RESUMEN
USP7, which encodes a deubiquitylating enzyme, is among the most frequently mutated genes in pediatric T-ALL, with somatic heterozygous loss-of-function mutations (haploinsufficiency) predominantly affecting the subgroup that has aberrant TAL1 oncogene activation. Network analysis of > 200 T-ALL transcriptomes linked USP7 haploinsufficiency with decreased activities of E-proteins. E-proteins are also negatively regulated by TAL1, leading to concerted down-regulation of E-protein target genes involved in T-cell development. In T-ALL cell lines, we showed the physical interaction of USP7 with E-proteins and TAL1 by mass spectrometry and ChIP-seq. Haploinsufficient but not complete CRISPR knock-out of USP7 showed accelerated cell growth and validated transcriptional down-regulation of E-protein targets. Our study unveiled the synergistic effect of USP7 haploinsufficiency with aberrant TAL1 activation on T-ALL, implicating USP7 as a haploinsufficient tumor suppressor in T-ALL. Our findings caution against a universal oncogene designation for USP7 while emphasizing the dosage-dependent consequences of USP7 inhibitors currently under development as potential cancer therapeutics.
Asunto(s)
Oncogenes/genética , Leucemia-Linfoma Linfoblástico de Células T Precursoras/genética , Proteína 1 de la Leucemia Linfocítica T Aguda/genética , Peptidasa Específica de Ubiquitina 7/genética , Sistemas CRISPR-Cas/genética , Línea Celular Tumoral , Linaje de la Célula/genética , Proliferación Celular/genética , Regulación Leucémica de la Expresión Génica/genética , Haploinsuficiencia/genética , Humanos , Pediatría , Leucemia-Linfoma Linfoblástico de Células T Precursoras/patología , Activación Transcripcional/genéticaRESUMEN
STI571 is the most innovative drug for the cure of Chronic Myeloid Leukemia. It inhibits, in fact, the disease causative event, the p210 bcr-abl tyrosine kinase, and addresses clonal myeloid progenitors to apoptotic death. Here, we demonstrated that STI571 also induces growth arrest by activating the Chk2-Cdc25A-Cdk2 axis, a pathway complementary to p53 in the activation of G(1)/S cell cycle checkpoint. In vitro exposure to STI571 of 32D murine myeloid progenitor cell clones transducing a temperature-sensitive p210 bcr-abl construct was associated with Chk2 phosphorylation and activation, Cdc25A degradation and persistent Cdk2 inhibitory phosphorylation, preventing, in turn, cell transition to and progression throughout the S phase of cell cycle. Chk2 and Cdc25A are both components of a complex network that integrates signals involved in regulated cell cycle progression, DNA repair and cell decision between life or death. Chk2 gene mutations or decreased expression, leading to its protein loss of function on Cdc25A target, and Cdc25A overexpression have been linked to poor prognosis of human cancers. In CML, they might further enhance the proliferative advantage and genomic instability of clonal myeloid progenitors featuring a class of poor prognosis patients eventually resistant to STI571.