Abstract P3-09-12: Breast cancer derived GATA3 mutations disrupt luminal transcriptional network
Authors: Takaku Motoki , Saotome Mika , Nair Renju 
Published: March 2022

GATA3 has been identified as one of the most frequently mutated genes in breast cancer. In the METABRIC cohort, among 1,980 patient cases, 230 breast cancers harbored GATA3 mutations (~12%). 75% of the GATA mutations were observed in luminal breast tumors (47% in luminal A, 28% in luminal B). The recent genomic data in metastatic breast cancer also showed that the frequency of GATA3 somatic mutations was even higher in the metastatic breast cancer cohort. Lung, lymph nodes, and brain metastases were observed in the GATA3 mutant breast cancer patients. Based on these patient genomic data, GATA3 mutations have been considered as cancer drivers, yet the functional consequences of GATA3 mutations are underexplored. We and other groups previously identified that patients carrying GATA3 mutations have diverse clinical features. More than 70% of cases are small nucleotide deletions or insertions (indel), while less than 30% are missense mutations. By classifying the GATA3 indel mutations into 4 groups, we observed distinct clinical features. Somatic mutations found in the GATA3 second zinc-finger domain (ZnFn2) are significantly associated with poorer patient outcomes including worse patient survival. ZnFn2 mutations are predominantly found in luminal B breast tumors, while splice site mutations are frequently found in luminal A breast tumors and associated with better patient survival. These distinct clinical features clearly suggest the differential impacts of GATA3 mutations on breast cancer cells. To dissect the function of GATA3 mutants, we developed a GATA3 mutant cell line (R330fs/WT T47D cells) by CRISPR, which endogenously expresses a heterozygous R330 frame-shift (R330fs) mutant. R330fs mutations are found in multiple data cohorts. The majority (&gt;90%) of GATA3 mutations are heterozygous. Therefore, this R330fs mutant T47D cell line mimics the type of alteration found in patients. Importantly, we found that the R330fs mutation induces transcriptional reprogramming in T47D luminal breast cancer cells leading to more aggressive phenotypes such as faster tumor growth. In the mutant cells, many epithelial marker genes (such as progesterone receptor and TFF1) were down-regulated while mesenchymal marker genes (such as TWIST1 and SNAI2) are up-regulated suggesting that R330fs induces a partial EMT in T47D cells. We also found that transcriptional changes in the R330fs mutant cells were strongly associated with redistribution of GATA3, Estrogen Receptor alpha, and FOXA1. Gene expression profiles in the other GATA3 mutant breast cancer cell lines also suggest similar genomic alterations. These results suggest the active roles of GATA3 mutations during breast cancer development.

Citation Format: Motoki Takaku, Mika Saotome, Renju Nair. Breast cancer derived GATA3 mutations disrupt luminal transcriptional network [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 2021 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium; 2021 Dec 7-10; San Antonio, TX. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2022;82(4 Suppl):Abstract nr P3-09-12.