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International audience; Fanconi anemia (FA) patients experience chromosome instability, yielding hematopoietic stem/progenitor cell (HSPC) exhaustion and predisposition to poor-prognosis myeloid leukemia. Based on a longitudinal cohort of 335 patients, we performed clinical, genomic, and functional studies in 62 patients with clonal evolution. We found a unique pattern of somatic structural variants and mutations that shares features of BRCA-related cancers, the FA-hallmark being unbalanced, microhomology-mediated translocations driving copy-number alterations. Half the patients developed chromosome 1q gain, driving clonal hematopoiesis through MDM4 trisomy downmodulating p53 signaling later followed by secondary acute myeloid lukemia genomic alterations. Functionally, MDM4 triplication conferred greater fitness to murine and human primary FA HSPCs, rescued inflammation-mediated bone marrow failure, and drove clonal dominance in FA mouse models, while targeting MDM4 impaired leukemia cells in vitro and in vivo. Our results identify a linear route toward secondary leukemogenesis whereby early MDM4-driven downregulation of basal p53 activation plays a pivotal role, opening monitoring and therapeutic prospects.

Acute erythroleukemia (AEL or acute myeloid leukemia [AML]-M6) is a rare but aggressive hematologic malignancy. Previous studies showed that AEL leukemic cells often carry complex karyotypes and mutations in known AML-associated oncogenes. To better define the underlying molecular mechanisms driving the erythroid phenotype, we studied a series of 33 AEL samples representing 3 genetic AEL subgroups including TP53-mutated, epigenetic regulator-mutated (eg, DNMT3A, TET2, or IDH2), and undefined cases with low mutational burden. We established an erythroid vs myeloid transcriptome-based space in which, independently of the molecular subgroup, the majority of the AEL samples exhibited a unique mapping different from both non-M6 AML and myelodysplastic syndrome samples. Notably, >25% of AEL patients, including in the genetically undefined subgroup, showed aberrant expression of key transcriptional regulators, including SKI, ERG, and ETO2. Ectopic expression of these factors in murine erythroid progenitors blocked in vitro erythroid differentiation and led to immortalization associated with decreased chromatin accessibility at GATA1-binding sites and functional interference with GATA1 activity. In vivo models showed development of lethal erythroid, mixed erythroid/myeloid, or other malignancies depending on the cell population in which AEL-associated alterations were expressed. Collectively, our data indicate that AEL is a molecularly heterogeneous disease with an erythroid identity that results in part from the aberrant activity of key erythroid transcription factors in hematopoietic stem or progenitor cells.

Introduction KMT2A-rearranged (KMT2A-r) acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is a heterogeneous genetic subgroup with a frequency of about 25% in children with AML. At the 62 nd ASH annual meeting last year, we reported on the differences in outcome of various KMT2A subgroups based on translocation partner and the significance of minimal residual disease (MRD) status during and after induction as a follow-up study of Balgobind et al., Blood 2009. The impact of allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (allo-HSCT) in first complete remission (CR1) and the presence of additional cytogenetic aberrations (ACAs) on prognosis have not yet been described for our cohort. Methods Data on allo-HSCT in CR1 and the presence of ACAs of 1256 KMT2A-r de novo pediatric AML patients from 15 AML study groups affiliated with the I-BFM Study Group, diagnosed between 2005 and 2016, were retrospectively collected and studied. Karyotypes were reviewed and classified by two of the authors (RW&CH). Based on translocation partners, patients were classified to the KMT2A high-risk subgroup (6q27, 10p11.2, 10p12, 4q21, and 19p13.3) or non-high-risk subgroup (9p22, 19p13, 19p13.1, 1q21, Xq24, 17q21, 1p32, and 17q12). These two categories have been used to estimate a Cox model. Patients with unknown translocation partners were excluded from these analyses (n=126). Flow cytometry MRD levels at the end of induction course 1 (EOI1) and 2 (EOI2) Results Of 1256 pediatric patients with KMT2A-r AML, data on HSCT in CR1 and ACAs were available for 1186 (94.4%) and 1204 patients (95.9%), respectively; 211 (17.8%) patients received HSCT in CR1 and ACAs were present in 601 (49.9%) patients. Compared with the KMT2A non-high-risk subgroup, patients in the KMT2A high-risk subgroup underwent HSCT in CR1 more often (23.8% vs 15.0%; P < .001). ACAs were borderline significantly more common in the KMT2A high-risk subgroup (54.1% vs 46.4%; P = .015). Univariate analysis of the probability of DFS (Table 1) showed that the KMT2A high-risk subgroup (HR 2.1; 95% CI, 1.7-2.5), age ≥10 years (HR 1.4; 95% CI, 1.2-1.7), and MRD ≥0.1 at EOI1 (HR 1.5; 95% CI, 1.1-1.9) were associated with DFS. HSCT in CR1 was a borderline significant prognostic factor (HR 0.7; 95% CI, 0.6-0.9). In a multivariate analysis for DFS (n=515) (Table 1), the KMT2A high-risk subgroup (HR 2.0; 95% CI, 1.6-2.6), MRD ≥0.1 at EOI1 (HR 1.7; 95% CI, 1.2-2.3), and HSCT in CR1 (HR 0.6; 95% CI, 0.4-0.9) were associated with DFS. Univariate analysis of the probability of OS (Table 1) showed that the KMT2A high-risk subgroup (HR 1.8; 95% CI, 1.5-2.2), age ≥10 years (HR 1.6; 95% CI 1.3-2.0), WBC ≥100 x10 9/L (HR 1.4; 95% CI, 1.1-1.7), the presence of ACAs (HR 1.4; 95% CI, 1.2-1.7), and MRD ≥0.1 at EOI1 (HR 2.1; 95% CI, 1.6-2.7) were associated with OS. HSCT in CR1 was not associated with OS. The effect of HSCT in CR1 was not significantly different between the KMT2A high-risk and non-high-risk subgroups. In a multivariate analysis for OS (n=557) (Table 1), the KMT2A high-risk subgroup (HR 1.9; 95% CI, 1.4-2.5), age ≥10 years (HR 1.5; 95% CI, 1.1-1.9), the presence of ACAs (HR 1.6; 95% CI, 1.2-2.1), and MRD positivity at EOI1 (HR 1.9; 95% CI, 1.4-2.5) were associated with OS. Conclusions In this cohort of KMT2A-r pediatric AML patients, the presence of ACAs at diagnosis was independently associated with inferior OS, but not with DFS. This may be due to the exclusion of refractory patients in DFS analysis, who were significantly more common in the group of patients with ACAs. Analysis has yet to be performed to distinguish karyotype complexity. In addition, allo-HSCT in CR1 was an independent predictor of improved DFS, but was not a prognostic factor for OS. Figure 1 Figure 1. Disclosures Abrahamsson: wedish Children´s Cancer Foundation. Research grants and 50% senior research position for clinical research on pediatric leukemia: Research Funding. Locatelli: Amgen: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Speakers Bureau; Novartis: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Speakers Bureau; Miltenyi: Speakers Bureau; Medac: Speakers Bureau; Jazz Pharamceutical: Speakers Bureau; Takeda: Speakers Bureau.

BACKGROUND: NK cells play a crucial role in the immune surveillance of malignant hemopathies. They undergo fine regulation by the microenvironment and by integrating activating and inhibiting signals trough several receptor/ligand couple interactions, hereafter referred to as "NK synapse". The ligands are expressed by a variety of cell types in the hematopoietic niche, including most immature leukemic stem cells CD34+CD38-. High expression of inhibiting ligands on AML (acute myeloid leukemia) blasts was associated with adverse clinical outcome . This observation highlights the relevance of identifying new ligand/receptor (L/R) pairs that could be targeted to prevent inhibiting interactions at the NK synapse. Relevant interactions to be blocked would display both ligand and receptor expressions on the leukemic cells and NK cells respectively. PATIENTS AND METHODS: 23 pediatric AML patients from the pediatric MyeChild01 protocol including in CONECT-AML French national collaborative network project diagnosed between 2018 and 2019 were included in this study. Reference bone marrows used were regenerative (4) or healthy bone marrows (5) . Multicolour flowcytometry protocole used fresh EDTA bone marrow at AML diagnosis and immunostaining with fluorochrome-coupled antibodies using 14 colour panel of L/R couples (Figure 1). Data was acquired on the FORTESSA Becton Dickinson with the Diva software and analysis using script R-PCA and FlowJo . RESULTS: We studied 5 inhibiting NK synapses (iinhibitory ligand/receptor pairs) . Four out of five inhibiting synapses (TIGIT/CD155; PD1-1/PD-L1; CD94/HLA-E and KIR2DL/HLA-A-B-C), showed not significant expression of ligand associated with the corresponding receptor expression. The CD200/CD200R synapse was the only one in which high ligand expression in blasts was significantly associated with high receptor expression on NK cells (Figure 2). This synapse could thus be of interest to develop targeting therapies for CD200-positive pediatric AML, with the strong advantage that patient eligibility could be easily identified at diagnosis. We then realized a principal component analysis, using the R software (PCA), integrating the MFIs of the 5 inhibiting NK synapses and 6 activating NK synapses (Figure 1) for the pediatric AML cohort (ID #1 to #23 ) together with reference bone marrows (healthy donors (n=5; ID #24 to #28) and regenerative bone marrows (n=4; ID #29 to #32)) . The CD200/CD200R synapse was identified as the main variable, explaining the distribution of patients and healthy donors as both CD200 and CD200R expressions happened to be among the most contributive to PCA axes. Interestingly, healthy donors clustered together, close to regenerative bone marrows. Pediatric AML patients distributed heterogeneously (Figure 3). In parallel, we evaluated whether CD200 expression on bulk leukemia blasts including most immature CD34+CD38- LSC was associated with exhaustion markers on NK cells. We found that patients with high and intermediate expression of CD200 on blasts (MFI > 3 rd quartile and comprised between 2 nd and 3 rd quartile, respectively) displayed strong PD-1 and TIGIT expressions on NK cells. Reciprocally, patients with low CD200 expression (MFI< 2 nd quartile) displayed a moderate PD-1 expression on NK cells, and TIGIT expression was more heterogeneous among individuals (Figure 4). CONCLUSIONS: Here, we identified CD200 expression in AML blasts including LSC as a marker that could be associated with NK cell exhaustion. at diagnosis. A PCA strategy allowed to observe that this marker differentiated pediatric AML patients NK synapse profiles from healthy donors and regenerative bone marrows sugesting a potential deregulation of bone marrow niche including NK-LSC escape. This suggests that CD200 expression assessment on blasts at diagnosis could be a tool to evaluate NK cell antitumor potential. Indeed, direct NK cell assessment by flow cytometry can be challenging because of blast invasion in the bone marrow. Nevertheless, it remains to be elucidated whether this clustering and exhaustion markers on NK cells correlated with patient clinical outcomes and MRD kinetics including CD34+CD38- LSC flow frequency evaluation that should be useful in most clinical trials to overcome chemoresistance of LSC. These results should be confirmed in a prospectively larger cohort of patients in future clinical trials. Figure 1 Figure 1. Disclosures Renard: Jazz Pharmaceuticals: Research Funding.

