Title
Transcriptional repression of the RUNX3/AML2 gene by the t(8;21) and inv(16) fusion proteins in acute myeloid leukemia
PubMed ID
18663147
UMMS Affiliation
Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences; Department of Anatomical and Cellular Pathology
Date
7-30-2008
Document Type
Article
Medical Subject Headings
Adolescent; Adult; Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Child; Child, Preschool; *Chromosomes, Human, Pair 16; *Chromosomes, Human, Pair 21; *Chromosomes, Human, Pair 8; Core Binding Factor Alpha 3 Subunit; Female; Humans; Infant; Leukemia, Myeloid, Acute; Male; Middle Aged; *Transcription, Genetic; *Translocation, Genetic
Disciplines
Life Sciences | Medicine and Health Sciences
Abstract
RUNX3/AML2 is a Runt domain transcription factor like RUNX1/AML1 and RUNX2/AML3. Regulated by 2 promoters P1 and P2, RUNX3 is frequently inactivated by P2 methylation in solid tumors. Growing evidence has suggested a role of this transcription factor in hematopoiesis. However, genetic alterations have not been reported in blood cancers. In this study on 73 acute myeloid leukemia (AML) patients (44 children and 29 adults), we first showed that high RUNX3 expression among childhood AML was associated with a shortened event-free survival, and RUNX3 was significantly underexpressed in the prognostically favorable subgroup of AML with the t(8;21) and inv(16) translocations. We further demonstrated that this RUNX3 repression was mediated not by P2 methylation, but RUNX1-ETO and CBFbeta-MYH11, the fusion products of t(8;21) and inv(16), via a novel transcriptional mechanism that acts directly or indirectly in collaboration with RUNX1, on 2 conserved RUNX binding sites in the P1 promoter. In in vitro studies, ectopically expressed RUNX1-ETO and CBFbeta-MYH11 also inhibited endogenous RUNX3 expression. Taken together, RUNX3 was the first transcriptional target found to be commonly repressed by the t(8;21) and inv(16) fusion proteins and might have an important role in core-binding factor AML.
Rights and Permissions
Citation: Blood. 2008 Oct 15;112(8):3391-402. Epub 2008 Jul 28. Link to article on publisher's site