Recurrent mutations in ALK-negative anaplastic large cell lymphoma.

Anaplastic large cell lymphomas (ALCLs) represent a relatively common group of T-cell non-Hodgkin lymphomas (T-NHLs) that are unified by similar pathologic features but demonstrate marked genetic heterogeneity. ALCLs are broadly classified as being anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK) or ALK, based on the presence or absence of rearrangements. Exome sequencing of 62 T-NHLs identified a previously unreported recurrent mutation in the musculin gene, , exclusively in ALK ALCLs. Additional sequencing for a total of 238 T-NHLs confirmed the specificity of for ALK ALCL and further demonstrated that 14 of 15 mutated cases (93%) had coexisting rearrangements. Musculin is a basic helix-loop-helix (bHLH) transcription factor that heterodimerizes with other bHLH proteins to regulate lymphocyte development. The E116K mutation localized to the DNA binding domain of musculin and permitted formation of musculin-bHLH heterodimers but prevented their binding to authentic target sequence. Functional analysis showed MSC acted in a dominant-negative fashion, reversing wild-type musculin-induced repression of and cell cycle inhibition. Chromatin immunoprecipitation-sequencing and transcriptome analysis identified the cell cycle regulatory gene as a direct transcriptional target of musculin. MSC reversed E2F2-induced cell cycle arrest and promoted expression of the CD30-IRF4-MYC axis, whereas its expression was reciprocally induced by binding of IRF4 to the promoter. Finally, ALCL cells expressing were preferentially targeted by the BET inhibitor JQ1. These findings identify a novel recurrent mutation as a key driver of the CD30-IRF4-MYC axis and cell cycle progression in a unique subset of ALCLs.