| 1. |
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| 2. |
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| 3. |
- Agathangelidis, Andreas, et al.
(författare)
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Immunoglobulin Gene Sequence Analysis In Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia : From Patient Material To Sequence Interpretation
- 2018
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Ingår i: Journal of Visualized Experiments. - : JOURNAL OF VISUALIZED EXPERIMENTS. - 1940-087X. ; :141
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- During B cell maturation, the complex process of immunoglobulin (IG) gene V(D)J recombination coupled with somatic hypermutation (SHM) gives rise to a unique DNA sequence within each individual B cell. Since B cell malignancies result from the clonal expansion of a single cell, IG genes represent a unique molecular signature common to all the malignant cells within an individual patient; thus, IG gene rearrangements can be used as clonal markers. In addition to serving as an important clonal identifier, the IG gene sequence can act as a 'molecular timeline' since it is associated with specific developmental stages and hence reflects the history of the B cell involved in the neoplastic transformation. Moreover, for certain malignancies, in particular chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), the IG gene sequence holds prognostic and potentially predictive capabilities. That said, extrapolating meaningful conclusions from IG gene sequence analysis would be impossible if robust methods and tools were not available to aid in their analysis. This article, drawing on the vast experience of the European Research Initiative on CLL (ERIC), details the technical aspects and essential requirements necessary to ensure reliable and reproducible IG gene sequence analysis in CLL, a test that is now recommended for all CLL patients prior to treatment. More specifically, the various analytical stages are described ranging from the identification of the clonotypic IG gene rearrangement and the determination of the nucleotide sequence to the accurate clinical interpretation of the IG gene sequence data.
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| 4. |
- Agathangelidis, Andreas, et al.
(författare)
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Stereotyped B-cell receptors in one-third of chronic lymphocytic leukemia : a molecular classification with implications for targeted therapies
- 2012
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Ingår i: Blood. - : American Society of Hematology. - 0006-4971 .- 1528-0020. ; 119:19, s. 4467-4475
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Mounting evidence indicates that grouping of chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) into distinct subsets with stereotyped BCRs is functionally and prognostically relevant. However, several issues need revisiting, including the criteria for identification of BCR stereotypy and its actual frequency as well as the identification of "CLL-biased" features in BCR Ig stereotypes. To this end, we examined 7596 Ig VH (IGHV-IGHD-IGHJ) sequences from 7424 CLL patients, 3 times the size of the largest published series, with an updated version of our purpose-built clustering algorithm. We document that CLL may be subdivided into 2 distinct categories: one with stereotyped and the other with nonstereotyped BCRs, at an approximate ratio of 1: 2, and provide evidence suggesting a different ontogeny for these 2 categories. We also show that subset-defining sequence patterns in CLL differ from those underlying BCR stereotypy in other B-cell malignancies. Notably, 19 major subsets contained from 20 to 213 sequences each, collectively accounting for 943 sequences or one-eighth of the cohort. Hence, this compartmentalized examination of VH sequences may pave the way toward a molecular classification of CLL with implications for targeted therapeutic interventions, applicable to a significant number of patients assigned to the same subset.
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| 5. |
- Agathangelidis, Andreas, et al.
(författare)
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Unlocking the secrets of immunoglobulin receptors in mantle cell lymphoma : Implications for the origin and selection of the malignant cells
- 2011
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Ingår i: Seminars in Cancer Biology. - : Elsevier BV. - 1044-579X .- 1096-3650. ; 21:5, s. 299-307
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Forskningsöversikt (refereegranskat)abstract
- Immunogenetic analysis of mantle cell lymphoma (MCL) has offered important evidence helping to decipher the immune pathways leading to its development and also prompting a reappraisal of the views about its ontogeny. In particular, older and more recent studies have demonstrated that MCL is characterized by a highly distinctive immunoglobulin gene repertoire with remarkable predominance of the IGHV3-21 and IGHV4-34 genes; restricted associations of IGHV,IGHD and IGHJ genes, culminating in the creation of quasi-identical ("stereotyped") heavy complementarity-determining region 3 sequences in roughly 10% of cases; and, very precisely targeted and, probably, functionally driven somatic hypermutation, ranging from minimal (in most cases) to pronounced. Furthermore, comparison to other entities, in particular CLL, revealed that several of these immunogenetic features are "MCL-biased". On these grounds, an antigen-driven origin of MCL could be envisaged, at least for subsets of cases.
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| 6. |
- Baliakas, Panagiotis, et al.
