Published online 12 August 2008
Haematologica, Vol 93, Issue 10, 1560-1564 doi:10.3324/haematol.12883
Copyright © 2008 by Ferrata Storti Foundation
Myeloproliferative Disorders |
Rapid identification of JAK2 exon 12 mutations using high resolution melting analysis
Amy V. Jones1,
Nicholas C.P. Cross1,
Helen E. White1,
Anthony R. Green2,3,
Linda M. Scott2
1 Wessex Regional Genetics Laboratory, Salisbury District Hospital, Salisbury
2 Department of Haematology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
3 Department of Haematology, Addenbrookes NHS Trust, Cambridge, UK
Correspondence: Linda M. Scott, PhD, Department of Haematology, Cambridge Institute for Medical Research, Hills Road, Cambridge CB2 2XY, United Kingdom. E-mail:iskiwi{at}hotmail.com

ABSTRACT
Diverse
JAK2 exon 12 mutations have been described in patients
with V617F-negative polycythemia vera. Development of a sensitive
detection assay capable of identifying any of these mutations
is required for medium-throughput diagnostic screens. Non-mutated
and mutant
JAK2 exon 12 alleles were amplified from patient
samples and cloned into plasmid vectors, then used to determine
the sensitivity of a novel high-resolution melting-curve assay
designed to detect all mutant
JAK2 exon 12 alleles tested. High
resolution melting analysis was more sensitive than direct sequencing
and capable of detecting exon 12 mutations in granulocytes at
moderate levels. In a blinded analysis of DNAs from V617F-negative
erythrocytosis patients, with direct sequencing and allele-specific
PCR used in one laboratory and high resolution melting analysis
in another, high resolution melting successfully identified
JAK2 exon 12 mutations in all 4 mutation-positive patients.
High resolution melting analysis is a rapid, sensitive and high-throughput
technique that is suitable for screening for
JAK2 exon 12 mutations.
Key words: JAK2, high resolution melting curve analysis.

Introduction
The presence of an acquired V617F
JAK2 mutation has been reported
in the majority of patients with a myeloproliferative disorder
(MPD);
1–5 the mutant allele can be detected in 95% of
patients with polycythemia vera (PV), and in half of those with
essential thrombocythemia (ET) or primary myelofibrosis (PMF).
1,6,7 The molecular pathogenesis of the disorder in most MPD patients
lacking the V617F mutation remains largely unclear. Alternate
mutations are absent in the
JAK or
STAT gene family members
in patients with V617F-negative ET or PMF,
8 although acquired
mutations in
JAK2 exon 12 have been identified in cases of V617F-negative
PV.
9 In contrast to patients with V617F-positive PV, patients
with a
JAK2 exon 12 mutation present with erythrocytosis, but
have white cell and platelet counts within the normal range.
These mutations may also be detected in patients with erythrocytosis
that fail to fulfill the Polycythemia Vera Study Group (PVSG)
diagnostic criteria for PV,
10 and are instead classified as
having idiopathic erythrocytosis (IE).
9,11
Individual allele-specific PCR reactions have been developed to detect the first four exon 12 mutations to be described.9 However, additional mutations have subsequently been identified,11–16 including duplications that might not easily be identified using an allele-specific PCR strategy.14 It is possible that additional mutant alleles exist. There is, therefore, a need to develop more generally applicable, sensitive assays to detect JAK2 exon 12 mutations for use in a diagnostic setting.

