Project description:Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is a heterogeneous hematological malignancy caused by mutations in genes encoding transcriptional and epigenetic regulators together with signaling genes. It is characterized by a disturbance of differentiation and abnormal proliferation of hematopoietic progenitors. We have previously shown that each AML subtype establishes its own core gene regulatory network (GRN), consisting of transcription factors binding to their target genes and imposing a specific gene expression pattern that is required for AML maintenance. In this study, we integrate gene expression, open chromatin and ChIP data with promoter-capture Hi-C data to define a refined core GRN common to all patients with CEBPA-double mutant (CEBPAN/C) AML. These mutations disrupt the structure of a major regulator of myelopoiesis. We identify the binding sites of mutated C/EBPα proteins in primary cells, we show that C/EBPα, AP-1 factors and RUNX1 colocalize and are required for AML maintenance, and we employ single cell experiments to link important network nodes to the specific differentiation trajectory from leukemic stem to blast cells. Taken together, our study provides an important resource which predicts the specific therapeutic vulnerabilities of this AML subtype in human cells.
Project description:Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML) develops due to the acquisition of mutations from multiple functional classes. Here, we demonstrate that activating mutations in the granulocyte colony stimulating factor receptor (CSF3R), cooperate with loss of function mutations in the transcription factor CEBPA to promote acute leukemia development. The interaction between these distinct classes of mutations occurs at the level of myeloid lineage enhancers where mutant CEBPA prevents activation of a subset of differentiation associated enhancers. To confirm this enhancer-dependent mechanism, we demonstrate that CEBPA mutations must occur as the initial event in AML initiation. This improved mechanistic understanding will facilitate therapeutic development targeting the intersection of oncogene cooperativity.
Project description:Mutations in splicing factor (SF) genes are frequently detected in myelodysplastic syndrome, but the prognostic relevance of these genes mutations in acute myeloid leukemia (AML) remains unclear. In this study, we investigated mutations of three SF genes, SF3B1, U2AF1 and SRSF2, by Sanger sequencing in 500 patients with de novo AML and analysed their clinical relevance. SF mutations were identified in 10.8% of total cohort and 13.2% of those with intermediate-risk cytogenetics. SF mutations were closely associated with RUNX1, ASXL1, IDH2 and TET2 mutations. SF-mutated AML patients had a significantly lower complete remission rate and shorter disease-free survival (DFS) and overall survival (OS) than those without the mutation. Multivariate analysis demonstrated that SFmutation was an independent poor prognostic factor for DFS and OS. A scoring system incorporating SF mutation and ten other prognostic factors was proved very useful to risk-stratify AML patients. Sequential study of paired samples showed that SF mutations were stable during AML evolution. In conclusion, SF mutations are associated with distinct clinic-biological features and poor prognosis in de novo AML patients and are rather stable during disease progression. These mutations may be potential targets for novel treatment and biomarkers for disease monitoring in AML.
Project description:This study aimed to investigate the clinical characteristics and prognostic significance of monosomal karyotypes (MKs) in patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML).We retrospectively analyzed the clinical data for 498 patients with AML, of whom 233 (46.8%) had an abnormal karyotype, including 42 with MKs (8.4%) and 70 with a complex karyotype (CK) (14.1%).Patients with MKs were older (median age 62.5 vs. 52 years, p=0.003) and had lower median hemoglobin levels (62.5 vs. 77 g/L, p=0.009) and lower white blood cell counts (7.0×109/L vs. 11.7×109/L, p=0.008). Univariate analysis showed that patients with MKs or CKs had shorter overall survival than patients without these karyotypes (median survival time 7.3 vs. 26.3 months for MK, p<0.001, and 14.8 vs. 26.3 months for CK, p<0.001). In multivariable analysis for overall survival, MK and National Comprehensive Cancer Network prognostic group were the only significant factors.MK is an independent risk factor for poor prognosis in AML patients.
Project description:Double (bi-allelic) mutations in the gene encoding the CCAAT/enhancer-binding protein-alpha (CEBPA) transcription factor have a favorable prognostic impact in acute myeloid leukemia (AML). Double mutations in CEBPA can be detected using various techniques, but it is a notoriously difficult gene to sequence due to its high GC-content. Here we developed a two-step gene expression classifier for accurate and standardized detection of CEBPA double mutations. The key feature of the two-step classifier is that it explicitly removes cases with low CEBPA expression, thereby excluding CEBPA hypermethylated cases that have similar gene expression profiles as a CEBPA double mutant, which would result in false-positive predictions. In the second step, we have developed a 55 gene signature to identity the true CEBPA double-mutation cases. This two-step classifier was tested on a cohort of 505 unselected AML cases, including 26 CEBPA double mutants, 12 CEBPA single mutants, and seven CEBPA promoter hypermethylated cases, on which its performance was estimated by a double-loop cross-validation protocol. The two-step classifier achieves a sensitivity of 96.2% (95% confidence interval [CI] 81.1 to 99.3) and specificity of 100.0% (95% CI 99.2 to 100.0). There are no false-positive detections. This two-step CEBPA double-mutation classifier has been incorporated on a microarray platform that can simultaneously detect other relevant molecular biomarkers, which allows for a standardized comprehensive diagnostic assay. In conclusion, gene expression profiling provides a reliable method for CEBPA double-mutation detection in patients with AML for clinical use.
