Chromosomal rearrangements of the nucleoporin genes NUP214 and NUP98 are recurrent in aggressive cases of acute myeloid and lymphoid leukemias. NUP214 and NUP98 are components of the nuclear pore complex, a giant multiprotein structure that mediates nucleocytoplasmic shuttling. The two nucleoporins are enriched in phenylalanine-glycine (FG) repeats, which form the NPC permeability barrier and are essential for the interaction with nuclear transport receptors. NUP214 and NUP98 exhibit high affinity for the nuclear export receptor chromosomal region maintenance 1 (CRM1), which, alone, mediates the nuclear export of thousands of proteins and ribonucleoproteins. In the first part of this project, we report that the leukemogenic fusion proteins SET-NUP214 and DEK-NUP214 affect nucleocytoplasmic transport by perturbing the localization of essential nuclear transport factors, including endogenous nucleoporins and CRM1 nuclear export complexes. We further demonstrate that the two fusion proteins are sensitive to CRM1 inhibition and that targeted inhibition of nuclear export is sufficient to reduce the cell viability and proliferation of patient-derived cell lines with SET-NUP214 and DEK-NUP214 rearrangements. In the second part of the project, we used proximity-dependent biotin identification (BioID) to study the landscape of the NUP98-HOXA9 and SET-NUP214 environments. Though distinct endogenous binding partners have been documented for NUP214 and NUP98 chimeras, their total interactome has not been fully disclosed. Our results suggest that both fusion proteins interact with major regulators of RNA processing, with translation-associated proteins, and that both chimeras perturb the transcriptional program of the tumor suppressor p53. We further purpose that the two fusion proteins affect distinct cellular processes. According to our results, NUP98-HOXA9 likely perturbs Wnt, MAPK and estrogen receptor signaling pathways, as well as the cytoskeleton, the latter likely due to its interaction with the nuclear export receptor CRM1. Conversely, SET-NUP214 appears to affect cellular metabolism, likely due to the interaction with mitochondrial proteins and metabolic regulators. Overall, this research project provided new data supporting that CRM1 might be a possible therapeutic target in NUP214-related leukemia and revealed new clues on the mechanistic actions of nucleoporin fusion proteins. Hence, our findings might be of particular relevance in the search of new druggable targets for the treatment of nucleoporin-related leukemia. / Doctorat en Sciences / info:eu-repo/semantics/nonPublished

Thèse numérisée par la Direction des bibliothèques de l'Université de Montréal.

N,N'-methylenebisacrylamide (MBA) was studied because of its effectiveness in inducing heritable translocations in germ cells of male mice. The health impact of translocations was studied through anatomical analysis of the progeny of semisterile translocation carriers. As expected, the semisterility of translocation carriers resulted primarily from embryonic death during periimplantation stages due to unbalanced chromosome sperm segregants. Among conceptuses that survived to mid- and late-gestation stages, there was an increased incidence of developmental anomalies including fetal death and phenotypic defects. These abnormalities are associated with unbalanced chromosome complements that allow survival to the later stages of development.

[...]L'ensemble de nos études soulignent le rôle important du stress oxydant qui est lié à la stimulation du SRAA dans la survenue de la dysfonction endothéliale chez le rat présentant une cirrhose biliaire. L'action sur des facteurs pouvant induire le stress oxydant comme la translocation bactérienne et le traitement par des antioxydants (polyphénols) ont clairement montré leurs actions bénéfiques chez nos rats cirrhotiques. Le rôle du NO, en tous cas en tant que vasodilatateur pur, n'est peut-être pas primordial ce qui peut expliquer les résultats décevants en clinique publiés parcertains auteurs. / [...]The important role of oxidative stress in the development of endothelial dysfonction in rats with biliary cirrhosis is emphasized in our studies. Oxidative stress is associated with the stimulation of the RAAS and bacterial translocation. Treatment with antioxidants (polyphenols) and probiotics have clearly demonstrated their beneficial effects on the endothelial dysfonction in our cirrhotic rats. The role of NO as a pure vasodilator is perhaps not essential which may explain the disappointing clinical results published by some authors.

