Conserved features of TERT promoter duplications reveal an activation mechanism that mimics hotspot mutations in cancer

Carter J. Barger, Abigail K. Suwala, Katarzyna M. Soczek, Albert S. Wang, Min Y. Kim, Chibo Hong, Jennifer A. Doudna, Susan M. Chang, Joanna J. Phillips, David A. Solomon and Joseph F. Costello ()
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Carter J. Barger: University of California
Abigail K. Suwala: University of California
Katarzyna M. Soczek: University of California
Albert S. Wang: University of California
Min Y. Kim: University of California
Chibo Hong: University of California
Jennifer A. Doudna: University of California
Susan M. Chang: University of California
Joanna J. Phillips: University of California
David A. Solomon: UCSF Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center
Joseph F. Costello: University of California

Nature Communications, 2022, vol. 13, issue 1, 1-14

Abstract: Abstract Mutations in the TERT promoter represent the genetic underpinnings of tumor cell immortality. Beyond the two most common point mutations, which selectively recruit the ETS factor GABP to activate TERT, the significance of other variants is unknown. In seven cancer types, we identify duplications of wildtype sequence within the core promoter region of TERT that have strikingly similar features including an ETS motif, the duplication length and insertion site. The duplications recruit a GABP tetramer by virtue of the native ETS motif and its precisely spaced duplicated counterpart, activate the promoter and are clonal in a TERT expressing multifocal glioblastoma. We conclude that recurrent TERT promoter duplications are functionally and mechanistically equivalent to the hotspot mutations that confer tumor cell immortality. The shared mechanism of these divergent somatic genetic alterations suggests a strong selective pressure for recruitment of the GABP tetramer to activate TERT.

Date: 2022
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DOI: 10.1038/s41467-022-33099-x

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