Introduction: Congenital neutropenia (CN) is characterized by chronic neutropenia due to a constitutional genetic defect.1 To date, these diseases have not been considered to be frequently associated with malignant solid tumors, unlike the risk of secondary myelodysplastic syndrome leukemia, which is well-known in CN. Methods: The French Severe Chronic Neutropenia Registry (FSCNR) has prospectively enrolled CN patients since 1993. Solid tumors, identified during routine patient follow-up, were classified according to WHO criteria. We included localized lymphoma in the spectrum of malignant solid tumors. We calculated the incidence of malignant solid tumors in a cohort of CN patients. Results: Among 868 patients with various CN subtypes followed for a total of 16617 person-years, 24 patients who developed a malignant solid tumor were identified. Those cancers are described in Table 1, including the CN genetic anomaly. Cancers were almost always diagnosed in adulthood, with median age at diagnosis of 38.1 (range 10-72) years; only 3 cancers were diagnosed before age of 20 years. The cancer rate was 1.2% at 30 years of age, 7% at 40 years and 24% at 50 years (Fig. 1A). The risk-of-cancer percentages depended mainly on the associated genetic deficiency. Solid tumors were roughly distributed as follows: 33% among WHIM (CXCR4) patients, 5.3% among GATA2 patients, 2.7% among ELANE patients, 1.9 % among SBDS patients and 0.8% among for all other subtypes combined (Fig. 1B). Human papillomavirus (HPV) was the cause of cancer for 2/5 in WHIM patients and 2/6 in GATA2 patients. Three Lymphoma were identified, one in GATA2 patient and 2 in WHIM patients. Notably, our cohort's follow-up is skewed to the right, with less efficient monitoring of adults, with still limited long-term follow-up beyond 40 years. Therefore, we probably underestimated the solid-tumor risk in CN patients, as many patients, if alive, are no longer followed in hematology centers. Among 103 patients who underwent hematopoietic stem-cell transplantation (HSCT), 76 were long-term survivors. None of them developed solid tumors, which differs strikingly from the high malignancy risk associated with Fanconi anemia post-HSCT. Lastly, the FSCNR also includes and follows patients with idiopathic neutropenia. Among the 232 idiopathic neutropenia patients, followed for a total of 2866 person-years, no malignancy has been observed so far. Conclusion: Our data lead us to advance that CN patients should be considered at risk of developing solid cancers, especially after the age of 30 years. This risk, at first glance, depended on the CN-associated genetic anomaly, with CXCR4 mutation, GATA2, SBDS and ELANE being the most frequent. HSCT was not associated with a higher risk and may, in contrast, be protective. These findings warrant confirmation but represent a compelling reason to prolong follow-up into adulthood of CN patients diagnosed during childhood. No indication was found of a specific high solid-tumor risk associated with idiopathic neutropenia. Reference Donadieu J, Beaupain B, Fenneteau O, Bellanne-Chantelot C. Congenital neutropenia in the era of genomics: classification, diagnosis, and natural history. Br.J.Haematol. 2017; 179(4): 557-574. Acknowledgments: The French SCN registry is supported by grants from Amgen, Chugai, Prolong Pharma, X4 Pharma, Inserm, the Association 111 les Arts, the Association RMHE, the Association Sportive de Saint Quentin Fallavier. The authors thank the association IRIS and Mrs Grosjean and Mr Gonnot(ASSQF), the association Barth France for their support. Disclosures Hermine: Roche: Consultancy; Celgene BMS: Consultancy, Research Funding; AB Science: Consultancy, Current equity holder in publicly-traded company, Honoraria, Patents & Royalties, Research Funding; Alexion: Research Funding; Novartis: Research Funding. Blaise:Jazz Pharmaceuticals: Honoraria. Sicre de Fontbrune:Alexion Pharmaceuticals Inc.: Honoraria, Research Funding. cohen Beaussant:X4 Pharmaceuticals, Inc.: Current Employment.

Introduction : Hematological complications (HC) as Aplastic anemia (AA) and myelodysplasia and acute leukemia (MDS/AL) are frequent and life threatening in patients with Shwachman Diamond Syndrome (SDS) with SBDS mutations. The therapy of such events is based on Hematopoetic stem cell transplantation (HSCT), which results remain quite poor, especially in case of malignancy. So far, it is difficult to anticipate to such HC and a lot is expected from the study of clonal evolution prior HC. Methods: A Targeted panel of 43 genes involved in MDS/AL (sensibility 1%) has been evaluated in 80 patients with SBDS mutation, representative of a nation based cohort of 154 patients. This cross sectional study has been completed by a prospective study for 40 patients evaluated at several time points. Results: The evaluation was performed in various situations: steady state i.e. no haematological complication, in MDS/AL and AA and lastly after HSCT. At the first evaluation, somatic mutation was found in 21 patients (30%) among the 70 in steady state and in 7 of the 8 cases with HC (6/6 cases with MDS/AL, in 1 among the 2 cases with AA) while the 1 of the 2 patients long term survivors after HSCT have no mutation and the other one kept a TP53 clone with a normal blood count and a low (1.5%) variant allele frequency (VAF). Among the 40 patients with several time points, 17 have a mutation at the first time points, but 10 others had additional mutation later. Globally, the most frequent gene involved was TP53 (82%) while mutations in other genes have been observed rarely. VAF in patients with vs without HC is lower (median VAF 0% vs 22.8% respectively p < 0.001) . Complex caryotype, monosomy 7, Iso7q were associated with P53 clone while in Del20q, 8 patients out 14 have a P53 mutations. The comparison between blood and bone marrow results allow the possibility to monitor such mutations in blood. Clonal evolution in one patient who presents a MDS in the course of the follow up had shown a competition between clones. Conclusion: Acquired TP53 is extremely frequent in patients with SBDS mutations, even in the absence of HC, but the prevalence as well as the VAF increased in case of HC. When sequential evaluation could be performed, competition between clones is frequent and a clinical decision remains therefore difficult, just on the evaluation of a time point. Acknowledgments: The French SCN registry is supported by grants from Amgen, Chugai, Prolong Pharma, X4 Pharma, Inserm, the Association 111 les Arts, the Association RMHE, the Association Sportive de Saint Quentin Fallavier. The authors thank the association IRIS and Mrs Grosjean and Mr Gonnot(ASSQF), the association Barth France for their support. Disclosures Sicre de Fontbrune: Alexion Pharmaceuticals Inc.: Honoraria, Research Funding. Renard:Jazz Pharmaceuticals: Research Funding. Tournilhac:ABBVIE: Consultancy, Honoraria, Other: Travle grant; INNATE Pharma: Consultancy, Honoraria; GILEAD: Consultancy, Honoraria, Other: Travel Grant; Takeda: Consultancy, Honoraria, Other: Travel grant; Janssen: Consultancy, Honoraria, Other: Travel grant.

Introduction Outcome of KMT2A-rearranged (KMT2A-r) pediatric AML (pAML) is in general poor with a 5-year probability of event-free survival (5y-pEFS) and overall survival (5y-pOS) of 44% and 56%, respectively (Balgobind et al., 2009). However, over the past decades, the heterogeneity of KMT2A-r pAML has emerged, showing differences in outcome between subgroups based on translocation partners. The predictive value of MRD in KMT2A-r pAML is undefined. This retrospective study aimed to confirm the outcome of pediatric KMT2A subgroups (Balgobind et al., 2009) in a more recent era and to study the significance of MRD status during and after induction. Methods Outcome and MRD data of 1257 KMT2A-rde novo pAML patients from 15 AML groups affiliated with the I-BFM-AML study group, diagnosed between 2005 and 2016 were retrospectively collected. Patients were assigned to KMT2A subgroups, or to the KMT2A-other group in case of unknown translocation partner. Flow cytometry MRD levels Results The 1257 patients were assigned to 13 KMT2A subgroups, or the KMT2A-other group. Two novel subgroups were identified: t(X;11)(q24;q23) (n=21, 2%) and t(1;11)(p32;q23) (n=12, 1%). The median age was 2.5 years (range, 0-18.9). The median WBC was 21.4 x 109/L (range, 0.2-727). Overall complete remission rate was 91%. The 5y-pEFS was 46% [SE, 2%] and the 5y-pOS was 62% [SE, 2%]. Differences across subgroups in 5y-pEFS (Figure 1) ranged from 24% [SE, 5%] to 76% [SE, 9%], and in 5y-pOS from 25% [SE, 13%] to 92% [SE, 8%] (both p The subgroups t(10;11)(p12;q23) (HR 1.7, p100 x 10^9/L (HR 1.3, p=.006), and age >10y (HR 1.3, p=.005) were revealed as independent predictors of poor EFS. These factors also predicted OS. MRD data after induction course one were available for n=635 (MRD-positivity (range, 0.1-94) n=126, 20%) and after course two for n=527 (MRD-positivity (range, 0.1-88) n=51, 10%). In the four KMT2A poor-risk subgroups, MRD-positivity was not significantly more common after induction course one (p=.0232) or two (p=.066), compared with the other subgroups. MRD-positivity was associated with inferior 5y-pDFS after both induction course one (36% [SE, 4%] vs 48% [SE, 2%]; p=.002) and course two (28% [SE, 6%] vs 49% [SE, 2%]; p10y (HR 1.5, p=.002) were revealed as independent predictors of poor DFS. Within the group of patients with MRD-negativity after induction course two, the subgroups t(10;11)(p12;q23) and t(10;11)(p11.2;q23) were independent predictors of poor EFS (5y-pEFS 35%, HR 1.7, p=.003 and 5y-pEFS 18%, HR 2.7, p=.004, respectively). Conclusion Outcome for KMT2A-r pAML patients has improved slightly, but similar subgroups were identified as poor risk (Balgobind et al., 2009), including t(10;11)(p12;q23), t(10;11)(p11.2;q23) and t(6;11)(q27;q23). In our study, t(4;11)(q21;q23) was poor risk as well. These subgroups should be considered for high-risk pAML therapy protocols. The favorable risk of t(1;11)(q21;q23) could not be confirmed in our cohort. MRD status is highly predictive of outcome within KMT2A subgroups. In MRD-negative patients after induction course two, both t(10;11) KMT2A subgroups were associated with poor outcome. Disclosures Guest: Syndax Pharmaceuticals: Consultancy. Locatelli:Medac: Speakers Bureau; Miltenyi: Speakers Bureau; Bellicum Pharmaceutical: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Novartis: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Speakers Bureau; Amgen: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Speakers Bureau; Jazz Pharmaceeutical: Speakers Bureau. Rubnitz:AbbVie Inc.: Research Funding. Kaspers:Helsinn Healthcare: Ended employment in the past 24 months; Boehringer Ingelheim: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Janssen R&D: Ended employment in the past 24 months; AbbVie: Ended employment in the past 24 months.

