Fusion of the genes EWSR1 and PBX3 in retroperitoneal leiomyoma with t(9;22)(q33;q12)

PLoS One. 2015 Apr 14;10(4):e0124288. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0124288. eCollection 2015.

Abstract

Retroperitoneal leiomyoma is a rare benign smooth muscle tumor almost exclusively found in women and with histopathological features similar to uterine leiomyomas. The pathogenesis of retroperitoneal leiomyoma is unclear and next to nothing is known about the cytogenetics and molecular genetics of the tumor. We present here a retroperitoneal leiomyoma with a t(9;22)(q33;q12) as the sole karyotypic aberration. The translocation resulted in an EWSR1-PBX3 fusion gene in which exon 9 of EWSR1 (nucleotide 1320 accession number NM_013986 version 3) was in-frame fused to exon 5 of PBX3 (nucleotide 824 accession number NM_006195 version 5). The EWSR1-PBX3 fusion transcript codes for a 529 amino acids long chimeric EWSR1-PBX3 protein which contains the N-terminal transactivation part of EWSR1 and the homeodomain of PBX3. The present study, together with our previous finding of a retroperitoneal leiomyoma with t(10;17)(q22;q21) as the sole karyotypic aberration and a KAT6B-KANSL1 fusion gene, indicates that retroperitoneal leiomyomas may be characterized by fusion genes coding for chimeric proteins. However, cytogenetic and molecular heterogeneity exists in these tumors and it is too early to tell how many and which different pathways lead to retroperitoneal leiomyomagenesis.

Publication types

  • Case Reports
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Base Sequence
  • Calmodulin-Binding Proteins / genetics*
  • Chromosomes, Human, Pair 22
  • Chromosomes, Human, Pair 9
  • Female
  • Homeodomain Proteins / genetics*
  • Humans
  • In Situ Hybridization, Fluorescence
  • Karyotyping
  • Leiomyoma / genetics*
  • Leiomyoma / pathology
  • Molecular Sequence Data
  • Oncogene Proteins, Fusion / genetics*
  • Proto-Oncogene Proteins / genetics*
  • RNA-Binding Protein EWS
  • RNA-Binding Proteins / genetics*
  • Translocation, Genetic*

Substances

  • Calmodulin-Binding Proteins
  • EWSR1 protein, human
  • Homeodomain Proteins
  • Oncogene Proteins, Fusion
  • Proto-Oncogene Proteins
  • RNA-Binding Protein EWS
  • RNA-Binding Proteins
  • proto-oncogene protein Pbx3

Grants and funding

This study was supported by grants from the Norwegian Cancer Society and the Norwegian Radium Hospital Foundation. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.