Genetic profiles and clinical features in subcutaneous panniculitis-like T-cell lymphomas.

Subcutaneous panniculitis-like T-cell lymphoma (SPTCL) is a rare peripheral T-cell lymphoma characterized by cutaneous lesions and immunologic manifestations. The five-year survival rate of SPTCL has been reported to be over 80%, indicating a favorable prognosis. Recent studies have uncovered recurrent germline variants in HAVCR2, encoding an immunomodulator. In this study, we integrated whole-exome sequencing data from 60 samples collected from 36 SPTCL patients, encompassing six patients of our cohort and 30 patients of publicly available data. We identified 138 somatic mutations in skin tumors of 24 patients and HAVCR2 germline mutations in 23 of 29 patients. HAVCR2 p.Tyr82Cys mutations were identified in four of six Japanese patients. During the clinical courses of four patients, cyclophosphamide, hydroxydaunomycin, vincristine, and prednisone were administered to all patients, but it resulted in incomplete responses in all four patients. However, disease conditions of all patients remained stable with additional treatment, including autologous peripheral blood stem cell transplantation. Over a 7.5-year median follow-up, one patient developed autoimmune-related diseases, while one developed other hematological malignancy, resulting in death. To our knowledge, this is the first report of recurrent HAVCR2 germline mutations in Japanese patients, suggesting the necessity for long-term follow-up.

Dual-specificity phosphatases 13 and 27 as key switches in muscle stem cell transition from proliferation to differentiation.

Muscle regeneration depends on muscle stem cell (MuSC) activity. Myogenic regulatory factors, including myoblast determination protein 1 (MyoD), regulate the fate transition of MuSCs. However, the direct target of MYOD in the process is not completely clear. Using previously established MyoD knock-in (MyoD-KI) mice, we revealed that MyoD targets dual-specificity phosphatase (Dusp) 13 and Dusp27. In Dusp13:Dusp27 double knock-out mice, the ability for muscle regeneration after injury was reduced. Moreover, single-cell RNA sequencing of MyoD-high expressing MuSCs from MyoD-KI mice revealed that Dusp13 and Dusp27 are expressed only in specific populations within MyoD-high MuSCs, which also express Myogenin. Overexpressing Dusp13 in MuSCs causes premature muscle differentiation. Thus, we propose a model where DUSP13 and DUSP27 contribute to the fate transition of MuSCs from proliferation to differentiation during myogenesis.

Lunar gravity prevents skeletal muscle atrophy but not myofiber type shift in mice.

Skeletal muscle is sensitive to gravitational alterations. We recently developed a multiple artificial-gravity research system (MARS), which can generate gravity ranging from microgravity to Earth gravity (1 g) in space. Using the MARS, we studied the effects of three different gravitational levels (microgravity, lunar gravity [1/6 g], and 1 g) on the skeletal muscle mass and myofiber constitution in mice. All mice survived and returned to Earth, and skeletal muscle was collected two days after landing. We observed that microgravity-induced soleus muscle atrophy was prevented by lunar gravity. However, lunar gravity failed to prevent the slow-to-fast myofiber transition in the soleus muscle in space. These results suggest that lunar gravity is enough to maintain proteostasis, but a greater gravitational force is required to prevent the myofiber type transition. Our study proposes that different gravitational thresholds may be required for skeletal muscle adaptation.

Large Maf transcription factor family is a major regulator of fast type IIb myofiber determination.

Myofibers are broadly characterized as fatigue-resistant slow-twitch (type I) fibers and rapidly fatiguing fast-twitch (type IIa/IIx/IIb) fibers. However, the molecular regulation of myofiber type is not entirely understood; particularly, information on regulators of fast-twitch muscle is scarce. Here, we demonstrate that the large Maf transcription factor family dictates fast type IIb myofiber specification in mice. Remarkably, the ablation of three large Mafs leads to the drastic loss of type IIb myofibers, resulting in enhanced endurance capacity and the reduction of muscle force. Conversely, the overexpression of each large Maf in the type I soleus muscle induces type IIb myofibers. Mechanistically, a large Maf directly binds to the Maf recognition element on the promoter of myosin heavy chain 4, which encodes the type IIb myosin heavy chain, driving its expression. This work identifies the large Maf transcription factor family as a major regulator for fast type IIb muscle determination.