CEBPA repression by MECOM blocks differentiation to drive aggressive leukemias Open Access

• MECOM promotes malignant stem cell-like states in aggressive AMLs by directly repressing pro-differentiation gene regulatory programs.

• A MECOM-bound cis-regulatory element 42 kb downstream of CEBPA sustains AML. Activating it induces differentiation.

Acute myeloid leukemias (AMLs) have an overall poor prognosis with many high-risk cases co-opting stem-cell gene regulatory programs, yet the mechanisms through which this occurs remain poorly understood. Increased expression of the stem-cell transcription factor, MECOM, underlies one key driver mechanism in largely incurable AMLs. How MECOM results in such aggressive AML phenotypes remains unknown. To address existing experimental limitations, we engineered and applied targeted protein degradation with functional genomic readouts to demonstrate that MECOM promotes malignant stem-cell-like states by directly repressing pro-differentiation gene regulatory programs. Remarkably and unexpectedly, a single node in this network, a MECOM-bound cis-regulatory element located 42 kb downstream of the myeloid differentiation regulator CEBPA is both necessary and sufficient for maintaining MECOM-driven leukemias. Importantly, targeted activation of this regulatory element promotes differentiation of these aggressive AMLs and reduces leukemia burden in vivo. These findings suggest a broadly applicable approach for functionally dissecting oncogenic gene regulatory networks to inform improved therapeutic strategies.