Project description:The JAK2(V617F) mutation was found in most patients with myeloproliferative disorders (MPDs), including polycythemia vera, essential thrombocythemia, and primary myelofibrosis. We have generated transgenic mice expressing the mutated enzyme in the hematopoietic system driven by a vav gene promoter. The mice are viable and fertile. One line of the transgenic mice, which expressed a lower level of JAK2(V617F), showed moderate elevations of blood cell counts, whereas another line with a higher level of JAK2(V617F) expression displayed marked increases in blood counts and developed phenotypes that closely resembled human essential thrombocythemia and polycythemia vera. The latter line of mice also developed primary myelofibrosis-like symptoms as they aged. The transgenic mice showed erythroid, megakaryocytic, and granulocytic hyperplasia in the bone marrow and spleen, displayed splenomegaly, and had reduced levels of plasma erythropoietin and thrombopoietin. They possessed an increased number of hematopoietic progenitor cells in peripheral blood, spleen, and bone marrow, and these cells formed autonomous colonies in the absence of growth factors and cytokines. The data show that JAK2(V617F) can cause MPDs in mice. Our study thus provides a mouse model to study the pathologic role of JAK2(V617F) and to develop treatment for MPDs.
Project description:Proinflammatory cytokines such as TNF? are elevated in patients with myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPN), but their contribution to disease pathogenesis is unknown. Here we reveal a central role for TNF? in promoting clonal dominance of JAK2(V617F) expressing cells in MPN. We show that JAK2(V617F) kinase regulates TNF? expression in cell lines and primary MPN cells and TNF? expression is correlated with JAK2(V617F) allele burden. In clonogenic assays, normal controls show reduced colony formation in the presence of TNF? while colony formation by JAK2(V617F)-positive progenitor cells is resistant or stimulated by exposure to TNF?. Ectopic JAK2(V617F) expression confers TNF? resistance to normal murine progenitor cells and overcomes inherent TNF? hypersensitivity of Fanconi anemia complementation group C deficient progenitors. Lastly, absence of TNF? limits clonal expansion and attenuates disease in a murine model of JAK2(V617F)-positive MPN. Altogether our data are consistent with a model where JAK2(V617F) promotes clonal selection by conferring TNF? resistance to a preneoplastic TNF? sensitive cell, while simultaneously generating a TNF?-rich environment. Mutations that confer resistance to environmental stem cell stressors are a recognized mechanism of clonal selection and leukemogenesis in bone marrow failure syndromes and our data suggest that this mechanism is also critical to clonal selection in MPN.
Project description:The Janus kinase 2 (JAK2) V617F mutation is the primary pathogenic mutation in patients with Philadelphia chromosome-negative myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPNs). Although thrombohemorrhagic incidents are the most common causes of morbidity and mortality in patients with MPNs, the events causing these clotting abnormalities remain unclear. To identify the cells responsible for the dysfunctional hemostasis, we used transgenic mice expressing JAK2V617F in specific lineages involved in thrombosis and hemostasis. When JAK2V617F was expressed in both hematopoietic and endothelial cells (ECs), the mice developed a significant MPN, characterized by thrombocytosis, neutrophilia, and splenomegaly. However, despite having significantly higher platelet counts than controls, these mice showed severely attenuated thrombosis following injury. Interestingly, platelet activation and aggregation in response to agonists was unaltered by JAK2V617F expression. Subsequent bone marrow transplants revealed the contribution of both endothelial and hematopoietic compartments to the attenuated thrombosis. Furthermore, we identified a potential mechanism for this phenotype through JAK2V617F-regulated inhibition of von Willebrand factor (VWF) function and/or secretion. JAK2V617F(+) mice display a condition similar to acquired von Willebrand syndrome, exhibiting significantly less high molecular weight VWF and reduced agglutination to ristocetin. These findings greatly advance our understanding of thrombohemorrhagic events in MPNs and highlight the critical role of ECs in the pathology of hematopoietic malignancies.
