Disruption of polyunsaturated fatty acid biosynthesis drives STING-dependent acute myeloid leukemia cell maturation and death

The role of polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) biosynthesis in acute myeloid leukemia (AML) remains largely undefined. A comparative expression analysis of 35 genes encoding fatty acid biosynthesis enzymes showed that fatty acid desaturase 1 (FADS1) was highly expressed across multiple AML subtypes relative to healthy controls and that elevated FADS1 expression correlates with worse overall AML patient survival. Functionally, shRNA-mediated inhibition of FADS1 reduced AML cell growth in vitro and significantly delayed leukemia onset in an AML mouse model. AML cell lines depleted of FADS1 arrested in the G1/S-phase of the cell cycle, acquired characteristics of myeloid maturation and subsequently died. To understand the molecular consequences of FADS1 inhibition, a combination of mass spectrometry-based analysis of complex lipids and gene expression analysis (RNA-seq) was performed. FADS1 inhibition caused AML cells to exhibit significant lipidomic remodeling, including depletion of PUFAs from the phospholipids, phosphatidylserine, and phosphatidylethanolamine. These lipidomic alterations were accompanied by an increase induction of inflammatory and stimulator of interferon genes (STING)-mediated type-1 interferon signaling. Remarkably, genetic deletion of STING largely prevented the AML cell maturation and death phenotypes mediated by FADS1 inhibition. Highlighting the therapeutic implications of these findings, pharmacological blockade of PUFA biosynthesis reduced patient-derived AML cell numbers ex vivo but not that of healthy donor cells. Similarly, STING agonism attenuated patient-derived-AML survival; however, STING activation also reduced healthy granulocyte numbers. Collectively, these data unveil a previously unrecognized importance of PUFA biosynthesis in leukemogenesis and that imbalances in PUFA metabolism can drive STING-mediated AML maturation and death.

Quantitative, titratable and high-throughput reporter assays to measure DNA double strand break repair activity in cells

Repair of DNA damage is essential for the maintenance of genome stability and cell viability. DNA double strand breaks (DSBs) constitute a toxic class of DNA lesion and multiple cellular pathways exist to mediate their repair. Robust and titratable assays of cellular DSB repair (DSBR) are important to functionally interrogate the integrity and efficiency of these mechanisms in disease models as well as in response to genetic or pharmacological perturbations. Several variants of DSBR reporters are available, however these are often limited by throughput or restricted to specific cellular models. Here, we describe the generation and validation of a suite of extrachromosomal reporter assays that can efficiently measure the major DSBR pathways of homologous recombination (HR), classical nonhomologous end joining (cNHEJ), microhomology-mediated end joining (MMEJ) and single strand annealing (SSA). We demonstrate that these assays can be adapted to a high-throughput screening format and that they are sensitive to pharmacological modulation, thus providing mechanistic and quantitative insights into compound potency, selectivity, and on-target specificity. We propose that these reporter assays can serve as tools to dissect the interplay of DSBR pathway networks in cells and will have broad implications for studies of DSBR mechanisms in basic research and drug discovery.

TET2 and DNMT3A Mutations Exert Divergent Effects on DNA Repair and Sensitivity of Leukemia Cells to PARP Inhibitors

Somatic variants in TET2 and DNMT3A are founding mutations in hematological malignancies that affect the epigenetic regulation of DNA methylation. Mutations in both genes often co-occur with activating mutations in genes encoding oncogenic tyrosine kinases such as FLT3ITD, BCR-ABL1, JAK2V617F , and MPLW515L , or with mutations affecting related signaling pathways such as NRASG12D and CALRdel52 . Here, we show that TET2 and DNMT3A mutations exert divergent roles in regulating DNA repair activities in leukemia cells expressing these oncogenes. Malignant TET2-deficient cells displayed downregulation of BRCA1 and LIG4, resulting in reduced activity of BRCA1/2-mediated homologous recombination (HR) and DNA-PK-mediated non-homologous end-joining (D-NHEJ), respectively. TET2-deficient cells relied on PARP1-mediated alternative NHEJ (Alt-NHEJ) for protection from the toxic effects of spontaneous and drug-induced DNA double-strand breaks. Conversely, DNMT3A-deficient cells favored HR/D-NHEJ owing to downregulation of PARP1 and reduction of Alt-NHEJ. Consequently, malignant TET2-deficient cells were sensitive to PARP inhibitor (PARPi) treatment in vitro and in vivo, whereas DNMT3A-deficient cells were resistant. Disruption of TET2 dioxygenase activity or TET2-Wilms' tumor 1 (WT1)-binding ability was responsible for DNA repair defects and sensitivity to PARPi associated with TET2 deficiency. Moreover, mutation or deletion of WT1 mimicked the effect of TET2 mutation on DSB repair activity and sensitivity to PARPi. Collectively, these findings reveal that TET2 and WT1 mutations may serve as biomarkers of synthetic lethality triggered by PARPi, which should be explored therapeutically. SIGNIFICANCE: TET2 and DNMT3A mutations affect distinct DNA repair mechanisms and govern the differential sensitivities of oncogenic tyrosine kinase-positive malignant hematopoietic cells to PARP inhibitors.

