GSE185091
Small-molecule inhibition of the acyl-lysine reader ENL as a strategy against acute myeloid leukemia [RNA-Seq]
Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is characterized by dysregulated transcriptional programs and these programs require support from chromatin regulators to maintain their hyperactive state. Recent studies have identified the histone acylation 'reader' ENL as being a critical dependency in AML, but the potential of therapeutic applications targeting this chromatin reader remains poorly understood. Here, we present a potent and orally bioavailable small-molecule inhibitor of ENL, TDI-055, which displaces ENL from chromatin by competitively blocking the interaction of its YEATS domain with acylated histones. We show that TDI-055 treatment preferentially inhibited the proliferation of human leukemia cells harboring MLL translocations or NPM1 mutations. Through a CRISPR/Cas9 saturated mutagenesis screen, we uncovered an ENL mutant that could confer cells resistance to TDI-055, thus providing compelling proof for the on-target activity of the compound. Rapid displacement of ENL from chromatin resulted in decreased recruitment of select ENL-associated complexes and impaired RNA polymerase II elongation which, in turn, led to the suppression of critical leukemogenic gene expression programs. Finally, pharmacological inhibition of ENL in vivo led to reduced AML growth and prolonged survival in cell line and patient-derived xenograft (PDX) models. Collectively, these results provide critical evidence and mechanistic insights to establish inhibition of ENL as a potential therapeutic strategy against molecularly defined AML, laying the foundation for rapid clinical translation of this approach. Overall design: to determine transcriptional changes induced by TDI-055 in MV411 and OCI-AML3 cell lines