Towards a better understanding of cohesin mutations in AML

Classical driver mutations in acute myeloid leukemia (AML) typically affect regulators of cell proliferation, differentiation, and survival. The selective advantage of increased proliferation, improved survival, and reduced differentiation on leukemia progression is immediately obvious. Recent large...

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Bibliographic Details
Authors: Cuartero, Sergi; Innes, Andrew J.; Merkenschlager, Matthias
Format: Article
Status:Published version
Publication date:2019
Country:España
Institution:Universitat Pompeu Fabra
Repository:Repositorio Digital de la UPF
OAI Identifier:oai:repositori.upf.edu:10230/44013
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/10230/44013
http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fonc.2019.00867
Access Level:Open access
Keyword:AML
Cohesin
Hematopoiesis
Inflammation
Interferon
Leukemia
Description
Summary:Classical driver mutations in acute myeloid leukemia (AML) typically affect regulators of cell proliferation, differentiation, and survival. The selective advantage of increased proliferation, improved survival, and reduced differentiation on leukemia progression is immediately obvious. Recent large-scale sequencing efforts have uncovered numerous novel AML-associated mutations. Interestingly, a substantial fraction of the most frequently mutated genes encode general regulators of transcription and chromatin state. Understanding the selective advantage conferred by these mutations remains a major challenge. A striking example are mutations in genes of the cohesin complex, a major regulator of three-dimensional genome organization. Several landmark studies have shown that cohesin mutations perturb the balance between self-renewal and differentiation of hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells (HSPC). Emerging data now begin to uncover the molecular mechanisms that underpin this phenotype. Among these mechanisms is a role for cohesin in the control of inflammatory responses in HSPCs and myeloid cells. Inflammatory signals limit HSPC self-renewal and drive HSPC differentiation. Consistent with this, cohesin mutations promote resistance to inflammatory signals, and may provide a selective advantage for AML progression. In this review, we discuss recent progress in understanding cohesin mutations in AML, and speculate whether vulnerabilities associated with these mutations could be exploited therapeutically.