XBP1 promotes NRASG12D pre-B acute lymphoblastic leukaemia through IL-7 receptor signalling and provides a therapeutic vulnerability for oncogenic RAS.

Activating point mutations of the RAS gene act as driver mutations for a subset of precursor-B cell acute lymphoblastic leukaemias (pre-B ALL) and represent an ambitious target for therapeutic approaches. The X box-binding protein 1 (XBP1), a key regulator of the unfolded protein response (UPR), is critical for pre-B ALL cell survival, and high expression of XBP1 confers poor prognosis in ALL patients. However, the mechanism of XBP1 activation has not yet been elucidated in RAS mutated pre-B ALL. Here, we demonstrate that XBP1 acts as a downstream linchpin of the IL-7 receptor signalling pathway and that pharmacological inhibition or genetic ablation of XBP1 selectively abrogates IL-7 receptor signalling via inhibition of its downstream effectors, JAK1 and STAT5. We show that XBP1 supports malignant cell growth of pre-B NRASG12D ALL cells and that genetic loss of XBP1 consequently leads to cell cycle arrest and apoptosis. Our findings reveal that active XBP1 prevents the cytotoxic effects of a dual PI3K/mTOR pathway inhibitor (BEZ235) in pre-B NRASG12D ALL cells. This implies targeting XBP1 in combination with BEZ235 as a promising new targeted strategy against the oncogenic RAS in NRASG12D -mutated pre-B ALL.

Telomere biology disorders may manifest as common variable immunodeficiency (CVID).

Telomere biology disorders (TBD) are caused by germline pathogenic variants in genes related to telomere maintenance and are characterized by critically short telomeres. In contrast to classical dyskeratosis congenita (DC), which is typically diagnosed in infancy, adult or late onset TBD frequently lack the typical DC triad and rather show variable organ manifestations and a cryptic disease course, thus complicating its diagnosis. Common variable immunodeficiency (CVID), on the other hand, is a primary antibody deficiency (PAD) syndrome. PADs are a heterogenous group of diseases characterized by hypogammaglobulinemia which occurs due to dysfunctional B lymphocytes and additional autoimmune and autoinflammatory complications. Genetic screening reveals a monogenic cause in a subset of CVID patients (15-35%). In our study, we screened the exomes of 491 CVID patients for the occurrence of TBD-related variants in 13 genes encoding for telomere/telomerase-associated proteins, which had previously been linked to the disease. We found 110/491 patients (22%) carrying 91 rare candidate variants in these 13 genes. Following the American College of Medical Genetics and Genomics (ACMG) guidelines, we classified two variants as benign, two as likely benign, 64 as variants of uncertain significance (VUS), four as likely pathogenic, and one heterozygous variant in an autosomal recessive disease gene as pathogenic. We performed telomere length measurement in 42 of the 110 patients with candidate variants and CVID. Two of these 42 patients showed significantly shorter telomeres compared to controls in both lymphocytes and granulocytes. Following the evaluation of the published literature and the patient's manifestations, we re-classified two VUS as likely pathogenic variants. Thus, 0.5-1% of all CVID patients in our study carry possibly pathogenic variants in telomere/telomerase-associated genes. Our data adds CVID to the broad clinical spectrum of cryptic adult-onset TBD. As the molecular diagnosis greatly impacts patient management and treatment strategies, we advise inclusion of all TBD-associated genes-despite their low prevalence-into the molecular screening of patients with antibody deficiencies.

Targeting autophagy increases the efficacy of proteasome inhibitor treatment in multiple myeloma by induction of apoptosis and activation of JNK.

