DOT1L inhibitors block abnormal self-renewal induced by cohesin loss.

Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is a high-risk malignancy characterized by a diverse spectrum of somatic genetic alterations. The mechanisms by which these mutations contribute to leukemia development and how this informs the use of targeted therapies is critical to improving outcomes for patients. Importantly, how to target loss-of-function mutations has been a critical challenge in precision medicine. Heterozygous inactivating mutations in cohesin complex genes contribute to AML in adults by increasing the self-renewal capacity of hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells (HSPCs) by altering PRC2 targeting to induce HOXA9 expression, a key self-renewal transcription factor. Here we sought to delineate the epigenetic mechanism underpinning the enhanced self-renewal conferred by cohesin-haploinsufficiency. First, given the substantial difference in the mutational spectrum between pediatric and adult AML patients, we first sought to identify if HOXA9 was also elevated in children. Next, using primary HSPCs as a model we demonstrate that abnormal self-renewal due to cohesin loss is blocked by DOT1L inhibition. In cohesin-depleted cells, DOT1L inhibition is associated with H3K79me2 depletion and a concomitant increase in H3K27me3. Importantly, we find that there are cohesin-dependent gene expression changes that promote a leukemic profile, including HoxA overexpression, that are preferentially reversed by DOT1L inhibition. Our data further characterize how cohesin mutations contribute to AML development, identifying DOT1L as a potential therapeutic target for adult and pediatric AML patients harboring cohesin mutations.

Signaling through L-selectin mediates enhanced chemotaxis of lymphocyte subsets to secondary lymphoid tissue chemokine.

L-selectin functions as an important adhesion molecule that mediates tethering and rolling of lymphocytes by binding to high endothelial venule (HEV)-expressed ligands during recirculation. Subsequent lymphocyte arrest and transmigration require activation through binding of HEV-decorated homeostatic chemokines such as secondary lymphoid tissue chemokine (SLC; CCL21) to its counterreceptor, CCR7. Importantly, L-selectin also functions as a signaling molecule. In this study, signaling induced by ligation of L-selectin using mAb or endothelial cell-expressed ligand significantly enhanced the chemotaxis of murine T cells and B cells to SLC but not to other homeostatic chemokines. Consistent with the expression levels of L-selectin in different lymphocyte subsets, L-selectin-mediated enhancement of chemotaxis to SLC was observed for all naive lymphocytes and effector/memory CD8(+) T cells, whereas only a subpopulation of effector/memory CD4(+) T cells responded. During in vivo mesenteric lymph node migration assays, the absence of L-selectin on lymphocytes significantly attenuated both their ability to migrate out of the HEV and their chemotaxis away from the vessel wall. Notably, ligation of L-selectin and/or CCR7 did not result in increased CCR7 expression levels, internalization, or re-expression. Pharmacologic inhibitor studies showed that L-selectin-mediated enhanced chemotaxis to SLC required intact intracellular kinase function. Furthermore, treatment of lymphocytes with the spleen tyrosine kinase family inhibitor piceatannol reduced their ability to migrate across the HEV in peripheral lymph nodes. Therefore, these results suggest that "cross-talk" in the signaling pathways initiated by L-selectin and CCR7 provides a novel mechanism for functional synergy between these two molecules during lymphocyte migration.