Introduction: Congenital neutropenia (CN) is characterized by chronic neutropenia caused by a constitutional genetic defect and can be considered an orphan disease. Nationwide estimations of its incidence and prevalence are poorly documented but would provide key information to better follow-up of CN patients. Notably, orphan-drug status also is accorded based on such epidemiological parameters. Methods: The French Severe Chronic Neutropenia Registry (FSCNR) has prospectively enrolled CN patients since 1993, with multiple source verifications in France of that information: pediatric and adult hemato-immunology units, diagnostic labs... We also actively collect all cases followed in France, regardless of the healthcare facility monitoring the patient. To calculate incidence at birth, we considered subjects born between 1/1/1995 and 12/31/2017, because information completeness has been validated for this 22-year period. Number of births per year was provided by the French National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies (INSEE). We used American College of Medical Genetics class 4 and 5 variants for genetic classification and the overall CN classification developed elsewhere.1 To estimate expected prevalence, we assumed 50-year life expectancy for these patients and compared ongoing enrolment to the prevalence estimation and calculated FNSCR coverage. A Poisson distribution was assumed. Results: On 15 July 2020, the FSCNR had identified 3205 patients. Reasons for non-enrolment of 2096 were, mainly: autoimmune neutropenia (n=501), foreign residency (n=214), other diagnosis (n=882) and diagnostic work-up not completed (n=249). Among the 1109 patients who fulfilled Chronic Neutropenia criteria, 242 had idiopathic neutropenia2 and 867 patients were considered to have CN1. Global results are presented in Table 1. In France, the CN incidence at birth (all subtypes combined) was 2.6×10-5 (95% CI: 2.04-2.8×10-5), which represents a mean of 23 new cases/year in a country with ~870,000 births/year. For all CN combined, the expected prevalence, assuming 50-year life expectancy, would be 1131 cases in a country of 65×106 inhabitants while the FCSNR currently has 867 cases enrolled or an estimated 77% nationwide coverage. Based on our results and our assumptions for life expectancy, estimated prevalence of CN for 10 millions inhabitants is therefore 174 CN. Genetic subtype representation is as follows: 20% SBDS, 17% ELANE (8% cyclic, 9% permanent), 9% GATA2, 7% SLC37A4, ~4-5% each of TAZ and CXCR4 and VPS13B, while the other subtypes are even rarer. At present, no cause has been identified for 25% of the cases. Conclusion: The results of this analysis provide an estimation of the major CN-descriptive epidemiological parameters and the relative frequencies of several subtypes. Despite the FSCNR's quite large registry, we estimate that about a quarter of the prevalent cases in France were missed, mainly those followed as adults. References 1 Donadieu J, Beaupain B, Fenneteau O, Bellanne-Chantelot C. Congenital neutropenia in the era of genomics: classification, diagnosis, and natural history. Br.J.Haematol. 2017; 179(4): 557-574. 2 Sicre De Fontbrune F, Moignet A, Beaupain B et al. Severe chronic primary neutropenia in adults: report on a series of 108 patients. Blood 2015; 126(14): 1643-1650. Acknowledgments: The French SCN registry is supported by grants from Amgen, Chugai, Prolong Pharma, X4 Pharma, Inserm, the Association 111 les Arts, the Association RMHE, the Association Sportive de Saint Quentin Fallavier. The authors thank the association IRIS and Mrs Grosjean and Mr Gonnot(ASSQF), the association Barth France for their support. Disclosures Sicre de Fontbrune: Alexion Pharmaceuticals Inc.: Honoraria, Research Funding. cohen Beaussant:X4 Pharmaceuticals, Inc.: Current Employment.

Fusion proteins involving Nucleoporin 98 (NUP98) are recurrently found in acute myeloid leukemia (AML) and are associated with poor prognosis. Lack of mechanistic insight into NUP98-fusion–dependent oncogenic transformation has so far precluded the development of rational targeted therapies. We reasoned that different NUP98-fusion proteins deregulate a common set of transcriptional targets that might be exploitable for therapy. To decipher transcriptional programs controlled by diverse NUP98-fusion proteins, we developed mouse models for regulatable expression of NUP98/NSD1, NUP98/JARID1A, and NUP98/DDX10. By integrating chromatin occupancy profiles of NUP98-fusion proteins with transcriptome profiling upon acute fusion protein inactivation in vivo, we defined the core set of direct transcriptional targets of NUP98-fusion proteins. Among those, CDK6 was highly expressed in murine and human AML samples. Loss of CDK6 severely attenuated NUP98-fusion–driven leukemogenesis, and NUP98-fusion AML was sensitive to pharmacologic CDK6 inhibition in vitro and in vivo. These findings identify CDK6 as a conserved, critical direct target of NUP98-fusion proteins, proposing CDK4/CDK6 inhibitors as a new rational treatment option for AML patients with NUP98-fusions.

Mutations in receptor tyrosine kinase/RAS signaling pathway genes are frequent in core-binding factor (CBF) acute myeloid leukemias (AMLs), but their prognostic relevance is debated. A subset of CBF AML patients harbors several signaling gene mutations. Genotyping of colonies and of relapse samples indicates that these arise in independent clones, thus defining a process of clonal interference (or parallel evolution). Clonal interference is pervasive in cancers, but the mechanisms underlying this process remain unclear, and its prognostic impact remains unknown. We analyzed a cohort of 445 adult and pediatric patients with CBF AML treated with intensive chemotherapy and with deep sequencing of 6 signaling genes (KIT, NRAS, KRAS, FLT3, JAK2, CBL). A total of 152 (34%), 167 (38%), and 126 (28%) patients harbored no, a single, and multiple signaling clones (clonal interference), respectively. Clonal interference of signaling mutations was associated with older age (P = .004) and inv(16) subtype (P = .025) but not with white blood cell count or mutations in chromatin or cohesin genes. The median allele frequency of signaling mutations was 31% in patients with a single clone or clonal interference (P = .14). The repertoire of KIT, FLT3, and NRAS/KRAS variants differed between groups. Clonal interference did not affect complete remission rate or minimal residual disease after 1-2 courses, but it did convey inferior event-free survival (P < 10-4), whereas the presence of a single signaling clone did not (P = .44). This inferior outcome was independent of clinical parameters and of the presence of specific signaling clones. Our results suggest that specific clonal architectures can herald distinct prognoses in AML.

Risk stratification in childhood T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (T-ALL) is mainly based on minimal residual disease (MRD) quantification. Whether oncogenetic mutation profiles can improve the discrimination of MRD-defined risk categories was unknown. Two hundred and twenty FRALLE2000T-treated patients were tested retrospectively for NOTCH1/FBXW7/RAS and PTEN alterations. Patients with NOTCH1/FBXW7 (N/F) mutations and RAS/PTEN (R/P) germ line (GL) were classified as oncogenetic low risk (gLoR; n = 111), whereas those with N/F GL and R/P GL mutations or N/F and R/P mutations were classified as high risk (gHiR; n = 109). Day 35 MRD status was available for 191 patients. Five-year cumulative incidence of relapse (CIR) and disease-free survival were 36% and 60% for gHiR patients and 11% and 89% for gLoR patients, respectively. Importantly, among the 60% of patients with MRD

Introductory paragraphThe successful production of Hematopoietic Stem and Progenitor Cells (HSPCs) from human pluripotent sources is conditioned by transgene delivery1-5. We describe here a dedicated and tractable one step, GMP-grade, transgene-free and stroma-free protocol to produce HSPCs from human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs). This procedure, applied to several sources of hiPSCs with equal efficiency, is based on a directed differentiation with morphogens and cytokines to generate a cell population close to nascent HSPCs or their immediate forerunners i.e., hemogenic endothelial cells6-9. Following engraftment into immunocompromised recipients, this cell population was proved capable of a robust myeloid, lymphoid and definitive red blood cell production in sequential recipients for at least 40 weeks. Further identification of the repopulating cells show that they express the G protein–coupled receptor APELIN (APLNR) and the homing receptor CXCR4. This demonstrates that the generation of bona fide HSPCs from hiPSCs without transgenes is possible and passes through an early endo-hematopoietic intermediate. This work opens the way to the generation of clinical grade HSPCs for the treatment of hematological diseases and holds promise for the analysis of HSPC development in the human species.

Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) with t(8;21) (q22;q22) is considered to have favorable risk; however, nearly half of t(8;21) patients are not cured, and recent studies have highlighted remarkable genetic heterogeneity in this subset of AML. Here we identify somatic mutations in additional sex combs-like 2 (ASXL2) in 22.7% (25/110) of patients with t(8;21), but not in patients with inv(16)/t(16;16) (0/60) or RUNX1-mutated AML (0/26). ASXL2 mutations were similarly frequent in adults and children t(8;21) and were mutually exclusive with ASXL1 mutations. Although overall survival was similar between ASXL1 and ASXL2 mutant t(8;21) AML patients and their wild-type counterparts, patients with ASXL1 or ASXL2 mutations had a cumulative incidence of relapse of 54.6% and 36.0%, respectively, compared with 25% in ASXL1/2 wild-type counterparts (P = .226). These results identify a high-frequency mutation in t(8;21) AML and identify the need for future studies to investigate the clinical and biological relevance of ASXL2 mutations in this unique subset of AML.

