Project description:Eradication of chemotherapy-resistant leukemia stem cells is expected to improve treatment outcomes in patients with acute myelogenous leukemia (AML). In a mouse model of AML expressing the MOZ-TIF2 fusion, we found that Ring1A and Ring1B, components of Polycomb repressive complex 1, play crucial roles in maintaining AML stem cells. Deletion of Ring1A and Ring1B (Ring1A/B) from MOZ-TIF2 AML cells diminished self-renewal capacity and induced the expression of numerous genes including Gli-similar 2 (Glis2). Overexpression of Glis2 caused MOZ-TIF2 AML cells to differentiate into mature cells, whereas Glis2 knockdown in Ring1A/B-deficient MOZ-TIF2 cells inhibited differentiation. Thus, Ring1A/B regulates and maintains AML stem cells in part by repressing Glis2 expression, which promotes their differentiation. These findings provide new insights into the mechanism of AML stem cell homeostasis and reveal novel targets for cancer stem cell therapy.
Project description:Monocytic leukemia Zinc finger protein (MOZ) is a MYST-type acetyltransferase involved in chromosomal translocation in acute myelogenous leukemia (AML) and myelodysplastic syndrome. MOZ is established as essential for hematopoiesis; however, the role of MOZ in AML has not been addressed. We propose that MOZ is critical for AML development induced by MOZ-TIF2 fusions. Moz-deficient hematopoietic stem/progenitor cells (HSPCs) expressing MOZ-TIF2 could form colonies in vitro but could not induce AML in mice. By contrast, Moz was dispensable for colony formation by HOXA9-transduced cells and AML development caused by HOXA9 and MEIS1, suggesting a specific requirement for MOZ in AML induced by MOZ/MLL-fusions. Expression of the of Meis1, but not Hoxa9, was reduced in Moz-deficient MOZ-TIF2 AML cells. AML development induced by MOZ-TIF2 was rescued by introducing Meis1 into Moz-deficient cells carrying MOZ-TIF2. Meis1 deletion impaired MOZ-TIF2-mediated AML development. Active histone modifications were also severely reduced at the Meis1 locus in Moz-deficient MOZ-TIF2 AML cells. These results suggest that endogenous MOZ is critical for MOZ-fusion-induced AML development and maintains active chromatin signatures at target gene loci.
Project description:Aberrant regulation of chromatin modifiers is a common occurrence across many cancer types, and a key priority is to determine how specific alteration of these proteins, often enzymes, can be targeted therapeutically. MOZ, a histone acyltransferase, is recurrently fused to coactivators CBP, p300, and TIF2 in cases of Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML). Using either pharmacological inhibition or targeted protein degradation in a mouse model for MOZ-TIF2-driven leukemia, we show that KAT6 (MOZ/MORF) enzymatic activity and the MOZ-TIF2 protein are necessary for indefinite proliferation in cell culture. Interestingly, MOZ enzymatic activity is selectively required in MOZ-TIF2 cells, as murine MLL-AF9 leukemic cells show no sensitivity to the WM-1119 MOZ inhibitor. MOZ-TIF2 directly regulates a small subset of genes encoding developmental transcription factors, augmenting their high expression. Transcription levels of these genes positively correlate with enrichment of histone H3 propionylation at lysine 23 (H3K23pr), a recently appreciated histone acylation associated with gene activation. Unexpectedly, we also show that MOZ-TIF2 and MLL-AF9 regulate transcription of largely non-overlapping gene sets, and their cellular models exhibit distinct sensitivities to multiple small molecule inhibitors directed against AML pathways. This is despite the shared genetic pathways of wild-type MOZ and MLL. Overall, our data provide insight into how aberrant regulation of MOZ contributes to leukemogenesis. We anticipate these experiments will inform future work identifying targeted therapies in the treatment of AML and other diseases involving MOZ-induced transcriptional dysregulation.
