Application of the cghRA framework to the genomic characterization of Diffuse Large B-Cell Lymphoma.

MOTIVATION: Although sequencing-based technologies are becoming the new reference in genome analysis, comparative genomic hybridization arrays (aCGH) still constitute a simple and reliable approach for copy number analysis. The most powerful algorithms to analyze such data have been freely provided by the scientific community for many years, but combining them is a complex scripting task. RESULTS: The cghRA framework combines a user-friendly graphical interface and a powerful object-oriented command-line interface to handle a full aCGH analysis, as is illustrated in an original series of 107 Diffuse Large B-Cell Lymphomas. New algorithms for copy-number calling, polymorphism detection and minimal common region prioritization were also developed and validated. While their performances will only be demonstrated with aCGH, these algorithms could actually prove useful to any copy-number analysis, whatever the technique used. AVAILABILITY AND IMPLEMENTATION: R package and source for Linux, MS Windows and MacOS are freely available at http://bioinformatics.ovsa.fr/cghRA. CONTACT: mareschal@ovsa.fr or fabrice.jardin@chb.unicancer.fr. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.

Targetable activating mutations are very frequent in GCB and ABC diffuse large B-cell lymphoma.

Diffuse large B cell lymphoma (DLBCL) is an aggressive and heterogeneous malignancy that can be divided in two major subgroups, germinal center B-cell-like (GCB) and activated B-cell-like (ABC). Activating mutations of genes involved in the BCR and NF-κB pathways (CD79A, CD79B, MYD88, and CARD11) or in epigenetic regulation (EZH2) have been recently reported, preferentially in one of the two DLBCL subtypes. We analyzed the mutational status of these five recurrently mutated genes in a cohort of 161 untreated de novo DLBCL. Overall, 93 mutations were detected, in 61 (38%) of the patients. The L265P MYD88 mutation was the most frequent MYD88 variant (n = 18), observed exclusively in the ABC subtype. CD79A/CD79B ITAM domains were targeted in ABC DLBCL (12/77; 16%), whereas CARD11 mutations were equally distributed in the two subtypes. The EZH2 Y641 substitution was found almost exclusively in the GCB subgroup (15/62; 24%). Twenty cases (12%) displayed two activating mutations, including the most frequent CD79/MYD88 variants combination (n = 8) which is observed exclusively in the ABC subtype. When considering only ABC DLBCL patients treated by rituximab plus chemotherapy, the presence of an activating NF-κB mutation was associated with an unfavorable outcome (3-years OS 26% for mutated cases versus 67% for the cases without mutations, P = 0.0337). Our study demonstrates that activating and targetable mutations are observed at a very high frequency in DLBCL at the time of diagnosis, indicating that sequencing of a limited number of genes could help tailor an optimal treatment strategy in DLBCL.

Heterogeneous epigenetic regulation of HACE1 in Burkitt- Lymphoma-derived cells.

We examined the consequences of 3-deazaneplanocin A (DZNep) on HACE1 expression in human Burkitt- Lymphoma-derived cells to investigate fundamental molecular mechanisms that control its expression. We treated the human Burkitt- Lymphoma-derived cells lines Ramos and Raji with DZNep and examined HACE1 mRNA expression by RT-PCR. We also studied the effect of DZNep on the methylation of lysine 9 and 27 of histone 3 (H3K27me3 and H3K9me2) associated with the CpG88 and CpG177 islands of the HACE1 promoters by chromatin immunoprecipitation and quantitative PCR. CpG88 (hypomethylated) of the HACE1 promoter was enriched for histone marks H3K27me3 and H3K9me2 whereas CpG177 (hypermethylated) was only enriched for H3K9me2. DZNep treatment increased HACE1 gene expression which was further increased by the addition of trichostatine A (TSA), a promising therapeutic compound for the treatment of human B-Lymphoma. Histone methylation (both H3K9me2 and H3K27me3) of the HACE1 promoter concomitantly decreased. Our experiments suggest that HACE1 can be downregulated by methylation of its promoter region chromatin (H3K27me3 and H3K9me2), making HACE1 a potential target for DZNep combined with TSA. These results highlight the heterogeneity of HACE1 regulation in B-lymphoma and suggest that successful drug-induced restoration of epigenetically silenced tumor suppressor genes will require accurate characterization of cell type- and locus-specific gene silencing mechanisms.

HACE1 is a putative tumor suppressor gene in B-cell lymphomagenesis and is down-regulated by both deletion and epigenetic alterations.

HECT domain and ankyrin repeat containing E3 ubiquitin protein ligase 1, HACE1, located on chromosome 6q, encodes an E3 ubiquitin ligase and is downregulated in many human tumors. Here, we report HACE1 as a candidate tumor suppressor gene down-regulated by a combination of deletion and epigenetic mechanisms. HACE1 deletions were observed in 40% of B-cell lymphoma tumors. Hypermethylation of the HACE1 promoter CpG177 island was found in 60% (68/111) of cases and in all tested B-cell lymphoma lines. Using HDAC inhibitors, we observed predominantly inactive chromatin conformation (methylated H3 histones H3K9me2) in HACE1 gene promoter region. We demonstrated in Ramos and Raji cells that down-regulation of HACE1 expression was associated with a significant decrease in apoptosis and an accumulation of cells in the S and G2/M phases. Our experiments indicate that HACE1 can act as a haploinsufficient tumor suppressor gene in most B-cell lymphomas and can be downregulated by deacetylation of its promoter region chromatin, which makes HACE1 a potential target for HDAC inhibitors.