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Camiolo G, Mullen CG, Ottersbach K. Mechanistic insights into the developmental origin of pediatric hematologic disorders. Exp Hematol 2024:104583. [PMID: 39059457 DOI: 10.1016/j.exphem.2024.104583] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/27/2024] [Revised: 07/18/2024] [Accepted: 07/19/2024] [Indexed: 07/28/2024]
Abstract
Embryonic and fetal hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells differ in some key properties from cells that are part of the adult hematopoietic system. These include higher proliferation and self-renewal capacity, different globin gene usage, and differing lineage biases. Although these evolved to cover specific requirements of embryonic development, they can have serious consequences for the pathogenesis of hematologic malignancies that initiate prebirth in fetal blood cells and may result in a particularly aggressive disease that does not respond well to treatments that have been designed for adult leukemias. This indicates that these infant/pediatric leukemias should be considered developmental diseases, where a thorough understanding of their unique biology is essential for designing more effective therapies. In this review, we will highlight some of these unique fetal properties and detail the underlying molecular drivers of these phenotypes. We specifically focus on those that are pertinent to disease pathogenesis and that may therefore reveal disease vulnerabilities. We have also included an extensive description of the origins, phenotypes, and key molecular drivers of the main infant and pediatric leukemias that have a known prenatal origin. Importantly, successes in recent years in generating faithful models of these malignancies in which cellular origins, key drivers, and potential vulnerabilities can be investigated have resulted in uncovering potential, new therapeutic avenues.
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Affiliation(s)
- Giuseppina Camiolo
- Centre for Regenerative Medicine, Institute for Regeneration and Repair, The University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, United Kingdom
| | - Christopher G Mullen
- Centre for Regenerative Medicine, Institute for Regeneration and Repair, The University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, United Kingdom
| | - Katrin Ottersbach
- Centre for Regenerative Medicine, Institute for Regeneration and Repair, The University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, United Kingdom.
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2
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Kucinski JP, Calderon D, Kendall GC. Biological and therapeutic insights from animal modeling of fusion-driven pediatric soft tissue sarcomas. Dis Model Mech 2024; 17:dmm050704. [PMID: 38916046 PMCID: PMC11225592 DOI: 10.1242/dmm.050704] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/26/2024] Open
Abstract
Survival for children with cancer has primarily improved over the past decades due to refinements in surgery, radiation and chemotherapy. Although these general therapies are sometimes curative, the cancer often recurs, resulting in poor outcomes for patients. Fusion-driven pediatric soft tissue sarcomas are genetically defined by chromosomal translocations that create a chimeric oncogene. This distinctive, almost 'monogenic', genetic feature supports the generation of animal models to study the respective diseases in vivo. This Review focuses on a subset of fusion-driven pediatric soft tissue sarcomas that have transgenic animal tumor models, which includes fusion-positive and infantile rhabdomyosarcoma, synovial sarcoma, undifferentiated small round cell sarcoma, alveolar soft part sarcoma and clear cell sarcoma. Studies using the animal models of these sarcomas have highlighted that pediatric cancers require a specific cellular state or developmental stage to drive tumorigenesis, as the fusion oncogenes cause different outcomes depending on their lineage and timing of expression. Therefore, understanding these context-specific activities could identify targetable activities and mechanisms critical for tumorigenesis. Broadly, these cancers show dependencies on chromatin regulators to support oncogenic gene expression and co-opting of developmental pathways. Comparative analyses across lineages and tumor models will further provide biological and therapeutic insights to improve outcomes for these children.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jack P. Kucinski
- Center for Childhood Cancer Research, The Abigail Wexner Research Institute, Nationwide Children's Hospital, Columbus, OH 43215, USA
- Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology PhD Program, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210, USA
| | - Delia Calderon
- Center for Childhood Cancer Research, The Abigail Wexner Research Institute, Nationwide Children's Hospital, Columbus, OH 43215, USA
- Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology PhD Program, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210, USA
| | - Genevieve C. Kendall
- Center for Childhood Cancer Research, The Abigail Wexner Research Institute, Nationwide Children's Hospital, Columbus, OH 43215, USA
- Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology PhD Program, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210, USA
- Department of Pediatrics, The Ohio State University College of Medicine, Columbus, OH 43215, USA
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3
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Kent MR, Silvius K, Kucinski J, Calderon D, Kendall GC. Functional Genomics of Novel Rhabdomyosarcoma Fusion-Oncogenes Using Zebrafish. Methods Mol Biol 2024; 2707:23-41. [PMID: 37668903 DOI: 10.1007/978-1-0716-3401-1_2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 09/06/2023]
Abstract
Clinical sequencing efforts continue to identify novel putative oncogenes with limited strategies to perform functional validation in vivo and study their role in tumorigenesis. Here, we present a pipeline for fusion-driven rhabdomyosarcoma (RMS) in vivo modeling using transgenic zebrafish systems. This strategy originates with novel fusion-oncogenes identified from patient samples that require functional validation in vertebrate systems, integrating these genes into the zebrafish genome, and then characterizing that they indeed drive rhabdomyosarcoma tumor formation. In this scenario, the human form of the fusion-oncogene is inserted into the zebrafish genome to understand if it is an oncogene, and if so, the underlying mechanisms of tumorigenesis. This approach has been successful in our models of infantile rhabdomyosarcoma and alveolar rhabdomyosarcoma, both driven by respective fusion-oncogenes, VGLL2-NCOA2 and PAX3-FOXO1. Our described zebrafish platform is a rapid method to understand the impact of fusion-oncogene activity, divergent and shared fusion-oncogene biology, and whether any analyzed pathways converge for potential clinically actionable targets.