(författare)
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Clinical effect of stereotyped B-cell receptor immunoglobulins in chronic lymphocytic leukaemia: a retrospective multicentre study
- 2014
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Ingår i: The Lancet Haematology. - 2352-3026. ; 1:2, s. 74-84
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background About 30% of cases of chronic lymphocytic leukaemia (CLL) carry quasi-identical B-cell receptor immunoglobulins and can be assigned to distinct stereotyped subsets. Although preliminary evidence suggests that B-cell receptor immunoglobulin stereotypy is relevant from a clinical viewpoint, this aspect has never been explored in a systematic manner or in a cohort of adequate size that would enable clinical conclusions to be drawn. Methods For this retrospective, multicentre study, we analysed 8593 patients with CLL for whom immunogenetic data were available. These patients were followed up in 15 academic institutions throughout Europe (in Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Greece, Italy, Netherlands, Sweden, and the UK) and the USA, and data were collected between June 1, 2012, and June 7, 2013. We retrospectively assessed the clinical implications of CLL B-cell receptor immunoglobulin stereotypy, with a particular focus on 14 major stereotyped subsets comprising cases expressing unmutated (U-CLL) or mutated (M-CLL) immunoglobulin heavy chain variable genes. The primary outcome of our analysis was time to first treatment, defined as the time between diagnosis and date of first treatment. Findings 2878 patients were assigned to a stereotyped subset, of which 1122 patients belonged to one of 14 major subsets. Stereotyped subsets showed significant differences in terms of age, sex, disease burden at diagnosis, CD38 expression, and cytogenetic aberrations of prognostic significance. Patients within a specific subset generally followed the same clinical course, whereas patients in different stereotyped subsets-despite having the same immunoglobulin heavy variable gene and displaying similar immunoglobulin mutational status-showed substantially different times to first treatment. By integrating B-cell receptor immunoglobulin stereotypy (for subsets 1, 2, and 4) into the well established Dohner cytogenetic prognostic model, we showed these, which collectively account for around 7% of all cases of CLL and represent both U-CLL and M-CLL, constituted separate clinical entities, ranging from very indolent (subset 4) to aggressive disease (subsets 1 and 2). Interpretation The molecular classification of chronic lymphocytic leukaemia based on B-cell receptor immunoglobulin stereotypy improves the Dohner hierarchical model and refines prognostication beyond immunoglobulin mutational status, with potential implications for clinical decision making, especially within prospective clinical trials.
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| 7. |
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| 8. |
- Baliakas, Panagiotis, et al.
(författare)
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Not all IGHV3-21 chronic lymphocytic leukemias are equal: prognostic considerations.
- 2015
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Ingår i: Blood. - : American Society of Hematology. - 1528-0020 .- 0006-4971. ; 125:5, s. 856-859
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- An unresolved issue in chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) is whether IGHV3-21 gene usage, in general, or the expression of stereotyped B-cell receptor immunoglobulin defining subset #2 (IGHV3-21/IGLV3-21), in particular, determines outcome for IGHV3-21-utilizing cases. We reappraised this issue in 8593 CLL patients of whom 437 (5%) used the IGHV3-21 gene with 254/437 (58%) classified as subset #2. Within subset #2, immunoglobulin heavy variable (IGHV)-mutated cases predominated, whereas non-subset #2/IGHV3-21 was enriched for IGHV-unmutated cases (P = .002). Subset #2 exhibited significantly shorter time-to-first-treatment (TTFT) compared with non-subset #2/IGHV3-21 (22 vs 60 months, P = .001). No such difference was observed between non-subset #2/IGHV3-21 vs the remaining CLL with similar IGHV mutational status. In conclusion, IGHV3-21 CLL should not be axiomatically considered a homogeneous entity with adverse prognosis, given that only subset #2 emerges as uniformly aggressive, contrasting non-subset #2/IGVH3-21 patients whose prognosis depends on IGHV mutational status as the remaining CLL.
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| 9. |
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| 10. |
- Baliakas, Panagiotis, 1977-, et al.
(författare)
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Tailored approaches grounded on immunogenetic features for refined prognostication in chronic lymphocytic leukemia
- 2019
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Ingår i: Haematologica. - : Ferrata Storti Foundation (Haematologica). - 1592-8721 .- 0390-6078. ; 104:2, s. 360-369
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) patients with differential somatic hypermutation status of the immunoglobulin heavy variable genes, namely mutated or unmutated, display fundamental clinico-biological differences. Considering this, we assessed prognosis separately within mutated (M-CLL) and unmutated (U-CLL) CLL in 3015 patients, hypothesizing that the relative significance of relevant indicators may differ between these two categories. Within Binet A M-CLL patients, besides TP53 abnormalities, trisomy 12 and stereotyped subset #2 membership were equivalently associated with the shortest time-to-first-treatment and a treatment probability at five and ten years after diagnosis of 40% and 55%, respectively; the remaining cases exhibited 5-year and 10-year treatment probability of 12% and 25%, respectively. Within Binet A U-CLL patients, besides TP53 abnormalities, del(11q) and/or SF3B1 mutations were associated with the shortest time-to-first-treatment (5- and 10-year treatment probability: 78% and 98%, respectively); in the remaining cases, males had a significantly worse prognosis than females. In conclusion, the relative weight of indicators that can accurately risk stratify early-stage CLL patients differs depending on the somatic hypermutation status of the immunoglobulin heavy variable genes of each patient. This finding highlights the fact that compartmentalized approaches based on immunogenetic features are necessary to refine and tailor prognostication in CLL.
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| 11. |
- Bikos, Vasilis, et al.
