Effective Menin inhibitor-based combinations against AML with MLL rearrangement or NPM1 mutation (NPM1c)

Treatment with Menin inhibitor (MI) disrupts interaction between Menin and MLL1 or MLL1-fusion protein (FP), inhibits HOXA9/MEIS1, induces differentiation and loss of survival of AML harboring MLL1 re-arrangement (r) and FP, or expressing mutant (mt)-NPM1. Following MI treatment, although clinical responses are common, majority of patients with AML with MLLr or mt-NPM1 succumb to their disease. Pre-clinical studies presented here demonstrate that genetic knockout or degradation of Menin, or treatment with the MI SNDX-50469 reduces MLL1/MLL1-FP targets, associated with MI-induced differentiation and loss of viability. MI treatment also attenuates BCL2 and CDK6 levels. Co-treatment with SNDX-50469 and BCL2 inhibitor (venetoclax), or CDK6 inhibitor (abemaciclib) induces synergistic lethality in cell lines and patient-derived AML cells harboring MLL1r or mtNPM1. Combined therapy with SNDX-5613 and venetoclax exerts superior in vivo efficacy in cell line or PD AML cell xenografts harboring MLL1r or mt-NPM1. Synergy with the MI-based combinations is preserved against MLLr AML cells expressing FLT3 mutation, also CRISPR edited to introduce mtTP53. These findings highlight the promise of clinically testing these MI-based combinations against AML harboring MLL1r or mtNPM1. Overall design: 4 samples; Input controls are provided for each condition.