Design and Methods
Patients
DNA samples from 50 erythrocytosis patients attending the Johns
Hopkins Medical Institutes (Baltimore, MD, USA) and from exon
12 mutation-positive patients attending Addenbrookes
Hospital (Cambridge, UK) were used. Institutional Ethics Committee
approval was obtained at both institutions, written informed
consent obtained from each patient, and the study was carried
out in accordance with the principals of the Declaration of
Helsinki. Clinical features of the Baltimore patients have been
published elsewhere.
13
Mutant and wildtype JAK2 exon 12 alleles
Patient genomic DNA was prepared from density gradient-purified granulocytes using the Puregene Cell kit (Gentra Systems, Minneapolis, MN, USA). Presence of the V617F JAK2 mutation was excluded by sequencing and allele-specific PCR1 (data not shown). DNA was amplified using primers flanking JAK2 exon 12 (forward: 5-CTCCTCTTTGGAGCAATTCA-3; reverse: 5-GAGAACTTGGGAGTTGCGATA-3). PCR products were treated with ExoSAP-IT (GE Healthcare, Amersham, UK), then cloned into pGEM-T (Promega, Southampton, UK).
HRM reaction conditions
A 126bp amplicon was generated using primers in JAK2 exon 12 (5-AATGGTGTTTCTGATGTACC-3) and intron 12 (5-AGACAGTAATGAGTATCTAATGAC-3). Each PCR contained 20–40 ng DNA or 1x106 plasmid copies, 2.5 mM MgCl2, 200 µM dNTPs, 0.5 µM of each primer, 1x Platinum Taq polymerase buffer and 0.5U Platinum Taq polymerase (Invitrogen, Paisley, UK), and 1x LC-Green Plus (Idaho Technologies, Salt Lake City, UT, USA). Duplicate PCRs and the HRM analysis were conducted on a RotorGene 6000TM real-time analyzer (Corbett Life Sciences, Mortlake, Australia). The PCR profile was: an initial hold at 95°C for 10 mins., 40 cycles of 95°C for 15 secs., 58°C for 30 secs., and 72°C for 20 secs., followed by 50°C for 30 secs., then a melt from 70°C to 95°C rising at 0.1°C/second (data acquisition was up to 1,000 data collection points per °C transition). Normalization bars were between 72–75°C for the leading range, and 92–93°C for the tailing range.
Sequencing HRM products
HRM product was treated with ExoSAP-IT, then used as the template for sequencing with the Big Dye Terminator kit (Applied Biosystems, Warrington, UK). Each 10 µL reaction mix consisted of 10 ng primer, 0.5 µL of Big Dye Terminator premix and 1.5 µL 5x sequencing buffer. Sequencing reactions were performed using 24 cycles of 96° C for 30 secs., 50° C for 15 secs., and 60° C for 2 mins. on a MJ Research Tetrad thermocycler (Biorad, Hemel Hempstead, UK). The Montage SEQ96 sequencing reaction clean-up kit (Millipore, Watford, UK) was used to purify sequencing reactions, and the resultant DNA resuspended in deionised formamide and loaded onto an ABI-3100 sequencer (Applied Biosystems). Sequences were analyzed using Mutation Surveyor 3.1 software (SoftGenetics, State College, PA, USA).

