In vitro and in vivo selective antitumor activity of edelfosine against mantle cell lymphoma and chronic lymphocytic leukemia involving lipid rafts
[Purpose]: Mantle cell lymphoma (MCL) and chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) remain B-cell malignancies with limited therapeutic options. The present study investigates the in vitro and in vivo effect of the phospholipid ether edelfosine (1-O-octadecyl-2-O-methyl-rac-glycero-3-phosphocholine) in MCL and CLL. [Experimental Design]: Several cell lines, patient-derived tumor cells, and xenografts in severe combined immunodeficient mice were used to examine the anti-MCL and anti-CLL activity of edelfosine. Furthermore, we analyzed the mechanism of action and drug biodistribution of edelfosine in MCL and CLL tumor-bearing severe combined immunodeficient mice. [Results]: Here, we have found that the phospholipid ether edelfosine was the most potent alkyl-lysophospholipid analogue in killing MCL and CLL cells, including patient-derived primary cells, while sparing normal resting lymphocytes. Alkyl-lysophospholipid analogues ranked edelfosine > perifosine ≫ erucylphosphocholine ≥ miltefosine in their capacity to elicit apoptosis in MCL and CLL cells. Edelfosine induced coclustering of Fas/CD95 death receptor and rafts in MCL and CLL cells. Edelfosine was taken up by malignant cells, whereas normal resting lymphocytes hardly incorporated the drug. Raft disruption by cholesterol depletion inhibited drug uptake, Fas/CD95 clustering, and edelfosine-induced apoptosis. Edelfosine oral administration showed a potent in vivo anticancer activity in MCL and CLL xenograft mouse models, and the drug accumulated dramatically and preferentially in the tumor. [Conclusions]: Our data indicate that edelfosine accumulates and kills MCL and CLL cells in a rather selective way, and set coclustering of Fas/CD95 and lipid rafts as a new framework in MCL and CLL therapy. Our data support a selective antitumor action of edelfosine. ; Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación grants SAF2005-04293, SAF2006-8850, SAF2007-61261, SAF2007-60964, PCT-090100-2007-27, PS09/01915, and SAF2008-02251; Red Temática de Investigación Cooperativa en Cáncer grants RD06/0020/0014, RD06/0020/0097, and RD06/0020/1037 (Instituto de Salud Carlos III, cofunded by the Fondo Europeo de Desarrollo Regional of the European Union); Fondo de Investigación Sanitaria and European Commission grant FIS-FEDER 06/0813; Junta de Castilla y León (CSI01A08, GR15-Experimental Therapeutics and Translational Oncology Program, and Biomedicine Project 2009); Fundación de Investigación Médica Mutua Madrileña; Fundación "la Caixa" grant BM05-30-0; Caja Navarra Foundation; Department of Health of the Government of Navarra ("Ortiz de Landázuri, 2009" project); and AGAUR-Generalitat de Catalunya grant 2005SGR-00549. C. Gajate is supported by the Ramón y Cajal Program from the Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación of Spain. A. Estella-Hermoso de Mendoza is supported by Department of Education of the Basque Government research grant BFI06.37. M. de Frias is a recipient of a fellowship from the AGAUR-Generalitat de Catalunya. G. Roué holds a Miguel Servet research contract from Instituto de Salud Carlos III. ; Peer Reviewed