We have recently reported inactivation of the tyrosine phosphatase PTPN2 (also known as TC-PTP) through deletion of the entire gene locus in ϳ 6% of T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (T-ALL) cases. T-ALL is an aggressive disease of the thymocytes characterized by the stepwise accumulation of chromosomal abnormalities and gene mutations. In the present study, we confirmed the strong association of the PTPN2 deletion with TLX1 and NUP214-ABL1 expression. In addition, we found cooperation between PTPN2 deletion and activating JAK1 gene mutations. Activating mutations in JAK1 kinase occur in ϳ 10% of human T-ALL cases, and aberrant kinase activity has been shown to confer proliferation and survival advantages. Our results reveal that some JAK1 mutation-positive T-
IntroductionT-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (T-ALL) is an aggressive leukemia occurring in children and adults that is characterized by the massive production of undifferentiated thymocytes of clonal origin. T-ALL arises from the neoplastic transformation of a lymphoid progenitor cell that has accumulated multiple genetic lesions that alter its differentiation and self-renewal properties and provide proliferation and survival advantages. 1 The aberrant activation of transcription factors such as TAL1, TLX1, TLX3, MLL, and HOXA is thought to be the driving force of the transformation process and, based on the identity of the causal transcription factor, T-ALLs can be delineated in oncogenic subgroups with a characteristic immunophenotype and expression profile. 2,3 In addition to the ectopic expression of these transcription factors, several other lesions have been identified, including mutations of NOTCH1 and FBXW7, inactivation of PTEN, deletion of CDKN2A (p16), mutations of PHF6, and activation of LCK, JAK1, and ABL1 tyrosine kinases. [4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12] Mutations in JAK1 and episomal fusion of NUP214 to ABL1 are known oncogenic events that support the proliferation and survival of T-ALL cells. 9,10,13,14 Whereas the chimeric NUP214-ABL1 fusion gene occurs specifically in the cortical subtype characterized by aberrant expression of homeobox transcription factors TLX1 and TLX3, mutated JAK1 kinase appears in different T-ALL subgroups. Three independent studies have reported the occurrence of JAK1 mutations in T-ALL. In 2008, Flex et al studied a cohort of Italian T-ALL patients and found the frequency of JAK1 mutations in children and adults to be 2% and 18%, respectively. That study also found a clinical association with older age at diagnosis, poor treatment response, and overall predicted outcome. 10 Around the same time, a second group sequenced exons 5, 14, and 17 of JAK1 in 11 adult Korean T-ALL patients and identified 3 missense mutations in the coding region of JAK1 (27%). 14 However, the latest study performed by Asnafi et al could not confirm the frequencies reported previously. Sequence analysis of the JAK1 gene in 108 adult French T-ALL patients identified only 4 individuals with JAK1 mutations. 9 Whether JAK1 mutations occur...