Results and Discussion
High-resolution melt-curve analysis assay validation and sensitivity
One drawback to employing allele-specific PCR assays to screen
large numbers of DNAs has been that multiple individual PCR
reactions would be needed for each sample. Moreover, novel mutations
would escape detection. Given these concerns, we sought to establish
a single sensitive screening method capable of detecting all
possible
JAK2 exon 12 mutations; one candidate approach is high-resolution
melt-curve analysis (HRM), which has been successfully applied
to the detection of the V617F mutation within
JAK2 exon 14 in
patients diagnosed with an MPD.
17–20 PCR primers were
redesigned to generate an amplicon suitable for HRM analysis
of
JAK2 exon 12. HRM involves precise monitoring of the progressive
fluorescence change caused by the release of an intercalating
DNA dye from a DNA duplex as that duplex is denatured by increasing
temperature.
21 Base substitutions, deletions and insertions
produce subtle differences in the melting behavior of individual
DNA duplexes, which can be detected by the use of an appropriate
fluorescent dye, such as LC-Green.
21 Since this methodology
will be affected by the presence of inheritable polymorphisms,
a candidate region containing
JAK2 exon 12 and intron 12 (chromosome
9: 5,059,925-5,060,831; genome build 2006) was selected on the
basis of an absence of polymorphisms in the NCBI database (
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez/).
However, we subsequently identified a previously unreported
polymorphism within this region in 85 out of 128 tested individuals;
this variation involves the presence or absence of a pentanucleotide
sequence (position 5,060,231-5,060,235) that would significantly
affect any HRM profile. Accordingly, this region was excluded
from the final amplicon. HRM analysis was performed on a RotorGene
6000
TM real-time analyzer, and the resulting data analyzed using
the associated RotorGene Series Software (V1.7.25).
Figure 1 shows typical results obtained when equal amounts of wildtype
and mutation-carrying plasmid were used. The data are presented
in two formats: a normalized plot (
Figure 1A), in which the
amount of intercalating dye remaining at any temperature point
is expressed as a fraction of the amount prior to data acquisition;
and a difference plot, where the average HRM profile of the
control samples was used by the genotype function of the machine
software as the standard wildtype profile for subsequent comparison
to each of the test samples (
Figure 1B). Analysis of six control
and seven mutant samples demonstrated that each mutant allele
had its own characteristic melting curve that was distinct from
those obtained when wildtype exon 12 samples were analyzed (
Figure 1A).
The individual nature of the mutant melting curves became more
apparent when the data were represented in a difference plot
(
Figure 1B). Mutations that had in common a K539L substitution
had similar difference plots, with the greatest divergence between
mutant and wildtype profiles occurring at 79° C. Difference
plots for the R541-E543delinsK, N542-E543del and E543-D544del
mutants had slopes different to those associated with a K539L
substitution, and the greatest divergence between mutant and
wildtype occurred at 77.5° C.
The ability to detect low levels of a
JAK2 exon 12 mutation
in a background of non-mutated DNA was evaluated by titrating
each of the mutant alleles with wildtype exon 12 to produce
a range of mutant allele dilutions. The lower limit for detecting
nucleotide changes in exon 12 was calculated by the RotorGene
software to be 5% for F537-K539delinsL (
Figure 2) and N542-E543del
alleles, 7% for the R541-E543delinsK and E543-D544del alleles,
10% for the K539L allele, and 20% for the H538-K539delinsL and
H538QK539L alleles (
data not shown). Titration data were also
used to estimate the level of mutant allele in the granulocyte
DNA sample of a F537-K539delinsL-positive PV patient (PT1;
Figure 2).
9 Estimates obtained using HRM analysis agreed closely with those
independently obtained from granulocyte DNA sequence traces.
JAK2 exon 12 mutation detection in V617F-negative patients with erythrocytosis
The HRM methodology established using cloned exon 12 alleles
was next assessed using a set of granulocyte DNA samples obtained
from 50 V167F-negative erythrocytosis patients,
13 only 10 of
whom fulfilled PVSG diagnostic criteria.
10 Since exon 12 mutation-positive
patients often present with an isolated erythrocytosis and might
not fulfil these criteria,
9,11 this patient cohort was selected
for analysis as it was considered to be similar to sample populations
being assessed for the presence of an exon 12 mutation in a
diagnostic laboratory setting. Allele-specific PCR and sequence
analysis of each sample (
data not shown) had been performed
1–2 months earlier by an investigator not involved with
the HRM analysis, and four samples were found to be positive
for a
JAK2 exon 12 mutation by each method. Subsequent HRM was
successful in discriminating DNA samples with a wildtype
JAK2 exon 12 genotype from those including an exon 12 mutation (
Figure 3),
