Characterization and Clinical Implications of p53 Dysfunction in Patients With Myelodysplastic Syndromes

Journal Name
Journal of Clinical Oncology
Primary Author
Zampini M
Author(s)
Zampini M, Riva E, Lanino L, Sauta E, Antunes Dos Reis R, Ejarque RMA, Maggioni G, Termanini A, Merlotti A, Campagna A, Dall'Olio L, Kulasekararaj A, Calvi M, Di Vito C, Bonometti A, Rahal D, Croci G, Boveri E, Gianelli U, Ponzoni M, Caselli R,
Albertazzi S, Todisco G, Ubezio M, Crisafulli L, Frigo A, Lugli E, Mosca E, Acha P, Ghisletti S, Nicassio F, Santoro A, Diez-Campelo M, Solé F, Ades L, Platzbecker U, Santini V, Fenaux P, Haferlach T, Sallman D, Garcia-Manero G, Mavilio D, Remondini D
Original Publication Date

Purpose: Tumor Protein 53 (p53) expressed from gene TP53 is a seminal tumor suppressor. We aimed to characterize mutational and nonmutational mechanisms of p53 dysfunction in myelodysplastic syndromes: (my-eh-lo-diss-PLASS-tik SIN-dromez) A group of disorders where the bone marrow does not work well, and the bone marrow cells fail to make enough healthy blood cells. Myelo refers to the bone marrow. Dysplastic means abnormal growth or development. People with MDS have low blood cell count for at… (MDS) and to investigate their clinical effect.

Patients and methods: We analyzed a cohort of 6,204 patients with MDS and subsets of patients with available information on RNA sequencing of tumor cells (n = 109), high-dimensional phenotype of immune cells (n = 77), and multiomics analysis (RNA sequencing and proteomics) on single cells (n = 15). An independent validation was performed on 914 patients.

Results: Biallelic TP53 inactivation was a powerful driver of disease progression and identified high-risk patients, regardless of variant allele frequency. Monoallelic and biallelic inactivation represent disease stages occurring as a multihit process in MDS with TP53 mutations, thus potentially refining the optimal timing of therapeutic interventions in these patients. We identified a subset of MDS (5%) characterized by TP53 wild-type and hyperexpression of abnormal p53 protein in bone marrow: The soft, spongy tissue inside most bones. Blood cells are formed in the bone marrow. progenitors that exhibit dismal outcome. These patients presented upstream p53 signaling aberrations in Pi3K cascade; RAS, WNT, and NF-KB pathways; and MDM2 gene amplification, together with a downstream dysregulation of p53 targets. MDS with p53 dysfunction displayed a distinct immune dysregulation involving myeloid-derived inflammation and impaired antigen presentation, which may be a driver of their poor prognosis and provide the groundwork for innovative immunotherapies.

Conclusion: The identification of nonmutational p53 dysfunction in MDS may lay the foundation for a mechanistic classification of myeloid neoplasms, moving beyond a purely molecular stratification. The recognition of patients with p53 dysfunction is relevant to provide correct disease-risk assessment and interventions, as well as to refine the design of clinical trials: Clinical research is at the heart of all medical advances, identifying new ways to prevent, detect or treat disease. If you have a bone marrow failure disease, you may want to consider taking part in a clinical trial, also called a research study. Understanding Clinical Trials Clinical… .

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