FSMP-01. ID1 MEDIATES ONE-CARBON MEDIATED PURINE SYNTHESIS IN GLIOBLASTOMA

Inhibitor of DNA-binding-1 (ID1) is a transcriptional regulatory protein involved in maintenance of self-renewal and inhibition of differentiation, and acts as a key regulator of tumorigenesis in glioblastoma. Studies suggest that de novo purine synthesis is essential for the maintenance of rapid proliferation rates in glioma initiating cells. We hypothesise that ID1 plays a role in reprogramming one-carbon mediated de novo purine synthesis, thereby metabolically contributing to the tumorigenic advantage seen in ID1-high glioblastoma cells. The effect of ID1 regulation on metabolic reprogramming of glioblastoma was studied using ID1-knockout U251 glioblastoma cell lines. Protein expression analysis and liquid chromatography mass-spectrometry were respectively used to assess expression and concentration of metabolic enzymes and intermediates of one-carbon and de novo purine synthesis pathways. CD44 expression was analyzed as a marker of cancer stem cells. The expression of DHFR and MTHFD2 was significantly decreased after ID1 knockout. Furthermore, PAICS expression, and overall concentration of IMP, AMP, GMP, and ATP were reduced after ID1 knockout. ID1 expression in glioblastoma tumor xenografts was associated with positive expression of one-carbon metabolism and purine synthesis enzymes, while ID1(-/-) cells within the same xenograft had significantly reduced expression of these enzymes. The expression of CD44 was reduced after ID1 knockout. This data suggests that ID1 mediates an increase in one-carbon mediated de novo purine synthesis, thereby regulating metabolic reprogramming in glioblastoma cells. The correlation between CD44 and ID1 expression provides further support that ID1 maintains a less differentiated phenotype in a subset of glioblastoma cells, and metabolic reprogramming is one of the mechanisms through which this phenotype, and the capacity for self-renewal are maintained. Further elucidation of the mechanisms through which ID1 mediates metabolic reprograming of glioblastoma cells can lead to developing effective combination therapies coupling chemotherapeutic strategies with targeting of metabolic programs used by cancer initiating cells.