TAL1 Hijacks MYCN Enhancer That Induces MYCN Expression And Dependence On Mevalonate Pathway In T-Cell Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (Leukemia, Aug 2023)

Shi Hao Tan 1Tze King Tan 1Rui Yokomori 1Minghui Liao 1Xiao Zi Huang 1Allen Eng Juh Yeoh 2 3Takaomi Sanda 4 5

Affiliations

  • 1Cancer Science Institute of Singapore, National University of Singapore, Singapore, 117599, Singapore.
  • 2Cancer Science Institute of Singapore, National University of Singapore, Singapore, 117599, Singapore. allen.yeoh@nuhs.edu.sg.
  • 3Department of Paediatrics, National University of Singapore, Singapore, 119228, Singapore. allen.yeoh@nuhs.edu.sg.
  • 4Cancer Science Institute of Singapore, National University of Singapore, Singapore, 117599, Singapore. takaomi_sanda@u.nus.edu.
  • 5Department of Medicine, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore, Singapore, 117599, Singapore. takaomi_sanda@u.nus.edu.

Abstract

A hallmark of T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (T-ALL) is the dysregulated expression of oncogenic transcription factors (TFs), including TAL1, NOTCH1 and MYC. Rewiring of the transcriptional program disrupts the tightly controlled spatiotemporal expression of downstream target genes, thereby contributing to leukemogenesis. In this study, we first identify an evolutionarily conserved enhancer element controlling the MYCN oncogene (named enhMYCN) that is aberrantly activated by the TAL1 complex in T-ALL cells. TAL1-positive T-ALL cells are highly dependent on MYCN expression for their maintenance in vitro and in xenograft models. Interestingly, MYCN drives the expression of multiple genes involved in the mevalonate pathway, and T-ALL cells are sensitive to inhibition of HMG-CoA reductase (HMGCR), a rate-limiting enzyme of this pathway. Importantly, MYC and MYCN regulate the same targets and compensate for each other. Thus, MYCN-positive T-ALL cells display a dual dependence on the TAL1-MYCN and NOTCH1-MYC pathways. Together, our results demonstrate that enhMYCN-mediated MYCN expression is required for human T-ALL cells and implicate the TAL1-MYCN-HMGCR axis as a potential therapeutic target in T-ALL.

PMID: 37591943     DOI: 10.1038/s41375-023-01993-y