Abstract A07: Single-cell proteomic assessment of FLT3-ITD AML landscape identifies distinct resistance patterns
Authors: Li Li , Muftuoglu Muharrem , Basyal Mahesh , Daver Naval , Andreeff Michael 
Published: May 2023

Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) represents a heterogeneous hematopoietic disorder characterized by accumulation of immature hematopoietic precursors with differentiation block. FLT3 internal tandem duplications (FLT3-ITD) are commonly occurring genetic alterations in AML and are associated with poor prognosis. Preclinical studies showed combining FLT3 inhibitor with MDM2 inhibitor, which is a negative regulator of p53, was synergistic in FLT3-ITD/TP53 wild type (WT) AML. We performed single-cell proteomic evaluation of leukemia landscape in FLT3-ITD patients treated with FLT3i and MDM2i to assess proteomic profiles associated with response and resistance. We performed CyTOF analysis of leukemia cells in serially collected samples from six FLT3-ITD and TP53 WT AML patients following treatment with FLT3i+MDM2i treatment. Using 51 features assessed in CyTOF, we first performed UMAP dimension reduction and clustering to identify distinct cells in leukemia compartment. Notably, the frequencies of blasts identified through CyTOF data analysis were compatible with clinical lab reports. In line with previous reports, we also detected that NPM mutant AML cells did not express CD34. Of note, CD34+ and CD34- leukemia cells were clustered together in NPM1 mut patients, indicating that they have overlapping proteomic profiles. Interestingly, the CD34+ leukemia cells were eliminated at the early time points in CR patients while the CD34- leukemia cells were still detectable after two months. On the other hand, CD34+ leukemia cells in nonresponders(NR) persisted despite therapy. These findings indicate CD34+ leukemia cells were more sensitive to the treatment compared to NPM1 mutant CD34- leukemia cells. Next, we interrogated leukemia proteomic landscape in serial samples, evaluated the therapy-induced alterations in proteomic profiles and sought to identify potential adaptive mechanisms. To this end, we performed differential expression analysis and observed that signaling pathways (p-4EBP1, p-GSK3, p-MEK1/2, p-S6) and differentiation markers(CD33, CD68,CXCR4 HLADR) were more enriched on day 8 post treatment in NR patients, revealing that compensatory signaling activity, phenotypic profiles and differentiation status could be associated with therapy response. Moreover, we found that leukemia cells in NR patients had distinct phenotypic profiles(CD11b,CD68,CXCR4), higher levels of anti-apoptotic molecules (BCL2,MCL1) and enriched survival pathways (p-GSK3, YTHDF2) compared to baseline. In contrast, we did not observe rebound increases in CR patients post-therapy. These findings demonstrate high levels of BCL2 and MCL1 and preferential survival of more differentiated cells may be associated with therapy resistance and treatment failure in NR patient treated with MDM2i and FLT3i. In conclusion, multiplexed single-cell proteomic analysis permitted longitudinal monitoring of leukemia landscape and identified proteomic alterations associated with therapy resistance.

Citation Format: Li Li, Muharrem Muftuoglu, Mahesh Basyal, Naval Daver, Michael Andreeff. Single-cell proteomic assessment of FLT3-ITD AML landscape identifies distinct resistance patterns [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the AACR Special Conference: Acute Myeloid Leukemia and Myelodysplastic Syndrome; 2023 Jan 23-25; Austin, TX. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Blood Cancer Discov 2023;4(3_Suppl):Abstract nr A07.