Genetic basis for iMCD-TAFRO
Department
Pathology
Document Type
Article
Publication Title
Oncogene
Abstract
TAFRO syndrome, a clinical subtype of idiopathic multicentric Castleman disease (iMCD), consists of a constellation of symptoms/signs including thrombocytopenia, anasarca, fever, reticulin fibrosis/renal dysfunction, and organomegaly. The etiology of iMCD-TAFRO and the basis for cytokine hypersecretion commonly seen in iMCD-TAFRO patients has not been elucidated. Here, we identified a somatic MEK2 mutation and a germline RUNX1 mutation in two patients with iMCD-TAFRO, respectively. The MEK2 mutation, which has been identified previously in solid tumor and histiocytosis patients, caused hyperactivated MAP kinase signaling, conferred IL-3 hypersensitivity and sensitized the cells to various MEK inhibitors. The RUNX1 mutation abolished the transcriptional activity of wild-type RUNX1 and functioned as a dominant negative form of RUNX1, resulting in enhanced self-renewal activity in hematopoietic stem/progenitor cells. Interestingly, ERK was heavily activated in both patients, highlighting a potential role for activation of MAPK signaling in iMCD-TAFRO pathogenesis and a rationale for exploring inhibition of the MAPK pathway as a therapy for iMCD-TAFRO. Moreover, these data suggest that iMCD-TAFRO might share pathogenetic features with clonal inflammatory disorders bearing MEK and RUNX1 mutations such as histiocytoses and myeloid neoplasms.
First Page
3218
Last Page
3225
DOI
10.1038/s41388-020-1204-9
Volume
39
Issue
15
Publication Date
4-1-2020
Medical Subject Headings
Adult; Castleman Disease (genetics, pathology); Child, Preschool; Core Binding Factor Alpha 2 Subunit (genetics); DNA Mutational Analysis; Humans; Lymph Nodes (pathology); MAP Kinase Kinase 2 (genetics); MAP Kinase Signaling System (genetics); Male; Young Adult
PubMed ID
32051554
Recommended Citation
Yoshimi, A., Trippett, T. M., Zhang, N., Chen, X., Penson, A. V., Arcila, M. E., Pichardo, J., Baik, J., Sigler, A., Harada, H., Fajgenbaum, D. C., Dogan, A., Abdel-Wahab, O., & Xiao, W. (2020). Genetic basis for iMCD-TAFRO. Oncogene, 39 (15), 3218-3225. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41388-020-1204-9