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The majority of patients with myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPNs) carry the Janus kinase 2 (JAK2) mutation, V617F. This activating mutation has been shown to trigger cell proliferation and inhibit apoptosis.1-3 The protein arginine methyltransferase 5 (PRMT5) is physiologically involved in epigenetic gene modulation via histone methylation and has been shown to interact with JAK2.3 Human studies have shown that the JAK2 V617F mutation binds with a higher affinity to PRMT5 than the wild type JAK2, resulting in increased PRMT5 phosphorylation and inhibition of its methylation activity.1,2 A similar study also showed that this JAK2 V617F-mediated PRMT5 inhibition alters the negative regulation on myeloid cell proliferation and erythroid differentiation thereby potentially contributing to MPN pathology. Moreover, PMRT5 seems to be overexpressed in patients with myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPNs) and especially in those with polycythemia vera (PV).4
All these findings indicate that PRMT5 is a promising therapeutic target for MPN. To investigate this further, Friederike Pastore presented the results of their preclinical study3 during the 61st American Society of Hematology Annual Meeting & Exposition (ASH 2019). In their study, they assessed the efficacy of the selective PRMT5 inhibitor, C220, on MPN cells lines, primary human MPN cells and murine mouse models.3 The current article is based on data presented at ASH and may supersede the data in the published abstract.
The results of this preclinical study show that PRMT5 is a promising target for the treatment of MPN. The authors showed that PRMT5 interacts with E2F1, and that PRMT5i reduces the expression of E2F1 induced genes involved in cell proliferation in MPN cell line models. In vivo PRMT5i led to significant MPN symptom alleviation and hematological responses that could be further enhanced when used in combination with ruxolitinib. These results warrant the clinical evaluation of PRMT5i in patients with MPN. A phase I trial is currently underway evaluating the PRMT5 inhibitor, PRT543, in patients with advanced cancers, including MF.
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