1
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Malyukova A, Lahnalampi M, Falqués-Costa T, Pölönen P, Sipola M, Mehtonen J, Teppo S, Akopyan K, Viiliainen J, Lohi O, Hagström-Andersson AK, Heinäniemi M, Sangfelt O. Sequential drug treatment targeting cell cycle and cell fate regulatory programs blocks non-genetic cancer evolution in acute lymphoblastic leukemia. Genome Biol 2024; 25:143. [PMID: 38822412 PMCID: PMC11143599 DOI: 10.1186/s13059-024-03260-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/15/2023] [Accepted: 04/26/2024] [Indexed: 06/03/2024] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Targeted therapies exploiting vulnerabilities of cancer cells hold promise for improving patient outcome and reducing side-effects of chemotherapy. However, efficacy of precision therapies is limited in part because of tumor cell heterogeneity. A better mechanistic understanding of how drug effect is linked to cancer cell state diversity is crucial for identifying effective combination therapies that can prevent disease recurrence. RESULTS Here, we characterize the effect of G2/M checkpoint inhibition in acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) and demonstrate that WEE1 targeted therapy impinges on cell fate decision regulatory circuits. We find the highest inhibition of recovery of proliferation in ALL cells with KMT2A-rearrangements. Single-cell RNA-seq and ATAC-seq of RS4;11 cells harboring KMT2A::AFF1, treated with the WEE1 inhibitor AZD1775, reveal diversification of cell states, with a fraction of cells exhibiting strong activation of p53-driven processes linked to apoptosis and senescence, and disruption of a core KMT2A-RUNX1-MYC regulatory network. In this cell state diversification induced by WEE1 inhibition, a subpopulation transitions to a drug tolerant cell state characterized by activation of transcription factors regulating pre-B cell fate, lipid metabolism, and pre-BCR signaling in a reversible manner. Sequential treatment with BCR-signaling inhibitors dasatinib, ibrutinib, or perturbing metabolism by fatostatin or AZD2014 effectively counteracts drug tolerance by inducing cell death and repressing stemness markers. CONCLUSIONS Collectively, our findings provide new insights into the tight connectivity of gene regulatory programs associated with cell cycle and cell fate regulation, and a rationale for sequential administration of WEE1 inhibitors with low toxicity inhibitors of pre-BCR signaling or metabolism.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alena Malyukova
- Department of Cell and Molecular Biology, Karolinska Institutet, Biomedicum, Solnavägen 9, 171 77, Stockholm, Sweden.
| | - Mari Lahnalampi
- The Institute of Biomedicine, School of Medicine, University of Eastern Finland, Kuopio, Finland
| | - Ton Falqués-Costa
- Division of Clinical Genetics, Department of Laboratory Medicine, Lund University, Lund, Sweden
| | - Petri Pölönen
- The Institute of Biomedicine, School of Medicine, University of Eastern Finland, Kuopio, Finland
| | - Mikko Sipola
- The Institute of Biomedicine, School of Medicine, University of Eastern Finland, Kuopio, Finland
| | - Juha Mehtonen
- The Institute of Biomedicine, School of Medicine, University of Eastern Finland, Kuopio, Finland
| | - Susanna Teppo
- Tampere Center for Child, Adolescent and Maternal Health Research, Faculty of Medicine and Health Technology, Tampere University and Tays Cancer Center, Tampere University Hospital, Tampere, Finland
| | - Karen Akopyan
- Department of Cell and Molecular Biology, Karolinska Institutet, Biomedicum, Solnavägen 9, 171 77, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Johanna Viiliainen
- Department of Cell and Molecular Biology, Karolinska Institutet, Biomedicum, Solnavägen 9, 171 77, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Olli Lohi
- Tampere Center for Child, Adolescent and Maternal Health Research, Faculty of Medicine and Health Technology, Tampere University and Tays Cancer Center, Tampere University Hospital, Tampere, Finland
| | | | - Merja Heinäniemi
- The Institute of Biomedicine, School of Medicine, University of Eastern Finland, Kuopio, Finland.
| | - Olle Sangfelt
- Department of Cell and Molecular Biology, Karolinska Institutet, Biomedicum, Solnavägen 9, 171 77, Stockholm, Sweden.
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2
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Benítez L, Castro-Barquero S, Crispi F, Youssef L, Crovetto F, Fischer U, Kameri E, Bueno C, Camos M, Menéndez P, Heinäniemi M, Borkhardt A, Gratacós E. Maternal Lifestyle and Prenatal Risk Factors for Childhood Leukemia: A Review of the Existing Evidence. Fetal Diagn Ther 2024; 51:395-410. [PMID: 38710162 DOI: 10.1159/000539141] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/07/2024] [Accepted: 04/12/2024] [Indexed: 05/08/2024]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Acute leukemia is the most common pediatric cancer, with an incidence peak at 2-5 years of age. Despite the medical advances improving survival rates, children suffer from significant side effects of treatments as well as its high social and economic impact. The frequent prenatal origin of this developmental disease follows the two-hit carcinogenesis model established in the 70s: a first hit in prenatal life with the creation of genetic fusion lesions or aneuploidy in hematopoietic progenitor/stem cells, and usually a second hit in the pediatric age that converts the preleukemic clone into clinical leukemia. Previous research has mostly focused on postnatal environmental factors triggering the second hit. SUMMARY There is scarce evidence on prenatal risk factors associated with the first hit. Mainly retrospective case-control studies suggested several environmental and lifestyle determinants as risk factors. If these associations could be confirmed, interventions focused on modifying prenatal factors might influence the subsequent risk of leukemia during childhood and reveal unexplored research avenues for the future. In this review, we aim to comprehensively summarize the currently available evidence on prenatal risk factors for the development of childhood leukemia. According to the findings of this review, parental age, ethnicity, maternal diet, folate intake, alcohol consumption, X-ray exposure, pesticides, perinatal infections, and fetal growth may have a significant role in the appearance of preleukemic lesions during fetal life. Other factors such as socioeconomic status, consumption of caffeinated beverages, and smoking consumption have been suggested with inconclusive evidence. Additionally, investigating the association between prenatal factors and genetic lesions associated with childhood leukemia at birth is crucial. Prospective studies evaluating the link between lifestyle factors and genetic alterations could provide indirect evidence supporting new research avenues for leukemia prevention. Maternal diet and lifestyle factors are modifiable determinants associated with adverse perinatal outcomes that could be also related to preleukemic lesions. KEY MESSAGES Parental age, ethnicity, maternal diet, folate intake, alcohol consumption, X-ray exposure, pesticides, perinatal infections, and fetal growth may have a significant role in the appearance of preleukemic lesions during fetal life. Dedicating efforts to studying maternal lifestyle during pregnancy and its association with genetic lesions leading to childhood leukemia could lead to novel prevention strategies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Leticia Benítez
- BCNatal Fetal Medicine Research Center (Hospital Clínic and Hospital Sant Joan de Déu), Institut d'Investigacions Biomèdiques August Pi i Sunyer (IDIBAPS), University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain,
| | - Sara Castro-Barquero
- BCNatal Fetal Medicine Research Center (Hospital Clínic and Hospital Sant Joan de Déu), Institut d'Investigacions Biomèdiques August Pi i Sunyer (IDIBAPS), University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Fàtima Crispi
- BCNatal Fetal Medicine Research Center (Hospital Clínic and Hospital Sant Joan de Déu), Institut d'Investigacions Biomèdiques August Pi i Sunyer (IDIBAPS), University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Lina Youssef
- BCNatal Fetal Medicine Research Center (Hospital Clínic and Hospital Sant Joan de Déu), Institut d'Investigacions Biomèdiques August Pi i Sunyer (IDIBAPS), University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
- Josep Carreras Leukemia Research Institute and Department of Biomedicine, School of Medicine, University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Francesca Crovetto
- BCNatal Fetal Medicine Research Center (Hospital Clínic and Hospital Sant Joan de Déu), Institut d'Investigacions Biomèdiques August Pi i Sunyer (IDIBAPS), University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Ute Fischer
- Department of Pediatric Oncology, Hematology and Clinical Immunology, University Children's Hospital, Medical Faculty, Heinrich Heine University, Düsseldorf, Germany
- German Cancer Consortium (DKTK), partner site Essen/Düsseldorf, Düsseldorf, Germany
| | - Ersen Kameri
- Department of Pediatric Oncology, Hematology and Clinical Immunology, University Children's Hospital, Medical Faculty, Heinrich Heine University, Düsseldorf, Germany
| | - Clara Bueno
- Stem Cell Biology, Developmental Leukemia and Immunotherapy Group, Josep Carreras Leukemia Research Institute, Barcelona, Spain
- RICORS-TERAV Network, ISCIII, Madrid, Spain
- Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Cáncer (CIBERONC), ISCIII, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Mireia Camos
- Department of Pediatric Oncology and Hematology, Hospital Sant Joan de Déu, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Pablo Menéndez
- Stem Cell Biology, Developmental Leukemia and Immunotherapy Group, Josep Carreras Leukemia Research Institute, Barcelona, Spain
- RICORS-TERAV Network, ISCIII, Madrid, Spain
- Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Cáncer (CIBERONC), ISCIII, Barcelona, Spain
- Department of Biomedicine, School of Medicine, University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
- Instituciò Catalana de Recerca i Estudis Avançats (ICREA), Barcelona, Spain
| | - Merja Heinäniemi
- Institute of Biomedicine, School of Medicine, University of Finland, Kuopio, Finland
| | - Arndt Borkhardt
- Department of Pediatric Oncology, Hematology and Clinical Immunology, University Children's Hospital, Medical Faculty, Heinrich Heine University, Düsseldorf, Germany
- German Cancer Consortium (DKTK), partner site Essen/Düsseldorf, Düsseldorf, Germany
| | - Eduard Gratacós
- BCNatal Fetal Medicine Research Center (Hospital Clínic and Hospital Sant Joan de Déu), Institut d'Investigacions Biomèdiques August Pi i Sunyer (IDIBAPS), University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
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3
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Zapilko V, Moisio S, Parikka M, Heinäniemi M, Lohi O. Generation of a Zebrafish Knock-In Model Recapitulating Childhood ETV6::RUNX1-Positive B-Cell Precursor Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia. Cancers (Basel) 2023; 15:5821. [PMID: 38136366 PMCID: PMC10871125 DOI: 10.3390/cancers15245821] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/20/2023] [Revised: 12/10/2023] [Accepted: 12/11/2023] [Indexed: 12/24/2023] Open
Abstract
Approximately 25% of children with B-cell precursor acute lymphoblastic leukemia (pB-ALL) harbor the t(12;21)(p13;q22) translocation, leading to the ETV6::RUNX1 (E::R) fusion gene. This translocation occurs in utero, but the disease is much less common than the prevalence of the fusion in newborns, suggesting that secondary mutations are required for overt leukemia. The role of these secondary mutations remains unclear and may contribute to treatment resistance and disease recurrence. We developed a zebrafish model for E::R leukemia using CRISPR/Cas9 to introduce the human RUNX1 gene into zebrafish etv6 intron 5, resulting in E::R fusion gene expression controlled by the endogenous etv6 promoter. As seen by GFP fluorescence at a single-cell level, the model correctly expressed the fusion protein in the right places in zebrafish embryos. The E::R fusion expression induced an expansion of the progenitor cell pool and led to a low 2% frequency of leukemia. The introduction of targeted pax5 and cdkn2a/b gene mutations, mimicking secondary mutations, in the E::R line significantly increased the incidence in leukemia. Transcriptomics revealed that the E::R;pax5mut leukemias exclusively represented B-lineage disease. This novel E::R zebrafish model faithfully recapitulates human disease and offers a valuable tool for a more detailed analysis of disease biology in this subtype.
