Alisertib added to rituximab and vincristine is synthetic lethal and potentially curative in mice with aggressive DLBCL co-overexpressing

Pearson correlation coefficient for expression analysis of the Lymphoma/Leukemia Molecular Profiling Project (LLMPP) demonstrated Aurora A and B are highly correlated with MYC in DLBCL and mantle cell lymphoma (MCL), while both Auroras correlate with BCL2 only in DLBCL. Auroras are up-regulated by MYC dysregulation with associated aneuploidy and resistance to microtubule targeted agents such as vincristine. Myc and Bcl2 are differentially expressed in U-2932, TMD-8, OCI-Ly10 and Granta-519, but only U-2932 cells over-express mutated p53. Alisertib [MLN8237 or M], a highly selective small molecule inhibitor of Aurora A kinase, was synergistic with vincristine [VCR] and rituximab [R] for inhibition of cell proliferation, abrogation of cell cycle checkpoints and enhanced apoptosis versus single agent or doublet therapy. A DLBCL (U-2932) mouse model showed tumor growth inhibition (TGI) of,10–20 % (p = 0.001) for M, VCR and M-VCR respectively, while R alone showed,50 % TGI (p = 0.001). M-R and VCR-R led to tumor regression [TR], but relapsed 10 days after discontinuing therapy. In contrast, M-VCR-R demonstrated TR with no relapse.40 days after stopping therapy with a Kaplan-Meier survival of 100%. Genes that are modulated by M-VCR-R (CENP-C, Auroras) play a role in centromere-kinetochore function in an attempt to maintain mitosis in the presence of synthetic lethality. Together, our data sugges