NPM1 Mutation Contributes to Hematological Dysfunction By Disrupting H3K79 Methylation

NPM1 is one of the most frequent acquired mutated genes in acute myeloid leukemia (AML). Previous studies have shown that NPM1 mutation (NPMc+) established the distinctive gene expression signatures, which were associated with mixed lineage leukemia (MLL)-target genes, like MEIS1 and HOXA cluster. In AML carrying MLL fusion-oncoproteins, DOT1L-mediated histone 3 lysine 79 (H3K79) methylation is implicated in the regulation of MLL-target genes. Compared with MLL abnormalities, NPM1 variants preserve the similar transcriptional characteristics. However, whether NPM1 mutation could affect the histone modification of H3K79 methylation is unknown. In this study, we showed that NPM1 mutation dysregulated the homeostasis of hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells and resulted in ageing-related myeloproliferation in NPMc+ transgenic mouse model. Interestingly, through scanning the chromatin modification related gene profiling, di- and tri- methylated H3K79 were significantly elevated in bone marrow (BM) Lin^-Sca-1⁺c-Kit⁺ cells (LSKs) of NPMc+ mice comparing to wild type (WT). Meanwhile, in the leukemia cell lines and AML primary BM samples, we confirmed that NPM1 mutated cells expressed the higher level of H3K79 methylation. In vitro assays also indicated that the decrease or increase of methylated H3K79 could be regulated respectively by knockdown or overexpression of NPM1 mutant but not WT. Importantly, with DOT1L inhibitor treatment, reduced di- and tri- methylated H3K79 was observed in OCI-AML3 (NPMc+) strains but not OCI-AML2 (NPM1 WT) cells. In contrast with OCI-AML2, DOT1L inhibitor significantly promoted the cell apoptosis and restrained the cell cycle of OCI-AML3. Moreover, by the means of murine BM colony formation assay, DOT1L inhibitor obviously weakened myeloid cell proliferation in NPMc+ mice, while colony number in WT group did not change. Also, leukemia development was repressed in OCI-AML3-xenografted NOD/SCID mice with the treatment of DOT1L inhibitor. Taken together, NPM1 mutation contributes to hematological dysfunction by disrupting H3K79 methylation, which could be largely attenuated by DOT1L inhibitor.