Adult Acute Myeloid Leukemia with the KMT2A-Mixed Lineage Leukemia T10 Fusion: An Analysis of 10 Cases Showed Common Features and Frequent Mutations in the RAS Signaling Pathway

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-7
Author(s):  
Xiaohui Cai ◽  
Jinfei Wang ◽  
Jingtao Lu ◽  
Zhuxia Jia ◽  
Meiyu Chen ◽  
...  

Mixed lineage leukemia (<i>MLL) T10</i> is a relatively rare partner for the <i>KMT2A</i> lysine (K)-specific methyltransferase 2A gene. The common features and coexisting mutations of acute myeloid leukemia (AML) patients with <i>KMT2A-MLLT10</i> remain unknown. In this study, 10 adult AML patients with <i>KMT2A-MLLT10</i> fusions were picked up from 496 AML patients by using RT-polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and/or fluorescence in situ hybridization, and then screened for mutations in the 49 genes panel with next-generation sequencing and PCR, followed by direct Sanger sequencing. Of the 10 unique individuals identified, 6 were male and 4 were female (M:F ratio, 1.5:1) with ages ranging from 19 to 52 years (median 39.5 years). Most (90%, 9/10) patients with <i>KMT2A-MLLT10</i> were accompanied by additional mutations. Twelve mutated genes were detected, averaging 2.1 mutations per patient (range, 0–4). The most frequently mutated gene was <i>NRAS</i> (<i>n</i> = 5). Clinical and laboratory data pointed to common features: French American British-M5 subtype (<i>n</i> = 7), a high rate of relapse, and biomarkers CD33 (<i>n</i> = 10), CD117 (<i>n</i> = 9), CD13 (<i>n</i> = 8), and CD64 (<i>n</i> = 8). Overall, most patients harbored at least one mutation. A high incidence of mutations affecting the RAS signaling pathway or RAS regulating components was found in 50% (5/10) patients. The overall survival is about 12.0 months. Allogeneic-hematopoietic stem cell transplantation trends to improve survival in selected patients.

2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Chen Zhao ◽  
Feng Du ◽  
Yang Zhao ◽  
Shanshan Wang ◽  
Ling Qi

Abstract Background MicroRNA (miR)-containing exosomes released by acute myeloid leukemia (AML) cells can be delivered into hematopoietic progenitor cells to suppress normal hematopoiesis. Herein, our study was performed to evaluate the effect of exosomal miR-4532 secreted by AML cells on hematopoiesis of hematopoietic stem cells. Methods Firstly, differentially expressed miRs related to AML were identified using microarray analysis. Subsequently, AML cell lines were collected, and CD34+ HSCs were isolated from healthy pregnant women. Then, miR-4532 expression was measured in AML cells and AML cell-derived exosomes and CD34+ HSCs, together with evaluation of the targeting relationship between miR-4532 and LDOC1. Then, AML cells were treated with miR-4532 inhibitor, and exosomes were separated from AML cells and co-cultured with CD34+ HSCs. Gain- and loss-function approaches were employed in CD34+ HSCs. Colony-forming units (CFU) and expression of dickkopf-1 (DKK1), a hematopoietic inhibiting factor associated with pathogenesis of AML, were determined in CD34+ HSCs, as well as the extents of JAK2 and STAT3 phosphorylation and LDOC1 expression. Results miR-4532 was found to be upregulated in AML cells and AML cell-derived exosomes, while being downregulated in CD34+ HSCs. In addition, exosomes released by AML cells targeted CD34+ HSCs to decrease the expression of CFU and increase the expression of DKK1. miR-4532 was delivered into CD34+ HSCs to target LDOC1 via AML cell-released exosomes. AML cell-derived exosomes containing miR-4532 inhibitor increased CFU but reduced DKK1 in CD34+ HSCs. Inhibition of miR-4532 or JAK2, or ectopic expression of LDOC1 upregulated CFU and downregulated DKK1 expression as well as the extents of JAK2 and STAT3 phosphorylation in CD34+ HSCs. Conclusion In conclusion, AML cell-derived exosomes carrying miR-4532 repress normal HSC hematopoiesis via activation of the LDOC1-dependent STAT3 signaling pathway.


Blood ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 124 (21) ◽  
pp. 3753-3753
Author(s):  
Michael R. Burgess ◽  
Eugene Hwang ◽  
Ari J Firestone ◽  
Tannie Huang ◽  
Jin Xu ◽  
...  

