Key Points
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The heterodimeric transcription factor core-binding factors (CBFs) are comprised of the RUNX1 (also known as AML1, CBFA2 and PEBP2αB) and CBFβ subunits.
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The RUNX1 subunit directly contacts DNA, and binding affinity for DNA is significantly increased by association with CBFβ, which does not contact DNA.
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CBFs are involved in haematopoietic development. Knock-out mice indicate that both subunits of CBF are absolutely required for definitive haematopoiesis.
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Correct CBF gene dosage is important during haematopoietic development. Subtle changes in the dosage of Runx1 can significantly affect the timing of stem-cell emergence and the number of committed progenitors, and cause alterations in T-cell development. Haploinsufficiency can contribute to inherited leukaemia syndromes, and some leukaemias seem to have amplification of the RUNX1 locus.
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Chromosomal translocations target CBFs in human leukaemias. These include the RUNX1–ETO, CBFB–SMMHC and TEL–RUNX1 fusion genes. Biochemical and developmental studies indicate that these all encode dominant inhibitors of the native CBF complex (RUNX1–ETO, CBFβ–SMMHC and TEL–RUNX1), through recruitment of the nuclear corepressor complex.
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These fusion genes contribute to the pathogenesis of leukaemia. Their expression seems to impair normal haematopoietic development, but is not sufficient to cause leukaemia. A two-hit model of disease pathogenesis for CBF leukaemias is presented.
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CBF fusions, in general, confer a favourable prognosis in patients with leukaemia, although there is debate about the prognostic significance of the TEL–RUNX1 fusion in paediatric acute lymphoblastic leukaemia.
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Therapeutic strategies for targeting CBF in leukaemia could include the use of histone-deacetylase inhibitors to disrupt the nuclear corepressor function that is mediated by the CBF fusions.
Abstract
Core-binding factors (CBFs) are a class of haematopoietic transcription factors that are crucial for the regulation of haematopoietic ontogeny, and are frequent targets of mutation and gene rearrangement in human leukaemia. So, what are the functions of CBFs during development, and what are the functional consequences of CBF mutations in leukaemia? Synergy between these convergent lines of enquiry has furthered our understanding of both normal and malignant haematopoiesis.
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Glossary
- POLYOMAVIRUS
-
A papovavirus of rodents that is associated with various kinds of tumour.
- ENHANCER
-
A regulatory sequence in eukaryotic DNA that might be located at a great distance, either upstream or downstream, from the transcriptional start site of the gene that it controls.
- PHENOCOPY
-
A genotypic variant that resembles the normal expression of a genotype other than its own.
- PARA-AORTIC SPLANCHNOPLEURE
-
(PAS). A layer of tissue near the aorta that consists of the inner of the two layers into which the lateral plate of the mesoderm splits in the embryo of a crainate vertebrate, together with the endoderm internal to it, and which forms most of the walls and substance of the visceral organs.
- VITELLINE ARTERY
-
Also known as the omphalomesenteric artery. An artery that arises in a vertebrate embryo from the aorta or one of the aortic trunks of the embryo, and is distributed by numerous branches over the yolk sac.
- UMBILICAL ARTERY
-
Either of a pair of arteries that arise from the hypogastric arteries of the mammalian fetus and pass through the umbilical cord to the placenta, to which they carry deoxygenated blood from the fetus.
- AORTA/GONAD/MESONEPHROS
-
(AGM). The site of the developing aorta, gonads and renal organs; a site of early haematopoietic development.
- THROMBOCYTOPENIA
-
A persistent decrease in the number of platelets.
- FLUORESCENCE IN SITU HYBRIDIZATION
-
(FISH). A generalized technique for visualizing cellular components, including chromosomes, by treating cells with a fluorescently labelled agent that binds to the component of interest, and observing the cells with fluorescence microscopy. In this context, fluorescent DNA probes for the RUNX1 locus might be used to detect the t(12;21)(p13;q22) TEL–RUNX1 translocation, as well as amplification of the locus.
- BLAST CRISIS
-
Chronic myelogenous leukaemia (CML) is a chronic myeloproliferative syndrome that progresses to acute leukaemia with the acquisition of additional mutations. Acute leukaemia in this context is referred to as 'blast crisis', and is almost invariably a fatal complication of CML.
- GUTHRIE CARD
-
A card onto which a small sample of blood is collected in all neonates of developed countries to screen for metabolic and inherited disease. Originally used for the 'Guthrie test' for phenylketonuria. The cards contain small amounts of DNA from leukocytes that are present in the blood sample, and can be screened for mutations by polymerase-chain-reaction-based strategies.
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Speck, N., Gilliland, D. Core-binding factors in haematopoiesis and leukaemia. Nat Rev Cancer 2, 502–513 (2002). https://doi.org/10.1038/nrc840
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/nrc840