Dynamic Stromal Changes in Myelofibrosis Patients Pre/Post JAK Inhibition Is Revealed in Clinically Archived Bone Marrow Biopsies By Smooth Muscle Actin (SMA)-CD34 Dual Immunohistochemistry
Authors: Wang Katelyn , Rashedi Iran , England James T. , Goswami Rashmi S. , Liontos Larissa , Peerani Raheem , Tierens Anne , Rauh Michael J , Gupta Vikas , Tsui Hubert 
Published: November 2021

The natural history of BCR-ABL1 negative myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPNs) is progression towards an overt myelofibrotic (MF) phase with variable risk to develop secondary acute myeloid leukemia. Current treatments include Janus kinase inhibitors (JAKi) which can temporarily alleviate MF-related symptoms but are non-curative and most patients eventually progress to a more advanced stage. Given the negative prognostic impact of bone marrow fibrosis in MPNs and generally poor outcome post JAKi failure, it would be important to identify in situ biomarkers that address the initiation, perpetuation and early reversal of the fibrotic reaction.

The current clinical standard for bone marrow fibrosis assessment involves reticulin/trichrome stains that detect relatively static extracellular matrix products rather than the fibrosis driving cells directly. To address this, we have developed a smooth muscle actin stromal-vascular (SMA-CD34) dual immunohistochemical (IHC) technique amenable to morphologic scoring and complemented with a CellProfiler image analysis pipeline. SMA was prioritized over other validated stromal IHC markers given work by others in experimental models demonstrating SMA+ myofibroblasts to be the differentiated output of critical fibrosis inducing Gli1+ 'driver' mesenchymal stem/progenitor cells in MPN.

Herein, we demonstrate the feasibility of our translational approach using a clinically annotated cohort of MF patients from the Princess Margaret Cancer Centre MPN Registry. After selecting for high quality (&gt;1.0 cm) paired pre and post JAKi biopsies amenable to image and transcriptome-based analysis, the pilot cohort was comprised of 13 cases with 38% high-risk, 54% intermediate-2 and 8% intermediate-1 risk by DIPSS. Driver mutations were JAK2 V617F (77%), CALR (15%) and other (8%). JAKi therapies included ruxolitinib (31%) + pelabresib (23%), momelotinib (15%), itacitinib (15%) and pacritinib (8%).

The SMA-CD34 stromal assessment at baseline revealed distinct interstitial myofibroblast patterns and vascular perturbations not captured by conventional clinical hematopathology assessment (e.g. SMA+ dilated sinusoids). A SMA-CD34 scoring system was developed using a 4-point scale representing normal (0 pts), increased vascularity (1 pt), focal interstitial SMA (2 pts), multifocal interstitial SMA (3 pts) and diffuse SMA (4 pts). Scoring was then performed by blinded hematopathologists. A trend towards JAK2 mutated MF cases demonstrating higher SMA grade at baseline was noted. Interestingly, variable trajectories in SMA scores emerged following treatment with JAKi. Specifically, SMA signals had increased in 15%, decreased in 46% and were stable in 38% post-JAKi when using a morphologic SMA grading scheme. When compared to reticulin fibrosis, the severity of SMA signals had diverged in 1/3 of the cases (e.g. SMA grade decreased, reticulin grade stable).

To further complement the SMA-CD34 morphologic grading, a CellProfiler image analysis pipeline was developed yielding a non-vessel associated normalized SMA area metric as a supervised correlate of the clinical SMA scoring system (R 2 = 0.68). Additional supervised and unsupervised bioinformatic approaches for clustering of relevant SMA-CD34 features including an algorithm that informs SMA spatial patterns with respect to niche elements such as arterioles (CD34+SMA+), sinusoids (CD34+) and adipocytes is in development.

Lastly, Nanostring Fibrosis V2 panel was employed on a subset that met RNA concentration and quality metrics. Exploratory interpretation showed significant differentially expressed genes in pre vs. post JAKi specimens related to lipid metabolism such as ADIPOR1, SCD, ELOVL6 as well as the chemokine CXCL16. This may suggest a link between fatty acid metabolism and inflammatory differentiation along the SMA-vascular axis in the bone marrow modulated by JAKi treatment.

SMA-CD34 IHC stratifies MF bone marrow biopsies differentially from standard WHO reticulin/trichome grading providing a practical formalin-fixed paraffin embedded (FFPE) tissue-based biomarker for assessing fibrosis related bone marrow niche elements from archived clinical samples. While our pilot numbers precluded statistical evaluation by JAKi-type, clinical response and NGS mutational profile at this time, further studies are underway to validate the SMA-CD34 signature on a larger MF cohort.

Figure 1 Figure 1.

Disclosures

Gupta: Sierra Oncology: Consultancy, Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; AbbVie: Consultancy, Honoraria; Novartis: Consultancy, Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Research Funding; BMS-Celgene: Consultancy, Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Roche: Consultancy; Incyte: Honoraria, Research Funding; Constellation Pharma: Consultancy, Honoraria; Pfizer: Consultancy.