Project description:Natural killer/T-cell lymphoma (NKTCL) is a malignant proliferation of CD56+/cytoCD3+ lymphocytes and constitutes a heterogeneous group of aggressive lymphomas prevalent in Asian and South American populations. Molecular pathogenesis of NKTCL remains largely elusive. Here we identified somatic mutations in RNA helicase gene DDX3X. Gene expression profiling revealed an association of DDX3X mutations with activation of NF-kB and MAPK pathways. Together, our work suggests the heterogeneity of gene mutational spectrum in NKTCL.
Project description:<p>BRCA1 mutations are a hallmark of hereditary ovarian cancer, strongly linked to deficiencies in homologous recombination (HR) DNA repair and impaired DNA replication fork protection. However, its roles in cancer progression beyond maintaining genomic integrity remain poorly understood. Through metabolomics approaches, we found BRCA1-deficiency strikingly increased choline metabolism. Loss of BRCA1 promotes choline uptake through upregulating choline transporter-like protein 4 (CTL4). BRCA1 directly binds and recruits EZH2-mediated H3K27Me3 deposition to CTL4 promoter. CTL4 was therefore overexpressed in ovarian cancer tissues with BRCA1 mutations. Furthermore, BRCA1-deficiency significantly promotes ovarian cancer invasion, while inhibition of CTL4 reverses the high metastatic potential of BRCA1-deficient ovarian cancer cells, suggesting the functionality and specificity of CTL4 as a therapeutic target. Additionally, we discovered that phosphocholine, the choline metabolite increased by CTL4 overexpression, interacted with and stabilized the epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition inducer FAM3C in BRCA1-deficient ovarian cancer cells. Importantly, we identified a potent CTL4 inhibitor, DT-13, which significantly reduces choline metabolism and effectively suppresses metastasis in BRCA1-deficient ovarian cancers. Therefore, our study uncovers a mechanism underlying metastasis in BRCA1-deficient cancers and identifies CTL4 as a therapeutic target for metastatic ovarian cancer patients with BRCA1 mutations.</p>
Project description:DDX3X is a ubiquitously expressed RNA helicase involved in multiple stages of RNA biogenesis. DDX3X is frequently mutated in Burkitt lymphoma but the functional basis for this is unknown. Here, we show that loss-of-function DDX3X mutations are also commonly found in MYC-translocated diffuse large B cell lymphoma and reveal functional co-operation between mutant DDX3X and MYC. We show that DDX3X promotes translation of mRNAs encoding components of the core translational machinery, thereby driving global protein synthesis. Loss-of-function DDX3X mutations moderate MYC-driven global protein synthesis, thereby buffering MYC-induced proteotoxic stress during early lymphomagenesis. Established lymphoma cells subsequently restore full protein synthetic capacity by ectopic expression of DDX3Y, a Y-chromosome homologue that is normally expressed exclusively in testis. These findings highlight the vulnerability of MYC-driven lymphoma to proteotoxic stress and identify an unexpected male-specific mechanism of carcinogenesis, namely the commandeering of a testis-specific Y-chromosome gene to drive full malignant transformation.
Project description:DDX3X is a ubiquitously expressed RNA helicase involved in multiple stages of RNA biogenesis. DDX3X is frequently mutated in Burkitt lymphoma but the functional basis for this is unknown. Here, we show that loss-of-function DDX3X mutations are also commonly found in MYC-translocated diffuse large B cell lymphoma and reveal functional co-operation between mutant DDX3X and MYC. We show that DDX3X promotes translation of mRNAs encoding components of the core translational machinery, thereby driving global protein synthesis. Loss-of-function DDX3X mutations moderate MYC-driven global protein synthesis, thereby buffering MYC-induced proteotoxic stress during early lymphomagenesis. Established lymphoma cells subsequently restore full protein synthetic capacity by ectopic expression of DDX3Y, a Y-chromosome homologue that is normally expressed exclusively in testis. These findings highlight the vulnerability of MYC-driven lymphoma to proteotoxic stress and identify an unexpected male-specific mechanism of carcinogenesis, namely the commandeering of a testis-specific Y-chromosome gene to drive full malignant transformation.