEVELS OF BDNF PROTEIN IN THE SPINAL DORSAL HORN WERE MARKEDLY INDUCED DURING EARLY STAGE POST-INJURY. MOREOVER, THE MAXIMAL INCREASE IN BDNF MRNA EXPRESSION IN THE DRG WAS OBSERVED AT DAY 1 POST-INJURY, AND SIGNIFICANTLY ELEVATED LEVELS WERE SUSTAINED FOR AT LEAST 14 DAYS. FOUR OF FIVE BDNF MRNA TRANSCRIPTS WERE UP-REGULATED AFTER NERVE INJURY, AND THE MOST INDUCIBLE TRANSCRIPT WAS EXON I. USING A CHROMATIN IMMUNOPRECIPITATION (CHIP) ASSAY, WE FOUND THAT NERVE INJURY PROMOTES HISTONE H3 AND H4 ACETYLATION, TRANSCRIPTIONALLY ACTIVE MODIFICATIONS, AT BDNF PROMOTER I AT DAY 1 POST-INJURY, AND THE LEVELS OF HISTONE ACETYLATION REMAIN ELEVATED FOR AT LEAST 7 DAYS. TAKEN TOGETHER, OUR FINDINGS SUGGEST THAT AN INITIAL INCREASE IN BDNF EXON I EXPRESSION CONTROLLED BY EPIGENETIC MECHANISMS MIGHT HAVE A CRUCIAL ROLE IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF NEUROPATHIC PAIN. 2013 13 2365 17 EPIGENETIC REGULATION OF SPINAL CXCR2 SIGNALING IN INCISIONAL HYPERSENSITIVITY IN MICE. BACKGROUND: THE REGULATION OF GENE EXPRESSION IN NOCICEPTIVE PATHWAYS CONTRIBUTES TO THE INDUCTION AND MAINTENANCE OF PAIN SENSITIZATION. HISTONE ACETYLATION IS A KEY EPIGENETIC MECHANISM CONTROLLING CHROMATIN STRUCTURE AND GENE EXPRESSION. CHEMOKINE CC MOTIF RECEPTOR 2 (CXCR2) IS A PROINFLAMMATORY RECEPTOR IMPLICATED IN NEUROPATHIC AND INFLAMMATORY PAIN AND IS KNOWN TO BE REGULATED BY HISTONE ACETYLATION IN SOME SETTINGS. THE AUTHORS SOUGHT TO INVESTIGATE THE ROLE OF HISTONE ACETYLATION ON SPINAL CXCR2 SIGNALING AFTER INCISION. METHODS: GROUPS OF 5-8 MICE UNDERWENT HIND PAW INCISION. SUBEROYLANILIDE HYDROXAMIC ACID AND ANACARDIC ACID WERE USED TO INHIBIT HISTONE DEACETYLASE AND HISTONE ACETYLTRANSFERASE, RESPECTIVELY. BEHAVIORAL MEASURES OF THERMAL AND MECHANICAL SENSITIZATION AS WELL AS HYPERALGESIC PRIMING WERE USED. BOTH MESSAGE RNA QUANTIFICATION AND CHROMATIN IMMUNOPRECIPITATION ANALYSIS WERE USED TO STUDY THE REGULATION OF CXCR2 AND LIGAND EXPRESSION. FINALLY, THE SELECTIVE CXCR2 ANTAGONIST SB225002 WAS ADMINISTERED INTRATHECALLY TO REVEAL THE FUNCTION OF SPINAL CXCR2 RECEPTORS AFTER HIND PAW INCISION. RESULTS: SUBEROYLANILIDE HYDROXAMIC ACID SIGNIFICANTLY EXACERBATED MECHANICAL SENSITIZATION AFTER INCISION. CONVERSELY, ANACARDIC ACID REDUCED INCISIONAL SENSITIZATION AND ALSO ATTENUATED INCISION-INDUCED HYPERALGESIC PRIMING. OVERALL, ACETYLATED HISTONE H3 AT LYSINE 9 WAS INCREASED IN SPINAL CORD TISSUES AFTER INCISION, AND ENHANCED ASSOCIATION OF ACETYLATED HISTONE H3 AT LYSINE 9 WITH THE PROMOTER REGIONS OF CXCR2 AND KERATINOCYTE-DERIVED CHEMOKINE (CXCL1) WAS OBSERVED AS WELL. BLOCKING CXCR2 REVERSED MECHANICAL HYPERSENSITIVITY AFTER HIND PAW INCISION. CONCLUSIONS: HISTONE MODIFICATION IS AN IMPORTANT EPIGENETIC MECHANISM REGULATING INCISION-INDUCED NOCICEPTIVE SENSITIZATION. THE SPINAL CXCR2 SIGNALING PATHWAY IS ONE EPIGENETICALLY REGULATED PATHWAY CONTROLLING EARLY AND LATENT SENSITIZATION AFTER INCISION. 