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Relationship: 1330

Title

A descriptive phrase which clearly defines the two KEs being considered and the sequential relationship between them (i.e., which is upstream, and which is downstream). More help

Binding, topoisomerase II leads to MLL translocation

Upstream event
The causing Key Event (KE) in a Key Event Relationship (KER). More help
Downstream event
The responding Key Event (KE) in a Key Event Relationship (KER). More help

Key Event Relationship Overview

The utility of AOPs for regulatory application is defined, to a large extent, by the confidence and precision with which they facilitate extrapolation of data measured at low levels of biological organisation to predicted outcomes at higher levels of organisation and the extent to which they can link biological effect measurements to their specific causes.Within the AOP framework, the predictive relationships that facilitate extrapolation are represented by the KERs. Consequently, the overall WoE for an AOP is a reflection in part, of the level of confidence in the underlying series of KERs it encompasses. Therefore, describing the KERs in an AOP involves assembling and organising the types of information and evidence that defines the scientific basis for inferring the probable change in, or state of, a downstream KE from the known or measured state of an upstream KE. More help

AOPs Referencing Relationship

Taxonomic Applicability

Latin or common names of a species or broader taxonomic grouping (e.g., class, order, family) that help to define the biological applicability domain of the KER.In general, this will be dictated by the more restrictive of the two KEs being linked together by the KER.  More help
Term Scientific Term Evidence Link
mammals mammals High NCBI

Sex Applicability

An indication of the the relevant sex for this KER. More help
Sex Evidence
Mixed High

Life Stage Applicability

An indication of the the relevant life stage(s) for this KER.  More help
Term Evidence
Embryo High

Key Event Relationship Description

Provides a concise overview of the information given below as well as addressing details that aren’t inherent in the description of the KEs themselves. More help

Certain TopoII poisons stabilize the intermediate cleavage complex and prevent the religation with appropriate DNA strands. Covalently DNA end-bound TopoII protein is digested and a hanging end is created. The same process happens in the translocation partner gene. Hanging ends of both genes are processed and subsequently joined by non-homologous end joining (Cowell and Austin 2012). There is evidence that this inappropriate joining of ‘hanging ends’ happens in the same transcriptional factory (hub), and the result is a fusion gene and ultimately protein product (Cowell & Austin 2012; Pendleton et al 2014; Sanjuan-Pla et al 2015). The first part of this description has not been shown in the putative target cell, which is still not unequivocally identified, but for the second part there is ample evidence of formation of MLL-AF4 fusion product that has been a result of a very early chromosomal translocation and rejoining. It is of interest that the simultaneously induced specific DSBs in the MLL gene and two different translocation partners (AF4 and AF9) by engineered nucleases in human HSPCs resulted in specific ‘patient-like’ chromosomal translocations (Breese et al 2016). For the scope of this AOP , this KE relationship should occur in-utero.

Evidence Collection Strategy

Include a description of the approach for identification and assembly of the evidence base for the KER. For evidence identification, include, for example, a description of the sources and dates of information consulted including expert knowledge, databases searched and associated search terms/strings.  Include also a description of study screening criteria and methodology, study quality assessment considerations, the data extraction strategy and links to any repositories/databases of relevant references.Tabular summaries and links to relevant supporting documentation are encouraged, wherever possible. More help

Evidence Supporting this KER

Addresses the scientific evidence supporting KERs in an AOP setting the stage for overall assessment of the AOP. More help

Evidence supporting the causal relationship between etoposide-induced TopoII inhibition and the MLL rearrangement leading to the fusion gene is strong regarding treatment-related acute leukaemia (*Cowell and Austin 2012; *Pendleton et al 2014). The bioflavonoid-rich diet in pregnant women has been suggested to initiate infant leukaemia by an analogous causality between in utero inhibition of TopoII enzymes and creation of the fusion gene. However, there is no direct evidence in humans and it is also difficult or impossible to study. Power of epidemiological studies is relatively weak in the case of a very rare disease and case-control or spatiotemporal cluster studies have  barely suggested a causal relationship between exposures and disease. Although the empirical support for the chemical stressor etoposide and the metabolite etoposide quinone should be considered strong, this still remains a limitation for the overall strenght of the weight of evidence for the empirical support. However, the biological plausibility linking topoII poisons to MLL rearrangements, when occuring in-utero in the appropiate cell population ie. prehematopoietic stem cell is strong, making the overall weight of evidence as strong. considered strong.

