Essential role for the p110δ isoform in phosphoinositide 3-kinase activation and cell proliferation in acute myeloid leukemia

The phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K)/Akt signaling pathway has been shown to be frequently activated in blast cells from patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) and to contribute to survival and proliferation of these cells. Of the 8 distinct mammalian isoforms of PI3K, it is the class I PI3Ks (p110α, p110β, p110γ, and p110δ) that are responsible for Akt activation. It is not known which PI3K isoform is critical in AML. Here we show that the p110δ isoform of PI3K is consistently expressed at a high level in blast cells from AML, in contrast to the other class I isoforms, the expression of which was very variable among patients. IC87114, a p110δ-selective inhibitor, suppressed both constitutive and Flt-3-stimulated Akt activation in blasts to the same extent as Ly294002, an inhibitor of all PI3K isoforms. Moreover, IC87114 inhibited AML cell proliferation without affecting the proliferation of normal hematopoietic progenitor cells. These observations identify p110δ as a potential therapeutic target in AML.