Document Type

Article

Publication Date

10-17-2024

Identifier

DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-52973-4; PMCID: PMC11487135

Abstract

H3K27M diffuse midline gliomas (DMG), including diffuse intrinsic pontine gliomas (DIPG), exhibit cellular heterogeneity comprising less-differentiated oligodendrocyte precursors (OPC)-like stem cells and more differentiated astrocyte (AC)-like cells. Here, we establish in vitro models that recapitulate DMG-OPC-like and AC-like phenotypes and perform transcriptomics, metabolomics, and bioenergetic profiling to identify metabolic programs in the different cellular states. We then define strategies to target metabolic vulnerabilities within specific tumor populations. We show that AC-like cells exhibit a mesenchymal phenotype and are sensitized to ferroptotic cell death. In contrast, OPC-like cells upregulate cholesterol biosynthesis, have diminished mitochondrial oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS), and are accordingly more sensitive to statins and OXPHOS inhibitors. Additionally, statins and OXPHOS inhibitors show efficacy and extend survival in preclinical orthotopic models established with stem-like H3K27M DMG cells. Together, this study demonstrates that cellular subtypes within DMGs harbor distinct metabolic vulnerabilities that can be uniquely and selectively targeted for therapeutic gain.

Journal Title

Nat Commun

Volume

15

Issue

1

First Page

8983

Last Page

8983

MeSH Keywords

Humans; Animals; Cell Differentiation; Oxidative Phosphorylation; Mice; Cell Line, Tumor; Glioma; Astrocytes; Oligodendroglia; Mitochondria; Brain Stem Neoplasms; Diffuse Intrinsic Pontine Glioma; Hydroxymethylglutaryl-CoA Reductase Inhibitors; Brain Neoplasms; Xenograft Model Antitumor Assays

Keywords

Cell Differentiation; Oxidative Phosphorylation; Tumor Cell Line; Glioma; Astrocytes; Oligodendroglia; Mitochondria; Brain Stem Neoplasms; Diffuse Intrinsic Pontine Glioma; Hydroxymethylglutaryl-CoA Reductase Inhibitors; Brain Neoplasms; Xenograft Model Antitumor Assays

Comments

Grants and funding

This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article’s Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.

Publisher's Link: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-024-52973-4

Share

COinS