Metabolic reprogramming has been described as a hallmark of transformed cancer cells. In this study, we examined the role of the glutamine (Gln) utilization pathway in acute myeloid leukemia (AML) cell lines and primary AML samples. Our results indicate that a subset of AML cell lines is sensitive to Gln deprivation. Glutaminase (GLS) is a mitochondrial enzyme that catalyzes the conversion of Gln to glutamate. One of the two GLS isoenzymes, GLS1 is highly expressed in cancer and encodes two different isoforms: kidney (KGA) and glutaminase C (GAC). We analyzed mRNA expression of GLS1 splicing variants, GAC and KGA, in several large AML datasets and identified increased levels of expression in AML patients with complex cytogenetics and within specific molecular subsets. Inhibition of glutaminase by allosteric GLS inhibitor bis-2-(5-phenylacetamido-1, 2, 4-thiadiazol-2-yl) ethyl sulfide or by novel, potent, orally bioavailable GLS inhibitor CB-839 reduced intracellular glutamate levels and inhibited growth of AML cells. In cell lines and patient samples harboring IDH1/IDH2 (Isocitrate dehydrogenase 1 and 2) mutations, CB-839 reduced production of oncometabolite 2-hydroxyglutarate, inducing differentiation. These findings indicate potential utility of glutaminase inhibitors in AML therapy, which can inhibit cell growth, induce apoptosis and/or differentiation in specific leukemia subtypes.

Purpose: To characterize the prevalence of hypoxia in the leukemic bone marrow, its association with metabolic and transcriptional changes in the leukemic blasts and the utility of hypoxia-activated prodrug TH-302 in leukemia models.Experimental Design: Hyperpolarized magnetic resonance spectroscopy was utilized to interrogate the pyruvate metabolism of the bone marrow in the murine acute myeloid leukemia (AML) model. Nanostring technology was used to evaluate a gene set defining a hypoxia signature in leukemic blasts and normal donors. The efficacy of the hypoxia-activated prodrug TH-302 was examined in the in vitro and in vivo leukemia models.Results: Metabolic imaging has demonstrated increased glycolysis in the femur of leukemic mice compared with healthy control mice, suggesting metabolic reprogramming of hypoxic bone marrow niches. Primary leukemic blasts in samples from AML patients overexpressed genes defining a "hypoxia index" compared with samples from normal donors. TH-302 depleted hypoxic cells, prolonged survival of xenograft leukemia models, and reduced the leukemia stem cell pool in vivo. In the aggressive FLT3/ITD MOLM-13 model, combination of TH-302 with tyrosine kinase inhibitor sorafenib had greater antileukemia effects than either drug alone. Importantly, residual leukemic bone marrow cells in a syngeneic AML model remain hypoxic after chemotherapy. In turn, administration of TH-302 following chemotherapy treatment to mice with residual disease prolonged survival, suggesting that this approach may be suitable for eliminating chemotherapy-resistant leukemia cells.Conclusions: These findings implicate a pathogenic role of hypoxia in leukemia maintenance and chemoresistance and demonstrate the feasibility of targeting hypoxic cells by hypoxia cytotoxins.

Nearly 60 years ago Otto Warburg proposed, in a seminal publication, that an irreparable defect in the oxidative capacity of normal cells supported the switch to glycolysis for energy generation and the appearance of the malignant phenotype (Warburg, 1956). Curiously, this phenotype was also observed by Warburg in embryonic tissues, and recent research demonstrated that normal stem cells may indeed rely on aerobic glycolysis – fermenting pyruvate to lactate in the presence of ample oxygen – rather than on the complete oxidation of pyruvate in the Krebs cycle – to generate cellular energy (Folmes et al., 2012). However, it remains to be determined whether this phenotype is causative for neoplastic development, or rather the result of malignant transformation. In addition, in light of mounting evidence demonstrating that cancer cells can carry out electron transport and oxidative phosphorylation, although in some cases predominantly using electrons from non-glucose carbon sources (Bloch-Frankenthal et al., 1965), Warburg’s hypothesis needs to be revisited. Lastly, recent evidence suggests that the leukemia bone marrow microenvironment promotes the Warburg phenotype adding another layer of complexity to the study of metabolism in hematological malignancies. In this review we will discuss some of the evidence for alterations in the intermediary metabolism of leukemia cells and present evidence for a concept put forth decades ago by lipid biochemist Feodor Lynen, and acknowledged by Warburg himself, that cancer cell mitochondria uncouple ATP synthesis from electron transport and therefore depend on glycolysis to meet their energy demands (Lynen, 1951; Warburg, 1956).

