RUNX1 and GATA2 Regulate the Expression of the SET Oncogene in Acute Myeloid Leukemia

INTRODUCTION. The protein SET (I2PP2A), a potent protein phosphatase 2A (PP2A) inhibitor, has been implicated in many cell processes such as DNA replication, chromatin remodeling and gene transcription, differentiation, migration, and cell-cycle regulation. In fact, SET has been described as an oncogene that regulates important signaling pathways. Our group reported that PP2A inhibition is a common event in AML, and that SET is overexpressed in 28% of acute myeloid leukemia (AML) cases, where it is associated with short overall survival. Moreover, the anti-leukemic effects of the FTY720 and OP449 PP2A-activating drugs in AML cells depend on interaction/sequestration of SET. However, despite the importance of SET overexpression and its prognostic impact in both hematological and solid tumors, there are few data about the mechanisms involved in its regulation.

AIM. To characterize the functional promoter region of the SET gene, and to identify transcription factors (TFs) involved in its regulation.

RESULTS. Luciferase reporter assays with five truncatedconstructs allowed us to determine a 163bp-region as the minimal promoter region of SET that contains consensus sites for several TFs. Chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP) assays confirmed the binding of RUNX1, GATA2, MYC, and SP1. RUNX1 and GATA2 are two essential TFs in hematopoiesis, and localized on the SET promoter when the acetylation state of both histone H3 and H4 and the tri-methylation on H3K4 is high, confirming that they both could act as positive regulators of SET transcription. In silico analysis in large series of adult patient samples with de novo AML recently published by The Cancer Genome Atlas Research Network showed a significant positive correlation between SET and RUNX1 and GATA2 at mRNA level. Furthermore, knockdown of RUNX1 and/or GATA2 triggered SET downregulation, whereas only a simultaneous overexpression of these two TFs caused a significant up-regulation of SET. Interestingly, RUNX1 interacts with GATA2 in both HL-60 and HEL cell lines. Moreover, we found that SP1 is also part of this transcription complex. Altogether, these results show that RUNX1 and GATA2, together with SP1, regulate the transcription of the SET gene.

CONCLUSIONS We have defined the minimal promoter region of the SET gene, and have demonstrated that RUNX1 and GATA2 regulate its expression in AML. Moreover, our functional studies demonstrate that RUNX1 and GATA2 form a complex with SP1 that activates the transcription of SET in AML cells. This study opens new directions to further understand the mechanisms of SET overexpressing leukemias.