Abstract 3218: Combination drug screen identifies novel epigenetic therapies to enhance menin inhibitor efficacy in KMT2A rearranged and NPM1 mutant AML
Authors: Totiger Tulasigeri M. , Chaudhry Sana , Montoya Skye , Affer Maurizio , Sondhi Anya K. , Chirino Alexandra , Volmar Claude-Henry , Brothers Shaun , Watts Justin , Taylor Justin 
Published: March 2024

Background: Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) with KMT2A-rearrangements have a poor prognosis and so there is an urgent need for novel therapies. Menin inhibitors have shown promising anti-leukemic effects in KMT2A-rearranged and NPM1-mutated AML. However, the efficacy of menin inhibitors as single agents may be limited by the development of resistance mutations. Combining menin inhibitors with other epigenetic drugs may present a strategy to enhance their therapeutic potential. In this study, we performed a combination drug screen using an epigenetic drug library in KMT2A-rearranged (MV4;11) and NPM1-mutant (OCI-AML3) AML cell lines to identify synergistic therapies that can be used in conjunction with menin inhibitors.

Methods: During assay optimization, MV4;11 and OCI-AML3 cells were treated with the menin inhibitor DSP-5336, and their viability was assessed. Quality control metrics were applied with Z’ values consistently greater than 0.5 for all assay plates and then the cells were subjected to a small molecule compound library screen containing a set of 932 epigenetic drugs. The screening process included a systematic evaluation of each drug's effect on cell viability in combination with the DSP-5336.

Results: The combination drug screen demonstrated robust performance in both MV4;11 and OCI-AML3 cell lines, with reliable quality control metrics. Among the epigenetic drugs tested, five compounds were identified as potential hits that synergistically enhanced the efficacy of DSP-5336 across both cell lines.The five identified compounds exhibited enhanced anti-leukemic effects when combined with the menin inhibitor in either one of the cell lines. The targets of these drugs varied, including histone deacetylases, histone acetyltransferases and BRD4 inhibition, suggesting many alternate mechanisms of action involving epigenetic modulation. Remarkably, one of the 5 hits C301-3161, a KAT2A inhibitor, showed limited activity in either cell line alone but increased cell killing with DSP-5336 in both cell lines, highlighting its potential as a specific therapeutic for combining with DSP-5336 in AML patients.

Conclusions: Our findings suggest combining menin inhibitors with other epigenetic drugs may improve AML treatment outcomes. The combination drug screen successfully identified four novel compounds that synergistically enhance menin inhibitor efficacy in both KMT2A-rearranged and NPM1-mutant AML cell lines. These compounds hold significant promise as potential therapeutic candidates for further investigation. Future studies should focus on elucidating the underlying mechanisms of action for each hit and evaluating their effects in preclinical animal models. Ultimately, this research may pave the way for the development of innovative combination therapeutic strategies for AML patients with KMT2A-rearragned and NPM1-mutant AML.

Citation Format: Tulasigeri M. Totiger, Sana Chaudhry, Skye Montoya, Maurizio Affer, Anya K. Sondhi, Alexandra Chirino, Claude-Henry Volmar, Shaun Brothers, Justin Watts, Justin Taylor. Combination drug screen identifies novel epigenetic therapies to enhance menin inhibitor efficacy in KMT2A rearranged and NPM1 mutant AML [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 3218.