Abstract 742: Comprehensive detection of all major classes of MET deregulation by Anchored Multiplex PCR and next-generation sequencing
Authors: Kudlow Brian A. , Haimes Josh , Bessette Marc , Manoj Namitha , Griffin Laura M. , Murphy Danielle , Shoemaker Robert , Amsbaugh Jason , Stahl Joshua 
Published: July 2017

Introduction: Deregulation of the proto-oncogene, MET, confers an aggressive phenotype in a variety of human cancers, promoting proliferation, invasive growth and angiogenesis. MET deregulation can be driven by gene amplification, overexpression, exon 14 skipping, gene fusions and single nucleotide variants (SNVs), such as kinase-activating point mutations. MET is a target of intensive drug development efforts, although the various mutated forms of MET exhibit unique drug sensitivities. Therefore, detection of these mutations has an important role in the development of drugs targeting MET, and has the potential to guide treatments for cancers driven by MET deregulation.

Next-generation sequencing (NGS) enables comprehensive detection of all mutation types from whole genomes and transcriptomes. However, low detection sensitivity, high input requirement and high costs render these approaches impractical for routine detection of mutations from low-input clinical sample types. We developed a targeted NGS assay based on Anchored Multiplex PCR (AMP™) to detect all types of mutations driving MET deregulation from a single sample.

Methods: AMP only requires a single gene-specific primer for amplification, enabling open-ended capture of DNA and cDNA fragments for NGS-based detection of known and unknown mutations. We developed AMP-based Archer® VariantPlex™ and FusionPlex® library preparation assays to detect mutations from DNA and RNA, respectively. AMP probes were designed to cover the MET gene for detection of copy numbers variants (CNVs) and SNVs from DNA, and known and novel fusions, exon skipping and expression levels from RNA.

Results: We show that the VariantPlex assay enables NGS-based detection of MET amplifications from DNA in concordance with FISH results. Further NGS analysis of RNA from the same sample using the FusionPlex assay revealed the resulting overexpression of MET. We also demonstrate that AMP-enabled open-ended capture of cDNA fragments allows for reliable detection of exon 14 skipping in FFPE samples and in cells, consistent with RT-PCR results. Parallel analysis of DNA from the cell samples revealed splice site mutations that have been previously reported to drive exon 14 skipping. Furthermore, this open-ended capture also permitted identification of a novel GTF2I:MET gene fusion in a patient-derived xenograft model. Finally, we detected an kinase-activating point mutation in MET, p.Y1253D, by analysis of genomic DNA with the VariantPlex NGS assay.

Conclusions: These results show that AMP-based VariantPlex and FusionPlex Assays enable comprehensive detection of multiple mutation types from low-input clinical sample types, such as FFPE specimens. As MET deregulation can be driven by many different genetic aberrations, this allows for NGS-based characterization of MET deregulation from a single sample.

Citation Format: Brian A. Kudlow, Josh Haimes, Marc Bessette, Namitha Manoj, Laura M. Griffin, Danielle Murphy, Robert Shoemaker, Jason Amsbaugh, Joshua Stahl. Comprehensive detection of all major classes of MET deregulation by Anchored Multiplex PCR and next-generation sequencing [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2017; 2017 Apr 1-5; Washington, DC. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2017;77(13 Suppl):Abstract nr 742. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2017-742