Genomic characterisation of E mu-Myc mouse lymphomas identifies Bcor as a Myc co-operative tumour-suppressor gene

Abstract

The Eμ-Myc mouse is an extensively used model of MYC driven malignancy; however to date there has only been partial characterization of MYC co-operative mutations leading to spontaneous lymphomagenesis. Here we sequence spontaneously arising Eμ-Myc lymphomas to define transgene architecture, somatic mutations, and structural alterations. We identify frequent disruptive mutations in the PRC1-like component and BCL6-corepressor gene Bcor. Moreover, we find unexpected concomitant multigenic lesions involving Cdkn2a loss and other cancer genes including Nras, Kras and Bcor. These findings challenge the assumed two-hit model of Eμ-Myc lymphoma and demonstrate a functional in vivo role for Bcor in suppressing tumorigenesis.