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Mechanism of Human Telomerase Reverse Transcriptase ( hTERT) Regulation and Clinical Impacts in Leukemia. Genes (Basel) 2021; 12:genes12081188. [PMID: 34440361 PMCID: PMC8392866 DOI: 10.3390/genes12081188] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/06/2021] [Revised: 05/09/2021] [Accepted: 05/17/2021] [Indexed: 01/03/2023] Open
Abstract
The proliferative capacity and continuous survival of cells are highly dependent on telomerase expression and the maintenance of telomere length. For this reason, elevated expression of telomerase has been identified in virtually all cancers, including leukemias; however, it should be noted that expression of telomerase is sometimes observed later in malignant development. This time point of activation is highly dependent on the type of leukemia and its causative factors. Many recent studies in this field have contributed to the elucidation of the mechanisms by which the various forms of leukemias increase telomerase activity. These include the dysregulation of telomerase reverse transcriptase (TERT) at various levels which include transcriptional, post-transcriptional, and post-translational stages. The pathways and biological molecules involved in these processes are also being deciphered with the advent of enabling technologies such as next-generation sequencing (NGS), ribonucleic acid sequencing (RNA-Seq), liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LCMS/MS), and many others. It has also been established that TERT possess diagnostic value as most adult cells do not express high levels of telomerase. Indeed, studies have shown that prognosis is not favorable in patients who have leukemias expressing high levels of telomerase. Recent research has indicated that targeting of this gene is able to control the survival of malignant cells and therefore offers a potential treatment for TERT-dependent leukemias. Here we review the mechanisms of hTERT regulation and deliberate their association in malignant states of leukemic cells. Further, we also cover the clinical implications of this gene including its use in diagnostic, prognostic, and therapeutic discoveries.
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Bi L, Ma T, Li X, Wei L, Liu Z, Feng B, Dong B, Chen X. New progress in the study of germline susceptibility genes of myeloid neoplasms. Oncol Lett 2021; 21:317. [PMID: 33692849 PMCID: PMC7933751 DOI: 10.3892/ol.2021.12578] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/10/2020] [Accepted: 01/21/2021] [Indexed: 12/25/2022] Open
Abstract
In 2016, the World Health Organization incorporated ‘myeloid neoplasms with germline predisposition’ into its classification of tumors of hematopoietic and lymphoid tissues, revealing the important role of germline mutations in certain myeloid neoplasms, particularly myelodysplastic syndrome and acute myeloid leukemia. The awareness of germline susceptibility has increased, and some patients with myeloid neoplasms present with a preexisting disorder or organ dysfunction. In such cases, mutations in genes including CCAAT enhancer binding protein α (CEBPA), DEAD (Asp-Glu-Ala-Asp) box polypeptide 41 (DDX41), RUNX family transcription factor 1 (RUNX1), GATA binding protein 2 (GATA2), Janus kinase 2 (JAK2) and ETS variant transcription factor 6 (ETV6) have been recognized. Moreover, with the application of advanced technologies and reports of more cases, additional germline mutations associated with myeloid neoplasms have been identified and provide insights into the formation, prognosis and therapy of myeloid neoplasms. The present review discusses the well-known CEBPA, DDX41, RUNX1, GATA2, JAK2 and ETV6 germline mutations, and other mutations including those of lymphocyte adapter protein/SH2B adapter protein 3 and duplications of autophagy related 2B, GSK3B interacting protein αnd RB binding protein 6, ubiquitin ligase, that remain to be confirmed or explored. Recommendations for the management of diseases associated with germline mutations are also provided.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lei Bi
- Department of Hematology, Xijing Hospital, Fourth Military Medical University, Xi'an, Shaanxi 710032, P.R. China
| | - Tianyuan Ma
- Department of Stomatology, Fourth Military Medical University, Xi'an, Shaanxi 710032, P.R. China
| | - Xu Li
- College of Basic Medicine, Fourth Military Medical University, Xi'an, Shaanxi 710032, P.R. China
| | - Lai Wei
- College of Basic Medicine, Fourth Military Medical University, Xi'an, Shaanxi 710032, P.R. China
| | - Zinuo Liu
- College of Basic Medicine, Fourth Military Medical University, Xi'an, Shaanxi 710032, P.R. China
