Ye Wenle, Zhao Yanchun, Zhou Yutong, Huang Jiansong, He Xiao, Ma Zhixin, Huang Xin, Hu Chao, Li Fenglin, Ling Qing, Wang Huafeng, Tong Hongyan, Sun Jie, Jin Jie
Department of Hematology, The First Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University College of Medicine, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, PR China.
Key Laboratory of Hematopoietic Malignancies, Diagnosis and Treatment, Zhejiang Province, PR China.
Mol Cancer. 2025 Jul 21;24(1):201. doi: 10.1186/s12943-025-02394-8.
RNA 5-methylcytosine (mC), a prevalent epitranscriptomic modification that critically regulates gene expression and cellular homeostasis. While its roles in solid tumors have been increasingly recognized, the functional landscape of mC in acute myeloid leukemia (AML) remains unexplored. Here, we identified NSUN2, the principal RNA mC methyltransferase, as a key regulator of AML progression. NSUN2 was aberrantly upregulated in AML patient samples and correlated with poor prognosis. Functional studies demonstrated that NSUN2 promoted leukemic cell proliferation, enhanced tumor growth in xenograft models, and conferred resistance to ferroptosis-a regulated cell death process driven by lipid peroxidation. Mechanistically, NSUN2 catalyzed m⁵C deposition on the 3'UTR of FSP1 (ferroptosis suppressor protein 1) mRNA, facilitating its recognition and stabilization by the mC reader protein YBX1. This NSUN2-YBX1-FSP1 axis protected AML cells from ferroptotic stress by suppressing lipid peroxidation and oxidative damage. Depletion of NSUN2 or FSP1 induced mitochondrial remodeling, which primed cells for ferroptosis. Reconstitution of wild-type NSUN2 or FSP1 rescued ferroptosis resistance, whereas catalytically inactive NSUN2 (C271A/C321A) or non-functional FSP1 mutants (G2A/E156A) failed to reverse this phenotype. Pharmacological inhibition of NSUN2 with MY-1B or targeting FSP1 with iFSP1 exhibited potent anti-leukemic effects, synergizing robustly with ferroptosis inducers, standard chemotherapy, and the BCL-2 inhibitor venetoclax. Our study unveils NSUN2 and FSP1 as prognostic biomarkers and therapeutic targets in AML. We highlight a novel epitranscriptomic mechanism linking RNA methylation to ferroptosis evasion, providing a dual-strategy approach to overcome AML treatment resistance.
RNA 5-甲基胞嘧啶(mC)是一种普遍存在的表观转录组修饰,对基因表达和细胞内稳态起着关键的调节作用。尽管其在实体瘤中的作用已得到越来越多的认识,但mC在急性髓系白血病(AML)中的功能全貌仍未被探索。在此,我们确定了主要的RNA mC甲基转移酶NSUN2是AML进展的关键调节因子。NSUN2在AML患者样本中异常上调,并与不良预后相关。功能研究表明,NSUN2促进白血病细胞增殖,增强异种移植模型中的肿瘤生长,并赋予对铁死亡(一种由脂质过氧化驱动的程序性细胞死亡过程)的抗性。从机制上讲,NSUN2催化FSP1(铁死亡抑制蛋白1)mRNA的3'UTR上的m⁵C沉积,促进其被mC识别蛋白YBX1识别并稳定。这个NSUN2-YBX1-FSP1轴通过抑制脂质过氧化和氧化损伤保护AML细胞免受铁死亡应激。NSUN2或FSP1的缺失诱导线粒体重塑,使细胞易于发生铁死亡。野生型NSUN2或FSP1的重建挽救了铁死亡抗性,但催化失活的NSUN2(C271A/C321A)或无功能的FSP1突变体(G2A/E156A)未能逆转这种表型。用MY-1B对NSUN2进行药理抑制或用iFSP1靶向FSP1表现出强大的抗白血病作用,与铁死亡诱导剂、标准化疗和BCL-2抑制剂维奈克拉有很强的协同作用。我们的研究揭示了NSUN2和FSP1是AML中的预后生物标志物和治疗靶点。我们强调了一种将RNA甲基化与铁死亡逃避联系起来的新的表观转录组机制,提供了一种克服AML治疗抗性的双策略方法。
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