The SAGA complex regulates early steps in transcription via its deubiquitylase module subunit USP22

The SAGA coactivator complex is essential for eukaryotic transcription and comprises four distinct modules, one of which contains the ubiquitin hydrolase USP22. In yeast, the USP22 ortholog deubiquitylates H2B, resulting in Pol II Ser2 phosphorylation and subsequent transcriptional elongation. In contrast to this H2B-associated role in transcription, we report here that human USP22 contributes to the early stages of stimulus-responsive transcription, where USP22 is required for pre-initiation complex (PIC) stability. Specifically, USP22 maintains long-range enhancer-promoter contacts and controls loading of Mediator tail and general transcription factors (GTFs) onto promoters, with Mediator core recruitment being USP22-independent. In addition, we identify Mediator tail subunits MED16 and MED24 and the Pol II subunit RBP1 as potential non-histone substrates of USP22. Overall, these findings define a role for human SAGA within the earliest steps of transcription.

Flow Cytometric Analysis of Mitochondrial Reactive Oxygen Species in Murine Hematopoietic Stem and Progenitor Cells and MLL-AF9 Driven Leukemia

We present a flow cytometric approach for analyzing mitochondrial ROS in various live bone marrow (BM)-derived stem and progenitor cell populations from healthy mice as well as mice with AML driven by MLL-AF9. Specifically, we describe a two-step cell staining process, whereby healthy or leukemia BM cells are first stained with a fluorogenic dye that detects mitochondrial superoxides, followed by staining with fluorochrome-linked monoclonal antibodies that are used to distinguish various healthy and malignant hematopoietic progenitor populations. We also provide a strategy for acquiring and analyzing the samples by flow cytometry. The entire protocol can be carried out in a timeframe as short as 3-4 h. We also highlight the key variables to consider as well as the advantages and limitations of monitoring ROS production in the mitochondrial compartment of live hematopoietic and leukemia stem and progenitor subpopulations using fluorogenic dyes by flow cytometry. Furthermore, we present data that mitochondrial ROS abundance varies among distinct healthy HSPC sub-populations and leukemia progenitors and discuss the possible applications of this technique in hematologic research.

Protein Kinase C Epsilon Is a Key Regulator of Mitochondrial Redox Homeostasis in Acute Myeloid Leukemia

Purpose: The intracellular redox environment of acute myeloid leukemia (AML) cells is often highly oxidized compared to healthy hematopoietic progenitors and this is purported to contribute to disease pathogenesis. However, the redox regulators that allow AML cell survival in this oxidized environment remain largely unknown.Experimental Design: Utilizing several chemical and genetically-encoded redox sensing probes across multiple human and mouse models of AML, we evaluated the role of the serine/threonine kinase PKC-epsilon (PKCε) in intracellular redox biology, cell survival and disease progression.Results: We show that RNA interference-mediated inhibition of PKCε significantly reduces patient-derived AML cell survival as well as disease onset in a genetically engineered mouse model (GEMM) of AML driven by MLL-AF9. We also show that PKCε inhibition induces multiple reactive oxygen species (ROS) and that neutralization of mitochondrial ROS with chemical antioxidants or co-expression of the mitochondrial ROS-buffering enzymes SOD2 and CAT, mitigates the anti-leukemia effects of PKCε inhibition. Moreover, direct inhibition of SOD2 increases mitochondrial ROS and significantly impedes AML progression in vivo Furthermore, we report that PKCε over-expression protects AML cells from otherwise-lethal doses of mitochondrial ROS-inducing agents. Proteomic analysis reveals that PKCε may control mitochondrial ROS by controlling the expression of regulatory proteins of redox homeostasis, electron transport chain flux, as well as outer mitochondrial membrane potential and transport.Conclusions: This study uncovers a previously unrecognized role for PKCε in supporting AML cell survival and disease progression by regulating mitochondrial ROS biology and positions mitochondrial redox regulators as potential therapeutic targets in AML. Clin Cancer Res; 24(3); 608-18. ©2017 AACR.

Gene expression and mutation-guided synthetic lethality eradicates proliferating and quiescent leukemia cells

Quiescent and proliferating leukemia cells accumulate highly lethal DNA double-strand breaks that are repaired by 2 major mechanisms: BRCA-dependent homologous recombination and DNA-dependent protein kinase-mediated (DNA-PK-mediated) nonhomologous end-joining, whereas DNA repair pathways mediated by poly(ADP)ribose polymerase 1 (PARP1) serve as backups. Here we have designed a personalized medicine approach called gene expression and mutation analysis (GEMA) to identify BRCA- and DNA-PK-deficient leukemias either directly, using reverse transcription-quantitative PCR, microarrays, and flow cytometry, or indirectly, by the presence of oncogenes such as BCR-ABL1. DNA-PK-deficient quiescent leukemia cells and BRCA/DNA-PK-deficient proliferating leukemia cells were sensitive to PARP1 inhibitors that were administered alone or in combination with current antileukemic drugs. In conclusion, GEMA-guided targeting of PARP1 resulted in dual cellular synthetic lethality in quiescent and proliferating immature leukemia cells, and is thus a potential approach to eradicate leukemia stem and progenitor cells that are responsible for initiation and manifestation of the disease. Further, an analysis of The Cancer Genome Atlas database indicated that this personalized medicine approach could also be applied to treat numerous solid tumors from individual patients.

