Metabolic Pathways in T-Cell Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (T-ALL)

OBJECTIVES:

• Determine the metabolic status and regulation of primary T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (T-ALL) relative to control resting peripheral T cells.
• Establish the effects of metabolic inhibition on metabolic stress pathways and apoptosis.
• Determine how metabolic inhibition interacts with chemotherapy or targeted therapy drugs to kill T-ALL cells.

OUTLINE: T-ALL samples cultured alone or with gamma secretase inhibitors (GSI) or PI3K inhibitors are analyzed for metabolic characteristics including glucose transporter 1 (Glut1) expression, mitochondrial mass, phospho-flow for 5' adenosine monophosphate-activated protein kinase (AMPK), acetyl-CoA carboxylase (ACC), and mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) by flow cytometry. T-ALL samples and normal CD4+ T cells (control) are also exposed to ± 2-deoxyglucose or ± the glutaminolysis inhibitor media and analyzed for metabolic stress responses over time in particular, AMPK activation, autophagy (immunofluorescence for LC3-II processing), and BCL2-associated X protein (Bak) and Bax activation to indicate apoptosis. These cells (T-ALL and control) are then cultured with cyclophosphamide, dexamethasone, or the B-cell CLL/lymphoma 2 (Bcl-2) inhibitor, ABT-737, to determine cell death over time.