ABSTRACT: Genomewide DNA methylation array profiling of nine posterior fossa ependymomas harboring activating mutations in ACVR1. Two samples clustered with the PFA subtype and demonstrated H3K27me3 loss by immunohistochemistry, while the remaining 7 showed retained H3K27me3 and formed a methylation cluster distinct from other ependymal tumors. For these previsouly unpublished cases, the Illumina Infinium EPIC 850k Human DNA Methylation Beadchip was used to obtain DNA methylation profiles across approximately 850,000 CpG sites of genomic DNA extracted from formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded tumor tissue.
Project description:We have discovered two major molecular subgroups of PFA molecular group posterior fossa ependymomas by DNA methylation profiling. These are also distinguished by gene expression profiling using Affymetrix U133v2 arrays with correspondence to data generated by DNA methylation profiling.
Project description:Posterior fossa A (PFA) ependymomas comprise one out of nine molecular groups of ependymoma. PFA tumors are mainly diagnosed in infants and young children, show a poor prognosis and are characterized by a lack of the repressive histone H3 lysine 27 trimethylation (H3K27me3) mark. Recently, we reported CXorf67 overexpression as hallmark of PFA ependymoma and showed that CXorf67 can interact with EZH2 thereby inhibiting polycomb repressive complex 2 (PRC2). Here, we report that the inhibitory mechanism of this interaction is similar as in diffuse midline gliomas harboring H3K27M mutations. A small, highly conserved peptide sequence located in the C-terminal region of CXorf67 mimics the H3K27M peptide and binds to the SET domain of EZH2. This interaction blocks EZH2 methyltransferase activity and causes H3K27 hypomethylation, an oncogenic mechanism that may be exploited for targeted therapy in PFA ependymoma. Based on its function, we have renamed CXorf67 into EZH2 Inhibitory Protein (EZHIP).
Project description:A subset of genomically silent childhood posterior fossa ependymomas show reduced H3K27me3, global DNA hypomethylation, are more invasive, exhibit poor prognosis and epigenetically deregulated genes converge on radial glial factors, suggesting developing cerebellar radial glia as candidate cells-of-origin.
Project description:A subgroup of Posterior fossa ependymomas show reduced H3K27me3, global DNA hypomethylation, are more invasive, exhibit poor prognosis and epigenetically deregulated genes converge on radial glial factors, suggesting developing cerebellar radial glia as candidate cells-of-origin.
Project description:A subgroup of Posterior fossa ependymomas show reduced H3K27me3, global DNA hypomethylation, are more invasive, exhibit poor prognosis and epigenetically deregulated genes converge on radial glial factors, suggesting developing cerebellar radial glia as candidate cells-of-origin.
Project description:A subgroup of Posterior fossa ependymomas show reduced H3K27me3 are more invasive, exhibit poor prognosis and epigenetically deregulated genes converge on radial glial factors, suggesting developing cerebellar radial glia as candidate cells-of-origin.
Project description:Ependymomas are neuroepithelial tumors of the central nervous system (CNS), presenting in both adults and children but accounting for almost 10% of all pediatric CNS tumors and up to 30% of CNS tumors in children under 3 years (Bouffet et al., 2009; McGuire et al., 2009; Rodriguez et al., 2009). In children, most ependymomas arise in the posterior fossa, while most adult ependymomas present around the lower spinal cord and spinal nerve roots. Ependymomas display a wide range of morphological features, and several variants are listed in the World Health Organization (WHO) classification (Ellison et al., 2016). These variants are assigned to three WHO grades (I-III), but the clinical utility of this classification is acknowledged to be limited (Ellison et al., 2011). An increasing understanding of the genomic landscape of ependymoma and the discovery of distinct molecular groups by DNA methylation or gene expression profiling have begun to refine approaches to disease classification and prognostication, but have yet to be translated into clinical routine (Hoffman et al., 2014; Mack et al., 2014; Pajtler et al., 2017; Pajtler et al., 2015; Parker et al., 2014; Wani et al., 2012; Witt et al., 2011). Our comprehensive study of DNA methylation profiling across the entire disease demonstrated three molecular groups for each major anatomic compartment: supratentorial (ST), posterior fossa (PF), and spinal (SP) (Pajtler et al., 2015). In the ST compartment, two molecular groups (ST-EPN-RELA and ST-EPN-YAP1) align with tumors harboring specific genetic alterations, RELA and YAP1 fusion genes, which were initially discovered in a whole genome sequencing study (Parker et al., 2014). Among PF ependymomas, two of three molecular groups, PFA (PF-EPN-A) and PFB (PF-EPN-B), account for nearly all tumors; PF-SE tumors are rare, generally showing the morphology of a subependymoma (Pajtler et al., 2015). PFA tumors are found mainly in infants and young children (median age ≈ 3yrs) and have a relatively poor outcome, while PFB tumors are generally found in young adults (median age ≈ 30yrs) and are associated with a better prognosis (Pajtler et al., 2015; Witt et al., 2011). PFA tumors show few copy number alterations (CNAs), while PFB tumors harbor multiple CNAs that tend to affect entire chromosomes. While recurrent structural variants (SVs) are found in ST ependymomas, recurrent SVs or other mutations, such as single nucleotide variants (SNVs) and insertions or deletions (indels), have not been identified in PF ependymomas to date (Mack et al., 2014; Parker et al., 2014).
Project description:PFA (posterior fossa group A) ependymomas are a lethal glial malignancy of the hindbrain found in infants and toddlers. Lacking any highly recurrent somatic mutations, PFAs have been proposed as a largely epigenetically driven tumor type. An almost complete lack of model systems has inhibited discovery of novel PFA therapies. Both in vitro and in vivo, the PFA hypoxic microenvironment controls the availability of specific metabolites to diminish histone methylation, and to increase both histone demethylation and acetylation at H3K27. PFA ependymoma initiates from a cell lineage in the first trimester of human development where there is a known hypoxic microenvironment. Unique to PFA cells, transient exposure to ambient oxygen results in irreversible cellular toxicity. PFA tumors exhibit a low basal level of H3K27me3, and paradoxically inhibition of H3K27 methylation shows significant and specific activity against PFA. Targeting metabolism and/or the epigenome presents a unique opportunity for rational therapy for infants with PFA ependymoma.
Project description:Posterior fossa type A (PFA) ependymomas are a lethal glial malignancy of the hindbrain found in babies and toddlers. Lacking any highly recurrent somatic mutations, PFAs have been proposed as a largely epigenetically driven tumor type. An almost complete lack of model systems has inhibited discovery of novel PFA therapies. Both in vitro and in vivo, the PFA hypoxic microenvironment controls the availability of specific metabolites to diminish histone methylation, and to increase both histone demethylation and acetylation at H3K27. PFA ependymoma initiates from a cell lineage in the first trimester of human development where there is a known hypoxic microenvironment. Unique to PFA cells, transient exposure to ambient oxygen results in irreversible cellular toxicity. PFA tumors exhibit a low basal level of H3K27me3, and paradoxically inhibition of H3K27 methylation shows significant and specific activity against PFA. Targeting metabolism and/or the epigenome presents a unique opportunity for rational therapy for infants with PFA ependymoma.