Enhanced TP53 reactivation disrupts MYC transcriptional program and overcomes venetoclax resistance in acute myeloid leukemias

The tumor suppressor TP53 is frequently inactivated in a mutation-independent manner in cancers and is reactivated by inhibiting its negative regulators. We here cotarget MDM2 and the nuclear exporter XPO1 to maximize transcriptional activity of p53. MDM2/XPO1 inhibition accumulated nuclear p53 and elicited a 25- to 60-fold increase of its transcriptional targets. TP53 regulates MYC, and MDM2/XPO1 inhibition disrupted the c-MYC–regulated transcriptome, resulting in the synergistic induction of apoptosis in acute myeloid leukemia (AML). Unexpectedly, venetoclax-resistant AMLs express high levels of c-MYC and are vulnerable to MDM2/XPO1 inhibition in vivo. However, AML cells persisting after MDM2/XPO1 inhibition exhibit a quiescence- and stress response–associated phenotype. Venetoclax overcomes that resistance, as shown by single-cell mass cytometry. The triple inhibition of MDM2, XPO1, and BCL2 was highly effective against venetoclax-resistant AML in vivo. Our results propose a novel, highly translatable therapeutic approach leveraging p53 reactivation to overcome nongenetic, stress-adapted venetoclax resistance.