Targeting leukemic stem cells: enhanced eradication via tivantinib (ARQ197) and asciminib (ABL001) with molecular docking-guided screening of therapeutic derivatives.

Abstract

This study is the first to investigate the therapeutic potential of a mono/combination treatment with the selective phase III BCR::ABL1 tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI) asciminib (ABL001) and the c-MET inhibitor tivantinib (ARQ197) in hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) and leukaemia stem cells (LSCs) in terms of cytotoxicity, apoptosis, target gene expression profiles, and bioinformatics in vitro. In silico studies were also performed for various tivantinib and asciminib derivatives. Asciminib and tivantinib exhibited significant antileukaemic effects, with tivantinib showing the strongest apoptotic impact in LSCs and asciminib in HSCs. Although their combination exhibited an additive effect on LSCs, enabling dose reduction and potentially minimizing side effects; the treatment succeeded in promoting apoptosis as effectively as tivatinib monotherapy. Gene expression analysis showed increased pro-apoptotic and tumour suppressor markers, whereas decreased oncogenes' expressions following mono/combined treatment in LSCs. Molecular docking showed that a new analogue of tivantinib (compound-1) and CHEMBL5274046 are promising c-MET and ABL1 inhibitors, respectively. The findings highlight the antileukaemic potential of initially tivantinib and asciminib in LSCs. Despite an additive effect, combination therapy allowed dose reduction, giving rise to a potential decrease in side effects. Targeting c-MET, alone or in combination with BCR::ABL1 inhibition, presents a compelling strategy for eradicating LSCs, which underpin resistance and relapse in CML therapy - thus marking a crucial advancement in the pursuit of more effective treatment paradigms. In silico studies indicated that various tivantinib and asciminib analogues could also have potential therapeutic effects as c-MET and ABL1 inhibitors for future anti-leukaemia research.