TGIF1 is a negative regulator of MLL-rearranged acute myeloid leukemia

The aim of the study was to investigate the role of TGIF1 in MLL-AF9 transformed cells Members of the TALE (Three-amino acid loop extension) family of atypical homeodomain-containing transcription factors are prominent downstream effectors of oncogenic fusion proteins generated from translocations involving the mixed lineage leukemia (MLL) gene. A particular well-characterized member of this protein family is MEIS1, which together with HOXA proteins, orchestrates a transcriptional program required for the maintenance of MLL-rearranged acute myeloid leukemia (AML). Although TALE family proteins are mainly described as transcriptional activators TGIF1 (TGF-β induced factor) / TGIF2 are considered as transcriptional repressors. However, as their function in MLL-rearranged AML is largely unknown, we tested the potential importance of TGIF1 in the maintenance of MLL-rearranged AML. We find that expression of TGIF1 in MLL-AF9 transformed cells (MAF9) leads to cell cycle exit and differentiation in vitro and delayed leukemic onset in vivo. In accordance, MLL-rearranged patient blasts display lower levels of TGIF1 and TGIF1 expression in general correlates positively with survival. Mechanistically, we show that TGIF1 interferes with a MEIS1-dependent transcriptional program by associating to MEIS1-bound region in a competitive manner. Collectively, these findings demonstrate that TALE family members can act both positively and negatively on transcriptional programs responsible for the maintenance of MLL-rearranged AML. We GFP-sorted MLL-AF9 transformed cells transduced with pMIG or pMIG-TGIF1