(författare)
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An Immunogenetic Signature of Ongoing Antigen Interactions in Splenic Marginal Zone Lymphoma Expressing IGHV1-2*04 Receptors
- 2016
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Ingår i: Clinical Cancer Research. - 1078-0432 .- 1557-3265. ; 22:8, s. 2032-2040
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Purpose: Prompted by the extensive biases in the immunoglobulin (IG) gene repertoire of splenic marginal-zone lymphoma (SMZL), supporting antigen selection in SMZL ontogeny, we sought to investigate whether antigen involvement is also relevant post-transformation. Experimental Design: We conducted a large-scale subcloning study of the IG rearrangements of 40 SMZL cases aimed at assessing intraclonal diversification (ID) due to ongoing somatic hypermutation (SHM). Results: ID was identified in 17 of 21 (81%) rearrangements using the immunoglobulin heavy variable (IGHV) 1-2*04 gene versus 8 of 19 (40%) rearrangements utilizing other IGHV genes (P = 0.001). ID was also evident in most analyzed IG light chain gene rearrangements, albeit was more limited compared with IG heavy chains. Identical sequence changes were shared by subclones from different patients utilizing the IGHV1-2*04 gene, confirming restricted ongoing SHM profiles. Non-IGHV1-2*04 cases displayed both a lower number of ongoing SHMs and a lack of shared mutations (per group of cases utilizing the same IGHV gene). Conclusions: These findings support ongoing antigen involvement in a sizable portion of SMZL and further argue that IGHV1-2*04 SMZL may represent a distinct molecular subtype of the disease.
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| 12. |
- Bystry, Vojtech, et al.
(författare)
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ARResT/AssignSubsets : a novel application for robust subclassification of chronic lymphocytic leukemia based on B cell receptor IG stereotypy
- 2015
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Ingår i: Bioinformatics. - : Oxford University Press (OUP). - 1367-4803 .- 1367-4811. ; 31:23, s. 3844-3846
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Motivation: An ever-increasing body of evidence supports the importance of B cell receptor immunoglobulin (BcR IG) sequence restriction, alias stereotypy, in chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL). This phenomenon accounts for similar to 30% of studied cases, one in eight of which belong to major subsets, and extends beyond restricted sequence patterns to shared biologic and clinical characteristics and, generally, outcome. Thus, the robust assignment of new cases to major CLL subsets is a critical, and yet unmet, requirement. Results: We introduce a novel application, ARResT/AssignSubsets, which enables the robust assignment of BcR IG sequences from CLL patients to major stereotyped subsets. ARResT/AssignSubsets uniquely combines expert immunogenetic sequence annotation from IMGT/V-QUEST with curation to safeguard quality, statistical modeling of sequence features from more than 7500 CLL patients, and results from multiple perspectives to allow for both objective and subjective assessment. We validated our approach on the learning set, and evaluated its real-world applicability on a new representative dataset comprising 459 sequences from a single institution.
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| 13. |
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| 14. |
- Hadzidimitriou, Anastasia, et al.
(författare)
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Evidence for the significant role of immunoglobulin light chains in antigen recognition and selection in chronic lymphocytic leukemia
- 2009
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Ingår i: Blood. - : American Society of Hematology. - 0006-4971 .- 1528-0020. ; 113:2, s. 403-411
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- We analyzed somatic hypermutation (SHM) patterns and secondary rearrangements involving the immunoglobulin (IG) light chain (LC) gene loci in 725 patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL). Important differences regarding mutational load and targeting were identified in groups of sequences defined by IGKV/IGLV gene usage and/or K/LCDR3 features. Recurrent amino acid (AA) changes in the IGKV/IGLV sequences were observed in subsets of CLL cases with stereotyped B-cell receptors (BCRs), especially those expressing IGHV3-21/IGLV3-21 and IGHV4-34/IGKV2-30 BCRs. Comparison with CLL LC sequences carrying heterogeneous K/LCDR3s or non-CLL LC sequences revealed that distinct amino acid changes appear to be "CLL-biased." Finally, a significant proportion of CLL cases with monotypic LC expression were found to carry multiple potentially functional LC rearrangements, alluding to active, (auto) antigen-driven receptor editing. In conclusion, SHM targeting in CLL LCs is just as precise and, likely, functionally driven as in heavy chains. Secondary LC gene rearrangements and subset-biased mutations in CLL LC genes are strong indications that LCs are crucial in shaping the specificity of leukemic BCRs, in association with defined heavy chains. Therefore, CLL is characterized not only by stereotyped HCDR3 and heavy chains but, rather, by stereotyped BCRs involving both chains, which generate distinctive antigen-binding grooves.
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| 15. |
- Hadzidimitriou, Anastasia, et al.
