Acute Myeloid Leukemia |
1 Department of Genetics, Portuguese Oncology Institute, Porto, Portugal
2 Section for Cancer Cytogenetics, Department of Medical Genetics, Radiumhospitalet-Rikshospitalet Medical Center, Oslo, Norway
3 Department of Pediatrics, Portuguese Oncology Institute, Porto, Portugal
4 Department of Pediatrics, Radiumhospitalet-Rikshospitalet Medical Center, Oslo, Norway
5 Department of Pediatrics, St Olav University Hospital, Trondheim, Norway
6 Faculty Division, The Norwegian Radium Hospital, Medical Faculty, University of Oslo, Norway
7 Biomedical Sciences Institute (ICBAS), University of Porto, Porto, Portugal
Correspondence: Manuel R. Teixeira, Department of Genetics, Portuguese Oncology Institute, Rua Dr. António Bernardino de Almeida, 4200-072 Porto, Portugal. E-mail:mteixeir{at}ipoporto.min-saude.pt
|
|
|---|
Key words: MLL-SEPT6, fusion oncogene, fusion transcript, genomic breakpoint, acute myeloid leukemia.
|
|
|---|
To date, more than 50 MLL fusion partners have been cloned.4 Five of these, SEPT2, SEPT5, SEPT6, SEPT9, and SEPT11, code for septins4,5 and belong to an evolutionarily conserved family of genes with 13 members identified so far.6 As a consequence, the septins are the protein family most frequently involved in rearrangements with MLL, suggesting that their involvement in MLL-related leukemia is anything but a chance event.5,6 Septins are conserved GTP-binding proteins that assemble into homo- and hetero-oligomers and filaments with key roles in cell division cytoskeletal dynamics and secretion.6
To our knowledge, the fusion between MLL and SEPT6 has so far only been described in 10 AML patients.7–13 However, the genomic breakpoint junction was only characterized in 2 patients.9,10 We present a detailed RNA and DNA analysis in 3 new AML patients with the MLL-SEPT6 rearrangement, one of them showing a novel in-frame fusion transcript.
|
|
|---|
|
|
|---|
|
View this table: [in a new window] [Download PPT slide] |
Table 1. Clinical, karyotyping, FISH and RT-PCR data on all known acute myeloid leukemia-patients with MLL-SEPT6, and classification of the fusion variants.
|
![]() View larger version (80K): [in a new window] [Download PPT slide] |
Figure 1. G-banding and FISH analyses of the leukemic cells of patients 2 and 3. (A) Partial karyotype of case 2, with arrows indicating breakpoints of rearranged chromosomes. (B) FISH and (C) inverted DAPI images of metaphase plate from case 2. The hybridization was performed using a locus-specific, break-apart probe for MLL (green and red signals) and the BAC clone CTD-2334F19 (blue signal). The blue signal has moved to the derivative chromosome 11, indicating that the breakpoint is in the 5' of the SEPT6 gene. Arrows indicate derivative chromosomes, arrow heads are pointing to the normal chromosome 11. (D) Partial karyotype of case 3. (E) FISH and (F) inverted DAPI images of a metaphase plate from case 3. Hybridization was performed using the MLL probe and the clone CTD-2334F19. The BAC clone (blue colour) splits giving two signals on the rearranged X chromosome, indicating that the breakpoint is inside that clone.
|
In patient 3, RT-PCR analysis showed the presence of two PCR fragments of 605 bp and 541 bp (Online Supplementary Figure S1C). Sequencing analysis demonstrated fusions between MLL exon 7 and SEPT6 exon 2, with the smaller fragment showing, as in patient 1, an out-of-frame splicing of MLL exon 6. The 10 cases of MLL-SEPT6 rearrangement described so far showed fusions between SEPT6 exon 2 and MLL exon 7 (3 cases), MLL exon 8 (3 cases), both MLL exons 7 and 8 (3 cases), or MLL exon 9 (one case).8–13 The novel MLL-SEPT6 chimeric transcript we here describe between MLL exon 6 and SEPT6 exon 2 may be called type IV, after the three fusion types previously identified (Table 1).
SEPT6 belongs to an evolutionarily conserved family of genes that encode a P loop-based GTP-binding domain flanked by a polybasic domain and, in most cases, a coiled-coil-region.6 The SEPT6 protein possesses all the three domains and, as previously reported in cases of gene fusion involving MLL and other septins (MLL-SEPT2, MLL-SEPT5, MLL-SEPT9, and MLL-SEPT11), almost the entire open reading frame of SEPT6, containing all the three septin function-defining domains, is fused with the N-terminal moiety of MLL. A relevant role of septins in MLL-related leukemia, besides activation of the MLL protein by dimerization, is therefore a possibility that should not be ruled out.5,6 Additional support for this hypothesis comes from the observation that all 13 patients reported so far with MLL-SEPT6 rearrangement were children (age range; 0–29 months) with AML (the FAB-typed included one M1, five M2, four M4 and one M5; Table 1). Since the majority (65%) of pediatric patients with MLL rearrangements have ALL,4 we hypothesize that the SEPT6 domains of the MLL-SEPT6 chimeric protein contribute to myeloblastic leukemogenesis in children. In fact, the MLL fusion with the other septins (SEPT2, SEPT5, SEPT9, and SEPT11) is also preferentially associated with myeoloblastic rather than lymphoblastic leukemogenesis.4,5,14 In all 3 cases studied we observed the presence of out-of-frame alternative splicing variants, something that has not been previously reported7–13 and whose biological relevance is not clear.
