The role of HLA variation in lymphoma aetiology and survival

Autoimmune Diseases and Risk of Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma: A Mendelian Randomisation Study

BACKGROUND

Non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) is one of the most common haematologic malignancies in the world. Despite substantial efforts to identify causes and risk factors for NHL, its aetiology is largely unclear. Autoimmune diseases have long been considered potential risk factors for NHL. We carried out Mendelian randomisation (MR) analyses to examine whether genetically predicted susceptibility to ten autoimmune diseases (Behçet's disease, coeliac disease, dermatitis herpetiformis, lupus, psoriasis, rheumatoid arthritis, sarcoidosis, Sjögren's syndrome, systemic sclerosis, and type 1 diabetes) is associated with risk of NHL.

METHODS

Two-sample MR was performed using publicly available summary statistics from cohorts of European ancestry. For NHL and four NHL subtypes, we used data from UK Biobank, Kaiser Permanente cohorts, and FinnGen studies.

RESULTS

Negative associations between type 1 diabetes and sarcoidosis and the risk of NHL were observed (odds ratio [OR] 0.95, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.92-0.98, p = 5 × 10-3, and OR 0.92, 95% CI: 0.85-0.99, p = 2.8 × 10-2, respectively). These findings were supported by the sensitivity analyses accounting for potential pleiotropy and weak instrument bias. No significant associations were found between the other eight autoimmune diseases and NHL risk.

CONCLUSION

These findings suggest that genetically predicted susceptibility to type 1 diabetes, and to some extent sarcoidosis, might reduce the risk of NHL. However, future studies with different datasets, approaches, and populations are warranted to further examine the potential associations between these autoimmune diseases and the risk of NHL.

HLA-DR genotypes in patients with primary Sjögren's syndrome in Taiwan

Different human leukocyte antigen (HLA) genotypes have been known to be associated with the risk of development of Sjögren's syndrome in different populations, but this association has never been reported in Taiwan. We enrolled 1044 subjects (673 patients, 371 controls) and tested their HLA-DR genotypes. We found an increased risk of Sjögren's syndrome in patients carrying HLA-DR8. DR1 and DR14 were associated with increased risk of eye involvement (uveitis, scleritis or optic neuritis), while DR15 was associated with increased risk of interstitial lung disease. DR8 was associated with increased risk of formation of multiple antibodies: anti-Ro, rheumatoid factor and antinuclear antibodies (ANA) reaching titer 1:80 or above. DR9 was associated with decreased risk of formation of anti-La antibodies and increased risk of formation of antithyroglobulin antibodies. DR10 was associated with risk of formation of anticyclic citrullinated peptide (anti-CCP) antibodies, and DR11 was associated with increased risk of formation of anti-La antibodies. Oral ulcer was found to be negatively associated with anti-Ro antibodies and with anti-ENA antibodies. Skin lesions were associated with ANA antibody titer elevation to 1:80 or above. Malignancies of any kind were associated with the presence of cryoglobulin. Females were more likely to be diagnosed at a younger age than males. There was no statistically significant relationship between HLA-DR genotype and age at disease diagnosis. In patients with Sjögren's syndrome in Taiwan, the presence of HLA-DR8 appeared to be a risk factor. In addition, we found several associations between HLA-DR genotype, clinical presentation, and autoantibody status among them.

Associations between end stage renal disease and HLA polymorphisms in the Guangxi Zhuang population

To investigate the genetic relationship between end stage renal disease (ESRD) and human leukocyte antigen (HLA) alleles in the Guangxi Zhuang population. We performed polymerase chain reaction reversed sequence-specific oligonucleotide (PCR-rSSO) in 325 patients with ESRD and genotyped the HLA-A, HLA-B, HLA-C, HLA-DRB1, and HLA-DQB1 loci. The direct counting method was used to determine the frequencies of HLA alleles, and Arlequin software (version 3.5.2.2) was used for haplotypic frequency analyses to compare the included ESRD patients with 350 healthy donors from the Guangxi Zhuang population. In our study, 120 HLA alleles, 284 HLA-A-B-DRB1 haplotypes, and 332 HLA-A-C-B-DRB1-DQB1 haplotypes were detected. We found that only A*11:01-B*15:02-DRB1*12:02 had a positive association with ESRD (P = 0.001, Pc = 0.020, OR = 3.106, 95% CI = 1.497-6.446) after Bonferroni correction; thus, individuals with this haplotype may be susceptible to ESRD. A*11:01-B*15:02-DRB1*12:02 is a potentially valuable haplotype for evaluating the risk of ESRD in the Guangxi Zhuang population.

