Therapeutics: Dual specificity phosphatase 6 (DUSP6; MKP3)

Mouse and patient sample studies suggest inhibiting DUSP6 could help treat ALL. In tumor samples from patients with ALL, high levels of DUSP6 correlated with poor overall survival. In B cells isolated from a mouse model of BCR-ABL tyrosine kinase-induced ALL, knockout of DUSP6 decreased transformation of the B cells into leukemic cells compared with normal DUSP6 expression. In patient-derived ALL cells, a small molecule inhibitor of DUSP6 induced cell death with an IC50 of 2.1 µM. In patient-derived ALL cells treated with a subtherapeutic dose of imatinib, the DUSP6 inhibitor induced cell death with an IC50 of 0.7 µM. Next steps could include optimizing the DUSP6 inhibitor for use in humans...