Project description:V617F driver mutation of JAK2 is the leading cause of the Philadelphia-chromosome-negative myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPNs). Although thrombosis is a leading cause of mortality and morbidity in MPNs, the mechanisms underlying their pathogenesis are unclear. Here, we identified pleckstrin-2 (Plek2) as a downstream target of the JAK2/STAT5 pathway in erythroid and myeloid cells, and showed that it is upregulated in a JAK2V617F-positive MPN mouse model and in patients with MPNs. Loss of Plek2 ameliorated JAK2V617F-induced myeloproliferative phenotypes including erythrocytosis, neutrophilia, thrombocytosis, and splenomegaly, thereby reverting the widespread vascular occlusions and lethality in JAK2V617F-knockin mice. Additionally, we demonstrated that a reduction in red blood cell mass was the main contributing factor in the reversion of vascular occlusions. Thus, our study identifies Plek2 as an effector of the JAK2/STAT5 pathway and a key factor in the pathogenesis of JAK2V617F-induced MPNs, pointing to Plek2 as a viable target for the treatment of MPNs.
Project description:Myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPN) are rare hematologic disorders characterized by clonal hematopoiesis. Familial clustering is observed in a subset of cases, with a notable proportion exhibiting heterozygous germline mutations in DNA double-strand break repair genes (e.g., BRCA1). We investigated the therapeutic potential of targeting BRCA1 haploinsufficiency alongside the JAK2V617F driver mutation. We assessed the efficacy of combining the PARP inhibitor olaparib with interferon-alpha (IFNα) in CRISPR/Cas9-engineered Brca1+/- Jak2V617F-positive 32D cells. Olaparib treatment induced a higher number of DNA double-strand breaks, as demonstrated by γH2AX analysis through Western blot (p = 0.024), flow cytometry (p = 0.013), and confocal microscopy (p = 0.071). RAD51 foci formation was impaired in Brca1+/- cells compared to Brca1+/+ cells, indicating impaired homologous recombination repair due to Brca1 haploinsufficiency. Importantly, olaparib enhanced apoptosis while diminishing cell proliferation and viability in Brca1+/- cells compared to Brca1+/+ cells. These effects were further potentiated by IFNα. Olaparib induced interferon-stimulated genes and increased endogenous production of IFNα in Brca1+/- cells. These responses were abrogated by STING inhibition. In conclusion, our findings suggest that the combination of olaparib and IFNα presents a promising therapeutic strategy for MPN patients by exploiting the synthetic lethality between germline BRCA1 mutations and the JAK2V617F MPN driver mutation.
Project description:The recurrent V617F mutation in JAK2 (JAK2V617F) has emerged as the primary contributor to the pathogenesis of myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPN). However, the lack of complete response in most patients treated with the JAK1/2 inhibitor, ruxolitinib, indicates the need for identifying pathways that cooperate with JAK2. Activated JAK2 was found to be associated with the insulin receptor substrate 2 (IRS2) in non-hematological cells. We identified JAK2/IRS2 binding in JAK2V617F HEL cells, but not in the JAK2WT U937 cell line. In HEL cells, IRS2 silencing decreased STAT5 phosphorylation, reduced cell viability and increased apoptosis; these effects were enhanced when IRS2 silencing was combined with ruxolitinib. In U937 cells, IRS2 silencing neither reduced cell viability nor induced apoptosis. IRS1/2 pharmacological inhibition in primary MPN samples reduced cell viability in JAK2V617F-positive but not JAK2WT specimens; combination with ruxolitinib had additive effects. IRS2 expression was significantly higher in CD34+ cells from essential thrombocythemia patients compared to healthy donors, and in JAK2V617F MPN patients when compared to JAK2WT. Our data indicate that IRS2 is a binding partner of JAK2V617F in MPN. IRS2 contributes to increased cell viability and reduced apoptosis in JAK2-mutated cells. Combined pharmacological inhibition of IRS2 and JAK2 may have a potential clinical application in MPN.