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Affiliation(s)
- Matthew R Kent
- Center for Childhood Cancer & Blood Diseases, The Abigail Wexner Research Institute, Nationwide Children's Hospital, Columbus, OH, USA
| | - Katherine Silvius
- Center for Childhood Cancer & Blood Diseases, The Abigail Wexner Research Institute, Nationwide Children's Hospital, Columbus, OH, USA
| | - Jack Kucinski
- Center for Childhood Cancer & Blood Diseases, The Abigail Wexner Research Institute, Nationwide Children's Hospital, Columbus, OH, USA
- Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology Ph.D. Program, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA
| | - Delia Calderon
- Center for Childhood Cancer & Blood Diseases, The Abigail Wexner Research Institute, Nationwide Children's Hospital, Columbus, OH, USA
- Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology Ph.D. Program, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA
| | - Genevieve C Kendall
- Center for Childhood Cancer & Blood Diseases, The Abigail Wexner Research Institute, Nationwide Children's Hospital, Columbus, OH, USA.
- Department of Pediatrics, The Ohio State University College of Medicine, Columbus, OH, USA.
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4
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Watson S, LaVigne CA, Xu L, Surdez D, Cyrta J, Calderon D, Cannon MV, Kent MR, Silvius KM, Kucinski JP, Harrison EN, Murchison W, Rakheja D, Tirode F, Delattre O, Amatruda JF, Kendall GC. VGLL2-NCOA2 leverages developmental programs for pediatric sarcomagenesis. Cell Rep 2023; 42:112013. [PMID: 36656711 PMCID: PMC10054615 DOI: 10.1016/j.celrep.2023.112013] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/10/2022] [Revised: 10/14/2022] [Accepted: 01/04/2023] [Indexed: 01/19/2023] Open
Abstract
Clinical sequencing efforts are rapidly identifying sarcoma gene fusions that lack functional validation. An example is the fusion of transcriptional coactivators, VGLL2-NCOA2, found in infantile rhabdomyosarcoma. To delineate VGLL2-NCOA2 tumorigenic mechanisms and identify therapeutic vulnerabilities, we implement a cross-species comparative oncology approach with zebrafish, mouse allograft, and patient samples. We find that VGLL2-NCOA2 is sufficient to generate mesenchymal tumors that display features of immature skeletal muscle and recapitulate the human disease. A subset of VGLL2-NCOA2 zebrafish tumors transcriptionally cluster with embryonic somitogenesis and identify VGLL2-NCOA2 developmental programs, including a RAS family GTPase, ARF6. In VGLL2-NCOA2 zebrafish, mouse, and patient tumors, ARF6 is highly expressed. ARF6 knockout suppresses VGLL2-NCOA2 oncogenic activity in cell culture, and, more broadly, ARF6 is overexpressed in adult and pediatric sarcomas. Our data indicate that VGLL2-NCOA2 is an oncogene that leverages developmental programs for tumorigenesis and that reactivation or persistence of ARF6 could represent a therapeutic opportunity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sarah Watson
- Institut Curie Research Center, Paris Sciences et Lettres (PSL) Research University, INSERM U830, 75005 Paris, France; Institut Curie, Paris Sciences et Lettres (PSL) Research University, Medical Oncology Department, 75005 Paris, France
| | - Collette A LaVigne
- Department of Molecular Biology, UT Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX 75390, USA
| | - Lin Xu
- Quantitative Biomedical Research Center, Department of Population and Data Sciences, UT Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX 75390, USA
| | - Didier Surdez
- Institut Curie Research Center, Paris Sciences et Lettres (PSL) Research University, INSERM U830, 75005 Paris, France; Balgrist University Hospital, Faculty of Medicine, University of Zürich (UZH), 8008 Zürich, Switzerland
| | - Joanna Cyrta
- Institut Curie, Paris Sciences et Lettres (PSL) Research University, Department of Pathology, 75005 Paris, France
| | - Delia Calderon
- Center for Childhood Cancer, The Abigail Wexner Research Institute, Nationwide Children's Hospital, Columbus, OH 43205, USA; Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology Ph.D. Program, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210, USA
