AICDA drives epigenetic heterogeneity and accelerates germinal center-derived lymphomagenesis

Nat Commun. 2018 Jan 15;9(1):222. doi: 10.1038/s41467-017-02595-w.

Abstract

Epigenetic heterogeneity is emerging as a feature of tumors. In diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL), increased cytosine methylation heterogeneity is associated with poor clinical outcome, yet the underlying mechanisms remain unclear. Activation-induced cytidine deaminase (AICDA), an enzyme that mediates affinity maturation and facilitates DNA demethylation in germinal center (GC) B cells, is required for DLBCL pathogenesis and linked to inferior outcome. Here we show that AICDA overexpression causes more aggressive disease in BCL2-driven murine lymphomas. This phenotype is associated with increased cytosine methylation heterogeneity, but not with increased AICDA-mediated somatic mutation burden. Reciprocally, the cytosine methylation heterogeneity characteristic of normal GC B cells is lost upon AICDA depletion. These observations are relevant to human patients, since DLBCLs with high AICDA expression manifest increased methylation heterogeneity vs. AICDA-low DLBCLs. Our results identify AICDA as a driver of epigenetic heterogeneity in B-cell lymphomas with potential significance for other tumors with aberrant expression of cytidine deaminases.

Publication types

  • Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
  • Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S.

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • B-Lymphocytes / metabolism
  • B-Lymphocytes / pathology
  • Cytidine Deaminase / genetics*
  • Cytidine Deaminase / metabolism
  • Epigenesis, Genetic*
  • Gene Expression Profiling
  • Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic
  • Germinal Center / metabolism*
  • Humans
  • Lymphoma, Large B-Cell, Diffuse / enzymology
  • Lymphoma, Large B-Cell, Diffuse / genetics*
  • Lymphoma, Large B-Cell, Diffuse / metabolism
  • Mice, Inbred BALB C
  • Mice, Inbred C57BL
  • Mice, Knockout
  • Mice, Transgenic
  • Mutation

Substances

  • AICDA (activation-induced cytidine deaminase)
  • Cytidine Deaminase