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Affiliation(s)
- Veronika Zapilko
- Tampere Center for Child, Adolescent and Maternal Health Research, Faculty of Medicine and Health Technology, Tampere University, 33100 Tampere, Finland;
| | - Sanni Moisio
- The Institute of Biomedicine, University of Eastern Finland, 70210 Kuopio, Finland; (S.M.); (M.H.)
| | - Mataleena Parikka
- Laboratory of Infection Biology, Faculty of Medicine and Health Technology, Tampere University, 33100 Tampere, Finland;
| | - Merja Heinäniemi
- The Institute of Biomedicine, University of Eastern Finland, 70210 Kuopio, Finland; (S.M.); (M.H.)
| | - Olli Lohi
- Tampere Center for Child, Adolescent and Maternal Health Research, Faculty of Medicine and Health Technology, Tampere University, 33100 Tampere, Finland;
- Department of Pediatrics and Tays Cancer Center, Tampere University Hospital, Wellbeing Services County of Pirkanmaa, 33520 Tampere, Finland
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4
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Kent D, Marchetti L, Mikulasova A, Russell LJ, Rico D. Broad H3K4me3 domains: Maintaining cellular identity and their implication in super-enhancer hijacking. Bioessays 2023; 45:e2200239. [PMID: 37350339 DOI: 10.1002/bies.202200239] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/09/2022] [Revised: 05/25/2023] [Accepted: 05/30/2023] [Indexed: 06/24/2023]
Abstract
The human and mouse genomes are complex from a genomic standpoint. Each cell has the same genomic sequence, yet a wide array of cell types exists due to the presence of a plethora of regulatory elements in the non-coding genome. Recent advances in epigenomic profiling have uncovered non-coding gene proximal promoters and distal enhancers of transcription genome-wide. Extension of promoter-associated H3K4me3 histone mark across the gene body, known as a broad H3K4me3 domain (H3K4me3-BD), is a signature of constitutive expression of cell-type-specific regulation and of tumour suppressor genes in healthy cells. Recently, it has been discovered that the presence of H3K4me3-BDs over oncogenes is a cancer-specific feature associated with their dysregulated gene expression and tumourigenesis. Moreover, it has been shown that the hijacking of clusters of enhancers, known as super-enhancers (SE), by proto-oncogenes results in the presence of H3K4me3-BDs over the gene body. Therefore, H3K4me3-BDs and SE crosstalk in healthy and cancer cells therefore represents an important mechanism to identify future treatments for patients with SE driven cancers.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniel Kent
- Biosciences Institute, Faculty of Medical Sciences, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK
| | - Letizia Marchetti
- Biosciences Institute, Faculty of Medical Sciences, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK
| | - Aneta Mikulasova
- Biosciences Institute, Faculty of Medical Sciences, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK
| | - Lisa J Russell
- Biosciences Institute, Faculty of Medical Sciences, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK
| | - Daniel Rico
- Biosciences Institute, Faculty of Medical Sciences, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK
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5
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Lee SY, Miller KM, Kim JJ. Clinical and Mechanistic Implications of R-Loops in Human Leukemias. Int J Mol Sci 2023; 24:ijms24065966. [PMID: 36983041 PMCID: PMC10052022 DOI: 10.3390/ijms24065966] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/04/2023] [Revised: 03/17/2023] [Accepted: 03/20/2023] [Indexed: 03/30/2023] Open
Abstract
Genetic mutations or environmental agents are major contributors to leukemia and are associated with genomic instability. R-loops are three-stranded nucleic acid structures consisting of an RNA-DNA hybrid and a non-template single-stranded DNA. These structures regulate various cellular processes, including transcription, replication, and DSB repair. However, unregulated R-loop formation can cause DNA damage and genomic instability, which are potential drivers of cancer including leukemia. In this review, we discuss the current understanding of aberrant R-loop formation and how it influences genomic instability and leukemia development. We also consider the possibility of R-loops as therapeutic targets for cancer treatment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Seo-Yun Lee
- Department of Life Science and Multidisciplinary, Genome Institute, Hallym University, Chuncheon 24252, Republic of Korea
| | - Kyle M Miller
- Department of Molecular Biosciences, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX 78712, USA
| | - Jae-Jin Kim
- Department of Life Science and Multidisciplinary, Genome Institute, Hallym University, Chuncheon 24252, Republic of Korea
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6
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The Pleiotropy of PAX5 Gene Products and Function. Int J Mol Sci 2022; 23:ijms231710095. [PMID: 36077495 PMCID: PMC9456430 DOI: 10.3390/ijms231710095] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/21/2022] [Revised: 08/23/2022] [Accepted: 08/26/2022] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
PAX5, a member of the Paired Box (PAX) transcription factor family, is an essential factor for B-lineage identity during lymphoid differentiation. Mechanistically, PAX5 controls gene expression profiles, which are pivotal to cellular processes such as viability, proliferation, and differentiation. Given its crucial function in B-cell development, PAX5 aberrant expression also correlates with hallmark cancer processes leading to hematological and other types of cancer lesions. Despite the well-established association of PAX5 in the development, maintenance, and progression of cancer disease, the use of PAX5 as a cancer biomarker or therapeutic target has yet to be implemented. This may be partly due to the assortment of PAX5 expressed products, which layers the complexity of their function and role in various regulatory networks and biological processes. In this review, we provide an overview of the reported data describing PAX5 products, their regulation, and function in cellular processes, cellular biology, and neoplasm.
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7
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Miller HE, Montemayor D, Abdul J, Vines A, Levy SA, Hartono SR, Sharma K, Frost B, Chédin F, Bishop AJR. Quality-controlled R-loop meta-analysis reveals the characteristics of R-loop consensus regions. Nucleic Acids Res 2022; 50:7260-7286. [PMID: 35758606 PMCID: PMC9303298 DOI: 10.1093/nar/gkac537] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/15/2022] [Accepted: 06/16/2022] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
R-loops are three-stranded nucleic acid structures formed from the hybridization of RNA and DNA. While the pathological consequences of R-loops have been well-studied to date, the locations, classes, and dynamics of physiological R-loops remain poorly understood. R-loop mapping studies provide insight into R-loop dynamics, but their findings are challenging to generalize. This is due to the narrow biological scope of individual studies, the limitations of each mapping modality, and, in some cases, poor data quality. In this study, we reprocessed 810 R-loop mapping datasets from a wide array of biological conditions and mapping modalities. From this data resource, we developed an accurate R-loop data quality control method, and we reveal the extent of poor-quality data within previously published studies. We then identified a set of high-confidence R-loop mapping samples and used them to define consensus R-loop sites called 'R-loop regions' (RL regions). In the process, we identified a stark divergence between RL regions detected by S9.6 and dRNH-based mapping methods, particularly with respect to R-loop size, location, and colocalization with RNA binding factors. Taken together, this work provides a much-needed method to assess R-loop data quality and offers novel context regarding the differences between dRNH- and S9.6-based R-loop mapping approaches.
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Affiliation(s)
- Henry E Miller
- Department of Cell Systems and Anatomy, UT Health San Antonio, San Antonio, TX, USA.,Greehey Children's Cancer Research Institute, UT Health San Antonio, San Antonio, TX, USA.,Bioinformatics Research Network, Atlanta, GA, USA
| | - Daniel Montemayor
- Department of Medicine, UT Health San Antonio, San Antonio, TX, USA.,Center for Precision Medicine, UT Health San Antonio, San Antonio, TX, USA
| | - Jebriel Abdul
- Bioinformatics Research Network, Atlanta, GA, USA.,Department of Biology, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Canada
| | - Anna Vines
- Bioinformatics Research Network, Atlanta, GA, USA.,Faculty of Arts, University of Bristol, Bristol, U.K
| | - Simon A Levy
- Department of Cell Systems and Anatomy, UT Health San Antonio, San Antonio, TX, USA.,Bioinformatics Research Network, Atlanta, GA, USA.,Sam & Ann Barshop Institute for Longevity & Aging Studies, UT Health San Antonio, San Antonio, TX, USA.,Glenn Biggs Institute for Alzheimer's and Neurodegenerative Diseases, UT Health San Antonio, San Antonio, TX, USA
| | - Stella R Hartono
- Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, UC Davis, Davis, CA, USA
| | - Kumar Sharma
- Department of Medicine, UT Health San Antonio, San Antonio, TX, USA.,Center for Precision Medicine, UT Health San Antonio, San Antonio, TX, USA
| | - Bess Frost
- Department of Cell Systems and Anatomy, UT Health San Antonio, San Antonio, TX, USA.,Sam & Ann Barshop Institute for Longevity & Aging Studies, UT Health San Antonio, San Antonio, TX, USA.,Glenn Biggs Institute for Alzheimer's and Neurodegenerative Diseases, UT Health San Antonio, San Antonio, TX, USA
| | - Frédéric Chédin
- Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, UC Davis, Davis, CA, USA
| | - Alexander J R Bishop
- Department of Cell Systems and Anatomy, UT Health San Antonio, San Antonio, TX, USA.,Greehey Children's Cancer Research Institute, UT Health San Antonio, San Antonio, TX, USA.,May's Cancer Center, UT Health San Antonio, San Antonio, TX, USA
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8
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Inflammation accelerates BCR-ABL1+ B-ALL development through upregulation of AID. Blood Adv 2022; 6:4060-4072. [PMID: 35816360 PMCID: PMC9278295 DOI: 10.1182/bloodadvances.2021005017] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/20/2021] [Accepted: 05/03/2022] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Inflammatory stimulation promotes BCR-ABL1+ B-ALL disease progression by upregulating AID. Combination of imatinib and Hsp90 inhibitors significantly delays the inflammation-induced progression of BCR-ABL1+ B-ALL.