Introduction Most children with acute myeloid leukaemia (AML) harbour fusion genes which are ideal targets for molecular minimal residual disease (MRD) monitoring. However, evidence of prognostic significance is currently lacking and consequently most current paediatric AML treatment protocols rely on flow cytometric (FCM) evaluation to allocate treatment. Molecular MRD techniques provide significantly greater sensitivity and specificity and could allow more accurate outcome prediction, and consequently more personalised therapy, which is highly relevant in a disease where treatment related mortality, morbidity and relapse remain significant. Methods Between June 2016 and February 2019, MyeChild01 enrolled 170 children aged 0-18y with newly diagnosed AML who were randomly assigned to induction therapy with liposomal daunorubicin or mitoxantrone with cytarabine with or without gemtuzumab ozogamicin. Consolidation treatment was determined by karyotype, mutational profile and MRD status. Comprehensive centralised diagnostic assessment consisted of: Karyotype and fluorescence in-situ hybridisation (FISH) using a custom panel of probes to detect paediatric AML-associated gene fusions.PCR based screening for mutations in FLT3, NPM1 and CEPBA.Targeted capture of known fusion loci and paired end sequencing.RNA-seq using the Illumina TruSight fusion panel. Where a fusion gene was identified, RT-qPCR assays were designed and optimised for each patient. NPM1 mutation was also used as an MRD target if present. Paired PB and BM samples were requested after each cycle of treatment. Patients could have sequential monitoring after completion of therapy although this was not mandated. For this analysis, patients with core-binding factor (CBF) leukaemias i.e. inv(16)(p13q22) or t(8;21)(q22q22) with transcript levels above previously defined thresholds (Yin et al, 2012) were considered MRD positive. For all other targets, amplification in at least 2/3 replicates at For patients with CBF or NPM1 mutation, both molecular and FCM MRD status contributed to treatment allocation. Otherwise, FCM MRD was used unless there was no FCM target. Allogeneic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) was recommended for all patients with poor risk cytogenetics, those with intermediate risk cytogenetics who were MRD positive after cycle 2, and those with favourable risk cytogenetics who were MRD positive at the end of cycle 3. After completion of treatment, no specific advice was given regarding management of positive MRD results. Results We identified fusion genes in 126/170 patients (74%). We designed 55 unique RT-qPCR assays to specifically amplify 27 fusions with calculated sensitivity between 1:104 and 1:106. 62/126 children provided a complete set of samples: 31 (60%) with favourable, 18 (29%) with intermediate and 13 (21%) with high risk cytogenetic / molecular profiles. We analysed the effect of molecular MRD status at the end of protocol specified treatment, which included SCT in 17/62 (27%). One year event-free survival from diagnosis was 70% (95% confidence interval 52-82%) in patients who tested MRD negative compared to 11% (1-39%) in patients who tested MRD positive at the end of treatment (p Four patients received non-protocol specified SCT due to physician / family preference based on persistently positive or serially rising transcript levels after completion of treatment. At last follow up 4/4 were alive in complete remission. Rising transcript levels were observed in a further 8 patients to whom no pre-emptive treatment was given due to individual preference or lack of appropriate therapy. Haematological relapse subsequently occurred in 8/8. Conclusion Molecular MRD monitoring is feasible in the majority of children with AML, permitting refinement of response-adapted therapy. Molecular MRD status at the end of treatment is highly predictive of outcome, identifying molecular complete remission as a treatment goal for these children. Serially rising MRD levels reliably predict relapse in the absence of therapeutic intervention. Disclosures Dillon: Abbvie: Consultancy, Honoraria; Novartis: Consultancy, Honoraria; Pfizer: Consultancy, Honoraria; TEVA: Consultancy, Honoraria. Vyas:Astellas: Speakers Bureau; Abbvie: Speakers Bureau; Forty Seven, Inc.: Research Funding; Celgene: Research Funding, Speakers Bureau; Novartis: Research Funding, Speakers Bureau; Pfizer: Speakers Bureau; Daiichi Sankyo: Speakers Bureau. Amrolia:UCLB: Patents & Royalties. Baruchel:Bellicum: Consultancy; Servier: Consultancy, Honoraria; Celgene: Consultancy, Honoraria; Novartis: Consultancy, Honoraria.

Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) with t(8;21) or inv(16) have been recognized as unique entities within AML and are usually reported together as core binding factor AML (CBF-AML). However, there is considerable clinical and biological heterogeneity within this group of diseases, and relapse incidence reaches up to 40%. Moreover, translocations involving CBFs are not sufficient to induce AML on its own and the full spectrum of mutations coexisting with CBF translocations has not been elucidated. To address these issues, we performed extensive mutational analysis by high-throughput sequencing in 215 patients with CBF-AML enrolled in the Phase 3 Trial of Systematic Versus Response-adapted Timed-Sequential Induction in Patients With Core Binding Factor Acute Myeloid Leukemia and Treating Patients with Childhood Acute Myeloid Leukemia with Interleukin-2 trials (age, 1-60 years). Mutations in genes activating tyrosine kinase signaling (including KIT, N/KRAS, and FLT3) were frequent in both subtypes of CBF-AML. In contrast, mutations in genes that regulate chromatin conformation or encode members of the cohesin complex were observed with high frequencies in t(8;21) AML (42% and 18%, respectively), whereas they were nearly absent in inv(16) AML. High KIT mutant allele ratios defined a group of t(8;21) AML patients with poor prognosis, whereas high N/KRAS mutant allele ratios were associated with the lack of KIT or FLT3 mutations and a favorable outcome. In addition, mutations in epigenetic modifying or cohesin genes were associated with a poor prognosis in patients with tyrosine kinase pathway mutations, suggesting synergic cooperation between these events. These data suggest that diverse cooperating mutations may influence CBF-AML pathophysiology as well as clinical behavior and point to potential unique pathogenesis of t(8;21) vs inv(16) AML.

While enucleation is a critical step in the terminal differentiation of human red blood cells, the molecular mechanisms underlying this unique process remain unclear. To investigate erythroblast enucleation, we studied the erythroid differentiation of human embryonic stem cells (hESCs), which provide a unique model for deeper understanding of the development and differentiation of multiple cell types. First, using a two-step protocol, we demonstrated that terminal erythroid differentiation from hESCs is directly dependent on the age of the embryoid bodies. Second, by choosing hESCs in two extreme conditions of erythroid culture, we obtained an original differentiation model which allows one to study the mechanisms underlying the enucleation of erythroid cells by analyzing the gene and miRNA (miR) expression profiles of cells from these two culture conditions. Third, using an integrated analysis of mRNA and miR expression profiles, we identified five miRs potentially involved in erythroblast enucleation. Finally, by selective knockdown of these five miRs we found miR-30a to be a regulator of erythroblast enucleation in hESCs. Stem Cells 2015;33:2431–2441

We describe here the large-scale ex vivo production of mature human red blood cells (RBCs) from hematopoietic stem cells of diverse origins. By mimicking the marrow microenvironment through the application of cytokines and coculture on stromal cells, we coupled substantial amplification of CD34(+) stem cells (up to 1.95 x 10(6)-fold) with 100% terminal differentiation into fully mature, functional RBCs. These cells survived in nonobese diabetic/severe combined immunodeficient mice, as do native RBCs. Our system for producing 'cultured RBCs' lends itself to a fundamental analysis of erythropoiesis and provides a simple in vitro model for studying important human viral or parasitic infections that target erythroid cells. Further development of large-scale production of cultured RBCs will have implications for gene therapy, blood transfusion and tropical medicine.

The triggering receptor expressed on myeloid cells (TREM-1) and the myeloid DAP12-associating lectin (MDL-1) are two recently identified receptors which associate non-covalently with DAP12 to form receptor complexes involved in monocytic activation and inflammatory response. In this study, we investigated whether the expression of TREM-1 , MDL-1 , and DAP12 correlated with myelomonocytic differentiation. Northern and RT-PCR revealed a strong expression of TREM-1 , MDL-1 , and DAP12 in peripheral blood-derived CD14 + mature monocytes in contrast to undifferentiated bone marrow CD34 + stem cells, and in the differentiated versus undifferentiated U937 cells. TREM-1 and MDL-1 RNA expression was also more elevated in adult than fetal tissues and in normal than malignant cells. These findings suggest that the TREM-1/DAP12 and MDL-1/DAP12 signaling pathways are features of mature differentiated myelomonocytic cells. In addition, expression of an alternative mRNA TREM-1 splice variant ( TREM-1sv ) was detected that might translate into a soluble receptor with potential as a regulator of myeloid activation.

