Cited by 692Acute Myeloid Leukemia ResearchCancer Genomics and DiagnosticsHematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation

Clonal haematopoiesis harbouring AML-associated mutations is ubiquitous in healthy adults

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Young, Andrew L., Challen, Grant A., Birmann, Brenda M., Druley, Todd E.·2016·Nature Communications

Abstract

Clonal haematopoiesis is thought to be a rare condition that increases in frequency with age and predisposes individuals to haematological malignancy. Recent studies, utilizing next-generation sequencing (NGS), observed haematopoietic clones in 10% of 70-year olds and rarely in younger individuals. However, these studies could only detect common haematopoietic clones->0.02 variant allele fraction (VAF)-due to the error rate of NGS. To identify and characterize clonal mutations below this threshold, here we develop methods for targeted error-corrected sequencing, which enable the accurate detection of clonal mutations as rare as 0.0003 VAF. We apply these methods to study serially banked peripheral blood samples from healthy 50-60-year-old participants in the Nurses' Health Study. We observe clonal haematopoiesis, frequently harbouring mutations in DNMT3A and TET2, in 95% of individuals studied. These clonal mutations are often stable longitudinally and present in multiple haematopoietic compartments, suggesting a long-lived haematopoietic stem and progenitor cell of origin.

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Crossref · 10.1038/ncomms12484

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  • DNMT3A is the gene most commonly mutated in clonal hematopoiesis.

    “DNMT3A, the gene most commonly mutated in CH”

    From Chronic infection drives Dnmt3a-loss-of-function clonal hematopoiesis via IFNγ signaling (2021) · cites this paper as Young et al., 2016

    The Results (Error-corrected NGS; page unavailable) report that 64% of exonic clonal variants occurred in DNMT3A and TET2 combined. The Discussion says DNMT3A mutations are frequent in clonal haematopoiesis, but the paper does not establish that DNMT3A alone is the most commonly mutated gene. (LLM, conf=0.84)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured
  • DNMT3A mutations are nearly universal in individuals by the age of 50.

    “mutations in DNMT3A, the gene most commonly mutated in CH, are nearly universal in individuals by the age of 50 (Young et al., 2016)”

    From Chronic infection drives Dnmt3a-loss-of-function clonal hematopoiesis via IFNγ signaling (2021) · cites this paper as Young et al., 2016

    The Abstract (page unavailable) reports clonal haematopoiesis in 95% of the healthy 50–60-year-olds studied, with mutations frequently in DNMT3A or TET2. The Results (Error-corrected NGS; page unavailable) show DNMT3A is a frequent mutation site, but the paper does not say DNMT3A mutations themselves are nearly universal, or establish that they are present by age 50. (LLM, conf=0.90)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured
  • Somatic DNMT3A variants become almost ubiquitous in the aging population.

    “Emerging evidence indicates somatic DNMT3A variants can be acquired early in life (12,13), before becoming almost ubiquitous in the aging population (14).”

    From <i>Txnip</i> Enhances Fitness of <i>Dnmt3a</i> -Mutant Hematopoietic Stem Cells via <i>p21</i> (2022) · cites this paper as [14]

    The Abstract reports clonal haematopoiesis in 95% of the healthy adults studied and says those clones frequently harboured DNMT3A and TET2 mutations. The Discussion describes near ubiquity for clones with mutations in AML-associated genes, not for DNMT3A variants specifically. The study’s age range also does not establish prevalence across the aging population generally. (LLM, conf=0.88)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured
  • CH mutations occur in early multipotent progenitors, possibly HSPCs.

    “The CH mutations occur in early multipotent progenitors, possibly HSPCs, because mutational analyses of lymphoid and myeloid cells have confirmed the presence of the same variants [19].”
  • If sequenced deeply enough, a cancer-associated mutation may be detectable in most people over the age of 50.

    “If sequenced deeply enough, a cancer-associated mutation may be detectable in most people over the age of 50 33,”

    From Clonal hematopoiesis in human aging and disease (2019) · cites this paper as [33]

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Authors
Young, A. L., Challen, G. A., Birmann, B. M., & Druley, T. E.
Affiliations
  • Washington University in St. Louis (US)
  • Brigham and Women's Hospital (US)
Corresponding author
Druley, Todd E.
Venue
Nature Communications
Published
2016-08-22
Volume
7
Issue
1
Pages
12484-12484
ISSN
2041-1723 (ISSN-L)
OpenAlex
W2511116391
Cited by
692
References
44
Citations by year
2026: 41 · 2025: 52 · 2024: 72 · 2023: 82 · 2022: 90 · 2021: 89 · 2020: 91 · 2019: 69 · 2018: 62 · 2017: 38 · 2016: 5
FWCI
55.20
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Nature Communications (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • Digital Commons@Becker (Washington University School of Medicine) (submittedVersion)
  • Digital Access to Scholarship at Harvard (DASH) (Harvard University) (submittedVersion, cc-by)
  • RePEc: Research Papers in Economics (submittedVersion)
  • DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
Funders
  • Children's Discovery Institute (MC-II-2015-461)
  • National Institutes of Health (5r01ca049449-18, R01 CA49449, CA-49449, CA186107)
  • National Cancer Institute (R01CA149445, R01‐CA049449, UM1CA186107)
  • National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (R01DK102428)
  • Hyundai Hope On Wheels (2015Q3-3)
Topics
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Hematology › Acute Myeloid Leukemia Research
  • Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Cancer Research › Cancer Genomics and Diagnostics
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Hematology › Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation
Keywords
clonal hematopoiesis, DNMT3A mutation, TET2 mutation, clonal mutations, variant allele frequency, hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells, healthy adults, Nurses' Health Study
MeSH terms
DNA Methyltransferase 3A, Acute Disease, Aged, Clone Cells, DNA (Cytosine-5-)-Methyltransferases, DNA-Binding Proteins, Female, Gene Frequency, Hematopoiesis, Humans, Leukemia, Myeloid, Middle Aged, Mutation, Proto-Oncogene Proteins, Genetic Variation, Cohort Studies, Genetic Predisposition to Disease, Dioxygenases, High-Throughput Nucleotide Sequencing

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