Haplotype analysis identifies functional elements in monoclonal gammopathy of unknown significance

Genome-wide association studies (GWASs) based on common single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) have identified several loci associated with the risk of monoclonal gammopathy of unknown significance (MGUS), a precursor condition for multiple myeloma (MM). We hypothesized that analyzing haplotypes might be more useful than analyzing individual SNPs, as it could identify functional chromosomal units that collectively contribute to MGUS risk. To test this hypothesis, we used data from our previous GWAS on 992 MGUS cases and 2910 controls from three European populations. We identified 23 haplotypes that were associated with the risk of MGUS at the genome-wide significance level (p < 5 × 10-8) and showed consistent results among all three populations. In 10 genomic regions, strong promoter, enhancer and regulatory element-related histone marks and their connections to target genes as well as genome segmentation data supported the importance of these regions in MGUS susceptibility. Several associated haplotypes affected pathways important for MM cell survival such as ubiquitin-proteasome system (RNF186, OTUD3), PI3K/AKT/mTOR (HINT3), innate immunity (SEC14L1, ZBP1), cell death regulation (BID) and NOTCH signaling (RBPJ). These pathways are important current therapeutic targets for MM, which may highlight the advantage of the haplotype approach homing to functional units.

Integrative analysis reveals novel insights into juvenile idiopathic arthritis pathogenesis and shared molecular pathways with associated traits

Background

Juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) is an autoimmune joint disease that frequently co-occurs with other complex phenotypes, including cancers and other autoimmune diseases. Despite the identification of numerous risk variants through genome-wide association studies (GWAS), the affected genes, their connection to JIA pathogenesis, and their role in the development of associated traits remain unclear. This study aims to address these gaps by elucidating the gene-regulatory mechanisms underlying JIA pathogenesis and exploring its potential role in the emergence of associated traits.

Methods

A two-sample Mendelian Randomization (MR) analysis was conducted to identify blood-expressed genes causally linked to JIA. A curated protein interaction network was subsequently used to identify sets of single-nucleotide polymorphisms (i.e., spatial eQTL SNPs) that regulate the expression of JIA causal genes and their protein interaction partners. These SNPs were cross-referenced against the GWAS catalog to identify statistically enriched traits associated with JIA.

Results

The two-sample MR analysis identified 52 genes whose expression changes in the blood are putatively causal for JIA. These genes (e.g., HLA, LTA, LTB, IL6ST) participate in a range of immune-related pathways (e.g., antigen presentation, cytokine signalling) and demonstrate cell type-specific regulatory patterns across different immune cell types (e.g., PPP1R11 in CD4+ T cells). The spatial eQTLs that regulate JIA causal genes and their interaction partners were statistically enriched for GWAS SNPs linked with 95 other traits, including both known and novel JIA-associated traits. This integrative analysis identified genes whose dysregulation may explain the links between JIA and associated traits, such as autoimmune/inflammatory diseases (genes at 6p22.1 locus), Hodgkin lymphoma (genes at 6p21.3 [FKBPL, PBX2, AGER]), and chronic lymphocytic leukemia (BAK1).

Conclusion

Our approach provides a significant advance in understanding the genetic architecture of JIA and associated traits. The results suggest that the burden of associated traits may differ among JIA patients, influenced by their combined genetic risk across different clusters of traits. Future experimental validation of the identified connections could pave the way for refined patient stratification, the discovery of new biomarkers, and shared therapeutic targets.

Genetic Markers of Acute Childhood B-Lineage Lymphoblastic Leukemia in the Kazakh Population

INTRODUCTION

To investigate the genetic contribution of 24 GWAS-associated polymorphic gene variants on the development of children's B-lineage acute lymphoblastic leukemia (B-ALL) in an ethnically homogeneous population of Kazakhs.

METHODS

A study of 205 children with B-ALL and 204 healthy children was conducted. Genotyping of polymorphic loci was carried out using the TaqMan method.

RESULTS

Significant associations (p < 0.05) with the risk of childhood B-ALL were found for twelve variants, including rs6457327 of the HLA gene, rs4251961 of the IL1RN gene, and rs1800630 of the TNF gene. Carriage of the minor allele A of the protective rs1801157 polymorphism A of the CXCL12 gene reduces the risk of B-ALL in the Kazakh population by 40%.