Inflammation contributes to the initiation and disease progression of several lymphoid malignancies. BCR-ABL1-positive B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (BCR-ABL1+ B-ALL) is triggered by the malignant cloning of immature B cells promoted by the BCR-ABL1 fusion gene. However, it is unclear whether the mechanism driving the disease progression of BCR-ABL1+ B-ALL involves inflammatory stimulation. Here, we evaluate BCR-ABL1+ B-ALL cells’ response to inflammatory stimuli lipopolysaccharide (LPS) in vitro and in vivo. The results indicate that LPS promotes cell growth and genomic instability in cultured BCR-ABL1+ B-ALL cells and accelerates the BCR-ABL1+ B-ALL development in a mouse model. We show that the LPS-induced upregulation of activation-induced deaminase (AID) is required for the cell growth and disease progression of BCR-ABL1+ B-ALL. Moreover, AID modulates the expression of various genes that are dominated by suppressing apoptosis genes and upregulating DNA damage-repair genes. These genes lead to facilitation for BCR-ABL1+ B-ALL progression. The heat shock protein 90 (Hsp90) inhibitors significantly reduce AID protein level and delay the disease progression of BCR-ABL1+ B-ALL upon inflammatory stimulation. The present data demonstrate the causative role of AID in the development and progression of BCR-ABL1+ B-ALL during inflammation, thus highlighting potential therapeutic targets.
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9
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Belhocine M, Simonin M, Abad Flores JD, Cieslak A, Manosalva I, Pradel L, Smith C, Mathieu EL, Charbonnier G, Martens JHA, Stunnenberg HG, Maqbool MA, Mikulasova A, Russell LJ, Rico D, Puthier D, Ferrier P, Asnafi V, Spicuglia S. Dynamics of broad H3K4me3 domains uncover an epigenetic switch between cell identity and cancer-related genes. Genome Res 2022; 32:1328-1342. [PMID: 34162697 PMCID: PMC9341507 DOI: 10.1101/gr.266924.120] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/15/2020] [Accepted: 05/05/2021] [Indexed: 01/03/2023]
Abstract
Broad domains of H3K4 methylation have been associated with consistent expression of tissue-specific, cell identity, and tumor suppressor genes. Here, we identified broad domain-associated genes in healthy human thymic T cell populations and a collection of T cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (T-ALL) primary samples and cell lines. We found that broad domains are highly dynamic throughout T cell differentiation, and their varying breadth allows the distinction between normal and neoplastic cells. Although broad domains preferentially associate with cell identity and tumor suppressor genes in normal thymocytes, they flag key oncogenes in T-ALL samples. Moreover, the expression of broad domain-associated genes, both coding and noncoding, is frequently deregulated in T-ALL. Using two distinct leukemic models, we showed that the ectopic expression of T-ALL oncogenic transcription factor preferentially impacts the expression of broad domain-associated genes in preleukemic cells. Finally, an H3K4me3 demethylase inhibitor differentially targets T-ALL cell lines depending on the extent and number of broad domains. Our results show that the regulation of broad H3K4me3 domains is associated with leukemogenesis, and suggest that the presence of these structures might be used for epigenetic prioritization of cancer-relevant genes, including long noncoding RNAs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mohamed Belhocine
- Aix-Marseille University, Inserm, Theories and Approaches of Genomic Complexity (TAGC), UMR1090, 13288 Marseille, France
- Equipe Labellisée Ligue Contre le Cancer, 13288 Marseille, France
- Université de Paris (Descartes), Institut Necker-Enfants Malades (INEM), Institut national de la santé et de la recherche médicale (Inserm) U1151, and Laboratory of Onco-Hematology, Assistance Publique-Hôpitaux de Paris, Hôpital Necker Enfants-Malades, 75015 Paris, France
- Molecular Biology and Genetics Laboratory, Dubai, United Arab Emirates
| | - Mathieu Simonin
- Université de Paris (Descartes), Institut Necker-Enfants Malades (INEM), Institut national de la santé et de la recherche médicale (Inserm) U1151, and Laboratory of Onco-Hematology, Assistance Publique-Hôpitaux de Paris, Hôpital Necker Enfants-Malades, 75015 Paris, France
| | - José David Abad Flores
- Aix-Marseille University, Inserm, Theories and Approaches of Genomic Complexity (TAGC), UMR1090, 13288 Marseille, France
- Equipe Labellisée Ligue Contre le Cancer, 13288 Marseille, France
| | - Agata Cieslak
- Université de Paris (Descartes), Institut Necker-Enfants Malades (INEM), Institut national de la santé et de la recherche médicale (Inserm) U1151, and Laboratory of Onco-Hematology, Assistance Publique-Hôpitaux de Paris, Hôpital Necker Enfants-Malades, 75015 Paris, France
| | - Iris Manosalva
- Aix-Marseille University, Inserm, Theories and Approaches of Genomic Complexity (TAGC), UMR1090, 13288 Marseille, France
- Equipe Labellisée Ligue Contre le Cancer, 13288 Marseille, France
| | - Lydie Pradel
- Aix-Marseille University, Inserm, Theories and Approaches of Genomic Complexity (TAGC), UMR1090, 13288 Marseille, France
- Equipe Labellisée Ligue Contre le Cancer, 13288 Marseille, France
| | - Charlotte Smith
- Université de Paris (Descartes), Institut Necker-Enfants Malades (INEM), Institut national de la santé et de la recherche médicale (Inserm) U1151, and Laboratory of Onco-Hematology, Assistance Publique-Hôpitaux de Paris, Hôpital Necker Enfants-Malades, 75015 Paris, France
| | - Eve-Lyne Mathieu
- Aix-Marseille University, Inserm, Theories and Approaches of Genomic Complexity (TAGC), UMR1090, 13288 Marseille, France
- Equipe Labellisée Ligue Contre le Cancer, 13288 Marseille, France
| | - Guillaume Charbonnier
- Aix-Marseille University, Inserm, Theories and Approaches of Genomic Complexity (TAGC), UMR1090, 13288 Marseille, France
- Université de Paris (Descartes), Institut Necker-Enfants Malades (INEM), Institut national de la santé et de la recherche médicale (Inserm) U1151, and Laboratory of Onco-Hematology, Assistance Publique-Hôpitaux de Paris, Hôpital Necker Enfants-Malades, 75015 Paris, France
| | - Joost H A Martens
- Department of Molecular Biology, Faculties of Science and Medicine, Radboud Institute for Molecular Life Sciences, Radboud University, 6500 HB Nijmegen, Netherlands
| | - Hendrik G Stunnenberg
- Department of Molecular Biology, Faculties of Science and Medicine, Radboud Institute for Molecular Life Sciences, Radboud University, 6500 HB Nijmegen, Netherlands
| | - Muhammad Ahmad Maqbool
- CRUK Stem Cell Biology Group, Cancer Research UK Manchester Institute, The University of Manchester, Aderley Park, Macclesfield SK104TG, United Kingdom
| | - Aneta Mikulasova
- Biosciences Institute, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne NE2 4HH, United Kingdom
| | - Lisa J Russell
- Translational and Clinical Research Institute, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne NE2 4HH, United Kingdom
| | - Daniel Rico
- Biosciences Institute, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne NE2 4HH, United Kingdom
| | - Denis Puthier
- Aix-Marseille University, Inserm, Theories and Approaches of Genomic Complexity (TAGC), UMR1090, 13288 Marseille, France
- Equipe Labellisée Ligue Contre le Cancer, 13288 Marseille, France
| | - Pierre Ferrier
- Aix Marseille University, CNRS, INSERM, Centre d'Immunologie de Marseille-Luminy, 13288 Marseille, France
| | - Vahid Asnafi
- Université de Paris (Descartes), Institut Necker-Enfants Malades (INEM), Institut national de la santé et de la recherche médicale (Inserm) U1151, and Laboratory of Onco-Hematology, Assistance Publique-Hôpitaux de Paris, Hôpital Necker Enfants-Malades, 75015 Paris, France
| | - Salvatore Spicuglia
- Aix-Marseille University, Inserm, Theories and Approaches of Genomic Complexity (TAGC), UMR1090, 13288 Marseille, France
- Equipe Labellisée Ligue Contre le Cancer, 13288 Marseille, France
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10
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Levy G, Kicinski M, Van der Straeten J, Uyttebroeck A, Ferster A, De Moerloose B, Dresse MF, Chantrain C, Brichard B, Bakkus M. Immunoglobulin Heavy Chain High-Throughput Sequencing in Pediatric B-Precursor Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia: Is the Clonality of the Disease at Diagnosis Related to Its Prognosis? Front Pediatr 2022; 10:874771. [PMID: 35712632 PMCID: PMC9197340 DOI: 10.3389/fped.2022.874771] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/13/2022] [Accepted: 04/29/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
High-throughput sequencing (HTS) of the immunoglobulin heavy chain (IgH) locus is a recent very efficient technique to monitor minimal residual disease of B-cell precursor acute lymphoblastic leukemia (BCP-ALL). It also reveals the sequences of clonal rearrangements, therefore, the multiclonal structure, of BCP-ALL. In this study, we performed IgH HTS on the diagnostic bone marrow of 105 children treated between 2004 and 2008 in Belgium for BCP-ALL in the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC)-58951 clinical trial. Patients were included irrespectively of their outcome. We described the patterns of clonal complexity at diagnosis and investigated its association with patients' characteristics. Two indicators of clonal complexity were used, namely, the number of foster clones, described as clones with similar D-N2-J rearrangements but other V-rearrangement and N1-joining, and the maximum across all foster clones of the number of evolved clones from one foster clone. The maximum number of evolved clones was significantly higher in patients with t(12;21)/ETV6:RUNX1. A lower number of foster clones was associated with a higher risk group after prephase and t(12;21)/ETV6:RUNX1 genetic type. This study observes that clonal complexity as accessed by IgH HTS is linked to prognostic factors in childhood BCP-ALL, suggesting that it may be a useful diagnostic tool for BCP-ALL status and prognosis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gabriel Levy
- de Duve Institute, Université Catholique de Louvain, Brussels, Belgium.,Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research, Brussels, Belgium.,Department of Pediatric Oncology and Hematology, Cliniques Universitaires Saint-Luc, Université Catholique de Louvain, Brussels, Belgium
| | - Michal Kicinski
- European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) Headquarters, Brussels, Belgium
| | - Jona Van der Straeten
- Molecular Hematology Laboratory, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Universitair Ziekenhuis Brussel, Brussels, Belgium
| | - Anne Uyttebroeck
- Department of Pediatric Hemato-Oncology, UZ Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Alina Ferster
- Department of Pediatric Hematology-Oncology, Children's University Hospital Queen Fabiola, Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB), Brussels, Belgium
| | - Barbara De Moerloose
- Department of Pediatric Hematology-Oncology and Stem Cell Transplantation, Ghent University Hospital, Ghent, Belgium
| | - Marie-Francoise Dresse
- Department of Pediatrics, Centre Hospitalier Régional (CHR) de la Citadelle, Liège, Belgium
| | - Christophe Chantrain
- Division of Pediatric Hematology-Oncology, Centre Hospitalier Chrétien (CHC) MontLégia, Liège, Belgium
| | - Bénédicte Brichard
- Department of Pediatric Oncology and Hematology, Cliniques Universitaires Saint-Luc, Université Catholique de Louvain, Brussels, Belgium
| | - Marleen Bakkus
- Molecular Hematology Laboratory, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Universitair Ziekenhuis Brussel, Brussels, Belgium
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11
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Yuan M, Wang Y, Qin M, Zhao X, Chen X, Li D, Miao Y, Otieno Odhiambo W, Liu H, Ma Y, Ji Y. RAG enhances BCR-ABL1-positive leukemic cell growth through its endonuclease activity in vitro and in vivo. Cancer Sci 2021; 112:2679-2691. [PMID: 33949040 PMCID: PMC8253288 DOI: 10.1111/cas.14939] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/12/2021] [Revised: 04/15/2021] [Accepted: 04/30/2021] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Abstract
BCR-ABL1 gene fusion associated with additional DNA lesions involves the pathogenesis of chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML) from a chronic phase (CP) to a blast crisis of B lymphoid (CML-LBC) lineage and BCR-ABL1+ acute lymphoblastic leukemia (BCR-ABL1+ ALL). The recombination-activating gene RAG1 and RAG2 (collectively, RAG) proteins that assemble a diverse set of antigen receptor genes during lymphocyte development are abnormally expressed in CML-LBC and BCR-ABL1+ ALL. However, the direct involvement of dysregulated RAG in disease progression remains unclear. Here, we generate human wild-type (WT) RAG and catalytically inactive RAG-expressing BCR-ABL1+ and BCR-ABL1- cell lines, respectively, and demonstrate that BCR-ABL1 specifically collaborates with RAG recombinase to promote cell survival in vitro and in xenograft mice models. WT RAG-expressing BCR-ABL1+ cell lines and primary CD34+ bone marrow cells from CML-LBC samples maintain more double-strand breaks (DSB) compared to catalytically inactive RAG-expressing BCR-ABL1+ cell lines and RAG-deficient CML-CP samples, which are measured by γ-H2AX. WT RAG-expressing BCR-ABL1+ cells are biased to repair RAG-mediated DSB by the alternative non-homologous end joining pathway (a-NHEJ), which could contribute genomic instability through increasing the expression of a-NHEJ-related MRE11 and RAD50 proteins. As a result, RAG-expressing BCR-ABL1+ cells decrease sensitivity to tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKI) by activating BCR-ABL1 signaling but independent of the levels of BCR-ABL1 expression and mutations in the BCR-ABL1 tyrosine kinase domain. These findings identify a surprising and novel role of RAG in the functional specialization of disease progression in BCR-ABL1+ leukemia through its endonuclease activity.
