Conference: 60th American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting & Exposition, December 1—4, 2018, San Diego, California, United States.
Conference Highlight: The 2018 ASH Annual Meeting brought together researchers and clinicians from across the globe to showcase the most recent advances in hematology.
Conference Summary: The ASH Annual Meeting showcased the breadth of interesting hematology research, spanning from basic to clinical research. In particular, the preferential use of specific nutritional sources in leukemic stem cells (LSCs) was a topic that garnered a lot of attention. One oral presentation by Jones et al. focused on LSCs’ dependence on the amino acid cysteine. It was noted that reducing cysteine levels selectively targeted LSCs by reducing oxidative metabolism (OXPHOS). More specifically, the authors found that the loss of cysteine blocked complex II activity. This study revealed a novel therapeutic target for acute myeloid leukemia (AML) and corroborated our own findings that leukemic cells are uniquely reliant on OXPHOS.
In addition to studying how specific amino acids can contribute to targeted therapies, another oral presentation by Pollyea et al. proposed that LSCs switch to different metabolic pathways to resist combination therapies. This study found that AML cells that are resistant to the combination treatment of venetoclax and azacytidine show increased fatty acid metabolism, compared to AML cells that responded to treatment. When these resistant cells were treated with etomoxir, an inhibitor of the fatty acid metabolic pathway, they were re-sensitized to the combination treatment. This demonstrated a novel metabolic reprogramming pathway in LSCs and suggests that dietary modifications may be helpful in patients treated with the combination therapy.
This conference provided a platform to network with experts and learn about the great strides being made in this field.