Interplay between UNG and AID governs intratumoral heterogeneity in mature B cell lymphoma

PLoS Genet. 2020 Dec 23;16(12):e1008960. doi: 10.1371/journal.pgen.1008960. eCollection 2020 Dec.

Abstract

Most B cell lymphomas originate from B cells that have germinal center (GC) experience and bear chromosome translocations and numerous point mutations. GC B cells remodel their immunoglobulin (Ig) genes by somatic hypermutation (SHM) and class switch recombination (CSR) in their Ig genes. Activation Induced Deaminase (AID) initiates CSR and SHM by generating U:G mismatches on Ig DNA that can then be processed by Uracyl-N-glycosylase (UNG). AID promotes collateral damage in the form of chromosome translocations and off-target SHM, however, the exact contribution of AID activity to lymphoma generation and progression is not completely understood. Here we show using a conditional knock-in strategy that AID supra-activity alone is not sufficient to generate B cell transformation. In contrast, in the absence of UNG, AID supra-expression increases SHM and promotes lymphoma. Whole exome sequencing revealed that AID heavily contributes to lymphoma SHM, promoting subclonal variability and a wider range of oncogenic variants. Thus, our data provide direct evidence that UNG is a brake to AID-induced intratumoral heterogeneity and evolution of B cell lymphoma.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Cell Transformation, Neoplastic / genetics
  • Cells, Cultured
  • Clonal Evolution
  • Cytidine Deaminase / genetics*
  • Cytidine Deaminase / metabolism
  • Female
  • Genetic Heterogeneity*
  • Lymphoma, B-Cell / genetics*
  • Lymphoma, B-Cell / metabolism
  • Male
  • Mice
  • Mice, Inbred C57BL
  • Mutation
  • Uracil-DNA Glycosidase / genetics*
  • Uracil-DNA Glycosidase / metabolism

Substances

  • Uracil-DNA Glycosidase
  • AICDA (activation-induced cytidine deaminase)
  • Cytidine Deaminase

Grants and funding

PD was supported by the AECC foundation (AIO2012). EM-Z is an FPI fellow (BES-2014-069525). AFA-P, S.M.M. and A.R.R. are supported by CNIC funding. This project was funded by the Spanish Ministerio de Economía, Industria y Competitividad SAF2013-42767-R, SAF2016-75511-R, and European Research Council StG BCLYM, to A.R.R. The CNIC is supported by the Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovacion y Universidades and the Pro-CNIC Foundation, and is a Severo Ochoa Center of Excellence (SEV-2015-0505). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.