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MESH Headings
- Acid Anhydride Hydrolases/metabolism
- Animals
- Blast Crisis/genetics
- Blast Crisis/metabolism
- Cell Line, Tumor
- Cell Proliferation
- Cell Survival
- DNA Breaks, Double-Stranded
- DNA End-Joining Repair
- DNA-Binding Proteins/deficiency
- DNA-Binding Proteins/genetics
- DNA-Binding Proteins/metabolism
- Disease Progression
- Endonucleases/metabolism
- Fusion Proteins, bcr-abl/genetics
- Fusion Proteins, bcr-abl/metabolism
- Genomic Instability
- Heterografts
- Histones/analysis
- Homeodomain Proteins/genetics
- Homeodomain Proteins/metabolism
- Humans
- In Vitro Techniques
- Leukemia, Myelogenous, Chronic, BCR-ABL Positive/genetics
- Leukemia, Myelogenous, Chronic, BCR-ABL Positive/metabolism
- Leukemia, Myelogenous, Chronic, BCR-ABL Positive/pathology
- MRE11 Homologue Protein/metabolism
- Mice
- Mice, Inbred NOD
- Mice, SCID
- Nuclear Proteins/deficiency
- Nuclear Proteins/genetics
- Nuclear Proteins/metabolism
- Precursor Cell Lymphoblastic Leukemia-Lymphoma/genetics
- Precursor Cell Lymphoblastic Leukemia-Lymphoma/metabolism
- Protein Kinase Inhibitors/therapeutic use
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Affiliation(s)
- Meng Yuan
- Department of Pathogenic Biology and Immunology, School of Basic Medical SciencesXi’an Jiaotong University Health Science CenterXi’anChina
| | - Yang Wang
- Department of Pathogenic Biology and Immunology, School of Basic Medical SciencesXi’an Jiaotong University Health Science CenterXi’anChina
| | - Mengting Qin
- Department of Pathogenic Biology and Immunology, School of Basic Medical SciencesXi’an Jiaotong University Health Science CenterXi’anChina
| | - Xiaohui Zhao
- Department of Pathogenic Biology and Immunology, School of Basic Medical SciencesXi’an Jiaotong University Health Science CenterXi’anChina
| | - Xiaodong Chen
- Department of Pathogenic Biology and Immunology, School of Basic Medical SciencesXi’an Jiaotong University Health Science CenterXi’anChina
| | - Dandan Li
- Department of Pathogenic Biology and Immunology, School of Basic Medical SciencesXi’an Jiaotong University Health Science CenterXi’anChina
| | - Yinsha Miao
- Department of Pathogenic Biology and Immunology, School of Basic Medical SciencesXi’an Jiaotong University Health Science CenterXi’anChina
- Department of Clinical laboratoryXi’an No. 3 HospitalThe Affiliated Hospital of Northwest UniversityXi’anChina
| | - Wood Otieno Odhiambo
- Department of Pathogenic Biology and Immunology, School of Basic Medical SciencesXi’an Jiaotong University Health Science CenterXi’anChina
| | - Huasheng Liu
- Department of HematologyThe First Affiliated Hospital of Xi’an Jiaotong UniversityXi’anChina
| | - Yunfeng Ma
- Department of Pathogenic Biology and Immunology, School of Basic Medical SciencesXi’an Jiaotong University Health Science CenterXi’anChina
| | - Yanhong Ji
- Department of Pathogenic Biology and Immunology, School of Basic Medical SciencesXi’an Jiaotong University Health Science CenterXi’anChina
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12
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Kasprzyk ME, Sura W, Dzikiewicz-Krawczyk A. Enhancing B-Cell Malignancies-On Repurposing Enhancer Activity towards Cancer. Cancers (Basel) 2021; 13:3270. [PMID: 34210001 PMCID: PMC8269369 DOI: 10.3390/cancers13133270] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/18/2021] [Revised: 06/24/2021] [Accepted: 06/28/2021] [Indexed: 01/19/2023] Open
Abstract
B-cell lymphomas and leukemias derive from B cells at various stages of maturation and are the 6th most common cancer-related cause of death. While the role of several oncogenes and tumor suppressors in the pathogenesis of B-cell neoplasms was established, recent research indicated the involvement of non-coding, regulatory sequences. Enhancers are DNA elements controlling gene expression in a cell type- and developmental stage-specific manner. They ensure proper differentiation and maturation of B cells, resulting in production of high affinity antibodies. However, the activity of enhancers can be redirected, setting B cells on the path towards cancer. In this review we discuss different mechanisms through which enhancers are exploited in malignant B cells, from the well-studied translocations juxtaposing oncogenes to immunoglobulin loci, through enhancer dysregulation by sequence variants and mutations, to enhancer hijacking by viruses. We also highlight the potential of therapeutic targeting of enhancers as a direction for future investigation.
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13
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Mushimiyimana I, Tomas Bosch V, Niskanen H, Downes NL, Moreau PR, Hartigan K, Ylä-Herttuala S, Laham-Karam N, Kaikkonen MU. Genomic Landscapes of Noncoding RNAs Regulating VEGFA and VEGFC Expression in Endothelial Cells. Mol Cell Biol 2021; 41:e0059420. [PMID: 33875575 PMCID: PMC8224232 DOI: 10.1128/mcb.00594-20] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/11/2020] [Revised: 12/29/2020] [Accepted: 04/03/2021] [Indexed: 12/26/2022] Open
Abstract
Vascular endothelial growth factors (VEGFs) are best known as key regulators of angiogenesis and lymphangiogenesis. Although VEGFs have been promising therapeutic targets for various cardiovascular diseases, their regulatory landscape in endothelial cells remains elusive. Several studies have highlighted the involvement of noncoding RNAs (ncRNAs) in the modulation of VEGF expression. In this study, we investigated the role of two classes of ncRNAs, long ncRNAs (lncRNAs) and enhancer RNAs (eRNAs), in the transcriptional regulation of VEGFA and VEGFC. By integrating genome-wide global run-on sequencing (GRO-Seq) and chromosome conformation capture (Hi-C) data, we identified putative lncRNAs and eRNAs associated with VEGFA and VEGFC genes in endothelial cells. A subset of the identified putative enhancers demonstrated regulatory activity in a reporter assay. Importantly, we demonstrate that deletion of enhancers and lncRNAs by CRISPR/Cas9 promoted significant changes in VEGFA and VEGFC expression. Transcriptome sequencing (RNA-Seq) data from lncRNA deletions showed downstream factors implicated in VEGFA- and VEGFC-linked pathways, such as angiogenesis and lymphangiogenesis, suggesting functional roles for these lncRNAs. Our study uncovers novel lncRNAs and eRNAs regulating VEGFA and VEGFC that can be targeted to modulate the expression of these important molecules in endothelial cells.