2013 14 5480 17 RESVERATROL REVERSES MORPHINE-INDUCED NEUROINFLAMMATION IN MORPHINE-TOLERANT RATS BY REVERSAL HDAC1 EXPRESSION. BACKGROUND/PURPOSE: WE PREVIOUSLY SHOWED THAT SUBSEQUENT INTRATHECAL (I.T.) INJECTION OF RESVERATROL (30 MUG) SIGNIFICANTLY REVERSES MORPHINE-EVOKED NEUROINFLAMMATION IN MORPHINE-TOLERANT RATS. THE PRESENT STUDY EXAMINED THE UNDERLYING MECHANISM. METHODS: MALE WISTAR RATS WERE IMPLANTED WITH TWO I.T. CATHETERS, ONE OF WHICH WAS CONNECTED TO A MINIOSMOTIC PUMP AND USED FOR MORPHINE (15 MUG/H) OR SALINE INFUSION FOR 120 HOURS. TO EXAMINE THE EFFECTS ON SPINAL CORD EXPRESSION OF HISTONE DEACETYLASE 1 (HDAC1), THE INFLAMMATORY CYTOKINE TUMOR NECROSIS FACTOR-ALPHA (TNF-ALPHA), AND TNF RECEPTOR (TNFR) 1 AND TNFR2 DURING TOLERANCE INDUCTION, A TAIL-FLICK TEST WAS PERFORMED PRIOR TO INFUSION AND AFTER 24 HOURS, 48 HOURS, 72 HOURS, 96 HOURS, AND 120 HOURS OF INFUSION. RESULTS: RESVERATROL TREATMENT PRIOR TO MORPHINE CHALLENGE RESTORED THE ANTINOCICEPTIVE EFFECT OF MORPHINE IN MORPHINE-TOLERANT RATS AND REVERSED THE MORPHINE INFUSION-INDUCED INCREASE IN HDAC1, TNF-ALPHA, AND TNFR1 EXPRESSION. MOREOVER, CHRONIC MORPHINE INFUSION INCREASED TNFR1-SPECIFIC EXPRESSION IN NEURON IN MORPHINE-TOLERANT RAT SPINAL CORDS, AND THIS EFFECT WAS ALMOST COMPLETELY INHIBITED BY RESVERATROL TREATMENT PRIOR TO MORPHINE CHALLENGE. CONCLUSION: RESVERATROL RESTORES THE ANTINOCICEPTIVE EFFECT OF MORPHINE BY REVERSING MORPHINE INFUSION-INDUCED SPINAL CORD NEUROINFLAMMATION AND INCREASE IN TNFR1 EXPRESSION. THE REVERSAL OF THE MORPHINE-INDUCED INCREASE IN TNFR1 EXPRESSION BY RESVERATROL IS PARTIALLY DUE TO REVERSAL OF THE MORPHINE INFUSION-INDUCED INCREASE IN HDAC1 EXPRESSION. RESVERATROL PRETREATMENT CAN BE USED AS AN ADJUVANT IN CLINICAL PAIN MANAGEMENT FOR PATIENTS WHO NEED LONG-TERM MORPHINE TREATMENT OR WITH NEUROPATHIC PAIN. 2016 15 2760 23 EXPRESSION OF PD-L1, PD-L2, PD-1 AND CTLA4 IN MYELODYSPLASTIC SYNDROMES IS ENHANCED BY TREATMENT WITH HYPOMETHYLATING AGENTS. BLOCKADE OF IMMUNE CHECKPOINTS IS EMERGING AS A NEW FORM OF ANTICANCER THERAPY. WE STUDIED THE EXPRESSION OF PROGRAMMED DEATH LIGAND 1 (PD-L1), PD-L2, PROGRAMMED DEATH 1 (PD-1) AND CYTOTOXIC T LYMPHOCYTE-ASSOCIATED ANTIGEN 4 (CTLA4) MRNA IN CD34+ CELLS FROM MYELODYSPLASTIC