FADS1/2-mediated lipid metabolic reprogramming drives ferroptosis sensitivity in triple-negative breast cancer

Abstract

Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) has limited therapeutic options, is highly metastatic and characterized by early recurrence. Lipid metabolism is generally deregulated in TNBC and might reveal vulnerabilities to be targeted or used as biomarkers with clinical value. Ferroptosis is a type of cell death caused by iron-dependent lipid peroxidation which is facilitated by the presence of polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA). Here we identify fatty acid desaturases 1 and 2 (FADS1/2), which are responsible for PUFA biosynthesis, lipid susceptible to peroxidation, to be highly expressed in a subset of TNBC with a poorer prognosis. Lipidomic analysis, coupled with functional metabolic assays, showed that FADS1/2 high-expressing TNBC are susceptible to ferroptosis-inducing agents and that targeting FADS1/2 renders those tumors ferroptosis-resistant. These findings were validated in vitro and in vivo in mouse and human-derived clinically relevant models and in a retrospective cohort of TNBC patients. One sentence summaryThe availability of intracellular PUFA depends on FADS1/2 desaturases, expressed at higher levels in aggressive triple-negative breast cancers highly susceptible to ferroptosis.