PURPOSE The anti–B-cell maturation antigen BiTE molecule AMG 420 was assessed in patients with relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma. PATIENTS AND METHODS In this first-in-human study, up to 10 cycles of AMG 420 were given (4-week infusions/6-week cycles). Patients had progression after ≥ 2 lines of prior therapy and no extramedullary disease. Minimal residual disease (MRD) response was defined as < 1 tumor cell/104 bone marrow cells by flow cytometry. RESULTS Forty-two patients received AMG 420 at 0.2-800 μg/d. Median age was 65 years, and median disease duration was 5.2 years. Median exposure was 1 cycle (range, 1-10 cycles) and 7 cycles (range, 1-10 cycles) for responders. Patients discontinued for disease progression (n = 25), adverse events (AEs; n = 7), death (n = 4), completion of 10 cycles (n = 3), and consent withdrawal (n = 1). Two patients remain on treatment. There were 2 nontreatment-related deaths from AEs, influenza/aspergillosis and adenovirus-related hepatitis. Serious AEs (n = 20; 48%) included infections (n = 14) and polyneuropathy (n = 2); treatment-related serious AEs included 2 grade 3 polyneuropathies and 1 grade 3 edema. There were no grade ≥ 3 CNS toxicities or anti-AMG 420 antibodies. In this study, 800 μg/d was considered to not be tolerable because of 1 instance each of grade 3 cytokine release syndrome and grade 3 polyneuropathy, both of which resolved. The overall response rate was 31% (n = 13 of 42). At the maximum tolerated dose (MTD) of 400 μg/d, the response rate was 70% (n = 7 of 10). Of these, five patients experienced MRD-negative complete responses, and 1 had a partial response, and 1 had a very good partial response; all 7 patients responded during the first cycle, and some responses lasted > 1 year. CONCLUSION In this study of AMG 420 in patients with relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma, the response rate was 70%, including 50% MRD-negative complete responses, at 400 μg/d, the MTD for this study.

We conclude that p53 and p21 form an inducible barrier that protects cells against the deleterious consequences of cyclin E-cdk2 deregulation. A response that restrains cyclin E deregulation is likely to be a general protective mechanism against neoplastic transformation. Loss of this response may thus be required before deregulated cyclin E can become fully oncogenic in cancer cells. Furthermore, the combination of excess cyclin E and p53 loss may be particularly genotoxic, because cells cannot appropriately respond to the cell cycle anomalies caused by excess cyclin E-cdk2 activity.

Cancers of diverse cell lineages express high levels of cyclin E, and in various studies, cyclin E overexpression correlates with increased tumor aggression. One way that normal control of cyclin E expression is disabled in cancer cells is via loss-of-function mutations sustained by FBXW7. This gene encodes the Fbw7 tumor suppressor protein that provides substrate specificity for a ubiquitin ligase complex that targets multiple oncoproteins for degradation. Numerous other mechanisms besides Fbw7 mutations can deregulate cyclin E expression and activity in cancer cells. Recent reports demonstrate that inappropriate cyclin E expression may have far-reaching biological consequences for cell physiology, including altering gene expression programs governing proliferation, differentiation, survival and senescence. In this Perspective, we discuss the function of mammalian cyclin E in the context of these new data as well as the complex network that connects cyclin E functions to the cellular controls regulating its expression and activity.

