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Grosso AR, Leite AP, Carvalho S, Matos MR, Martins FB, Vítor AC, Desterro JMP, Carmo-Fonseca M, de Almeida SF. Pervasive transcription read-through promotes aberrant expression of oncogenes and RNA chimeras in renal carcinoma. eLife 2015; 4. [PMID: 26575290 PMCID: PMC4744188 DOI: 10.7554/elife.09214] [Citation(s) in RCA: 92] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/03/2015] [Accepted: 11/16/2015] [Indexed: 12/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Aberrant expression of cancer genes and non-canonical RNA species is a hallmark of cancer. However, the mechanisms driving such atypical gene expression programs are incompletely understood. Here, our transcriptional profiling of a cohort of 50 primary clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC) samples from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) reveals that transcription read-through beyond the termination site is a source of transcriptome diversity in cancer cells. Amongst the genes most frequently mutated in ccRCC, we identified SETD2 inactivation as a potent enhancer of transcription read-through. We further show that invasion of neighbouring genes and generation of RNA chimeras are functional outcomes of transcription read-through. We identified the BCL2 oncogene as one of such invaded genes and detected a novel chimera, the CTSC-RAB38, in 20% of ccRCC samples. Collectively, our data highlight a novel link between transcription read-through and aberrant expression of oncogenes and chimeric transcripts that is prevalent in cancer. DOI:http://dx.doi.org/10.7554/eLife.09214.001 Mutations in genes play important roles in many types of cancer. However, mutations alone cannot explain all the biological changes that occur to cancer cells. For example, very few mutations have been linked with a type of kidney cancer called clear cell renal cell carcinoma (or ccRCC for short). Instead, scientists suspect that this cancer is largely caused by changes in the expression of particular genes so that certain cancer-promoting genes are more highly expressed, while other genes that would prevent tumor growth become less active. One of the few genes that is often mutated in ccRCC is called SETD2. This gene is involved in processes that alter the structure of DNA, but do not alter the genes themselves. These “epigenetic” changes can alter how the instructions in genes are used to make proteins. The first step in making proteins is to use a section of DNA as a template to make molecules of messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA) in a process called transcription. There are markers within a gene that show where transcription should start and stop to produce the mRNA required to make a particular protein. Epigenetic changes can mask these markers so that the cell produces longer mRNAs that incorporate instructions from neighboring genes. It was not known how often these stop signs are ignored in ccRCC cells. Here, Grosso et al. compared transcription in normal cells and in ccRCC tumor cells from 50 different patients. The experiments show that more stop signs were ignored in many of the cancer cells, especially in cells with mutations in SETD2. This caused all or parts of neighboring genes to be transcribed along with the target gene and led to changes in the expression levels of these genes. For example, a cancer-promoting gene called BCL2 was more highly expressed in these cells. Furthermore, some of the mRNA molecules produced in these cancer cells may make “fusion” proteins that combine elements from several proteins. These fusion proteins may work differently to normal cell proteins and therefore might also promote the development of tumors. Grosso et al.’s findings reveal a new link between epigenetic changes and cancer. DOI:http://dx.doi.org/10.7554/eLife.09214.002
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Affiliation(s)
- Ana R Grosso
- Instituto de Medicina Molecular, Faculdade de Medicina da Universidade de Lisboa, Lisboa, Portugal
| | - Ana P Leite
- Instituto de Medicina Molecular, Faculdade de Medicina da Universidade de Lisboa, Lisboa, Portugal
| | - Sílvia Carvalho
- Instituto de Medicina Molecular, Faculdade de Medicina da Universidade de Lisboa, Lisboa, Portugal
| | - Mafalda R Matos
- Instituto de Medicina Molecular, Faculdade de Medicina da Universidade de Lisboa, Lisboa, Portugal
| | - Filipa B Martins
- Instituto de Medicina Molecular, Faculdade de Medicina da Universidade de Lisboa, Lisboa, Portugal
| | - Alexandra C Vítor
- Instituto de Medicina Molecular, Faculdade de Medicina da Universidade de Lisboa, Lisboa, Portugal
| | - Joana M P Desterro
