Division of Hematology and Oncology, Department of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA.
Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA.
Blood Adv. 2024 Jan 23;8(2):261-275. doi: 10.1182/bloodadvances.2023011132.
RNA-binding proteins (RBPs) are emerging as a novel class of therapeutic targets in cancer, including in leukemia, given their important role in posttranscriptional gene regulation, and have the unexplored potential to be combined with existing therapies. The RBP insulin-like growth factor 2 messenger RNA-binding protein 3 (IGF2BP3) has been found to be a critical regulator of MLL-AF4 leukemogenesis and represents a promising therapeutic target. Here, we study the combined effects of targeting IGF2BP3 and menin-MLL interaction in MLL-AF4-driven leukemia in vitro and in vivo, using genetic inhibition with CRISPR-Cas9-mediated deletion of Igf2bp3 and pharmacologic inhibition of the menin-MLL interaction with multiple commercially available inhibitors. Depletion of Igf2bp3 sensitized MLL-AF4 leukemia to the effects of menin-MLL inhibition on cell growth and leukemic initiating cells in vitro. Mechanistically, we found that both Igf2bp3 depletion and menin-MLL inhibition led to increased differentiation in vitro and in vivo, seen in functional readouts and by gene expression analyses. IGF2BP3 knockdown had a greater effect on increasing survival and attenuating disease than pharmacologic menin-MLL inhibition with small molecule MI-503 alone and showed enhanced antileukemic effects in combination. Our work shows that IGF2BP3 is an oncogenic amplifier of MLL-AF4-mediated leukemogenesis and a potent therapeutic target, providing a paradigm for targeting leukemia at both the transcriptional and posttranscriptional level.
RNA 结合蛋白(RBPs)在癌症中作为一类新的治疗靶点出现,包括在白血病中,因为它们在后转录基因调控中起着重要作用,并且具有与现有治疗方法联合应用的未开发潜力。已经发现 RBP 胰岛素样生长因子 2 信使 RNA 结合蛋白 3(IGF2BP3)是 MLL-AF4 白血病发生的关键调节因子,代表了一个有前途的治疗靶点。在这里,我们研究了靶向 IGF2BP3 和 menin-MLL 相互作用在 MLL-AF4 驱动的白血病中的体外和体内的联合效应,使用 CRISPR-Cas9 介导的 Igf2bp3 缺失的基因抑制和多种商业上可用的抑制剂抑制 menin-MLL 相互作用。Igf2bp3 的耗竭使 MLL-AF4 白血病对 menin-MLL 抑制对细胞生长和白血病起始细胞的影响敏感。在机制上,我们发现 Igf2bp3 的耗竭和 menin-MLL 的抑制都导致了体外和体内的分化增加,这在功能读数和基因表达分析中都可以看到。与单独使用小分子 MI-503 进行的药理 menin-MLL 抑制相比,IGF2BP3 敲低对增加存活率和减轻疾病的影响更大,并表现出增强的抗白血病作用。我们的工作表明,IGF2BP3 是 MLL-AF4 介导的白血病发生的致癌放大器和有效的治疗靶点,为在转录和转录后水平靶向白血病提供了范例。