Publications by authors named "Said Aoufouchi"

Article Synopsis
  • * Its overexpression is particularly linked to CLL cases with unmutated immunoglobulin heavy chain variable (IGHV) genes, causing significant DNA damage and contributing to a more aggressive disease.
  • * The review emphasizes c-MYC's dual role in promoting rapid cell proliferation and driving genetic recombination, suggesting it could be a promising target for new therapeutic strategies in CLL.
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Chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) is an incurable indolent non-Hodgkin lymphoma characterized by tumor B cells that weakly express a B-cell receptor. The mutational status of the variable region (IGHV) within the immunoglobulin heavy chain (IGH) locus is an important prognosis indicator and raises the question of the CLL cell of origin. Mutated IGHV gene CLL are genetically imprinted by activation-induced cytidine deaminase (AID).

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Background: Clinical studies have highlighted the efficacy of anti-programmed death 1 (αPD-1) monoclonal antibodies in patients with DNA mismatch repair-deficient (MMRD) tumors. However, the responsiveness of MMRD cancers to αPD-1 therapy is highly heterogeneous, and the origins of this variability remain not fully understood.

Methods: 4T1 and CT26 mouse tumor cell lines were inactivated for the MMRD gene leading to a massive accumulation of mutations after serial passages of cells.

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Somatic hypermutation (SHM) of immunoglobulin (Ig) genes is a B cell specific process required for the generation of specific and high affinity antibodies during the maturation of the immune response against foreign antigens. This process depends on the activity of both activation-induced cytidine deaminase (AID) and several DNA repair factors. AID-dependent SHM creates the full spectrum of mutations in Ig variable (V) regions equally distributed at G/C and A/T bases.

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The TET2 DNA hydroxymethyltransferase is frequently disrupted by somatic mutations in diffuse large B cell lymphomas (DLBCLs), a tumor that originates from germinal center (GC) B cells. Here, we show that TET2 deficiency leads to DNA hypermethylation of regulatory elements in GC B cells, associated with silencing of the respective genes. This hypermethylation affects the binding of transcription factors including those involved in exit from the GC reaction and involves pathways such as B cell receptor, antigen presentation, CD40, and others.

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Aberrant NF-κB activation is a hallmark of most B-cell malignancies. Recurrent inactivating somatic mutations in the NFKBIE gene, which encodes IκBε, an inhibitor of NF-κB-inducible activity, are reported in several B-cell malignancies with highest frequencies in chronic lymphocytic leukemia and primary mediastinal B-cell lymphoma, and account for a fraction of NF-κB pathway activation. The impact of NFKBIE deficiency on B-cell development and function remains, however, largely unknown.

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Somatic hypermutation of immunoglobulin genes is a highly mutagenic process that is B cell-specific and occurs during antigen-driven responses leading to antigen specificity and antibody affinity maturation. Mutations at the Ig locus are initiated by Activation-Induced cytidine Deaminase and are equally distributed at G/C and A/T bases. This requires the establishment of error-prone repair pathways involving the activity of several low fidelity DNA polymerases.

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Article Synopsis
  • * Methods: The study involved using stimulated blood lymphocytes for cytogenetic analysis and whole exome sequencing (WES) to identify genetic mutations, followed by Sanger sequencing for validation.
  • * Results: A 6-year-old boy from a consanguineous family was diagnosed with TRMA after WES revealed a new mutation in the SLC19A2 gene, marking a significant contribution to understanding the genetic basis of the disorder
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The ETS-domain transcription factors divide into subfamilies based on protein similarities, DNA-binding sequences, and interaction with cofactors. They are regulated by extracellular clues and contribute to cellular processes, including proliferation and transformation. genes are targeted through genomic rearrangements in oncogenesis.

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somatic mutations occur in ∼10% of diffuse large B-cell lymphomas (DLBCL) but are of unknown significance. Herein, we show that TET2 is required for the humoral immune response and is a DLBCL tumor suppressor. TET2 loss of function disrupts transit of B cells through germinal centers (GC), causing GC hyperplasia, impaired class switch recombination, blockade of plasma cell differentiation, and a preneoplastic phenotype.

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The gene encodes an α-ketoglutarate-dependent dioxygenase able to oxidize 5-methylcytosine into 5-hydroxymethylcytosine, which is a step toward active DNA demethylation. is frequently mutated in myeloid malignancies but also in B- and T-cell malignancies. somatic mutations are also identified in healthy elderly individuals with clonal hematopoiesis.

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Immune checkpoint inhibitors have demonstrated unprecedented clinical activity in a wide range of cancers. Significant therapeutic responses have recently been observed in patients presenting mismatch repair-deficient (MMRD) tumours. MMRD cancers exhibit a remarkably high rate of mutations, which can result in the formation of neoantigens, hypothesised to enhance the antitumour immune response.

