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Deficiency of the transcription factor GATA2 is a highly penetrant genetic disorder predisposing to myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) and immunodeficiency. It has been recognized as the most common cause underlying primary MDS in children. Triggered by the discovery of a recurrent synonymous GATA2 variant, we systematically investigated 911 patients with phenotype of pediatric MDS or cellular deficiencies for the presence of synonymous alterations in GATA2. In total, we identified nine individuals with five heterozygous synonymous mutations: c.351C>G, p.T117T (N = 4); c.649C>T, p.L217L; c.981G>A, p.G327G; c.1023C>T, p.A341A; and c.1416G>A, p.P472P (N = 2). They accounted for 8.2% (9/110) of cases with GATA2 deficiency in our cohort and resulted in selective loss of mutant RNA. While for the hotspot mutation (c.351C>G) a splicing error leading to RNA and protein reduction was identified, severe, likely late stage RNA loss without splicing disruption was found for other mutations. Finally, the synonymous mutations did not alter protein function or stability. In summary, synonymous GATA2 substitutions are a new common cause of GATA2 deficiency. These findings have broad implications for genetic counseling and pathogenic variant discovery in Mendelian disorders.

Increasing awareness about germline predisposition and the widespread application of unbiased whole exome sequencing contributed to the discovery of new clinical entities with high risk for the development of haematopoietic malignancies. The revised 2016 WHO classification introduced a novel category of “myeloid neoplasms with germline predisposition” with GATA2, CEBPA, DDX41, RUNX1, ANKRD26, and ETV6 genes expanding the spectrum of hereditary myeloid neoplasms (MN). Since then, more germline causes of MN were identified, including SAMD9, SAMD9L, and ERCC6L2. This review describes the genetic and clinical spectrum of predisposition to MN. The main focus lies in delineation of phenotypes, genetics and management of GATA2 deficiency and the novel SAMD9/SAMD9L-related disorders. Combined, GATA2 and SAMD9/SAMD9L (SAMD9/9L) syndromes are recognized as most frequent causes of primary pediatric myelodysplastic syndromes, particularly in setting of monosomy 7. To date, ∼550 cases with germline GATA2 mutations, and ∼130 patients with SAMD9/9L mutations had been reported in literature. GATA2 deficiency is a highly penetrant disorder with a progressive course that often rapidly necessitates bone marrow transplantation. In contrast, SAMD9/SAMD9L disorders show incomplete penetrance with various clinical outcomes ranging from spontaneous haematological remission observed in young children to malignant progression.

Poster-Abstract

The GATA2 gene codes for a master hematopoietic transcription factor that is essential for the proliferation and maintenance of hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells. Heterozygous germline mutations in GATA2 have been initially associated with several clinical entities that are now collectively defined as GATA2 deficiency. Despite pleiotropic clinical manifestations, the high propensity for the development of myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) constitutes the most common clinical denominator of this major MDS predisposition syndrome. The immunological phenotypes can be variable and mostly include deficiency of monocytes and/or B cells. Thus far, nearly 380 GATA2-deficient patients had been reported, with a roughly estimated prevalence of myeloid neoplasia of at least 75%. The most common abnormal karyotypes associated with GATA2-related MDS are monosomy 7, der(1;7) and trisomy 8. The overall clinical penetrance seems to be nearly complete for this transcriptopathy disorder. The high-risk MDS subtypes and karyotypes, and the underlying immunodeficiency guide decision-making toward timely stem cell transplantation.

