RNA sequencing of bone marrow CD34+ cells from myelodysplastic syndrome patients with and without SF3B1 mutation and from healthy controls

The splicing factor SF3B1 is the most commonly mutated gene in the myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS), particularly in patients with refractory anemia with ring sideroblasts (RARS). MDS is a disorder of the hematopoietic stem cell and we thus studied the transcriptome of CD34+ cells from MDS patients with SF3B1 mutations using RNA-sequencing. Genes significantly differentially expressed at the transcript and/or exon level in SF3B1 mutant compared to wildtype cases include genes involved in MDS pathogenesis (ASXL1, CBL), iron homeostasis and mitochondrial metabolism (ALAS2, ABCB7, SLC25A37) and RNA splicing/processing (PRPF8, HNRNPD). Many genes regulated by a DNA damage-induced BRCA1-BCLAF1-SF3B1 protein complex showed differential expression/splicing in SF3B1 mutant cases. Our data indicate that SF3B1 plays a critical role in MDS by affecting the expression and splicing of genes involved in specific cellular processes/pathways, many of which are relevant to the known RARS pathophysiology, suggesting a causal link.