Inhibition of SUV39H Methyltransferase As a Potent Therapeutic Target in Multiple Myeloma

Epigenetics is characterized by a wide range of changes that are reversible and orchestrate gene expression. Recent studies have shown that epigenetic modifications play a role in multiple myeloma (MM) by silencing various cancer-related genes. We investigated the epigenetic genes differentially expressed between normal bone marrow plasma cells (BMPC ; N=5) and MM plasma cells from patients (N=206). Using SAM (Significance Analysis of Microarrays) analysis, only 12 genes significantly differentially expressed between BMPC and MM cells (ratio > 2 and FDR (false discovery rate) < 5%) were identified, including the SUV39H1 histone methyltransferase. SUV39H1 and SUV39H2 are regulators of chromatin organization. SUV39H1-dependent trimethylation of H3K9 is essential for maintenance of both pericentromeric and telomeric heterochromatin. SUV39H1 deficiency reduced cell viability severely and is associated to heterochromatin decompaction, loss of silencing, genome instability, and a wide range of defects in cell cycle, cell growth, and meiosis. SUV39H1-mediated H3K9me has been linked to gene silencing of the tumor suppressor genes, such as p15INK4B and E-cadherin, in acute myeloid leukemia (AML). Therefore, it is highly possible that the default function of SUV39H1 is to maintain genome stability by limiting the acute activation of oncogenes while its dysregulation could cause tumor formation.

We reported that high SUV39H1 expression, in MM cells, is associated with a poor prognosis in two independent cohorts of patients (Heidelberg-Montpellier cohort – N=206 and UAMS-TT2 cohort – N=345). SUV39H1 expression was downregulated by conditional shRNA expression through lentiviral delivery. SUV39H1 knock down significantly inhibits H3K9me3, growth of myeloma cells, induces apoptosis, cell cycle deregulation, reactive oxygen species production and spontaneous accumulation of DNA double strand breaks. According to these results, SUV39H1 depletion sensitizes myeloma cells to melphalan.

Chaetocin is a selective inhibitor of SUV39H1. We identified that chaetocin has anti-myeloma effects at low nanomolar doses (range: 4 to 17 nM), on 11 different human myeloma cell lines, that are representative of the molecular heterogeneity of the patients, in association with H3K9 trimethylation inhibition. Furthermore, this significant toxicity of chaetocin in MM was confirmed on primary myeloma cells of 5 patients cocultured with their bone marrow microenvironment without significant toxicity on normal bone marrow cells and hematopoietic stem cells. Interestingly, the IC50 doses of chaetocin in MM were 50 fold lower compared to results published in AML, suggesting H3K9 histone methyltransferases could be a potent therapeutic target in MM.