RUNX1-ETO and RUNX1-EVI-1 differentially program the chromatin landscape in t(3;21) and t(8;21) AML but share global C/EBP-alpha dysfunction (RNA-Seq)

RUNX1 is a frequent target of translocations in acute myeloid leukemia whereby its DNA binding domain fuses to different epigenetic regulators. To assess how different RUNX1 fusion proteins interact with the epigenome we compared the global binding patterns and the chromatin landscape of t(8;21) and t(3;21) AML which express RUNX1-ETO and RUNX1-EVI-1, respectively. We found that differential prognosis for these types of AML is reflected in fundamental differences in gene expression, chromatin landscape, binding patterns of the fusion proteins and other transcription factors as identified by genome-wide digital footprinting in patients. As previously shown for RUNX1-ETO, knockdown of RUNX1-EVI-1 expression initiates differentiation of t(3;21) cells which is associated with up-regulation of genes vital for myeloid differentiation, including C/EBPa. Furthermore, by expressing either dominant-negative C/EBP or an inducible C/EBPa construct in t(3;21) cells we show that C/EBPa is necessary and sufficient for the differentiation response of these cells to RUNX1-EVI-1 knockdown. Overall design: RNA-seq expreiments have been used to study the chromatin landscape of t(8;21) and t(3;21) AML

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Loke J, Assi SA, Imperato MR, Ptasinska A, Cauchy P, Grabovska Y, Soria NM, Raghavan M, Delwel HR, Cockerill PN, Heidenreich O, Bonifer C