Mutational landscape in children with myelodysplastic syndromes is distinct from adults: specific somatic drivers and novel germline variants

Hereditary predisposition has been ever since implicated in the etiology of childhood myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS). Until recently, GATA2 deficiency prevailed as a major germline cause in pediatric primary MDS. In the past 2 years, we and others identified germline mutations in paralogue genes SAMD9 and SAMD9L residing on chromosome 7q21.2 as new systemic diseases with high propensity for MDS with monosomy 7. Although initially, mutations in SAMD9 and SAMD9L genes were associated with MIRAGE and Ataxia-Pancytopenia syndromes, respectively, with recent reports the phenotypes are becoming more intertwined. Nevertheless, the predisposition to MDS with monosomy 7 (-7) remains a common clinical denominator. Both genes are categorized as negative regulators of cellular proliferation and mutations were shown to be activating. Because of their high evolutionary divergence, classical in silico prediction is erratic, thereby establishing in vitro testing as the current gold standard for pathogenicity evaluation. The objectives of this study were to define the prevalence of SAMD9/9L germline mutations in primary pediatric MDS, and to describe the clinical phenotype and outcome. In addition, we aimed to characterize the somatic mutational architecture and develop a functional scoring system. Within the cohort of 548 children and adolescents with primary MDS diagnosed between 1998 and 2016 in Germany, 43 patients (8%) carried SAMD9/9L mutations that were mutually exclusive with GATA2 deficiency and known constitutional bone marrow (BM) failure. MDS type refractory cytopenia of childhood was diagnosed in 91% (39/43), and MDS with excess blasts in 9% (4/43) of mutated cases. Karyotype at diagnosis was normal in 58%, and -7 was detected in 37% of SAMD9/9L cohort. Within MDS subgroup with -7 (n=74), SAMD9/9L mutations accounted for 22% of patients. Notably, the demographics, familial disease, diagnostic blood and BM findings, overall survival (OS) and the outcome after HSCT were not influenced by mutational status in our study cohort (n=548). At the last follow up, 88% (38/43) of SAMD9/9L MDS patients were alive; 35/43 had been transplanted with a 5-year-OS of 85%. Next, we added 26 additional cases with SAMD9/9L mutations diagnosed in Europe within EWOG-MDS studies. In the total cohort of 69 germline mutated patients we found a total of 75 SAMD9/9L mutations, of which 67 were novel. Of those we tested 47 using a HEK293 cell in vitro system and 45/47 mutants inhibited proliferation. While 53/69 patients carried only single germline mutations (missense in 50/53 and truncating in 3/53), in the remaining 16 patients, 11 additional truncating and 7 missense mutations were found. We did not observe an association between germline mutation and phenotype. Immunological issues (e.g. recurring infections, low Ig) were described in 32%/50% of SAMD9/9L-mutated patients, while physical anomalies were very heterogeneous and reported in ~50% of patients in both mutational groups. Intriguingly, genital phenotypes occurred in 40% of SAMD9L, while neurological problems were present in 30% of SAMD9 - mutational subgroups. To elucidate the somatic mutational landscape, we performed whole exome and deep sequencing of 58 SAMD9/9L patients and identified recurrent somatic mutations in known oncogenes that were earlier associated with pediatric MDS: SETBP1 (10%), RUNX1 (7%), ASXL1 (5%), EZH2 (5%), CBL (3%). The identified somatic mutations occurred in association with monosomy 7 background (18/20). Finally, we utilized the results from functional testing of the 47 SAMD9/9L variants as our test cohort to develop combinatorial in silico scoring. The rationale was to decrease the dependency on functional validation. Based on the results of 20 in silico tools we could concatenate a matrix of 5 algorithms to resolve the pathogenicity of >80% of variants. Using this model, all variants predicted as pathogenic showed also growth-restrictive effect in vitro. In summary, pathogenic SAMD9/9L germline mutations account for 8% of primary pediatric MDS and 22% of MDS/-7. The mutations identified are heterogeneous and their effect can be predicted using a combinatorial in silico - in vitro approach. Finally, the clinical outcome and somatic mutational landscape are not influenced by the mutational status. Disclosures Locatelli: Novartis: Consultancy, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Bellicum: Consultancy, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; bluebird bio: Consultancy; Miltenyi: Honoraria; Amgen: Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees. Niemeyer:Celgene: Consultancy, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees.