BACKGROUND: The therapeutic armamentarium in multiple myeloma has been significantly broadened by proteasome inhibitors, highly efficient means in controlling of multiple myeloma. Despite the developments of therapeutic regimen in treatment of multiple myeloma, still the complete remission requires a novel therapeutic strategy with significant difference in outcomes. Proteasome inhibitors induce autophagy and ER stress, both pivotal pathways for protein homeostasis. Recent studies showed that the IRE1α-XBP1 axis of the unfolded protein response (UPR) is up-regulated in multiple myeloma patients. In addition, XBP1 is crucial for the maintenance of viability of acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). RESULTS: We analyzed the efficacy of targeting IRE1α-XBP1 axis and autophagy in combination with proteasome inhibitor, ixazomib in treatment of multiple myeloma. In this present study, we first show that targeting the IRE1α-XBP1 axis with small molecule inhibitors (STF-083010, A106) together with the ixazomib induces cell cycle arrest with an additive cytotoxic effect in multiple myeloma. Further, we examined the efficacy of autophagy inhibitors (bafilomycin A, BAF and chloroquine, CQ) together with ixazomib in multiple myeloma and observed that this combination treatment synergistically reduced cell viability in multiple myeloma cell lines (viable cells Ixa: 51.8 ± 3.3, Ixa + BAF: 18.3 ± 7.2, Ixa + CQ: 38.4 ± 3.7) and patient-derived multiple myeloma cells (Ixa: 59.6 ± 4.4, Ixa + CQ: 7.0 ± 2.1). We observed, however, that this combined strategy leads to activation of stress-induced c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK). Cytotoxicity mediated by combined proteasome and autophagy inhibition was reversed by addition of the specific JNK inhibitor JNK-In-8 (viable cells: Ixa + BAF: 11.6 ± 7.0, Ixa + BAF + JNK-In-8: 30.9 ± 6.1). CONCLUSION: In this study we showed that combined inhibition of autophagy and the proteasome synergistically induces cell death in multiple myeloma. Hence, we consider the implication of pharmaceutical inhibition of autophagy together with proteasome inhibition and UPR-directed therapy as promising novel in vitro treatment strategy against multiple myeloma.

Interstitial lung diseases associated with mutations of poly(A)-specific ribonuclease: A multicentre retrospective study.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: Poly(A)-specific ribonuclease (PARN) mutations have been associated with familial pulmonary fibrosis. This study aims to describe the phenotype of patients with interstitial lung disease (ILD) and heterozygous PARN mutations. METHODS: We performed a retrospective, observational, non-interventional study of patients with an ILD diagnosis and a pathogenic heterozygous PARN mutation followed up in a centre of the OrphaLung network. RESULTS: We included 31 patients (29 from 16 kindreds and two sporadic patients). The median age at ILD diagnosis was 59 years (range 54 to 63). In total, 23 (74%) patients had a smoking history and/or fibrogenic exposure. The pulmonary phenotypes were heterogenous, but the most frequent diagnosis was idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (n = 12, 39%). Haematological abnormalities were identified in three patients and liver disease in two. In total, 21 patients received a specific treatment for ILD: steroids (n = 13), antifibrotic agents (n = 11), immunosuppressants (n = 5) and N-acetyl cysteine (n = 2). The median forced vital capacity decline for the whole sample was 256 ml/year (range -363 to -148). After a median follow-up of 32 months (range 18 to 66), 10 patients had died and six had undergone lung transplantation. The median transplantation-free survival was 54 months (95% CI 29 to ∞). Extra-pulmonary features were less frequent with PARN mutation than telomerase reverse transcriptase (TERT) or telomerase RNA component (TERC) mutation. CONCLUSION: IPF is common among individuals with PARN mutation, but other ILD subtypes may be observed.

Targeting of BCR-ABL1 and IRE1α induces synthetic lethality in Philadelphia-positive acute lymphoblastic leukemia.

BCR-ABL1-positive acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) cell survival is dependent on the inositol-requiring enzyme 1 alpha (IRE1α) branch of the unfolded protein response. In the current study, we have focused on exploring the efficacy of a simultaneous pharmacological inhibition of BCR-ABL1 and IRE1α in Philadelphia-positive (Ph+) ALL using tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI) nilotinib and the IRE1α inhibitor MKC-8866. The combination of 0.5 µM nilotinib and 30 µM MKC-8866 in Ph+ ALL cell lines led to a synergistic effect on cell viability. To mimic this dual inhibition on a genetic level, pre-B-cells from conditional Xbp1+/fl mice were transduced with a BCR-ABL1 construct and with either tamoxifen-inducible cre or empty vector. Cells showed a significant sensitization to the effect of TKIs after the induction of the heterozygous deletion. Finally, we performed a phosphoproteomic analysis on Ph+ ALL cell lines treated with the combination of nilotinib and MKC-8866 to identify potential targets involved in their synergistic effect. An enhanced activation of p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase α (p38α MAPK) was identified. In line with this findings, p38 MAPK and, another important endoplasmic reticulum-stress-related kinase, c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK) were found to mediate the potentiated cytotoxic effect induced by the combination of MKC-8866 and nilotinib since the targeting of p38 MAPK with its specific inhibitor BIRB-796 or JNK with JNK-in-8 hindered the synergistic effect observed upon treatment with nilotinib and MKC-8866. In conclusion, the identified combined action of nilotinib and MKC-8866 might represent a successful therapeutic strategy in high-risk Ph+ ALL.