(författare)
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Is there a role for antigen selection in mantle cell lymphoma? : Immunogenetic support from a series of 807 cases
- 2011
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Ingår i: Blood. - : American Society of Hematology. - 0006-4971 .- 1528-0020. ; 118:11, s. 3088-3095
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- We examined 807 productive IGHV-IGHD-IGHJ gene rearrangements from mantle cell lymphoma (MCL) cases, by far the largest series to date. The IGHV gene repertoire was remarkably biased, with IGHV3-21, IGHV4-34, IGHV1-8, and IGHV3-23 accounting for 46.3% of the cohort. Eighty-four of 807 (10.4%) cases, mainly using the IGHV3-21 and IGHV4-34 genes, were found to bear stereotyped heavy complementarity-determining region 3 (VH CDR3) sequences and were placed in 38 clusters. Notably, the MCL stereotypes were distinct from those reported for chronic lymphocytic leukemia. Based on somatic hypermutation (SHM) status, 238/807 sequences (29.5%) carried IGHV genes with 100% germ line identity; the remainder (569/807; 70.5%) exhibited different SHM impact, ranging from minimal (in most cases) to pronounced. Shared replacement mutations across the IGHV gene were identified for certain subgroups, especially those using IGHV3-21, IGHV1-8, and IGHV3-23. Comparison with other entities, in particular CLL, revealed that several of these mutations were "MCL-biased." In conclusion, MCL is characterized by a highly restricted immunoglobulin gene repertoire with stereotyped VH CDR3s and very precise SHM targeting, strongly implying a role for antigen-driven selection of the clonogenic progenitors. Hence, an antigen-driven origin of MCL could be envisaged, at least for subsets of cases.
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| 16. |
- Kavakiotis, Ioannis, et al.
(författare)
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Integrating multiple immunogenetic data sources for feature extraction and mining somatic hypermutation patterns : the case of "towards analysis" in chronic lymphocytic leukaemia
- 2016
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Ingår i: BMC Bioinformatics. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1471-2105. ; 17
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background: Somatic Hypermutation (SHM) refers to the introduction of mutations within rearranged V(D)J genes, a process that increases the diversity of Immunoglobulins (IGs). The analysis of SHM has offered critical insight into the physiology and pathology of B cells, leading to strong prognostication markers for clinical outcome in chronic lymphocytic leukaemia (CLL), the most frequent adult B-cell malignancy. In this paper we present a methodology for integrating multiple immunogenetic and clinocobiological data sources in order to extract features and create high quality datasets for SHM analysis in IG receptors of CLL patients. This dataset is used as the basis for a higher level integration procedure, inspired form social choice theory. This is applied in the Towards Analysis, our attempt to investigate the potential ontogenetic transformation of genes belonging to specific stereotyped CLL subsets towards other genes or gene families, through SHM. Results: The data integration process, followed by feature extraction, resulted in the generation of a dataset containing information about mutations occurring through SHM. The Towards analysis performed on the integrated dataset applying voting techniques, revealed the distinct behaviour of subset #201 compared to other subsets, as regards SHM related movements among gene clans, both in allele-conserved and non-conserved gene areas. With respect to movement between genes, a high percentage movement towards pseudo genes was found in all CLL subsets. Conclusions: This data integration and feature extraction process can set the basis for exploratory analysis or a fully automated computational data mining approach on many as yet unanswered, clinically relevant biological questions.
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| 17. |
- Mastrodemou, Semeli, et al.
(författare)
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Cytotoxic T cells in chronic idiopathic neutropenia express restricted antigen receptors
- 2017
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Ingår i: Leukemia and Lymphoma. - : TAYLOR & FRANCIS LTD. - 1042-8194 .- 1029-2403. ; 58:12, s. 2926-2933
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Chronic idiopathic neutropenia (CIN) is an acquired disorder of granulopoiesis characterized by female predominance and mostly uncomplicated course. Crucial to CIN pathophysiology is the presence of activated T lymphocytes with myelosuppressive properties in both peripheral blood (PB) and bone marrow (BM). We systematically profiled the T cell receptor beta chain (TRB) gene repertoire in CD8(+) cells of 34 CIN patients through subcloning/Sanger sequencing analysis of TRBV-TRBD-TRBJ gene rearrangements. Remarkable repertoire skewing and oligoclonality were observed, along with shared clonotypes between different patients, alluding to antigen selection. Cross-comparison of our sequence dataset with public TRB sequence databases revealed that CIN may rarely share common immunogenetic features with other entities, however, the CIN TRB repertoire is largely disease-biased. Overall, these findings suggest that CIN may be driven by long-term exposure to a restricted set of specific CIN-associated antigens.
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| 18. |
- Murray, Fiona, et al.
(författare)
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Stereotyped patterns of somatic hypermutation in subsets of patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia : implications for the role of antigen selection in leukemogenesis
- 2008
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Ingår i: Blood. - : American Society of Hematology. - 0006-4971 .- 1528-0020. ; 111:3, s. 1524-1533
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Somatic hypermutation (SHM) features in a series of 1967 immunoglobulin heavy chain gene (IGH) rearrangements obtained from patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) were examined and compared with IGH sequences from non-CLL B cells available in public databases. SHM analysis was performed for all 1290 CLL sequences in this cohort with less than 100% identity to germ line. At the cohort level, SHM patterns were typical of a canonical SHM process. However, important differences emerged from the analysis of certain subgroups of CLL sequences defined by: (1) IGHV gene usage, (2) presence of stereotyped heavy chain complementarity-determining region 3 (HCDR3) sequences, and (3) mutational load. Recurrent, "stereotyped" amino acid changes occurred across the entire IGHV region in CLL subsets carrying stereotyped HCDR3 sequences, especially those expressing the IGHV3-21 and IGHV4-34 genes. These mutations are un-derrepresented among non-CLL sequences and thus can be considered as CLL-biased. Furthermore, it was shown that even a low level of mutations may be functionally relevant, given that stereotyped amino acid changes can be found in subsets of minimally mutated cases. The precise targeting and distinctive features of somatic hypermutation (SHM) in selected subgroups of CLL patients provide further evidence for selection by specific antigenic element(s).
