Our Research
Our research aims are to characterise the genetics and molecular mechanisms of B and T-cell lymphomas and to improve their diagnosis, prognosis and treatment stratifications. We have a longstanding research interest in extranodal marginal zone lymphoma of mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue (MALT lymphoma), splenic marginal zone lymphoma (SMZL), diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL), and angioimmunoblastic T-cell lymphoma (AITL). We use a range of conventional and state-of-the-art technologies including DNA/RNA in situ hybridisation, DNA and RNA sequencing, and various in vitro assays to profile somatic genetic changes, and investigate how genetic alterations cooperate with immunological drive in lymphoma development. We also actively translate research findings into routine clinical practice and improve patient care. We are a part of the UK national consortium of Precision Medicine in Aggressive Lymphoma (PMAL), which conduct a range of clinical trials on lymphoma.
Key Publications
MALT lymphoma
Liu H, Ye H, Ruskone-Fourmestraux A, De Jong D, Pileri S, Thiede C, Lavergne A, Boot H, Caletti G, Wundisch T, Molina T, Taal BG, Elena S, Thomas T, Zinzani PL, Neubauer A, Stolte M, Hamoudi RA, Dogan A, Isaacson PG, Du MQ. T(11;18) is a marker for all stage gastric MALT lymphomas that will not respond to H. pylori eradication. Gastroenterology 2002;122:1286-94.
Isaacson PG, Du MQ. MALT lymphoma: from morphology to molecule. Nature Review Cancer 2004; 4:644-53.
Rosebeck S, Madden L, Jin X, Gu S, Apel IJ, Appert A, Hamoudi RA, Noels H, Sagaert X, Van Loo P, Baens M, Du MQ, Lucas PC, McAllister-Lucas LM. Cleavage of NIK by the API2-MALT1 fusion oncoprotein leads to noncanonical NF-kappaB activation. Science 2011, 331:468-72.
Hamoudi RA, Appert A, Ye H, Ruskone-Fourmestraux A, Streubel B, Chott A, Raderer M, Gong L, Wlodarska I, De Wolf-Peeters C, MacLennan KA, de Leval L, Isaacson PG, Du MQ. Differential Expression of NF-kB target genes in MALT lymphoma with and without chromosome translocation: insights into molecular mechanism. Leukaemia 2010;24:1487-97.
Du MQ. MALT lymphoma: a paradigm of NF-kB deregulation. Seminars in Cancer Biology. 2016;39:49-60.
Moody S, Thompson JS, Chuang SS, Liu H, Raderer M, Vassiliou G, Wlodarska I, Wu F, Cogliatti S, Robson A, Ashton-Key M, Bi Y, Goodlad J, Du MQ. Novel GPR34 and CCR6 mutation, and distinct genetic profiles in MALT lymphomas of different sites. Haematologica 2018; 103: 1329-36. (Accompanied by editorial comments)
Wu F, Watanabe N, Tzioni MM, Akarca A, Zhang C, Li Y, Chen Z, Cucco F, Carmell N, Noh JY, Ito K, Dobson R, Moody S, Yao W, Zhang W, Liu W, Liu H, Okosun J, Chott A, Bi Y, Chuang SS, Raderer M, Li JY, Marafioti T, Du MQ. Thyroid MALT lymphoma: self-harm to gain T-cell help. Leukemia. 2021 May 21. doi: 10.1038/s41375-021-01289-z. Online ahead of print.
Korona B, Korona D, Wotherspoon AC, Du MQ. GPR34 activation bridges lymphoepithelial lesion to genesis of salivary gland MALT lymphoma. Blood. 2021 Jun 4:blood.2020010495. doi: 10.1182/blood.2020010495
Splenic marginal zone lymphoma
Clipson A, Wang M, de Leval L, Ashton-Key M, Wotherspoon A, Vasilliou G, Bolli N, Grove C, Moody S, Escudero-Ibarz L, Gundem G, Brugger K, Xue X, Mi E, Bench A, Scott M, Liu H, Follows G, Robles EF, Martinez Climent JA, Oscier D, Watkins AJ, Du MQ. KLF2 mutation is the most frequent somatic change in splenic marginal zone lymphoma and identifies a subset with distinct genotype. Leukemia 2015; 29: 1177-85.