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Article Synopsis
  • The case study focuses on a young Caucasian patient with Xeroderma Pigmentosum variant (XPV) who experienced severe sensitivity to sunburn and numerous skin tumors by age 15.
  • Researchers identified two novel mutations in the POLH gene, leading to a loss of function in the translesion DNA polymerase η, which is critical for DNA repair after UV exposure.
  • Analysis confirmed that the patient completely lacked Polη activity, which explains his early onset of skin issues related to UV damage.
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The immunoglobulin heavy chain (IGH) gene loci are subject to specific recombination events during B-cell differentiation including somatic hypermutation and class switch recombination which mark the end of immunoglobulin gene maturation in germinal centers of secondary lymph nodes. These two events rely on the activity of activation-induced cytidine deaminase (AID) which requires DNA double strand breaks be created, a potential danger to the cell. Applying 3D-fluorescence in situ hybridization coupled with immunofluorescence staining to a previously described experimental system recapitulating normal B-cell differentiation ex vivo, we have kinetically analyzed the radial positioning of the two IGH gene loci as well as their proximity with the nucleolus, heterochromatin and γH2AX foci.

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B-lymphocytes in the bone marrow (BM) must generate a functional B-cell receptor and overcome the negative selection induced by reactivity with autoantigens. Two rounds of DNA recombination are required for the production of functional immunoglobulin heavy (Ig-HCs) and light (LCs) chains necessary for the continuation of B-lymphocyte development in the BM. Both rounds depend on the joint action of recombination activating gene-1 (RAG-1) and RAG-2 endonucleases with the DNA non-homologous end-joining pathway.

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  • Rev3 is essential for DNA repair and mutation processes in yeast, while its mammalian counterpart, REV3L, is crucial for cell growth and embryo development.
  • Researchers created mutant mice with alterations in the catalytic site of REV3L to study its essential functions, finding that disrupting both Asp residues mimics a complete loss of REV3L function.
  • Unlike in yeast, where a specific Asp mutation greatly weakens other DNA polymerases, the corresponding mutation in Rev3 demonstrates milder effects on cell survival and mutation rates in both yeast and mice, though it does affect immunoglobulin gene mutations.
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  • Mice from the 129 strain have a mutation in the polymerase iota (Polι) gene, leading to a deficiency in its activity, but they actually express a variant Polι isoform that lacks exon 2 and retains some functionality.
  • This variant isoform, while present at lower levels than normal Polι, is capable of DNA synthesis and can mitigate UV sensitivity in certain knockout mice.
  • Treatment with Velcade, which inhibits proteasome activity, stabilizes this variant protein, challenging the idea that 129 mice are entirely deficient in Polι and pointing to broader implications for other genetic conditions involving similar protein destabilization.
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The aim of this study was to identify novel substrates of the FANCcore complex, the inactivation of which leads to the genetic disorder Fanconi anemia, which is associated with bone marrow failure, developmental abnormalities and a predisposition to cancer. Eight FANC proteins participate in the nuclear FANCcore complex, which functions as an E3 ubiquitin-ligase that monoubiquitylates FANCD2 and FANCI in response to replicative stress. Here, we use mass spectrometry to compare proteins from FANCcore-complex-deficient cells to those of rescued control cells after treatment with hydroxyurea, an inducer of FANCD2 monoubiquitylation.

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Fanconi anemia is a rare genetic disorder that can lead to bone marrow failure, congenital abnormalities, and increased risk for leukemia and cancer. Cells with loss-of-function mutations in the FANC pathway are characterized by chromosome fragility, altered mutability, and abnormal regulation of the nonhomologous end-joining (NHEJ) pathway. Somatic hypermutation (SHM) and immunoglobulin (Ig) class switch recombination (CSR) enable B cells to produce high-affinity antibodies of various isotypes.

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Natural killer (NK) cells are circulating cytotoxic lymphocytes that exert potent and nonredundant antiviral activity and antitumoral activity in the mouse; however, their function in host defense in humans remains unclear. Here, we investigated 6 related patients with autosomal recessive growth retardation, adrenal insufficiency, and a selective NK cell deficiency characterized by a lack of the CD56(dim) NK subset. Using linkage analysis and fine mapping, we identified the disease-causing gene, MCM4, which encodes a component of the MCM2-7 helicase complex required for DNA replication.

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Article Synopsis
  • The process of rearranging antibodies in the immune system depends on a DNA editing enzyme called AID (Activation-Induced Cytidine Deaminase).
  • Researchers have been trying to understand how B lymphocytes manage to use high levels of AID without causing random mutations throughout their DNA.
  • Recent genome-wide studies and findings about co-factors that direct AID's activity have provided new insights into how B cells regulate AID to maintain genetic stability.
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Article Synopsis
  • * The study supports the idea that DNA polymerase kappa can serve as a backup for Ig gene hypermutation when polymerase eta is completely deficient, based on findings from double-deficient mice.
  • * A new XPV case showed a significant drop in polymerase eta mRNA levels in patient cells, especially in memory B cells, indicating that polymerase eta primarily drives hypermutation and prevents the backup polymerase kappa from being utilized effectively.
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Purpose: High levels of metabolism and oxygen consumption in most adult murine ocular compartments, combined with exposure to light and ultraviolet (UV) radiation, are major sources of oxidative stress, causing DNA damage in ocular cells. Of all mammalian body cells, photoreceptor cells consume the largest amount of oxygen and generate the highest levels of oxidative damage. The accumulation of such damage throughout life is a major factor of aging tissues.

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