BioProject

The aim of the study was to investigate the role of TGIF1 in MLL-AF9 transformed cells Members of the TALE (Three-amino acid loop extension) family of atypical homeodomain-containing transcription factors are prominent downstream effectors of oncogenic fusion proteins generated from translocations involving the mixed lineage leukemia (MLL) gene. More...

The aim of the study was to investigate the role of TGIF1 in MLL-AF9 transformed cells Members of the TALE (Three-amino acid loop extension) family of atypical homeodomain-containing transcription factors are prominent downstream effectors of oncogenic fusion proteins generated from translocations involving the mixed lineage leukemia (MLL) gene. A particular well-characterized member of this protein family is MEIS1, which together with HOXA proteins, orchestrates a transcriptional program required for the maintenance of MLL-rearranged acute myeloid leukemia (AML). Although TALE family proteins are mainly described as transcriptional activators TGIF1 (TGF-β induced factor) / TGIF2 are considered as transcriptional repressors. However, as their function in MLL-rearranged AML is largely unknown, we tested the potential importance of TGIF1 in the maintenance of MLL-rearranged AML. We find that expression of TGIF1 in MLL-AF9 transformed cells (MAF9) leads to cell cycle exit and differentiation in vitro and delayed leukemic onset in vivo. In accordance, MLL-rearranged patient blasts display lower levels of TGIF1 and TGIF1 expression in general correlates positively with survival. Mechanistically, we show that TGIF1 interferes with a MEIS1-dependent transcriptional program by associating to MEIS1-bound region in a competitive manner. Collectively, these findings demonstrate that TALE family members can act both positively and negatively on transcriptional programs responsible for the maintenance of MLL-rearranged AML. Overall design: We GFP-sorted MLL-AF9 transformed cells transduced with pMIG or pMIG-TGIF1 Less...