Androgen derivatives improve blood counts and elongate telomere length in adult cryptic dyskeratosis congenita.

Dyskeratosis Congenita (DKC) is a systemic disorder caused by mutations resulting in impaired telomere maintenance. Clinical features include bone marrow failure and an increased risk of developing hematological malignancies. There are conflicting data whether androgen derivatives (AD) can elongate telomeres in vivo and whether AD treatment enhances the risk of gaining myelodysplastic syndrome-related mutations. Seven TERC or TERT-mutated DKC patients underwent AD treatment. All patients revealed hematological response. Telomere length of lymphocytes and granulocytes increased significantly and no MDS-related mutations were detected. Pending longer follow-up, treatment with AD seems to represent an efficient and safe therapy for DKC patients.

Epigenetic Clocks Are Not Accelerated in COVID-19 Patients.

Age is a major risk factor for severe outcome of the 2019 coronavirus disease (COVID-19). In this study, we followed the hypothesis that particularly patients with accelerated epigenetic age are affected by severe outcomes of COVID-19. We investigated various DNA methylation datasets of blood samples with epigenetic aging signatures and performed targeted bisulfite amplicon sequencing. Overall, epigenetic clocks closely correlated with the chronological age of patients, either with or without acute respiratory distress syndrome. Furthermore, lymphocytes did not reveal significantly accelerated telomere attrition. Thus, these biomarkers cannot reliably predict higher risk for severe COVID-19 infection in elderly patients.

Comparable Effects of the Androgen Derivatives Danazol, Oxymetholone and Nandrolone on Telomerase Activity in Human Primary Hematopoietic Cells from Patients with Dyskeratosis Congenita.

Dyskeratosis congenita (DKC) is a rare inherited disease of impaired telomere maintenance that progressively leads to multi-organ failure, including the bone marrow. By enhancing telomerase activity, androgen derivatives (ADs) are a potential therapeutic option able to re-elongate previously shortened telomeres. Danazol, oxymetholone, and nandrolone are ADs most frequently used to treat DKC. However, no direct in vitro analyses comparing the efficacy of these ADs have been conducted so far. We therefore treated mononuclear cells derived from peripheral blood and bone marrow of four patients with mutations in telomerase reverse transcriptase (TERT, n = 1),in the telomerase RNA component (TERC, n = 2) and in dyskerin pseudouridine synthase 1 (DKC1, n = 1) and found no substantial differences in the activity of these three agents in patients with TERC/TERT mutations. All AD studied produced comparable improvements of proliferation rates as well as degrees of telomere elongation. Increased TERT expression levels were shown with danazol and oxymetholone. The beneficial effects of all ADs on proliferation of bone marrow progenitors could be reversed by tamoxifen, an estrogen antagonist abolishing estrogen receptor-mediated TERT expression, thereby underscoring the involvement of TERT in AD mechanism of action. In conclusion, no significant differences in the ability to functionally enhance telomerase activity could be observed for the three AD studied in vitro. Physicians therefore might choose treatment based on patients' individual co-morbidities, e.g., pre-existing liver disease and expected side-effects.

Eltrombopag Preserves the Clonogenic Potential of Hematopoietic Stem Cells During Treatment With Antithymocyte Globulin in Patients With Aplastic Anemia.

