Non-oncogene addiction to SIRT3 plays a critical role in lymphomagenesis

Diffuse large B-cell lymphomas (DLBCLs) are genetically heterogeneous and highly proliferative neoplasms derived from germinal center (GC) B-cells. Herein, we show that DLBCLs are dependent on mitochondrial lysine deacetylase SIRT3 for proliferation, survival, self-renewal, and tumor growth in vivo regardless of disease subtype and genetics. SIRT3 knockout attenuated B-cell lymphomagenesis in VavP-Bcl2 mice without affecting normal GC formation. Mechanistically, SIRT3 depletion impaired glutamine flux to the TCA cycle via glutamate dehydrogenase and reduction in acetyl-CoA pools, which in turn induce autophagy and cell death. We developed a mitochondrial-targeted Class I sirtuin inhibitor, YC8-02, that phenocopied the effects of SIRT3 depletion and killed DLBCL cells. SIRT3 is thus a metabolic non-oncogene addiction and therapeutic target for DLBCLs. Overall design: RNAseq results of SIRT3 expression in DLBCL