Biological Plausibility
Addresses the biological rationale for a connection between KEupstream and KEdownstream.  This field can also incorporate additional mechanistic details that help inform the relationship between KEs, this is useful when it is not practical/pragmatic to represent these details as separate KEs due to the difficulty or relative infrequency with which it is likely to be measured.   More help

The KER as such is biologically plausible and strong . Type II topoisomerases are ubiquitous enzymes which are essential for a number of fundamental DNA processes. As they generate DNA strand breaks, they can potentially fragment the genome. Indeed, while these enzymes are essential for the survival of proliferating cells they can also have significant genotoxic effects by means of accumulation of DNA strand breaks that, if not resulting in cell death may lead to chromosomal translocation in the surviving cell population (McClendon et al. 2007).  DNA breaks and MLL rearrangements by etoposide and bioflavonoids have been demonstrated in human fetal liver haematopoietic stem cells, in human embryonic stem cells and in human prehaematopoietic mesenchymal stem cells as well as in cord blood mononuclear cells (Ishii et al 2002; Blanco et al 2004; Moneypenny et al 2006; Bueno et al 2009; Menendez et al 2009), which clearly shows that TopoII-associated MLL rearrangements are produced in appropriate human cells in utero.  

Uncertainties and Inconsistencies
Addresses inconsistencies or uncertainties in the relationship including the identification of experimental details that may explain apparent deviations from the expected patterns of concordance. More help

·         A prerequisite for the specific outcome, i.e. creation of chromosomal rearrangement, is that TopoII inhibition has to occur in an especially vulnerable and correct hot spot in the MLL locus; however, details of this process and how it happens are not clear.

·         A target cell, i.e. leukaemia-initiating cell, has not been identified with sufficient confidence and consequently there is no target cell model to recapitulate the linkage between TopoII inhibition (‘poisoning’) and the production of DSB in an appropriate target. Recently, by the expression of engineered nucleases (TALENs) to induce simultaneous patient specific double strand breaks in the MLL gene and two different known translocation partners (AF4 and AF9), Breese et al (2015) were able to produce specific chromosomal translocations in K562 cells and in primary HSPCs.

·         In-utero etoposide-treatment failed to induce leukaemogenesis (Nanya et al 2015). Consequently, the envisaged linkage has not been empirically supported or rejected. However, it should be kept in mind that, whereas etoposide does induce a large number of MLL rearrangements, most of them occur within non-coding regions, therefore not eliciting any direct oncogenic consequence. A  MLL-AF4 in frame fusion is a rare event that needs to occur in a target cell within a relatively small and spatially restricted cell population during the appropriate, epigenetically plastic, developmental window; thus it may be difficult to empirically support this process.

·         Dose-response relationships between etoposide and treatment-related leukaemia are difficult to unravel, but risk of leukaemia seems to increase with larger total exposure to etoposide. However, comparison of exposures or kinetics of etoposide between leukaemia patients and non-leukemic treated subjects did not reveal any significant differences (Relling et al 1998). Also, it is not known whether the etoposide (or metabolite) concentrations during the treatment are of significance. In child and adult chemotherapy, concentrations are extremely variable between individuals; the lowest through plasma concentrations of etoposide have been of the order of 1 µM and peak concentrations very much higher. For example, in a study of Relling et al (1998), the maximum plasma concentration of etoposide was about 90 µM and that of etoposide catechol about 100-times less, below 1 µM. In another high dose chemotherapy study (Stremetzne et al 1997), the etoposide concentration was 170 µM and that of the catechol metabolite 5.8 µM maximally. However, it is not straightforward to juxtapose plasma concentrations and the tissue or cell concentration which TopoII enzyme ’sees’. Penetration of etoposide or its metabolite through plasma membrane is probably rather slow and it has been shown that the brain cancer tissue (metastasis or glioma) to plasma ratio for etoposide is only 0.1 (Pitz et al 2011). Blood-brain barrier is not necessarily a good model for cross-membrane distribution, but may give some idea about the general distributional behaviour of a drug. Even if the active target concentration of etoposide is only 10 % of the plasma concentration, it is still in the same range as the effective concentrations in cellular studies (see above). A final note on relevant concentrations: etoposide concentrations resulting in DSB and fusion gene are probably within a relatively restricted range. The concentration resulting in a proper fusion gene should be in a range which gives rise to a partially repaired insult and cells bypassing death and accumulating the abnormality.  