Aplastic anemia (AA) is frequently caused by a T-cell mediated autoimmune depletion of the hematopoietic stem and progenitor cell (HSPC) compartment. Immunosuppressive therapy (IST) with antithymocyte globulin (ATG) and cyclosporine represents the first-line treatment of AA. One side effect of ATG therapy is the release of proinflammatory cytokines such as interferon-gamma (IFN-γ), which is considered a major factor in the pathogenic autoimmune depletion of HSPC. Recently, eltrombopag (EPAG) was introduced for therapy of refractory AA patients due to its ability to bypass IFN-γ-mediated HSPC inhibition among other mechanisms. Clinical trials have evidenced that EPAG started simultaneously with IST leads to a higher response rate compared with its later administration schedules. We hypothesize that EPAG might protect HSPC from negative effects of ATG-induced release of cytokines. We observed a significant decrease in colony numbers when both healthy peripheral blood (PB) CD34+ cells and AA-derived bone marrow cells were cultured in the presence of serum from patients under ATG treatment, as compared with before treatment. Consistent with our hypothesis, this effect could be rescued by adding EPAG in vitro to both healthy and AA-derived cells. By employing an IFN-γ neutralizing antibody, we also demonstrated that the deleterious early ATG effects on the healthy PB CD34+ compartment were mediated at least partially by IFN-γ. Hence, we provide evidence for the hitherto unexplained clinical observation that concomitant use of EPAG in addition to IST comprising ATG leads to improved response in patients with AA.

Myelofibrosis at diagnosis is associated with the failure of treatment-free remission in CML patients.

The management of patients with chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) has been revolutionized by the introduction of tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs), which induce deep molecular responses so that treatment can eventually be discontinued, leading to treatment-free remission (TFR) in a subset of patients. Unfortunately, leukemic stem cells (LSCs) often persist and a fraction of these can again expand in about half of patients that attempt TKI discontinuation. In this study, we show that presence of myelofibrosis (MF) at the time of diagnosis is a factor associating with TFR failure. Fibrotic transformation is governed by the action of several cytokines, and interestingly, some of them have also been described to support LSC persistence. At the cellular level, these could be produced by both malignant cells and by components of the bone marrow (BM) niche, including megakaryocytes (MKs) and mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs). In our cohort of 57 patients, around 40% presented with MF at diagnosis and the number of blasts in the peripheral blood and BM was significantly elevated in patients with higher grade of MF. Employing a CML transgenic mouse model, we could observe higher levels of alpha-smooth muscle actin (α-SMA) in the BM when compared to control mice. Short-term treatment with the TKI nilotinib, efficiently reduced spleen weight and BCR::ABL1 mRNA levels, while α-SMA expression was only partially reduced. Interestingly, the number of MKs was increased in the spleen of CML mice and elevated in both BM and spleen upon nilotinib treatment. Analysis of human CML-vs healthy donor (HD)-derived MSCs showed an altered expression of gene signatures reflecting fibrosis as well as hematopoietic support, thus suggesting MSCs as a potential player in these two processes. Finally, in our cohort, 12 patients qualified for TKI discontinuation, and here we observed that all patients who failed TFR had BM fibrosis at diagnosis, whereas this was only the case in 25% of patients with achieved TFR, further supporting the link between fibrosis and LSC persistence.

Telomere length dynamics measured by flow-FISH in patients with obesity undergoing bariatric surgery.

Obesity has negative effects on comorbidities, health-related quality of life and survival. Telomere length (TL) changes after bariatric surgery have been reported, but the studies are contradictory, and analyses using state-of-the art techniques for TL measurement, such as flow-FISH, are sparse. We measured TL dynamics via flow-FISH in patients undergoing bariatric surgery and compared their TL with 105 healthy individuals. Patients with obesity who underwent bariatric surgery were included. Lymphocyte and granulocyte absolute and age-adjusted (aa) TL were analyzed by flow-FISH before (preoperative cohort, n = 45) and after surgery (follow-up cohort, n = 35) at month 5.5 ± 3.9 (mean ± standard deviation [SD]). The initial lymphocyte aaTL was significantly shorter (-0.37 kb ± 0.18 kb, P = 0.045) in patients with obesity, while the granulocyte aaTL was not different from that in the healthy comparison population (0.28 kb ± 0.17 kb, P = 0.11). The telomere dynamics after surgery showed an increase in mean TL in both lymphocytes and granulocytes of patients with a pronounced BMI loss of ≥ 10 kg/m2. We did not find any association between TL increase after surgery and age, sex or the type of procedure selected for bariatric surgery. We confirmed that patients suffering from obesity have significantly shorter lymphocyte TL using flow-FISH. Along with and dependent on the degree of weight reduction after bariatric surgery, TL significantly increased in both lymphocytes and granulocytes after a mean of 5.5 months. Our results show that bariatric surgery affects not only body weight but also biomarkers of aging, such as TL.