Diffuse large B-cell lymphoma
Clipson A, Barrans S, Zeng N, Crouch S, Grigoropoulos NF, Liu H, Kocialkowski S, Wang M, Huang Y, Worrillow L, Goodlad J, Buxton J, Neat M, Fields P, Wilkins B, Grant JW, Wright P, EI-Daly H, Follows GA, Watkins AJ, Jack A, Du MQ. The prognosis of MYC translocation positive diffuse large B-cell lymphoma depends on the second hit. Journal of Pathology Clinical Research 30 Mar 2015 DOI: 10.1002/cjp2.10
Sha C*, Barrans S*, Cucco F*, Bentley MA, Care MA, Cummin T, Kennedy H, Thompson JS, Uddin R, Worrillow L, Chalkley R, van Hoppe M, Ahmed S, Maishman T, Caddy J, Schuh A, Marmot C, Burton C , Tooze R, Davies A, Du MQ**, Johnson PWM**, Westhead DR**. Molecular definition of high grade B cell lymphoma: a centroblast-like group with potential for more effective therapy. Journal of Clinical Oncology 2019; 37:202-12. * Equal first author; **Equal senior author. (Accompanied by editorial comments)
Davies A, Cummin T, Barrans S, Maishman T, Mamot C, Novak U, Caddy J, Kazmi-Stokes S, McMillan A, Fields P, Pocock C, Collins G, Cucco F, Sha C, Tooze R, Care M, Griffiths G, Du MQ, Westhead D, Burton C, Johnson P. Gene expression profiling in an open-label randomised, phase 3 trial (REMoDL-B) of bortezomib added to standard chemoimmunotherapy for diffuse large B-cell lymphoma. Lancet Oncology 2019; 20:649-662.
Cucco F, Barrans S, Sha C, Clipson A, Crouch S, Dobson R, Chen Z, Thompson JS, Care MA, Cummin T, Caddy J, Liu H, Robinson A, Schuh A, Fitzgibbon J, Painter D, Smith A, Roman E, Tooze R, Burton C, Davies AJ, Westhead DR, Johnson PWM, Du MQ. Distinct genetic changes reveal evolutionary history and heterogeneous molecular grade of DLBCL with MYC/BCL2 double-hit. Leukemia 2020; 34:1329-41
T-cell lymphoma
Yao WQ, Wu F, Zhang W, Chuang SS, Thompson JS, Chen Z, Zhang SW, Clipson A, Wang M, Liu H, Bibawi H, Huang Y, Campos L, Grant JW, Wright P, EI-Daly H, Rásó-Barnett L, Farkas L, Follows GA, Gao Z, Attygalle AD, Ashton-Key M, Liu W, Du MQ. Angioimmunoblastic T-cell lymphoma contains multiple clonal T-cell populations derived from a common TET2 mutant progenitor cell. Journal of Pathology 2020; 250:346-357.
Dobson R, Du PY, Rásó-Barnett L, Yao WQ, Chen Zi, Casa C, EI-Daly H, Farkas L, Soilleux E, Wright P, Grant JW, Rodriguez-Justo M, Follows GA, Rashed H, Wotherspoon A, Attygalle AD, Liu H, Du MQ. Early detection of T-cell lymphoma with T follicular helper phenotype by RHOA mutation analysis. Haematologica (in press)
Molecular diagnosis
Liu H, Brais R, Lavergne-Slove A, Zeng Q, Payne K, Ye H, Liu Z, Carreras J, Huang Y, Bacon CM, Save V, Venkatraman L, Isaacson PG, Woodward J, Du MQ. Continual Monitoring of Intraepithelial Lymphocyte Immunophenotype and Clonality Is More Important Than Snapshot Analysis in the Surveillance of Refractory Coeliac Disease. Gut 2010; 59:452-60.
Cucco F,* Clipson A,* Kennedy H, Thompson JS, Wang M, Barrans S, van Hoppe M, Ochoa Ruiz E, Caddy J, Hamid D, Cummin T, Burton C, Davies AJ, Johnson P, Du MQ. Mutation Screening Using Formalin-Fixed Paraffin-Embedded Tissues: A Stratified Approach According to DNA Quality. Laboratory Investigation 2018; 98:1084-92. *Equal first author;
Professor Ming Qing Du
Principal Investigator
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Dr Zi Chen Research Associate |
Maria-Myrsini Tzioni PhD Student |
Jasmine Singh MPhil Student |
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Dr Ewelina Madej Research Associate |
