C/EBPα Confers Dependence to Fatty Acid Anabolic Pathways and Vulnerability to Lipid Oxidative Stress–Induced Ferroptosis in FLT3 -Mutant Leukemia - INRAE - Institut national de recherche pour l’agriculture, l’alimentation et l’environnement
Journal Articles Cancer Discovery Year : 2023

C/EBPα Confers Dependence to Fatty Acid Anabolic Pathways and Vulnerability to Lipid Oxidative Stress–Induced Ferroptosis in FLT3 -Mutant Leukemia

Rudy Birsen
Sarah Mouche
Jonas Dehairs
Ismael Boussaid
Federico Simonetta
Océane Delos
Justine Bertrand-Michel
Vilma Dembitz
Paolo Gallipoli
Martin Carroll
Armelle Goubard
Olivier Kosmider
Gael Roué
Didier Bouscary

Abstract

Although transcription factor CCAAT-enhancer binding protein α (C/EBPα) is critical for normal and leukemic differentiation, its role in cell and metabolic homeostasis is largely unknown in cancer. Here, multiomics analyses uncovered a coordinated activation of C/EBPα and Fms-like tyrosine kinase 3 (FLT3) that increased lipid anabolism in vivo and in patients with FLT3-mutant acute myeloid leukemia (AML). Mechanistically, C/EBPα regulated the fatty acid synthase (FASN)–stearoyl-CoA desaturase (SCD) axis to promote fatty acid (FA) biosynthesis and desaturation. We further demonstrated that FLT3 or C/EBPα inactivation decreased monounsaturated FA incorporation to membrane phospholipids through SCD downregulation. Consequently, SCD inhibition enhanced susceptibility to lipid redox stress that was exploited by combining FLT3 and glutathione peroxidase 4 inhibition to trigger lipid oxidative stress, enhancing ferroptotic death of FLT3-mutant AML cells. Altogether, our study reveals a C/EBPα function in lipid homeostasis and adaptation to redox stress, and a previously unreported vulnerability of FLT3-mutant AML to ferroptosis with promising therapeutic application. Significance: FLT3 mutations are found in 30% of AML cases and are actionable by tyrosine kinase inhibitors. Here, we discovered that C/EBPα regulates FA biosynthesis and protection from lipid redox stress downstream mutant-FLT3 signaling, which confers a vulnerability to ferroptosis upon FLT3 inhibition with therapeutic potential in AML. This article is highlighted in the In This Issue feature, p. 1501

Dates and versions

hal-04166110 , version 1 (19-07-2023)

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Marie Sabatier, Rudy Birsen, Laura Lauture, Sarah Mouche, Paolo Angelino, et al.. C/EBPα Confers Dependence to Fatty Acid Anabolic Pathways and Vulnerability to Lipid Oxidative Stress–Induced Ferroptosis in FLT3 -Mutant Leukemia. Cancer Discovery, 2023, 13 (7), pp.1720-1747. ⟨10.1158/2159-8290.CD-22-0411⟩. ⟨hal-04166110⟩
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