Selectively targeting Mcl-1 for the treatment of acute myelogenous leukemia and solid tumors

Gregory J. Gores; Scott H. Kaufmann

doi:10.1101/gad.186189.111

Selectively targeting Mcl-1 for the treatment of acute myelogenous leukemia and solid tumors

Gregory J. Gores1,4 and
Scott H. Kaufmann2,3,4

¹Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Department of Medicine,
²Division of Oncology Research,
³Department of Molecular Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota 55905, USA

Abstract

Bcl-2, Bcl-x_L, Mcl-1, and A1 are the predominant anti-apoptotic members of the Bcl-2 family in somatic cells. Malignant B lymphocytes are critically dependent on Bcl-2 or Bcl-x_L for survival. In contrast, a new study by Glaser and colleagues in the January 15, 2012, issue of Genes & Development (pp. 120–125) demonstrates that Mcl-1 is essential for development and survival of acute myelogenous leukemia cells. These results provide new impetus for the generation of selective Mcl-1 inhibitors.

Keywords

Footnotes

↵4 Corresponding authors.

E-mail kaufmann.scott{at}mayo.edu.

E-mail gores.gregory{at}mayo.edu.
Article is online at http://www.genesdev.org/cgi/doi/10.1101/gad.186189.111.