Metformin displays antileukemic effects partly due to activation of AMPK and subsequent inhibition of mTOR signaling. Nevertheless, Metformin also inhibits mitochondrial electron transport at complex I in an AMPK-independent manner, Here we report that Metformin and rotenone inhibit mitochondrial electron transport and increase triglyceride levels in leukemia cell lines, suggesting impairment of fatty acid oxidation (FAO). We also report that, like other FAO inhibitors, both agents and the related biguanide, Phenformin, increase sensitivity to apoptosis induction by the bcl-2 inhibitor ABT-737 supporting the notion that electron transport antagonizes activation of the intrinsic apoptosis pathway in leukemia cells. Both biguanides and rotenone induce superoxide generation in leukemia cells, indicating that oxidative damage may sensitize toABT-737 induced apoptosis. In addition, we demonstrate that Metformin sensitizes leukemia cells to the oligomerization of Bak, suggesting that the observed synergy with ABT-737 is mediated, at least in part, by enhanced outer mitochondrial membrane permeabilization. Notably, Phenformin was at least 10-fold more potent than Metformin in abrogating electron transport and increasing sensitivity to ABT-737, suggesting that this agent may be better suited for targeting hematological malignancies. Taken together, our results suggest that inhibition of mitochondrial metabolism by Metformin or Phenformin is associated with increased leukemia cell susceptibility to induction of intrinsic apoptosis, and provide a rationale for clinical studies exploring the efficacy of combining biguanides with the orally bioavailable derivative of ABT-737, Venetoclax.

Here we report that leukemia cell lines and primary CD34+ leukemic blasts exposed to platelet rich plasma (PRP) or platelet lysates (PL) display increased resistance to apoptosis induced by mitochondria-targeted agents ABT-737 and CDDO-Me. Intriguingly, leukemia cells exposed to platelet components demonstrate a reduction in mitochondrial membrane potential (ΔΨM) and a transient increase in oxygen consumption, suggestive of mitochondrial uncoupling. Accompanying the ranolazine-sensitive increase in oxygen consumption, a reduction in triglyceride content was also observed in leukemia cells cultured with platelet components indicating that lipolysis and fatty acid oxidation may support the molecular reduction of oxygen in these cells. Mechanistically, platelet components antagonized Bax oligomerization in accordance with previous observations supporting an antiapoptotic role for fatty acid oxidation in leukemia cells. Lastly, substantiating the notion that mitochondrial uncoupling reduces oxidative stress, platelet components induced a marked decrease in basal and rotenone-induced superoxide levels in leukemia cells. Taken together, the decrease in ΔΨM, the transient increase in ranolazine-sensitive oxygen consumption, the reduction in triglyceride levels, and the reduced generation of superoxide, all accompanying the increased resistance to mitochondrial apoptosis, substantiate the hypothesis that platelets may contribute to the chemoprotective sanctuary of the bone marrow microenvironment via promotion of mitochondrial uncoupling.