DISCUSSION

The results reveal significant associations of polymorphic genetic variants, which can serve as a basis for the development of effective methods for predicting the risk of B-ALL, early diagnosis, and timely treatment.

Oral and non-oral lichen planus show genetic heterogeneity and differential risk for autoimmune disease and oral cancer

Lichen planus (LP) is a T-cell-mediated inflammatory disease affecting squamous epithelia in many parts of the body, most often the skin and oral mucosa. Cutaneous LP is usually transient and oral LP (OLP) is most often chronic, so we performed a large-scale genetic and epidemiological study of LP to address whether the oral and non-oral subgroups have shared or distinct underlying pathologies and their overlap with autoimmune disease. Using lifelong records covering diagnoses, procedures, and clinic identity from 473,580 individuals in the FinnGen study, genome-wide association analyses were conducted on carefully constructed subcategories of OLP (n = 3,323) and non-oral LP (n = 4,356) and on the combined group. We identified 15 genome-wide significant associations in FinnGen and an additional 12 when meta-analyzed with UKBB (27 independent associations at 25 distinct genomic locations), most of which are shared between oral and non-oral LP. Many associations coincide with known autoimmune disease loci, consistent with the epidemiologic enrichment of LP with hypothyroidism and other autoimmune diseases. Notably, a third of the FinnGen associations demonstrate significant differences between OLP and non-OLP. We also observed a 13.6-fold risk for tongue cancer and an elevated risk for other oral cancers in OLP, in agreement with earlier reports that connect LP with higher cancer incidence. In addition to a large-scale dissection of LP genetics and comorbidities, our study demonstrates the use of comprehensive, multidimensional health registry data to address outstanding clinical questions and reveal underlying biological mechanisms in common but understudied diseases.

HLA variations in patients with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma and association with disease risk and prognosis: a case-control study

Introduction

Human leukocyte antigen (HLA) polymorphisms have been associated with the development of various autoimmune diseases, as well as malignant neoplasms. Non-Hodgkin lymphomas (NHLs) are a heterogenous group of lymphoid malignancies in which a genetic substrate has been established and is deemed to play a crucial role in disease pathogenesis. This study aimed to identify whether variations in the HLA gene region were associated with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) risk and prognosis.

Methods

We defined HLA class I (HLA-A, HLA-B, HLA-C) and class II (HLA-DRB1, HLA-DQB1) alleles in 60 patients with DLBCL and compared the results to those found by 236 healthy adult donors from the bone marrow bank of Northern Greece. HLA typing was performed by two molecular methods, Sequence - Specific Oligonucleotide HLA typing (SSO) and Sequence - Specific Primer HLA typing (SSP), from white blood cells recovered from peripheral blood. The phenotypic frequencies of HLA-A, HLA-B, HLA-C, HLA-DRB1 and HLA-DQB1 between patients and controls were compared with the 2-sided Fisher's exact test. Results with p-value <0.05 were considered statistically significant. Odds Ratios with 95% Confidence Intervals were calculated to further strengthen the results. The 2-sided Fisher's exact test was also applied to alleles found only in one of the two groups, while the odds ratios together with the confidence intervals were corrected with Haldane-Anscombe method.

Results

Among the studied HLA polymorphisms, the frequency HLA-C*12 allele was significantly lower in patients with DLBCL compared with control subjects (6.7% vs. 34.7%, OR = 0.16, 95% CI: 0.04-0.44). Frequency of HLA-B*39 was significantly lower in patients with DLBCL compared with controls, but due to the low frequency of this polymorphism in the studied population and small sample size, determinations regarding the significance of this findings were limited. Survival analysis revealed that the presence of HLA-C*12 was not associated with improved or worsened overall and progression-free survival. No statistically significant associations were observed in the phenotypic frequencies of HLA-A, HLA-DQB1, HLA-DRB1 and the rest of HLA-B alleles between the control and DLBCL groups.

Discussion

Collectively, our results provide valuable insight regarding the role of HLA variations on DLBCL risk. Further studies are required to consolidate our findings and ascertain the clinical implications of these genetic variations on DLBCL management and prognosis.

