Eukaryotic translation initiation involves preinitiation ribosomal complex 5 ′-to-3 ′ directional probing of mRNA for codons suitable for starting protein synthesis. The recognition of codons as starts depends on the codon identity and on its immediate nucleotide context known as Kozak context. When the context is weak (i.e., nonoptimal), leaky scanning takes place during which a fraction of ribosomes continues the mRNA probing. We explored the relationship between the context of AUG codons annotated as starts of protein-coding sequences and the next AUG codon occurrence. We found that AUG codons downstream from weak starts occur in the same frame more frequently than downstream from strong starts. We suggest that evolutionary selection on in-frame AUGs downstream from weak start codons is driven by the advantage of the reduction of wasteful out-of-frame product synthesis and also by the advantage of producing multiple proteoforms from certain mRNAs. We confirmed translation initiation downstream from weak start codons using ribosome profiling data. We also tested translation of alternative start codons in 10 specific human genes using reporter constructs. In all tested cases, initiation at downstream start codons was more productive than at the annotated ones. In most cases, optimization of Kozak context did not completely abolish downstream initiation, and in the specific example of CMPK1 mRNA, the optimized start remained unproductive. Collectively, our work reveals previously uncharacterized forces shaping the evolution of protein-coding genes and points to the plurality of translation initiation and the existence of sequence features influencing start codon selection, other than Kozak context.

SWI/SNF complexes are major targets of mutations in cancer. Here, we combined multiple “-omics” methods to assess SWI/SNF composition and aberrations in LUAD. Mutations in lung SWI/SNF subunits were highly recurrent in our LUAD cohort (41.4%), and over 70% of the mutations were predicted to have functional impact. Furthermore, SWI/SNF expression in LUAD suffered an overall repression that could not be explained exclusively by genetic alterations. Finally, SWI/SNF mutations were associated with poorer overall survival in TCGA-LUAD. We propose SWI/SNF-mutant LUAD as a separate clinical subgroup with practical implications.

Background Recent massive sequencing studies have revealed that SWI/SNF complexes are among the most frequently altered functional entities in solid tumors. However, the role of SWI/SNF in acute myeloid leukemia is poorly understood. To date, SWI/SNF complexes are thought to be oncogenic in AML or, at least, necessary to support leukemogenesis. However, mutation patterns in SWI/SNF genes in AML are consistent with a tumor suppressor role. Here, we study the SWI/SNF subunit BCL7A, which has been found to be recurrently mutated in lymphomas, but whose role in acute myeloid malignancies is currently unknown. Methods Data mining and bioinformatic approaches were used to study the mutational status of BCL7A and the correlation between BCL7A expression and promoter hypermethylation. Methylation-specific PCR, bisulfite sequencing, and 5-aza-2'-deoxycytidine treatment assays were used to determine if BCL7A expression was silenced due to promoter hypermethylation. Cell competition assays after BCL7A expression restoration were used to assess the role of BCL7A in AML cell line models. Differential expression analysis was performed to determine pathways and genes altered after BCL7A expression restoration. To establish the role of BCL7A in tumor development in vivo, tumor growth was compared between BCL7A-expressing and non-expressing mouse xenografts using in vivo fluorescence imaging. Results BCL7A expression was inversely correlated with promoter methylation in three external cohorts: TCGA-LAML (N = 160), TARGET-AML (N = 188), and Glass et al. (2017) (N = 111). The AML-derived cell line NB4 silenced the BCL7A expression via promoter hypermethylation. Ectopic BCL7A expression in AML cells decreased their competitive ability compared to control cells. Additionally, restoration of BCL7A expression reduced tumor growth in an NB4 mouse xenograft model. Also, differential expression analysis found that BCL7A restoration altered cell cycle pathways and modified significantly the expression of genes like HMGCS1, H1-0, and IRF7 which can help to explain its tumor suppressor role in AML. Conclusions BCL7A expression is silenced in AML by promoter methylation. In addition, restoration of BCL7A expression exerts tumor suppressor activity in AML cell lines and xenograft models.