Comparison of the mRNA expression profile of B-cell receptor components in normal CD5-high B-lymphocytes and chronic lymphocytic leukemia: a key role of ZAP70
CANCER MEDICINE
Authors: Gladkikh, Aleena A.; Potashnikova, Daria M.; Tatarskiy, Victor, Jr.; Yastrebova, Margarita; Khamidullina, Alvina; Barteneva, Natasha; Vorobjev, Ivan
Abstract
The B-cell receptor (BCR) signaling pathway is of great importance for B-cell survival and proliferation. The BCR expressed on malignant B-CLL cells contributes to the disease pathogenesis, and its signaling pathway is currently the target of several therapeutic strategies. Although various BCR alterations have been described in B-CLL at the protein level, the mRNA expression levels of tyrosine kinases in B-CLL compared to that in normal CD5-high and CD5-low B-lymphocytes remain unknown. In the current study, we measured the mRNA expression levels of CD79A, CD79B, LYN, SYK, SHP1, and ZAP70 in purified populations of CD5-high B-CLL cells, CD5-low B-cells from the peripheral blood of healthy donors, and CD5-high B-cells from human tonsils. Here, we report a clear separation in the B-CLL dataset between the ZAP70-high and ZAP70-low subgroups. Each subgroup has a unique expression profile of BCR signaling components that might reflect the functional status of the BCR signaling pathway. Moreover, the ZAP70-low subgroup does not resemble either CD5-high B-lymphocytes from the tonsils or CD5-low lymphocytes from PBMC (P<0.05). We also show that ZAP70 is the only gene that is differentially expressed in CD5-high and CD5-low normal B-lymphocytes, confirming the key role of Zap-70 tyrosine kinase in BCR signaling alterations in B-CLL.
Targetable kinase gene fusions in high-risk B-ALL: a study from the Children's Oncology Group
BLOOD
Authors: Reshmi, Shalini C.; Harvey, Richard C.; Roberts, Kathryn G.; Stonerock, Eileen; Smith, Amy; Jenkins, Heather; Chen, I-Ming; Valentine, Marc; Liu, Yu; Li, Yongjin; Shao, Ying; Easton, John; Payne-Turner, Debbie; Gu, Zhaohui; Thai Hoa Tran; Nguyen, Jonathan V.; Devidas, Meenakshi; Dai, Yunfeng; Heerema, Nyla A.; Carroll, Andrew J., III; Raetz, Elizabeth A.; Borowitz, Michael J.; Wood, Brent L.; Angiolillo, Anne L.; Burke, Michael J.; Salzer, Wanda L.; Zweidler-McKay, Patrick A.; Rabin, Karen R.; Carroll, William L.; Zhang, Jinghui; Loh, Mignon L.; Mullighan, Charles G.; Willman, Cheryl L.; Gastier-Foster, Julie M.; Hunger, Stephen P.
Abstract
Philadelphia chromosome-like (Ph-like) acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) is a high-risk subtype characterized by genomic alterations that activate cytokine receptor and kinase signaling. We examined the frequency and spectrum of targetable genetic lesions in a retrospective cohort of 1389 consecutively diagnosed patients with childhood B-lineage ALL with high-risk clinical features and/or elevated minimal residual disease at the end of remission induction therapy. The Ph-like gene expression profile was identified in 341 of 1389 patients, 57 of whom were excluded from additional analyses because of the presence of BCR-ABL1 (n = 46) or ETV6-RUNX1 (n = 11). Among the remaining 284 patients (20.4%), overexpression and rearrangement of CRLF2 (IGH-CRLF2 or P2RY8-CRLF2) were identified in 124 (43.7%), with concomitant genomic alterations activating the JAK-STAT pathway (JAK1, JAK2, IL7R) identified in 63 patients (50.8% of those with CRLF2 rearrangement). Among the remaining patients, using reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction or transcriptome sequencing, we identified targetable ABL-class fusions (ABL1, ABL2, CSF1R, and PDGFRB) in 14.1%, EPOR rearrangements or JAK2 fusions in 8.8%, alterations activating other JAK-STAT signaling genes (IL7R, SH2B3, JAK1) in 6.3% or other kinases (FLT3, NTRK3, LYN) in 4.6%, and mutations involving the Ras pathway (KRAS, NRAS, NF1, PTPN11) in6% of those with Ph-like ALL. We identified 8 new rearrangement partners for 4 kinase genes previously reported to be rearranged in Ph-like ALL. The current findings provide support for the precision-medicine testing and treatment approach for Ph-like ALL implemented in Children's Oncology Group ALL trials.