Selective translational control by PABPC1 phase separation regulates blast crisis and therapy resistance in chronic myeloid leukaemia

Abstract

Tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) targeting the BCR-ABL1 fusion tyrosine kinase have revolutionized the treatment of chronic myeloid leukaemia (CML). However, the development of TKI resistance and the subsequent transition from the chronic phase (CP) to blast crisis (BC) threaten patients with CML. Accumulating evidence suggests that translational control is crucial for cancer progression. Our high-throughput CRISPR–Cas9 screening identified poly(A) binding protein cytoplasmic 1 (PABPC1) as a driver for CML progression in the BC stage. PABPC1 preferentially improved the translation efficiency of multiple leukaemogenic mRNAs with long and highly structured 5′ untranslated regions by forming biomolecular condensates. Inhibiting PABPC1 significantly suppressed CML cell proliferation and attenuated disease progression, with minimal effects on normal haematopoiesis. Moreover, we identified two PABPC1 inhibitors that inhibited BC progression and overcame TKI resistance in murine and human CML. Overall, our work identifies PABPC1 as a selective translation enhancing factor in CML-BC, with its genetic or pharmacological inhibition overcoming TKI resistance and suppressed BC progression. Sun et al. identify a role for PABPC1 in selectively regulating the translation of leukaemogenic mRNAs to promote blast crisis transition, which may be targeted to overcome resistance to TKI treatment in chronic myeloid leukaemia.