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Bjerke L, Mackay A, Nandhabalan M, Burford A, Jury A, Popov S, Bax DA, Carvalho D, Taylor KR, Vinci M, Bajrami I, McGonnell IM, Lord CJ, Reis RM, Hargrave D, Ashworth A, Workman P, Jones C. Histone H3.3. mutations drive pediatric glioblastoma through upregulation of MYCN. Cancer Discov 2013; 3:512-9. [PMID: 23539269 PMCID: PMC3763966 DOI: 10.1158/2159-8290.cd-12-0426] [Citation(s) in RCA: 221] [Impact Index Per Article: 20.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
UNLABELLED Children and young adults with glioblastoma (GBM) have a median survival rate of only 12 to 15 months, and these GBMs are clinically and biologically distinct from histologically similar cancers in older adults. They are defined by highly specific mutations in the gene encoding the histone H3.3 variant H3F3A , occurring either at or close to key residues marked by methylation for regulation of transcription—K27 and G34. Here, we show that the cerebral hemisphere-specific G34 mutation drives a distinct expression signature through differential genomic binding of the K36 trimethylation mark (H3K36me3). The transcriptional program induced recapitulates that of the developing forebrain, and involves numerous markers of stem-cell maintenance, cell-fate decisions, and self-renewal.Critically, H3F3A G34 mutations cause profound upregulation of MYCN , a potent oncogene that is causative of GBMs when expressed in the correct developmental context. This driving aberration is selectively targetable in this patient population through inhibiting kinases responsible for stabilization of the protein. SIGNIFICANCE We provide the mechanistic explanation for how the fi rst histone gene mutation inhuman disease biology acts to deliver MYCN, a potent tumorigenic initiator, into a stem-cell compartment of the developing forebrain, selectively giving rise to incurable cerebral hemispheric GBM. Using synthetic lethal approaches to these mutant tumor cells provides a rational way to develop novel and highly selective treatment strategies
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Affiliation(s)
- Lynn Bjerke
- Division of Molecular Pathology, The Institute of Cancer Research, London, UK
- Division of Cancer Therapeutics, The Institute of Cancer Research, London, UK
| | - Alan Mackay
- Division of Molecular Pathology, The Institute of Cancer Research, London, UK
- Division of Cancer Therapeutics, The Institute of Cancer Research, London, UK
| | - Meera Nandhabalan
- Division of Molecular Pathology, The Institute of Cancer Research, London, UK
- Division of Cancer Therapeutics, The Institute of Cancer Research, London, UK
| | - Anna Burford
- Division of Molecular Pathology, The Institute of Cancer Research, London, UK
- Division of Cancer Therapeutics, The Institute of Cancer Research, London, UK
| | - Alexa Jury
- Division of Molecular Pathology, The Institute of Cancer Research, London, UK
- Division of Cancer Therapeutics, The Institute of Cancer Research, London, UK
| | - Sergey Popov
- Division of Molecular Pathology, The Institute of Cancer Research, London, UK
- Division of Cancer Therapeutics, The Institute of Cancer Research, London, UK
| | - Dorine A Bax
- Division of Molecular Pathology, The Institute of Cancer Research, London, UK
- Division of Cancer Therapeutics, The Institute of Cancer Research, London, UK
| | - Diana Carvalho
- Division of Molecular Pathology, The Institute of Cancer Research, London, UK
- Division of Cancer Therapeutics, The Institute of Cancer Research, London, UK
- University of Coimbra, Portugal
- ICVS, University of Minho, Braga, Portugal
| | - Kathryn R Taylor
- Division of Molecular Pathology, The Institute of Cancer Research, London, UK
- Division of Cancer Therapeutics, The Institute of Cancer Research, London, UK
| | - Maria Vinci
- Division of Molecular Pathology, The Institute of Cancer Research, London, UK
- Division of Cancer Therapeutics, The Institute of Cancer Research, London, UK
| | - Ilirjana Bajrami
- Division of Molecular Pathology, The Institute of Cancer Research, London, UK
- Division of Breast Cancer Research, The Institute of Cancer Research, London, UK
| | | | - Christopher J Lord
- Division of Molecular Pathology, The Institute of Cancer Research, London, UK
- Division of Breast Cancer Research, The Institute of Cancer Research, London, UK
| | - Rui M Reis
- ICVS, University of Minho, Braga, Portugal
- Molecular Oncology Research Center, Barretos Cancer Hospital, Barretos SP, Brazil
| | | | - Alan Ashworth
- Division of Molecular Pathology, The Institute of Cancer Research, London, UK
- Division of Breast Cancer Research, The Institute of Cancer Research, London, UK
| | - Paul Workman
- Division of Cancer Therapeutics, The Institute of Cancer Research, London, UK
| | - Chris Jones
- Division of Molecular Pathology, The Institute of Cancer Research, London, UK
- Division of Cancer Therapeutics, The Institute of Cancer Research, London, UK
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