Novel MYBL1 gene rearrangements with recurrent MYBL1-NFIB fusions in salivary adenoid cystic carcinomas lacking t(6;9) translocations

Abstract

Purpose

Adenoid cystic carcinoma (ACC) is an indolent salivary gland malignancy, characterized by t(6;9) translocations and MYB-NFIB gene fusions in approximately 50% of the tumors. The genetic alterations underlying t(6;9)-negative and t(6;9)-positive/ MYB-NFIB-fusion negative ACC remain unknown. To uncover the genetic alterations in ACC lacking the canonical translocation and fusion transcript and identify new abnormalities in translocation positive tumors.

Experimental Design

We performed whole genome sequencing in 21 salivary ACCs and conducted targeted molecular analyses in a validation set (81 patients). Microarray gene expression data was also analyzed to explore the biological differences between fusion positive and negative tumors.

Results

We identified a novel MYBL1-NFIB gene fusion as a result of t(8;9) translocation and multiple rearrangements in the MYBL1 gene in 35% of the t(6;9)-negative ACCs. All MYBL1 alterations involved deletion of the C-terminal negative regulatory domain and were associated with high MYBL1 expression. Reciprocal MYB and MYBL1 expression was consistently found in ACCs. Additionally, 5’- NFIB fusions that did not involve MYB/ MYBL1 genes were identified in a subset of t(6;9)-positive/fusion-negative tumors. We also delineated distinct gene expression profiles in ACCs associated with the length of the MYB or MYBL1 fusions, suggesting a biological importance of the C-terminal part of these fusions.

Conclusion

Our study defines new molecular subclasses of ACC characterized by MYBL1 rearrangements and 5’- NFIB gene fusions.