STAT5 induces miR-21 expression in cutaneous T cell lymphoma

Lise M. Lindahl, Simon Fredholm, Claudine Vanessa Joseph, Boye Schnack Nielsen, Lars Jønson, Andreas Willerslev-Olsen, Maria Gluud, Edda Blümel, David L. Petersen, Nina Sibbesen, Tengpeng Hu, Claudia Nastasi, Thorbjørn Krejsgaard, Ditte Jæhger, Jenny L. Persson, Nigel Mongan, Mariusz A. Wasik, Ivan V. Litvinov, Denis Sasseville, Sergei B. KoralovCharlotte M. Bonefeld, Carsten Geisler, Anders Woetmann Andersen, Elisabeth Ralfkiaer, Lars Iversen*, Niels Odum

*Corresponding author for this work

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Abstract

In cutaneous T cell lymphomas (CTCL), miR-21 is aberrantly expressed in skin and peripheral blood and displays anti-apoptotic properties in malignant T cells. It is, however, unclear exactly which cells express miR-21 and what mechanisms regulate miR-21. Here, we demonstrate miR-21 expression in situ in both malignant and reactive lymphocytes as well as stromal cells. qRT-PCR analysis of 47 patients with mycosis fungoides (MF) and Sezary Syndrome (SS) confirmed an increased miR- 21 expression that correlated with progressive disease. In cultured malignant T cells miR-21 expression was inhibited by Tofacitinib (CP-690550), a clinical-grade JAK3 inhibitor. Chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP) analysis showed direct binding of STAT5 to the miR-21 promoter. Cytokine starvation ex vivo triggered a decrease in miR-21 expression, whereas IL-2 induced an increased miR-21 expression in primary SS T cells and cultured cytokine-dependent SS cells (SeAx). siRNA-mediated depletion of STAT5 inhibited constitutive- and IL-2- induced miR-21 expression in cytokine- independent and dependent T cell lines, respectively. IL-15 and IL-2 were more potent than IL-21 in inducing miR-21 expression in the cytokine-dependent T cells. In conclusion, we provide first evidence that miR-21 is expressed in situ in CTCL skin lesions, induced by IL-2 and IL-15 cytokines, and is regulated by STAT5 in malignant T cells. Thus, our data provide novel evidence for a pathological role of IL-2Rg cytokines in promoting expression of the oncogenic miR-21 in CTCL.

Original languageEnglish
JournalOncoTarget
Volume7
Issue number29
Pages (from-to)45730-45744
Number of pages15
ISSN1949-2553
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2016

Keywords

  • Cutaneous T-cell lymphoma (CTCL)
  • IL-2
  • In situ
  • miR-21
  • STAT5

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