Abstract LB082: Disrupting lipid metabolism in GBM: A systems biology approach to targeting treatment-resistant persister cells and tumor associated myeloid cell-mediated support
Authors: Avirup Chakraborty, Changlin Yang, Diana Feier, Aryeh Silver, Nyla T. Searl, Miruna Anica, Avinash Pittu, Illena West, Olusegun O. Sobanjo, Ethan D. Hodge, Mia K. Engelbart, Srabasti Sengupta, Nagheme Thomas, Christina Von Roemeling, Maryam Rahman, Matthew Sarkisian, Jianping Huang, Jeffrey Harrison, Duane A. Mitchell, Loic P. Deleyrolle
Journal: Cancer Research (2025)

Abstract Introduction: Glioblastoma (GBM) tumors contain distinct cell lineages, including treatment-sensitive cells (TSCs) relying on aerobic glycolysis and treatment-resistant persister cells (TRPCs) dependent on lipid metabolism. Our systems biology-based, spatial multi-omics and multi-targeted approach decodes a critical node in GBM progression, lipid acquisition in TRPCs, and validates this through a retrospective analysis of statin-treated patients, offering clinical insights into the potential benefits of targeting lipid metabolism in high TRPC signature GBM patients. Methods: We performed spatial transcriptomics and proteomics, combined with 3D rendering of the tumor microenvironment (TME) and geospatially resolved single-cell neighborhood analysis of IHC-stained GBM tissues using our custom-developed SNAQ algorithm to investigate the immune microenvironment and lipid distribution specific to TSCs and TRPCs. To characterize lipid dynamics, we employed flow cytometry, time-lapse imaging, and holotomography to track lipid transfer from Tumor-Associated Myeloid Cells (TAMCs) to TRPCs. A critical node for GBM progression was identified through in vivo survival and tumor progression studies that assessed effects of genetic targeting of CCR2 and pharmacological targeting of CSF1R and FABP3. Retrospective analysis was conducted on 4,085 GBM patients to evaluate the effect of statin treatment on GBM outcomes based on their TRPC signature. Results: Our study establishes the skewed accumulation of TAMCs within the TRPC microenvironment through upregulation of the CCL2/7-CCR2 and CSF1-CSF1R pathways. TAMCs actively transfer lipids to TRPCs to fulfill their metabolic demands. Targeting elements responsible for lipid incorporation in TRPCs, such as CCR2, CSF1R, and FABP3 in vivo, resulted in tumor immune microenvironment remodeling, significant tumor growth reduction, and improved survival. This reinforces the critical role of metabolic communications via lipid trafficking in TRPCs as an essential node in GBM progression. Our retrospective study showed that GBM patients with elevated TRPC signatures, typically associated with shorter survival, had no significant survival differences when treated with lipid-lowering statins. This suggests statins may disrupt lipid metabolism in TRPCs, reducing TAMC lipid support and improving patient outcomes. Conclusion: Our study highlights lipid trafficking in TRPCs as a key mechanism in GBM progression, suggesting that targeting TAMC recruitment and lipid acquisition in TRPCs may offer a promising therapy. Additionally, our retrospective analysis highlights the potential of transcriptomic profiling for patient stratification based on TRPC signature expression levels, enabling the identification of patients to benefit from lipid metabolism-targeted therapies. Citation Format: Avirup Chakraborty, Changlin Yang, Diana Feier, Aryeh Silver, Nyla T. Searl, Miruna Anica, Avinash Pittu, Illena West, Olusegun O. Sobanjo, Ethan D. Hodge, Mia K. Engelbart, Srabasti Sengupta, Nagheme Thomas, Christina Von Roemeling, Maryam Rahman, Matthew Sarkisian, Jianping Huang, Jeffrey Harrison, Duane A. Mitchell, Loic P. Deleyrolle. Disrupting lipid metabolism in GBM: A systems biology approach to targeting treatment-resistant persister cells and tumor associated myeloid cell-mediated support [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2025; Part 2 (Late-Breaking, Clinical Trial, and Invited Abstracts); 2025 Apr 25-30; Chicago, IL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2025;85(8_Suppl_2):Abstract nr LB082.