RESUMO
Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is a disease associated with epigenetic dysregulation. 11q23 translocations involving the H3K4 methyltransferase MLL1 (KMT2A) generate oncogenic fusion proteins with deregulated transcriptional potential. The polymerase-associated factor complex (PAFc) is an epigenetic co-activator complex that makes direct contact with MLL fusion proteins and is involved in AML, however, its functions are not well understood. Here, we explored the transcriptional targets regulated by the PAFc that facilitate leukemia by performing RNA-sequencing after conditional loss of the PAFc subunit Cdc73. We found Cdc73 promotes expression of an early hematopoietic progenitor gene program that prevents differentiation. Among the target genes, we confirmed the protein arginine methyltransferase Prmt5 is a direct target that is positively regulated by a transcriptional unit that includes the PAFc, MLL1, HOXA9 and STAT5 in leukemic cells. We observed reduced PRMT5-mediated H4R3me2s following excision of Cdc73 placing this histone modification downstream of the PAFc and revealing a novel mechanism between the PAFc and Prmt5. Knockdown or pharmacologic inhibition of Prmt5 causes a G1 arrest and reduced proliferation resulting in extended leukemic disease latency in vivo. Overall, we demonstrate the PAFc regulates Prmt5 to facilitate leukemic progression and is a potential therapeutic target for AMLs.
Assuntos
Regulação Leucêmica da Expressão Gênica , Histona-Lisina N-Metiltransferase/genética , Leucemia Mieloide Aguda/genética , Proteína de Leucina Linfoide-Mieloide/genética , Proteínas de Fusão Oncogênica/genética , Proteína-Arginina N-Metiltransferases/genética , Animais , Linhagem Celular Tumoral , Proliferação de Células/genética , Progressão da Doença , Epigênese Genética , Feminino , Pontos de Checagem da Fase G1 do Ciclo Celular/genética , Técnicas de Silenciamento de Genes , Histonas/genética , Proteínas de Homeodomínio/genética , Proteínas de Homeodomínio/metabolismo , Humanos , Leucemia Mieloide Aguda/patologia , Camundongos , Camundongos Transgênicos , Proteína Meis1/genética , Proteína Meis1/metabolismo , Proteínas Nucleares/genética , Proteínas Nucleares/metabolismo , Proteína-Arginina N-Metiltransferases/antagonistas & inibidores , Proteína-Arginina N-Metiltransferases/metabolismo , Fatores de Transcrição , Proteínas Supressoras de Tumor/genética , Proteínas Supressoras de Tumor/metabolismo , Ensaios Antitumorais Modelo de XenoenxertoRESUMO
PTPN11 encodes the Shp2 non-receptor protein-tyrosine phosphatase implicated in several signaling pathways. Activating mutations in Shp2 are commonly associated with juvenile myelomonocytic leukemia but are not as well defined in other neoplasms. Here we report that Shp2 mutations occur in human acute myeloid leukemia (AML) at a rate of 6.6% (6/91) in the ECOG E1900 data set. We examined the role of mutated Shp2 in leukemias harboring MLL translocations, which co-occur in human AML. The hyperactive Shp2E76K mutant, commonly observed in leukemia patients, significantly accelerated MLL-AF9-mediated leukemogenesis in vivo. Shp2E76K increased leukemic stem cell frequency and affords MLL-AF9 leukemic cells IL3 cytokine hypersensitivity. As Shp2 is reported to regulate anti-apoptotic genes, we investigated Bcl2, Bcl-xL and Mcl1 expression in MLL-AF9 leukemic cells with and without Shp2E76K. Although the Bcl2 family of genes was upregulated in Shp2E76K cells, Mcl1 showed the highest upregulation in MLL-AF9 cells in response to Shp2E76K. Indeed, expression of Mcl1 in MLL-AF9 cells phenocopies expression of Shp2E76K, suggesting Shp2 mutations cooperate through activation of anti-apoptotic genes. Finally, we show Shp2E76K mutations reduce sensitivity of AML cells to small-molecule-mediated Mcl1 inhibition, suggesting reduced efficacy of drugs targeting MCL1 in patients with hyperactive Shp2.