TBL1XR1 Mutations in Primary Marginal Zone Lymphomas of Ocular Adnexa are Associated with Unique Morphometric...

Extranodal marginal zone B-cell lymphoma (EMZL) of mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue (MALT) that affects the ocular adnexa, also known as ocular adnexal MALT lymphomas (OAML), are low-grade lymphomas that mostly affect elderly individuals. This study was conducted to explore the genetic and microbial drivers of OMAL, and unique morphometric phenotypes associated with these mutations and infections.

In this study, we performed targeted deep sequencing of 8 OAML cases to identify its potential genetic and microbial drivers. We additionally performed computational digital image analysis of cases to determine if morphologic features corresponded to genetic mutations and disease biology.

We identified TBL1XR1 as recurrently mutated in OAML (4/8), and mutations in several other oncogenes, tumor suppressors, transcription regulators, and chromatin remodeling genes. Morphologically, OAML cases with mutations in TBL1XR1 showed lymphoma cells with significantly lower circularity and solidity by computational digital image analysis (p-value <0.0001). Additionally, cases of OAML with mutations in TBL1XR1 showed equivalent or increased vascular density compared to cases without mutations in TBL1XR1. Finally, we did not find any infectious microbial organisms associated with OAML.

Our study showed recurrent mutations in TBL1XR1 are associated with unique morphometric phenotypes in OMAL cases. Additionally, mutations in genes associated with the methylation status of histone 3, nuclear factor (NF)-κB pathway, and NOTCH pathway were enriched in OMAL cases. Our findings have biologic and clinical implications as mutations in TBL1XR1 and other genes have the potential to be used as markers for the diagnosis of OAML, and also demonstrate a specific biologic phenotypic manifestation of TBL1XR1 mutations.