1
|
Xie C, Zhou H, Qin D, Zheng H, Tang Y, Li W, Zhou J, Liu L, Yu X, Duan H, Zhou Y, Li Z, Fang Z, Luo Y, Carter BZ, Xu B, Zha J. Bcl-2 inhibition combined with PPARα activation synergistically targets leukemic stem cell-like cells in acute myeloid leukemia. Cell Death Dis 2023; 14:573. [PMID: 37644011 PMCID: PMC10465498 DOI: 10.1038/s41419-023-06075-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/08/2023] [Revised: 08/05/2023] [Accepted: 08/15/2023] [Indexed: 08/31/2023]
Abstract
Persistence of leukemic stem cells (LSCs) is one of the determining factors to acute myeloid leukemia (AML) treatment failure and responsible for the poor prognosis of the disease. Hence, novel therapeutic strategies that target LSCs are crucial for treatment success. We investigated if targeting Bcl-2 and peroxisome proliferator activated receptor α (PPARα), two distinct cell survival regulating mechanisms could eliminate LSCs. This study demonstrate that the Bcl-2 inhibitor venetoclax combined with the PPARα agonist chiglitazar resulted in synergistic killing of LSC-like cell lines and CD34+ primary AML cells while sparing their normal counterparts. Furthermore, the combination regimen significantly suppressed AML progression in patient-derived xenograft (PDX) mouse models. Mechanistically, chiglitazar-mediated PPARα activation inhibited the transcriptional activity of the PIK3AP1 gene promoter and down-regulated the PI3K/Akt signaling pathway and anti-apoptotic Bcl-2 proteins, leading to cell proliferation inhibition and apoptosis induction, which was synergized with venetoclax. These findings suggest that combinatorial Bcl-2 inhibition and PPARα activation selectively eliminates AML cells in vivo and vitro, representing an effective therapy for patients with relapsed and refractory AML.
Collapse
Grants
- The National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. U22A20290,82170180, 81800163, 82100204,81900164); Natural Science Foundation of Fujian Province, China (No.2023J06054,2020J05307,2020J011246, 2021J011359); The Xiamen Municipal Bureau of Science and Technology (3502Z20209003, 3502Z20209008).
- The National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. U22A20290,82170180, 81800163, 82100204,81900164); Natural Science Foundation of Fujian Province, China (No. 2020J05307,2020J011246, 2021J011359); The Xiamen Municipal Bureau of Science and Technology (3502Z20209003, 3502Z20209008).
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Chendi Xie
- Department of Hematology, the First Affiliated Hospital of Xiamen University and Institute of Hematology, School of Medicine, Xiamen University, Xiamen, China
- Key Laboratory of Xiamen for Diagnosis and Treatment of Hematological Malignancy, Xiamen, China
- State Key Laboratory of Cellular Stress Biology, Innovation Center for Cell Biology, School of Life Sciences, Xiamen University, Xiamen, China
| | - Hui Zhou
- Department of Hematology, the First Affiliated Hospital of Xiamen University and Institute of Hematology, School of Medicine, Xiamen University, Xiamen, China
- Key Laboratory of Xiamen for Diagnosis and Treatment of Hematological Malignancy, Xiamen, China
| | - Dongmei Qin
- Department of Hematology, the First Affiliated Hospital of Xiamen University and Institute of Hematology, School of Medicine, Xiamen University, Xiamen, China
- Key Laboratory of Xiamen for Diagnosis and Treatment of Hematological Malignancy, Xiamen, China
| | - Huijian Zheng
- School of Clinical Medicine, Fujian Medical University, Fuzhou, Fujian, China
| | - Yuanfang Tang
- Department of Hematology, the First Affiliated Hospital of Xiamen University and Institute of Hematology, School of Medicine, Xiamen University, Xiamen, China
- Key Laboratory of Xiamen for Diagnosis and Treatment of Hematological Malignancy, Xiamen, China
- State Key Laboratory of Cellular Stress Biology, Innovation Center for Cell Biology, School of Life Sciences, Xiamen University, Xiamen, China
| | - Wenjuan Li
- Department of Hematology, the First Affiliated Hospital of Xiamen University and Institute of Hematology, School of Medicine, Xiamen University, Xiamen, China
- Key Laboratory of Xiamen for Diagnosis and Treatment of Hematological Malignancy, Xiamen, China
- State Key Laboratory of Cellular Stress Biology, Innovation Center for Cell Biology, School of Life Sciences, Xiamen University, Xiamen, China
| | - Jie Zhou
- Department of Hematology, the First Affiliated Hospital of Xiamen University and Institute of Hematology, School of Medicine, Xiamen University, Xiamen, China
- Key Laboratory of Xiamen for Diagnosis and Treatment of Hematological Malignancy, Xiamen, China
| | - Long Liu
- Department of Hematology, the First Affiliated Hospital of Xiamen University and Institute of Hematology, School of Medicine, Xiamen University, Xiamen, China
- Key Laboratory of Xiamen for Diagnosis and Treatment of Hematological Malignancy, Xiamen, China
| | - Xinxin Yu
- Department of Hematology, the First Affiliated Hospital of Xiamen University and Institute of Hematology, School of Medicine, Xiamen University, Xiamen, China
- Key Laboratory of Xiamen for Diagnosis and Treatment of Hematological Malignancy, Xiamen, China
| | - Hongpeng Duan
- Department of Hematology, the First Affiliated Hospital of Xiamen University and Institute of Hematology, School of Medicine, Xiamen University, Xiamen, China
- Key Laboratory of Xiamen for Diagnosis and Treatment of Hematological Malignancy, Xiamen, China
| | - Yong Zhou
- Department of Hematology, the First Affiliated Hospital of Xiamen University and Institute of Hematology, School of Medicine, Xiamen University, Xiamen, China
- Key Laboratory of Xiamen for Diagnosis and Treatment of Hematological Malignancy, Xiamen, China
| | - Zhifeng Li
- Department of Hematology, the First Affiliated Hospital of Xiamen University and Institute of Hematology, School of Medicine, Xiamen University, Xiamen, China
- Key Laboratory of Xiamen for Diagnosis and Treatment of Hematological Malignancy, Xiamen, China
| | - Zhihong Fang
- Department of Hematology, the First Affiliated Hospital of Xiamen University and Institute of Hematology, School of Medicine, Xiamen University, Xiamen, China
- Key Laboratory of Xiamen for Diagnosis and Treatment of Hematological Malignancy, Xiamen, China
| | - Yiming Luo
- Department of Hematology, the First Affiliated Hospital of Xiamen University and Institute of Hematology, School of Medicine, Xiamen University, Xiamen, China
- Key Laboratory of Xiamen for Diagnosis and Treatment of Hematological Malignancy, Xiamen, China
| | - Bing Z Carter
- Section of Molecular Hematology and Therapy, Department of Leukemia, the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas, USA.
| | - Bing Xu
- Department of Hematology, the First Affiliated Hospital of Xiamen University and Institute of Hematology, School of Medicine, Xiamen University, Xiamen, China.
- Key Laboratory of Xiamen for Diagnosis and Treatment of Hematological Malignancy, Xiamen, China.
| | - Jie Zha
- Department of Hematology, the First Affiliated Hospital of Xiamen University and Institute of Hematology, School of Medicine, Xiamen University, Xiamen, China.
- Key Laboratory of Xiamen for Diagnosis and Treatment of Hematological Malignancy, Xiamen, China.
| |
Collapse
|