- Instituto de Medicina Molecular, Faculdade de Medicina da Universidade de Lisboa, Lisboa, Portugal
| | - Maria Carmo-Fonseca
- Instituto de Medicina Molecular, Faculdade de Medicina da Universidade de Lisboa, Lisboa, Portugal
| | - Sérgio F de Almeida
- Instituto de Medicina Molecular, Faculdade de Medicina da Universidade de Lisboa, Lisboa, Portugal
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52
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Pfister SX, Markkanen E, Jiang Y, Sarkar S, Woodcock M, Orlando G, Mavrommati I, Pai CC, Zalmas LP, Drobnitzky N, Dianov GL, Verrill C, Macaulay VM, Ying S, La Thangue NB, D'Angiolella V, Ryan AJ, Humphrey TC. Inhibiting WEE1 Selectively Kills Histone H3K36me3-Deficient Cancers by dNTP Starvation. Cancer Cell 2015; 28:557-568. [PMID: 26602815 PMCID: PMC4643307 DOI: 10.1016/j.ccell.2015.09.015] [Citation(s) in RCA: 218] [Impact Index Per Article: 24.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/03/2015] [Revised: 07/28/2015] [Accepted: 09/22/2015] [Indexed: 12/17/2022]
Abstract
Histone H3K36 trimethylation (H3K36me3) is frequently lost in multiple cancer types, identifying it as an important therapeutic target. Here we identify a synthetic lethal interaction in which H3K36me3-deficient cancers are acutely sensitive to WEE1 inhibition. We show that RRM2, a ribonucleotide reductase subunit, is the target of this synthetic lethal interaction. RRM2 is regulated by two pathways here: first, H3K36me3 facilitates RRM2 expression through transcription initiation factor recruitment; second, WEE1 inhibition degrades RRM2 through untimely CDK activation. Therefore, WEE1 inhibition in H3K36me3-deficient cells results in RRM2 reduction, critical dNTP depletion, S-phase arrest, and apoptosis. Accordingly, this synthetic lethality is suppressed by increasing RRM2 expression or inhibiting RRM2 degradation. Finally, we demonstrate that WEE1 inhibitor AZD1775 regresses H3K36me3-deficient tumor xenografts.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sophia X Pfister
- CRUK MRC Oxford Institute for Radiation Oncology, Department of Oncology, University of Oxford, Oxford OX3 7DQ, UK
| | - Enni Markkanen
- CRUK MRC Oxford Institute for Radiation Oncology, Department of Oncology, University of Oxford, Oxford OX3 7DQ, UK; Institute of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Vetsuisse Faculty, Winterthurerstrasse 260, 8057 Zürich, Switzerland
| | - Yanyan Jiang
- CRUK MRC Oxford Institute for Radiation Oncology, Department of Oncology, University of Oxford, Oxford OX3 7DQ, UK
| | - Sovan Sarkar
- CRUK MRC Oxford Institute for Radiation Oncology, Department of Oncology, University of Oxford, Oxford OX3 7DQ, UK
| | - Mick Woodcock
- CRUK MRC Oxford Institute for Radiation Oncology, Department of Oncology, University of Oxford, Oxford OX3 7DQ, UK
| | - Giulia Orlando
- CRUK MRC Oxford Institute for Radiation Oncology, Department of Oncology, University of Oxford, Oxford OX3 7DQ, UK
| | - Ioanna Mavrommati
- CRUK MRC Oxford Institute for Radiation Oncology, Department of Oncology, University of Oxford, Oxford OX3 7DQ, UK
| | - Chen-Chun Pai
- CRUK MRC Oxford Institute for Radiation Oncology, Department of Oncology, University of Oxford, Oxford OX3 7DQ, UK
| | | | - Neele Drobnitzky
- CRUK MRC Oxford Institute for Radiation Oncology, Department of Oncology, University of Oxford, Oxford OX3 7DQ, UK
| | - Grigory L Dianov
- CRUK MRC Oxford Institute for Radiation Oncology, Department of Oncology, University of Oxford, Oxford OX3 7DQ, UK; Institute of Cytology and Genetics RAS, Novosibirsk 630090, Russia
| | - Clare Verrill
- Department of Cellular Pathology, Oxford University Hospitals NHS Trust, John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford OX3 9DU, UK
| | - Valentine M Macaulay
- Department of Oncology, University of Oxford, Old Road Campus Research Building, Oxford OX3 7DQ, UK; Oxford Cancer and Haematology Centre, Oxford University Hospitals NHS Trust, Churchill Hospital, Oxford OX3 7LJ, UK
| | - Songmin Ying
- Department of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine of the Second Affiliated Hospital and Department of Pharmacology, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou 310058, China
| | - Nicholas B La Thangue
- Department of Oncology, University of Oxford, Old Road Campus Research Building, Oxford OX3 7DQ, UK
| | - Vincenzo D'Angiolella
- CRUK MRC Oxford Institute for Radiation Oncology, Department of Oncology, University of Oxford, Oxford OX3 7DQ, UK
| | - Anderson J Ryan
- CRUK MRC Oxford Institute for Radiation Oncology, Department of Oncology, University of Oxford, Oxford OX3 7DQ, UK
| | - Timothy C Humphrey
- CRUK MRC Oxford Institute for Radiation Oncology, Department of Oncology, University of Oxford, Oxford OX3 7DQ, UK.