and correctly identified all positive samples in this group
with no false-positive results. Direct sequencing of HRM products
confirmed the presence of an exon 12 mutation in these cases.
When compared with the titration experiment results (
Figure 2),
these data suggested mutant allele burdens of 20%, 25%, 35%
and 50% respectively. All 4 patients had mild splenomegaly,
and serum erythropoietin levels below the normal range, consistent
with previous observations.
9,11 Two patients had not fulfilled
the PVSG criteria at diagnosis; however, subsequent identification
of
JAK2 exon 12 mutations permits reclassification of these
cases as PV using the recently modified WHO criteria.
22 None
of the 5 patients with a first-or second-degree relative with
an MPD was mutation-positive.
Several mutation screening methods have been used so far to
detect
JAK2 exon 12 mutations, each with its particular disadvantages.
Dideoxy sequencing is rarely sensitive below a 10% mutant allele
frequency, corresponding to a threshold of 20% granulocytes
heterozygous for an exon 12 mutation. Allele-specific PCR requires
performing multiple amplification reactions in order to ensure
that all potential mutations can be excluded. A PCR-based technique
with sensitivity comparable to that of allele-specific PCR has
been recently described,
15 although this relies upon the presence
of a deletion within exon 12, thereby precluding detection of
the duplication mutations or the nucleotide substitution mutants
present in some individuals. Single-strand conformation polymorphism,
denaturing high performance liquid chromatography or HRM methodologies
might prove useful, as they make the detection process more
cost effective by reducing the amount of sequencing ultimately
required. However, the HRM approach described here has the added
advantage of increased simplicity and rapid turn-around time,
being an in-tube method in which the melting analysis is performed
immediately after PCR amplification.
Mutation analysis of granulocyte DNA samples from V617F-negative erythrocytosis patients using sequencing, allele-specific PCR and HRM allowed us to assess the sensitivity and positive predictive value of the HRM methodology. Mutations were not detected by allele-specific PCR or sequencing in samples scored as wildtype by HRM, resulting in 100% sensitivity and 100% positive predictive value for this methodology in the patient sample set tested. Four samples had aberrant melting profiles that suggested the presence of an exon 12 mutation; independently-obtained allele-specific PCR and sequencing data confirmed the presence of these alterations (Figure 3, and data not shown). In instances of patients with a low clonal burden, however, exon 12 mutations identified by HRM may not be confirmable by dideoxy sequencing; allele-specific PCR may be required for mutation confirmation in these instances. Alternatively, as all patients positive for JAK2 exon 12 mutation have erythropoietin-independent erythroid colonies (EECs),9,11 individual colonies could be analyzed by dideoxy sequencing to confirm the mutation suspected.
We observed two limitations to this HRM methodology: one was its inability to identify the H538QK539L and H538-K539delinsL JAK2 alleles when their abundance was less than 20%. However, these are both relatively rare mutant alleles, occurring in only 4 of the 50 cases reported in the literature.9,11–14,16,23 In contrast, the most common exon 12 mutations (F537-K539delinsL, N542-E543del, E543-D544del) were all detectable at a relative abundance of 7% or less. Secondly, patient samples with purely mutant DNA may pose a problem due to an absence of heteroduplex formation. However, homozygous exon 12 mutations are relatively rare in patients, with only 2 cases reported.11,14 In both instances, non-mutated exon 12 sequence was apparent within the granulocyte DNA sequence trace, and we would predict that HRM analysis of these DNAs would provide a melting curve significantly different from that of a control sample.
In conclusion, we successfully used HRM to identify somatic mutations in JAK2 exon 12 in 4 of 50 erythrocytosis patients lacking the V617F JAK2 mutation. These results correlated exactly with allele-specific PCR and sequencing results obtained independently.

Acknowledgments
the authors would like to thank Drs. Jerry Spivak and Alison
Moliterno (Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions, Baltimore, MD)
for providing granulocyte DNA samples from their patient cohort.
This work was supported by grants from the UK Leukaemia Research
Fund (ARG and NCPC), and from the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society
of America (ARG).

Footnotes
Authorship and Disclosures
AVJ designed research, performed research, analyzed data, wrote the paper; NCPC designed research, wrote the paper; HEW performed research; ARG designed research, wrote the paper; LMS designed research, performed research, analyzed data, wrote the paper.
The authors reported no potential conflicts of interest.
Received for publication February 8, 2008.
Revision received June 4, 2008.
Accepted for publication June 5, 2008.

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