| | - Bingyue Feng
- College of Basic Medicine, Fourth Military Medical University, Xi'an, Shaanxi 710032, P.R. China
| | - Baoxia Dong
- Department of Hematology, Xijing Hospital, Fourth Military Medical University, Xi'an, Shaanxi 710032, P.R. China
| | - Xiequn Chen
- Department of Hematology, Xijing Hospital, Fourth Military Medical University, Xi'an, Shaanxi 710032, P.R. China.,Hematology and Oncology Center, Affiliated Hospital of Northwest University and Xian No. 3 Hospital, Xi'an, Shaanxi 710082, P.R. China
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Akram Z, Ahmed P, Kajigaya S, Satti TM, Satti HS, Chaudhary QUN, Gutierrez-Rodrigues F, Ibanez PF, Feng X, Mahmood SK, Ghafoor T, Shahbaz N, Khan MA, Sultan A. Epidemiological, clinical and genetic characterization of aplastic anemia patients in Pakistan. Ann Hematol 2018; 98:301-312. [PMID: 30426156 DOI: 10.1007/s00277-018-3542-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/12/2018] [Accepted: 11/05/2018] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Aplastic anemia (AA) is the most serious non-malignant blood disorder in Pakistan, ranked second in prevalence, after thalassemia. We investigated various epidemiological, clinical, and genetic factors of AA in a Pakistani cohort of 214 patients reporting at our hospital between June 2014 and December 2015. A control group of 214 healthy subjects was included for comparison of epidemiological and clinical features. Epidemiological data revealed 2.75-fold higher frequency of AA among males. A single peak of disease onset was observed between ages 10 and 29 years followed by a steady decline. AA was strongly associated with lower socioeconomic profile, rural residence, and high rate of consanguineous marriages. Serum granulocyte colony-stimulating factor and thrombopoietin levels were significantly elevated in AA patients, compared to healthy controls (P < 0.0001), while there was no statistical significance in other nine cytokine levels screened. Allele frequencies of DRB1*15 (56.8%) and DQB1*06 (70.3%) were predominantly high in AA patients. Ten mutations were found in TERT and TERC genes, including two novel mutations (Val526Ala and Val777Met) in exons 3 and 7 of TERT gene. Despite specific features of the AA cohort, this study suggests that epidemiologic and etiologic factors as well as host genetic predisposition exclusively or cooperatively trigger AA in Pakistan.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zaineb Akram
- Cell Biology Section, Hematology Branch, National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, National Institutes of Health, Building 10-CRC, Room 3E-5140, 10 Center Drive, Bethesda, MD, 20892, USA. .,Armed Forces Bone Marrow Transplant Centre (AFBMTC), Combined Military Hospital, Rawalpindi, 46000, Pakistan. .,Department of Biochemistry, Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad, 44000, Pakistan.
| | - Parvez Ahmed
- Armed Forces Bone Marrow Transplant Centre (AFBMTC), Combined Military Hospital, Rawalpindi, 46000, Pakistan
| | - Sachiko Kajigaya
- Cell Biology Section, Hematology Branch, National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, National Institutes of Health, Building 10-CRC, Room 3E-5140, 10 Center Drive, Bethesda, MD, 20892, USA
| | - Tariq Mahmood Satti
- Armed Forces Bone Marrow Transplant Centre (AFBMTC), Combined Military Hospital, Rawalpindi, 46000, Pakistan
| | - Humayoon Shafique Satti
- Armed Forces Bone Marrow Transplant Centre (AFBMTC), Combined Military Hospital, Rawalpindi, 46000, Pakistan
| | - Qamar Un Nisa Chaudhary
- Armed Forces Bone Marrow Transplant Centre (AFBMTC), Combined Military Hospital, Rawalpindi, 46000, Pakistan
| | - Fernanda Gutierrez-Rodrigues
- Cell Biology Section, Hematology Branch, National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, National Institutes of Health, Building 10-CRC, Room 3E-5140, 10 Center Drive, Bethesda, MD, 20892, USA
| | - Pilar F Ibanez
- Cell Biology Section, Hematology Branch, National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, National Institutes of Health, Building 10-CRC, Room 3E-5140, 10 Center Drive, Bethesda, MD, 20892, USA
| | - Xingmin Feng
- Cell Biology Section, Hematology Branch, National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, National Institutes of Health, Building 10-CRC, Room 3E-5140, 10 Center Drive, Bethesda, MD, 20892, USA
| | - Syed Kamran Mahmood
- Armed Forces Bone Marrow Transplant Centre (AFBMTC), Combined Military Hospital, Rawalpindi, 46000, Pakistan
| | - Tariq Ghafoor
- Armed Forces Bone Marrow Transplant Centre (AFBMTC), Combined Military Hospital, Rawalpindi, 46000, Pakistan