Abstract Oncogenic NRAS mutations are highly prevalent in hematologic malignancies. In acute myeloid leukemia (AML), genetic analysis supports the hypothesis that NRAS mutations cooperate with antecedent molecular lesions in leukemogenesis. Furthermore, NRAS mutations identified at diagnosis may disappear at relapse, raising questions regarding the potential clinical benefits of inhibiting oncogenic N-Ras in AML. To directly investigate the consequences of Nras inactivation in normal hematopoiesis, we used the Mx1-Cre transgene to inactivate a conditional mutant Nras allele and analyzed hematopoiesis and hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells (HSPC) under normal and stressed conditions. We show that HSPCs lacking Nras expression are functionally equivalent to normal HSPCs in the adult mouse. Importantly, shRNA-mediated knockdown in human AML cell lines and primary mouse leukemias with oncogenic NRAS/Nras mutations revealed dependence on continued oncogene expression in vitro and in vivo. Next, we interrogated the functional consequences of pharmacologic inhibition of the canonical Ras effector pathways, the mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) and phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K) pathways,alone and in combination. Recipient mice transplanted with five independent primary mouse AMLs generated by infecting NrasG12D “knock in” mice with the MOL4070LTR retrovirus (Li et al, Blood 2011; 117:2022) were treated with the allosteric MEK inhibitors PD0325901 (PD901) or trametinib or the PI3K inhibitor GDC-0941. Both MEK inhibitors significantly prolonged survival and reduced proliferation and blast colony formation, but did not induce apoptosis, differentiation, or promote clonal evolution. PI3K inhibition alone was ineffective in vivo and combinations of MEK and PI3K inhibitors were no better than MEK inhibition alone. All mice ultimately succumbed from progressive leukemia. These data, along with observations that Nras is dispensable for normal hematopoiesis, validate oncogenic N-Ras signaling as a therapeutic target in AML and support testing combination regimens that include MEK inhibitors in leukemias harboring NRAS mutations. Disclosures No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.


Blood ◽  
2011 ◽  
Vol 117 (23) ◽  
pp. 6304-6314 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shunya Arai ◽  
Akihide Yoshimi ◽  
Munetake Shimabe ◽  
Motoshi Ichikawa ◽  
Masahiro Nakagawa ◽  
...  

Abstract Ecotropic viral integration site-1 (Evi-1) is a nuclear transcription factor that plays an essential role in the regulation of hematopoietic stem cells. Aberrant expression of Evi-1 has been reported in up to 10% of patients with acute myeloid leukemia and is a diagnostic marker that predicts a poor outcome. Although chromosomal rearrangement involving the Evi-1 gene is one of the major causes of Evi-1 activation, overexpression of Evi-1 is detected in a subgroup of acute myeloid leukemia patients without any chromosomal abnormalities, which indicates the presence of other mechanisms for Evi-1 activation. In this study, we found that Evi-1 is frequently up-regulated in bone marrow cells transformed by the mixed-lineage leukemia (MLL) chimeric genes MLL-ENL or MLL-AF9. Analysis of the Evi-1 gene promoter region revealed that MLL-ENL activates transcription of Evi-1. MLL-ENL–mediated up-regulation of Evi-1 occurs exclusively in the undifferentiated hematopoietic population, in which Evi-1 particularly contributes to the propagation of MLL-ENL–immortalized cells. Furthermore, gene-expression analysis of human acute myeloid leukemia cases demonstrated the stem cell–like gene-expression signature of MLL-rearranged leukemia with high levels of Evi-1. Our findings indicate that Evi-1 is one of the targets of MLL oncoproteins and is selectively activated in hematopoietic stem cell–derived MLL leukemic cells.


Blood ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 124 (21) ◽  
pp. 839-839
Author(s):  
Amol Sanjay Ugale ◽  
Gudmundur Logi Norddahl ◽  
Martin Wahlestedt ◽  
Petter Säwén ◽  
Pekka Jaako ◽  
...  

Abstract Studies on the developmental pathways of hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) have led to roadmaps of differentiation and resulted in key information concerning lineage relationships and restriction points in the blood system. This knowledge is also central to understand the etiology of acute myeloid leukemia (AML), where recent work has proposed that the heterogeneity and aggressiveness of AML can associate with the developmental stage of transformation. Balanced chromosomal translocations that result in fusion proteins with aberrant transcriptional regulatory activities are frequent initiating events in acute myeloid leukemia, and a prototype family of such chimeric transcription factors is represented by fusions involving the mixed lineage leukemia-1 (MLL1) gene. Previous work using mouse models have suggested that at some stage of normal differentiation there is a loss of competence to induce AML. However discrepancies exists between these mouse models concerning the target cells of MLL fusion genes. While it is clear that cells can lose competence for leukemic transformation as part of their normal differentiation, the question remains whether the most primitive HSCs are always imbued with leukemogenic competency as part of their normal biology. To address this, we developed a Doxycycline inducible transgenic mouse model of the human chimeric transcription factor Mixed Lineage Leukemia-Eleven Nineteen Leukemia (MLL-ENL). Prospective isolations of candidate leukemia-initiating cells followed by adoptive transfers allowed us to detail leukemia-initiation and competence throughout the hematopoietic hierarchy. We show that AML can origin from multiple HPC subsets with intrinsic granulocytic/monocytic potential. Closely related myeloid progenitors displayed distinct leukemic- and functional capacity in response to physiological levels of MLL-ENL, highlighting the importance of a careful prospective isolation of progenitor populations. AML could also develop efficiently from common lymphoid progenitors, supporting a latent myeloid potential of these cells. By contrast, early commitment to the megakaryocytic/erythroid lineages was incompatible with leukemic development. By contrast, disease failed to arise from the most primitive progenitor subsets, including HSCs. Investigations of the immediate transcriptional responses to MLL-ENL showed evidence for a block in differentiation in both myeloid progenitors and HSCs, while MLL-ENL restricted cell cycle progression uniquely in HSCs. Our study highlights how an oncogene can exert unique functions depending on the developmental position of its cellular targets and demonstrate the existence of a mechanism, operational at the level of immature HSCs/progenitors, which act to prevent leukemic development. Figure 1 Graphical abstract Figure 1. Graphical abstract Disclosures No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.


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