MEF2C opposes Notch in lymphoid lineage decision and drives leukemia in the thymus.

Rearrangements that drive ectopic MEF2C expression have recurrently been found in patients with human early thymocyte progenitor acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ETP-ALL). Here, we show high levels of MEF2C expression in patients with ETP-ALL. Using both in vivo and in vitro models of ETP-ALL, we demonstrate that elevated MEF2C expression blocks NOTCH-induced T cell differentiation while promoting a B-lineage program.

JAK3 mutations and mitochondrial apoptosis resistance in T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia.

Resistance to mitochondrial apoptosis predicts inferior treatment outcomes in patients with diverse tumor types, including T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (T-ALL). However, the genetic basis for variability in this mitochondrial apoptotic phenotype is poorly understood, preventing its rational therapeutic targeting. Using BH3 profiling and exon sequencing analysis of childhood T-ALL clinical specimens, we found that mitochondrial apoptosis resistance was most strongly associated with activating mutations of JAK3.

BTK inhibition sensitizes acute lymphoblastic leukemia to asparaginase by suppressing the amino acid response pathway.

Asparaginase (ASNase) therapy has been a mainstay of acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) protocols for decades and shows promise in the treatment of a variety of other cancers. To improve the efficacy of ASNase treatment, we used a CRISPR/Cas9-based screen to identify actionable signaling intermediates that improve the response to ASNase. Both genetic inactivation of Bruton's tyrosine kinase (BTK) and pharmacological inhibition by the BTK inhibitor ibrutinib strongly synergize with ASNase by inhibiting the amino acid response pathway, a mechanism involving c-Myc-mediated suppression of GCN2 activity.

GATA3-Controlled Nucleosome Eviction Drives Enhancer Activity in T-cell Development and Leukemia.

Long-range enhancers govern the temporal and spatial control of gene expression; however, the mechanisms that regulate enhancer activity during normal and malignant development remain poorly understood. Here, we demonstrate a role for aberrant chromatin accessibility in the regulation of expression in T-cell lymphoblastic leukemia (T-ALL). Central to this process, the NOTCH1- enhancer (N-Me), a long-range T cell-specific enhancer, shows dynamic changes in chromatin accessibility during T-cell specification and maturation and an aberrant high degree of chromatin accessibility in mouse and human T-ALL cells.

Deletion 6q Drives T-cell Leukemia Progression by Ribosome Modulation.

Deletion of chromosome 6q is a well-recognized abnormality found in poor-prognosis T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (T-ALL). Using integrated genomic approaches, we identified two candidate haploinsufficient genes contiguous at 6q14, (encoding hnRNP-Q) and (that hosts snoRNAs), both involved in regulating RNA maturation and translation. Combined silencing of both genes, but not of either gene alone, accelerated leukemogeneis in a -driven mouse model, demonstrating the tumor-suppressive nature of the two-gene region.

Cooperative Enhancer Activation by TLX1 and STAT5 Drives Development of NUP214-ABL1/TLX1-Positive T Cell Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia.

The NUP214-ABL1 fusion is a constitutively activated tyrosine kinase that is significantly associated with overexpression of the TLX1 and TLX3 transcription factors in T cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (T-ALL). Here we show that NUP214-ABL1 cooperates with TLX1 in driving T-ALL development using a transgenic mouse model and human T-ALL cells. Using integrated ChIP-sequencing, ATAC-sequencing, and RNA-sequencing data, we demonstrate that TLX1 and STAT5, the downstream effector of NUP214-ABL1, co-bind poised enhancer regions, and cooperatively activate the expression of key proto-oncogenes such as MYC and BCL2.

HOXA9 Cooperates with Activated JAK/STAT Signaling to Drive Leukemia Development.

Leukemia is caused by the accumulation of multiple genomic lesions in hematopoietic precursor cells. However, how these events cooperate during oncogenic transformation remains poorly understood. We studied the cooperation between activated JAK3/STAT5 signaling and HOXA9 overexpression, two events identified as significantly co-occurring in T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia.

