Expression of ADK and sensitivity to 6-ETI in plasma cell tumors. (A) BC3 cells ADK expression was evaluated by immunohistochemistry in the BC3 cell line, hyperplastic tonsils and PEL, multiple myeloma and plasmablastic lymphoma primary tumors. 60X original magnification is shown. In the image of a tonsil section, a positive cell with morphological features of a plasma cell is enlarged in the insert. Original magnification 60X. (B) LC50s for multiple myeloma cell lines treated with 6-ETI were determined by CellTiter-Glo assay. BC3 was used as a positive control and IBL1 as a negative control for drug sensitivity. Shown are the average of two independent experiments, where each condition was performed in duplicate in each experiment. (C) Model for 6-ETIÕs mechanism of action within the cell is illustrated, where 6-ETI competes with adenosine (ADO) and other nucleosides for binding to and phosphorylation by ADK, which inhibits ATP-dependent metabolic processes. This also allows 6-ETI to be phosphorylated and activated by ADK, with subsequent phosphorylation steps that allow the compound to be incorporated into DNA and possibly RNA, leading to DNA synthesis inhibition, DNA damage response, and cell death.
