Abstract 7555: Selective inhibition of the CoREST complex as a novel therapeutic target of atypical teratoid rhabdoid tumors
Authors: Geethadevi Anupa , Collard Marianne , Findlay Tyler , Deng Yiming , Fisher Robert , Vaidya Nikhil , Eberhart Charles , Cole Philip A. , Alani Rhoda , Rubens Jeffrey , Raabe Eric 
Published: March 2024

Atypical teratoid/rhabdoid tumors (AT/RT) are deadly infantile brain tumors, primarily arising from a single recurring biallelic loss-of-function mutation in SMARCB1 which is a member of the SWI-SNF chromatin remodeling complex. The partially functional SWI-SNF complex (without SMARCB1) is able to inhibit EZH2 at most locations of the genome except at gene promoter regions where EZH2 co-localizes with the REST complex. This results in hypermethylation and subsequent repression of genes coding for neuronal differentiation and tumor suppressors. CoREST is an important transcriptional repressor and consists of LSD1 and HDAC1/2 bound together by the scaffolding protein RCOR. Increased activity of EZH2 and the CoREST complex may help AT/RT cells maintain a stem cell-like state, driving its aggressive growth and therapy resistance. We hypothesize that functional inhibition of the CoREST complex by targeting LSD1 and HDAC1/2 might help restore the epigenetic balance lost in AT/RT cells.We selectively inhibited the CoREST complex in AT/RT cells (BT37, CHLA05 and CHLA06) by using a bi-functional LSD1 and HDAC1/2 inhibitor, Corin, which has previously been shown to be effective against melanoma and diffuse midline glioma. Administration of corin to AT/RT cells significantly increased H3K4me1, H3K9Ac and H3K27Ac histone marks (p &lt; 0.001, Western blotting). Corin inhibited AT/RT cell growth and proliferation (MUSE Viacount p&lt;0.05, BrdU immunofluorescence compared to control), and increased apoptosis (cPARP Western blotting, CC3 immunofluorescence, MUSE Annexin V assay, p&lt;0.05 compared to control). Corin appears to be specific in targeting AT/RT as it did not affect brain organoids derived from iPSCs (cPARP Western blotting). Corin induced neuronal differentiation in AT/RT as seen by the increased expression of Beta-3-tubulin, MAP2 and Synaptophysin (Immunofluorescence). Enrichment analysis of differentially expressed genes after whole mRNA sequencing of AT/RT cells treated with corin for 24 h revealed upregulation of pathways related to neuronal differentiation and axonal development and downregulation of pathways related to proliferation and cell cycle (pFDR &lt; 0.05, FC&gt;2). In mice bearing orthotopic CHLA06 tumors, intratumoral delivery of a single dose of corin for 24 h increased H3K27me3 and H3K27ac, demonstrating that corin engaged its target in vivo, reduced growth and induced apoptosis (Ki67, cPARP). Survival studies show a trend toward single agent activity against the very aggressive CHLA06 orthotopic xenograft (increased in median survival from 14 to 35 days compared to control). These studies demonstrate that targeting the CoREST complex disrupts AT/RT epigenetic abnormalities, reversing their stem cell-like state, slowing tumor cell growth, and inducing apoptosis, that may translate into the clinical setting to help improve AT/RT’s dismal survival.

Citation Format: Anupa Geethadevi, Marianne Collard, Tyler Findlay, Yiming Deng, Robert Fisher, Nikhil Vaidya, Charles Eberhart, Philip A. Cole, Rhoda Alani, Jeffrey Rubens, Eric Raabe. Selective inhibition of the CoREST complex as a novel therapeutic target of atypical teratoid rhabdoid tumors [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 7555.