Kidney cancers often delete chromosome 3p, spanning the VHL tumor suppressor gene, and chromosome 14q, which presumably harbors one or more tumor suppressor genes. pVHL inhibits the HIF transcription factor and HIF2α is a kidney cancer oncoprotein. Here we identify focal, homozygous, deletions of the HIF1α locus on 14q in clear cell renal carcinoma cell lines. Wild-type HIF1α, but not the products of these altered loci, suppress renal carcinoma growth. Conversely, downregulation of HIF1α in HIF1α-proficient lines promote tumor growth. HIF1α activity is diminished in 14q deleted kidney cancers and all of the somatic HIF1α mutations identified in kidney cancers tested to date are loss of function. Therefore HIF1α has the credentials of a kidney cancer suppressor gene.

Acute leukemia characterized by chromosomal rearrangements requires additional molecular disruptions to develop into full-blown malignancy1,2, yet the cooperative mechanisms remain elusive. Using whole-genome sequencing of a pair of monozygotic twins discordant for MLL (also called KMT2A) gene-rearranged leukemia, we identified a transforming MLL-NRIP3 fusion gene3 and biallelic mutations in SETD2 (encoding a histone H3K36 methyltransferase)4. Moreover, loss-of-function point mutations in SETD2 were recurrent (6.2%) in 241 patients with acute leukemia and were associated with multiple major chromosomal aberrations. We observed a global loss of H3K36 trimethylation (H3K36me3) in leukemic blasts with mutations in SETD2. In the presence of a genetic lesion, downregulation of SETD2 contributed to both initiation and progression during leukemia development by promoting the self-renewal potential of leukemia stem cells. Therefore, our study provides compelling evidence for SETD2 as a new tumor suppressor. Disruption of the SETD2-H3K36me3 pathway is a distinct epigenetic mechanism for leukemia development.