| | - Matthew V Cannon
- Center for Childhood Cancer, The Abigail Wexner Research Institute, Nationwide Children's Hospital, Columbus, OH 43205, USA
| | - Matthew R Kent
- Center for Childhood Cancer, The Abigail Wexner Research Institute, Nationwide Children's Hospital, Columbus, OH 43205, USA
| | - Katherine M Silvius
- Center for Childhood Cancer, The Abigail Wexner Research Institute, Nationwide Children's Hospital, Columbus, OH 43205, USA
| | - Jack P Kucinski
- Center for Childhood Cancer, The Abigail Wexner Research Institute, Nationwide Children's Hospital, Columbus, OH 43205, USA; Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology Ph.D. Program, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210, USA
| | - Emma N Harrison
- Center for Childhood Cancer, The Abigail Wexner Research Institute, Nationwide Children's Hospital, Columbus, OH 43205, USA
| | - Whitney Murchison
- Department of Pediatrics, UT Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX 75390, USA
| | - Dinesh Rakheja
- Department of Pediatrics, UT Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX 75390, USA; Department of Pathology, UT Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX 75390, USA
| | - Franck Tirode
- University Lyon, Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1, Cancer Research Center of Lyon, INSERM 1052, CNRS 5286, Centre LéonBérard, 69008 Lyon, France
| | - Olivier Delattre
- Institut Curie Research Center, Paris Sciences et Lettres (PSL) Research University, INSERM U830, 75005 Paris, France; Institut Curie, SIREDO Pediatric Center, 75005 Paris, France; Institut Curie Hospital Group, Unité de Génétique Somatique, 75005 Paris, France
| | - James F Amatruda
- Cancer and Blood Disease Institute, Children's Hospital Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90027, USA; Departments of Pediatrics and Medicine, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA 90033, USA.
| | - Genevieve C Kendall
- Center for Childhood Cancer, The Abigail Wexner Research Institute, Nationwide Children's Hospital, Columbus, OH 43205, USA; Department of Pediatrics, The Ohio State University College of Medicine, Columbus, OH 43205, USA.
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Gonzalez Malagon SG, Liu KJ. Linking neural crest development to neuroblastoma pathology. Development 2022; 149:276149. [DOI: 10.1242/dev.200331] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
Abstract
ABSTRACT
Although rare, childhood (paediatric) cancers are a major cause of death in young children. Unlike many adult cancers, paediatric cancers, such as neuroblastoma (NB), are developmental diseases that rarely show genetic predispositions. NB is the most common extracranial solid tumour in children, accounting for ∼15% of paediatric cancer deaths. This heterogeneous cancer arises from undifferentiated neural crest-derived progenitor cells. As neural crest cells are multipotent and migratory, they are often considered the embryonic paradigm of cancer stem cells. However, very little is known about the events that trigger tumour initiation and progression. Here, we discuss recent insights into sympathoadrenal lineage specification, as well as genetic factors associated with NB. With this in mind, we consider the molecular underpinnings of NB in the context of developmental trajectories of the neural crest lineage. This allows us to compare distinct subtypes of the disease and gene-function interactions during sensitive phases of neural crest development.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sandra Guadalupe Gonzalez Malagon
- Biomedical Research Institute, Foundation for Research and Technology, University of Ioannina Campus 1 , 45115 Ioannina , Greece
- School of Health Sciences and Institute of Biosciences, University Research Centre, University of Ioannina 2 Department of Biological Applications and Technology , , 45110 Ioannina , Greece
| | - Karen J. Liu
- Centre for Craniofacial and Regenerative Biology, King's College London 3 , London SE1 9RT , UK
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