Loss of CD44 Expression from Early Progenitor Cells Marks T-Cell Lineage Commitment in the Human Thymus.

Human T-cell development is less well studied than its murine counterpart due to the lack of genetic tools and the difficulty of obtaining cells and tissues. Here, we report the transcriptional landscape of 11 immature, consecutive human T-cell developmental stages. The changes in gene expression of cultured stem cells on OP9-DL1 match those of isolated murine and human thymocytes.

IL-7 Receptor Mutations and Steroid Resistance in Pediatric T cell Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia: A Genome Sequencing Study.

Background: Pediatric acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) is the most common childhood cancer and the leading cause of cancer-related mortality in children. T cell ALL (T-ALL) represents about 15% of pediatric ALL cases and is considered a high-risk disease. T-ALL is often associated with resistance to treatment, including steroids, which are currently the cornerstone for treating ALL; moreover, initial steroid response strongly predicts survival and cure.

The relevance of PTEN-AKT in relation to NOTCH1-directed treatment strategies in T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia.

The tumor suppressor phosphatase and tensin homolog (PTEN) negatively regulates phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K)-AKT signaling and is often inactivated by mutations (including deletions) in a variety of cancer types, including T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia. Here we review mutation-associated mechanisms that inactivate PTEN together with other molecular mechanisms that activate AKT and contribute to T-cell leukemogenesis. In addition, we discuss how Pten mutations in mouse models affect the efficacy of gamma-secretase inhibitors to block NOTCH1 signaling through activation of AKT.

Lentiviral gene transfer into human and murine hematopoietic stem cells: size matters.

Contemporary biomedical research increasingly depends on techniques to induce or to inhibit expression of genes in hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) or other primary cells to assess their roles on cellular processes including differentiation, apoptosis and migration. Surprisingly little information is available to optimize lentiviral transduction of HSCs. We have therefore carefully optimized transduction of murine and human HSCs by optimizing vector design, serum-free virus production and virus quantitation.

Trib2 Suppresses Tumor Initiation in Notch-Driven T-ALL.

Trib2 is highly expressed in human T cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (T-ALL) and is a direct transcriptional target of the oncogenic drivers Notch and TAL1. In human TAL1-driven T-ALL cell lines, Trib2 is proposed to function as an important survival factor, but there is limited information about the role of Trib2 in primary T-ALL. In this study, we investigated the role of Trib2 in the initiation and maintenance of Notch-dependent T-ALL.

ZEB2 drives immature T-cell lymphoblastic leukaemia development via enhanced tumour-initiating potential and IL-7 receptor signalling.

Early T-cell precursor leukaemia (ETP-ALL) is a high-risk subtype of human leukaemia that is poorly understood at the molecular level. Here we report translocations targeting the zinc finger E-box-binding transcription factor ZEB2 as a recurrent genetic lesion in immature/ETP-ALL. Using a conditional gain-of-function mouse model, we demonstrate that sustained Zeb2 expression initiates T-cell leukaemia.

ABT-199 mediated inhibition of BCL-2 as a novel therapeutic strategy in T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia.

T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (T-ALL) is a high-risk subtype of acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) with gradually improved survival through introduction of intensified chemotherapy. However, therapy-resistant or refractory T-ALL remains a major clinical challenge. Here, we evaluated B-cell lymphoma (BCL)-2 inhibition by the BH3 mimetic ABT-199 as a new therapeutic strategy in human T-ALL.

JAK3 mutants transform hematopoietic cells through JAK1 activation, causing T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia in a mouse model.

JAK3 is a tyrosine kinase that associates with the common γ chain of cytokine receptors and is recurrently mutated in T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (T-ALL). We tested the transforming properties of JAK3 pseudokinase and kinase domain mutants using in vitro and in vivo assays. Most, but not all, JAK3 mutants transformed cytokine-dependent Ba/F3 or MOHITO cell lines to cytokine-independent proliferation.

