B-cell tumor development in Tet2-deficient mice

The TET2 gene encodes an a-ketoglutarate-dependent dioxygenase able to oxidize 5-methylcytosine into 5-hydroxymethylcytosine, which is a step toward active DNA demethylation. TET2 is frequently mutated in myeloid malignancies but also in B- and T-cell malignancies. TET2 somatic mutations are also identified in healthy elderly individuals with clonal hematopoiesis. Tet2-deficient mouse models showed widespread hematological differentiation abnormalities, including myeloid, T-cell, and B-cell malignancies. We show here that, similar to what is observed with constitutive Tet2-deficient mice, B-cell-specific Tet2 knockout leads to abnormalities in the B1-cell subset and a development of B-cell malignancies after long latency. Aging Tet2-deficient mice accumulate clonal CD19⁺ B220^low immunoglobulin M1 B-cell populations with transplantable ability showing similarities to human chronic lymphocytic leukemia, including CD5 expression and sensitivity to ibrutinib-mediated B-cell receptor (BCR) signaling inhibition. Exome sequencing of Tet2^-/- malignant B cells reveals C-to-T and G-to-A mutations that lie within single-stranded DNA-specific activation-induced deaminase (AID)/APOBEC (apolipoprotein B messenger RNA editing enzyme, catalytic polypeptide-like) cytidine deaminases targeted motif, as confirmed by the lack of a B-cell tumor in compound Tet2-Aicda-deficient mice. Finally, we show that Tet2 deficiency accelerates and exacerbates T-cell leukemia/lymphoma 1A-induced leukemogenesis. Together, our data establish that Tet2 deficiency predisposes to mature B-cell malignancies, which development might be attributed in part to AID-mediated accumulating mutations and BCR-mediated signaling.