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| 19. |
- Papakonstantinou, Nikos, et al.
(författare)
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Integrated epigenomic and transcriptomic analysis reveals TP63 as a novel player in clinically aggressive chronic lymphocytic leukemia
- 2019
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Ingår i: International Journal of Cancer. - : Wiley. - 0020-7136 .- 1097-0215. ; 144:11, s. 2695-2706
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) stereotyped subsets #6 and #8 include cases expressing unmutated B cell receptor immunoglobulin (BcR IG) (U-CLL). Subset #6 (IGHV1-69/IGKV3-20) is less aggressive compared to subset #8 (IGHV4-39/IGKV1(D)-39) which has the highest risk for Richter's transformation among all CLL. The underlying reasons for this divergent clinical behavior are not fully elucidated. To gain insight into this issue, here we focused on epigenomic signatures and their links with gene expression, particularly investigating genome-wide DNA methylation profiles in subsets #6 and #8 as well as other U-CLL cases not expressing stereotyped BcR IG. We found that subset #8 showed a distinctive DNA methylation profile compared to all other U-CLL cases, including subset #6. Integrated analysis of DNA methylation and gene expression revealed significant correlation for several genes, particularly highlighting a relevant role for the TP63 gene which was hypomethylated and overexpressed in subset #8. This observation was validated by quantitative PCR, which also revealed TP63 mRNA overexpression in additional nonsubset U-CLL cases. BcR stimulation had distinct effects on p63 protein expression, particularly leading to induction in subset #8, accompanied by increased CLL cell survival. This pro-survival effect was also supported by siRNA-mediated downregulation of p63 expression resulting in increased apoptosis. In conclusion, we report that DNA methylation profiles may vary even among CLL patients with similar somatic hypermutation status, supporting a compartmentalized approach to dissecting CLL biology. Furthermore, we highlight p63 as a novel prosurvival factor in CLL, thus identifying another piece of the complex puzzle of clinical aggressiveness. What's new? In chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), cases with unmutated immunoglobulin receptors (U-CLL) are generally associated with inferior outcome, albeit still displaying considerable heterogeneity. Might such differences in CLL progression be explained by epigenetics? In this study, the authors found that an unusually aggressive subset of CLLs called subset #8 has a distinctive DNA-methylation profile. They also found that p63 is a novel pro-survival factor for CLL cells. These molecular studies may lead to new prognostic biomarkers, and possibly new therapeutic targets, for CLL.
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| 20. |
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| 21. |
- Pouliou, Evi, et al.
(författare)
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Numerous Ontogenetic Roads to Mantle Cell Lymphoma : Immunogenetic and Immunohistochemical Evidence
- 2017
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Ingår i: American Journal of Pathology. - : ELSEVIER SCIENCE INC. - 0002-9440 .- 1525-2191. ; 187:7, s. 1454-1458
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- To obtain insight into the ontogeny of mantle cell lymphoma (MCL), we assessed 206 patients from a morphological, immunohistochemical, and immunogenetic perspective. Our series included nodal (n = 151), extranodal. (n = 28), and primary splenic (n = 27) MCL cases. Skewing of the immunoglobulin heavy variable (IGHV) gene repertoire was noted, with only four IGHV genes accounting for 46% of cases and approximately 70% of cases (107/154) bearing an imprint of somatic hypermutation (SHM) ranging from minimalto pronounced. Interestingly, a distinctive immunophenotypic and immunogenetic profile was identified for primary splenic MCL, which was enriched for DBA.44-positive cases (P < 0.001) and used the IGHV1-8 gene more frequently (P = 0.02) compared to nodal or extranodal cases, alluding to distinct immunopathogenetic and antigen selection processes. Expression of CD27 (considered a marker of activated B cells) was generally dissociated from SHM and was more prevalent in cases with no or minimal/borderline SHM. These findings support the idea that antigen drive is relevant for most MCL cases, although the specific antigens and the precise location of affinity maturation remain to be elucidated. Moreover, they raise the intriguing hypothesis of multiple cellular origins for MCL.
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| 22. |
- Soudris, Dimitrios, et al.
(författare)
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AEGLE : A Big Bio-Data Analytics Framework for Integrated Health-Care Services
- 2015
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Ingår i: Proceedings International Conference on Embedded Computer Systems - Architectures, Modeling and Simulation (SAMOS XV). - 9781467373111 ; , s. 246-253
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Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- AEGLE project(1) targets to build an innovative ICT solution addressing the whole data value chain for health based on: cloud computing enabling dynamic resource allocation, HPC infrastructures for computational acceleration and advanced visualization techniques. In this paper, we provide an analysis of the addressed Big Data health scenarios and we describe the key enabling technologies, as well as data privacy and regulatory issues to be integrated into AEGLE's ecosystem, enabling advanced health-care analytic services, while also promoting related research activities.
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| 23. |
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| 24. |
- Sutton, Lesley-Ann, et al.
