DIS3 mutations in multiple myeloma impact the transcriptional signature and clinical outcome

Haematologica. 2022 Apr 1;107(4):921-932. doi: 10.3324/haematol.2021.278342.

Abstract

DIS3 gene mutations occur in roughly 10% of patients with multiple myeloma (MM); furthermore, DIS3 expression can be affected by monosomy 13 and del(13q), which occur in approximately 40% of MM cases. Despite several reports on the prevalence of DIS3 mutations, their contribution to the pathobiology of MM remains largely unknown. We took advantage of the large public CoMMpass dataset to investigate the spectrum of DIS3 mutations in MM and its impact on the transcriptome and clinical outcome. We found that the clinical relevance of DIS3 mutations strictly depended on the co-occurrence of del(13q). In particular, bi-allelic DIS3 lesions significantly affected progression-free survival, independently of other predictors of poor clinical outcome, while mono-allelic events mostly affected overall survival. As expected, DIS3 mutations affect the MM transcriptome involving cellular processes and signaling pathways associated with RNA metabolism, and the deregulation of a large number of long non-coding RNA, among which we identified five distinct transcripts as independent predictors of poorer overall survival and nine of worse progression-free survival, with two (AC015982.2 and AL445228.3) predicting both unfavorable outcomes. These findings strongly prompt further studies investigating the relevance of these long non-coding RNA in MM.

MeSH terms

  • Exosome Multienzyme Ribonuclease Complex* / genetics
  • Exosome Multienzyme Ribonuclease Complex* / metabolism
  • Humans
  • Multiple Myeloma* / genetics
  • Mutation
  • RNA, Long Noncoding*
  • Transcriptome

Substances

  • RNA, Long Noncoding
  • Exosome Multienzyme Ribonuclease Complex
  • DIS3 protein, human

Grants and funding

Funding: This work was financially supported by grants from the Associazione Italiana Ricerca sul Cancro (AIRC) to AN (IG16722 and IG24365). NB is funded by the European Research Council under the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation program (grant agreement n. 817997).