Cadefau-Fabregat Maria, Martínez-Cebrián Gerard, Lorenzi Lucía, Weiss Felix D, Frank Anne-Katrine, Castelló-García José Manuel, Julià-Vilella Eric, Gámez-García Andrés, Yera Laura, de Castro Carini Picardi Morais, Wang Yi-Fang, Meissner Felix, Vaquero Alejandro, Merkenschlager Matthias, Porse Bo T, Cuartero Sergi
Josep Carreras Leukaemia Research Institute (IJC), Badalona, Spain.
Germans Trias i Pujol Research Institute (IGTP), Badalona, Spain.
Nat Commun. 2025 Apr 12;16(1):3492. doi: 10.1038/s41467-025-58712-7.
The CEBPA transcription factor is frequently mutated in acute myeloid leukemia (AML). Mutations in the CEBPA gene, which are typically biallelic, result in the production of a shorter isoform known as p30. Both the canonical 42-kDa isoform (p42) and the AML-associated p30 isoform bind chromatin and activate transcription, but the specific transcriptional programs controlled by each protein and how they are linked to a selective advantage in AML is not well understood. Here, we show that cells expressing the AML-associated p30 have reduced baseline inflammatory gene expression and display altered dynamics of transcriptional induction in response to LPS, consequently impacting cytokine secretion. This confers p30-expressing cells an increased resistance to the adverse effects of prolonged exposure to inflammatory signals. Mechanistically, we show that these differences primarily arise from the differential regulation of AP-1 family proteins. In addition, we find that the impaired function of the AP-1 member ATF4 in p30-expressing cells alters their response to ER stress. Collectively, these findings uncover a link between mutant CEBPA, inflammation and the stress response, potentially revealing a vulnerability in AML.
CEBPA转录因子在急性髓系白血病(AML)中经常发生突变。CEBPA基因的突变通常是双等位基因的,会导致产生一种名为p30的较短异构体。典型的42 kDa异构体(p42)和与AML相关的p30异构体都能结合染色质并激活转录,但每种蛋白质所控制的具体转录程序以及它们如何与AML中的选择性优势相关联,目前还不太清楚。在这里,我们表明,表达与AML相关的p30的细胞基线炎症基因表达降低,并且在对LPS的反应中显示出转录诱导动力学的改变,从而影响细胞因子分泌。这赋予表达p30的细胞对长期暴露于炎症信号的不利影响更强的抵抗力。从机制上讲,我们表明这些差异主要源于AP-1家族蛋白的差异调节。此外,我们发现表达p30的细胞中AP-1成员ATF4的功能受损会改变它们对内质网应激的反应。总的来说,这些发现揭示了突变型CEBPA、炎症和应激反应之间的联系,可能揭示了AML中的一个脆弱点。