| | - Nighat Shahbaz
- Armed Forces Bone Marrow Transplant Centre (AFBMTC), Combined Military Hospital, Rawalpindi, 46000, Pakistan
| | - Mehreen Ali Khan
- Armed Forces Bone Marrow Transplant Centre (AFBMTC), Combined Military Hospital, Rawalpindi, 46000, Pakistan
| | - Aneesa Sultan
- Department of Biochemistry, Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad, 44000, Pakistan
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The hypomorphic TERT A1062T variant is associated with increased treatment-related toxicity in acute myeloid leukemia. Ann Hematol 2017; 96:895-904. [PMID: 28331964 DOI: 10.1007/s00277-017-2967-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/20/2016] [Accepted: 02/24/2017] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
Hypomorphic germline variants in TERT, the gene encoding the reverse transcriptase component of the human telomerase complex, occur with a frequency of 3-5% in acute myeloid leukemia. We analyzed the clinical and prognostic impact of the most common TERT A1062T variant in younger patients with acute myeloid leukemia intensively treated within two prospective multicenter trials. Four hundred and twenty patients (age 17-60 years) were analyzed for the TERT A1062T variant by direct sequencing. Fifteen patients (3.6%) carried the TERT A1062T variant. Patients with the TERT A1062T variant had a trend towards less favorable and more intermediate 2/adverse karyotypes/genotypes according to the European Leukemia Net classification. In univariate and multivariate analysis, patients with the TERT A1062T variant had a significantly inferior overall survival compared to wild-type patients (6-year overall survival 20 vs. 41%, p = 0.005). Patients with the TERT A1062T variant showed a high rate of treatment-related mortality: 5/15 (33%) died during induction therapy or in complete remission as compared to 62/405 (15%) of the wild-type patients. In patients with the TERT variant, 14/15 (93%) suffered from non-hematological/non-infectious grade 3/4 adverse events (mostly hepatic and/or mucosal) as compared to 216/405 (53%) wild-type patients (p = 0.006). In multivariate analysis, the TERT A1062T variant was an independent risk factor predicting for adverse events during induction chemotherapy. In conclusion, the TERT A1062T variant is an independent negative prognostic factor in younger patients with acute myeloid leukemia and seems to predispose those patients to treatment-related toxicity.
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Zheng Z, Li X, Zhu Y, Gu W, Xie X, Jiang J. Prognostic nomogram for previously untreated adult patients with acute myeloid leukemia. Oncotarget 2016; 7:71526-71535. [PMID: 27689396 PMCID: PMC5342098 DOI: 10.18632/oncotarget.12245] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/29/2016] [Accepted: 09/19/2016] [Indexed: 12/26/2022] Open
Abstract
This study was designed to perform an acceptable prognostic nomogram for acute myeloid leukemia. The clinical data from 311 patients from our institution and 165 patients generated with Cancer Genome Atlas Research Network were reviewed. A prognostic nomogram was designed according to the Cox's proportional hazard model to predict overall survival (OS). To compare the capacity of the nomogram with that of the current prognostic system, the concordance index (C-index) was used to validate the accuracy as well as the calibration curve. The nomogram included 6 valuable variables: age, risk stratifications based on cytogenetic abnormalities, status of FLT3-ITD mutation, status of NPM1 mutation, expression of CD34, and expression of HLA-DR. The C-indexes were 0.71 and 0.68 in the primary and validation cohort respectively, which were superior to the predictive capacity of the current prognostic systems in both cohorts. The nomogram allowed both patients with acute myeloid leukemia and physicians to make prediction of OS individually prior to treatment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhuojun Zheng
- Department of Hematology, The Third Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University, China.,Department of Tumor Biological Treatment, The Third Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University, China.,Cancer Immunotherapy Engineering Research Center of Jiangsu Province, China.,Institute of Cell Therapy, Soochow University, China
| | - Xiaodong Li
- Department of Tumor Biological Treatment, The Third Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University, China.,Cancer Immunotherapy Engineering Research Center of Jiangsu Province, China.,Institute of Cell Therapy, Soochow University, China.,Department of Oncology, The Third Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University, China
