RNAi-Mediated Screen of Primary AML Cells Nominates MDM4 as a Therapeutic Target in NK-AML with DNMT3A Mutations

Research output: Contribution to journalResearch articleContributedpeer-review

Contributors

Abstract

DNA-methyltransferase 3A (DNMT3A) mutations belong to the most frequent genetic aberrations found in adult acute myeloid leukemia (AML). Recent evidence suggests that these mutations arise early in leukemogenesis, marking leukemic progenitors and stem cells, and persist through consolidation chemotherapy, providing a pool for AML relapse. Currently, there are no therapeutic approaches directed specifically against this cell population. To unravel therapeutically actionable targets in mutant DNMT3A-driven AML cells, we have performed a focused RNAi screen in a panel of 30 primary AML samples, all carrying a DNMT3A R882 mutation. As one of the strongest hits, we identified MDM4 as a gene essential for proliferation of primary DNMT3AWT/R882X AML cells. We analyzed a publicly available RNA-Seq dataset of primary normal karyotype (NK) AML samples and found a trend towards MDM4 transcript overexpression particularly in DNMT3A-mutant samples. Moreover, we found that the MDM2/4 inhibitor ALRN-6924 impairs growth of DNMT3AWT/R882X primary cells in vitro by inducing cell cycle arrest through upregulation of p53 target genes. Our results suggest that MDM4 inhibition is a potential target in NK-AML patients bearing DNMT3A R882X mutations.

Details

Original languageEnglish
Article number854
JournalCells
Volume11
Issue number5
Publication statusPublished - 2 Mar 2022
Peer-reviewedYes

External IDs

PubMedCentral PMC8909053
Scopus 85125996288
unpaywall 10.3390/cells11050854
Mendeley a2a35a49-26ff-3ef8-a3c8-3bb42bf83db2
ORCID /0000-0002-2844-053X/work/153110478

Keywords

Keywords

  • Adult, Cell Cycle Proteins/metabolism, DNA (Cytosine-5-)-Methyltransferases/genetics, DNA Methyltransferase 3A, Humans, Leukemia, Myeloid, Acute/drug therapy, Mutation/genetics, Proto-Oncogene Proteins/metabolism, RNA Interference, RNAi, DNMT3A, MDM4, Acute myeloid leukemia, Functional screen