Summary

Acute erythroid leukemia (AEL) is a unique subtype of acute myeloid leukemia characterized by prominent erythroid proliferation whose molecular basis is poorly understood. To elucidate the underlying mechanism of erythroid proliferation, we analyzed 121 AEL using whole-genome, whole-exome, and/or targeted-capture sequencing, together with transcriptome analysis of 21 AEL samples. Combining publicly available sequencing data, we found a high frequency of gains and amplifications involving EPOR/JAK2 in TP53-mutated cases, particularly those having >80% erythroblasts designated as pure erythroid leukemia (10/13). These cases were frequently accompanied by gains and amplifications of ERG/ETS2 and associated with a very poor prognosis, even compared with other TP53-mutated AEL. In addition to activation of the STAT5 pathway, a common feature across all AEL cases, these AEL cases exhibited enhanced cell proliferation and heme metabolism and often showed high sensitivity to ruxolitinib in vitro and in xenograft models, highlighting a potential role of JAK2 inhibition in therapeutics of AEL.

Significance: This study reveals the major role of gains, amplifications, and mutations of EPOR and JAK2 in the pathogenesis of pure erythroleukemia. Their frequent response to ruxolitinib in patient-derived xenograft and cell culture models highlights a possible therapeutic role of JAK2 inhibition for erythroleukemia with EPOR/JAK2-involving lesions.

Paper Information

June Takeda, Kenichi Yoshida, Masahiro M. Nakagawa, Yasuhito Nannya, Akinori Yoda, Ryunosuke Saiki, Yotaro Ochi, Lanying Zhao, Rurika Okuda, Xingxing Qi, Takuto Mori, Ayana Kon, Kenichi Chiba, Hiroko Tanaka, Yuichi Shiraishi, Ming-Chung Kuo, Cassandra M. Kerr, Yasunobu Nagata, Daisuke Morishita, Nobuhiro Hiramoto, Akira Hangaishi, Hideyuki Nakazawa, Ken Ishiyama, Satoru Miyano, Shigeru Chiba, Yasushi Miyazaki, Toshiyuki Kitano, Kensuke Usuki, Nobuo Sezaki, Hisashi Tsurumi, Shuichi Miyawaki, Jaroslaw P. Maciejewski, Takayuki Ishikawa, Kazuma Ohyashiki, Arnold Ganser, Michael Heuser, Felicitas Thol, Lee-Yung Shih, Akifumi Takaori-Kondo, Hideki Makishima, Seishi Ogawa (2022). Amplified EPOR/JAK2 Genes Define a Unique Subtype of Acute Erythroid Leukemia. Blood Cancer Discovery, 3(5), 410-427. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1158/2643-3230.BCD-21-0192