Das in der vorliegenden Arbeit vorgestellte Verfahren der nicht-radioaktiven Southern Blot Hybridisierung unter Verwendung einer Digoxigenin Markierung hat sich für die Darstellung von Rekombinationen im TEL-Genlokus genomischer DNA als sensitive Vergleichsmethode bewiesen. Es wurden insgesamt 122 Kinder mit dieser Methode auf das Vorliegen der Translokation t(12;21) untersucht. Bei einer nur relevante Faktoren berücksichtigenden Beschränkung des PatientInnenkollektivs auf protokollgerecht nach ALL-REZ BFM behandelte B-Vorläufer-Zell-ALL und Erstrezidive konnte eine Rekombination von TEL in 5 von 65 PatientInnen (7,7%) nachgewiesen werden. Lässt man die Einschlusskriterien der ALL-REZ BFM Studie unberücksichtigt, handelt es sich sogar um 7 von 71 (9,9%) PatientInnen. Damit bestätigen die hier vorliegenden Ergebnisse den Trend der aktuellen Diskussion über die Häufigkeit des Vorliegens des Fusionsgenes TEL-AML1 bei Erstrezidiven, die eine kumulative Inzidenz bei einem 10-jährigen Untersuchungszeitraum von 9 ± 5% angeben. Weiterhin konnte mit ereignisfreien Beobachtungszeiträumen nach dem 1. Rezidiv im Median von 8,6 Jahren ein Trend zu späten Rezidiven und somit eine mittelfristig günstige Prognose für die TEL-Rearrangement positiven Rezidivfälle konstatiert werden. Zusammenfassend kann gesagt werden, dass TEL-AML1 positive PatientInnen eine Subgruppe darstellen, die lange erkrankungsfreie Intervalle mit zur Zeit üblichen Therapieprotokollen erreichen, nach Therapie der Ersterkrankung aber auch nach dem ersten Rezidiv. Auf Grund der sich aus dem retrospektiven PatientInnekollektiv ergebenen Selektion war es nicht möglich, statistisch signifikante Aussagen zur unabhängigen prognostischen Bedeutung für die langfristige Prognose von ALL im Kindesalter mit TEL-Rekombinationen zu treffen. / The presence of TEL/AML1 fusion gene in childhood acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL) defines a subgroup of patients with better than average outcome. Around 20% of the patient at point of initial ALL diagnosis are characterised by this fusion transcript from translocation t(12;21)(p12;q22). However, the prognostic significance of this aberration has recently been disputed by the Berlin-Frankfurt-Munster (BFM) study group due to its relatively high incidence found in relapsed patients (19.6% and 21.9%, in two cohorts). Here we wanted to get more data in a long term follow up retrospect investigation by analysing DNA from frozen conserved bone marrow samples of 65 children. In the study presented here only five out of 65 (7.7%) patients selected as childhood B cell precursor acute lymphoblastic leukaemia only treated according to Berlin-Frankfurt-Munster (BFM) ALL relapse trial protocols (ALL-REZ BFM 82-96) (excluding T-lineage and Philadelphia chromosome (Ph)-positive leukaemia) carry this fusion. The detection was done due to a new developed non-radioactive Southern blotting with a Digoxigenin marked template. We could confirm the still good middle term prognosis in the relapsed TEL-AML1 positive subgroup. The TEL-AML1-positive and negative patients differed with respect to duration of last remission and age at initial diagnosis. At a median follow-up time of 8.6 years, children positive for TEL-AML1 had a higher probability of disease-free survival. Because of the small number of patients in this study it was not possible to get statistical significant facts about the independent prognostic impact for the long term prognosis of ALL in childhood with TEL rearrangement.