Project description:Although CEBPA double-mutated (CEBPADM) acute myeloid leukemia is considered to be a favorable-risk disease, relapse remains a major cause of treatment failure. Most CEBPADM patients have a classic biallelic mutant combination with an N-terminal mutation leading to production of p30 protein plus a C-terminal loss-of-function in-frame indel mutation (CEBPAClassic-DM), but approximately one-third of cases have one or more non-classic mutations, with diverse combinations reported, and there is little information on the consequences of such mutants. We evaluated outcome in a cohort of 104 CEBPADM patients, 79 CEBPAClassic-DM and 25 with non-classic mutants, and found that the latter may have poorer survival (5-year overall survival 64% vs. 46%; P=0.05), particularly post relapse (41% vs. 0%; P=0.02). However, for this analysis, all non-classic cases were grouped together, irrespective of mutant combination. As CEBPADM cases have been reported to be hypermethylated, we used methylation profiling to assess whether this could segregate the different mutants. We developed a CEBPAClassic-DM methylation signature from a preliminary cohort of 10 CEBPADM (including 8 CEBPAClassic-DM) and 30 CEBPA wild-type (CEBPAWT) samples, and independently validated the signature in 17 CEBPAClassic-DM cases. Assessment of the signature in 16 CEBPADM cases with different non-classic mutant combinations showed that only 31% had a methylation profile equivalent to CEBPAClassic-DM whereas for 69% the profile was either intermediate between CEBPAClassic-DM and CEBPAWT or equivalent to CEBPAWT These results suggest that CEBPADM cases with non-classic mutants may be functionally different from those with CEBPAClassic-DM mutants, and should not automatically be included in the same prognostic group. (AML12 is registered under ISRCTN17833622 and AML15 under ISRCTN17161961).
Project description:Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is a complex, heterogeneous malignant hematologic disease. Although multiple prognostic-related genes gave been explored in previous studies, there are still many genes whose prognostic value remains unclear. In this study, a total of 1532 AML patients from three GEO databases were included, five genes with potential prognostic value (DLC1, NF1B, DENND5B, TANC2 and ELAVL4) were screened by weighted gene co-expression network analysis (WGCNA), least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) and support vector machine recursive feature elimination (SVM-RFE). Based on this, we conducted survival analysis of the above five genes through the TCGA database and found that low level of DLC1 was detrimental to the long-term prognosis of AML patients. We also performed external validation in 48 AML patients from our medical center to analyze the impact of DLC1 level on prognosis. In conclusion, DLC1 may be a potential marker affecting the prognosis of AML, and its deficiency is associated with poor prognosis.
Project description:Objective: To explore the relationship between WT1 rs16754 polymorphism and clinical features and prognosis in patients with acute myeloid leukemia(AML). Methods: Bone marrow samples of 115 newly diagnosed AML patients and peripheral blood samples of 177 healthy controls were collected from the Second Hospital of Shanxi Medical University from January 2010 to December 2013. The genotype of rs16754 was screened by high- resolution melting(HRM)and validated by direct sequencing. The association between the single nucleotide polymorphism(SNP)and the risk, clinical features, remission and survival state of AML patients was analyzed retrospectively. Results: This polymorphism was not associated with risk for AML(P=0.296), the GA/AA group and GG group had no significant difference in gender, age, clinical features and remission rate of chemotherapy(P>0.05), the percentage of bone marrow cells in GA/AA group was higher than that in GG group(P=0.025). The survival state of 99 patients were followed up, single factor analysis found that the difference of the overall survival rate was statistically significant(P=0.035)between the two groups, the rate of GA/AA group was higher than that of the GG group. Multivariate analysis showed that the A allele was an independent prognostic factor for AML patients and the mortality risk of GA/AA patients were higher(HR=1.681, 95% CI 1.046- 2.700, P=0.032). Conclusion: WT1 rs16754 polymorphism is associated with the prognosis of AML, and can be used as one of the indicators for the prognosis of AML patients.
Project description:Background: Acute myeloid leukemia (AML), characterized by the low cure rate and high relapse, urgently needs novel diagnostic or prognostic biomarkers and potential therapeutic targets. Sphingomyelin Phosphodiesterase Acid Like 3B (SMPDL3B) is a negative regulator of Toll-like receptor signaling that plays important roles in the interface of membrane biology and innate immunity. However, the potential role of SMPDL3B in human cancer, especially in AML, is still unknown. Methods: The expression of SMPDL3B in AML samples was investigated through data collected from Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO). Association between SMPDL3B expression and clinicopathologic characteristics was analyzed with the chi-square test. Survival curves were calculated by the Kaplan-Meier method. Cox univariate and multivariate analyses were used to detect risk factors for overall survival. The biological functions of SMPDL3B in human AML were investigated both in vitro and in vivo. Results: Expression of SMPDL3B mRNA was significantly upregulated in human AML samples and closely correlated to cytogenetics risk and karyotypes. Elevated expression of SMPDL3B was associated with poor overall survival and emerged as an independent predictor for poor overall survival in human AML. Blocked SMPDL3B expression inhibited AML cells growth both in vitro and in vivo via promoting cell apoptosis. Conclusion: Taken together, our results demonstrate that SMPDL3B could be used as an efficient prognostic biomarker and represent a potential therapeutic target for human AML.