SYNDROME (MDS), CHRONIC MYELOMONOCYTIC LEUKEMIA (CMML) AND ACUTE MYELOID LEUKEMIA (AML) PATIENTS (N=124). ABERRANT UPREGULATION (?2-FOLD) WAS OBSERVED IN 34, 14, 15 AND 8% OF THE PATIENTS. INCREASED EXPRESSION OF THESE FOUR GENES WAS ALSO OBSERVED IN PERIPHERAL BLOOD MONONUCLEAR CELLS (PBMNCS) (N=61). THE RELATIVE EXPRESSION OF PD-L1 FROM PBMNC WAS SIGNIFICANTLY HIGHER IN MDS (P=0.018) AND CMML (P=0.0128) COMPARED WITH AML. BY IMMUNOHISTOCHEMICAL ANALYSIS, PD-L1 PROTEIN EXPRESSION WAS OBSERVED IN MDS CD34+ CELLS, WHEREAS STROMA/NON-BLAST CELLULAR COMPARTMENT WAS POSITIVE FOR PD-1. IN A COHORT OF PATIENTS TREATED WITH EPIGENETIC THERAPY, PD-L1, PD-L2, PD-1 AND CTLA4 EXPRESSION WAS UPREGULATED. PATIENTS RESISTANT TO THERAPY HAD RELATIVE HIGHER INCREMENTS IN GENE EXPRESSION COMPARED WITH PATIENTS WHO ACHIEVED RESPONSE. TREATMENT OF LEUKEMIA CELLS WITH DECITABINE RESULTED IN A DOSE-DEPENDENT UPREGULATION OF ABOVE GENES. EXPOSURE TO DECITABINE RESULTED IN PARTIAL DEMETHYLATION OF PD-1 IN LEUKEMIA CELL LINES AND HUMAN SAMPLES. THIS STUDY SUGGESTS THAT PD-1 SIGNALING MAY BE INVOLVED IN MDS PATHOGENESIS AND RESISTANCE MECHANISMS TO HYPOMETHYLATING AGENTS. BLOCKADE OF THIS PATHWAY CAN BE A POTENTIAL THERAPY IN MDS AND AML. 2014 16 3809 26 INTRAPERITONEAL 5-AZACYTIDINE ALLEVIATES NERVE INJURY-INDUCED PAIN IN RATS BY MODULATING DNA METHYLATION. TO INVESTIGATE THE ROLE OF DNA METHYLATION IN MODULATING CHRONIC NEUROPATHIC PAIN (NPP), IDENTIFY POSSIBLE TARGET GENES OF DNA METHYLATION INVOLVED IN THIS PROCESS, AND PRELIMINARILY CONFIRM THE MEDICINAL VALUE OF THE DNA METHYLTRANSFERASES (DNMTS) INHIBITOR 5-AZACYTIDINE (5-AZA) IN NPP BY TARGETING GENE METHYLATION. TWO RAT NPP MODELS, CHRONIC CONSTRICTION INJURY (CCI) AND SPINAL NERVE LIGATION (SNL), WERE USED. THE DNA METHYLATION PROFILES IN THE LUMBAR SPINAL CORD WERE ASSAYED USING AN ARRAYSTAR RAT REFSEQ PROMOTER ARRAY. THE UNDERLYING GENES WITH DIFFERENTIAL METHYLATION WERE THEN IDENTIFIED AND SUBMITTED TO GENE ONTOLOGY AND PATHWAY ANALYSIS. METHYL-DNA IMMUNOPRECIPITATION QUANTITATIVE PCR (MEDIP-QPCR) AND QUANTITATIVE REVERSE TRANSCRIPTION-PCR (RT-QPCR) WERE USED TO CONFIRM GENE METHYLATION AND EXPRESSION. THE PROTECTIVE FUNCTION OF 5-AZA IN NPP AND GENE EXPRESSION WERE EVALUATED VIA BEHAVIORAL ASSAYS AND RT-QPCR, RESPECTIVELY. ANALYSIS OF THE DNA METHYLATION PATTERNS IN THE LUMBAR SPINAL CORD INDICATED THAT 1205 DIFFERENTIALLY METHYLATED FRAGMENTS IN CCI RATS WERE LOCATED WITHIN DNA PROMOTER REGIONS, INCLUDING 638 HYPERMETHYLATED FRAGMENTS AND 567 HYPOMETHYLATED FRAGMENTS. THE METHYLATION LEVELS OF GRM4, HTR4, ADRB2, KCNF1, GAD2, AND