Identification of Adult Patients With Classical Dyskeratosis Congenita or Cryptic Telomere Biology Disorder by Telomere Length Screening Using Age-modified Criteria.

Telomere biology disorders (TBD) result from premature telomere shortening due to pathogenic germline variants in telomere maintenance-associated genes. In adults, TBD are characterized by mono/oligosymptomatic clinical manifestations (cryptic TBD) contributing to severe underdiagnosis. We present a prospective multi-institutional cohort study where telomere length (TL) screening was performed in either newly diagnosed patients with aplastic anemia (AA) or if TBD was clinically suspected by the treating physician. TL of 262 samples was measured via flow-fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH). TL was considered suspicious once below the 10th percentile of normal individuals (standard screening) or if below 6.5 kb in patients >40 years (extended screening). In cases with shortened TL, next generation sequencing (NGS) for TBD-associated genes was performed. The patients referred fell into 6 different screening categories: (1) AA/paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria, (2) unexplained cytopenia, (3) dyskeratosis congenita, (4) myelodysplastic syndrome/acute myeloid leukemia, (5) interstitial lung disease, and (6) others. Overall, TL was found to be shortened in 120 patients (n = 86 standard and n = 34 extended screening). In 17 of the 76 (22.4%) standard patients with sufficient material for NGS, a pathogenic/likely pathogenic TBD-associated gene variant was identified. Variants of uncertain significance were detected in 17 of 76 (22.4%) standard and 6 of 29 (20.7%) extended screened patients. Expectedly, mutations were mainly found in TERT and TERC. In conclusion, TL measured by flow-FISH represents a powerful functional in vivo screening for an underlying TBD and should be performed in every newly diagnosed patient with AA as well as other patients with clinical suspicion for an underlying TBD in both children and adults.

Combined inhibition of BCR-ABL1 and the proteasome as a potential novel therapeutic approach in BCR-ABL positive acute lymphoblastic leukemia.

Acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) is a disease of lymphoid progenitor cells with an often aggressive course and is commonly caused by the BCR-ABL fusion gene t(9;22) in adults. This fusion gene encodes a constitutively active tyrosine kinase that can be effectively inhibited by tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs), with imatinib being the paradigmatic agent of this class. However, BCR-ABL+ ALL cells rapidly develop mutations against many of the available TKIs, and consecutive disease relapse still results in an overall unfavorable prognosis for patients with this disease. To date, allogeneic stem cell transplantation is the only known curative therapeutic option for the mostly elderly patients with BCR-ABL+ ALL. The discrepancy between the limited therapeutic armamentarium and the growing therapeutic need in an aging population is therefore a reason to test drug combinations against BCR-ABL+ ALL. In this study, we demonstrate that the combination of TKIs with proteasome inhibitors efficiently and under certain conditions synergistically exerts cytotoxic effects in BCR-ABL+ ALL cells in vitro with respect to the induction of apoptosis. Both sole and combined treatment of BCR-ABL+ ALL with the proteasome inhibitors bortezomib and ixazomib, respectively, and TKI causes a significantly greater reduction in cell viability than TKI treatment alone in both BCR-ABL+ cell lines TOM-1 and BV-173. In BV-173 cells, we observed a significant reduction in cell viability to only 1.26%±0.46% with bortezomib treatment and 1.57±0.7% with combination treatment, whereas cells treated with dasatinib alone still had a viable percentage of 40.58±2.6%. Similar results were obtained when ixazomib was applied to both cell lines, and apoptosis was induced in both cases (93.36%±2.7% apoptotic BV-173 cells when treated with ixazomib and TKI). The combination of TKI and proteasome inhibitor is efficient in vitro, potentially expanding the spectrum of therapeutic options for patients with BCR-ABL+ ALL.

Treatment of telomeropathies.

Telomeropathies or telomere biology disorders (TBDs) are a group of rare diseases characterised by altered telomere maintenance. Most patients with TBDs show pathogenic variants of genes that encode factors involved in the prevention of telomere shortening. Particularly in adults, TBDs mostly present themselves with heterogeneous clinical features that often include bone marrow failure, hepatopathies, interstitial lung disease and other organ sites. Different degrees of severity are also observed among patients with TBDs, ranging from very severe syndromes manifesting themselves in early childhood, such as Revesz syndrome, Hoyeraal-Hreidarsson syndrome, and Coats plus disease, to dyskeratosis congenita (DKC) and adult-onset "cryptic" forms of TBD, which often affect fewer organ systems. Overall, the most relevant clinical complications of TBD are bone marrow failure, lung fibrosis, and liver cirrhosis. In this review, we summarise recent advances in the management and treatment of TBD and provide a brief overview of the various treatment approaches.

