Identification of Cell Type-Specific Effects of DNMT3A Mutations on Relapse in Acute Myeloid Leukemia

Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is a heterogeneous disease caused by distinctive mutations in individual patients; therefore, each patient may display different cell-type compositions. Although most patients with AML achieve complete remission (CR) through intensive chemotherapy, the likelihood of relapse remains high. Several studies have attempted to characterize the genetic and cellular heterogeneity of AML; however, our understanding of the cellular heterogeneity of AML remains limited. In this study, we performed single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNAseq) of bone marrow-derived mononuclear cells obtained from same patients at different AML stages (diagnosis, CR, and relapse). We found that hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) at diagnosis were abnormal compared to normal HSCs. By improving the detection of the DNMT3A R882 mutation with targeted scRNAseq, we identified that DNMT3A-mutant cells that mainly remained were granulocyte-monocyte progenitors (GMPs) or lymphoid-primed multipotential progenitors (LMPPs) from CR to relapse and that DNMT3A-mutant cells have gene signatures related to AML and leukemic cells. Copy number variation analysis at the single-cell level indicated that the cell type that possesses DNMT3A mutations is an important factor in AML relapse and that GMP and LMPP cells can affect relapse in patients with AML. This study advances our understanding of the role of DNMT3A in AML relapse and our approach can be applied to predict treatment outcomes.