Oxidative phosphorylation inhibition induces anticancerous changes in therapy‐resistant–acute myeloid leukemia patient cells

Abstract Treatment of acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is still a challenge because of common relapses or resistance to treatment. Therefore, the development of new therapeutic approaches is necessary. Various studies have shown that certain cancers, including some chemoresistant AML subsets, have upregulated oxidative phosphorylation. In this study, we aimed to assess treatment‐resistant AML patients’ cell modulation using oxidative phosphorylation inhibitors metformin and atovaquone alone and in various combinations with cytosine analog cytarabine and apoptosis inducer venetoclax. Metabolic activity analysis using Agilent Seahorse XF Extracellular Flux Analyzer revealed that peripheral blood mononuclear cells’ metabolic state was different among treatment‐resistant AML patients. We demonstrated that metformin decreased therapy‐resistant–AML cell oxidative phosphorylation ex vivo, cotreatment with cytarabine and venetoclax slightly increased the effect. However, treatment with atovaquone did not have a marked effect in our experiment. Cell treatment had a slight effect on cell proliferation inhibition; combination of metformin, cytarabine, and venetoclax had the strongest effect. Moreover, a slightly higher effect on cell proliferation and cell cycle regulation was demonstrated in the cells with higher initial oxidative phosphorylation rate as demonstrated by gene expression analysis using reverse transcription quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT‐qPCR). Proteomic analysis by liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry demonstrated that chemoresistant AML cell treatment with metformin modulated metabolic pathways, while metformin combination with cytarabine and venetoclax boosted the effect. We suggest that oxidative phosphorylation inhibition is effective but not sufficient for chemoresistant AML treatment. Indeed, it causes anticancerous changes that might have an important additive role in combinatory treatment.