Fatty acid metabolism provides an essential survival signal in OxPhos and BCR DLBCL cells

Diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) is the most frequent subtype of malignant lymphoma and is a heterogeneous disease with various gene and chromosomal abnormalities. The development of novel therapeutic treatments has improved DLBCL prognosis, but patients with early relapse or refractory disease have a poor outcome (with a mortality of ~ 40%). Metabolic reprogramming is a hallmark of cancer cells. Fatty acid (FA) metabolism is frequently altered in cancer cells and recently emerged as a critical survival path for cancer cell survival. Here, we reveal using a large panel of DLBCL cell lines characterized for their metabolic status that targeting of FA metabolism induces massive DLBCL cell death, regardless of their OxPhos or BCR/glycolytic subtype. Further, FA drives resistance of DLBCL cell death induced by mitochondrial stress upon treatment with either metformin or L-asparaginase, two FDA-approved antimetabolic drugs. Interestingly, combining inhibition of FA metabolism with that of the mTOR oncogenic pathway strongly potentiates DLBCL cell death. Altogether our data highlight the central role played by FA metabolism in DLBCL cell survival, independently of their metabolic subtype, and provide the framework for the use of drugs targeting this metabolic vulnerability to overcome resistance in DLBCL patients.