Project description:Gain-of-function mutations in the chromatin ‘reader’ ENL, identified in AML and Wilms tumor, have been shown to induce aberrant formation of transcriptional condensates in cellular systems. However, the precise role of these mutations and their condensate forming property in tumorigenesis remains unclear. By creating a conditional knock-in mouse model for the most prevalent ENL mutation, we establish ENL mutant as a bona fide oncogenic driver of acute myeloid leukemia in vivo. Heterozygous expression of ENL mutant perturbs the normal hematopoietic hierarchy and results in the aberrant expansion of myeloid progenitors with increased self-renewal property. Furthermore, the ENL mutant remodels histone modifications to alter differentiation processes and drive oncogenic gene expression during hematopoietic development. Importantly, targeted point mutagenesis to disrupt the condensate formation property completely abolishes ENL mutant’s oncogenic function in hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells (HSPCs). Lastly, short-term treatment with a small molecule inhibitor that blocks the acetyl-binding activity of ENL mutant reverts its impact on chromatin and significantly delays leukemia development in mice. Our studies reveal the crucial biological function of mutation-induced transcriptional condensates in chromatin regulation and cancer in vivo and provide proof-of-concept for targeting of pathogenic condensates as a promising therapy for certain cancers.
Project description:Gain-of-function mutations in the chromatin ‘reader’ ENL, identified in AML and Wilms tumor, have been shown to induce aberrant formation of transcriptional condensates in cellular systems. However, the precise role of these mutations and their condensate forming property in tumorigenesis remains unclear. By creating a conditional knock-in mouse model for the most prevalent ENL mutation, we establish ENL mutant as a bona fide oncogenic driver of acute myeloid leukemia in vivo. Heterozygous expression of ENL mutant perturbs the normal hematopoietic hierarchy and results in the aberrant expansion of myeloid progenitors with increased self-renewal property. Furthermore, the ENL mutant remodels histone modifications to alter differentiation processes and drive oncogenic gene expression during hematopoietic development. Importantly, targeted point mutagenesis to disrupt the condensate formation property completely abolishes ENL mutant’s oncogenic function in hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells (HSPCs). Lastly, short-term treatment with a small molecule inhibitor that blocks the acetyl-binding activity of ENL mutant reverts its impact on chromatin and significantly delays leukemia development in mice. Our studies reveal the crucial biological function of mutation-induced transcriptional condensates in chromatin regulation and cancer in vivo and provide proof-of-concept for targeting of pathogenic condensates as a promising therapy for certain cancers.
Project description:ENL is an epigenetic acetylation reader and represents the most frequently mutated epigenetic regulator in Wilms tumor. In this study, we established an in vivo mouse model with the ENL hotspot mutation Enl-T1. Here we performed RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) analysis for human embryonuc kidney cell line HEK293 with ENL-WT, T1 or T2 to study the transcriptional changes induced by ENL mutations and whether those alterations can be rescued by treating the cells with the specific ENL inhibitor TDI-11055.
Project description:ENL is an epigenetic acetylation reader and represents the most frequently mutated epigenetic regulator in Wilms tumor. In this study, we established an in vivo mouse model with the ENL hotspot mutation Enl-T1. Here we performed ChIP sequencing (ChIP-seq) analysis for human embryonuc kidney cell line HEK293 with ENL-WT or T1 to study the genomic binding site alterations induced by ENL mutation and whether those alterations can be rescued by treating the cells with the specific ENL inhibitor TDI-11055.
Project description:ENL is an epigenetic acetylation reader and represents the most frequently mutated epigenetic regulator in Wilms tumor. In this study, we established an in vivo mouse model with the ENL hotspot mutation Enl-T1. We performed single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) analysis for the Enl-WT and T1 embryonic kidney to study the transcriptional mechanism underlying the kidney developing defeat induced by the Enl mutation.
Project description:To investigate the contribution of ENL YEATS domain and downstream sequences in MLL-ENL leukemogenesis program, we generated MLL-ENL and MLL-ENL ∆YEATS (ENL aa372-559) cell lines by retrovirally introducing these constructs into lineage negative hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells (HSPCs).
Project description:ENL is an epigenetic acetylation reader and represents the most frequently mutated epigenetic regulator in Wilms tumor. In this study, we established an in vivo mouse model with the ENL hotspot mutation Enl-T1. We performed single-nuclei ATAC sequencing (snATAC-seq) analysis for the Enl-WT and T1 embryonic kidney to study the open chromatin dynamics and gene regulatory mechanism underlying the kidney developing defeat induced by the Enl mutation.