Context: Shwachman Diamond disease (SDS) is caused by an SBDS mutation, is typically associated with neutropenia and exocrine pancreas deficiency. Pancytopenia, myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) or acute myeloid leukemia (AML), are life-threatening complications of SDS. To date, the sole risk factors identified for SDS are early symptoms (before age of 3 months) and mild chronic anemia or thrombocytopenia(1). Methods: To determine which mutations underlie clonal development and leukemic changes in SDS, we screened a series of patients with congenital neutropenias at various time points of follow-up. We used a consensus NGS panel of 41 genes involved in the development of myeloid malignancies (Haloplex® Agilent) (2, 3). Patients with SBDS mutations included in the French Severe Congenital Neutropenia registry or followed in the Leuwen University were screened when bone marrow samples were available as well as other subtypes of congenital neutropenia. Results: Among the 139 SDS patients, bone marrow samples of 23 patients were available for screening at various time points. We found isolated somatic TP53 mutations in 10 cases. In addition one patient had concomitant FLT3 TKD and TP53 mutations, and another patient had the recurrent IDH1 p.Arg132Cys variant. Strikingly, no TP53 mutations were observed when the screening was extended to 70 non-SDS neutropenia patients. None of the 11 SDS patients without any detectable mutations (with a threshold of detection of 0.5%) had any severe hematological expression nor presented any major hematological complications at time of sampling. By contrast, among the 12 SDS patients with somatic mutations, AML or MDS were observed in 3 cases, 1 with the IDH1 mutation (Variant allelic frequency (VAF): 42%), 1 with the recurrent TP53 p.Gly245Ser mutation (VAF:53%), 1 with two TP53 mutations (VAFs : 19% and 37%). Severe cytopenias without MDS or AML were found in 2 other cases, one with an isolated TP53 mutation at 24%, and one with both TP53 and FLT3 mutations around 45%. In the 7 remaining patients, allele frequencies of TP53 variants were found below 2% in four cases, and at 3%, 14%, and 37% in the 3 other patients. By sequential analysis in one patient we found a p.Val272Met variant (1.1% at 9 years) which was no more observed but was replaced by the recurrent p.Arg175His mutation (4% at 12 years and 14% at 15 years). Figure 1 depicts the allele frequencies of the variants with time among the 23 patients. The three patients with MDS / AML died despite hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) in two of them. In contrast, the two patients with severe cytopenias and TP53 mutations who were transplanted are doing well three years after HSCT, and no TP53 mutation was detected one year after transplant. Conclusion: TP53 mutations are associated with hematological complications and specifically acquired in SDS when compared to other congenital neutropenias. This is in line with the frequency of complex karyotype MDS/AML in SDS(1). Routine evaluation of TP53 load in SDS patients may offer a powerful tool to screen SDS who may be susceptible to have severe hematological complications in a preemptive transplantation strategy setting. References: 1. J. Donadieu et al., Haematologica 97, 1312 (2012). 2. P. Hirsch et al., Nat. Commun. 7, 12475 (2016). 3. E. Papaemmanuil et al., N. Engl. J Med. 374, 2209 (2016). Acknowledgments: The French SCN registry is supported by grants from Amgen, Chugai, Prolong Pharma, Inserm, the Association 111 les Arts, the Association RMHE, the Association Sportive de Saint Quentin Fallavier and « Le Fond de dotation Contre la Leucémie". The authors thank the association IRIS and Mrs Grosjean and Mr Gonnot (ASSQF) for their support. Figure 1 Figure 1. Disclosures No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.

The mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) pathway regulates growth and survival of many cell types, and its constitutive activation has been implicated in the pathogenesis of a variety of malignancies. In this study we demonstrate that small-molecule MEK inhibitors (PD98059 and PD184352) profoundly impair cell growth and survival of acute myeloid leukemia (AML) cell lines and primary samples with constitutive MAPK activation. These agents abrogate the clonogenicity of leukemic cells but have minimal effects on normal hematopoietic progenitors. MEK blockade also results in sensitization to spontaneous and drug-induced apoptosis. At a molecular level, these effects correlate with modulation of the expression of cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitors (p27(Kip1) and p21(Waf1/CIP1)) and antiapoptotic proteins of the inhibitor of apoptosis proteins (IAP) and Bcl-2 families. Interruption of constitutive MEK/MAPK signaling therefore represents a promising therapeutic strategy in AML.

Background : APL is, in the vast majority of cases, driven by t(15 ;17) translocation, which leads to PML/RARA rearrangement. Remarkably, APL is an uncommon genetically simple disease and only few additional alterations, cooperating with PML/RAR, have been described at diagnostic (Welch et al, Cell 2012). Most APL can be cured with targeted therapy combining all-trans retinoic acid (ATRA) and chemotherapy (CT). However, genetic mechanisms underlying the 10-15% relapses observed with this regimen remain unclear. The goal of the present study was to identify mutations that cooperate with PML/RAR and those responsible for acquired resistance to ATRA-CT treatment in APL patients by whole-exome sequencing of diagnostic/ remission/relapse trios. Methods: Newly diagnosed APL patients included in clinical trials of the French Swiss Belgian APL group between 1994 and 2008, treated with ATRA-CT, before the introduction of first-line ATO, who experienced at least one relapse and had adequate material, were studied. We collected retrospectively 64 samples from 23 patients, including 23 diagnostic samples, 18 at first complete remission (CR) and 23 at relapse (22 first relapse and 1 second relapse). Whole exome-sequencing was performed on all samples. DNA libraries were prepared with the SureSelect human v5 kit (Agilent) and sequenced on Hiseq1000 (Illumina). The bioinformatic analysis was performed by GECO/integragen using CASAVA variant calling (Illumina) and dedicated pipeline. 18 trios and 5 duos passed the stringent quality control and were analyzed for somatic variants and copy number variations (CNV). Results : After elimination of polymorphisms, the median number of somatic variants corresponding to de novo mutation at diagnosis was 14, while only 3 new somatic variants appeared at relapse (figure 1). Notably, we failed to detect oncogene alterations other than PML/RARA in 7/23 (30%) patients. At diagnostic, 39% of patients (9/23) presented the common FLT3 alterations and at relapse 22% (5/23) of patients presented the known RARA mutations. Moreover, recurrent alterations were observed in activators of the MAPK signaling (22%): NRAS (2 patients), BRAF (1 patient), KRAS (1 patient), SPRY1 (1 patient). Mutations in the NT5C2 gene (3 patients), coding a 5'nucleotidase implicated in resistance to nucleoside-analog therapy, were solely observed at relapse, as in acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). Abnormalities of epigenetic regulators were also detected at diagnostic and/or relapse: WT1 (7 patients, 30%), NSD1 (2 patients), TET2 (1 patient), ASXL1 (1 patient) and MED12 (2 patients). Homozygote WT1 inactivation by mutation plus neutral copy LOH occurred in 3 patients at relapse. The genetic markers identified allowed us to construct several evolution models. In 8 patients (35%), the diagnostic and relapse clones were clearly distinct, supporting the fact that they independently derived from pre-leukemic cells that survived ATRA/chemotherapy. In contrast, other relapses appeared to derive from the diagnostic clone. Conclusion: Our data highlight the genetic simplicity of APL with very few alterations detected and 30% patients without identified mutations in addition to PML/RARa. Our results support the existence of two prototypic mechanisms of relapse: re-emergence of a new APL from persisting pre-leukemic cells and relapse from APLs often expressing strong oncogenes at diagnosis, impeding therapy response and favoring the acquisition of resistance mutations at relapse, including PML/RARA or NT5C2. It will be interesting to assess the prevalence of those two mechanisms in the exceptional cases of relapse in patients treated with more recent frontline regimens that combine ATRA and arsenic in APL. Disclosures Ades: Celgene, Takeda, Novartis, Astex: Consultancy, Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Research Funding. Fenaux:Celgene, Janssen,Novartis, Astex, Teva: Honoraria, Research Funding.

Background: Risk stratification in childhood T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (T-ALL) is crucial to drive treatment decisions. Since patients with induction failure or relapse are often refractory to further treatment, identifying high risk patients up-front will allow improved treatment. While minimal residual disease (MRD) is the strongest prognosis risk factor used after complete remission (CR), NOTCH1/FBXW7 (N/F) and RAS/PTEN (R/P) mutation profiles at diagnosis have recently been identified to predict outcome in adult T-ALL. Objective: to test whether an oncogenetic classifier using N/F and R/P mutations could improve the detection of children with T-ALL at risk of relapse. Methods: 405 patients with T-ALL aged from 1 to 14 years were treated according to FRALLE T guidelines (FRALLE Study group) between 2000 and 2010. Among them, 220 patients, for whom biological material at diagnosis was available, were tested retrospectively for N/F and R/P mutations. These study cohort patients were representative of overall FRALLE 2000 T-ALLs. CR was achieved in 213 patients. MRD (IgH-TCR markers) tested at CR (day 35) was available for 191 patients. MRD was Results: 111 patients were classified as LoR and 109 as HiR. Five-year-CIR and DFS were respectively 35.5% (95% CI, 26.7-44.3) and 59% (95%CI, 50.2-69.6) for HiR versus 13% (95% CI, 6.8-19.2) and 86.8% (80.5-93.5) for the LoR group (Figures A and B). HiR patients were significantly associated with MRD ≥ 10-4 (p=0.0004) and higher risk of relapse (p=0.00002). Among patients with MRD ≥ 10-4, HiR feature worsened the risk of relapse: 5-year-CIR and DFS were respectively 42.8% (95% CI, 28.9-56.7) and 71.1% (95%CI, 56.0-90.2) in HiR versus 28.9% (95% CI, 11.7-46.1) and 50.9% (95%CI, 38.4-67.6) in the LoR group. Among patients with MRD 10-4, demonstrated an increasing CIR, up to 45.8% if all three were associated. Conclusion: in childhood T-ALL, oncogenetic classification using N/F and R/P mutation profiles is an independent predictor of relapse. When combined with MRD and WBC count ≥200 G/L, it significantly improved relapse prediction, particularly amongst the 60% of T-ALLs with MRD Figure Figure. Disclosures No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.

International audience; Background Human induced pluripotent stem cells offer perspectives for cell therapy and research models for diseases. We applied this approach to the normal and pathological erythroid differentiation model by establishing induced pluripotent stem cells from normal and homozygous sickle cell disease donors. Design and Methods We addressed the question as to whether these cells can reach complete erythroid terminal maturation notably with a complete switch from fetal to adult hemoglobin. Sickle cell disease induced pluripotent stem cells were differentiated in vitro into red blood cells and characterized for their terminal maturation in terms of hemoglobin content, oxygen transport capacity, deformability, sickling and adherence. Nucleated erythroblast populations generated from normal and pathological induced pluripotent stem cells were then injected into non-obese diabetic severe combined immunodeficiency mice to follow the in vivo hemoglobin maturation. Results We observed that in vitro erythroid differentiation results in predominance of fetal hemoglobin which rescues the functionality of red blood cells in the pathological model of sickle cell disease. We observed, in vivo, the switch from fetal to adult hemoglobin after infusion of nucleated erythroid precursors derived from either normal or pathological induced pluripotent stem cells into mice. Conclusions These results demonstrate that human induced pluripotent stem cells i) can achieve complete terminal erythroid maturation, in vitro in terms of nucleus expulsion and in vivo in terms of hemoglobin maturation; and ii) open the way to generation of functionally corrected red blood cells from sickle cell disease induced pluripotent stem cells, without any genetic modification or drug treatment. © 2012 Ferrata Storti Foundation.