Phosphorylations within N-and C-terminal degrons independently control the binding of cyclin E to the SCFFbw7 and thus its ubiquitination and proteasomal degradation. We have now determined the physiologic significance of cyclin E degradation by this pathway. We describe the construction of a knockin mouse in which both degrons were mutated by threonine to alanine substitutions (cyclin E T74A T393A) and report that ablation of both degrons abolished regulation of cyclin E by Fbw7. The cyclin E T74A T393A mutation disrupted cyclin E periodicity and caused cyclin E to continuously accumulate as cells reentered the cell cycle from quiescence. In vivo, the cyclin E T74A T393A mutation greatly increased cyclin E activity and caused proliferative anomalies. Cyclin E T74A T393A mice exhibited abnormal erythropoiesis characterized by a large expansion of abnormally proliferating progenitors, impaired differentiation, dysplasia, and anemia. This syndrome recapitulates many features of early stage human refractory anemia/myelodysplastic syndrome, including ineffective erythropoiesis. Epithelial cells also proliferated abnormally in cyclin E knockin mice, and the cyclin E T74A T393A mutation delayed mammary gland involution, implicating cyclin E degradation in this anti-mitogenic response. Hyperproliferative mammary epithelia contained increased apoptotic cells, suggesting that apoptosis contributes to tissue homeostasis in the setting of cyclin E deregulation. Overall these data show the critical role of both degrons in regulating cyclin E activity and reveal that complete loss of Fbw7-mediated cyclin E degradation causes spontaneous and cell type-specific proliferative anomalies.[Keywords: Fbw7; cell cycle; cyclin E; phosphodegron] Supplemental material is available at http://www.genesdev.org.

SCF ubiquitin ligases regulate the degradation of many proteins involved in the control of cell division and growth. F-box proteins are the SCF components that bind to substrates, and this binding is usually signaled by substrate phosphorylation. The Fbw7/hCdc4 F-box protein was first recognized by its ability to bind cyclin E, and the SCF Fbw7 is now known to target c-Myc, c-Jun and Notch for degradation in addition to its role in cyclin E proteolysis. Fbw7 thus negatively regulates several key oncoproteins. Accordingly, Fbw7 is a tumor suppressor that is mutated in a wide spectrum of human cancers, and Fbw7 functions as a haploinsufficient tumor suppressor in mice. Because there are three Fbw7 isoforms that reside in different subcellular compartments, as well as multiple Fbw7 substrates that are the products of proto-oncogenes, the mechanisms of tumor suppression by Fbw7 are complex and incompletely understood. In this review we discuss the activities of the SCF Fbw7 in the context of its role as a tumor suppressor and highlight recent findings demonstrating that dominant oncogenes disable Fbw7 function.

Aims: To evaluate AMG 701, a BiTE® molecule binding BCMA on MM cells and CD3 on T cells, in RR MM (Amgen, NCT03287908); primary objective was to evaluate safety and tolerability and estimate a biologically active dose; secondary objectives were to characterize pharmacokinetics (PK), anti-myeloma activity per IMWG criteria, and response duration. Methods: Patients with MM RR or intolerant to ≥3 lines [proteasome inhibitor (PI), IMiD, anti-CD38 Ab as available] received AMG 701 IV infusions weekly in 4-week cycles until disease progression (PD). A 0.8-mg step dose was added prior to target doses ≥1.2 mg to prevent severe cytokine release syndrome (CRS). Target dose was achieved by day 8 or sooner with earlier escalation. Exclusion criteria included: solely extramedullary disease; prior allogeneic stem cell transplant (SCT) in the past 6 months; prior autologous SCT in the past 90 days; CNS involvement; prior anti-BCMA therapy. The first 3 cohorts (dose 5-45 μg) had 1 patient each, the next cohorts (0.14-1.2 mg) had 3-4 patients each, and subsequent cohorts (1.6-12 mg) were to have 3-10 patients each. Minimal residual disease (MRD) was measured by next-generation sequencing (NGS, ≤10-5 per IMWG) or flow cytometry (≤3×10-5). Results: As of July 2, 2020, 75 patients received AMG 701. Patients had a median age of 63 years, a median time since diagnosis of 5.9 years, and a median (range) of 6 (1-25) prior lines of therapy; 27% of patients had extramedullary disease, 83% prior SCT, and 93% prior anti-CD38 Ab; 68% were triple refractory to a PI, an IMiD, and an anti-CD38 Ab. Median (Q1, Q3) treatment