HEMap: An interactive online resource for characterizing molecular phenotypes across hematologic malignancies

Abstract

Large collections of genome-wide data can facilitate the characterization of disease states and subtypes, permitting pan-cancer analysis of molecular phenotypes and evaluation of disease context for new therapeutic approaches. We ana¬ lyzed 9,544 transcriptomes from more than 30 hematologic malignancies, normal blood cell types, and cell lines, and showed that disease types could be stratified in a data-driven manner. We then identified cluster-specific pathway activity, new biomarkers, and in silico drug target prioritization through interrogation of drug target databases. Using known vulnerabilities and available drug screens, we highlighted the importance of integrating molecular phenotype with drug target expression for in silico prediction of drug responsive¬ ness. Our analysis implicated BCL2 expression level as an important indicator of venetoclax responsiveness and provided a rationale for its targeting in specificleukemiasubtypes and multiple myeloma, linked several polycomb group proteins that could be targeted by small molecules (SFMBT1, CBX7, and EZH1) with chronic lymphocytic leukemia, and supported CDK6 as a disease-specifictarget in acute myeloid leukemia. Through integration with pro-teomics data, we characterized target protein expression for pre-B leukemia immunotherapy candidates, including DPEP1. These molecular data can be explored using our publicly available interactive resource, Hemap, for expedit¬ ing therapeutic innovations in hematologic malignancies.