GREB1-CTNNB1 fusion transcript detected by RNA-sequencing in a uterine tumor resembling ovarian sex cord tumor (UTROSCT): A novel CTNNB1 rearrangement.

ABSTRACT

Mutations of CTNNB1 have been implicated in tumorigenesis in many organs. However, tumors harboring a CTNNB1 translocation are extremely rare and this translocation has never been reported in a uterine mesenchymal neoplasm. We report a novel translocation t(2;3)(p25;p22) involving the GREB1 (intron 8) and CTNNB1 (exon 3) in a uterine tumor resembling ovarian sex cord tumor (UTROSCT), which exhibited extrauterine metastasis. The translocation detected by RNA-sequencing was validated by RT-PCR, and resulted in nuclear expression of ß-catenin. Juxtapositioning with GREB1, which is overexpressed in response to estrogens, resulted in overexpression of a truncated and hypophosphorylated nuclear ß-catenin in the primary and recurrent tumors. This accumulation of nuclear ß-catenin results in a constitutive activation of the Wnt/ß-catenin signaling pathway with a major oncogenic effect. The CTNNB1 gene fusion, promoted by an estrogen-responsive gene (GREB1), could be a potential driver of tumorigenesis in this case and a therapeutic target with adapted inhibitors. RT-PCR and immunohistochemistry performed on 11 additional UTROSCTs showed no CTNNB1 fusion transcript or nuclear ß-catenin immunoreactivity.