Redig, M.

Abstract Background: The cellular balance between saturated and monounsaturated fatty acids is a defining feature of tumor lipid metabolism, with SCD1 functioning as a key modulator through the production of MUFAs. Elevated SCD1 activity and MUFA accumulation have been documented in hepatocellular carcinomas, although the consequences of restricting MUFA synthesis have not been fully clarified. Methods: A selective SCD1 inhibitor, SSI-4, was evaluated across established human HCC cell lines and xenograft models. Measurements included cell viability, lipid compositional analyses, and characterization of stress response pathways at both molecular and biochemical levels. The effects of MUFA depletion were studied in vitro and in vivo, with attention to ER stress, apoptosis, ferroptosis markers, and autophagy induction. Results: SSI-4 treatment led to marked reduction in cellular MUFA content and an increase in saturated fatty acid pools. The resulting metabolic stress correlated with activation of unfolded protein response components, caspase-mediated cell death, and the upregulation of ferroptosis-associated genes. Triglyceride and MUFA levels declined precipitously, as confirmed by mass spectrometry-based lipidomics. Tumor growth was suppressed in PDX models and evidence of autophagic flux was apparent in sensitive cell lines. Variability in response highlights metabolic heterogeneity in HCC. Conclusions: Targeted disruption of MUFA biosynthesis inflicts metabolic vulnerability on HCC cells, precipitating membrane alterations and activation of multiple cell death programs. These findings recommend further investigation into metabolic interventions exploiting MUFA depletion, with consideration for stratifying patients according to lipid metabolic phenotypes. Funding: This work is supported by Mayo Clinic Comprehensive Cancer Center and the Jay and Deanie Stein Career Development Award for Cancer Research at Mayo Clinic Jacksonville and the Mayo Clinic Translational Hepatobiliary Cancer SPORE P50CA210964 Career Enhancement Program (CEP) and Florida Department of Health/Florida Cancer Innovation Fund C25C23. Citation Format: Justyna J. Gleba, Victoria N. Rios, Brian M. Necela, Skyeler M. Klinge, Matt L. Pawlush, Mike J. Redig, Aylin Alasonyalilar-Demirer, Han W. Tun, John A. Copland III, . Disrupting tumor lipid homeostasis by MUFA depletion drives cell death in HCC [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2026; Part 1 (Regular Abstracts); 2026 Apr 17-22; San Diego, CA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2026;86(7 Suppl):Abstract nr 7333.

Abstract Background: Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) is highly aggressive subtype with poor prognosis and there is an urgent need to develop novel therapies. Deregulated cellular energetics is a known hallmark of cancer. Stearoyl-CoA desaturase-1 (SCD1), is a key enzyme in fatty acid (FA) synthesis, converting saturated to monounsaturated FA. It is upregulated in TNBC, and its expression correlates with poor survival. Hence, targeting SCD1 is a novel strategy for cancer therapy. We have developed an SCD1 inhibitor, MTI-301 and shown anti-tumor activity in murine TNBC cell lines with MTI-301 alone and in combination with paclitaxel. Here, we study the efficacy of MTI-301 in TNBC mouse model and, molecular and immunological association of SCD1 in TNBC. Methods: MTI-301 activity (10 mg/kg oral gavage daily) was evaluated in E0771 immunocompetent TNBC mouse models alone and with immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICI) and paclitaxel (anti-PD-L1 Ab 200ug/mouse; IP and 25 mg/kg IP both given 2/week). Immune markers such as CD4+ T cell and CD8+ T cell in mice tumor tissue were assessed by immunohistochemistry (IHC). Tumor volume was measured by calipers 2/week and compared between groups by ANOVA test. Molecular and immune characterization was performed in 1,581 invasive ductal (ID) TNBC patient (pt) samples tested by NGS (592-gene panel, NextSeq; WES/WTS, NovaSeq; Caris Life Sciences, Phoenix, AZ). ID-TNBC SCD1-high(H) and SCD1-low(L) RNA expression were classified as above or below the 50 percentiles, respectively. Immune cell fractions were calculated by deconvolution of WTS: Quantiseq. Pathway enrichment was determined by GSEA (Broad Inst). Statistical significance was determined using chi-square and Mann-Whitney U test with p-values adjusted for multiple comparisons (q<0.05). Results: Compared to vehicle control, MTI-301 showed significant reduction in mean tumor volume and was associated with macrophage phagocytosis and intratumor infiltration of CD4 and CD8 T cells. We have also showed that MTI-301 + anti-PD1 Ab + paclitaxel has significant antitumor activity compared to either agent alone. IHC analysis is ongoing. In real-word pt data, SCD1-H TNBC (N=791) had higher immune cell infiltration of M2 MΦ (2.95% vs. 2.58%) and neutrophils (4.5% vs. 4.1%) compared to SCD1-L (N=790), all q<0.05. SCD1-H had decreased IFNγ score (-0.29 vs -0.24), but increased MAPK activation score (-0.57 vs -1.77), all q<0.05. SCD1-H had higher levels of metabolic regulator genes (IL10, IL10RA, SOCS3, HIF1A, DUSP6, FC: 1.4-1.8), immune checkpoint genes (PDCD1, CTLA4, LAG3, TIGIT, VISTA, CD244, CD160, BTLA, HAVCR2, FC: 1.3-1.6), stem cell related genes (CD44, ALDH1A1, ALDH1A2, ALDH1A3, KLF4, NANOG, FC: 1.4-1.6) and markers of exhausted T cells (CXCL13, CD38, CD101, ENTPD1, CD69, CD103, KLRG1, PRF1, GZMB, FC: 1.2-1.7), all q<0.05. SCD1-H had enrichment of pathways related to oxidative phosphorylation, FA metabolism, PI3K/AKT/MTOR, EMT, DNA repair, TGF beta, P53 and inflammatory response (NES: 1.7-3.8, all FDR<0.25). SCD1-H had higher frequency of PIK3CA (18.1% vs 8.8%), PTEN (10.7% vs 5.2%), PIK3R1 (6.4% vs 2.3%), AKT1 (3.3% vs 1.3%) and NF1 (8.3% vs 2.7%) mutation compared to SCD1-L, all q<0.05. Conclusion: SCD1 high TNBC tumors are associated with immune suppressive TME, FA metabolism, and dysregulated PI3K pathway, positioning SCD1 as a metabolic driver of therapy resistance and immune evasion and support its targeting to enhance chemo-ICI efficacy. SCD1 inhibitor, MTI-301 significantly reduced tumor growth and enhanced effector immune cell infiltration in TNBC murine models with combinatorial activity with chemo-ICI, indicating that pharmacologic modulation of SCD1 is a promising strategy for cancer therapy. We will be conducting Phase I clinical trial with MTI-301 in pts with advanced tumors including TNBC (NCT NCT06911008). Citation Format: P. P. Advani, S. K. Deshmukh, R. Whetten, M. Redig, M. Pawlush, S. Wu, J. Xiu, J. P. Leone, S. Gandhi, M. Lustberg, G. Sledge Jr, J. Copland. Metabolic and immune reprogramming via SCD1 inhibition enhances chemo-immunotherapy response in TNBC [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium 2025; 2025 Dec 9-12; San Antonio, TX. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Clin Cancer Res 2026;32(4 Suppl):Abstract nr PS2-12-07.