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Veronese A, Pepe F, Chiacchia J, Pagotto S, Lanuti P, Veschi S, Di Marco M, D'Argenio A, Innocenti I, Vannata B, Autore F, Marchisio M, Wernicke D, Verginelli F, Leone G, Rassenti LZ, Kipps TJ, Mariani-Costantini R, Laurenti L, Croce CM, Visone R. Allele-specific loss and transcription of the miR-15a/16-1 cluster in chronic lymphocytic leukemia. Leukemia 2014; 29:86-95. [PMID: 24732594 PMCID: PMC4198514 DOI: 10.1038/leu.2014.139] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/25/2013] [Revised: 04/07/2014] [Accepted: 04/09/2014] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
Abstract
Deregulation of the miR-15a/16-1 cluster has a key role in the pathogenesis of chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), a clinically heterogeneous disease with indolent and aggressive forms. The miR-15a/16-1 locus is located at 13q14, the most frequently deleted region in CLL. Starting from functional investigations of a rare SNP upstream the miR cluster, we identified a novel allele-specific mechanism that exploits a cryptic activator region to recruit the RNA polymerase III for miR-15a/16-1 transcription. This regulation of the miR-15a/16- locus is independent of the DLEU2 host gene, which is often transcribed monoallellically by RPII. We found that normally one allele of miR-15a/16-1 is transcribed by RNAPII, the other one by RNAPIII. In our subset of CLL patients harboring 13q14 deletions, exclusive RNA polymerase III (RPIII)-driven transcription of the miR-15a/16-1 was the consequence of loss of the RPII-regulated allele and correlated with high expression of the poor prognostic marker ZAP70 (P=0.019). Thus, our findings point to a novel biological process, characterized by double allele-specific transcriptional regulation of the miR-15a/16-1 locus by alternative mechanisms. Differential usage of these mechanisms may distinguish at onset aggressive from indolent forms of CLL. This provides a basis for the clinical heterogeneity of the CLL patients carrying 13q14 deletions.
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Affiliation(s)
- A Veronese
- 1] Unit of General Pathology, Aging Research Center (Ce.S.I.), G. d'Annunzio University Foundation, Chieti, Italy [2] Department of Medical, Oral and Biotechnological Sciences, G. d'Annunzio University, Chieti, Italy
| | - F Pepe
- 1] Unit of General Pathology, Aging Research Center (Ce.S.I.), G. d'Annunzio University Foundation, Chieti, Italy [2] Department of Medical, Oral and Biotechnological Sciences, G. d'Annunzio University, Chieti, Italy
| | - J Chiacchia
- Unit of General Pathology, Aging Research Center (Ce.S.I.), G. d'Annunzio University Foundation, Chieti, Italy
| | - S Pagotto
- 1] Unit of General Pathology, Aging Research Center (Ce.S.I.), G. d'Annunzio University Foundation, Chieti, Italy [2] Department of Medical, Oral and Biotechnological Sciences, G. d'Annunzio University, Chieti, Italy
| | - P Lanuti
- Department of Medicine and Aging Science, University G. d'Annunzio Chieti-Pescara, Chieti, Italy
| | - S Veschi
- 1] Unit of General Pathology, Aging Research Center (Ce.S.I.), G. d'Annunzio University Foundation, Chieti, Italy [2] Department of Medical, Oral and Biotechnological Sciences, G. d'Annunzio University, Chieti, Italy
| | - M Di Marco
- Department of Medical, Oral and Biotechnological Sciences, G. d'Annunzio University, Chieti, Italy
| | - A D'Argenio
- Unit of General Pathology, Aging Research Center (Ce.S.I.), G. d'Annunzio University Foundation, Chieti, Italy
| | - I Innocenti
- Department of Hematology, Catholic University of the Sacred Heart, Rome, Italy
| | - B Vannata
- Department of Hematology, Catholic University of the Sacred Heart, Rome, Italy
| | - F Autore
- Department of Hematology, Catholic University of the Sacred Heart, Rome, Italy
| | - M Marchisio
- Department of Medicine and Aging Science, University G. d'Annunzio Chieti-Pescara, Chieti, Italy
| | - D Wernicke
- Department of Molecular Virology, Immunology, and Medical Genetics and Comprehensive Cancer Center, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA
| | - F Verginelli
- Unit of General Pathology, Aging Research Center (Ce.S.I.), G. d'Annunzio University Foundation, Chieti, Italy
| | - G Leone
- Department of Hematology, Catholic University of the Sacred Heart, Rome, Italy
| | - L Z Rassenti
- 1] Department of Medicine, Moores Cancer Center, University of California at San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA [2] Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia Research Consortium, San Diego, CA, USA
| | - T J Kipps
- 1] Department of Medicine, Moores Cancer Center, University of California at San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA [2] Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia Research Consortium, San Diego, CA, USA
| | - R Mariani-Costantini
- 1] Unit of General Pathology, Aging Research Center (Ce.S.I.), G. d'Annunzio University Foundation, Chieti, Italy [2] Department of Medical, Oral and Biotechnological Sciences, G. d'Annunzio University, Chieti, Italy
| | - L Laurenti
- Department of Hematology, Catholic University of the Sacred Heart, Rome, Italy
| | - C M Croce
- 1] Department of Molecular Virology, Immunology, and Medical Genetics and Comprehensive Cancer Center, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA [2] Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia Research Consortium, San Diego, CA, USA
| | - R Visone
- 1] Unit of General Pathology, Aging Research Center (Ce.S.I.), G. d'Annunzio University Foundation, Chieti, Italy [2] Department of Medical, Oral and Biotechnological Sciences, G. d'Annunzio University, Chieti, Italy
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