GATA2 Mutations in Pediatric Acute Myeloid Leukemia: A Study of the Japanese Childhood AML Cooperative Study Group.

Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is a complex disease caused by mutations, epigenetic modifications, and deregulated expression of genes leading to increased proliferation and decreased differentiation of hematopoietic progenitor cells. Although many important molecular markers have already been discovered in AML, no known prognosis-associated cytogenetic aberrations or mutations were detectable in a subset of AML patients. In this regard, recent reports of somatic mutations affecting the C-terminal zinc finger (ZF) 2 of GATA2 are intriguing, because these GATA2 mutations were associated with the progression of chronic myeloid leukemia, whereas hereditary ZF2 of GATA2 mutations predispose to AML and myelodysplastic syndrome. GATA2 mutations were also reported as a predisposing gene of the monocytopenia, mycobacterial infection (MonoMAC) syndrome and the dendritic cell, monoctye, B and NK lymphoid deficiency (DCML) syndrome. GATA2 belongs to a family of zinc finger transcription factors, and is important for hematopoietic stem cell proliferation and normal megakaryocytic development. These findings prompted us to search for possible GATA2 mutations in pediatric AML.

To explore the frequency and clinical impact of GATA2 mutations, we examined 157 Japanese pediatric AML patients, including 13 with FAB-M3 and 10 with Down syndrome (DS) who were treated on different treatment protocol, by PCR following direct sequencing. As GATA2 mutations thus far reported almost exclusively involved exons 4–6 that encode zinc finger 1 and 2 domain, we confined our analysis to these exons.

GATA2 missense mutations were found in 7 out of 157 patients (4.5%). Notably, All of GATA2 mutations were located in ZF2 in this study, although almost all of GATA2 mutations in adult AML were located in ZF1. Wild type GATA2 were found in 3 of 3 AML patients with GATA2 mutation. The other 4 patients had no history of Mono MAC syndrome, suggesting that these mutations were acquired. The zinc finger region of GATA2 is required for binding to promyelocytic leukemia zinc finger (PLZF) protein can interact with GATA2 and can modify its transactivation capacity. Interestingly, 2 GATA2 mutations were found in FAB-M3 in this study, GATA2 mutations also may be associated with acute promyelocytic leukemia. Clinical and molecular features between patients with and without GATA2 mutations were not significantly different in the clinical parameters (WBC, age, sex, etc.), and the outcome of GATA2 mutation positive patients was not poor when compared to GATA2 mutation negative patients: Two of the 7 patients received allogeneic-stem cell transplantation (Allo-SCT) and one of them died of gastrointestinal hemorrhage after SCT. The other 5 patients who did not receive the SCT were still alive.

GATA2 is a new predisposition gene for pediatric AML and shows functional changes caused by mutations within a highly conserved threonine repeat located in ZF2. Interestingly, MonoMAC and DCML syndromes were not observed in de novo AML patients with GATA2 mutations. Although further investigation is needed, our results indicated that GATA2 mutations were associated with a favorable outcome in pediatric AML. Most of the patients with GATA2 mutations have been classified into an intermediate risk group in our study, however, their favorable outcome suggests that less aggressive treatment strategy without SCT might be appropriate for AML patients carrying GATA2 mutations.

No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.