Project description:Myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPN) are a group of blood cancers in which the bone marrow (BM) produces an overabundance of erythrocyte, white blood cells, or platelets. Philadelphia chromosome-negative MPN has three subtypes, including polycythemia vera (PV), essential thrombocythemia (ET), and primary myelofibrosis (PMF). The over proliferation of blood cells is often associated with somatic mutations, such as JAK2, CALR, and MPL. JAK2V617F is present in 95% of PV and 50-60% of ET and PMF. Based on current molecular dynamics simulations of full JAK2 and the crystal structure of individual domains, it suggests that JAK2 maintains basal activity through self-inhibition, whereas other domains and linkers directly/indirectly enhance this self-inhibited state. Nevertheless, the JAK2V617F mutation is not the only determinant of MPN phenotype, as many normal individuals carry the JAK2V617F mutation without a disease phenotype. Here we review the major MPN phenotypes, JAK-STAT pathways, and mechanisms of development based on structural biology, while also describing the impact of other contributing factors such as gene mutation allele burden, JAK-STAT-related signaling pathways, epigenetic modifications, immune responses, and lifestyle on different MPN phenotypes. The cross-linking of these elements constitutes a complex network of interactions and generates differences in individual and cellular contexts that determine the phenotypic development of MPN.
Project description:Since the discovery of JAK2V617F tyrosine kinase-activating mutation, several genes have been found mutated in myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPNs). FLT3-ITD, NPM1, and DNMT3A mutations frequently occurred in AML patients and have been found conferred with myeloproliferative neoplasms in mouse model. Therefore, we sought to search for mutations in JAK2V617F, FLT3-ITD, NPM1, and DNMT3A in 129 cases including 120 classic MPN cases and 9 MDS/MPN cases. JAK2V617F mutation was found in 60% of the 120 classic MPNs. However, none of the patients displayed FLT3-ITD and NPM1 mutations; only 2 patients harbored DNMT3A R882 mutation. Further studies including whole-genome sequence will be conducted to investigate the possible involvement of these genes in MPN.
Project description:Inflammatory cytokines play a major role in myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPNs) as regulators of the MPN clone and as mediators of clinical symptoms and complications. Firstly, we investigated the effect of JAK2V617F on 42 molecules linked to inflammation. For JAK2V617F-mutated patients, the JAK2V617F allele burden (%JAK2V617F) correlated with the levels of IL-1β, IL-1Rα, IP-10 and leptin in polycythemia vera (PV), and with IL-33 in ET; for all other molecules, no correlation was found. Cytokine production was also studied in the human megakaryocytic cell line UT-7. Wild-type UT-7 cells secreted 27/42 cytokines measured. UT-7 clones expressing 50% or 75% JAK2V617F were generated, in which the production of IL-1β, IP-10 and RANTES was increased; other cytokines were not affected. Secondly, we searched for causes of chronic inflammation in MPNs other than driver mutations. Since antigen-driven selection is increasingly implicated in the pathogenesis of blood malignancies, we investigated whether proinflammatory glucosylsphingosine (GlcSph) may play a role in MPNs. We report that 20% (15/75) of MPN patients presented with anti-GlcSph IgGs, distinguished by elevated levels of 11 cytokines. In summary, only IL-1β and IP-10 were linked to JAK2V617F both in patients and in UT-7 cells; other inflammation-linked cytokines in excess in MPNs were not. For subsets of MPN patients, a possible cause of inflammation may be auto-immunity against glucolipids.
Project description:Recent data indicate that IGF1R/IRS signaling is a potential therapeutic target in BCR-ABL1-negative myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPN); in this pathway, IRS2 is involved in the malignant transformation induced by JAK2V617F, and upregulation of IGF1R signaling induces the MPN phenotype. NT157, a synthetic compound designed as an IGF1R-IRS1/2 inhibitor, has been shown to induce antineoplastic effects in solid tumors. Herein, we aimed to characterize the molecular and cellular effects of NT157 in JAK2V617F-positive MPN cell lines (HEL and SET2) and primary patient hematopoietic cells. In JAK2V617F cell lines, NT157 decreased cell viability, clonogenicity, and cell proliferation, resulting in increases in apoptosis and cell cycle arrest in the G2/M phase (p?<?0.05). NT157 treatment inhibited IRS1/2, JAK2/STAT, and NF?B signaling, and it activated the AP-1 complex, downregulated four oncogenes (CCND1, MYB, WT1, and NFKB1), and upregulated three apoptotic-related genes (CDKN1A, FOS, and JUN) (p?<?0.05). NT157 induced genotoxic stress in a JAK2/STAT-independent manner. NT157 inhibited erythropoietin-independent colony formation in cells from polycythemia vera patients (p?<?0.05). These findings further elucidate the mechanism of NT157 action in a MPN context and suggest that targeting IRS1/2 proteins may represent a promising therapeutic strategy for MPN.