Inositol treatment inhibits medulloblastoma through suppression of epigenetic-driven metabolic adaptation.

Badodi, Sara; Pomella, Nicola; Zhang, Xinyu; Rosser, Gabriel; Whittingham, John; Niklison-Chirou, Maria Victoria; Lim, Yau Mun; Brandner, Sebastian et al. · Nat Commun · 2021

basic_science · Level V

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Abstract

Deregulation of chromatin modifiers plays an essential role in the pathogenesis of medulloblastoma, the most common paediatric malignant brain tumour. Here, we identify a BMI1-dependent sensitivity to deregulation of inositol metabolism in a proportion of medulloblastoma. We demonstrate mTOR pathway activation and metabolic adaptation specifically in medulloblastoma of the molecular subgroup G4 characterised by a BMI1<sup>High</sup>;CHD7<sup>Low</sup> signature and show this can be counteracted by IP6 treatment. Finally, we demonstrate that IP6 synergises with cisplatin to enhance its cytotoxicity in vitro and extends survival in a pre-clinical BMI1<sup>High</sup>;CHD7<sup>Low</sup> xenograft model.

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