Investigation of HLA susceptibility alleles and genotypes with hematological disease among Chinese Han population

Several genes involved in the pathogenesis have been identified, with the human leukocyte antigen (HLA) system playing an essential role. However, the relationship between HLA and a cluster of hematological diseases has received little attention in China. Blood samples (n = 123913) from 43568 patients and 80345 individuals without known pathology were genotyped for HLA class I and II using sequencing-based typing. We discovered that HLA-A*11:01, B*40:01, C*01:02, DQB1*03:01, and DRB1*09:01 were prevalent in China. Furthermore, three high-frequency alleles (DQB1*03:01, DQB1*06:02, and DRB1*15:01) were found to be hazardous in malignant hematologic diseases when compared to controls. In addition, for benign hematologic disorders, 7 high-frequency risk alleles (A*01:01, B*46:01, C*01:02, DQB1*03:03, DQB1*05:02, DRB1*09:01, and DRB1*14:54) and 8 high-frequency susceptible genotypes (A*11:01-A*11:01, B*46:01-B*58:01, B*46:01-B*46:01, C*01:02-C*03:04, DQB1*03:01-DQB1*05:02, DQB1*03:03-DQB1*06:01, DRB1*09:01-DRB1*15:01, and DRB1*14:54-DRB1*15:01) were observed. To summarize, our findings indicate the association between HLA alleles/genotypes and a variety of hematological disorders, which is critical for disease surveillance.

HLA Gene Polymorphisms in Romanian Patients with Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia

Materials and Methods

This study included 66 patients with CLL, diagnosed between 2020 and 2022, and 100 healthy controls. HLA class I and class II genes (HLA-A/B/C, HLA-DQA1/DQB1/DPA1/DPB1, and HLA-DRB1/3/4/5) were investigated using next-generation sequencing technology.

Results

Several HLA alleles were strongly associated with CLL. The most important finding was that HLA-DRB1∗04:02:01 (p=0.001, OR = 1.05) and HLA-DRB3∗02:01:01 (p=0.009, OR = 1.03) have a predisposing role in CLL development. Moreover, we identified that HLA-A∗24:02:01 0.01 (p=0.01, OR = 0.38), HLA-DQA1∗05:05:01 (p=0.01, OR = 0.56), HLA-DQB1∗03:02:01 (p=0.03, OR = 0.40), and HLA-DRB4∗01:03:01 (p=0.03, OR = 0.54 alleles have protective roles. Correlations between HLA expression and gender showed that women had a higher expression of protective HLA alleles when compared to men.

Conclusions

Our data are the first to indicate that in Romanian patients with CLL, the HLA-A∗24:02:01 and HLA-DQA1∗05:05:01 alleles have a protective role against CLL development, whereas HLA-DRB1∗04:02:01 and HLA-DRB3∗02:01:01alleles are positively associated with CLL.

Immunogenetic Background of Chronic Lymphoproliferative Disorders in Romanian Patients-Case Control Study

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES

The implications of the genetic component in the initiation and development of chronic lymphoproliferative disorders have been the subject of intense research efforts. Some of the most important genes involved in the occurrence and evolution of these pathologies are the HLA genes. The aim of this study is to analyze, for the first time, possible associations between chronic lymphoproliferative diseases and certain HLA alleles in the Romanian population.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

This study included 38 patients with chronic lymphoproliferative disorders, diagnosed between 2021 and 2022 at Fundeni Clinical Institute, Bucharest, Romania, and 50 healthy controls. HLA class I and class II genes (HLA-A/B/C, HLA-DQB1/DPB1/DRB1) were investigated by doing high resolution genotyping using sequence specific primers (SSP).

RESULTS

Several HLA alleles were strongly associated with chronic lymphoproliferative disorders. The most important finding was that the HLA-C*02:02 (p = 0.002, OR = 1.101), and HLA-C*12:02 (p = 0.002, OR = 1.101) have a predisposing role in the development of chronic lymphoproliferative disorders. Moreover, we identified that HLA-A*11:01 (p = 0.01, OR = 0.16), HLA-B*35:02 (p = 0.037, OR = 0.94), HLA-B*81:01 (p = 0.037, OR = 0.94), HLA-C*07:02 (p = 0.036, OR = 0.34), HLA-DRB1*11:01 (p = 0.021, OR = 0.19), and HLA-DRB1*13:02 (p = 0.037, OR = 0.94), alleles have protective roles.

