Irinotecan alleviates chemoresistance to anthracyclines through the inhibition of AARS1-mediated BLM lactylation and homologous recombination repair

Chemoresistance remains the major barrier to cancer treatment. Metabolic and epigenetic reprogramming are involved in this process; however, the precise roles and mechanisms are largely unknown. Here, we report that lactate-induced lactylation promotes chemoresistance to anthracyclines by regulating homologous recombination (HR) repair. Using the global lactylome, we revealed the landscape of differentially lactylated sites and proteins in cancer cells isolated from resistant and nonresistant tumors. Specifically, BLM, a crucial helicase in the HR repair process, is highly lactylated at Lys24 by AARS1 in response to chemotherapy. Mechanistically, hyperlactylation of BLM improves its stability by inhibiting MIB1-mediated ubiquitination and increasing its interaction with DNA repair factors, promoting DNA end resection and HR repair. Delactylation of BLM via the Lys24 mutation impairs HR repair and increases anthracycline chemosensitivity. Irinotecan shows synergistic effects and safety for alleviating anthracycline resistance by targeting BLM lactylation and suppressing HR repair in pancancer PDX models. A single-arm, phase I study (identifier NCT06766266) initiated by us suggested that the combination of irinotecan liposomes plus EPI is a feasible and safe treatment strategy for patients with anthracycline-resistant bladder cancer who experience recurrence. These findings exemplify how glycolytic reprogramming regulates HR repair through promoting protein lactylation and highlight the promising therapeutic potential of irinotecan for reversing anthracycline chemoresistance by suppressing BLM lactylation.