Genetic Basis of Primary Central Nervous System Lymphoma

Introduction

Primary central nervous system lymphoma (PCNSL) is a rare subtype of non-Hodgkin lymphoma, of which approximately 95% are diffuse large B-cell lymphomas (DLBCLs). Despite the substantial development of intensive chemotherapy during the past two decades, overall clinical outcome of PCNSL has been poorly improved especially in elderly and so has been our knowledge about the molecular pathogenesis of PCNSL, in terms of driver alterations that are relevant to the development of PCNSL.

Method

To delineate the genetic basis of PCNSL pathogenesis, we performed a comprehensive genetic study. We first analyzed paired tumor/normal DNA from 35 PCNSL cases by whole-exome sequencing (WES). Significantly mutated genes identified by WES and previously known mutational targets in PCNSL and systemic DLBCL were further screened for mutations using SureSelect-based targeted deep sequencing (Agilent) in an extended cohort of PCNSL cases (N = 90). Copy number alterations (CNAs) have been also investigated using SNP array-karyotyping (N =54). We also analyzed WES and SNP array data of systemic DLBCL cases (N = 49) generated by the Cancer Genome Atlas Network (TCGA) to unravel the genetic difference between PCNSL and systemic DLBCL.

Results

The mean number of nonsynonymous mutations identified by WES was 183 per sample, which was comparable to the figure in systemic DLBCL and characterized by frequent somatic hypermutations (SHMs) involving non-Ig genes. A higher representation of C>T transition involving CpG dinucleotides and hotspot mutations within the WRCY motif targeted by SHM further suggested the involvement of activation-induced cytidine deaminase (AID) in the pathogenesis of PCNSL. We found 12 genes significantly mutated in PCNSL (q < 0.1), including MYD88, PIM1, HLA-A, TMEM30A, B2M, PRDM1, UBE2A, HIST1H1C, as well as several previously unreported mutational targets in systemic DLBCL or PCNSL, such as SETD1B, GRB2, ITPKB, EIF4A2. Copy number analysis identified recurrent genomic segments affected by focal deletions (N = 27) and amplifications (N = 10), most of which included driver genes targeted by recurrent somatic mutations or known targets of focal CNAs such as CDKN2A and FHIT. Subsequent targeted sequencing finally identified a total of 107 significantly mutated genes, of which 43 were thought to be targeted by SHM according to their mutational signature and genomic distribution. Most cases with PCNSL (98%) had mutations and CNAs involving genes that are relevant to constitutive NF-KB/Toll-like receptor (TLR)/BCR activity, including those in MYD88 (80%), CD79B/A (60%), CARD11 (18%), TNFAIP3 (26%), GRB2 (24%) and ITPKB (23%). Genetic alterations implicated in escape from immunosurveillance were also frequently identified in as many as 76% of cases. Mutations of HLA-B (64%), HLA-A (36%), HLA-C (28%), B2M (14%) and CD58 (12%) were commonly detected in addition to CNAs in 6p21.32 (HLA class II), 1p13.1 (CD58) and 15q15.2 (B2M), suggesting the importance of immune escape in the pathogenesis of PCNSL. SHMs were also seen in most cases (98%), which affected not only known targets of AID including PIM1, IGLL5 and BTG2 but also previously unreported genes involved in cell proliferation, apoptosis, or B cell development. The pattern of frequently mutated genes in PNCSL was more uniform compared with that in systemic DLBCL, and similar to that found in the activated B cell subtype of DLBCL (ABC-DLBCL), which was in accordance with the previous report of immunophenotypic analysis of PCNSL. On the other hand, mutations of HLA class I genes (HLA-B, HLA-A) were more frequently mutated in PCNSL compared with ABC-type DLBCL.

Conclusion

WES, SNP array karyotyping and follow-up targeted sequencing of a large cohort of PCNSL cases revealed the genetic landscape of PCNSL, which were more homogeneous than that of systemic DLBCL, and thought to be involved in activation of constitutive NF-KB/TLR/BCR signaling, escape from immunosurveillance, as well as highly frequent SHMs.