Browsing by Author "Aman, M. Javad"

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    Alkynyl nicotinamides show antileukemic activity in drug-resistant acute myeloid leukemia
    (The American Society for Clinical Investigation, 2024-06-17) Ramdas, Baskar; Dayal, Neetu; Pandey, Ruchi; Larocque, Elizabeth; Kanumuri, Rahul; Pasupuleti, Santhosh Kumar; Liu, Sheng; Kanellopoulou, Chrysi; Chu, Elizabeth Fei Yin; Mohallem, Rodrigo; Virani, Saniya; Chopra, Gaurav; Aryal, Uma K.; Lapidus, Rena; Wan, Jun; Emadi, Ashkan; Haneline, Laura S.; Holtsberg, Frederick W.; Aman, M. Javad; Sintim, Herman O.; Kapur, Reuben; Pediatrics, School of Medicine
    Activating mutations of FLT3 contribute to deregulated hematopoietic stem and progenitor cell (HSC/Ps) growth and survival in patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML), leading to poor overall survival. AML patients treated with investigational drugs targeting mutant FLT3, including Quizartinib and Crenolanib, develop resistance to these drugs. Development of resistance is largely due to acquisition of cooccurring mutations and activation of additional survival pathways, as well as emergence of additional FLT3 mutations. Despite the high prevalence of FLT3 mutations and their clinical significance in AML, there are few targeted therapeutic options available. We have identified 2 novel nicotinamide-based FLT3 inhibitors (HSN608 and HSN748) that target FLT3 mutations at subnanomolar concentrations and are potently effective against drug-resistant secondary mutations of FLT3. These compounds show antileukemic activity against FLT3ITD in drug-resistant AML, relapsed/refractory AML, and in AML bearing a combination of epigenetic mutations of TET2 along with FLT3ITD. We demonstrate that HSN748 outperformed the FDA-approved FLT3 inhibitor Gilteritinib in terms of inhibitory activity against FLT3ITD in vivo.
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    A Critical Role for HlgA in Staphylococcus aureus Pathogenesis Revealed by A Switch in the SaeRS Two-Component Regulatory System
    (MDPI, 2018-09-18) Venkatasubramaniam, Arundhathi; Kanipakala, Tulasikumari; Ganjbaksh, Nader; Mehr, Rana; Mukherjee, Ipsita; Krishnan, Subramaniam; Bae, Taeok; Aman, M. Javad; Adhikari, Rajan P.; Microbiology and Immunology, School of Medicine
    Cytolytic pore-forming toxins including alpha hemolysin (Hla) and bicomponent leukotoxins play an important role in the pathogenesis of Staphylococcus aureus. These toxins kill the polymorphonuclear phagocytes (PMNs), disrupt epithelial and endothelial barriers, and lyse erythrocytes to provide iron for bacterial growth. The expression of these toxins is regulated by the two-component sensing systems Sae and Agr. Here, we report that a point mutation (L18P) in SaeS, the histidine kinase sensor of the Sae system, renders the S. aureus Newman hemolytic activity fully independent of Hla and drastically increases the PMN lytic activity. Furthermore, this Hla-independent activity, unlike Hla itself, can lyse human erythrocytes. The Hla-independent activity towards human erythrocytes was also evident in USA300, however, under strict agr control. Gene knockout studies revealed that this Hla-independent Sae-regulated activity was entirely dependent on gamma hemolysin A subunit (HlgA). In contrast, hemolytic activity of Newman towards human erythrocytes from HlgAB resistant donors was completely dependent on agr. The culture supernatant from Newman S. aureus could be neutralized by antisera against two vaccine candidates based on LukS and LukF subunits of Panton-Valentine leukocidin but not by an anti-Hla neutralizing antibody. These findings display the complex involvement of Sae and Agr systems in regulating the virulence of S. aureus and have important implications for vaccine and immunotherapeutics development for S. aureus disease in humans.