MiR-15a-5p Confers Chemoresistance in Acute Myeloid Leukemia by Inhibiting Autophagy Induced by Daunorubicin

Anthracyclines remain a cornerstone of induction chemotherapy for acute myeloid leukemia (AML). Refractory or relapsed disease due to chemotherapy resistance is a major obstacle in AML management. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) have been observed to be involved in chemoresistance. We previously observed that miR-15a-5p was overexpressed in a subgroup of chemoresistant cytogenetically normal AML patients compared with chemosensitive patients treated with daunorubicin and cytarabine. MiR-15a-5p overexpression in AML cells reduced Apoptosis induced by both drugs in vitro. This study aimed to elucidate the mechanisms by which miR-15a-5p contributes to daunorubicin resistance. We showed that daunorubicin induced Autophagy in myeloid cell lines. The inhibition of Autophagy reduced cell sensitivity to daunorubicin. The overexpression of miR-15a-5p decreased daunorubicin-induced Autophagy. Conversely, the downregulation of miR-15a-5p increased daunorubicin-induced Autophagy. We found that miR-15a-5p targeted four genes involved in Autophagy, namely ATG9a, ATG14, GABARAPL1 and SMPD1. Daunorubicin increased the expression of these four genes, and miR-15a-5p counteracted this regulation. Inhibition experiments with the four target genes showed the functional effect of miR-15a-5p on Autophagy. In summary, our results indicated that miR-15a-5p induces chemoresistance in AML cells through the abrogation of daunorubicin-induced Autophagy, suggesting that miR-15a-5p could be a promising therapeutic target for chemoresistant AML patients.