A Novel FRET-Based Biosensor for the Measurement of BCR-ABL Activity and Its Response to Drugs in Living Cells

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Purpose: To develop a novel diagnostic method for the assessment of drug efficacy in CML patients individually, we generated a biosensor that enables the evaluation of BCR-ABL kinase activity in living cells using the principle of fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET). Experimental Design: To develop FRET-based biosensors, we utilized CrkL, the most characteristic substrate of BCR-ABL, and designed a protein in which CrkL is sandwiched between Venus, a variant of YFP, and ECFP, so that CrkL intra-molecular binding of the SH2 domain to phosphorylated tyrosine (Y207) increases FRET efficiency. After evaluation of the properties of this biosensor by comparison to established methods including western blotting and flow cytometry, BCR-ABL activity and its response to drugs were examined in CML patient cells. Results: After optimization, we obtained a biosensor that possesses higher sensitivity than that of established techniques with respect to measuring BCR-ABL activity and its suppression by imatinib. Thanks to its high sensitivity, this biosensor accurately gauges BCR-ABL activity in relatively small cell numbers and can also detect less than 1% minor drug-resistant populations within heterogeneous ones. We also noticed that this method enabled us to predict future onset of drug resistance as well as to monitor the disease status during imatinib therapy, using patient cells. Conclusion: In consideration of its quick and practical nature, this method is potentially a promising tool for the prediction of both current and future therapeutic responses in individual CML patients, which will be surely beneficial for both patients and clinicians.

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  • Clinical Cancer Research

    Clinical Cancer Research 16 (15), 3964-3975, 2010-08-01

    American Association for Cancer Research

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