Whole transcriptome sequencing reveals recurrent NOTCH1 mutations in mantle cell lymphoma

R Kridel, B Meissner, S Rogic, M Boyle… - Blood, The Journal …, 2012 - ashpublications.org
R Kridel, B Meissner, S Rogic, M Boyle, A Telenius, B Woolcock, J Gunawardana
Blood, The Journal of the American Society of Hematology, 2012ashpublications.org
Mantle cell lymphoma (MCL), an aggressive subtype of non-Hodgkin lymphoma, is
characterized by the hallmark translocation t (11; 14)(q13; q32) and the resulting
overexpression of cyclin D1 (CCND1). Our current knowledge of this disease encompasses
frequent secondary cytogenetic aberrations and the recurrent mutation of a handful of
genes, such as TP53, ATM, and CCND1. However, these findings insufficiently explain the
biologic underpinnings of MCL. Here, we performed whole transcriptome sequencing on a …
Abstract
Mantle cell lymphoma (MCL), an aggressive subtype of non-Hodgkin lymphoma, is characterized by the hallmark translocation t(11;14)(q13;q32) and the resulting overexpression of cyclin D1 (CCND1). Our current knowledge of this disease encompasses frequent secondary cytogenetic aberrations and the recurrent mutation of a handful of genes, such as TP53, ATM, and CCND1. However, these findings insufficiently explain the biologic underpinnings of MCL. Here, we performed whole transcriptome sequencing on a discovery cohort of 18 primary tissue MCL samples and 2 cell lines. We found recurrent mutations in NOTCH1, a finding that we confirmed in an extension cohort of 108 clinical samples and 8 cell lines. In total, 12% of clinical samples and 20% of cell lines harbored somatic NOTCH1 coding sequence mutations that clustered in the PEST domain and predominantly consisted of truncating mutations or small frame-shifting indels. NOTCH1 mutations were associated with poor overall survival (P = .003). Furthermore, we showed that inhibition of the NOTCH pathway reduced proliferation and induced apoptosis in 2 MCL cell lines. In summary, we have identified recurrent NOTCH1 mutations that provide the preclinical rationale for therapeutic inhibition of the NOTCH pathway in a subset of patients with MCL.
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