CONCLUSIONS

Our study indicates that HLA-C*02:02 and HLA-C*12:02 are positively associated with chronic lymphoproliferative disorders for our Romanian patients while HLA-DRB1*11:01, HLA-DRB1*13:02, and HLA-B*35:02 alleles have a protective role against these diseases.

Autoimmune diseases and risk of non-Hodgkin lymphoma: A Mendelian randomisation study

Objective

To examine whether genetically predicted susceptibility to ten autoimmune diseases (Behçet's disease, coeliac disease, dermatitis herpetiformis, lupus, psoriasis, rheumatoid arthritis, sarcoidosis, Sjögren's syndrome, systemic sclerosis, and type 1 diabetes) is associated with risk of non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL).

Design

Two sample Mendelian randomization (MR) study.

Setting

Genome wide association studies (GWASs) of ten autoimmune diseases, NHL, and four NHL subtypes (i.e., follicular lymphoma, mature T/natural killer-cell lymphomas, non-follicular lymphoma, and other and unspecified types of NHL).

Analysis

We used data from the largest publicly available GWASs of European ancestry for each autoimmune disease, NHL, and NHL subtypes. For each autoimmune disease, we extracted single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) strongly associated (P < 5×10-8) with that disease and that were independent of one another (R2 < 1×10-3) as genetic instruments. SNPs within the human leukocyte antigen region were not considered due to potential pleiotropy. Our primary MR analysis was the inverse-variance weighted analysis. Additionally, we conducted MR-Egger, weighted mode, and weighted median regression to address potential bias due to pleiotropy, and robust adjusted profile scores to address weak instrument bias. We carried out sensitivity analysis limited to the non-immune pathway for nominally significant findings. To account for multiple testing, we set the thresholds for statistical significance at P < 5×10-3.

Participants

The number of cases and controls identified in the relevant GWASs were 437 and 3,325 for Behçet's disease, 4,918 and 5,684 for coeliac disease, 435 and 341,188 for dermatitis herpetiformis, 4,576 and 8,039 for lupus, 11,988 and 275,335 for psoriasis, 22,350 and 74,823 for rheumatoid arthritis, 3,597 and 337,121 for sarcoidosis, 2,735 and 332,115 for Sjögren's syndrome, 9,095 and 17,584 for systemic sclerosis, 18,942 and 501,638 for type 1 diabetes, 2,400 and 410,350 for NHL; and 296 to 2,340 cases and 271,463 controls for NHL subtypes.

Exposures

Genetic variants predicting ten autoimmune diseases: Behçet's disease, coeliac disease, dermatitis herpetiformis, lupus, psoriasis, rheumatoid arthritis, sarcoidosis, Sjögren's syndrome, systemic sclerosis, and type 1 diabetes.

Main outcome measures

Estimated associations between genetically predicted susceptibility to ten autoimmune diseases and the risk of NHL.

Results

The variance of each autoimmune disease explained by the SNPs ranged from 0.3% to 3.1%. Negative associations between type 1 diabetes and sarcoidosis and the risk of NHL were observed (odds ratio [OR] 0.95, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.92 to 0.98, P = 5×10-3, and OR 0.92, 95% CI: 0.85 to 0.99, P = 2.8×10-2, respectively). These findings were supported by the sensitivity analyses accounting for potential pleiotropy and weak instrument bias. No significant associations were found between the other eight autoimmune diseases and NHL risk. Of the NHL subtypes, type 1 diabetes was most strongly associated with follicular lymphoma (OR 0.91, 95% CI: 0.86 to 0.96, P = 1×10-3), while sarcoidosis was most strongly associated with other and unspecified NHL (OR 0.86, 95% CI: 0.75 to 0.97, P = 1.8×10-2).

Conclusions

These findings suggest that genetically predicted susceptibility to type 1 diabetes, and to some extent sarcoidosis, might reduce the risk of NHL. However, future studies with different datasets, approaches, and populations are warranted to further examine the potential associations between these autoimmune diseases and the risk of NHL.