In vitro RBC production from stem cells could represent an alternative to classic transfusion products. Until now the clinical feasibility of this concept has not been demonstrated. We addressed the question of the capacity of cultured RBCs (cRBCs) to survive in humans. By using a culture protocol permitting erythroid differentiation from peripheral CD34+ HSC, we generated a homogeneous population of cRBC functional in terms of their deformability, enzyme content, capacity of their hemoglobin to fix/release oxygen, and expression of blood group antigens. We then demonstrated in the nonobese diabetes/severe combined immunodeficiency mouse that cRBC encountered in vivo the conditions necessary for their complete maturation. These data provided the rationale for injecting into one human a homogeneous sample of 1010 cRBCs generated under good manufacturing practice conditions and labeled with 51Cr. The level of these cells in the circulation 26 days after injection was between 41% and 63%, which compares favorably with the reported half-life of 28 ± 2 days for native RBCs. Their survival in vivo testifies globally to their quality and functionality. These data establish the proof of principle for transfusion of in vitro–generated RBCs and path the way toward new developments in transfusion medicine. This study is registered at http://www.clinicaltrials.gov as NCT0929266.

In the context of chronic blood supply difficulties, generating cultured red blood cells (cRBCs) in vitro after amplification of stem cells makes sense. This review will focus on the recent findings about the generation of erythroid cells from induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells and deals with the hurdles and next developments that will occur.The most proliferative source of stem cells for generating cRBCs is the cord blood, but this source is limited in terms of hematopoietic stem cells and dependent on donations. Pluripotent stem cells are thus the best candidates and potential sources of cRBCs. Critical advances have led towards the in-vitro production of functional RBCs from iPS cells in the last few years.Because iPS cells can proliferate indefinitely and can be selected for a phenotype of interest, they are potential candidates to organize complementary sources of RBCs for transfusion. Proof of concept of generating cRBCs from iPS cells has been performed, but the procedures need to be optimized to lead to clinical application in blood transfusion. Several crucial points remain to be resolved. Notably these include the choice of the initial cell type to generate iPS cells, the method of reprogramming, that is, to ensure the safety of iPS cells as clinical grade, the optimization of erythrocyte differentiation, and the definition of good manufacturing practice (GMP) conditions for industrial production.

International audience; Gaucher disease is a sphingolipidosis caused by a deficiency of the enzyme glucocerebrosidase. Macrophages transform into pathogenic Gaucher cells following the phagocytosis of red blood cells (RBCs) and subsequent accumulation of glucosylceramide. Enhanced erythrophagocytosis is one feature of the disease indicating abnormal macrophage-RBC interactions. We hypothesized that the erythrophagocytosis observed in Gaucher disease may be at least partly due to abnormalities in the RBCs themselves. Methods: To investigate this hypothesis, we used flow cytometry FSC/SSC to study RBCs sampled from seven patients with Gaucher disease in terms of their shape and the expression of markers of senescence and phagocytosis. Cells from two of the seven patients were evaluated before and 9 months after the start of enzyme-replacement therapy. Results: Untreated patients were found to have abnormal flow-cytometry profiles suggesting an alteration of Gaucher RBC morphology. Scanning electron microscopy confirmed this finding by revealing many abnormally shaped RBCs. Whereas there was no evidence of desialylation of membrane glycoconjugates or phosphatidylserine exposure, RBC viability (calcein-AM test) and CD47 expression were reduced. These anomalies found in RBCs sampled from two patients before treatment, were no longer present after a 9 month-long enzyme-replacement therapy. Conclusions: We report on previously overlooked alterations of Gaucher RBCs that may facilitate erythrophagocytosis in untreated patients. Their potential role in the anemia, the excess of aggregation and rheological anomalies associated with Gaucher disease must now be addressed. RBC anomalies may take part in the abnormal crosstalk between RBCs and macrophages leading to the accumulation of Gaucher cells. (C) 2010 International Clinical Cytometry Society

We previously described the large-scale production of RBCs from hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) of diverse sources. Our present efforts are focused to produce RBCs thanks to an unlimited source of stem cells. Human embryonic stem (ES) cells or induced pluripotent stem cell (iPS) are the natural candidates. Even if the proof of RBCs production from these sources has been done, their amplification ability is to date not sufficient for a transfusion application. In this work, our protocol of RBC production was applied to HSC isolated from fetal liver (FL) as an intermediate source between embryonic and adult stem cells. We studied the erythroid potential of FL-derived CD34+cells. In thisin vitromodel, maturation that is enucleation reaches a lower level compared to adult sources as observed for embryonic or iP, but, interestingly, they (i) displayed a dramaticin vitroexpansion (100-fold more when compared to CB CD34+) and (ii) 100% cloning efficiency in hematopoietic progenitor assays after 3 days of erythroid induction, as compared to 10–15% cloning efficiency for adult CD34+cells. This work supports the idea that FL remains a model of study and is not a candidate forex vivoRBCS production for blood transfusion as a direct source of stem cells but could be helpful to understand and enhance proliferation abilities for primitive cells such as ES cells or iPS.

Background Ex vivo manufacture of red blood cells from stem cells is a potential means to ensure an adequate and safe supply of blood cell products. Advances in somatic cell reprogramming of human induced pluripotent stem cells have opened the door to generating specific cells for cell therapy. Human induced pluripotent stem cells represent a potentially unlimited source of stem cells for erythroid generation for transfusion medicine.Design and Methods We characterized the erythroid differentiation and maturation of human induced pluripotent stem cell lines obtained from human fetal (IMR90) and adult fibroblasts (FD-136) compared to those of a human embryonic stem cell line (H1). Our protocol comprises two steps: (i) differentiation of human induced pluripotent stem cells by formation of embryoid bodies with indispensable conditioning in the presence of cytokines and human plasma to obtain early erythroid commitment, and (ii) differentiation/maturation to the stage of cultured red blood cells in the presence of cytokines. The protocol dispenses with major constraints such as an obligatory passage through a hematopoietic progenitor, co-culture on a cellular stroma and use of proteins of animal origin.Results We report for the first time the complete differentiation of human induced pluripotent stem cells into definitive erythrocytes capable of maturation up to enucleated red blood cells containing fetal hemoglobin in a functional tetrameric form.Conclusions Red blood cells generated from human induced pluripotent stem cells pave the way for future development of allogeneic transfusion products. This could be done by banking a very limited number of red cell phenotype combinations enabling the safe transfusion of a great number of immunized patients.

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Background. Core binding factor (CBF) acute myeloid leukemia (AML) includes AML with t(8;21) and inv(16) leading to RUNX1-RUNX1T1 or CBFB-MYH11 fusion genes. These recurrent genetic abnormalities are both associated with disruption of genes encoding subunits of the CBF, a heterodimeric transcription factor involved in hematopoiesis. Although the fusion proteins appear to be crucial for the leukemogenic process, considerable experimental evidence indicates that they are not sufficient to induce AML on their own. Due to their high sensitivity to chemotherapy with high complete remission rates and their relatively favorable outcome, CBF-AML is considered to have a good prognosis. Nonetheless, about 30-40% of these patients relapse after standard intensive chemotherapy. In this context, identification of additional genetic or molecular abnormalities could allow better understanding of CBF-AML leukemogenesis, prediction of clinical outcome and identification of novel therapeutic targets. Methods. This study focuses on 73 patients with CBF-AML [43 t(8;21) and 30 inv(16)-AML] enrolled in the pediatric trial ELAM02. Single nucleotide polymorphism array (SNP-A) was performed for all patients using Cytoscan® HD arrays according to the manufacturer instructions. In order to distinguish somatic from constitutional SNP-A lesions, we excluded known copy number abnormalities (CNA) if there was >50% overlap with variants from public database, except for breakpoints-related alterations. Interstitial uniparental disomies (UPD) Results. Among the 73 cases, 145 SNP-A lesions were found in 58 patients (81%) with a median of 2 lesions per case (range, 0-8). CNA was more frequent (84 losses, 47 gains) than UPD (n=14). No significant difference was noted between the number of CNA and UPD in inv(16) and t(8;21)-AML. Small lesions were common at breakpoints involved in the t(8;21) and inv(16) (respectively 4/43 and 6/30). Additional recurrent CNA mostly involved entire chromosomes, chromosomal arms or large chromosomal regions. Del(9q) and loss of sex chromosome were restricted to t(8;21)-AML (respectively 6/43 and 20/43). Trisomy 22 was restricted to inv(16)-AML (2/30). Other recurrent CNA included trisomy 8 (3/43 vs 1/30) and gains of 13q (2/43 vs 1/30) in both subtypes, gains of 1q and del(2q) in t(8;21)-AML (each 2/43). Del(7q) was among the most common aberrations regardless of subtype (7/43 and 7/30). The minimally deleted region of 7q contained 57 genes including MLL3 and EZH2. Additionally, we found focal deletions of IKZF1 in one patient, NF1 in another and 3 deletions of CCDC26. Except for known mutations (KIT, RAS, FLT3), NGS did not reveal any other alterations in inv(16)-AML. By contrast, t(8;21)-AML was marked by the frequency of mutations in ASXL1/2 (8%/24%) and cohesin genes SMC1A, SMC3, RAD21, STAG2, NIPBL (27% combined). Mutations were also detected in epigenetic-related genes EZH2 (5%), TET2 (8%), IDH1/2 (5%) and WT1(11%). Conclusions. SNP-A karyotyping of 73 pediatric CBF-AML revealed several recurrent alterations, with differing distribution between the 2 subgroups. Moreover, t(8;21) and inv(16)-AML appeared to have distinct mutational profiles, leading us to consider them separately for future studies. We recently reported high frequency of ASXL mutations in t(8;21)-AML and their absence in inv(16)-AML (Micol, Duployez and Boissel et al, Blood 2014). We now report high frequency of mutations in cohesin genes with the same distribution. Recent description of functional relations between cohesin and polycomb proteins, together with our results, suggest an important pathway in t(8;21) leukemogenesis. Concurrent ASXL and cohesin mutations were found in several patients, suggesting they could cooperate in some cases. Interestingly, ASXL mutations were exclusive of del(7q), suggesting that disruption of the ASXL-associated proteins MLL3 and EZH2 could be of great interest in the physiopathology of t(8;21)-AML. Finally, correlations with clinical outcome are in progress. Disclosures No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.

