GENE-50. SWI/SNF COMPLEX HETEROGENEITY RELATES WITH POLYPHENOTYPIC DIFFERENTIATION, PROGNOSIS AND IMMUNE RESPONSE IN RHABDOID TUMORS. (11th November 2019) - Venneti, Sriram
Abstract: PURPOSE: Rhabdoid tumors (RTs) arise within (Atypical Teratoid/Rhabdoid Tumor-AT/RT) or outside the brain (extraCNS-RT-eCNS-RT) and are driven mainly by inactivation of the SWI/SNF complex subunit SMARCB1. A pathognomonic hallmark of RTs is heterogeneity characterized by multilineage differentiation of tumor cells including anomalous neuronal differentiation in a subset of eCNS-RT. The mechanisms that regulate heterogeneity in RTs are unknown. Because remodeling of the SWI/SNF complex regulates differentiation, we hypothesized that SWI/SNF-BAF and PBAF complex heterogeneity correlates with both multilineage differentiation and clinical outcome. EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN: We performed an integrated analysis of SWI/SNF complex subunit alterations in the developing kidney and cerebellum (most common regions of origin for RT) in comparison to eCNS-RT (n=14) and AT/RT (n=25) tumors. RT samples were interrogated using immunohistochemistry, DNA methylation and gene expression analyses. RESULTS: (A) The SWI/SNF-BAF paralogs ACTL6A/ACTL6B were expressed in a mutually exclusive manner in the developing cerebellum and kidney. In contrast, a subset of eCNS-RTs lost mutual exclusivity and co-expressed both subunits. These tumors showed aberrant DNA methylation of genes that regulate neuronal and renal development and demonstrated immunohistochemical evidence of neuronal differentiation. (B) Low expression of the PBAF subunit-PBRM1 identified a group of AT/RTs in younger children with better overall prognosis. PBRM1-low AT/RT and eCNS-RTs showed altered DNA methylation and gene expression in immune-related genes accompanied by increased CD8 cytotoxic T-cell infiltration. CONCLUSIONS: Heterogeneity in SWI/SNF BAF (ACTL6A/ACTL6B) and PBAF (PBRM1) subunits correlates with histogenesis, contributes to the immune microenvironment and prognosis in RTs and may inform opportunities to develop immunotherapies.