Childhood myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) account for less than 5% of pediatric hematologic malignancies and differ from their adult counterpart in terms of biology, genetics, and cure rates. Complete (-7) or partial loss (del7q) of chromosome 7 constitutes the most common cytogenetic abnormality and is associated with more advanced disease typically requiring timely hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT). Previously, we and others established a link between -7 and germline GATA2 mutations in pediatric MDS (37% of MDS/-7 cases are GATA2-deficient) as well as constitutional SAMD9/9L disorders where -7 is utilized as an escape mechanism from the growth-restrictive effect of SAMD9/9L mutations. To date, comprehensive sequencing studies have been performed in 96 children with primary MDS, as reported by Pastor et al, Leukemia 2017 and Schwartz et al, Nature Comm 2017. This work established mutations in SETBP1, ASXL1, PTPN11, RUNX1 and RAS pathway genes as common somatic drivers. However, little is known about the clonal development of -7 and the role of additional somatic mutations. The knowledge about clonal hierarchies is essential for the understanding of disease progression on molecular level and for mapping potential drug targets. The rationale for the current study was to i) define the most common somatic drivers in a large cohort of patients with childhood MDS, ii) identify clonal/subclonal mutations, iii) infer clonal architecture of monosomy 7 and track the changes over time. We studied a cohort of 576 children and adolescents with primary MDS diagnosed between 1998 and 2016 in Germany, consisting of 482 (83%) patients with refractory cytopenia of childhood (RCC) and 94 (17%) MDS with excess blasts (EB). All patients underwent deep sequencing for 30 genes relevant to pediatric MDS and additional WES was performed in 150/576 patients. Using 20 computational predictors (including CADD and REVEL), population databases and germline testing, we identified the most likely pathogenic mutations. First, we excluded germline predisposing mutations in GATA2, SAMD9/SAMD9L and RUNX1 detected in 7% (38/576), 8% (43 of 548 evaluable) and 0.7% (4/576) of patients, respectively. Then we focused on the exploration of somatic aberrations. Most common karyotype abnormalities were monosomy 7 (13%, 77/576) and trisomy 8 (3%, 17/576). A total of 104 patients carried somatic mutations, expectedly more prevalent in the MDS-EB group as compared to RCC (56%, 53/94 vs 10.6%, 51/482; pSETBP1>ASXL1; -7>SETBP1>ASXL1>PTPN11; -7>SETBP1>ASXL1>CBL, -7>EZH2>PTPN11). Finally, we tracked clonal evolution over time in 12 cases with 2-12 available serial samples using deep sequencing complemented by serial CFC-analysis. This confirmed that SETBP1 clones are rapidly expanding, while ASXL1 subclones exhibit an unstable pattern with clonal sweeping, while additional minor clones are acquired as late events. In 2 of 11 transplanted patients who experienced relapse, the original clonal architecture reappeared after HSCT. In summary, the hierarchy of clonal evolution in pediatric MDS with -7 follows a defined pattern with -7 aberrations arising as ancestral event followed by the acquisition of somatic hits. SETBP1 mutations are the dominant driver while co-dominant ASXL1 mutations are unstable. The functional interdependence and potential pharmacologic targetability of such somatic lesions warrants further studies. Disclosures Niemeyer: Celgene: Consultancy, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees.