duration was 6.1 (3.1, 15.3) weeks and median follow-up on treatment was 1.7 (1.0, 3.7) months. Patients discontinued drug for PD (n=47), AEs (adverse events, n=4, 3 CRS, 1 CMV / PCP pneumonia), withdrew consent (4), other therapy (1), investigator discretion (1), and CNS disease (1); 17 patients remain on AMG 701. The most common hematological AEs were anemia (43%), neutropenia (23%), and thrombocytopenia (20%). The most common non-hematological AEs were CRS (61%), diarrhea (31%), fatigue (25%), and fever (25%). CRS was mostly grade 1 (n=19) or 2 (n=21) per Lee Blood 2014 criteria. All grade 3 CRS (n=5, 7%) were assessed as dose-limiting toxicities (DLTs); all were reversible with corticosteroids and tocilizumab, with median duration of 2 days. CRS grade 3 drivers included transient LFT increases in 3 patients and hypoxia in 2 patients. Other DLTs were 1 case each of transient grade 3 atrial fibrillation, transient grade 3 acidosis, and grade 4 thrombocytopenia. Serious AEs (n=29, 39%) included infections (13), CRS (7), and asymptomatic pancreatic enzyme rise (2, no imaging changes, 1 treatment related). There were 4 deaths from AEs, none related to AMG 701 (2 cases of sepsis, 1 of retroperitoneal bleeding, and 1 of subdural hematoma). Reversible treatment-related neurotoxicity was seen in 6 patients, with median duration of 1 day, all grade 1-2, and associated with CRS in 4 patients. The response rate was 36% (16/45) at doses of 3-12 mg; at ≤1.6 mg (n=27), there was 1 response at 0.8 mg in a patient with low baseline soluble BCMA (sBCMA). With earlier dose escalation with 9 mg, the response rate was 83% (5/6, 3 PRs, 2 VGPRs), with 4/5 responders being triple refractory and 1 DLT of grade 3 CRS in this group. Across the study, responses included 4 stringent CRs (3 MRD-negative, 1 not yet tested), 1 MRD-negative CR, 6 VGPRs, and 6 PRs (Table). Median (Q1, Q3) time to response was 1.0 (1.0, 1.9) month, time to best response was 2.8 (1.0, 3.7) months, and response duration was 3.8 (1.9, 7.4) months, with maximum duration of 23 months; responses were ongoing at last assessment in 14/17 patients (Figure). MRD was tested in 4 patients (3 sCR, 1 CR) and all were negative (3 by NGS, 1 by flow); MRD negativity was ongoing at last observations up to 20 months later. AMG 701 exhibited a favorable PK profile in its target patient population of RR MM, with AMG 701 exposures increasing in a dose-related manner. Patient baseline sBCMA levels were identified as a determinant of AMG 701 free drug exposures; at higher doses, encouraging preliminary responses were seen even at the higher end of baseline sBCMA values. Summary: In this FIH study with ongoing dose escalation, AMG 701, an anti-BCMA BiTE® molecule, demonstrated a manageable safety profile, encouraging activity, and a favorable PK profile in patients with heavily pre-treated RR MM, supporting further evaluation of AMG 701. Disclosures Harrison: Janssen: Honoraria; Novartis: Consultancy, Honoraria, Patents & Royalties: wrt panobinostat; GSK: Consultancy, Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Research Funding; BMS: Consultancy, Honoraria; CRISPR Therapeutics: Consultancy, Honoraria; Haemalogix: Consultancy; Amgen: Consultancy, Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Research Funding; Celgene: Consultancy, Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Research Funding; Takeda: Consultancy, Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Research Funding; Janssen-Cilag: Consultancy, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Research Funding; AbbVie: Consultancy, Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Research Funding; F. Hoffmann-La Roche: Consultancy, Honoraria. Minnema:Amgen: Honoraria; Servier: Honoraria; Gilead: Honoraria; Celgene Corporation: Honoraria, Research Funding; Janssen Cilag: Honoraria. Lee:Celgene: Consultancy, Research Funding; Genentech: Consultancy; GlaxoSmithKline: Consultancy, Research Funding; Genentech: Consultancy; Regeneron: Research Funding; Takeda: Consultancy, Research Funding; Janssen: Consultancy, Research Funding; Sanofi: Consultancy; Daiichi Sankyo: Research Funding; Amgen: Consultancy, Research Funding. Spencer:AbbVie: Consultancy, Honoraria, Research Funding; Roche: Honoraria; Takeda: Honoraria, Research Funding, Speakers Bureau; Sanofi: Consultancy, Honoraria; Amgen: Consultancy, Honoraria, Research Funding; Janssen: Consultancy, Honoraria, Research Funding, Speakers Bureau; Secura Bio: Consultancy, Honoraria; Servier: Consultancy, Honoraria, Research