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Genetic analysis of HLA and immune escape genes in Diffuse Large B-cell Lymphoma

ABSTRACT: Fifty percent of diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) cases lack cell-surface expression of the class-I major histocompatibility complex (MHC-I), thereby escaping immune recognition by cytotoxic T cells. In order to comprehensively identify the mechanisms involved in MHC-I loss, we first performed immunophenotypic analysis of both MHC class-I and -II in 657 cases across the spectrum of B-NHL, revealing that loss of MHC-I, but not MHC-II, is preferentially restricted to DLBCL. We then used whole exome and targeted deep-sequencing to examine genes involved in MHC-I expression in 74 DLBCL samples representative of MHC-I positive and negative cases. We show here that somatic biallelic or monoallelic inactivation of B2M and/or HLA-I is present in 80.9% (34/42) of MHC-I negative tumors. Furthermore, 68.8% (22/32) of MHC-I positive DLBCLs also harbored monoallelic HLA-I genetic alterations (MHC-I positivemono) that lead to allelic imbalance, suggesting allele-specific inactivation. Both MHC-I negative and MHC-I positivemono cases showed a significantly higher mutational burden as well as a higher number of inferred neo-antigens, suggesting co-selection of HLA-I loss and sustained neo-antigen production. Interestingly, the analysis of > 500.000 individuals in two databases revealed homozygosity of germline HLA-I genes in 26-38% of DLBCL patients, a frequency significantly higher than that observed in any other cancer type. In mice, germinal-center B cells lacking HLA-I expression did not progress to lymphoma and were counterselected in the context of oncogene-driven lymphomagenesis, suggesting that additional events are needed to license immune evasion. These results suggest a multi-step process of HLA-I loss including both germ-line and somatic events in DLBCL development, and have direct implications for the pathogenesis and immunotherapeutic targeting of this disease.

PROVIDER: EGAS00001005054 | EGA |

REPOSITORIES: EGA

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Project description:Diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL), the most common form of lymphoma in adulthood, comprises multiple biologically and clinically distinct subtypes including germinal center B cell-like (GCB) and activated B cell like (ABC) DLBCL. Gene expression profile studies have shown that its most aggressive subtype, ABC-DLBCL, is associated with constitutive activation of the NF-kB transcription complex. However, except for a small fraction of cases, it remains unclear whether NF-kB activation in these tumors represents an intrinsic program of the tumor cell of origin or a pathogenetic event. Here we show that >50% of ABC-DLBCL and a smaller fraction of GCB-DLBCL carry somatic mutations at multiple genes, including negative (TNFAIP3/A20) and positive (CARD11, TRAF2, TRAF5, MAP3K7/TAK1 and TNFRSF11A/RANK) regulators of NF-kB. Of these, the A20 gene, which encodes for a ubiquitin-modifying enzyme involved in termination of NF-kB responses, is the most commonly affected one, with ~30% of the patients displaying biallelic inactivation by mutations and/or deletions, suggesting a tumor suppressor role. Less frequently, missense mutations of TRAF2 and CARD11 produce molecules with significantly enhanced ability to activate NF-kB. Thus, our results demonstrate that NF-kB activation in DLBCL is caused by genetic lesions affecting multiple genes, whose loss or activation may promote lymphomagenesis by leading to abnormally prolonged NF-kB responses. We show that most ABC-DLBCL and a smaller fraction of GCB-DLBCL display genetic lesions affecting multiple NFkB pathway genes, with A20 representing the most frequently mutated gene Experiment Overall Design: DLBCL biopsies from 73 patients were collected from the archives of the Departments of Pathology at Columbia University and Weill Cornell Medical College. Total RNA was extracted from frozen tumor biopsies and processed according to Affymetrix standard protocols. Purified tonsillar geminal center cells (centroblasts and centrocytes, 5 samples each from different individuals) were purified by magnetic cell separation as described in Klein et al, PNAS 2003.

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Genetic analysis of HLA and immune escape genes in Diffuse Large B-cell Lymphoma

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