Inhibition of glutaminase (GLS), the principal enzyme in the glutamine utilization pathway that coverts glutamine (Gln) to glutamate (Glu), is an attractive therapeutic approach in many cancers. Gln plays a unique role in the metabolism of proliferating cancer cells, providing building blocks to sustain cell proliferation and regulating redox homeostasis and signal transduction pathways. Recent findings indicate that leukemic cells depend on Gln as a major carbon source for growth and survival [Willems et al., Blood, 2013]. We previously reported that a subset of acute myeloid leukemia (AML) cell lines are sensitive to Gln deprivation as well as inhibition of glutaminase by the small molecule BPTES [Matre et al. ASH 2013 #606]. Here we report the efficacy of CB-839, a novel, potent, orally bioavailable GLS inhibitor currently under clinical investigation, in the Gln-dependent subset of AML. First, expression of GLS gene splice variants glutaminase C (GAC) and kidney glutaminase (KGA) and of the GLS2 gene was determined through analysis of RNA sequencing data from 173 newly diagnosed AML patients in the TCGA dataset. Of the GLS gene splice variants, the expression levels of GAC were much higher than those of KGA; GLS2 was expressed at low levels. Levels of both GAC and KGA mRNA were significantly higher (two-sample Wilcoxon test) in AML patients with complex cytogenetics and monosomal karyotype (n=31) than in those with diploid AML (n=88, p=0.019 and p=0.01); GAC levels were higher in core-binding factor AML (n=14) than in diploid AML (p=0.018). These findings indicate high expression of the GLSGAC splice variant in specific AML subsets. Analysis of a panel of AML cell lines showed that, in a subset of leukemia cells, CB-839 treatment decreased viable cell number and induced apoptosis. In sensitive cell lines (Molm14, OCI-AML3, MV4;11), CB-839 decreased viable cell number with IC50s between 10nM and 100nM and induced significant apoptosis. HL60, MOLM13, KG1α, and OCI-AML2 cells were less sensitive (IC50 100-1000nM) and responded with minor induction of cell death. CB-839 decreased viability by >40% in blasts from 9 of 20 (45%) primary AML samples. GC- or LC-MS metabolic profiling of OCI-AML3 and THP1 cell lines as well as primary patient samples revealed that GLS inhibition by BPTES or CB-839 was accompanied by concomitant decrease in concentration of downstream GLS metabolites such as glutamate, α-ketoglutarate (a-KG), aspartate, fumarate, and malate. Investigation of the effects of CB-839 on mitochondrial OXPHOS by the Seahorse Bioscience XF96 Analyzer showed that CB-839 exposure for 16 h caused a dose-dependent decrease in maximal respiratory capacity in OCI-AML3 cells, indicating reduced availability of the substrates for OXPHOS. Similar results were obtained upon treatment with BPTES and in AML cells stably transduced with GLS shRNA. Gln, through Glu, is a precursor for cellular α-KG, which can undergo further metabolism through the Krebs cycle or be further metabolized to 2-hydroxyglutarate (2-HG) by mutant isocitrate dehydrogenase (IDH). In THP1 cell lines stably transduced with doxycycline-inducible mutant IDH1-R132H or IDH2-R140Q construct, CB-839 exposure for 4 days reduced intracellular 2-HG oncometabolite levels by >50%. This was associated with induction of differentiation marker CD11b and morphological signs of differentiation in CB-839–treated IDH2-R140Q cells [30%±2% increase in CD11b mean fluorescent intensity (p<0.001)] vs untreated cells; but not in IDH2-WT control cells. Further, IDH2-R140Q THP1 cells were significantly more sensitive to 1mM CB-839 than IDH2-WT cells (61% vs 24% reduction in viable cell numbers). In 4 of 6 IDH1- or IDH2-mutated primary samples, reductions in 2-HG (by 24% [p=0.04]; 31% [p=0.016]; 35% [p=0.033], and 43% [p=0.0056]) were observed upon CB-839 exposure. Preliminary data for an IDH2-R140Q-mutated AML primary sample (n=1) indicate that CB-839 promotes CD11b differentiation in primary AML blasts. In summary, these results indicate that GLS is a relevant therapeutic target in AML, warranting future inclusion of GLS inhibitors in the armamentarium of multi-agent therapeutic approaches. In particular, reduction of production of the oncometabolite 2-HG in conjunction with therapeutic blockade of Gln metabolism may serve as a tailored therapeutic strategy in IDH-mutated AML cells. Disclosures Konopleva: Calithera Biosciences: Research Funding.

we conclude that although species classifiers were not accurate enough to automate image processing, DL could be used to improve efficiencies by accepting classifications with high confidence values for certain species or by filtering images containing blanks. By reviewing features of popular AI-enabled platforms and sharing examples via anopen-source GitBook, we hope to facilitate the use of AI by ecologists to process their camera-trap data.

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