Funding; HaemaLogiX: Consultancy, Honoraria, Research Funding; BMS: Consultancy, Honoraria, Research Funding, Speakers Bureau; Pfizer: Consultancy, Honoraria; Pharmamar: Research Funding. Kapoor:Cellectar: Consultancy; Amgen: Research Funding; Janssen: Research Funding; Sanofi: Consultancy, Research Funding; Takeda: Honoraria, Research Funding; GlaxoSmithKline: Research Funding; Celgene: Honoraria. Madduri:Takeda: Consultancy, Honoraria; AbbVie: Consultancy, Honoraria; Janssen: Consultancy, Honoraria; Foundation Medicine: Consultancy, Honoraria; GSK: Consultancy, Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Other: Speaking Engagement, Speakers Bureau; Kinevant: Consultancy, Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Other: Speaking Engagement, Speakers Bureau; Legend: Consultancy, Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Other: Speaking Engagement, Speakers Bureau; Celgene: Consultancy, Honoraria. Larsen:Janssen Oncology: Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Takeda: Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees. Ailawadhi:Cellectar: Research Funding; BMS: Research Funding; Medimmune: Research Funding; Amgen: Research Funding; Takeda: Honoraria; Janssen: Research Funding; Pharmacyclics: Research Funding; Celgene: Honoraria; Phosplatin: Research Funding. Kaufman:Amgen: Consultancy, Honoraria; Incyte: Consultancy, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Bristol-Myers Squibb: Consultancy, Honoraria; AbbVie: Consultancy; Celgene: Consultancy, Honoraria; Takeda: Consultancy, Honoraria; Tecnopharma: Consultancy, Honoraria; Janssen: Consultancy, Honoraria; Karyopharm: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Pharmacyclics: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; TG Therapeutics: Consultancy, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Sanofi/Genyzme: Consultancy, Honoraria. Raab:Takeda: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Heidelberg Pharma: Research Funding; Amgen: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Bristol-Myers Squibb: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Janssen: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Celgene: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Research Funding; Novartis: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Sanofi: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Research Funding. Hari:BMS: Consultancy; Amgen: Consultancy; GSK: Consultancy; Janssen: Consultancy; Incyte Corporation: Consultancy; Takeda: Consultancy. Iida:AbbVie: Research Funding; Merck Sharpe Dohme: Research Funding; Kyowa Kirin: Research Funding; Chugai: Research Funding; Sanofi: Honoraria, Research Funding; Bristol-Myers Squibb: Honoraria, Research Funding; Daiichi Sankyo: Honoraria, Research Funding; Takeda: Honoraria, Research Funding; Ono: Honoraria, Research Funding; Celgene: Honoraria, Research Funding; Janssen: Honoraria, Research Funding. Davies:Celgene/BMS: Consultancy, Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Research Funding; Janssen: Consultancy, Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Research Funding; Oncopeptides: Consultancy, Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Roche: Consultancy, Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Takeda: Consultancy, Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Adaptive Biotech: Honoraria; Sanofi: Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees. Lesley:Amgen Inc.: Current Employment, Current equity holder in publicly-traded company. Upreti:Amgen Inc.: Current Employment, Current equity holder in publicly-traded company. Yang:Amgen Inc.: Current Employment, Current equity holder in publicly-traded company. Sharma:Amgen Inc.: Current Employment, Current equity holder in publicly-traded company. Minella:Amgen Inc.: Current equity holder in publicly-traded company, Ended employment in the past 24 months; Beam Therapeutics Inc.: Current Employment, Current equity holder in publicly-traded company. Lentzsch:Mesoblast: Divested equity in a private or publicly-traded company in the past 24 months; Janssen: Consultancy; Caelum Biosciences: Current equity holder in private company, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Magenta: Current equity holder in private company; Sanofi: Research Funding; Karyopharm: Research Funding; Celularity: Consultancy; Sorrento: Consultancy. OffLabel Disclosure: AMG 701, a half-life extended BiTE® (bispecific T-cell engager) molecule is an investigational agent for multiple myeloma.