Childhood myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) belong to a rare group of disorders of aberrant clonal hematopoiesis manifesting throughout entire childhood and adolescence. We had previously established that GATA2 germline mutations can be considered the most common "first hit" in pediatric MDS seen in 7% of primary MDS. However the secondary somatic aberrations facilitating leukemogenesis are not elucidated in children. Previous sequencing efforts established that most somatic mutations very frequently encountered in adults, i.e. affecting TET2, DNMT3a, and the spliceosome genes, do not play a role in the pathogenesis of childhood MDS. Here we aim to define the global mutational landscape in childhood MDS using targeted next-generation sequencing (NGS) approaches. We investigated children and adolescents enrolled in the prospective studies of the European Working Group of Childhood MDS. Diverse target enrichment and NGS strategies were established including hybridization capture and Ampliseq PCR, Illumina Miseq/Hiseq and Iontorrent PGM. We first examined a pilot cohort of 68 patients for mutations in 138 myeloid leukemia genes. This allowed for the identification of recurrently mutated genes that were selected to be included in a pediatric MDS panel encompassing 28 genes. Targeted NGS using the Iontorrent PGM identified known recurrent mutations. However, the high indel error rate and coverage gaps in homopolymeric regions i.e. in ASXL1 precluded further studies. Using inhouse-adapted Ampliseq-Miseq approach we then sequenced DNA from bone marrow of 586 MDS patients (469 primary and 117 secondary MDS after radio/chemotherapy or inherited bone marrow failure syndromes) at an average depth exceeding 700 reads per amplicon. Somatic mutations were identified in 22% of primary MDS patients, with 1, 2 and 3 genes affected in 16%, 4.5%, and 1.5% of cases, respectively. In secondary MDS twice as many patients (46%) carried mutations; 1, 2, and 3 genes were concurrently mutated in 32.5%, 9.5%, and 4% of patients, respectively. Longitudinal NGS analyses and single CFU colony sequencing confirmed the presence of multiple somatic clones evolving in a hierarchical manner throughout disease course. Most frequent mutations identified in more than 1% of our study cohort of primary MDS were: SETBP1 (7%), ASXL1 (6%), NRAS/KRAS (5%), RUNX1 (3%), PTPN11 (3%) and BCOR/BCORL (1.5%); and in secondary MDS: RUNX1 (14.5%), TP53 (9%), NRAS/KRAS (8.5%), ASXL1 (8%), SETBP1 (6%), PTPN11 (6%), CBL (5%), BCOR/BCORL1 (3.4%). Other genes mutated at very low frequency of In conclusion, we established and cross-platform validated a targeted NGS-panel for pediatric MDS, allowing to identify clonal mutations at a sensitivity of at least 10%. In this, to our knowledge largest systematicaly studied cohort of children with MDS we show that mutational load and clonal complexity differs between primary and secondary MDS, and maintains specific patterns for monosomy 7. Although the biological significance of these genomic changes is currently not understood, the emerging distinctive patterns may already be helpful in establishing therapeutic subgroups. Disclosures No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.

The emergence of GATA2 deficiency as a germline predisposition to myeloid malignancies raises questions about the nature of acquired secondary genetic and epigenetic events facilitating leukemogenesis. Previously, mutations in ASXL1 were implicated as a possible somatic driver in single cases of GATA2-related MDS. However the landscape of secondary changes had not yet been systematically examined in larger MDS cohorts, and accounting for confounding factors. In this study, we used next-generation genomic platforms to investigate targeted mutational landscape and global epigenetic profiles in patients with GATA2 deficiency. In a large cohort of consecutively diagnosed children with MDS we had initially established that GATA2 deficiency accounts for 7% of primary MDS cases. Exploring the known association between GATA2 mutated (GATA2mut) cases and monosomy 7 (-7), the prevalence of GATA2 deficiency was very high in patients with -7 (37%), reaching its peak in adolescence (>70%). We next tested 60 GATA2-deficient patients with MDS for the presence of secondary mutations using targeted NGS for genes involved in myeloid malignancies. Somatic status was confirmed by matched analysis of fibroblasts, hair follicles or T-cells. Single hematopoietic CFU colonies were sequenced to identify subclonal patterns. For comparison, a GATA2 wildtype (GATA2-WT) cohort of 422 children and adolescents with MDS enrolled in the studies of the European Working Group of Childhood MDS were analyzed by targeted NGS. Somatic mutations were detected in 45% (27/60) of GATA2mut as compared to 19% (82/422) GATA2-WT MDS cases (p In summary, somatic SETBP1 and STAG2 mutations are associated with MDS arising from GATA2 deficiency. The remaining targeted clonal landscape is essentially determined by the presence of monosomy 7. Similarly, the global epigenetic changes correlate with morphological and cytogenetic subgroups, rather than with germline GATA2 status. The prospect of potential drug targetability of mutations frequently found in children, particularly in the SETBP1 oncogene, and in histone modifiers ASXL1 and EZH2, warrants further biological studies. Disclosures No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.