Epidemiology and etiology of diffuse large B-cell lymphoma

As the most common non-Hodgkin lymphoma subtype, diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) incidence patterns generally parallel that for NHL overall. Globally, DLBCL accounts for a third of all NHLs, ranging between 20% and 50% by country. Based on United States (U.S.) cancer registry data, age-standardized incidence rate for DLBCL was 7.2 per 100,000. DLBCL incidence rises with age and is generally higher in males than females; in the U.S., incidence is highest among non-Hispanic whites (9.2/100,000). Like NHL incidence, DLBCL incidence rose in the first half of the 20th century but has largely plateaued. However, there is some evidence that incidence rates are rising in areas of historically low rates, such as Asia; there are also estimates for rising DLBCL incidence in the near future due to the changing demographics in developed countries whose aging population is growing. Established risk factors for DLBCL include those that result in severe immune deficiency such as HIV/AIDS, inherited immunodeficiency syndromes, and organ transplant recipients. Factors that lead to chronic immune dysregulations are also established risk factors, and include a number of autoimmune conditions (eg, Sjögren syndrome, systemic lupus erythematosus, rheumatoid arthritis), viral infections (eg, HIV, KSHV/HHV8, HCV, EBV), and obesity. Family history of NHL/DLBCL, personal history of cancer, and multiple genetic susceptibility loci are also well-established risk factors for DLBCL. There is strong evidence for multiple environmental exposures in DLBCL etiology, including exposure to trichloroethylene, benzene, and pesticides and herbicides, with recent associations noted with glyphosate. There is also strong evidence for associations with other viruses, such as HBV. Recent estimates suggest that obesity accounts for nearly a quarter of DLBCLs that develop, but despite recent gains in the understanding of DLBCL etiology, the majority of disease remain unexplained. An understanding of the host and environmental contributions to disease etiology, and concerted efforts to expand our understanding to multiple race/ethnic groups, will be essential for constructing clinically relevant risk prediction models and develop effective strategies for disease prevention.

HLA-A*02:06 allele may be susceptible to myelodysplastic syndrome in Zhejiang Han population, China

The association between HLA loci and haematological malignancy has been reported in certain populations. However, there are limited data for HLA loci at a high-resolution level with haematological malignancy in China. In this study, a total of 1115 patients with haematological malignancies (including 490 AML, 410 acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL), 122 myelodysplastic syndrome [MDS] and 93 non-Hodgkin's lymphoma [NHL]) and 1836 healthy individuals as a control group in the Han population of Zhejiang Province, China, were genotyped for HLA-A, HLA-C, HLA-B, HLA-DRB1 and HLA-DQB1 loci at high resolution. The possible association between HLA alleles and haplotypes and haematologic malignancy was analysed. The allele frequencies (AFs) of HLA-A*02:05, HLA-A*02:06, HLA-A*32:01, HLA-B*35:03, HLA-B*54:01, HLA-B*55:07, HLA-DRB1*04:05, HLA-DRB1*15:01, HLA-DQB1*04:01 and HLA-DQB1*06:02 in the MDS patients were much higher than those in the control group (P < 0.05), while the AFs of HLA-C*07:02, HLA-DRB1*03:01, HLA-DRB1*14:54, HLA-DQB1*02:01 and HLA-DQB1*05:03 were obviously lower than those in the control group (p < .05). Interestingly, the differences in these HLA alleles in patients with MDS were not significant after applying Bonferroni correction (Pc > .05), except for HLA-A*02:06 (Pc < .01). There were 13, 6 and 10 HLA alleles with uncorrected significant differences (p < .05) among patients with AML, ALL and NHL, respectively, compared with those in the control group, but the differences in these HLA alleles were not significant after correction (Pc > .05). Compared to those of the control group, there were some haplotypes over 1.00% frequency in patients with AML, MDS and NHL patients with uncorrected significant differences (p < .05). However, none of them showed a significant difference after correction as well (Pc > .05). The study reveals that HLA-A*02:06 may lead to susceptibility to MDS, but none of the HLA alleles were associated with AML, ALL or NHL after correction. These data will help to further understand the role of HLA loci in the pathogenesis of haematological malignancy in China.

Association between the IL-1A, IL-1B and IL-1R polymorphisms and lymphoma

We investigate the impact of IL-1A, IL-1B and IL-1R1 polymorphism on lymphoma. This study consisted of 155 Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL) patients 55 Hodgkin's lymphoma (HL) patients and 150 healthy individuals. PCR-RFLP method and ARMS PCR were used for genotyping of IL-1A rs3783553, IL-1B rs3917356, rs16944, IL-1R1 rs10490571 and IL-1A rs3783550 polymorphism. The results showed that the CC genotype of rs3783550 as well Ins/del of rs3783553 increased the risk of NHL. In contrast the AG genotype of rs3917356 and AG also AG + AA genotype of rs10490571 decreased the risk of NHL. The result revealed that the CC genotype of rs3783550 and AG genotype of rs3917356 increased risk of HL.