Characterization of MLL-SEPT6 genomic breakpoints
The genomic breakpoints in all cases occurred in the MLL 8.3 kb breakpoint cluster region (BCR) and in SEPT6 intron 1 (Online Supplementary Figure 2). In patient 1, a total of six suggestive HN-PCR fragments were gel extracted and sequenced. Sequencing of the amplification products showed that the breakpoint was located 231 bp downstream of MLL exon 8 and 476 bp downstream of SEPT6 exon 1 (Online Supplementary Figure 2D). The HN-PCR study of case 2 revealed a total of 11 suggestive HN-PCR fragments that were gel extracted and sequenced. Sequencing analysis showed that the genomic breakpoints were located 629_634 bp downstream of MLL exon 6 and 14410_14415 bp upstream of SEPT6 exon 2 (Online Supplementary Figures 2B and 2E). In this case, the exact position of the genomic breakpoint could not be determined due to the presence of an identical 5-bp microhomology sequence (TGGGA) at the MLL-SEPT6 genomic junction. In patient 3, an LD-PCR fragment of 2179 bp was detected (Online Supplementary Figure 2C). Interestingly, partial direct sequencing of the amplification product revealed the same genomic breakpoint junction as detected in patient 1, with fusion of nucleotide 231 downstream of MLL exon 8 with nucleotide 476 downstream of SEPT6 exon 1 (Online Supplementary Figure 2D).
We searched for topoisomerase II consensus cleavage sites in the vicinity of the breakpoint regions in MLL introns 6 and 8 and SEPT6 intron 1. We found one sequence with 100% homology with the topoisomerase II consensus cleavage site located in SEPT6 intron 1 (GTTTTCCTGTTGTTGTTT), nucleotide position 9533_9550 bp downstream of SEPT6 exon 1. We also searched the breakpoint junctions (15 bp either side) for repetitive DNA sequence elements and motifs known to be associated with site specific recombination, cleavage, and gene rearrangement, but none could be found. Translocations may or may not involve gain or loss of genetic material at the genomic breakpoint junctions. Patients 1 and 3, as well as the two previously reported cases, showed no nucleotide(s) deletion or duplication at the breakpoint junction.9,10 In our patient 2, the exact position of the genomic breakpoint could not be determined due to an identical 5-bp microhomology region at the MLL-SEPT6 genomic junction, so it is unknown whether duplications and/or deletions occurred in this particular patient. The identification of identical microhomologies at genomic junctions suggests that the non-homologous DNA end-joining (NHEJ) pathway may be involved in this rearrangement.15 In patients 1 and 3, the genomic junction mapped near a 484 bp LINE1 repeat in MLL intron 8, whereas the genomic breakpoint in SEPT6 intron 1 mapped near two GC-rich low complexity repeats. In patient 2, the MLL intron 6 genomic breakpoint occurred inside a 298 bp Alu repeat, whereas the breakpoint junction in the SEPT6 intron 1 mapped near a 300 bp Alu repeat. Although repetitive sequences may occur near or spanning breakpoint junctions by chance, it is plausible that introns with a high density of repetitive sequences, such as SEPT6 intron 1, are vulnerable to breaking and non-homologous pairing that can lead to gene fusions such as MLL-SEPT6. Strikingly, although the breakpoints in the large SEPT6 intron 1 seem to be distributed all over the intronic region (our patient 2, and cases 6 and 11 in the literature; Table 1), patients 1 and 3 showed exactly the same genomic breakpoint both in MLL and SEPT6. Since the genomic breakpoint junctions in these 2 patients were cloned by different methods (HN-PCR and LD-PCR), on separate occasions, and taking the strictest anti-contamination measures, these findings can only be explained by the presence of a hot-spot for recombination at the said sites. Supporting this hypothesis, in addition to the above-mentioned high density of repetitive sequences in SEPT6 intron 1, is the detection of a topoisomerase II consensus site-specific cleavage in the same intron. Identical genomic breakpoints or breakpoint clustering within very narrow regions have been reported before, namely in MLL-AF4,16 MLL-AF9,17 and TCF3-PBX118 leukemias. Interestingly, the presence of an MLL intron 8 genomic breakpoint in patient 3 does not seem to translate into fusion transcripts that include MLL exon 8, since the only in-frame fusion transcript detected showed a fusion between MLL exon 7 and SEPT6 exon 2. Splicing of MLL exon 8, which includes the first of the four zinc fingers of the first zinc finger domain of the MLL gene, has been previously described in acute leukemia with MLL rearrangements, both in cases with translocation [(t(4;11), t(9;11), and t(11;19)]19,20 and tandem duplication,21 changing the structural and possibly the functional features of the first zinc finger region of the MLL protein.
The MLL genomic breakpoints in MLL-SEPT6 AML patients seem to occur preferentially in the telomeric half (between introns 7 and 11) of the MLL BCR. This is characteristic of infant AML (the MLL-SEPT6 cases with genomic breakpoint characterization have an age at diagnosis from 0 to 17 months) and topoisomerase II inhibitor-related secondary leukemia, and a putative association with in utero exposure to topoisomerase II inhibitors has been hypothesized.22 The detection of a topoisomerase II recognition sequence in SEPT6 intron 1 also supports the hypothesis that exposure to topoisomerase II inhibitors, can result in double-strand DNA breaks that trigger the error-prone non-homologous end-joining pathway, which in turn can lead to formation of the MLL-SEPT6 fusion oncogene.
The online version of this article contains a supplementary appendix.
NC designed and performed the research, analyzed the data and wrote the paper. FM and JS performed the research, analyzed the data and wrote the paper. MP, CC, SL, and SB performed the research and analyzed the data. LN, AG, and AEA clinically assessed the patients. SH and MRT analyzed the data and wrote the paper. The authors reported no potential conflicts of interest.
Received for publication December 6, 2007. Revision received February 11, 2008. Accepted for publication February 13, 2008.
|
|
|---|
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||