The immunomodulatory drugs (IMiDs) lenalidomide and pomalidomide yield high response rates in patients with multiple myeloma, but the use of IMiDs in multiple myeloma is associated with neutropenia and increased risk for venous thromboembolism (VTE) by mechanisms that are unknown. We show that IMiDs downregulate PU.1, a key transcription factor involved in granulocyte differentiation in vitro and in patients treated with lenalidomide. Loss of PU.1 results in transient maturation arrest with medullary accumulation of immature myeloid precursors and subsequent neutropenia. Accumulation of promyelocytes leads to high levels of the platelet aggregation agonist, cathepsin G stored in the azurophilic granules of promyelocytes. High levels of cathepsin G subsequently may increase the risk of VTE. To our knowledge, this is the first report investigating the underlying mechanism of IMiD-induced neutropenia and increased risk of VTE in multiple myeloma. (Blood. 2010;115:605-614)
IntroductionThalidomide and its immunomodulatory derivatives (IMiDs), such as lenalidomide (CC-5013) and pomalidomide (CC-4047), represent a novel class of agents with potent activity against multiple myeloma (MM). However, the use of IMiDs has been associated with 2 major adverse effects: (1) higher incidence of neutropenia that is the most common reason for holding or termination of treatment, and (2) increased risk for venous thromboembolism (VTE) that is further amplified with combination therapy.In 2 multicenter randomized trials including 353 patients with MM, 23% of patients experienced grade 3 or 4 neutropenia. 1,2 In patients receiving pomalidomide, the rate of grade 3 or 4 neutropenia was 32% in a phase 2 trial 3 and 58% in a phase 1 trial. 4 Clinical trials on myelodysplastic syndrome have shown that the frequency of lenalidomide-induced neutropenia is dose dependent and increases with duration of treatment. 5,6 The mechanism of induction of neutropenia is unclear, especially because IMiDs are not stem cell toxic and in vitro induce the expansion of CD34 ϩ cells. 7 Previous studies have shown that thalidomide/IMiDs increase the risk of VTE in patients with MM, especially if used in combination with dexamethasone. In 2 phase 3 trials comparing lenalidomide plus dexamethasone versus dexamethasone alone, the incidence of VTE in the absence of thromboembolic prophylaxis was 4 times greater in the lenalidomide/dexamethasone group, 16% versus 4%. 1,2,8 In a phase 1 trial evaluating pomalidomide alone, in 24 patients with refractory and/or relapsed MM, 4 (17%) developed VTE without thromboembolic prophylaxis during the first year of therapy. 4 The observation that aspirin is effective in preventing IMiD-induced VTE, 9 however, sharply contrasts with the lack of efficacy of aspirin in VTE prevention, suggesting that the pathogenesis in IMiD-induced VTE is different from that of "standard" VTE and, moreover, that platelet activation might contribute to thalidomide/IMiD-induced VTE.In this study, we analyzed the effect of IMiDs on granulocytic pr...