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Loss of function mutations and deletions encompassing the plant homeodomain finger 6 (PHF6) gene are present in about 20% of T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemias (ALLs). Here, we report the identification of recurrent mutations in PHF6 in 10/353 adult acute myeloid leukemias (AMLs). Genetic lesions in PHF6 found in AMLs are frameshift and nonsense mutations distributed through the gene or point mutations involving the second plant homeodomain (PHD)-like domain of the protein. As in the case of T-ALL, where PHF6 alterations are found almost exclusively in males, mutations in PHF6 were seven times more prevalent in males than in females with AML. Overall, these results identify PHF6 as a tumor suppressor gene mutated in AML and extend the role of this X-linked tumor suppressor gene in the pathogenesis of hematologic tumors.

Activating mutations in NOTCH1 are present in over 50% of human T-cell lymphoblastic leukemia (T-ALL) samples and inhibition of NOTCH1 signaling with gamma-secretase inhibitors (GSI) has emerged as a potential therapeutic strategy for the treatment of this disease. Here, we report a new human T-cell lymphoma line CUTLL1, which expresses high levels of activated NOTCH1 and is extremely sensitive to gamma-secretase inhibitors treatment. CUTLL1 cells harbor a t(7;9)(q34;q34) translocation which induces the expression of a TCRB-NOTCH1 fusion transcript encoding a membrane-bound truncated form of the NOTCH1 receptor. GSI treatment of CUTLL1 cells blocked NOTCH1 processing and caused rapid clearance of activated intracellular NOTCH1. Loss of NOTCH1 activity induced a gene expression signature characterized by the downregulation of NOTCH1 target genes such as HES1 and NOTCH3. In contrast with most human T-ALL cell lines with activating mutations in NOTCH1, CUTLL1 cells showed a robust cellular phenotype upon GSI treatment characterized by G1 cell cycle arrest and increased apoptosis. These results show that the CUTLL1 cell line has a strong dependence on NOTCH1 signaling for proliferation and survival and supports that T-ALL patients whose tumors harbor t(7;9) should be included in clinical trials testing the therapeutic efficacy NOTCH1 inhibition with GSIs.