| | - Yuandong Zhu
- Department of Hematology, The Third Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University, China
| | - Weiying Gu
- Department of Hematology, The Third Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University, China
| | - Xiaobao Xie
- Department of Hematology, The Third Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University, China
| | - Jingting Jiang
- Department of Tumor Biological Treatment, The Third Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University, China.,Cancer Immunotherapy Engineering Research Center of Jiangsu Province, China.,Institute of Cell Therapy, Soochow University, China
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Mosrati MA, Willander K, Falk IJ, Hermanson M, Höglund M, Stockelberg D, Wei Y, Lotfi K, Söderkvist P. Association between TERT promoter polymorphisms and acute myeloid leukemia risk and prognosis. Oncotarget 2015; 6:25109-20. [PMID: 26298771 PMCID: PMC4694818 DOI: 10.18632/oncotarget.4668] [Citation(s) in RCA: 43] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/11/2015] [Accepted: 07/10/2015] [Indexed: 12/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Telomerase reverse transcriptase gene (TERT) promoter mutations are identified in many malignancies but not in hematological malignancies. Here we analyzed TERT and protection of telomeres 1 gene (POT1) mutations, and four different TERT SNVs in 226 acute myeloid leukemia (AML) patients and 806 healthy individuals in a case referent design, where also overall survival was assessed. A significant association for increased risk of AML was found for TERT SNVs, rs2853669 (OR = 2.45, p = 0.00015) and rs2736100 (OR = 1.5, p = 0.03). The overall survival for patients with CC genotype of rs2853669 was significantly shorter compared to those with TT or TC genotypes (p = 0.036 and 0.029 respectively). The influence of TERT rs2853669 CC on survival was confirmed in multivariable Cox regression analysis as an independent risk biomarker in addition to high risk group, higher age and treatment. No hot spot TERT promoter mutations at -228C > T or -250C > T or POT1 mutations could be identified in this AML cohort. We show that rs2853669 CC may be a risk factor for the development of AML that may also be used as a prognostic marker to identify high risk normal karyotype-AML (NK-AML) patients, for treatment guidance.
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MESH Headings
- Adolescent
- Adult
- Age Factors
- Aged
- Aged, 80 and over
- Biomarkers, Tumor/genetics
- Case-Control Studies
- DNA Mutational Analysis
- Female
- Gene Frequency
- Genetic Association Studies
- Genetic Predisposition to Disease
- Heterozygote
- Homozygote
- Humans
- Kaplan-Meier Estimate
- Karyotyping
- Leukemia, Myeloid, Acute/diagnosis
- Leukemia, Myeloid, Acute/enzymology
- Leukemia, Myeloid, Acute/genetics
- Leukemia, Myeloid, Acute/mortality
- Leukemia, Myeloid, Acute/therapy
- Male
- Middle Aged
- Multivariate Analysis
- Mutation
- Odds Ratio
- Phenotype
- Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide
- Promoter Regions, Genetic
- Proportional Hazards Models
- Risk Factors
- Telomerase/genetics
- Time Factors
- Treatment Outcome
- Young Adult
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Affiliation(s)
- Mohamed Ali Mosrati
- Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, Linköping University, Linköping, Sweden
| | - Kerstin Willander
- Department of Haematology and Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, Linköping University, Linköping, Sweden
| | - Ingrid Jakobsen Falk
- Department of Medical and Health Sciences, Linköping University, Linköping, Sweden
| | - Monica Hermanson
- Department of Immunology, Genetics and Pathology, Rudbeck Laboratory, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Martin Höglund
- Division of Hematology, Department of Medical Sciences, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Dick Stockelberg
- Section for Hematology and Coagulation, Department of Internal Medicine, Sahlgrenska University Hospital, Gothenburg, Sweden
| | - Yuan Wei
- Section for Hematology and Coagulation, Department of Internal Medicine, Sahlgrenska University Hospital, Gothenburg, Sweden
| | - Kourosh Lotfi
- Department of Medical and Health Sciences, Linköping University, Linköping, Sweden
- Department of Hematology, County Council of Östergötland, Linköping, Sweden
| | - Peter Söderkvist
- Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, Linköping University, Linköping, Sweden
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