PPARG, WHICH ARE ASSOCIATED WITH LONG-TERM POTENTIATION (LTP) AND GLUTAMATERGIC SYNAPSE PATHWAYS, WERE INCREASED WITH A CORRESPONDING DECREASE IN THEIR MRNA EXPRESSION, IN THE SPINAL CORDS OF CCI RATS. MOREOVER, WE FOUND THAT THE INTRAPERITONEAL INJECTION OF 5-AZA (4 MG/KG) ATTENUATED CCI- OR SNL-INDUCED MECHANICAL ALLODYNIA AND THERMAL HYPERALGESIA. FINALLY, THE MRNA EXPRESSION OF HYPERMETHYLATED GENES SUCH AS GRM4, HTR4, ADRB2, KCNF1, AND GAD2 WAS REVERSED AFTER 5-AZA TREATMENT. CCI INDUCED WIDESPREAD METHYLATION CHANGES IN THE DNA PROMOTER REGIONS IN THE LUMBAR SPINAL CORD. INTRAPERITONEAL 5-AZA ALLEVIATED HYPERALGESIA IN CCI AND SNL RATS, AN EFFECT ACCOMPANIED BY THE REVERSED EXPRESSION OF HYPERMETHYLATED GENES. THUS, DNA METHYLATION INHIBITION REPRESENTS A PROMISING EPIGENETIC STRATEGY FOR PROTECTION AGAINST CHRONIC NPP FOLLOWING NERVE INJURY. OUR STUDY LAYS A THEORETICAL FOUNDATION FOR 5-AZA TO BECOME A CLINICAL TARGETED DRUG. 2023 17 3810 22 INTRATHECAL 5-AZACYTIDINE INHIBITS GLOBAL DNA METHYLATION AND METHYL- CPG-BINDING PROTEIN 2 EXPRESSION AND ALLEVIATES NEUROPATHIC PAIN IN RATS FOLLOWING CHRONIC CONSTRICTION INJURY. THE PATHOGENESIS OF NEUROPATHIC PAIN REMAINS LARGELY UNKNOWN. EPIGENETIC MECHANISMS MAY PLAY A MAJOR ROLE IN REGULATING EXPRESSION OF PRO- OR ANTINOCICEPTIVE GENES. DNA METHYLATION IS A MAJOR EPIGENETIC MECHANISM IN VERTEBRATES, AND METHYL- CPG-BINDING PROTEIN 2 (MECP2) IS DIRECTLY INVOLVED IN METHYLATION-MEDIATED GENE SILENCING. TO DETERMINE HOW CHANGES IN GLOBAL DNA METHYLATION AND MECP2 EXPRESSION OCCUR FOLLOWING CHRONIC CONSTRICTION INJURY (CCI) AND HOW REPRESSION OF DNA METHYLATION AFFECTS THESE CHANGES AND ATTENUATES NEUROPATHIC PAIN, WE USED INTRATHECAL 5-AZACYTIDINE, A DNA METHYLTRANSFERASE INHIBITOR, IN CCI RATS. RATS RECEIVED 0.9% SALINE OR 5-AZACYTIDINE (10MUMOL.D(-1)) VIA SPINAL INJECTION ONCE DAILY FROM DAY 3 TO DAY 14 AFTER CCI SURGERY. GLOBAL DNA METHYLATION AND MECP2 EXPRESSION INCREASED IN THE SPINAL CORD IN CCI RATS ON DAY 14 AFTER CCI SURGERY. MECHANICAL ALLODYNIA AND THERMAL HYPERALGESIA INDUCED BY CCI WERE ATTENUATED BY INTRATHECAL 5-AZACYTIDINE FROM DAY 5 TO DAY 14 AFTER CCI SURGERY. THE INCREASES IN GLOBAL DNA METHYLATION AND MECP2 EXPRESSION IN THE SPINAL CORD IN CCI RATS WERE ALSO SIGNIFICANTLY INHIBITED BY INTRATHECAL 5-AZACYTIDINE. THESE RESULTS DEMONSTRATE THAT INCREASED GLOBAL DNA METHYLATION AND MECP2 EXPRESSION IN THE SPINAL CORD AFTER NERVE DAMAGE MAY PLAY AN IMPORTANT ROLE IN NEUROPATHIC PAIN. 5-AZACYTIDINE SHOWS POTENTIAL FOR TREATING NEUROPATHIC PAIN. 2011 18 1596 22 DNA METHYLATION REDUCES THE