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Affiliation(s)
- Isidore Mushimiyimana
- A. I. Virtanen Institute for Molecular Sciences, University of Eastern Finland, Kuopio, Finland
| | - Vanesa Tomas Bosch
- A. I. Virtanen Institute for Molecular Sciences, University of Eastern Finland, Kuopio, Finland
| | - Henri Niskanen
- A. I. Virtanen Institute for Molecular Sciences, University of Eastern Finland, Kuopio, Finland
| | - Nicholas L. Downes
- A. I. Virtanen Institute for Molecular Sciences, University of Eastern Finland, Kuopio, Finland
| | - Pierre R. Moreau
- A. I. Virtanen Institute for Molecular Sciences, University of Eastern Finland, Kuopio, Finland
| | | | - Seppo Ylä-Herttuala
- A. I. Virtanen Institute for Molecular Sciences, University of Eastern Finland, Kuopio, Finland
- Heart Center and Gene Therapy Unit, Kuopio University Hospital, Kuopio, Finland
| | - Nihay Laham-Karam
- A. I. Virtanen Institute for Molecular Sciences, University of Eastern Finland, Kuopio, Finland
| | - Minna U. Kaikkonen
- A. I. Virtanen Institute for Molecular Sciences, University of Eastern Finland, Kuopio, Finland
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14
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Ghorbani A, Quinlan EM, Larijani M. Evolutionary Comparative Analyses of DNA-Editing Enzymes of the Immune System: From 5-Dimensional Description of Protein Structures to Immunological Insights and Applications to Protein Engineering. Front Immunol 2021; 12:642343. [PMID: 34135887 PMCID: PMC8201067 DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2021.642343] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/15/2020] [Accepted: 04/06/2021] [Indexed: 01/02/2023] Open
Abstract
The immune system is unique among all biological sub-systems in its usage of DNA-editing enzymes to introduce targeted gene mutations and double-strand DNA breaks to diversify antigen receptor genes and combat viral infections. These processes, initiated by specific DNA-editing enzymes, often result in mistargeted induction of genome lesions that initiate and drive cancers. Like other molecules involved in human health and disease, the DNA-editing enzymes of the immune system have been intensively studied in humans and mice, with little attention paid (< 1% of published studies) to the same enzymes in evolutionarily distant species. Here, we present a systematic review of the literature on the characterization of one such DNA-editing enzyme, activation-induced cytidine deaminase (AID), from an evolutionary comparative perspective. The central thesis of this review is that although the evolutionary comparative approach represents a minuscule fraction of published works on this and other DNA-editing enzymes, this approach has made significant impacts across the fields of structural biology, immunology, and cancer research. Using AID as an example, we highlight the value of the evolutionary comparative approach in discoveries already made, and in the context of emerging directions in immunology and protein engineering. We introduce the concept of 5-dimensional (5D) description of protein structures, a more nuanced view of a structure that is made possible by evolutionary comparative studies. In this higher dimensional view of a protein's structure, the classical 3-dimensional (3D) structure is integrated in the context of real-time conformations and evolutionary time shifts (4th dimension) and the relevance of these dynamics to its biological function (5th dimension).
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Affiliation(s)
- Atefeh Ghorbani
- Program in Immunology and Infectious Diseases, Department of Biomedical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, Memorial University of Newfoundland, St. John’s, NL, Canada
- Department of Molecular Biology and Biochemistry, Faculty of Science, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, BC, Canada
| | - Emma M. Quinlan
- Program in Immunology and Infectious Diseases, Department of Biomedical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, Memorial University of Newfoundland, St. John’s, NL, Canada
| | - Mani Larijani
- Program in Immunology and Infectious Diseases, Department of Biomedical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, Memorial University of Newfoundland, St. John’s, NL, Canada
- Department of Molecular Biology and Biochemistry, Faculty of Science, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, BC, Canada
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15
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Mehtonen J, Teppo S, Lahnalampi M, Kokko A, Kaukonen R, Oksa L, Bouvy-Liivrand M, Malyukova A, Mäkinen A, Laukkanen S, Mäkinen PI, Rounioja S, Ruusuvuori P, Sangfelt O, Lund R, Lönnberg T, Lohi O, Heinäniemi M. Single cell characterization of B-lymphoid differentiation and leukemic cell states during chemotherapy in ETV6-RUNX1-positive pediatric leukemia identifies drug-targetable transcription factor activities. Genome Med 2020; 12:99. [PMID: 33218352 PMCID: PMC7679990 DOI: 10.1186/s13073-020-00799-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/07/2020] [Accepted: 11/03/2020] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Tight regulatory loops orchestrate commitment to B cell fate within bone marrow. Genetic lesions in this gene regulatory network underlie the emergence of the most common childhood cancer, acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). The initial genetic hits, including the common translocation that fuses ETV6 and RUNX1 genes, lead to arrested cell differentiation. Here, we aimed to characterize transcription factor activities along the B-lineage differentiation trajectory as a reference to characterize the aberrant cell states present in leukemic bone marrow, and to identify those transcription factors that maintain cancer-specific cell states for more precise therapeutic intervention. METHODS We compared normal B-lineage differentiation and in vivo leukemic cell states using single cell RNA-sequencing (scRNA-seq) and several complementary genomics profiles. Based on statistical tools for scRNA-seq, we benchmarked a workflow to resolve transcription factor activities and gene expression distribution changes in healthy bone marrow lymphoid cell states. We compared these to ALL bone marrow at diagnosis and in vivo during chemotherapy, focusing on leukemias carrying the ETV6-RUNX1 fusion. RESULTS We show that lymphoid cell transcription factor activities uncovered from bone marrow scRNA-seq have high correspondence with independent ATAC- and ChIP-seq data. Using this comprehensive reference for regulatory factors coordinating B-lineage differentiation, our analysis of ETV6-RUNX1-positive ALL cases revealed elevated activity of multiple ETS-transcription factors in leukemic cells states, including the leukemia genome-wide association study hit ELK3. The accompanying gene expression changes associated with natural killer cell inactivation and depletion in the leukemic immune microenvironment. Moreover, our results suggest that the abundance of G1 cell cycle state at diagnosis and lack of differentiation-associated regulatory network changes during induction chemotherapy represent features of chemoresistance. To target the leukemic regulatory program and thereby overcome treatment resistance, we show that inhibition of ETS-transcription factors reduced cell viability and resolved pathways contributing to this using scRNA-seq. CONCLUSIONS Our data provide a detailed picture of the transcription factor activities characterizing both normal B-lineage differentiation and those acquired in leukemic bone marrow and provide a rational basis for new treatment strategies targeting the immune microenvironment and the active regulatory network in leukemia.
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Affiliation(s)
- Juha Mehtonen
- Institute of Biomedicine, School of Medicine, University of Eastern Finland, Yliopistonranta 1, FI-70211, Kuopio, Finland
| | - Susanna Teppo
- BioMediTech, Faculty of Medicine and Health Technology, Tampere University, FI-33014, Tampere, Finland
| | - Mari Lahnalampi
- Institute of Biomedicine, School of Medicine, University of Eastern Finland, Yliopistonranta 1, FI-70211, Kuopio, Finland
| | - Aleksi Kokko
- Institute of Biomedicine, School of Medicine, University of Eastern Finland, Yliopistonranta 1, FI-70211, Kuopio, Finland
| | - Riina Kaukonen
- Turku Bioscience Centre, University of Turku and Åbo Akademi University, FI-20520, Turku, Finland
| | - Laura Oksa
- BioMediTech, Faculty of Medicine and Health Technology, Tampere University, FI-33014, Tampere, Finland
| | - Maria Bouvy-Liivrand
- Institute of Biomedicine, School of Medicine, University of Eastern Finland, Yliopistonranta 1, FI-70211, Kuopio, Finland
| | - Alena Malyukova
- Department of Cell and Molecular Biology, Karolinska Institutet, SE-171 77, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Artturi Mäkinen
- BioMediTech, Faculty of Medicine and Health Technology, Tampere University, FI-33014, Tampere, Finland
| | - Saara Laukkanen
- BioMediTech, Faculty of Medicine and Health Technology, Tampere University, FI-33014, Tampere, Finland
| | - Petri I Mäkinen
- A.I. Virtanen Institute for Molecular Sciences, University of Eastern Finland, Yliopistonranta 1, FI-70211, Kuopio, Finland
| | | | - Pekka Ruusuvuori
- BioMediTech, Faculty of Medicine and Health Technology, Tampere University, FI-33014, Tampere, Finland
| | - Olle Sangfelt
- Department of Cell and Molecular Biology, Karolinska Institutet, SE-171 77, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Riikka Lund
- Turku Bioscience Centre, University of Turku and Åbo Akademi University, FI-20520, Turku, Finland
| | - Tapio Lönnberg
- Turku Bioscience Centre, University of Turku and Åbo Akademi University, FI-20520, Turku, Finland
| | - Olli Lohi
- BioMediTech, Faculty of Medicine and Health Technology, Tampere University, FI-33014, Tampere, Finland
- Tays Cancer Centre, Tampere University Hospital, Tampere, Finland
| | - Merja Heinäniemi
- Institute of Biomedicine, School of Medicine, University of Eastern Finland, Yliopistonranta 1, FI-70211, Kuopio, Finland.
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16
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Laukkanen S, Oksa L, Nikkilä A, Lahnalampi M, Parikka M, Seki M, Takita J, Degerman S, de Bock CE, Heinäniemi M, Lohi O. SIX6 is a TAL1-regulated transcription factor in T-ALL and associated with inferior outcome. Leuk Lymphoma 2020; 61:3089-3100. [PMID: 32835548 DOI: 10.1080/10428194.2020.1804560] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/02/2023]
Abstract
T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (T-ALL) is a hematological malignancy driven by abnormal activity of transcription factors. Here we report an aberrant expression of the developmental transcription factor SIX6 in the TAL1-subtype of T-ALL. Our results demonstrate that the binding of TAL1 and GATA3 transcription factors into an upstream enhancer element directly regulates SIX6 expression. High expression of SIX6 was associated with inferior event-free survival within three independent patient cohorts. At a functional level, CRISPR-Cas9-mediated knockout of the SIX6 gene in TAL1 positive Jurkat cells induced changes in genes associated with the mTOR-, K-RAS-, and TNFα-related molecular signatures but did not impair cell proliferation or viability. There was also no acceleration of T-ALL development within a Myc driven zebrafish tumor model in vivo. Taken together, our results show that SIX6 belongs to the TAL1 regulatory gene network in T-ALL but is alone insufficient to influence the development or maintenance of T-ALL.