Background: Childhood acute myeloid leukemia (AML) remains a challenging disease as the outcome is still poor despite major improvement over the past decades; current survival rates are around 70% but event free survival (EFS) is only about 50%. No benefit of standard maintenance chemotherapy has been proven after intensive induction/consolidation chemotherapy. Objective: To determine whether the addition of a one-year maintenance therapy using interleukin-2 (IL-2), known to stimulate antitumor immunity, decreases the risk of relapse and improves EFS in pediatric AML. Methods: ELAM02 trial was designed to recruit patients aged from 0 to 18 years, diagnosed with primary AML. Children with acute promyelocytic leukemia and Down Syndrome were not included. The treatment consisted of one induction course (cytarabine and mitoxantrone) and three consolidation courses (course 1 and 3 with high dose cytarabine); all children without t(8;21) were candidates for hematopoietic stem cell transplant (HSCT) in complete remission (CR) after 1 to 2 courses of consolidation if a geno-identical donor was available; children with poor-prognosis karyotype were also candidates for HSCT with pheno-identical donor. The patients not receiving HSCT and in continuous CR after the third course of consolidation were eligible for randomization for a one-year maintenance therapy consisting in monthly courses of IL-2. IL-2 (Proleukin®, Chiron, Novartis) was given subcutaneously at 2.5 MUI/m² on day 1 and at 5 MUI/m² from day 2 to 5. Cycles were planned to be given monthly for up to 12 cycles. In case of side effects such as severe (grade ≥ 3) clinical toxicities (fever >40°C, hypotension requiring IV fluids) and/or severe biological toxicities (thrombocytopenia (grade ≥ 3), renal dysfunction (grade ≥ 2), liver dysfunction (grade ≥ 3)) doses of IL-2 was lowered of 50%. In case of persistent side effects, treatment was discontinued. The control group received no maintenance treatment. Results: The 28 French SFCE centers participated to the study, leading to the enrollment of 441 patients from March 2005 to December 2011. Among the 441 enrolled patients, 3 patients were excluded due to non-conformity of inclusion criteria; 392/438 (89%) were in CR after the first consolidation course and 116 (30%) were allografted in CR1. Out of the 241 eligible patients for randomization, i.e. still in CR after the third course of consolidation, 154 (64%) were actually randomized for maintenance therapy; causes for non-randomization were either parents refusal (n=50, 21%) or medical decision (n=37, 15%). Median follow-up is 5 years. The characteristics of the randomized patients at diagnosis were as follows: Figure 1 Figure 1. Median number of IL-2 cycles administered was 12 [5-12], the mean being 8.6 ± 4.2. Among the 77 patients receiving maintenance therapy, IL-2 was stopped before cycle 6 in 20 patients (26%) and after cycle 6 in 18 (23%); 39 patients (51%) received 12 cycles. Treatment was stopped because of relapse occurrence (n=15), severe persistent toxicities (n=6) or parents or medical decision (n=17). The most frequent toxicities related to IL-2 treatment were fever, chills, and cytolytic hepatitis; no toxic death related to IL-2 therapy was observed. Incidence of relapses in IL2+ group and IL2- group were 36% (n=28) and 38% (n=29) respectively. The 5-year disease free survival (DFS) was 62 % (95% CI 51-73) for the IL2- group vs. 64% (95% CI 53-75) for the IL2+ group (p=0.74). Among the CBF population, a trend in favor of the IL-2 treatment was observed as the 5-year DFS was 57% (95% CI 43-71) for the IL2- group vs. 78% (95% CI 63-94) for the IL-2+ group (p=0.08). Conclusion: A prolonged administration of IL-2 as maintenance therapy after intensive chemotherapy is feasible in pediatric AML patients in first CR but did not improve DFS in this study. Disclosures No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.

Introduction Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is an aggressive malignancy caused by the accumulation of multiple oncogenetic mutations occurring in a single lineage of hematopoietic progenitors. AML is rare in children and the mutations found are partially different from those in adults, and for some with a lower frequency. Thus, clonal evolution leading to pediatric AML may be specific, and has not been described yet. Methods To define clonal evolution from diagnosis to relapse, we performed whole exome sequencing in matched trio of specimens (diagnosis, germline and relapse) in a 9-years old girl presenting AML FAB M5a with t(9;11)(p22;q23) MLL-AF9 and trisomy 8. At diagnosis, we focused on 3 non-silent somatic mutations candidate for leukemogenesis process, confirmed by Sanger method: EED (R355*), GSDMC (R40*) and ELK1 (3’ UTR). In the same time, we performed cell cultures from bone marrow mononucleated cells at diagnosis. CD34 and CD38 cells were cultured either in liquid long term culture medium (LTC IC) or methylcellulose medium. Results: A total of 512 colonies were collecte. Our 3 interest mutations and trisomy 8 were tracked by allele-specific PCR, and MLL rearrangement detected by FISH, individually in 267 from the 512 colonies. Exploitable results were found in 164 colonies. Through these results in the different cell populations, we were able to establish the clonal architecture at diagnosis. MLL-AF9 fusion and EED mutation were found together as the first concomitant occurring events in the leukemic clone. Then genotyping of the colonies demonstrated that ELK1 mutation, GSDMC mutation, and trisomy 8 were successively acquired. Additional later mutations such as ASXL1 (frameshift), PTPN11 (E76K), EMP2 (3’UTR) and DGCR14 (P314S) were detected in the relapse sample. Discussion The 3 mutations studied in the colonies may impact the progression of the leukemic clone by dysregulating several cellular pathways and networks. First, EED is an essential non-catalytic subunit of the polycomb repressive complex 2 (PRC2) which mediates gene silencing through catalysis of histone H3K27 methylation. PRC2 is known to be enhanced in solid neoplasms such as prostate cancer. On the contrary, in myeloid malignancies and myelodysplasic syndromes, it has been recently demonstrated that mutations involving PRC2 subunits (EED, SUZ12 and EZH1/2) were hypomorphic. These loss-of-functions mutations were responsible for chromatin relaxation and induced transcription of genes promoting self-renewal such as HOXA9. Nevertheless, recent sh-RNA studies in a murine model of MLL-AF9 leukemia demonstrated that residual PRC2 enzymatic activity after EED mutation is needed to unable leukemia growth. These data are coherent with our finding that EED mutation is an early event in leukemogenesis, in cooperation with MLL-AF9 rearrangement. Secondly, ELK1 is targeted by RAS-MAPK pathway, thus its mutation can confer an increased proliferation potential when acquired by the leukemic clone, after its maturation has been blocked and its self-renewal increased through previous MLL rearrangement and EED mutation. Finally, GSDMC may be implicated in monocyte count regulation, and mutated in other neoplasms such as melanoma. As a consequence, it is likely that its mutation occurs lately in the evolution of the monoblastic leukemic clone of our patient. The latest event in the clonal evolution in our patient at diagnosis is the acquisition of trisomy 8. Conclusion This study highlights the clonal evolution in one pediatric AML, and paves the way for further studies to better understand clonal evolution in children. Elucidating, the succession and the cooperation between driver and secondary mutations, is important for both understanding leukemogenesis and developing innovative therapeutic agents targeting founding anomalies in the leukemic clone at its most precocious stage. Moreover, discovering clonal architecture also unable to find new minimal residual disease markers to assess the therapeutic response and risk stratification. Disclosures No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.

Pediatric T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (T-ALL) is characterized by the proliferation of T-cell precursors in various sites, such as thymus, bone marrow, blood, lymph nodes or central nervous system. As T-ALL cells alone do not successfully grow in vitro, xenografts of T-ALL cells into NOD/scid/IL-2R null (NSG) mice and long-term co-cultures of T-ALL cells with stromal cells have been developed to study the biology of T-ALL cells (Armstrong et al, Blood, 2009). However, the growth of T-ALL cells in these two systems is highly variable across T-ALL samples. Moreover, the clinical relevance of both assays and, except for NOTCH pathway activation, the molecular pathways involved in successful in vivo and in vitro growths are still elusive. The aim of this work was to determine the relationships between clinical, biological and molecular characteristics of human T-ALL at diagnosis and the growth of T-ALL in these two systems. Human T-ALL blood samples were collected at diagnosis from pediatric or young adult patients with T-ALL. 50,000 T-ALL cells were intravenously injected into NSG mice. Mouse bone marrow samples were collected every 3-4 weeks from day 35 to day 210 post-transplant. Leukemic engraftment was monitored using flow cytometry measuring the % of human CD45+CD7+ leukemic cells. Time to leukemic engraftment (TTL) was defined as the time between T-ALL injection and the detection of ≥20% leukemic cells in at least one mouse. In vitro co-culture growth assay consisted in plating 200,000 cells on MS5 or MS5-DL1 (Armstrong, Blood, 2009) and count every 7 days up to 28 days. A total of 36 samples were tested of which 22 (61%) engrafted into mice. Global median TTL was 82 days (range, 36-121) defining short (TTL82 days) TTL groups. Patient gender, age, mediastinal involvement or abnormal karyotype had no significant impact on TTL. A trend for a shorter TTL was observed for T-ALL samples with a white blood cell count (WBC) > median WBC = 146 G/L (p =0.06). Samples containing more than 20% of TCRαβ or CD8 positive cells exhibited increased incidence of engraftment (p = 0.049 and p=0.04 respectively) whereas CD34, CD1a, CD4 or sCD3 markers were not significantly correlated with TTL. Unlike samples with TLX1, TLX3 overexpression or NOTCH/FBXW7 mutations, samples with SIL-TAL1 deletion exhibited a shorter TTL (p = 0.0004). The 2-year progression free survival of “short TTL” patients was 72% vs 70% for patients with “longer TTL” or no engraftment (p=0.38). T-ALL samples for which growth could be achieved on MS5 cells also displayed a shorter TTL. To unravel molecular mechanisms involved in the growth of leukemic cells in these two systems, micro-arrays were performed for 8 “short TTL” T-ALL versus 8 “long TTL or no engraftment” T-ALL. 346 genes were differentially express in short TTL samples compared to long/no TTL samples (P Overall, T-ALL with SIL-TAL1 deletion display an increased ability to engraft into NSG mice, in accordance with increased WBC in T-ALL patients. Contrary to B-ALL, shorter TTL is not associated with poor prognosis in T-ALL. Moreover, NSG engraftment and co-culture on stromal cells are well correlated. A shorter TTL seems to be associated with an increased leukemic proliferation through NFkB activation. Disclosures: No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.