Retrospective observational study evaluating zinc plasma level in patients undergoing thoracoabdominal aortic aneurysm repair and its correlation with outcome.

Thoracoabdominal aortic aneurysm (TAAA) repair is related to a relevant morbidity and in-hospital mortality rate. In this retrospective observational single-center study including serum zinc levels of 33 patients we investigated the relationship between zinc and patients' outcome following TAAA repair. Six patients died during the hospital stay (18%). These patients showed significantly decreased zinc levels before the intervention (zinc levels before intervention: 60.09 µg/dl [survivors] vs. 45.92 µg/dl [non-survivors]). The post-interventional intensive care SOFA-score (Sepsis-related organ failure assessment) (at day 2) as well as the SAPS (Simplified Acute Physiology Score) (at day 2) showed higher score points in case of low pre-interventional zinc levels. No significant correlation between patient comorbidities and zinc level before intervention, except for peripheral arterial disease (PAD), which was significantly correlated to reduced baseline zinc levels, was observed. Septic shock, pneumonia and urinary tract infections were not associated to reduced zinc levels preoperatively as well as during therapy. Patients with adverse outcome after TAAA repair showed reduced pre-interventional zinc levels. We speculate that decreased zinc levels before intervention may be related to a poorer outcome because of poorer physical status as well as negatively altered perioperative inflammatory response.

Telomere Shortening in Peripheral Leukocytes Is Associated With Poor Survival in Cancer Patients Treated With Immune Checkpoint Inhibitor Therapy.

BACKGROUND: Immune checkpoint inhibitor (ICI) therapy represents a new standard of care for an increasing number of malignancies. Nevertheless, response rates and outcome of ICI treatment vary between individuals and the identification of predictive markers or hints towards immune cell exhaustion during therapy has remained a major challenge. Leukocyte telomere length is an established predictive biomarker of replicative aging and cellular proliferative potential in various hematological diseases. However, its relevance in the context of ICI therapy has not been investigated to date. Here, we analyze the age-adapted delta telomere length (ΔTL) of peripheral leukocytes as a potential predictive and prognostic marker in patients undergoing ICI therapy. METHODS: Age-adapted delta telomere length (ΔTL) of 84 patients treated with ICIs for solid malignancies was measured via quantitative real-time PCR. ΔTL was correlated with outcome and clinical data. RESULTS: ΔTL was not significantly altered between patients with different tumor entities or tumor stages and did not predict tumor response to ICI therapy. However, ΔTLs at initiation of treatment were a prognostic marker for overall survival (OS). When using a calculated ideal cut-off value, the median OS in patients with shorter ΔTL was 5.7 months compared to 18.0 months in patients showing longer ΔTL. The prognostic role of age-adapted ΔTL was further confirmed by uni- and multivariate Cox-regression analyses. CONCLUSION: In the present study, we demonstrate that shorter telomere lengths in peripheral blood leukocytes are associated with a significantly impaired outcome in patients receiving ICI therapy across different malignancies. We explain our findings by hypothesizing an older replicative age in peripheral leukocytes of patients with an impaired overall survival, reflected by a premature TL shortening. Whether this association is ICI-specific remains unknown. Further follow-up studies are needed to provide insights about the exact mechanism of how shortened telomeres eventually affect OS and could help guiding therapeutic decisions in future.

PRDM8 reveals aberrant DNA methylation in aging syndromes and is relevant for hematopoietic and neuronal differentiation.