YES-ASSOCIATED PROTEIN 1/WW DOMAIN CONTAINING TRANSCRIPTION REGULATOR 1 PATHWAY AND PREVENTS PATHOLOGIC REMODELING DURING BLADDER OBSTRUCTION BY LIMITING EXPRESSION OF BDNF. CHRONIC BLADDER OBSTRUCTION AND BLADDER SMOOTH MUSCLE CELL (SMC) STRETCH PROVIDE FIBROTIC AND MECHANICAL ENVIRONMENTS THAT CAN LEAD TO EPIGENETIC CHANGE. THEREFORE, WE EXAMINED THE ROLE OF DNA METHYLATION IN BLADDER PATHOLOGY AND TRANSCRIPTIONAL CONTROL. SPRAGUE-DAWLEY FEMALE RATS UNDERWENT PARTIAL BLADDER OBSTRUCTION BY LIGATION OF A SILK SUTURE AROUND THE PROXIMAL URETHRA NEXT TO A 0.9-MM STEEL ROD. SHAM OPERATION COMPRISED PASSING THE SUTURE AROUND THE URETHRA. AFTER 2 WEEKS, RATS WERE RANDOMIZED TO NORMAL SALINE OR DNA METHYLTRANSFERASE INHIBITOR, 5-AZA-2-DEOXYCYTIDINE (DAC) AT 1 MG/KG, THREE TIMES/WEEK INTRAPERITONEALLY. AFTER 6 WEEKS, BLADDERS WERE WEIGHED AND DIVIDED FOR HISTOLOGY AND RNA ANALYSIS BY HIGH-THROUGHPUT REAL-TIME QUANTITATIVE PCR ARRAYS. DAC TREATMENT DURING OBSTRUCTION IN VIVO PROFOUNDLY AUGMENTED BRAIN-DERIVED NEUROTROPHIC FACTOR (BDNF) EXPRESSION COMPARED WITH THE OBSTRUCTION WITH VEHICLE GROUP, WHICH WAS STATISTICALLY CORRELATED WITH PATHOPHYSIOLOGIC PARAMETERS. BDNF, CYSTEINE RICH ANGIOGENIC INDUCER 61 (CYR61), AND CONNECTIVE TISSUE GROWTH FACTOR (CTGF) EXPRESSION CLUSTERED TIGHTLY TOGETHER USING PEARSON'S CORRELATION ANALYSIS. THEIR PROMOTERS WERE ASSOCIATED WITH THE TEA DOMAIN FAMILY MEMBER 1 (TEAD1) AND YES-ASSOCIATED PROTEIN 1/WW DOMAIN CONTAINING TRANSCRIPTION REGULATOR 1 PATHWAYS. INTERESTINGLY, DAC TREATMENT INCREASED BDNF EXPRESSION IN BLADDER SMCS (P < 0.0002). STRETCH-INDUCED BDNF WAS INHIBITED BY THE YAP/WWTR1 INHIBITOR VERTEPORFIN. VERTEPORFIN IMPROVED THE SMC PHENOTYPE (PROLIFERATIVE MARKERS AND SMC MARKER EXPRESSION), IN PART BY REDUCING BDNF. EXPRESSION OF BDNF IS LIMITED BY DNA METHYLATION AND ASSOCIATED WITH PATHOPHYSIOLOGIC CHANGES DURING PARTIAL BLADDER OUTLET OBSTRUCTION AND SMC PHENOTYPIC CHANGE IN VITRO. 2018 19 5044 30 PHARMACOKINETICS AND PHARMACODYNAMICS WITH EXTENDED DOSING OF CC-486 IN PATIENTS WITH HEMATOLOGIC MALIGNANCIES. CC-486 (ORAL AZACITIDINE) IS AN EPIGENETIC MODIFIER IN DEVELOPMENT FOR PATIENTS WITH MYELODYSPLASTIC SYNDROMES AND ACUTE MYELOID LEUKEMIA. IN PART 1 OF THIS TWO-PART STUDY, A 7-DAY CC-486 DOSING SCHEDULE SHOWED CLINICAL ACTIVITY, WAS GENERALLY WELL TOLERATED, AND REDUCED DNA METHYLATION. EXTENDING DOSING OF CC-486 BEYOND 7 DAYS WOULD INCREASE DURATION OF AZACITIDINE EXPOSURE. WE HYPOTHESIZED THAT EXTENDED DOSING WOULD THEREFORE PROVIDE MORE SUSTAINED EPIGENETIC ACTIVITY. REPORTED HERE ARE THE PHARMACOKINETIC (PK) AND