Tracking the Genetic Susceptibility Background of B-Cell Non-Hodgkin's Lymphomas from Genome-Wide Association Studies

B-cell non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma (NHL) risk associations had been mainly attributed to family history of the disease, inflammation, and immune components including human leukocyte antigen (HLA) genetic variations. Nevertheless, a broad range of genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have shed light into the identification of several genetic variants presumptively associated with B-cell NHL etiologies, survival or shared genetic risk with other diseases. The present review aims to overview HLA structure and diversity and summarize the evidence of genetic variations, by GWAS, on five NHL subtypes (diffuse large B-cell lymphoma DLBCL, follicular lymphoma FL, chronic lymphocytic leukemia CLL, marginal zone lymphoma MZL, and primary central nervous system lymphoma PCNSL). Evidence indicates that the HLA zygosity status in B-cell NHL might promote immune escape and that genome-wide significance variants can give biological insight but also potential therapeutic markers such as WEE1 in DLBCL. However, additional studies are needed, especially for non-DLBCL, to replicate the associations found to date.

HLA genotyping meets response to immune checkpoint inhibitors prediction: A story just started

The implementation of the immune checkpoint blockade as a therapeutic option in contemporary oncology is one of the significant immunological achievements in the last century. Constantly accumulating evidence suggests that the response to immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) is not universal. Therefore, it is critical to identify determinants for response, resistance and adverse effects of immune checkpoint therapy that could be developed as prognostic and predictive markers. Recent large scale analyses of cancer genome data revealed the key role of HLA class I and class II molecules in cancer immunoediting, and it appears that HLA diversity can predict response to ICIs. In the present review, we summarize the emerging data on the role of HLA germline variations as a marker for response to ICIs.

HDACi mediate UNG2 depletion, dysregulated genomic uracil and altered expression of oncoproteins and tumor suppressors in B- and T-cell lines

BACKGROUND

HDAC inhibitors (HDACi) belong to a new group of chemotherapeutics that are increasingly used in the treatment of lymphocyte-derived malignancies, but their mechanisms of action remain poorly understood. Here we aimed to identify novel protein targets of HDACi in B- and T-lymphoma cell lines and to verify selected candidates across several mammalian cell lines.

METHODS

Jurkat T- and SUDHL5 B-lymphocytes were treated with the HDACi SAHA (vorinostat) prior to SILAC-based quantitative proteome analysis. Selected differentially expressed proteins were verified by targeted mass spectrometry, RT-PCR and western analysis in multiple mammalian cell lines. Genomic uracil was quantified by LC-MS/MS, cell cycle distribution analyzed by flow cytometry and class switch recombination monitored by FACS in murine CH12F3 cells.

RESULTS

SAHA treatment resulted in differential expression of 125 and 89 proteins in Jurkat and SUDHL5, respectively, of which 19 were commonly affected. Among these were several oncoproteins and tumor suppressors previously not reported to be affected by HDACi. Several key enzymes determining the cellular dUTP/dTTP ratio were downregulated and in both cell lines we found robust depletion of UNG2, the major glycosylase in genomic uracil sanitation. UNG2 depletion was accompanied by hyperacetylation and mediated by increased proteasomal degradation independent of cell cycle stage. UNG2 degradation appeared to be ubiquitous and was observed across several mammalian cell lines of different origin and with several HDACis. Loss of UNG2 was accompanied by 30-40% increase in genomic uracil in freely cycling HEK cells and reduced immunoglobulin class-switch recombination in murine CH12F3 cells.

CONCLUSION

We describe several oncoproteins and tumor suppressors previously not reported to be affected by HDACi in previous transcriptome analyses, underscoring the importance of proteome analysis to identify cellular effectors of HDACi treatment. The apparently ubiquitous depletion of UNG2 and PCLAF establishes DNA base excision repair and translesion synthesis as novel pathways affected by HDACi treatment. Dysregulated genomic uracil homeostasis may aid interpretation of HDACi effects in cancer cells and further advance studies on this class of inhibitors in the treatment of APOBEC-expressing tumors, autoimmune disease and HIV-1.