A20 IN MARGINAL ZONE LYMPHOMAS. Homo sapiens

Unique and shared cytogenetic abnormalities have been documented for marginal zone lymphomas (MZLs) arising at different sites. Recently, homozygous deletions of the chromosomal band 6q23, involving the tumor necrosis factor alpha-induced protein 3 (TNFAIP3, A20) gene, a negative regulator of NF-kappa B, were described in ocular adnexal MZL, suggesting a role for A20 as a tumor suppressor in this disease entity. Here, we investigated inactivation of A20 by DNA mutations or deletions in a panel of extranodal (EMZL), nodal (NMZL) and splenic (SMZL) MZLs. Inactivating mutations encoding truncated A20 proteins were identified in 6/32 (18.8%) MZLs, including 3/11 (27.3%) EMZLs, 2/9 (22.2%) NMZLs, and 1/12 (8.3%) SMZLs. Two additional unmutated non-splenic MZLs also showed mono- or biallelic A20 deletions by FISH and/or array-CGH. Thus, A20 loss by both somatic mutations and/or deletions represents a common genetic aberration across all MZL subtypes, which may contribute to lymphomagenesis by inducing constitutive NF-kappa B activation. Keywords: Genome variation profiling by SNP array Overall design: 27 MZL samples. No technical replications.