BACKGROUND: Dyskeratosis congenita (DKC) and idiopathic aplastic anemia (AA) are bone marrow failure syndromes that share characteristics of premature aging with severe telomere attrition. Aging is also reflected by DNA methylation changes, which can be utilized to predict donor age. There is evidence that such epigenetic age predictions are accelerated in premature aging syndromes, but it is yet unclear how this is related to telomere length. DNA methylation analysis may support diagnosis of DKC and AA, which still remains a challenge for these rare diseases. RESULTS: In this study, we analyzed blood samples of 70 AA and 18 DKC patients to demonstrate that their epigenetic age predictions are overall increased, albeit not directly correlated with telomere length. Aberrant DNA methylation was observed in the gene PRDM8 in DKC and AA as well as in other diseases with premature aging phenotype, such as Down syndrome and Hutchinson-Gilford-Progeria syndrome. Aberrant DNA methylation patterns were particularly found within subsets of cell populations in DKC and AA samples as measured with barcoded bisulfite amplicon sequencing (BBA-seq). To gain insight into the functional relevance of PRDM8, we used CRISPR/Cas9 technology to generate induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) with heterozygous and homozygous knockout. Loss of PRDM8 impaired hematopoietic and neuronal differentiation of iPSCs, even in the heterozygous knockout clone, but it did not impact on epigenetic age. CONCLUSION: Taken together, our results demonstrate that epigenetic aging is accelerated in DKC and AA, independent from telomere attrition. Furthermore, aberrant DNA methylation in PRDM8 provides another biomarker for bone marrow failure syndromes and modulation of this gene in cellular subsets may be related to the hematopoietic and neuronal phenotypes observed in premature aging syndromes.

Comparison of flow-FISH and MM-qPCR telomere length assessment techniques for the screening of telomeropathies.

Assessment of telomere length (TL) in peripheral blood leukocytes is part of the diagnostic algorithm applied to patients with acquired bone marrow failure syndromes (BMFSs) and dyskeratosis congenita (DKC). Monochrome multiplex-quantitative polymerase chain reaction (MM-qPCR) and fluorescence in situ hybridization (flow-FISH) are methodologies available for TL screening. Dependent on TL expressed in relation to percentiles of healthy controls, further genetic testing for inherited mutations in telomere maintenance genes is recommended. However, the correct threshold to trigger this genetic workup is still under debate. Here, we prospectively compared MM-qPCR and flow-FISH regarding their capacity for accurate identification of DKC patients. All patients (n = 105) underwent genetic testing by next-generation sequencing and in 16 patients, mutations in DKC-relevant genes were identified. Whole leukocyte TL of patients measured by MM-qPCR was found to be moderately correlated with lymphocyte TL measured by flow-FISH (r² = 0.34; P < 0.0001). The sensitivity of both methods was high, but the specificity of MM-qPCR (29%) was significantly lower compared with flow-FISH (58%). These results suggest that MM-qPCR of peripheral blood cells is inferior to flow-FISH for clinical routine screening for suspected DKC in adult patients with BMFS due to lower specificity and a higher rate of false-positive results.

Antileukemic Efficacy of BET Inhibitor in a Preclinical Mouse Model of MLL-AF4+ Infant ALL.

MLL-rearranged acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) occurring in infants is a rare but very aggressive leukemia, typically associated with a dismal prognosis. Despite the development of specific therapeutic protocols, infant patients with MLL-rearranged ALL still suffer from a low cure rate. At present, novel therapeutic approaches are urgently needed. Recently, the use of small molecule inhibitors targeting the epigenetic regulators of the MLL complex emerged as a promising strategy for the development of a targeted therapy. Herein, we have investigated the effects of bromodomain and extra-terminal (BET) function abrogation in a preclinical mouse model of MLL-AF4+ infant ALL using the BET inhibitor I-BET151. We reported that I-BET151 is able to arrest the growth of MLL-AF4+ leukemic cells in vitro, by blocking cell division and rapidly inducing apoptosis. Treatment with I-BET151 in vivo impairs the leukemic engraftment of patient-derived primary samples and lower the disease burden in mice. I-BET151 affects the transcriptional profile of MLL-rearranged ALL through the deregulation of BRD4, HOXA7/HOXA9, and RUNX1 gene networks. Moreover, I-BET151 treatment sensitizes glucocorticoid-resistant MLL-rearranged cells to prednisolone in vitro and is more efficient when used in combination with HDAC inhibitors, both in vitro and in vivo Given the aggressiveness of the disease, the failure of the current therapies and the lack of an ultimate cure, this study paves the way for the use of BET inhibitors to treat MLL-rearranged infant ALL for future clinical applications. Mol Cancer Ther; 17(8); 1705-16. ©2018 AACR.