Known modulating factors

This table captures specific information on the MF, its properties, how it affects the KER and respective references.1.) What is the modulating factor? Name the factor for which solid evidence exists that it influences this KER. Examples: age, sex, genotype, diet 2.) Details of this modulating factor. Specify which features of this MF are relevant for this KER. Examples: a specific age range or a specific biological age (defined by...); a specific gene mutation or variant, a specific nutrient (deficit or surplus); a sex-specific homone; a certain threshold value (e.g. serum levels of a chemical above...) 3.) Description of how this modulating factor affects this KER. Describe the provable modification of the KER (also quantitatively, if known). Examples: increase or decrease of the magnitude of effect (by a factor of...); change of the time-course of the effect (onset delay by...); alteration of the probability of the effect; increase or decrease of the sensitivity of the downstream effect (by a factor of...) 4.) Provision of supporting scientific evidence for an effect of this MF on this KER. Give a list of references.  More help
Response-response Relationship
Provides sources of data that define the response-response relationships between the KEs.  More help
Time-scale
Information regarding the approximate time-scale of the changes in KEdownstream relative to changes in KEupstream (i.e., do effects on KEdownstream lag those on KEupstream by seconds, minutes, hours, or days?). More help
Known Feedforward/Feedback loops influencing this KER
Define whether there are known positive or negative feedback mechanisms involved and what is understood about their time-course and homeostatic limits. More help

Domain of Applicability

A free-text section of the KER description that the developers can use to explain their rationale for the taxonomic, life stage, or sex applicability structured terms. More help

DNA topoisomerases are ubiquitous enzymes, which control the integrity of double-stranded DNA. They are thus key enzymes at all levels of living organisms. The available evidence suggest that important differences in sensitivity to topoisomerase inhibition  might exist among different cell types, depending on the amount of proliferative burden, of the TopoII enzymes and on physiological repair processes. Mesodermal precursor or hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells (HSPCs) are rapidly dividing cells with a high content of TopoII and for these reasons they can be a sensitive target during a critical developmental window (Hernandez and Menendez 2016).  In addition, evidence from micronuclei assay studies conducted in untreated and chemical-treated foetuses and newborns show that both the baseline and chemically induced micronuclei frequencies are higher in the foetuses and infants than in adults (Udroiu et al 2016). This is possibly indicating a greater sensitivity to genotoxic insult during development which can be due to the higher proliferation rate and lower ability of DNA repair of the hematopoietic stem cells. However, the role that the different microenvironments (foetal liver, infant bone marrow and adult bone marrow) during ontogenesis can exert on cell sensitivity cannot be ruled out (Udroiu et al. 2016). The existence of relevant interspecies differences is unknown, but it cannot be ruled out presently.

References

List of the literature that was cited for this KER description. More help

Blanco JG, Edick MJ, Relling MV. Etoposide induces chimeric Mll gene fusions. FEDERATION OF AMERICAN SOCIETIES FOR EXPERIMENTAL BIOLOGY (FASEB) 2004; 18(1):173–5. doi: 10.1096/fj.03-0638fje

Breese EH, Buechele C, Dawson C, Cleary ML, Porteus MH. Use of Genome Engineering to Create Patient Specific MLL Translocations in Primary Human Hematopoietic Stem and Progenitor Cells. Public Library of Science (PLoS ONE) 2015 Sep 9;10(9):e0136644. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0136644.