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Affiliation(s)
- Saara Laukkanen
- Faculty of Medicine and Health Technology, Tampere Center for Child Health Research, Tampere University, Tampere, Finland
| | - Laura Oksa
- Faculty of Medicine and Health Technology, Tampere Center for Child Health Research, Tampere University, Tampere, Finland
| | - Atte Nikkilä
- Faculty of Medicine and Health Technology, Tampere Center for Child Health Research, Tampere University, Tampere, Finland
| | - Mari Lahnalampi
- The Institute of Biomedicine, University of Eastern Finland, Kuopio, Finland
| | - Mataleena Parikka
- Faculty of Medicine and Health Technology, BioMediTech, Tampere University, Tampere, Finland.,Oral and Maxillofacial Unit, Tampere University Hospital, Tampere, Finland
| | - Masafumi Seki
- Department of Cell and Molecular Biology, Karolinska Institutet, Solna, Sweden
| | - Junko Takita
- Graduate School of Medicine, Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan
| | - Sofie Degerman
- Department of Medical Biosciences and Department of Clinical Microbiology, Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden
| | - Charles E de Bock
- Children's Cancer Institute, Lowy Cancer Research Centre, Sydney, Australia.,School of Women's and Children's Health, University of New South Wales Sydney, Sydney, Australia
| | - Merja Heinäniemi
- The Institute of Biomedicine, University of Eastern Finland, Kuopio, Finland
| | - Olli Lohi
- Faculty of Medicine and Health Technology, Tampere Center for Child Health Research, Tampere University, Tampere, Finland.,Tays Cancer Centre, Tampere University Hospital, Tampere, Finland
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17
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Thomson DW, Shahrin NH, Wang PPS, Wadham C, Shanmuganathan N, Scott HS, Dinger ME, Hughes TP, Schreiber AW, Branford S. Aberrant RAG-mediated recombination contributes to multiple structural rearrangements in lymphoid blast crisis of chronic myeloid leukemia. Leukemia 2020; 34:2051-2063. [PMID: 32076119 DOI: 10.1038/s41375-020-0751-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/04/2019] [Revised: 01/08/2020] [Accepted: 02/06/2020] [Indexed: 11/10/2022]
Abstract
Blast crisis of chronic myeloid leukemia is associated with poor survival and the accumulation of genomic lesions. Using whole-exome and/or RNA sequencing of patients at chronic phase (CP, n = 49), myeloid blast crisis (MBC, n = 19), and lymphoid blast crisis (LBC, n = 20), we found 25 focal gene deletions and 14 fusions in 24 patients in BC. Deletions predominated in LBC (83% of structural variants). Transcriptional analysis identified the upregulation of genes involved in V(D)J recombination, including RAG1/2 and DNTT in LBC. RAG recombination is a reported mediator of IKZF1 deletion. We investigated the extent of RAG-mediated genomic lesions in BC. Molecular hallmarks of RAG activity; DNTT-mediated nucleotide insertions and a RAG-binding motif at structural variants were exclusively found in patients with high RAG expression. Structural variants in 65% of patients in LBC displayed these hallmarks compared with only 5% in MBC. RAG-mediated events included focal deletion and novel fusion of genes associated with hematologic cancer: IKZF1, RUNX1, CDKN2A/B, and RB1. Importantly, 8/8 patients with elevated DNTT at CP diagnosis progressed to LBC by 12 months, potentially enabling early prediction of LBC. This work confirms the central mutagenic role of RAG in LBC and describes potential clinical utility in CML management.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniel W Thomson
- Department of Genetics and Molecular Pathology, Centre for Cancer Biology, SA Pathology, Adelaide, SA, Australia
- School of Pharmacy and Medical Science, Division of Health Sciences, University of South Australia, Adelaide, SA, Australia
| | - Nur Hezrin Shahrin
- Department of Genetics and Molecular Pathology, Centre for Cancer Biology, SA Pathology, Adelaide, SA, Australia
- School of Pharmacy and Medical Science, Division of Health Sciences, University of South Australia, Adelaide, SA, Australia
| | - Paul P S Wang
- School of Pharmacy and Medical Science, Division of Health Sciences, University of South Australia, Adelaide, SA, Australia
- Australian Cancer Research Foundation Genomics Facility, Centre for Cancer Biology, SA Pathology, Adelaide, SA, Australia
| | - Carol Wadham
- Department of Genetics and Molecular Pathology, Centre for Cancer Biology, SA Pathology, Adelaide, SA, Australia
- School of Pharmacy and Medical Science, Division of Health Sciences, University of South Australia, Adelaide, SA, Australia
| | - Naranie Shanmuganathan
- Department of Genetics and Molecular Pathology, Centre for Cancer Biology, SA Pathology, Adelaide, SA, Australia
- School of Pharmacy and Medical Science, Division of Health Sciences, University of South Australia, Adelaide, SA, Australia
- School of Medicine, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Adelaide, Adelaide, SA, Australia
- South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute, Adelaide, SA, Australia
| | - Hamish S Scott
- Department of Genetics and Molecular Pathology, Centre for Cancer Biology, SA Pathology, Adelaide, SA, Australia
- School of Pharmacy and Medical Science, Division of Health Sciences, University of South Australia, Adelaide, SA, Australia
- Australian Cancer Research Foundation Genomics Facility, Centre for Cancer Biology, SA Pathology, Adelaide, SA, Australia
- School of Medicine, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Adelaide, Adelaide, SA, Australia
| | - Marcel E Dinger
- School of Biotechnology and Biomolecular Sciences, University of New South Wales, Kensington Campus, Sydney, NSW, Australia
| | - Timothy P Hughes
- School of Medicine, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Adelaide, Adelaide, SA, Australia
- South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute, Adelaide, SA, Australia
| | - Andreas W Schreiber
- School of Pharmacy and Medical Science, Division of Health Sciences, University of South Australia, Adelaide, SA, Australia
- Australian Cancer Research Foundation Genomics Facility, Centre for Cancer Biology, SA Pathology, Adelaide, SA, Australia
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Adelaide, Adelaide, SA, Australia
| | - Susan Branford
- Department of Genetics and Molecular Pathology, Centre for Cancer Biology, SA Pathology, Adelaide, SA, Australia.
- School of Pharmacy and Medical Science, Division of Health Sciences, University of South Australia, Adelaide, SA, Australia.
- School of Medicine, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Adelaide, Adelaide, SA, Australia.
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Adelaide, Adelaide, SA, Australia.
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18
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Crowgey EL, Mahajan N, Wong WH, Gopalakrishnapillai A, Barwe SP, Kolb EA, Druley TE. Error-corrected sequencing strategies enable comprehensive detection of leukemic mutations relevant for diagnosis and minimal residual disease monitoring. BMC Med Genomics 2020; 13:32. [PMID: 32131829 PMCID: PMC7057603 DOI: 10.1186/s12920-020-0671-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/26/2019] [Accepted: 01/24/2020] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Pediatric leukemias have a diverse genomic landscape associated with complex structural variants, including gene fusions, insertions and deletions, and single nucleotide variants. Routine karyotype and fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) techniques lack sensitivity for smaller genomic alternations. Next-generation sequencing (NGS) assays are being increasingly utilized for assessment of these various lesions. However, standard NGS lacks quantitative sensitivity for minimal residual disease (MRD) surveillance due to an inherently high error rate. Methods Primary bone marrow samples from pediatric leukemia (n = 32) and adult leukemia subjects (n = 5), cell line MV4–11, and an umbilical cord sample were utilized for this study. Samples were sequenced using molecular barcoding with targeted DNA and RNA library enrichment techniques based on anchored multiplexed PCR (AMP®) technology, amplicon based error-corrected sequencing (ECS) or a human cancer transcriptome assay. Computational analyses were performed to quantitatively assess limit of detection (LOD) for various DNA and RNA lesions, which could be systematically used for MRD assays. Results Matched leukemia patient samples were analyzed at three time points; diagnosis, end of induction (EOI), and relapse. Similar to flow cytometry for ALL MRD, the LOD for point mutations by these sequencing strategies was ≥0.001. For DNA structural variants, FLT3 internal tandem duplication (ITD) positive cell line and patient samples showed a LOD of ≥0.001 in addition to previously unknown copy number losses in leukemia genes. ECS in RNA identified multiple novel gene fusions, including a SPANT-ABL gene fusion in an ALL patient, which could have been used to alter therapy. Collectively, ECS for RNA demonstrated a quantitative and complex landscape of RNA molecules with 12% of the molecules representing gene fusions, 12% exon duplications, 8% exon deletions, and 68% with retained introns. Droplet digital PCR validation of ECS-RNA confirmed results to single mRNA molecule quantities. Conclusions Collectively, these assays enable a highly sensitive, comprehensive, and simultaneous analysis of various clonal leukemic mutations, which can be tracked across disease states (diagnosis, EOI, and relapse) with a high degree of sensitivity. The approaches and results presented here highlight the ability to use NGS for MRD tracking.
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Affiliation(s)
- Erin L Crowgey
- Biomedical Research Department, Nemours / A.I. DuPont Children's Hospital, Wilmington, DE, USA
| | - Nitin Mahajan
- Department of Pediatrics, Washington University School of Medicine, 660 South Euclid Avenue, Campus Box 8116, St. Louis, MO, 63110, USA.,Edison Family Center for Genome Sciences and Systems Biology, Washington University School of Medicine, 4515 McKinley Avenue, Campus Box 8510, St. Louis, MO, 63108, USA
| | - Wing Hing Wong
- Department of Pediatrics, Washington University School of Medicine, 660 South Euclid Avenue, Campus Box 8116, St. Louis, MO, 63110, USA.,Edison Family Center for Genome Sciences and Systems Biology, Washington University School of Medicine, 4515 McKinley Avenue, Campus Box 8510, St. Louis, MO, 63108, USA
| | | | - Sonali P Barwe
- Biomedical Research Department, Nemours / A.I. DuPont Children's Hospital, Wilmington, DE, USA
| | - E Anders Kolb
- Nemours Center for Cancer and Blood Disorders, Nemours/A.I. duPont Hospital for Children, Wilmington, USA
| | - Todd E Druley
- Department of Pediatrics, Washington University School of Medicine, 660 South Euclid Avenue, Campus Box 8116, St. Louis, MO, 63110, USA. .,Edison Family Center for Genome Sciences and Systems Biology, Washington University School of Medicine, 4515 McKinley Avenue, Campus Box 8510, St. Louis, MO, 63108, USA.
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19
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Barwe SP, Gopalakrisnapillai A, Mahajan N, Druley TE, Kolb EA, Crowgey EL. Strong concordance between RNA structural and single nucleotide variants identified via next generation sequencing techniques in primary pediatric leukemia and patient-derived xenograft samples. Genomics Inform 2020; 18:e6. [PMID: 32224839 PMCID: PMC7120351 DOI: 10.5808/gi.2020.18.1.e6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/09/2020] [Revised: 02/27/2020] [Accepted: 02/27/2020] [Indexed: 02/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Acute leukemia represents the most common pediatric malignancy comprising diverse subtypes with varying prognosis and treatment outcomes. New and targeted treatment options are warranted for this disease. Patient-derived xenograft (PDX) models are increasingly being used for preclinical testing of novel treatment modalities. A novel approach involving targeted error-corrected RNA sequencing using ArcherDX HemeV2 kit was employed to compare 25 primary pediatric acute leukemia samples and their corresponding PDX samples. A comparison of the primary samples and PDX samples revealed a high concordance between single nucleotide variants and gene fusions whereas other complex structural variants were not as consistent. The presence of gene fusions representing the major driver mutations at similar allelic frequencies in PDX samples compared to primary samples and over multiple passages confirms the utility of PDX models for preclinical drug testing. Characterization and tracking of these novel cryptic fusions and exonal variants in PDX models is critical in assessing response to potential new therapies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sonali P. Barwe
- Alfred I. duPont Hospital for Children, Wilmington, DE 19803, USA
| | | | - Nitin Mahajan
- Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO 63110, USA
| | - Todd E. Druley
- Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO 63110, USA
| | - E. Anders Kolb
- Alfred I. duPont Hospital for Children, Wilmington, DE 19803, USA
| | - Erin L. Crowgey
- Alfred I. duPont Hospital for Children, Wilmington, DE 19803, USA
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20
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Grönroos T, Mäkinen A, Laukkanen S, Mehtonen J, Nikkilä A, Oksa L, Rounioja S, Marincevic-Zuniga Y, Nordlund J, Pohjolainen V, Paavonen T, Heinäniemi M, Lohi O. Clinicopathological features and prognostic value of SOX11 in childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia. Sci Rep 2020; 10:2043. [PMID: 32029838 PMCID: PMC7005266 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-020-58970-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/28/2019] [Accepted: 01/22/2020] [Indexed: 12/11/2022] Open
Abstract
Acute lymphoblastic leukemia is marked by aberrant transcriptional features that alter cell differentiation, self-renewal, and proliferative features. We sought to identify the transcription factors exhibiting altered and subtype-specific expression patterns in B-ALL and report here that SOX11, a developmental and neuronal transcription factor, is aberrantly expressed in the ETV6-RUNX1 and TCF3-PBX1 subtypes of acute B-cell leukemias. We show that a high expression of SOX11 leads to alterations of gene expression that are typically associated with cell adhesion, migration, and differentiation. A high expression is associated with DNA hypomethylation at the SOX11 locus and a favorable outcome. The results indicate that SOX11 expression marks a group of patients with good outcomes and thereby prompts further study of its use as a biomarker.
