KSR2 is novel candidate oncogene in TAL1-positive T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia with potential clinical implications

Despite the growing understanding of T-ALL biology and increasing cure rate of this disease, novel oncogenes with biomarker and therapeutic potential are needed to recognize high-risk patients and improve therapy effectiveness.

Here we demonstrate that KSR2 is overexpressed in a subgroup of T-ALL patients and that its expression is linked to TAL1 genetic subtype of this malignancy. We show that the ectopic expression of KSR2 results from demethylation of its regulatory region followed by direct binding of TAL1 transcription factor. We demonstrate that the expression of KSR2 is a potential marker of worse outcome within the TAL1 subtype of T-ALL.