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53
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Disabled homolog 2 is required for migration and invasion of prostate cancer cells. Front Med 2015; 9:312-21. [PMID: 26143155 DOI: 10.1007/s11684-015-0401-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/20/2015] [Accepted: 05/07/2015] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
Disabled homolog 2 (DAB2) is frequently deleted or epigenetically silenced in many human cancer cells. Therefore, DAB2 has always been regarded as a tumor suppressor gene. However, the role of DAB2 in tumor progression and metastasis remains unclear. In this study, DAB2 expression was upregulated along with human prostate cancer (PCa) progression. DAB2 overexpression or knockdown effects in LNCaP and PC3 cell lines were verified to address the biological functions of DAB2 in PCa progression and metastasis. LNCaP and PC3 cell lines were generated from human PCa cells with low and high metastatic potentials, respectively. The results showed that DAB2 shRNA knockdown can inhibit the migratory and invasive abilities of PC3 cells, as well as the tumorigenicity, whereas DAB2 overexpression enhanced LNCaP cell migration and invasion. Further investigation showed that DAB2 regulated the cell migration associated genes in PC3 cells, and the differential DAB2 expression between LNCaP and PC3 cells was partly regulated by histone 4 acetylation. Therefore, DAB2 may play an important role in PCa progression and metastasis.
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Baubec T, Colombo DF, Wirbelauer C, Schmidt J, Burger L, Krebs AR, Akalin A, Schübeler D. Genomic profiling of DNA methyltransferases reveals a role for DNMT3B in genic methylation. Nature 2015; 520:243-7. [PMID: 25607372 DOI: 10.1038/nature14176] [Citation(s) in RCA: 459] [Impact Index Per Article: 51.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/20/2014] [Accepted: 12/23/2014] [Indexed: 12/19/2022]
Abstract
DNA methylation is an epigenetic modification associated with transcriptional repression of promoters and is essential for mammalian development. Establishment of DNA methylation is mediated by the de novo DNA methyltransferases DNMT3A and DNMT3B, whereas DNMT1 ensures maintenance of methylation through replication. Absence of these enzymes is lethal, and somatic mutations in these genes have been associated with several human diseases. How genomic DNA methylation patterns are regulated remains poorly understood, as the mechanisms that guide recruitment and activity of DNMTs in vivo are largely unknown. To gain insights into this matter we determined genomic binding and site-specific activity of the mammalian de novo DNA methyltransferases DNMT3A and DNMT3B. We show that both enzymes localize to methylated, CpG-dense regions in mouse stem cells, yet are excluded from active promoters and enhancers. By specifically measuring sites of de novo methylation, we observe that enzymatic activity reflects binding. De novo methylation increases with CpG density, yet is excluded from nucleosomes. Notably, we observed selective binding of DNMT3B to the bodies of transcribed genes, which leads to their preferential methylation. This targeting to transcribed sequences requires SETD2-mediated methylation of lysine 36 on histone H3 and a functional PWWP domain of DNMT3B. Together these findings reveal how sequence and chromatin cues guide de novo methyltransferase activity to ensure methylome integrity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tuncay Baubec
- Friedrich Miescher Institute for Biomedical Research, Maulbeerstrasse 66, CH-4058 Basel, Switzerland
| | - Daniele F Colombo
- Friedrich Miescher Institute for Biomedical Research, Maulbeerstrasse 66, CH-4058 Basel, Switzerland
| | - Christiane Wirbelauer
- Friedrich Miescher Institute for Biomedical Research, Maulbeerstrasse 66, CH-4058 Basel, Switzerland
| | - Juliane Schmidt
- Friedrich Miescher Institute for Biomedical Research, Maulbeerstrasse 66, CH-4058 Basel, Switzerland
| | - Lukas Burger
- 1] Friedrich Miescher Institute for Biomedical Research, Maulbeerstrasse 66, CH-4058 Basel, Switzerland [2] Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics. Maulbeerstrasse 66, CH-4058 Basel, Switzerland
| | - Arnaud R Krebs
- Friedrich Miescher Institute for Biomedical Research, Maulbeerstrasse 66, CH-4058 Basel, Switzerland
| | - Altuna Akalin