Buechele C, Breese EH, Schneidawind D, Lin CH, Jeong J, Duque-Afonso J, Wong SH, Smith KS, Negrin RS, Porteus M, Cleary ML. MLL leukemia induction by genome editing of human CD34+ hematopoietic cells. Blood 2015 Oct 1;126(14):1683-1694. doi: 10.1182/blood-2015-05-646398.

Chen W, Li Q, Hudson WA, Kumar A, Kirchhof N, Kersey JH. A murine Mll-AF4 knock-in model results in lymphoid and myeloid deregulation and hematologic malignancy. Blood Journal 2006; 108(2):669–77. doi: 10.1182/blood-2005-08-3498

Ishii E, Eguchi M, Eguchi-Ishimae M, Yoshida N, Oda M, Zaitsu M, et al. In vitro cleavage of the MLL gene by topoisomerase II inhibitor (etoposide) in normal cord and peripheral blood mononuclear cells. International journal of hematology. 2002; 76(1):74–9.

Li Z, Sun B, Clewell RA, Adeleye Y, Andersen ME, Zhang Q. Dose-response modeling of etoposide-induced DNA damage response. Toxicological Sciences 2014 Feb;137(2):371-84. doi: 10.1093/toxsci/kft259.

Libura J, Slater DJ, Felix CA, Richardson C. Therapy-related acute myeloid leukemia-like MLL rearrangements are induced by etoposide in primary human CD34+ cells and remain stable after clonal expansion. Blood Journal 2005; 105(5):2124–31. doi: 10.1182/blood-2004-07-2683

Libura J, Ward M, Solecka J, Richardson C. Etoposide-initiated MLL rearrangements detected at high frequency in human primitive hematopoietic stem cells with in vitro and in vivo long-term repopulating potential. European Journal of Haematology 2008; 81(3):185–95. doi: 10.1111/j.1600-0609.2008.01103.x

McClendon AK, Osheroff N. DNA Topoisomerase II, Genotoxicity and Cancer. Mutation Research 2007; 623 (1-2): 83-97.

Moneypenny CG, Shao J, Song Y, Gallagher EP. MLL rearrangements are induced by low doses of etoposide in human fetal hematopoietic stem cells. Carcinogenesis. 2006; 27(4):874–81. Epub 2005/12/27. doi: 10.1093/carcin/bgi322

Montecucco A, Zanetta F, Biamonti G. Molecular mechanisms of etoposide. JOURNAL OF EXPERIMENTAL AND CLINICAL SCIENCES. 2015 Jan 19;14:95-108. doi: 10.17179/Journal - Experimental and Clinical Sciences (EXCLI)2015-561.

Nanya M, Sato M, Tanimoto K, Tozuka M, Mizutani S, Takagi M. Dysregulation of the DNA Damage Response and KMT2A Rearrangement in Fetal Liver Hematopoietic Cells. Public Library of Science (PLoS ONE). 2015 Dec 11;10(12):e0144540. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0144540.

Pitz MW, Desai A, Grossman SA, Blakeley JO. Tissue concentration of systemically administered antineoplastic agents in human brain tumors. Journal of Neuro-Oncology 2011 Sep;104(3):629-38. doi: 10.1007/s11060-011-0564-y.

Relling MV, Yanishevski Y, Nemec J, Evans WE, Boyett JM, Behm FG, Pui CH.Etoposide and antimetabolite pharmacology in patients who develop secondary acute myeloid leukemia. Leukemia. 1998 Mar;12(3):346-52.

Stremetzne S, Jaehde U, Kasper R, Beyer J, Siegert W, Schunack W. Considerable plasma levels of a cytotoxic etoposide metabolite in patients undergoing high-dose chemotherapy. European Journal of Cancer 1997 May;33(6):978-9.