Oncogenesis induced by combined Phf6 and Idh2 mutations through increased oncometabolites and impaired DNA repair

The pathogenesis of acute leukemia involves interaction among genetic alterations. Mutations of IDH1/2 and PHF6 are common and co-exist in some patients of hematopoietic malignancies, but their cooperative effects remain unexplored. In this study, we addressed the question by characterizing the hematopoietic phenotypes of mice harboring neither, Phf6 knockout, Idh2 R172K, or combined mutations. We found that the combined Phf6^KOIdh2^R172K mice showed biased hematopoietic differentiation toward myeloid lineages and reduced long-term hematopoietic stem cells. They rapidly developed neoplasms of myeloid and lymphoid lineages, with much shorter survival compared with single mutated and wild-type mice. The marrow and spleen cells of the combined mutated mice produced a drastically increased amount of 2-hydroxyglutarate compared with mice harboring Idh2 R172K. Single-cell RNA sequencing revealed distinct patterns of transcriptome of the hematopoietic stem/progenitor cells from the combined mutated mice, including aberrant expression of metabolic enzymes, increased expression of several oncogenes, and impairment of DNA repairs, as confirmed by the enhanced γH2AX expression in the marrow and spleen cells. We conclude that Idh2 and Phf6 mutations are synergistic in leukemogenesis, at least through overproduction of 2-hydroxyglutarate and impairment of DNA repairs.