Synergistic Targeting of DNA-PK and KIT Signaling Pathways in KIT Mutant Acute Myeloid Leukemia

Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is the most common and aggressive form of acute leukemia, with a 5-year survival rate of just 24%. Over a third of all AML patients harbor activating mutations in kinases, such as the receptor tyrosine kinases FLT3 (receptor-type tyrosine-protein kinase FLT3) and KIT (mast/stem cell growth factor receptor kit). FLT3 and KIT mutations are associated with poor clinical outcomes and lower remission rates in response to standard-of-care chemotherapy. We have recently identified that the core kinase of the non-homologous end joining DNA repair pathway, DNA-PK (DNA-dependent protein kinase), is activated downstream of FLT3; and targeting DNA-PK sensitized FLT3-mutant AML cells to standard-of-care therapies. Herein, we investigated DNA-PK as a possible therapeutic vulnerability in KIT mutant AML, using isogenic FDC-P1 mouse myeloid progenitor cell lines transduced with oncogenic mutant KIT (V560G and D816V) or vector control. Targeted quantitative phosphoproteomic profiling identified phosphorylation of DNA-PK in the T2599/T2605/S2608/S2610 cluster in KIT mutant cells, indicative of DNA-PK activation. Accordingly, proliferation assays revealed that KIT mutant FDC-P1 cells were more sensitive to the DNA-PK inhibitors M3814 or NU7441, compared with empty vector controls. DNA-PK inhibition combined with inhibition of KIT signaling using the kinase inhibitors dasatinib or ibrutinib, or the protein phosphatase 2A activators FTY720 or AAL(S), led to synergistic cell death. Global phosphoproteomic analysis of KIT-D816V cells revealed that dasatinib and M3814 single-agent treatments inhibited extracellular signal-regulated kinase and AKT (RAC-alpha serine/threonine-protein kinase)/MTOR (serine/threonine-protein kinase mTOR) activity, with greater inhibition of both pathways when used in combination. Combined dasatinib and M3814 treatment also synergistically inhibited phosphorylation of the transcriptional regulators MYC and MYB. This study provides insight into the oncogenic pathways regulated by DNA-PK beyond its canonical role in DNA repair and demonstrates that DNA-PK is a promising therapeutic target for KIT mutant cancers.