(författare)
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An entity evolving into a community: defining the common ancestor and evolutionary trajectory of chronic lymphocytic leukemia stereotyped subset #4
- 2014
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Ingår i: Molecular Medicine. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1076-1551 .- 1528-3658. ; 20:1, s. 720-728
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) assigned to stereotyped subset #4 express highly homologous B-cell receptor immunoglobulin (BcR IG) sequences with intense intraclonal diversification (ID) in the context of ongoing somatic hypermutation (SHM). Their remarkable biological and clinical similarities strongly support derivation from a common ancestor. We here revisited ID in subset #4 CLL in order to reconstruct their evolutionary history as a community of related clones. To this end, using specialized bioinformatics tools we assessed both IGHV-IGHD-IGHJ rearrangements (n=511) and IGKV-IGKJ rearrangements (n=397) derived from 8 subset #4 cases. Due to high sequence relatedness, a number of subclonal clusters from different cases lay very close to one another, forming a core from which clusters exhibiting greater variation stemmed. Minor subclones from individual cases were mutated to such an extent that they now resembled the sequences of another patient. Viewing the entire subset #4 dataset as a single entity branching through diversification, enabled inference of a common sequence representing the putative ancestral BcR IG expressed by their still elusive common progenitor. These results have implications for improved understanding of the ontogeny of CLL subset #4, as well as the design of studies concerning the antigenic specificity of the clonotypic BcR IGs.
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| 25. |
- Sutton, Lesley-Ann, et al.
(författare)
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Different spectra of recurrent gene mutations in subsets of chronic lymphocytic leukemia harboring stereotyped B-cell receptors
- 2016
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Ingår i: Haematologica. - : Ferrata Storti Foundation (Haematologica). - 0390-6078 .- 1592-8721. ; 101:8, s. 959-967
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- We report on markedly different frequencies of genetic lesions within subsets of chronic lymphocytic leukemia patients carrying mutated or unmutated stereotyped B-cell receptor immunoglobulins in the largest cohort (n=565) studied for this purpose. By combining data on recurrent gene mutations (BIRC3, MYD88, NOTCH1, SF3B1 and TP53) and cytogenetic aberrations, we reveal a subset-biased acquisition of gene mutations. More specifically, the frequency of NOTCH1 mutations was found to be enriched in subsets expressing unmutated immunoglobulin genes, i.e. #1, #6, #8 and #59 (22-34%), often in association with trisomy 12, and was significantly different (P<0.001) to the frequency observed in subset #2 (4%, aggressive disease, variable somatic hypermutation status) and subset #4 (1%, indolent disease, mutated immunoglobulin genes). Interestingly, subsets harboring a high frequency of NOTCH1 mutations were found to carry few (if any) SF3B1 mutations. This starkly contrasts with subsets #2 and #3 where, despite their immunogenetic differences, SF3B1 mutations occurred in 45% and 46% of cases, respectively. In addition, mutations within TP53, whilst enriched in subset #1 (16%), were rare in subsets# 2 and #8 (both 2%), despite all being clinically aggressive. All subsets were negative for MYD88 mutations, whereas BIRC3 mutations were infrequent. Collectively, this striking bias and skewed distribution of mutations and cytogenetic aberrations within specific chronic lymphocytic leukemia subsets implies that the mechanisms underlying clinical aggressiveness are not uniform, but rather support the existence of distinct genetic pathways of clonal evolution governed by a particular stereotyped B-cell receptor selecting a certain molecular lesion(s).
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| 26. |
- Sutton, Lesley-Ann, et al.
(författare)
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Extensive intraclonal diversification in a subgroup of chronic lymphocytic leukemia patients with stereotyped IGHV4-34 receptors : implications for ongoing interactions with antigen
- 2009
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Ingår i: Blood. - : American Society of Hematology. - 0006-4971 .- 1528-0020. ; 114:20, s. 4460-4468
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Several studies indicate that the development of chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) may be influenced by antigen recognition through the clonotypic B-cell receptors (BCRs). However, it is still unclear whether antigen involvement is restricted to the malignant transformation phase or whether the putative antigen(s) may continuously trigger the CLL clone and affect not only the progenitor cell but also the leukemic cells themselves. To address this issue, we conducted a large-scale subcloning study of rearranged immunoglobulin heavy variable (IGHV) genes of diverse mutational status from 71 CLL cases (total, 1496 subcloned sequences), belonging to both the common IgM/IgD variant and the rare IgG-positive variant. Although most cases showed no or low levels of intraclonal diversification (ID), we report intense ID in the IGHV genes of selected cases, especially a subgroup of 13 IgG-switched cases expressing stereotyped, mutated IGHV4-34 rearrangements (subset 4). We demonstrate that the ID evident in subset 4 cases cannot be attributed to IGHV4-34 usage, IGHV gene-mutated status, class-switch recombination, or BCR stereotypy in general; rather, it represents a unique phenomenon strongly correlated with the distinctive BCR of subset 4. In such cases, the observed ID patterns may imply a stereotyped response to an active, ongoing interaction with antigen(s).
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| 29. |
- Vardi, Anna, et al.
