PIGA mutations and glycosylphosphatidylinositol anchor dysregulation in polyposis-associated duodenal tumorigenesis.

The pathogenesis of duodenal tumours in the inherited tumour syndromes Familial Adenomatous Polyposis (FAP) and MUTYH-associated Polyposis (MAP) is poorly understood. This study aimed to identify genes that are significantly mutated in these tumours and to explore the effects of these mutations. Whole exome and whole transcriptome sequencing identified recurrent somatic coding variants of PIGA in 19/70 (27%) FAP and MAP duodenal adenomas, and further confirmed the established driver roles for APC and KRAS. PIGA catalyses the first step in glycosylphosphatidylinositol (GPI) anchor biosynthesis. Flow cytometry of PIGA-mutant adenoma-derived and CRISPR-edited duodenal organoids confirmed loss of GPI anchors in duodenal epithelial cells and transcriptional profiling of duodenal adenomas revealed transcriptional signatures associated with loss of PIGA. Implications: PIGA somatic mutation in duodenal tumours from patients with FAP and MAP and loss of membrane GPI-anchors may present new opportunities for understanding and intervention in duodenal tumorigenesis.