Project description:Aberrant regulation of chromatin modifiers is a common occurrence across many cancer types, and a key priority is to determine how specific alteration of these proteins, often enzymes, can be targeted therapeutically. MOZ, a histone acyltransferase, is recurrently fused to coactivators CBP, p300, and TIF2 in cases of Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML). Using either pharmacological inhibition or targeted protein degradation in a mouse model for MOZ-TIF2-driven leukemia, we show that KAT6 (MOZ/MORF) enzymatic activity and the MOZ-TIF2 protein are necessary for indefinite proliferation in cell culture. Interestingly, MOZ enzymatic activity is selectively required in MOZ-TIF2 cells, as murine MLL-AF9 leukemic cells show no sensitivity to the WM-1119 MOZ inhibitor. MOZ-TIF2 directly regulates a small subset of genes encoding developmental transcription factors, augmenting their high expression. Transcription levels of these genes positively correlate with enrichment of histone H3 propionylation at lysine 23 (H3K23pr), a recently appreciated histone acylation associated with gene activation. Unexpectedly, we also show that MOZ-TIF2 and MLL-AF9 regulate transcription of largely non-overlapping gene sets, and their cellular models exhibit distinct sensitivities to multiple small molecule inhibitors directed against AML pathways. This is despite the shared genetic pathways of wild-type MOZ and MLL. Overall, our data provide insight into how aberrant regulation of MOZ contributes to leukemogenesis. We anticipate these experiments will inform future work identifying targeted therapies in the treatment of AML and other diseases involving MOZ-induced transcriptional dysregulation.
Project description:Aberrant regulation of chromatin modifiers is a common occurrence across many cancer types, and a key priority is to determine how specific alteration of these proteins, often enzymes, can be targeted therapeutically. MOZ, a histone acyltransferase, is recurrently fused to coactivators CBP, p300, and TIF2 in cases of Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML). Using either pharmacological inhibition or targeted protein degradation in a mouse model for MOZ-TIF2-driven leukemia, we show that KAT6 (MOZ/MORF) enzymatic activity and the MOZ-TIF2 protein are necessary for indefinite proliferation in cell culture. Interestingly, MOZ enzymatic activity is selectively required in MOZ-TIF2 cells, as murine MLL-AF9 leukemic cells show no sensitivity to the WM-1119 MOZ inhibitor. MOZ-TIF2 directly regulates a small subset of genes encoding developmental transcription factors, augmenting their high expression. Transcription levels of these genes positively correlate with enrichment of histone H3 propionylation at lysine 23 (H3K23pr), a recently appreciated histone acylation associated with gene activation. Unexpectedly, we also show that MOZ-TIF2 and MLL-AF9 regulate transcription of largely non-overlapping gene sets, and their cellular models exhibit distinct sensitivities to multiple small molecule inhibitors directed against AML pathways. This is despite the shared genetic pathways of wild-type MOZ and MLL. Overall, our data provide insight into how aberrant regulation of MOZ contributes to leukemogenesis. We anticipate these experiments will inform future work identifying targeted therapies in the treatment of AML and other diseases involving MOZ-induced transcriptional dysregulation.
Project description:Leukemia initiating cells (LICs) of acute myeloid leukemia (AML) may arise from self-renewing hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) and from committed progenitors. However, it remains unclear how leukemia-associated oncogenes instruct LIC formation from cells of different origins and if differentiation along the normal hematopoietic hierarchy is involved. Here, using murine models with the driver mutations MLL-AF9 or MOZ-TIF2, we found that regardless of the transformed cell types, myelomonocytic differentiation to the granulocyte macrophage progenitor (GMP) stage is critical for LIC generation. Blocking myeloid differentiation through disrupting the lineage-restricted transcription factor C/EBPa eliminates GMPs, blocks normal granulopoiesis, and prevents AML development. In contrast, restoring myeloid differentiation through inflammatory cytokines “rescues” AML transformation. Our findings identify myeloid differentiation as a critical step in LIC formation and AML development, thus guiding new therapeutic approaches. Examination of chromatin accessibility in Cebpa knock-out and control conditions.