- Friedrich Miescher Institute for Biomedical Research, Maulbeerstrasse 66, CH-4058 Basel, Switzerland
| | - Dirk Schübeler
- 1] Friedrich Miescher Institute for Biomedical Research, Maulbeerstrasse 66, CH-4058 Basel, Switzerland [2] University of Basel, Faculty of Sciences, Petersplatz 1, CH-4001 Basel, Switzerland
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55
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Morselli M, Pastor WA, Montanini B, Nee K, Ferrari R, Fu K, Bonora G, Rubbi L, Clark AT, Ottonello S, Jacobsen SE, Pellegrini M. In vivo targeting of de novo DNA methylation by histone modifications in yeast and mouse. eLife 2015; 4:e06205. [PMID: 25848745 PMCID: PMC4412109 DOI: 10.7554/elife.06205] [Citation(s) in RCA: 118] [Impact Index Per Article: 13.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/20/2014] [Accepted: 04/02/2015] [Indexed: 12/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Methylation of cytosines (5(me)C) is a widespread heritable DNA modification. During mammalian development, two global demethylation events are followed by waves of de novo DNA methylation. In vivo mechanisms of DNA methylation establishment are largely uncharacterized. Here, we use Saccharomyces cerevisiae as a system lacking DNA methylation to define the chromatin features influencing the activity of the murine DNMT3B. Our data demonstrate that DNMT3B and H3K4 methylation are mutually exclusive and that DNMT3B is co-localized with H3K36 methylated regions. In support of this observation, DNA methylation analysis in yeast strains without Set1 and Set2 shows an increase of relative 5(me)C levels at the transcription start site and a decrease in the gene-body, respectively. We extend our observation to the murine male germline, where H3K4me3 is strongly anti-correlated while H3K36me3 correlates with accelerated DNA methylation. These results show the importance of H3K36 methylation for gene-body DNA methylation in vivo.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marco Morselli
- Department of Molecular, Cell and Developmental Biology, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, United States
| | - William A Pastor
- Department of Molecular, Cell and Developmental Biology, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, United States
| | - Barbara Montanini
- Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Unit, Department of Life Sciences, Laboratory of Functional Genomics and Protein Engineering, Parma, Italy
| | - Kevin Nee
- Department of Molecular, Cell and Developmental Biology, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, United States
| | - Roberto Ferrari
- Department of Molecular, Cell and Developmental Biology, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, United States
| | - Kai Fu
- Department of Molecular, Cell and Developmental Biology, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, United States
| | - Giancarlo Bonora
- Department of Molecular, Cell and Developmental Biology, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, United States
- Eli and Edythe Broad Center of Regenerative Medicine and Stem Cell Research, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, United States
| | - Liudmilla Rubbi
- Department of Molecular, Cell and Developmental Biology, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, United States
| | - Amander T Clark
- Department of Molecular, Cell and Developmental Biology, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, United States
| | - Simone Ottonello
- Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Unit, Department of Life Sciences, Laboratory of Functional Genomics and Protein Engineering, Parma, Italy
| | - Steven E Jacobsen
- Department of Molecular, Cell and Developmental Biology, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, United States
- Eli and Edythe Broad Center of Regenerative Medicine and Stem Cell Research, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, United States
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, United States
| | - Matteo Pellegrini
- Department of Molecular, Cell and Developmental Biology, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, United States
- Eli and Edythe Broad Center of Regenerative Medicine and Stem Cell Research, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, United States
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