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Affiliation(s)
- Toni Grönroos
- Tampere Center for Child Health Research, Faculty of Medicine and Health Technology, Tampere University, Tampere, Finland.
| | - Artturi Mäkinen
- Tampere Center for Child Health Research, Faculty of Medicine and Health Technology, Tampere University, Tampere, Finland.,Fimlab Laboratories, Department of Pathology, Tampere University Hospital, Tampere, Finland
| | - Saara Laukkanen
- Tampere Center for Child Health Research, Faculty of Medicine and Health Technology, Tampere University, Tampere, Finland
| | - Juha Mehtonen
- Institute of Biomedicine, School of Medicine, University of Eastern Finland, Kuopio, Finland
| | - Atte Nikkilä
- Tampere Center for Child Health Research, Faculty of Medicine and Health Technology, Tampere University, Tampere, Finland
| | - Laura Oksa
- Tampere Center for Child Health Research, Faculty of Medicine and Health Technology, Tampere University, Tampere, Finland
| | - Samuli Rounioja
- Fimlab Laboratories, Department of Hematology, Tampere University Hospital, Tampere, Finland
| | - Yanara Marincevic-Zuniga
- Department of Medical Sciences, Molecular Medicine and Science for Life Laboratory, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Jessica Nordlund
- Department of Medical Sciences, Molecular Medicine and Science for Life Laboratory, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Virva Pohjolainen
- Fimlab Laboratories, Department of Pathology, Tampere University Hospital, Tampere, Finland
| | - Timo Paavonen
- Fimlab Laboratories, Department of Pathology, Tampere University Hospital, Tampere, Finland.,Department of Pathology, Faculty of Medicine and Health Technology, Tampere University, Tampere, Finland
| | - Merja Heinäniemi
- Institute of Biomedicine, School of Medicine, University of Eastern Finland, Kuopio, Finland
| | - Olli Lohi
- Tampere Center for Child Health Research, Faculty of Medicine and Health Technology, Tampere University, Tampere, Finland.,Department of Pediatrics, Tampere University Hospital, Tampere, Finland
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21
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Smith AL, Scott JNF, Boyes J. The ESC: The Dangerous By-Product of V(D)J Recombination. Front Immunol 2019; 10:1572. [PMID: 31333681 PMCID: PMC6620893 DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2019.01572] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/08/2019] [Accepted: 06/24/2019] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
V(D)J recombination generates antigen receptor diversity by mixing and matching individual variable (V), diversity (D), and joining (J) gene segments. An obligate by-product of many of these reactions is the excised signal circle (ESC), generated by excision of the DNA from between the gene segments. Initially, the ESC was believed to be inert and formed to protect the genome from reactive broken DNA ends but more recent work suggests that the ESC poses a substantial threat to genome stability. Crucially, the recombinase re-binds to the ESC, which can result in it being re-integrated back into the genome, to cause potentially oncogenic insertion events. In addition, very recently, the ESC/recombinase complex was found to catalyze breaks at recombination signal sequences (RSSs) throughout the genome, via a “cut-and-run” mechanism. Remarkably, the ESC/recombinase complex triggers these breaks at key leukemia driver genes, implying that this reaction could be a significant cause of lymphocyte genome instability. Here, we explore these alternate pathways and discuss their relative dangers to lymphocyte genome stability.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alastair L Smith
- School of Molecular and Cellular Biology, Faculty of Biological Sciences, University of Leeds, Leeds, United Kingdom
| | - James N F Scott
- School of Molecular and Cellular Biology, Faculty of Biological Sciences, University of Leeds, Leeds, United Kingdom
| | - Joan Boyes
- School of Molecular and Cellular Biology, Faculty of Biological Sciences, University of Leeds, Leeds, United Kingdom
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22
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Laffleur B, Basu U. Biology of RNA Surveillance in Development and Disease. Trends Cell Biol 2019; 29:428-445. [PMID: 30755352 DOI: 10.1016/j.tcb.2019.01.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/07/2018] [Revised: 01/03/2019] [Accepted: 01/10/2019] [Indexed: 01/09/2023]
Abstract
The 'RNA world', in which RNA molecules stored information and acquired enzymatic properties, has been proposed to have preceded organism life. RNA is now recognized for its central role in biology, with accumulating evidence implicating coding and noncoding (nc)RNAs in myriad mechanisms regulating cellular physiology and disequilibrium in transcriptomes resulting in pathological conditions. Nascently synthesized RNAs are subjected to stringent regulation by sophisticated RNA surveillance pathways. In this review, we integrate these pathways from a developmental viewpoint, proposing RNA surveillance as the convergence of mechanisms that ensure the exact titration of RNA molecules in a spatiotemporally controlled manner, leading to development without the onset of pathological conditions, including cancer.
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Affiliation(s)
- Brice Laffleur
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons, Columbia University, New York, NY 10032, USA.
| | - Uttiya Basu
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons, Columbia University, New York, NY 10032, USA.
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23
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Malouf C, Ottersbach K. Molecular processes involved in B cell acute lymphoblastic leukaemia. Cell Mol Life Sci 2018; 75:417-446. [PMID: 28819864 PMCID: PMC5765206 DOI: 10.1007/s00018-017-2620-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 41] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/03/2017] [Revised: 08/01/2017] [Accepted: 08/04/2017] [Indexed: 12/19/2022]
Abstract
B cell leukaemia is one of the most frequent malignancies in the paediatric population, but also affects a significant proportion of adults in developed countries. The majority of infant and paediatric cases initiate the process of leukaemogenesis during foetal development (in utero) through the formation of a chromosomal translocation or the acquisition/deletion of genetic material (hyperdiploidy or hypodiploidy, respectively). This first genetic insult is the major determinant for the prognosis and therapeutic outcome of patients. B cell leukaemia in adults displays similar molecular features as its paediatric counterpart. However, since this disease is highly represented in the infant and paediatric population, this review will focus on this demographic group and summarise the biological, clinical and epidemiological knowledge on B cell acute lymphoblastic leukaemia of four well characterised subtypes: t(4;11) MLL-AF4, t(12;21) ETV6-RUNX1, t(1;19) E2A-PBX1 and t(9;22) BCR-ABL1.
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Affiliation(s)
- Camille Malouf
- MRC Centre for Regenerative Medicine, The University of Edinburgh, 5 Little France Drive, Edinburgh, EH16 4UU, UK
| | - Katrin Ottersbach
- MRC Centre for Regenerative Medicine, The University of Edinburgh, 5 Little France Drive, Edinburgh, EH16 4UU, UK.
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24
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Boulianne B, Feldhahn N. Transcribing malignancy: transcription-associated genomic instability in cancer. Oncogene 2017; 37:971-981. [DOI: 10.1038/onc.2017.402] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/13/2017] [Revised: 09/12/2017] [Accepted: 09/12/2017] [Indexed: 12/17/2022]
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25
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Emerging roles for long noncoding RNAs in B-cell development and malignancy. Crit Rev Oncol Hematol 2017; 120:77-85. [PMID: 29198340 DOI: 10.1016/j.critrevonc.2017.08.011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 33] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/03/2017] [Revised: 08/09/2017] [Accepted: 08/09/2017] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Long noncoding (lnc)RNAs have emerged as essential mediators of cellular biology, differentiation and malignant transformation. LncRNAs have a broad range of possible functions at the transcriptional, posttranscriptional and protein level and their aberrant expression significantly contributes to the hallmarks of cancer cell biology. In addition, their high tissue- and cell-type specificity makes lncRNAs especially interesting as biomarkers, prognostic factors or specific therapeutic targets. Here, we review current knowledge on lncRNA expression changes during normal B-cell development, indicating essential functions in the differentiation process. In addition we address lncRNA deregulation in B-cell malignancies, the putative prognostic value of this as well as the molecular functions of multiple deregulated lncRNAs. Altogether, the discussed work indicates major roles for lncRNAs in normal and malignant B cells affecting oncogenic pathways as well as the response to common therapeutics.
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26
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Laukkanen S, Grönroos T, Pölönen P, Kuusanmäki H, Mehtonen J, Cloos J, Ossenkoppele G, Gjertsen B, Øystein B, Heckman C, Heinäniemi M, Kontro M, Lohi O. In silico and preclinical drug screening identifies dasatinib as a targeted therapy for T-ALL. Blood Cancer J 2017; 7:e604. [PMID: 28885610 PMCID: PMC5709756 DOI: 10.1038/bcj.2017.87] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/30/2023] Open
Affiliation(s)
- S Laukkanen
- Tampere Center for Child Health Research, University of Tampere, and Tampere University Hospital, Tampere, Finland
| | - T Grönroos
- Tampere Center for Child Health Research, University of Tampere, and Tampere University Hospital, Tampere, Finland
| | - P Pölönen
- Institute of Biomedicine, School of Medicine, University of Eastern Finland, Kuopio, Finland
| | - H Kuusanmäki
- Institute for Molecular Medicine Finland FIMM, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
| | - J Mehtonen
- Institute of Biomedicine, School of Medicine, University of Eastern Finland, Kuopio, Finland
| | - J Cloos
- Department of Pediatric Oncology/Hematology, VU University Medical Center, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - G Ossenkoppele
- Department of Hematology, VU University Medical Center, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - B Gjertsen
- Department of Clinical Science, Hematology Section, University of Bergen, Bergen, Norway.,Department of Internal Medicine, Hematology Section, Haukeland University Hospital, Bergen, Norway
| | - B Øystein
- Department of Clinical Science, Hematology Section, University of Bergen, Bergen, Norway.,Department of Internal Medicine, Hematology Section, Haukeland University Hospital, Bergen, Norway
| | - C Heckman
- Institute for Molecular Medicine Finland FIMM, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
| | - M Heinäniemi
- Institute of Biomedicine, School of Medicine, University of Eastern Finland, Kuopio, Finland
| | - M Kontro
- Department of Hematology, Hematology Research Unit Helsinki, University of Helsinki, and Helsinki University Central Hospital Cancer Center, Helsinki, Finland
| | - O Lohi
- Tampere Center for Child Health Research, University of Tampere, and Tampere University Hospital, Tampere, Finland
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27
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Abstract
Methodological advances that allow deeper characterization of non-coding elements in the genome have started to reveal the full spectrum of deregulation in cancer. We generated an inducible cell model to track transcriptional changes after induction of a well-known leukemia-inducing fusion gene, ETV6-RUNX1. Our data revealed widespread transcriptional alterations outside coding elements in the genome. This adds to the growing list of various alterations in the non-coding genome in cancer and pinpoints their role in diseased cellular state.