Project description:Acute leukaemias are commonly caused by mutations that corrupt the transcriptional circuitry of haematopoietic stem/progenitor cells. However, the mechanisms underlying large-scale transcriptional reprogramming remain largely unknown. Here we investigated transcriptional reprogramming at genome-scale in mouse retroviral transplant models of acute myeloid leukaemia (AML) using both gene-expression profiling and ChIP-sequencing. We identified several thousand candidate regulatory regions with altered levels of histone acetylation which were characterised by differential distribution of consensus motifs for key haematopoietic transcription factors. The integrated genome-scale analysis applied in this study represents a valuable and widely applicable approach to study the transcriptional control of both normal and aberrant haematopoiesis and to identify critical factors responsible for transcriptional reprogramming in human cancer. To monitor global expression changes during leukaemia progression for both MLL-ENL and MOZ-TIF1, we performed gene expression profiling for three biological replicates each of the lin-/kit+ bone marrow (WT), Factor-Dependent Cells Patterson-Mix cells (FDCP), MLL-ENL initiation (ME-I), MOZ-TIF2 initiation (MT-I), MLL-ENL progression (ME-L) and MOZ-TIF2 progression (MT-L) samples. Biotin-labelled cRNA from three biological replicates was generated from 250ng of total RNA and hybridized onto MouseWG-6 version 2 Expression Bead Chips.
Project description:Leukemia initiating cells (LICs) of acute myeloid leukemia (AML) may arise from self-renewing hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) and from committed progenitors. However, it remains unclear how leukemia-associated oncogenes instruct LIC formation from cells of different origins and if differentiation along the normal hematopoietic hierarchy is involved. Here, using murine models with the driver mutations MLL-AF9 or MOZ-TIF2, we found that regardless of the transformed cell types, myelomonocytic differentiation to the granulocyte macrophage progenitor (GMP) stage is critical for LIC generation. Blocking myeloid differentiation through disrupting the lineage-restricted transcription factor C/EBPa eliminates GMPs, blocks normal granulopoiesis, and prevents AML development. In contrast, restoring myeloid differentiation through inflammatory cytokines “rescues” AML transformation. Our findings identify myeloid differentiation as a critical step in LIC formation and AML development, thus guiding new therapeutic approaches.
Project description:Leukemia initiating cells (LICs) of acute myeloid leukemia (AML) may arise from self-renewing hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) and from committed progenitors. However, it remains unclear how leukemia-associated oncogenes instruct LIC formation from cells of different origins and if differentiation along the normal hematopoietic hierarchy is involved. Here, using murine models with the driver mutations MLL-AF9 or MOZ-TIF2, we found that regardless of the transformed cell types, myelomonocytic differentiation to the granulocyte macrophage progenitor (GMP) stage is critical for LIC generation. Blocking myeloid differentiation through disrupting the lineage-restricted transcription factor C/EBPa eliminates GMPs, blocks normal granulopoiesis, and prevents AML development. In contrast, restoring myeloid differentiation through inflammatory cytokines “rescues” AML transformation. Our findings identify myeloid differentiation as a critical step in LIC formation and AML development, thus guiding new therapeutic approaches.
Project description:Leukemia initiating cells (LICs) of acute myeloid leukemia (AML) may arise from self-renewing hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) and from committed progenitors. However, it remains unclear how leukemia-associated oncogenes instruct LIC formation from cells of different origins and if differentiation along the normal hematopoietic hierarchy is involved. Here, using murine models with the driver mutations MLL-AF9 or MOZ-TIF2, we found that regardless of the transformed cell types, myelomonocytic differentiation to the granulocyte macrophage progenitor (GMP) stage is critical for LIC generation. Blocking myeloid differentiation through disrupting the lineage-restricted transcription factor C/EBPa eliminates GMPs, blocks normal granulopoiesis, and prevents AML development. In contrast, restoring myeloid differentiation through inflammatory cytokines “rescues” AML transformation. Our findings identify myeloid differentiation as a critical step in LIC formation and AML development, thus guiding new therapeutic approaches. Primary KSL, CMP, and GMP cells from wildtype controls and C/Ebpa knockouts were used for RNA extraction and hybridization on Affymetrix microarrays. We also compared the microarray samples of leukemic granulocyte macrophage progenitor compartments (L-GMPs) from MLL-AF9 transformed control or cytokine rescued C/EBPa KO leukemic mouse bone marrow and their secondary recipients with those non-Leukemia KSLs and CMPs from MLL-AF9 transduecd KO recipients with no leukemia development.