TRAIL up-regulation must be accompanied by a reciprocal PKCε down-regulation during differentiation of colonic epithelial cell: implications for colorectal cancer cell differentiation

PKC isoenzymes play central roles in various cellular signalling pathways, participating in a variety of protein phosphorylation cascades that regulate/modulate cellular structure and gene expression. It has been firmly established that several isoforms of PKC have a role in the regulation of tumor necrosis factor-related apoptosis inducing ligand (TRAIL) activity. Our interest in probing the role of the epsilon isoform of PKC in the colonic cell differentiation stems from the discovery that PKCε and TRAIL are involved in the differentiation of other cell types like hematopoietic stem cells. Although the role of PKCε and TRAIL in the gastrointestinal system is unclear, it has been observed that PKCε has oncogenic activity in colon epithelial cells (CEC), while TRAIL increases the death of intestinal epithelial cells during inflammation. Here we demonstrate a reciprocal expression of PKCε and TRAIL in human colon mucosa: CECs at the bottom of the colonic crypts show high levels of PKCε, being negative for TRAIL expression. On the contrary, luminal CECs are positive for TRAIL, while negative for PKCε. Indeed, TRAIL- and butyrate-induced differentiation of the human colorectal cancer cell line HT29 requires the decrease of PKCε expression, whose absence in turn increases cell sensitivity to TRAIL-induced apoptosis. Moreover, TRAIL preferentially promotes HT29 differentiation into goblet cells. Taken together, this data demonstrate that TRAIL and PKCε must be reciprocally regulated to ensure physiological CEC differentiation starting from the stem cell pool, and that the down-regulation of PKCε is however critical for the differentiation and apoptosis of cancer cells.

Protein kinase Cε regulates proliferation and cell sensitivity to TGF-1β of CD4+ T lymphocytes: implications for Hashimoto thyroiditis

We have studied the functional role of protein kinase Cε (PKCε) in the control of human CD4(+) T cell proliferation and in their response to TGF-1β. We demonstrate that PKCε sustains CD4(+) T cell proliferation triggered in vitro by CD3 stimulation. Transient knockdown of PKCε expression decreases IL-2R chain transcription, and consequently cell surface expression levels of CD25. PKCε silencing in CD4 T cells potentiates the inhibitory effects of TGF-1β, whereas in contrast, the forced expression of PKCε virtually abrogates the inhibitory effects of TGF-1β. Being that PKCε is therefore implicated in the response of CD4 T cells to both CD3-mediated proliferative stimuli and TGF-1β antiproliferative signals, we studied it in Hashimoto thyroiditis (HT), a pathology characterized by abnormal lymphocyte proliferation and activation. When we analyzed CD4 T cells from HT patients, we found a significant increase of PKCε expression, accounting for their enhanced survival, proliferation, and decreased sensitivity to TGF-1β. The increased expression of PKCε in CD4(+) T cells of HT patients, which is described for the first time, to our knowledge, in this article, viewed in the perspective of the physiological role of PKCε in normal Th lymphocytes, adds knowledge to the molecular pathophysiology of HT and creates potentially new pharmacological targets for the therapy of this disease.

Hydrogen sulfide inhibits IL-8 expression in human keratinocytes via MAP kinase signaling

Sulfur is able to penetrate the skin, and a sulfur-rich balneotherapy has been suggested to be effective in the treatment of psoriasis. Psoriasis is now considered a genetically programmed, immune-mediated, inflammatory disease, in which intralesional T lymphocytes trigger keratinocytes to proliferate and perpetuate the disease process. Interleukin (IL)-17 and IL-22 produced by Th1/Th17 lymphocytes induce IL-8 secretion by keratinocytes, a key event in the pathogenesis of the disease. It is now clear that mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) (extracellular signal-regulated kinases (ERK) 1 and 2) activity is required for IL-17-induced IL-8 synthesis by keratinocytes, and, in fact, MAPK activity is increased in lesional psoriatic skin. Here, we demonstrate both in vitro and in vivo on primary psoriatic lesions that pharmacological inhibitors of ERKs as well as hydrogen sulfide not only reduce the basal expression and secretion of IL-8, but also interfere with IL-17- and IL-22-induced IL-8 production. These observations, together with the known anti-inflammatory activity of H₂S, are relevant to understanding some previously unexplained biological effects exerted by sulfur therapy.