In conclusion, we suggest screening for GATA2 mutations in pediatric myelodysplastic syndrome, preferentially in patients with impaired B-cell homeostasis in bone marrow and peripheral blood (low number of progenitors, intronRSS-Kde recombination excision circles and naïve cells).
Although often healthy in childhood, carriers of defective GATA2 alleles develop progressive loss of mononuclear cells (dendritic cells, monocytes, B and Natural Killer lymphocytes), elevated FLT3 ligand, and a 90% risk of clinical complications, including progression to myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) by 60 years of age.
Genetic predispositions to myeloid malignancies can be classified into three categories: familial cancer syndromes associated with increased risk of various malignancies including myelodysplasia and acute myeloid leukemia such as Li-Fraumeni syndrome and constitutional mismatch repair deficiency (CMMRD); germline mutations conferring a specific increased risk of myelodysplastic syndrome and acute myeloid leukemia such as mutations in ANKRD26, CEBPA, DDX41, ETV6, GATA2, RUNX1, SRP72 genes; and finally primarily pediatric inherited bone marrow failure syndromes such as Fanconi anemia, dyskeratosis congenita, severe congenital neutropenia, Shwachman-Diamond syndrome and Diamond Blackfan anemia.
Various heteroallelic GATA2 gene mutations are associated with a variety of hematological neoplasms, including myelodysplastic syndromes and leukemias.
To identify acquired somatic mutations associated with myeloid transformation in patients with GATA2 mutations, we sequenced the region of the ASXL1 gene previously associated with transformation from myelodysplasia to myeloid leukemia.
Here, we describe a previously unreported MDS family carrying a missense GATA2 mutation (p.Thr354Met), one patient with MDS/AML carrying a frameshift GATA2 mutation (p.Leu332Thrfs*53), another with MDS harboring a GATA2 splice site mutation, and 3 patients exhibiting MDS or MDS/AML who have large deletions encompassing the GATA2 locus.
In summary, genetic characterization was shown in 10 (four GATA2, three TERT, two TERC, one RUNX1) of these families; however 17 remain uncharacterized, highlighting marked genetic heterogeneity in familial MDS/AML and the scope for further functional pathways that could give rise to this group of disorders.
Germline GATA2 mutations accounted for 15% of advanced and 7% of all primary MDS cases, but were absent in children with MDS secondary to therapy or acquired aplastic anemia.
Patients with GATA2 mutation maintained higher hemoglobin, neutrophils, and platelets and were younger than controls with acquired MDS and wild-type GATA2.
We found the same, previously unidentified heterozygous c.1061C>T (p.Thr354Met) missense mutation in the GATA2 transcription factor gene segregating with the multigenerational transmission of MDS-AML in three families and a GATA2c.1063_1065delACA (p.Thr355del) mutation at an adjacent codon in a fourth MDS family.
Referral reasons included (1) bone marrow failure or myelodysplastic syndrome in patients ≤ 50 years, (2) evaluation for germ-line inheritance of identified RUNX1, GATA2, or CEBPA mutations on targeted next-generation sequencing panels, and (3) strong personal and/or family history of malignancy.
GATA2 mutations are associated with several conditions, including Emberger syndrome which is the association of primary lymphedema with hematological anomalies and an increased risk for myelodysplasia and leukemia.
We report a case of Emberger syndrome with GATA2 mutation in a 9-year-old girl who presented with congenital sensorineural deafness, warts, lymphedema, and Myelodysplastic syndrome.
We found the same, previously unidentified heterozygous c.1061C>T (p.Thr354Met) missense mutation in the GATA2 transcription factor gene segregating with the multigenerational transmission of MDS-AML in three families and a GATA2 c.1063_1065delACA (p.Thr355del) mutation at an adjacent codon in a fourth MDS family.
A case study is presented of a 33-year-old man with recurrent infections and MDS and his two sons, all of whom were found to have the same GATA2 mutation.
The GATA2 protein has been shown to be vital for proliferation and maintenance of hematopoietic stem cells; mutations result in variable phenotypes including myelodysplastic syndrome.
Thus, we conducted whole-genome sequencing on a patient with a germline GATA-2 heterozygous mutation (c. 988 C > T; p. R330X), who had a history suggestive of immunodeficiency and evolved into MDS/AML.