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Affiliation(s)
- Susanna Teppo
- a Tampere Center for Child Health Research, Faculty of Medicine and Life Sciences , University of Tampere and Tampere University Hospital , Tampere , Finland
| | - Merja Heinäniemi
- b Institute of Biomedicine, School of Medicine , University of Eastern Finland , Kuopio , Finland
| | - Olli Lohi
- a Tampere Center for Child Health Research, Faculty of Medicine and Life Sciences , University of Tampere and Tampere University Hospital , Tampere , Finland
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28
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Lohi O, Heinäniemi M. Derailed regulatory network in childhood acute leukaemia. Acta Paediatr 2017; 106:359-360. [PMID: 28186373 DOI: 10.1111/apa.13714] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Olli Lohi
- Tampere Centre for Child Health Research; University of Tampere and Tampere University Hospital; Tampere Finland
| | - Merja Heinäniemi
- Institute of Biomedicine; School of Medicine; University of Eastern Finland; Kuopio Finland
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29
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Boulianne B, Robinson ME, May PC, Castellano L, Blighe K, Thomas J, Reid A, Müschen M, Apperley JF, Stebbing J, Feldhahn N. Lineage-Specific Genes Are Prominent DNA Damage Hotspots during Leukemic Transformation of B Cell Precursors. Cell Rep 2017; 18:1687-1698. [PMID: 28199841 PMCID: PMC5318656 DOI: 10.1016/j.celrep.2017.01.057] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/22/2016] [Revised: 11/29/2016] [Accepted: 01/23/2017] [Indexed: 02/07/2023] Open
Abstract
In human leukemia, lineage-specific genes represent predominant targets of deletion, with lymphoid-specific genes frequently affected in lymphoid leukemia and myeloid-specific genes in myeloid leukemia. To investigate the basis of lineage-specific alterations, we analyzed global DNA damage in primary B cell precursors expressing leukemia-inducing oncogenes by ChIP-seq. We identified more than 1,000 sensitive regions, of which B lineage-specific genes constitute the most prominent targets. Identified hotspots at B lineage genes relate to DNA-DSBs, affect genes that harbor genomic lesions in human leukemia, and associate with ectopic deletion in successfully transformed cells. Furthermore, we show that most identified regions overlap with gene bodies of highly expressed genes and that induction of a myeloid lineage phenotype in transformed B cell precursors promotes de novo DNA damage at myeloid loci. Hence, we demonstrate that lineage-specific transcription predisposes lineage-specific genes in transformed B cell precursors to DNA damage, which is likely to promote the frequent alteration of lineage-specific genes in human leukemia.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bryant Boulianne
- Centre for Haematology, Department of Medicine, Imperial College London, W12 0NN London, UK
| | - Mark E Robinson
- Centre for Haematology, Department of Medicine, Imperial College London, W12 0NN London, UK; Division of Cancer, Department of Surgery and Cancer, Imperial College London, W12 0NN London, UK
| | - Philippa C May
- Centre for Haematology, Department of Medicine, Imperial College London, W12 0NN London, UK; Molecular Pathology, Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust, W12 0NN London, UK
| | - Leandro Castellano
- Division of Cancer, Department of Surgery and Cancer, Imperial College London, W12 0NN London, UK
| | - Kevin Blighe
- Centre for Haematology, Department of Medicine, Imperial College London, W12 0NN London, UK; Division of Cancer, Department of Surgery and Cancer, Imperial College London, W12 0NN London, UK
| | - Jennifer Thomas
- Centre for Haematology, Department of Medicine, Imperial College London, W12 0NN London, UK; Division of Cancer, Department of Surgery and Cancer, Imperial College London, W12 0NN London, UK
| | - Alistair Reid
- Centre for Haematology, Department of Medicine, Imperial College London, W12 0NN London, UK; Molecular Pathology, Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust, W12 0NN London, UK
| | - Markus Müschen
- Department of Systems Biology, Beckman Research Institute and City of Hope Comprehensive Cancer Center, Pasadena, CA 91016, USA
| | - Jane F Apperley
- Centre for Haematology, Department of Medicine, Imperial College London, W12 0NN London, UK
| | - Justin Stebbing
- Division of Cancer, Department of Surgery and Cancer, Imperial College London, W12 0NN London, UK
| | - Niklas Feldhahn
- Centre for Haematology, Department of Medicine, Imperial College London, W12 0NN London, UK.
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30
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Jenjaroenpun P, Wongsurawat T, Sutheeworapong S, Kuznetsov VA. R-loopDB: a database for R-loop forming sequences (RLFS) and R-loops. Nucleic Acids Res 2017; 45:D119-D127. [PMID: 27899586 PMCID: PMC5210542 DOI: 10.1093/nar/gkw1054] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/14/2016] [Revised: 10/04/2016] [Accepted: 10/20/2016] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
R-loopDB (http://rloop.bii.a-star.edu.sg) was originally constructed as a collection of computationally predicted R-loop forming sequences (RLFSs) in the human genic regions. The renewed R-loopDB provides updates, improvements and new options, including access to recent experimental data. It includes genome-scale prediction of RLFSs for humans, six other animals and yeast. Using the extended quantitative model of RLFSs (QmRLFS), we significantly increased the number of RLFSs predicted in the human genes and identified RLFSs in other organism genomes. R-loopDB allows searching of RLFSs in the genes and in the 2 kb upstream and downstream flanking sequences of any gene. R-loopDB exploits the Ensembl gene annotation system, providing users with chromosome coordinates, sequences, gene and genomic data of the 1 565 795 RLFSs distributed in 121 056 genic or proximal gene regions of the covered organisms. It provides a comprehensive annotation of Ensembl RLFS-positive genes including 93 454 protein coding genes, 12 480 long non-coding RNA and 7 568 small non-coding RNA genes and 7 554 pseudogenes. Using new interface and genome viewers of R-loopDB, users can search the gene(s) in multiple species with keywords in a single query. R-loopDB provides tools to carry out comparative evolution and genome-scale analyses in R-loop biology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Piroon Jenjaroenpun
- Department of Genome and Gene Expression Data Analysis, Bioinformatics Institute, Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), 30 Biopolis Street, #07-01, 138671, Singapore
| | - Thidathip Wongsurawat
- Department of Genome and Gene Expression Data Analysis, Bioinformatics Institute, Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), 30 Biopolis Street, #07-01, 138671, Singapore
| | - Sawannee Sutheeworapong
- Systems Biology and Bioinformatics Research, Pilot Plant Development and Training Institute, King Mongkut's University of Technology, Thonburi, Bangkok, Thailand
| | - Vladimir A Kuznetsov
- Department of Genome and Gene Expression Data Analysis, Bioinformatics Institute, Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), 30 Biopolis Street, #07-01, 138671, Singapore
- School of Computer Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, 639798, Singapore
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31
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The Role of Histone Protein Modifications and Mutations in Histone Modifiers in Pediatric B-Cell Progenitor Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia. Cancers (Basel) 2017; 9:cancers9010002. [PMID: 28054944 PMCID: PMC5295773 DOI: 10.3390/cancers9010002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/26/2016] [Revised: 12/14/2016] [Accepted: 12/23/2016] [Indexed: 12/18/2022] Open
Abstract
While cancer has been long recognized as a disease of the genome, the importance of epigenetic mechanisms in neoplasia was acknowledged more recently. The most active epigenetic marks are DNA methylation and histone protein modifications and they are involved in basic biological phenomena in every cell. Their role in tumorigenesis is stressed by recent unbiased large-scale studies providing evidence that several epigenetic modifiers are recurrently mutated or frequently dysregulated in multiple cancers. The interest in epigenetic marks is especially due to the fact that they are potentially reversible and thus druggable. In B-cell progenitor acute lymphoblastic leukemia (BCP-ALL) there is a relative paucity of reports on the role of histone protein modifications (acetylation, methylation, phosphorylation) as compared to acute myeloid leukemia, T-cell ALL, or other hematologic cancers, and in this setting chromatin modifications are relatively less well studied and reviewed than DNA methylation. In this paper, we discuss the biomarker associations and evidence for a driver role of dysregulated global and loci-specific histone marks, as well as mutations in epigenetic modifiers in BCP-ALL. Examples of chromatin modifiers recurrently mutated/disrupted in BCP-ALL and associated with disease outcomes include MLL1, CREBBP, NSD2, and SETD2. Altered histone marks and histone modifiers and readers may play a particular role in disease chemoresistance and relapse. We also suggest that epigenetic regulation of B-cell differentiation may have parallel roles in leukemogenesis.
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Overexpression of PTP4A3 in ETV6-RUNX1 acute lymphoblastic leukemia. Leuk Res 2016; 54:1-6. [PMID: 28063378 DOI: 10.1016/j.leukres.2016.12.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/03/2016] [Revised: 10/25/2016] [Accepted: 12/18/2016] [Indexed: 11/21/2022]
Abstract
Cell signalling, which is often derailed in cancer, is a network of multiple interconnected pathways with numerous feedback mechanisms. Dynamics of cell signalling is intimately regulated by addition and removal of phosphate groups by kinases and phosphatases. We examined expression of members of the PTP4A family of phosphatases across acute leukemias. While expression of PTP4A1 and PTP4A2 remained relatively unchanged across diseases, PTP4A3 showed marked overexpression in ETV6-RUNX1 and BCR-ABL1 subtypes of precursor B cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia. We show that PTP4A3 is regulated by the ETV6-RUNX1 fusion, but noticed no marked impact on cell viability either after PTP4A3 silencing or treatment with a PTP4A3 inhibitor. Regulation of PTP4A3 expression is altered in specific subgroups of acute leukemias and this is likely brought about by expression of the aberrant fusion genes.
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