Leukemia initiating cells (LICs) are regarded as the origin of leukemia relapse and therapeutic resistance. Identifying direct stemness determinants that fuel LIC self-renewal is critical for developing targeted approaches to eliminate LICs and prevent relapse. Here, we show that the RNA editing enzyme ADAR1 is a crucial stemness factor that promotes LIC self-renewal by attenuating aberrant double-stranded RNA (dsRNA) sensing. Elevated adenosine-to-inosine (A-to-I) editing is a common attribute of relapsed T-ALL regardless of molecular subtypes. Consequently, knockdown of ADAR1 severely inhibits LIC self-renewal capacity and prolongs survival in T-ALL PDX models. Mechanistically, ADAR1 directs hyper-editing of immunogenic dsRNA and retains unedited nuclear dsRNA to avoid detection by the innate immune sensor MDA5. Moreover, we uncovered that the cell intrinsic level of MDA5 dictates the dependency on ADAR1-MDA5 axis in T-ALL. Collectively, our results show that ADAR1 functions as a self-renewal factor that limits the sensing of endogenous dsRNA. Thus, targeting ADAR1 presents a safe and effective therapeutic strategy for eliminating T-ALL LICs.
Keywords: ADAR1; RNA editing; T-ALL.