(författare)
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Antigen Selection Shapes the T-cell Repertoire in Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia
- 2016
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Ingår i: Clinical Cancer Research. - 1078-0432 .- 1557-3265. ; 22:1, s. 167-174
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Purpose: The role of antigen(s) in shaping the T-cell repertoire in chronic lymphocytic leukemia, although relevant for understanding malignant cell interactions with cognate T cells, is largely unexplored. Experimental Design: Here we profiled the T-cell receptor beta chain gene repertoire in 58 chronic lymphocytic leukemia patients, focusing on cases assigned to well-characterized subsets with stereotyped clonotypic B-cell receptor immunoglobulins, therefore those cases most evidently selected by antigen (subsets #1, #2, and #4). Results: Remarkable repertoire skewing and oligoclonality were observed, and differences between subsets were noted regarding both T-cell receptor b chain gene usage and the extent of clonality, with subset #2 being the least oligoclonal. Longitudinal analysis of subset #4 cases revealed that although the repertoire may fluctuate over time, certain clonotypes persist, thus alluding to persistent antigenic stimulation. Shared ("stereotyped") clonotypes were found between different patients, reflecting selection by common antigenic elements. Cross-comparison of our dataset with public databases showed that some T-cell clonotypes may have expanded secondary to common viral infections; however, the majority of clonotypes proved to be disease-specific. Conclusions: Overall, the T-cell receptor b chain repertoire in chronic lymphocytic leukemia is likely shaped by antigen selection and the implicated antigenic elements may concern epitopes that also select the malignant B-cell progenitors or, more intriguingly, chronic lymphocytic leukemia-derived epitopes.
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| 30. |
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| 31. |
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| 32. |
- Vardi, A., et al.
(författare)
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Restrictions in the T-cell repertoire of chronic lymphocytic leukemia : high-throughput immunoprofiling supports selection by shared antigenic elements
- 2017
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Ingår i: Leukemia. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 0887-6924 .- 1476-5551. ; 31:7, s. 1555-1561
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Immunoglobulin (IG) gene repertoire restrictions strongly support antigen selection in the pathogenesis of chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL). Given the emerging multifarious interactions between CLL and bystander T cells, we sought to determine whether antigen(s) are also selecting T cells in CLL. We performed a large-scale, next-generation sequencing (NGS) study of the T-cell repertoire, focusing on major stereotyped subsets representing CLL subgroups with undisputed antigenic drive, but also included patients carrying non-subset IG rearrangements to seek for T-cell immunogenetic signatures ubiquitous in CLL. Considering the inherent limitations of NGS, we deployed bioinformatics algorithms for qualitative curation of T-cell receptor rearrangements, and included multiple types of controls. Overall, we document the clonal architecture of the T-cell repertoire in CLL. These T-cell clones persist and further expand overtime, and can be shared by different patients, most especially patients belonging to the same stereotyped subset. Notably, these shared clonotypes appear to be disease-specific, as they are found in neither public databases nor healthy controls. Altogether, these findings indicate that antigen drive likely underlies T-cell expansions in CLL and may be acting in a CLL subset-specific context. Whether these are the same antigens interacting with the malignant clone or tumor-derived antigens remains to be elucidated.
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| 33. |
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| 34. |
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| 36. |
- Xochelli, Aliki, et al.
(författare)
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Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia with Mutated IGHV4-34 Receptors : Shared and Distinct Immunogenetic Features and Clinical Outcomes
- 2017
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Ingår i: Clinical Cancer Research. - 1078-0432 .- 1557-3265. ; 23:17, s. 5292-5301
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Purpose: We sought to investigate whether B cell receptor immunoglobulin (BcR IG) stereotypy is associated with particular clinicobiological features among chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) patients expressing mutated BcR IG (M-CLL) encoded by the IGHV4-34 gene, and also ascertain whether these associations could refine prognostication. Experimental Design: In a series of 19,907 CLL cases with available immunogenetic information, we identified 339 IGHV4-34expressing cases assigned to one of the four largest stereotyped M-CLL subsets, namely subsets #4, #16, #29 and #201, and investigated in detail their clinicobiological characteristics and disease outcomes. Results: We identified shared and subset-specific patterns of somatic hypermutation (SHM) among patients assigned to these subsets. The greatest similarity was observed between subsets #4 and #16, both including IgG-switched cases (IgG-CLL). In contrast, the least similarity was detected between subsets #16 and #201, the latter concerning IgM/D-expressing CLL. Significant differences between subsets also involved disease stage at diagnosis and the presence of specific genomic aberrations. IgG subsets #4 and #16 emerged as particularly indolent with a significantly (P < 0.05) longer time-to-first-treatment (TTFT; median TTFT: not yet reached) compared with the IgM/D subsets #29 and #201 (median TTFT: 11 and 12 years, respectively). Conclusions: Our findings support the notion that BcR IG stereotypy further refines prognostication in CLL, superseding the immunogenetic distinction based solely on SHM load. In addition, the observed distinct genetic aberration landscapes and clinical heterogeneity suggest that not all M-CLL cases are equal, prompting further research into the underlying biological background with the ultimate aim of tailored patient management.
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| 37. |
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| 38. |
- Xochelli, Aliki, et al.