F-box and WD-40 domain protein 7 (Fbw7) provides substrate specificity for the Skp1-Cullin1-F-box protein (SCF) ubiquitin ligase complex that targets multiple oncoproteins for degradation, including cyclin E, c-Myc, c-Jun, Notch, and mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR). Fbw7 is a bona fide tumor suppressor, and loss-of-function mutations in FBXW7 have been identified in diverse human tumors. Although much is known about targets of the Fbw7 ubiquitin ligase pathway, relatively little is known about the regulation of Fbw7 expression. We identified a panel of candidate microRNA regulators of Fbw7 expression within a study of gene expression alterations in primary erythroblasts obtained from cyclin E T74A T393A knock-in mice, which have markedly dysregulated cyclin E expression. We found that overexpression of miR-223, in particular, significantly reduces FBXW7 mRNA levels, increases endogenous cyclin E protein and activity levels, and increases genomic instability. We next confirmed that miR-223 targets the FBXW7 3-untranslated region. We then found that reduced miR-223 expression in primary mouse embryonic fibroblasts leads to increased Fbw7 expression and decreased cyclin E activity. Finally, we found that miR-223 expression is responsive to acute alterations in cyclin E regulation by the Fbw7 pathway. Together, our data indicate that miR-223 regulates Fbw7 expression and provide the first evidence that activity of the SCF Fbw7 ubiquitin ligase can be modulated directly by the microRNA pathway.

Recurrent mutations in core splicing factors have been reported in several clonal disorders, including cancers. Mutations in SF3B1, a component of the U2 splicing complex, are the most common. SF3B1 mutations are associated with aberrant pre-mRNA splicing using cryptic 3’ splice sites (3’SS) but the mechanism of their selection is not clear. To understand how cryptic 3’SS are selected, we performed comprehensive analysis of transcriptome-wide changes to splicing and gene expression associated with SF3B1 mutations in patient samples as well as an experimental model of inducible expression. Hundreds of cryptic 3’SS were detectable across the genome in cells expressing mutant SF3B1. These 3’SS are typically sequestered within RNA secondary structures and poorly accessible compared to their corresponding canonical 3’SS. We hypothesized that these cryptic 3’SS are inaccessible during normal splicing catalysis and that this constraint is overcome in spliceosomes containing mutant SF3B1. This model of secondary structure-dependent selection of cryptic 3’SS was found across multiple clonal processes associated with SF3B1 mutations (myelodysplastic syndrome and chronic lymphocytic leukemia). We validated our model predictions in mini-gene splicing assays. Additionally, we found deregulated expression of proteins with relevant functions in splicing factor-related diseases both in association with aberrant splicing and without corresponding splicing changes. Our results show that SF3B1 mutations are associated with a distinct splicing program shared across multiple clonal processes and define a biochemical mechanism for altered 3’SS choice.