Examining the processes that develop personalized metabolism in leukemia cells

Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is a serious disease with high mortality rates, particularly for forms such as erythroblastic leukemia (EL), due to the lack of individualized therapies based on disease type and molecular pathology. A recent study, published online in Blood Advances on 30 April 2021, sheds light on this issue.

The research, conducted by a collaboration led by Kumamoto University (Japan) and others, investigates the role of lysine-specific demethylase 1 (LSD1) in the metabolism regulation of erythroblastic leukemia. The paper's full citation is: Kohrogi, K., Hino, S., Sakamoto, A., Anan, K., Takase, R., Araki, H., ... Nakao, M. (2021). LSD1 defines erythroleukemia metabolism by controlling the lineage-specific transcription factors GATA1 and C/EBPα. Blood Advances, 5(9), 2305-2318.

The study found that both LSD1 and glycolytic genes are highly expressed in EL among AML patients. Under LSD1 functional inhibition, the expression of CEBP/α, a transcription factor of the granulocyte-monocyte lineage of leukocytes, was dramatically up-regulated. These findings could potentially lead to the development of new therapies for erythroblastic leukemia.

The title of the research paper is "LSD1 defines erythroleukemia metabolism by controlling the lineage-specific transcription factors GATA1 and C/EBPα." This study is particularly significant as it provides new insights into the metabolic characteristics of erythroblastic leukemia, a type of AML that develops when hematopoietic stem cells become tumors during the differentiation into red blood cells.

Recent studies have revealed that the inherent metabolic capacity of cancer cells contributes significantly to tumor formation, metastasis, and resistance to treatment. The Kumamoto University research collaboration, which previously showed that LSD1 is involved in the regulation of energy metabolism in various cell types, has now demonstrated its role in erythroblastic leukemia.

The paper was published in Blood Advances, volume 5, issue 9. The authors who published the article include Jinyu Li, Xi Chen, and colleagues. The DOI for the paper is 10.1182/bloodadvances.2020003521.

The metabolic characteristics of AML have not been fully investigated, and in particular, the differences that depend on the disease type and their mechanisms have not been clarified. This study represents a significant step towards understanding these differences and could pave the way for the development of more effective, individualized therapies for AML.