Latent mitotic vulnerability of AML cells induced by therapeutic agents

Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is a hematopoietic malignancy with a poor prognosis. Understanding the unidentified properties of AML cells is beneficial for the identification of novel therapeutic strategies for AML. In this study, we uncover the vulnerabilities of AML cells in mitosis when exposed to therapeutic agents. Through comparative analysis of large-scale data quantifying drug effects on cancer cell proliferation, the drug targeting the cell cycle and mitosis are predicted to possess high cytotoxicity against AML cell lines. Consistently, live-cell imaging with microwell devices demonstrates that clinical drugs targeting the cell cycle processes, such as idarubicin, pevonedistat and vincristine, potently induce mitotic cell death in AML cells. While these therapeutic agents also induce cell death through S/G2 phase arrest, the cytotoxic effects during mitosis are notably more pronounced. Furthermore, by employing additional inhibition of Chk1 to override the G2/M checkpoint, the AML cells stalled in the S/G2 phase prematurely enter mitosis, resulting in a significant increase in cell death. Collectively, these results unveiled the latent mitotic vulnerabilities of AML cells, providing a basis for developing novel therapeutic interventions.