(författare)
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Disease-biased and shared characteristics of the immunoglobulin gene repertoires in marginal zone B cell lymphoproliferations
- 2019
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Ingår i: Journal of Pathology. - : WILEY. - 0022-3417 .- 1096-9896. ; 247:4, s. 416-421
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The B cell receptor immunoglobulin (Ig) gene repertoires of marginal zone (MZ) lymphoproliferations were analyzed in order to obtain insight into their ontogenetic relationships. Our cohort included cases with MZ lymphomas (n = 488), i.e. splenic (SMZL), nodal (NMZL) and extranodal (ENMZL), as well as provisional entities (n = 76), according to the WHO classification. The most striking Ig gene repertoire skewing was observed in SMZL. However, restrictions were also identified in all other MZ lymphomas studied, particularly ENMZL, with significantly different Ig gene distributions depending on the primary site of involvement. Cross-entity comparisons of the MZ Ig sequence dataset with a large dataset of Ig sequences (MZ-related or not; n = 65 837) revealed four major clusters of cases sharing homologous ('public') heavy variable complementarity-determining region 3. These clusters included rearrangements from SMZL, ENMZL (gastric, salivary gland, ocular adnexa), chronic lymphocytic leukemia, but also rheumatoid factors and non-malignant splenic MZ cells. In conclusion, different MZ lymphomas display biased immunogenetic signatures indicating distinct antigen exposure histories. The existence of rare public stereotypes raises the intriguing possibility that common, pathogen-triggered, immune-mediated mechanisms may result in diverse B lymphoproliferations due to targeting versatile progenitor B cells and/or operating in particular microenvironments.
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| 39. |
- Xochelli, Aliki, et al.
(författare)
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Immunoglobulin heavy variable (IGHV) genes and alleles : new entities, new names and implications for research and prognostication in chronic lymphocytic leukaemia
- 2015
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Ingår i: Immunogenetics. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 0093-7711 .- 1432-1211. ; 67:1, s. 61-66
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Ieext generation sequencing studies in Homo sapiens have identified novel immunoglobulin heavy variable (IGHV) genes and alleles necessitating changes in the international ImMunoGeneTics information system (IMGT) GENE-DB and reference directories of IMGT/V-QUEST. In chronic lymphocytic leukaemia (CLL), the somatic hypermutation (SHM) status of the clonotypic rearranged IGHV gene is strongly associated with patient outcome. Correct determination of this parameter strictly depends on the comparison of the nucleotide sequence of the clonotypic rearranged IGHV gene with that of the closest germline counterpart. Consequently, changes in the reference directories could, in principle, affect the correct interpretation of the IGHV mutational status in CLL. To this end, we analyzed 8066 productive IG heavy chain (IGH) rearrangement sequences from our consortium both before and after the latest update of the IMGT/V-QUEST reference directory. Differences were identified in 405 cases (5 % of the cohort). In 291/405 sequences (71.9 %), changes concerned only the IGHV gene or allele name, whereas a change in the percent germline identity (%GI) was noted in 114/405 (28.1 %) sequences; in 50/114 (43.8 %) sequences, changes in the %GI led to a change in the mutational set. In conclusion, recent changes in the IMGT reference directories affected the interpretation of SHM in a sizeable number of IGH rearrangement sequences from CLL patients. This indicates that both physicians and researchers should consider a re-evaluation of IG sequence data, especially for those IGH rearrangement sequences that, up to date, have a GI close to 98 %, where caution is warranted.
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| 40. |
- Xochelli, Aliki, et al.
(författare)
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Molecular Evidence for Antigen Drive in the Natural History of Mantle Cell Lymphoma
- 2015
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Ingår i: American Journal of Pathology. - : Elsevier BV. - 0002-9440 .- 1525-2191. ; 185:6, s. 1740-1748
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- To further our understanding about antigen involvement in mantle cell Lymphoma (MCL), we analyzed the expression levels of activation-induced cytidine deaminase (AID), a key player in B-cell responses to antigen triggering, in 133 MCL cases; assessed the functionality of AID by evaluating in vivo class switch recombination in 52 MCL cases; and sought for indications of ongoing antigen interactions by exploring intraclonal diversification within 14 MCL cases. The AID full-length transcript and the most frequent splice variants (AID-Delta E4a, AID-Delta E) were detected in 128 (96.2%), 96 (72.2%), and 130 cases (97.7%), respectively. Higher AID full-Length transcript levels were significantly associated (P < 0.001) with Lack of somatic hypermutation within the clonotypic immunoglobulin heavy variable (IGHV) genes. Median AID transcript levels were higher in lymph node material compared to cases in which peripheral blood was analyzed, implying that clonal behavior is influenced by the microenvironment. Switched tumor-derived IGHV-IGHD-IGHJ transcripts were identified in 5 of 52 cases (9.6%), all of which displayed somatic hypermutation and AID-mRNA expression. Finally, although most cases exhibited low levels of intraclonal diversification, analysis of the mutational activity revealed a precise targeting of somatic hypermutation indicative of an active, ongoing interaction with antigen(s). Collectively, these findings strongly allude to antigen involvement in the natural history of MCL, further challenging the notion of antigen naivety.
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| 41. |
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