{"title":"Unraveling the impact of crizotinib to promote megakaryopoiesis for alleviating thrombocytopenia in myelodysplastic neoplasms","authors":"Hiroki Kobayashi, Yuta Komizo, Nanami Watanabe, Yu Miyata, Yoshiya Ohnuma, Yasushige Kamimura-Aoyagi, Kanako Yuki, Yoshihiro Hayashi, Minoru Yoshida, Yuka Harada, Hironori Harada","doi":"10.1038/s41375-025-02729-w","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p>Current therapeutic options for myelodysplastic neoplasms (MDS)-associated thrombocytopenia are limited. Megakaryocyte maturation might be an innovative therapeutic strategy because its dysregulation profoundly contributes to MDS pathogenesis. Here, we identified crizotinib, a clinically approved anti-cancer drug for anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK)-positive non-small-cell lung cancer, as a potent inducer of megakaryocyte maturation. We demonstrated that crizotinib effectively induced polyploidization to increase the platelet-producing capacity of megakaryocytes derived from an MDS murine model and MDS patients by targeting Aurora kinases rather than its canonical targets, ALK/ROS1/c-MET. Importantly, crizotinib administration substantially ameliorated thrombocytopenia in our preclinical model. Our findings underscore the remarkable potential of crizotinib for drug repurposing and offer a novel therapeutic strategy for MDS patients with thrombocytopenia facing health-related quality of life concerns.</p>","PeriodicalId":18109,"journal":{"name":"Leukemia","volume":"15 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":13.4000,"publicationDate":"2025-08-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Leukemia","FirstCategoryId":"3","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1038/s41375-025-02729-w","RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"HEMATOLOGY","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Current therapeutic options for myelodysplastic neoplasms (MDS)-associated thrombocytopenia are limited. Megakaryocyte maturation might be an innovative therapeutic strategy because its dysregulation profoundly contributes to MDS pathogenesis. Here, we identified crizotinib, a clinically approved anti-cancer drug for anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK)-positive non-small-cell lung cancer, as a potent inducer of megakaryocyte maturation. We demonstrated that crizotinib effectively induced polyploidization to increase the platelet-producing capacity of megakaryocytes derived from an MDS murine model and MDS patients by targeting Aurora kinases rather than its canonical targets, ALK/ROS1/c-MET. Importantly, crizotinib administration substantially ameliorated thrombocytopenia in our preclinical model. Our findings underscore the remarkable potential of crizotinib for drug repurposing and offer a novel therapeutic strategy for MDS patients with thrombocytopenia facing health-related quality of life concerns.
期刊介绍:
Title: Leukemia
Journal Overview:
Publishes high-quality, peer-reviewed research
Covers all aspects of research and treatment of leukemia and allied diseases
Includes studies of normal hemopoiesis due to comparative relevance
Topics of Interest:
Oncogenes
Growth factors
Stem cells
Leukemia genomics
Cell cycle
Signal transduction
Molecular targets for therapy
And more
Content Types:
Original research articles
Reviews
Letters
Correspondence
Comments elaborating on significant advances and covering topical issues