Angiopoietin-like protein 3 promotes preservation of stemness during ex vivo expansion of murine hematopoietic stem cells.

Allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell (HSC) transplantations from umbilical cord blood or autologous HSCs for gene therapy purposes are hampered by limited number of stem cells. To test the ability to expand HSCs in vitro prior to transplantation, two growth factor cocktails containing stem cell factor, thrombopoietin, fms-related tyrosine kinase-3 ligand (STF) or stem cell factor, thrombopoietin, insulin-like growth factor-2, fibroblast growth factor-1 (STIF) either with or without the addition of angiopoietin-like protein-3 (Angptl3) were used. Culturing HSCs in STF and STIF media for 7 days expanded long-term repopulating stem cells content in vivo by ∼6-fold and ∼10-fold compared to freshly isolated stem cells.

PTEN microdeletions in T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia are caused by illegitimate RAG-mediated recombination events.

Phosphatase and tensin homolog (PTEN)-inactivating mutations and/or deletions are an independent risk factor for relapse of T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (T-ALL) patients treated on Dutch Childhood Oncology Group or German Cooperative Study Group for Childhood Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia protocols. Some monoallelic mutated or PTEN wild-type patients lack PTEN protein, implying that additional PTEN inactivation mechanisms exist. We show that PTEN is inactivated by small deletions affecting a few exons in 8% of pediatric T-ALL patients.

Direct reversal of glucocorticoid resistance by AKT inhibition in acute lymphoblastic leukemia.

Glucocorticoid resistance is a major driver of therapeutic failure in T cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (T-ALL). Here, we identify the AKT1 kinase as a major negative regulator of the NR3C1 glucocorticoid receptor protein activity driving glucocorticoid resistance in T-ALL. Mechanistically, AKT1 impairs glucocorticoid-induced gene expression by direct phosphorylation of NR3C1 at position S134 and blocking glucocorticoid-induced NR3C1 translocation to the nucleus.

Immature MEF2C-dysregulated T-cell leukemia patients have an early T-cell precursor acute lymphoblastic leukemia gene signature and typically have non-rearranged T-cell receptors.

Three distinct immature T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia entities have been described including cases that express an early T-cell precursor immunophenotype or expression profile, immature MEF2C-dysregulated T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia cluster cases based on gene expression analysis (immature cluster) and cases that retain non-rearranged TRG@ loci. Early T-cell precursor acute lymphoblastic leukemia cases exclusively overlap with immature cluster samples based on the expression of early T-cell precursor acute lymphoblastic leukemia signature genes, indicating that both are featuring a single disease entity. Patients lacking TRG@ rearrangements represent only 40% of immature cluster cases, but no further evidence was found to suggest that cases with absence of bi-allelic TRG@ deletions reflect a distinct and even more immature disease entity.

Breakpoint sites disclose the role of the V(D)J recombination machinery in the formation of T-cell receptor (TCR) and non-TCR associated aberrations in T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia.

Aberrant recombination between T-cell receptor genes and oncogenes gives rise to chromosomal translocations that are genetic hallmarks in several subsets of human T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemias. The V(D)J recombination machinery has been shown to play a role in the formation of these T-cell receptor translocations. Other, non-T-cell receptor chromosomal aberrations, such as SIL-TAL1 deletions, have likewise been recognized as V(D)J recombination associated aberrations.

Epigenetic drug combination induces genome-wide demethylation and altered gene expression in neuro-ectodermal tumor-derived cell lines.

Background: Epigenetic alterations are inherent to cancer cells, and epigenetic drugs are currently primarily used to treat hematological malignancies. Pediatric neuro-ectodermal tumors originate from neural crest cells and also exhibit epigenetic alterations involving e.g.

Downregulation of Axl in non-MYCN amplified neuroblastoma cell lines reduces migration.

Neuroblastomas (NBL) are common pediatric solid tumors with a variable clinical course. At diagnosis half of all neuroblastoma patients presents with metastatic disease. The mechanisms of metastasis are largely unknown.