Abstract 4740: Acid ceramidase inhibition enhances venetoclax sensitivity in preclinical models of acute myeloid leukemia
Authors: Ung Johnson , Tan Su-Fern , Shaw Jeremy J. , Fox Todd E. , Taori Maansi , Claxton David F. , Fisher-Wellman Kelsey H. , Cabot Myles C. , Feith David J. , Loughran Thomas P. 
Published: March 2024

Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is an aggressive hematologic malignancy in urgent need of improved therapeutic strategies. AML blasts frequently rely on the anti-apoptotic protein, Bcl-2, for survival. The specific Bcl-2 inhibitor, venetoclax (VEN), is FDA-approved in combination with low-dose cytarabine (LDAC) or azacitidine for patients unfit for intensive induction chemotherapy. Unfortunately, responses are transient due to upregulation of compensatory survival proteins (e.g., Bcl-xL or Mcl-1) or resistance characterized by reprogrammed mitochondrial bioenergetics. Our research aims to improve current AML treatments and understanding of AML pathogenesis by targeting dysregulated sphingolipid metabolism. Ceramides are tumor-suppressor sphingolipids that mediate therapy-induced cell death. Sphingolipid dysregulation that results in decreased ceramide content and/or enhanced ceramide catabolism is an emerging AML hallmark. We’ve previously shown that acid ceramidase (AC), a ceramide catabolizing lysosomal enzyme, is overexpressed in AML and contributes to drug resistance. Here, we demonstrated that AC inhibition enhanced VEN cytotoxicity. Combining the AC inhibitor/ceramide analog, SACLAC, with VEN resulted in synergistic lethality in multiple AML cell lines in cell viability and apoptosis assays. Genetic inhibition of AC also improved VEN cytotoxicity. The SACLAC+VEN combination achieved Bliss scores (SynergyFinder 2.0) between 22 and 32 in cell lines, which indicate a highly synergistic combination. SACLAC+VEN efficacy was comparable to the FDA-approved combination of VEN+LDAC when tested in 67 primary AML patient samples. Pharmacological inhibition of AC also increased the efficacy of the VEN+LDAC combination. Mechanistically, the observed synergistic lethality was independent of changes to Bcl-2, Mcl-1, and Bcl-xL protein levels. Combined AC and Bcl-2 inhibition resulted in synergistic ceramide accumulation, integrated stress response (ISR) activation, and caspase-dependent apoptosis characterized by impaired mitochondrial function. Pretreatment with the pan-caspase inhibitor, zVAD-FMK, or ISR inhibitor, ISRIB, significantly rescued cell death. Ongoing studies aim to further characterize mitochondrial impairment and ISR activation induced by inhibiting AC and Bcl-2. Taken together, these results detail the first report of ISR activation and mitochondrial defects elicited by combined AC and Bcl-2 inhibition as contributory to cytotoxic impact (mechanism) and warrant additional studies of AC inhibitors with frontline AML therapeutics.

Citation Format: Johnson Ung, Su-Fern Tan, Jeremy J. Shaw, Todd E. Fox, Maansi Taori, David F. Claxton, Kelsey H. Fisher-Wellman, Myles C. Cabot, David J. Feith, Thomas P. Loughran. Acid ceramidase inhibition enhances venetoclax sensitivity in preclinical models of acute myeloid leukemia [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2024; Part 1 (Regular Abstracts); 2024 Apr 5-10; San Diego, CA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2024;84(6_Suppl):Abstract nr 4740.