RESUMO
Richter's Transformation (RT) is a poorly understood and fatal progression of chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) manifesting histologically as diffuse large B-cell lymphoma. Protein arginine methyltransferase 5 (PRMT5) is implicated in lymphomagenesis, but its role in CLL or RT progression is unknown. We demonstrate herein that tumors uniformly overexpress PRMT5 in patients with progression to RT. Furthermore, mice with B-specific overexpression of hPRMT5 develop a B-lymphoid expansion with increased risk of death, and Eµ-PRMT5/TCL1 double transgenic mice develop a highly aggressive disease with transformation that histologically resembles RT; where large-scale transcriptional profiling identifies oncogenic pathways mediating PRMT5-driven disease progression. Lastly, we report the development of a SAM-competitive PRMT5 inhibitor, PRT382, with exclusive selectivity and optimal in vitro and in vivo activity compared to available PRMT5 inhibitors. Taken together, the discovery that PRMT5 drives oncogenic pathways promoting RT provides a compelling rationale for clinical investigation of PRMT5 inhibitors such as PRT382 in aggressive CLL/RT cases.
Assuntos
Leucemia Linfocítica Crônica de Células B , Linfoma Difuso de Grandes Células B , Animais , Camundongos , Leucemia Linfocítica Crônica de Células B/genética , Leucemia Linfocítica Crônica de Células B/patologia , Linfoma Difuso de Grandes Células B/patologiaRESUMO
Chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) is a quiescent B-cell malignancy that depends on transcriptional dysregulation for survival. The histone deacetylases are transcriptional regulators whose role within the regulatory chromatin and consequence on the CLL transcriptome is poorly characterized. Here, we profiled and integrated the genome-wide occupancy of HDAC1, BRD4, H3K27Ac, and H3K9Ac signals with chromatin accessibility, Pol2 occupancy, and target expression signatures in CLL cells. We identified that when HDAC1 was recruited within super-enhancers (SEs) marked by acetylated H3K27 and BRD4, it functioned as a transcriptional activator that drove the de novo expression of select genes to facilitate survival and progression in CLL. Targeting HDACs reduced BRD4 and Pol2 engagement to downregulate the transcript and proteins levels of specific oncogenic driver genes in CLL such as BLK, a key mediator of the B-cell receptor pathway, core transcription factors such as PAX5 and IKZF3, and the antiapoptotic gene, BCL2. Concurrently, HDAC1, when recruited in the absence of SEs, repressed target gene expression. HDAC inhibition reversed silencing of a defined set of protein-coding and noncoding RNA genes. We focused on a specific set of microRNA genes and showed that their upregulation was inversely correlated with the expression of CLL-specific survival, transcription factor, and signaling genes. Our findings identify that the transcriptional activator and repressor functions of HDACs cooperate within the same tumor to establish the transcriptional dependencies essential for survival in CLL.
Assuntos
Cromatina , Leucemia Linfocítica Crônica de Células B , Humanos , Cromatina/genética , Leucemia Linfocítica Crônica de Células B/genética , Leucemia Linfocítica Crônica de Células B/metabolismo , Proteínas Nucleares/genética , Fatores de Transcrição/genética , Regulação da Expressão Gênica , Histona Desacetilase 1/genética , Histona Desacetilase 1/metabolismo , Proteínas de Ciclo Celular/genéticaRESUMO
N6-methyladenosine (m6A), the most abundant internal modifier of mRNAs installed by the methyltransferase 13 (METTL3) at the (G/A)(m6A)C motif, plays a critical role in the regulation of gene expression. METTL3 is essential for embryonic development, and its dysregulation is linked to various diseases. However, the role of METTL3 in liver biology is largely unknown. In this study, METTL3 function was unraveled in mice depleted of Mettl3 in neonatal livers (Mettl3fl/fl; Alb-Cre). Liver-specific Mettl3 knockout (M3LKO) mice exhibited global decrease in m6A on polyadenylated RNAs and pathologic features associated with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (eg, hepatocyte ballooning, ductular reaction, microsteatosis, pleomorphic nuclei, DNA damage, foci of altered hepatocytes, focal lobular and portal inflammation, and elevated serum alanine transaminase/alkaline phosphatase levels). Mettl3-depleted hepatocytes were highly proliferative, with decreased numbers of binucleate hepatocytes and increased nuclear polyploidy. M3LKO livers were characterized by reduced m6A and expression of several key metabolic transcripts regulated by circadian rhythm and decreased nuclear protein levels of the core clock transcription factors BMAL1 and CLOCK. A significant decrease in total Bmal1 and Clock mRNAs but an increase in their nuclear levels were observed in M3LKO livers, suggesting impaired nuclear export. Consistent with the phenotype, methylated (m6A) RNA immunoprecipitation coupled with sequencing and RNA sequencing revealed transcriptome-wide loss of m6A markers and alterations in abundance of mRNAs involved in metabolism in M3LKO. Collectively, METTL3 and m6A modifications are critical regulators of liver homeostasis and function.
Assuntos
Ritmo Circadiano/genética , Regulação da Expressão Gênica , Hepatócitos/metabolismo , Homeostase , Fígado/metabolismo , Metiltransferases/metabolismo , Ploidias , Fatores de Transcrição ARNTL/metabolismo , Animais , Animais Recém-Nascidos , Sequência de Bases , Proteínas CLOCK/genética , Proteínas CLOCK/metabolismo , Proteínas de Ciclo Celular/metabolismo , Núcleo Celular/metabolismo , Metilação de DNA/genética , Deleção de Genes , Perfilação da Expressão Gênica , Fígado/patologia , Camundongos Knockout , Poliadenilação , Poliploidia , Proteínas Tirosina Quinases/metabolismo , Transcriptoma/genéticaAssuntos
Tirosina Quinase da Agamaglobulinemia/genética , Resistencia a Medicamentos Antineoplásicos/genética , Leucemia Linfocítica Crônica de Células B/tratamento farmacológico , Leucemia Linfocítica Crônica de Células B/genética , Mutação , Fosfolipase C gama/genética , Proteínas Proto-Oncogênicas c-bcl-2/genética , Adenina/análogos & derivados , Adenina/uso terapêutico , Idoso , Antineoplásicos/uso terapêutico , Compostos Bicíclicos Heterocíclicos com Pontes/uso terapêutico , Feminino , Humanos , Masculino , Pessoa de Meia-Idade , Terapia de Alvo Molecular , Piperidinas/uso terapêutico , Sulfonamidas/uso terapêuticoRESUMO
Epithelial growth factor-like 7 (EGFL7) is a protein that is secreted by endothelial cells and plays an important role in angiogenesis. Although EGFL7 is aberrantly overexpressed in solid tumors, its role in leukemia has not been evaluated. Here, we report that levels of both EGFL7 mRNA and EGFL7 protein are increased in blasts of patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) compared with normal bone marrow cells. High EGFL7 mRNA expression associates with lower complete remission rates, and shorter event-free and overall survival in older (age ≥60 y) and younger (age <60 y) patients with cytogenetically normal AML. We further show that AML blasts secrete EGFL7 protein and that higher levels of EGFL7 protein are found in the sera from AML patients than in sera from healthy controls. Treatment of patient AML blasts with recombinant EGFL7 in vitro leads to increases in leukemic blast cell growth and levels of phosphorylated AKT. EGFL7 blockade with an anti-EGFL7 antibody reduced the growth potential and viability of AML cells. Our findings demonstrate that increased EGFL7 expression and secretion is an autocrine mechanism supporting growth of leukemic blasts in patients with AML.