PHARMACODYNAMIC (PD) PROFILES OF CC-486 EXTENDED DOSING SCHEDULES IN PATIENTS WITH MYELODYSPLASTIC SYNDROMES (MDS), CHRONIC MYELOMONOCYTIC LEUKEMIA (CMML) OR ACUTE MYELOID LEUKEMIA (AML) FROM PART 2 OF THIS STUDY. PK AND/OR PD DATA WERE AVAILABLE FOR 59 PATIENTS WHO WERE SEQUENTIALLY ASSIGNED TO 1 OF 4 EXTENDED CC-486 DOSING SCHEDULES: 300MG ONCE-DAILY OR 200MG TWICE-DAILY FOR 14 OR 21 DAYS PER 28-DAY CYCLE. BOTH 300MG ONCE-DAILY SCHEDULES AND THE 200MG TWICE-DAILY 21-DAY SCHEDULE SIGNIFICANTLY (ALL P < .05) REDUCED GLOBAL DNA METHYLATION IN WHOLE BLOOD AT ALL MEASURED TIME POINTS (DAYS 15, 22, AND 28 OF THE TREATMENT CYCLE), WITH SUSTAINED HYPOMETHYLATION AT CYCLE END COMPARED WITH BASELINE. CC-486 EXPOSURES AND REDUCED DNA METHYLATION WERE SIGNIFICANTLY CORRELATED. PATIENTS WHO HAD A HEMATOLOGIC RESPONSE HAD SIGNIFICANTLY GREATER METHYLATION REDUCTIONS THAN NON-RESPONDING PATIENTS. THESE DATA DEMONSTRATE THAT EXTENDED DOSING OF CC-486 SUSTAINS EPIGENETIC EFFECTS THROUGH THE TREATMENT CYCLE. TRIAL REGISTRATION: CLINICALTRIALS.GOV NCT00528983. 2015 20 5459 23 RESEARCH ON THE EPIGENETIC REGULATION MECHANISM OF THE PTPN6 GENE IN ADVANCED CHRONIC MYELOID LEUKAEMIA. PTPN6, A TYROSINE PHOSPHATASE PROTEIN, PLAYS A NEGATIVE ROLE IN CELL SIGNAL TRANSDUCTION AND IS NEGATIVELY CORRELATED WITH TUMOUR FORMATION AND GROWTH. HOWEVER, EPIGENETIC REGULATION MECHANISM OF THE PTPN6 GENE IN ADVANCED CHRONIC MYELOID LEUKAEMIA (CML) REMAINS UNCLEAR. THIS STUDY INVESTIGATED BONE MARROW OR BLOOD SAMPLES FROM 44 CML PATIENTS AND 10 HEALTHY VOLUNTEERS. KCL22 AND K562 CELLS WERE CULTURED AND TREATED WITH DEMETHYLATION DRUGS AND HISTONE DEACETYLASE INHIBITORS. REAL TIME QUANTITATIVE POLYMERASE CHAIN REACTION (QPCR), METHYLATION-SPECIFIC PCR, BISULFITE SEQUENCING PCR, WESTERN BLOTTING, CO-IMMUNOPRECIPITATION AND CHROMATIN IMMUNOPRECIPITATION (CHIP) WAS PERFORMED. PTPN6 WAS DOWN-REGULATED IN CELL LINES AND PATIENTS WITH ADVANCED PHASE CML, WHEREAS DNMT1, DNMT3A, MECP2, MBD2 AND HDAC1 WERE UP-REGULATED. TREATMENT WITH 5-AZACYTIDINE, DECITABINE, SODIUM VALPROATE AND LBH589 INCREASED PTPN6 EXPRESSION, BUT DECREASED THAT OF DNMT1, DNMT3A, MECP2, MBD2 AND HDAC1. IMMUNOPRECIPITATION AND MASS SPECTROMETRY SHOWED THAT HDAC1 COMBINED DIRECTLY WITH PTPN6. CHIP-SEQ SHOWED THAT HDAC1 DID NOT COMBINE WITH THE PROMOTER REGION OF PTPN6, WHILE MAPK, AKT, STAT5, JAK2 AND MYC PROMOTER REGIONS ALL COMBINED WITH HDAC1. PTPN6 IS ASSOCIATED WITH PROGRESSION OF CML. LOW EXPRESSION LEVEL OF PTPN6 WAS ASSOCIATED WITH DNA METHYLATION AND REGULATED BY HISTONE ACETYLATION. HDAC1 PARTICIPATES IN THE REGULATION OF PTPN6. 2017