To the editor: In 2007, the germline loss-of-function mutations in SPRED1 were reported to originate a new autosomal dominant human disorder with multiple cafe-au-lait spots, axillary freckling, macrocephaly, and learning difficulties.[1][1],[2][2] This disorder belongs to the recently identified

Pediatric AML still represent an unfavourable disease resulting from the heterogeneous clonal expansion of malignant transformed haematopoietic stem or progenitor cell. The leukemia cell population is continuously replenish by rare, functionally distinct “leukaemia stem cells” (LSC) endowed with the capacity to self renew as well with the ability to generate clonogenic leukemic progenitors The AML-LSCs have been well documented and seem to behave like quiescent or slowly dividing hematopoietic stem cells. Therefore, LSC are considered less sensitive to treatments, which rather target actively dividing cells, and responsible for relapse. Recently, Y. Ma et al. suggested a major role of SALL4 gene both in stemness activity and leukemia transformation of normal hematopoietic stem cells. We sought to evaluate the expression of SALL4 gene in a panel of 88 pediatric AML, 60 Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (T and B ALL) and a few hematopoietic normal tissues. SALL4 expression was determined by quantitative RT-PCR in pre-treatment bone marrow samples (BM) (median blasts: 80%) and in normal tissues. SALL4 expression was much higher in AML compared to ALL (p 16, n= 12) had the worst outcome compared to the three others. Once stratified on MRC groups, MRC2 patients in the upper SALL4 quartile had 3.2 times more risk of relapse (HR= 3.2, CI95%: 1.3–7.8, P=0.02) and 5.4 more risk to die (HR=5.4, CI95%: 1.8–7.6; P= 0.0005) than MRC2 patients in the three others quartiles. In conclusion, SALL4 expression level may define an important risk factor in AML, particularly among patients with cytogenetic intermediate risk.

We report a technological approach permitting, for the first time, the massive (up to 2x106-fold cell expansion) and selective (100%) ex vivo production of mature RBCs (cRBCs) starting from CD 34+ cells from peripheral blood (PB), bone marrow (BM) or cord blood (CB) into mature red cells in three steps: firstly, cell proliferation and erythroid differentiation were induced in serum free media supplemented with SCF, IL-3 and Epo for 8 days. Secondly, cells were co-cultured with additional Epo alone on either the murine MS-5 stromal cell line or human mesenchymal cells for 3 days. In the third step, all exogenous factors were withdrawn and cells were incubated on a simple stroma for 4 to 10 days. These cultured erythroid cells (reticulocytes and mature RBCs) displayed characteristics identical to those of native cells, in terms of MCV, MCH, MCHC, enzyme content (G6PD and PK) and deformability. The nature of the Hb produced depended on both the origin of the CD34+ cells and the culture conditions. cRBCs derived from PB or adult BM contained adult Hb (95±1%) whereas cRBCs derived from CB contained essentially HbF (64±13%). As for native RBCs, Hb was able to fix and release oxygen. CFSE-labelled-reticulocytes ex vivo generated from leukapheresis were injected into NOD-SCID mice. The transfused reticulocytes were found in the circulation to the same extent as native RBCs and fully matured into RBCs. This methodology is applicable for fundamental analysis of the mechanisms of terminal erythropoiesis and hemoglobin synthesis. Moreover, large scale cRBCs production could be possible with such a protocol. It can therefore be extrapolated to a wide range of clinical applications in the field of gene therapy, infectious diseases and particularly transfusion medicine with a pointed interest for the generation of a cell population homogeneous in age, thus achieving the new concept of cultured RBCs transfusion.

It is hypothesized that AML arises from two cooperative types of mutations: type I mutations mainly induce proliferation and type II mutations involved in the maturation arrest. AML is a rare disease in children and few molecular data are available on pediatric AML. We therefore studied N-RAS, K-RAS, FLT3-ITD, FLT3 , C-KIT mutations (type I), and CEBPA mutations (type II) as well as FLT3, EVI-1 and WT1 gene expression in 77 de novo AML. Patients and methods: All the patients (aged 1 month-17 years, median age: 6.9 years, male/female ratio 1.26) were treated for de novo AML between 1995 and 2003 in two French institutions and prospectively enrolled in LAM91, LAM01 and APLs French collaborative protocols. According to the FAB classification the repartition was: M0:6.5%, M1: 5.2%, M2: 22%, M3: 13%, M4 :14.3%, M5 :30%, M7: 6.5% and unclassified :2.5%. Cytogenetics features according to the MRC classification were favorable, intermediate or poor in 25% (t(8;21) n=5; t(15,17) n=8, inv(16) n=5), 65% (normal n=20 and 11q23 abnormalities n=15) and 10% (−7, n=4) respectively. With a median follow-up of 26 months (range 2–98 months), Complete Remission was obtained in 92% (71/77) of patients, OS was 71% and EFS 61%. CEBPA, N-RAS, K-RAS, C-KIT and FLT3 mutations detection was performed by direct sequencing. FLT3, EVI-1 and WT1 transcripts were quantified by RQ-PCR. Results: (1) Frequency of N-RAS and K-RAS mutations were 11% (8/75) and 16% (12/75) respectively. RAS-mutated patients belonged to favorable (30%), intermediate (60%) and poor (10%) cytogenetic subgroups. In univariate analysis only N-RAS mutations is associated with adverse outcome (OS 37% vs 79%, p Conclusion: In total, 48% of de novo AML in children had a mutation in N-RAS, K-RAS, FLT3-ITD, FLT3 Asp835, C-KIT or CEBPA with a high frequency of RAS mutations (27%) compared to adult AML and a significantly bad survival. Additional gene expression quantification of EVI-1, FLT3 and WT1 allows MDR detection in 95% of patients.

Background. Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML) is a rare and genetically heterogeneous disease that constitutes 15 to 20% of childhood leukemia. Despite major treatment improvement over the past decades pediatric AML remains a challenging disease with poor outcome compared to acute lymphoid leukemia (ALL). About 50% of these patients relapse after standard intensive chemotherapy. Molecular analysis pointed out the prognostic impact of gene mutation such as FLT3-ITD, NPM1 or CEBPA; and new categories of regulators like epigenetic modifiers. More recently mutational profiling studies revealed distinct molecular subgroups with prognostic significant and stratification in adult AML. Nevertheless cytogenetic and mutational profiles are quite different between adult and pediatric AML. Extensive genomic studies have not been reported to date in pediatric AML. In this context it is of importance to identify additional genetic or molecular abnormalities to better understand leukemogenesis and also to predict outcome and serve as novel therapeutic targets. Methods. We performed a mutational analysis on diagnostic samples from patients enrolled in the French National Multicenter ELAM02 trial. 438 patients with de novo AML (except AML3) were enrolled between march 2005 and December 2011 (median age: 8,22yrs [0-18.61]; median WBC: 15.4G/l [0.4-575]; cytogenetic subgroups: CBF-AML[n=97], NK-AML [n=109], MLL-AML[n=95], MRC2 other[n=77], MRC3 [n=55], failure [n=5]). Diagnostic samples were prospectively collected and 386 of the 438 patients (88%) were studied by next-generation sequencing (Miseq, Illumina with haloplex librairy and ion Proton, thermofischer with ampliseq librairy) including 36 genes frequently reported in myeloid malignancy. Two different technologies of next generation sequencing (NGS) were used, allowing direct validation. FLT3-ITD was detected and quantified by Genescan analysis. Results. We identified 579 driver mutations involving 36 genes or regions in 386 patients (mean 1.5 per case), with at least 1 driver mutation in 291 patients (75%) and 2 or more driver mutations in 44% of samples. The number of mutation identified at diagnosis in cytogenetic subgroup is significantly lower in MLL-AML (0.44 mutation/patient; p Conclusions. We performed an extensive mutational study in de novo pediatric AML enrolled in the ELAM02 trial. We described the genomic landscape of 386 patients and showed the frequency of different mutations according cytogenetics. Interestingly we found mutations in genes involved in constitutional or pre-leukemic disease such as PTPN11, RUNX1, MPL or ETV6. We found that FLT3-ITD, RUNX1 and PHF6 mutations predict poor outcome although NPM1 mutations predict a better outcome. Mutational profiling reveals useful information for risk stratification and therapeutic decisions. Figure Figure. Disclosures Baruchel: Amgen: Consultancy.

The Wilms’ s tumor gene (WT1) is a tumor suppressor gene highly expressed in most acute leukemias. To determine whether WT1 gene expression is a valuable and informative marker for minimal residual disease in pediatric AML, we quantified WT1 transcript amount by RQ-PCR in 92 de novo AML and 20 normal controls. The WT1 transcripts obtained were normalized with respect to the number of TBP transcripts and expressed as WT1 copy numbers by the ratio WT1/TBPx1000. The WT1 levels were extremely low in normal controls, and the median number of WT1 copies was 10 (range 4–30 ). A level above 50 copies was considered as significant. All the patients (aged 2 months-18 years, median age:5.9 years, male/female ratio 0.87) were treated for de novo AML between 1995 and 2003 in two French institutions and enrolled in LAM91, LAM01 and APLs French collaborative protocols. According to the FAB classification the repartition was: MO 5.4%, M1 4.3%, M2 18.5%, M3 14.1%, M4 and M4Eo 12%, M5 33.6 %, M7 10.9% and unclassified 1%. Cytogenetics features according to the MRC classification were favourable, intermediate or poor in 27% (23/83), 59% (49/83) and 13% (11/83) respectively. With a median follow up of 24 months (range 8–97months) OS was 75± 8% and EFS 60 ± 6%. At diagnosis WT1 overexpression was detected in 78.3% (72/92) with a median copy number of 2231 (range 50-429200). The WT1 values were significantly higher (p=0.02) in M2-FAB subtype and lower (p=0.01) in M5-FAB subtype while no correlation was found with WBC count or cytogenetic abnormalities. WT1 quantification for MRD was evaluable in 41/72 pts and positive in 9/32 at D40-50, 5/25 at M3-M5, 5/7at M6-M8. At least one analysis above 50 copies after induction therapy is associated with a significant risk of subsequent relapse 8/11 vs 8/30 ( p=0.007) RR=22 (IC 95%:46–118) and death 10/14 vs 3/30 (p=0.001) RR=7.3 (IC95%: 1–34). Although retrospective analysis may include bias, we conclude that WT1 is a useful and informative molecular marker for MRD in pediatric AML and performed as prospective analysis in ELAM02 protocol.