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Depletion of H3K36me2 recapitulates epigenomic and phenotypic changes induced by the H3.3K36M oncohistone mutation. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2021; 118:2021795118. [PMID: 33619101 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2021795118] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Hotspot histone H3 mutations have emerged as drivers of oncogenesis in cancers of multiple lineages. Specifically, H3 lysine 36 to methionine (H3K36M) mutations are recurrently identified in chondroblastomas, undifferentiated sarcomas, and head and neck cancers. While the mutation reduces global levels of both H3K36 dimethylation (H3K36me2) and trimethylation (H3K36me3) by dominantly inhibiting their respective specific methyltransferases, the relative contribution of these methylation states to the chromatin and phenotypic changes associated with H3K36M remains unclear. Here, we specifically deplete H3K36me2 or H3K36me3 in mesenchymal cells, using CRISPR-Cas9 to separately knock out the corresponding methyltransferases NSD1/2 or SETD2. By profiling and comparing the epigenomic and transcriptomic landscapes of these cells with cells expressing the H3.3K36M oncohistone, we find that the loss of H3K36me2 could largely recapitulate H3.3K36M's effect on redistribution of H3K27 trimethylation (H3K27me3) and gene expression. Consistently, knockout of Nsd1/2, but not Setd2, phenocopies the differentiation blockade and hypersensitivity to the DNA-hypomethylating agent induced by H3K36M. Together, our results support a functional divergence between H3K36me2 and H3K36me3 and their nonredundant roles in H3K36M-driven oncogenesis.
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The incorporation loci of H3.3K36M determine its preferential prevalence in chondroblastomas. Cell Death Dis 2021; 12:311. [PMID: 33762579 PMCID: PMC7991640 DOI: 10.1038/s41419-021-03597-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/17/2020] [Revised: 02/16/2021] [Accepted: 02/19/2021] [Indexed: 12/20/2022]
Abstract
The histone H3.3K36M mutation, identified in over 90% of chondroblastoma cases, reprograms the H3K36 methylation landscape and gene expression to promote tumorigenesis. However, it's still unclear how the H3K36M mutation preferentially occurs in the histone H3 variant H3.3 in chondroblastomas. Here, we report that H3.3K36M-, but not H3.1K36M-, mutant cells showed increased colony formation ability and differentiation defects. H3K36 methylations and enhancers were reprogrammed to different status in H3.3K36M- and H3.1K36M-mutant cells. The reprogramming of H3K36 methylation and enhancers was depended on the specific loci at which H3.3K36M and H3.1K36M were incorporated. Moreover, targeting H3K36M-mutant proteins to the chromatin inhibited the H3K36 methylation locally. Taken together, these results highlight the roles of the chromatic localization of H3.3K36M-mutant protein in the reprogramming of the epigenome and the subsequent induction of tumorigenesis, and shed light on the molecular mechanisms by which the H3K36M mutation mainly occurs in histone H3.3 in chondroblastomas.
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Sun Z, Zhang Y, Jia J, Fang Y, Tang Y, Wu H, Fang D. H3K36me3, message from chromatin to DNA damage repair. Cell Biosci 2020; 10:9. [PMID: 32021684 PMCID: PMC6995143 DOI: 10.1186/s13578-020-0374-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 60] [Impact Index Per Article: 15.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/02/2019] [Accepted: 01/09/2020] [Indexed: 12/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Histone marks control many cellular processes including DNA damage repair. This review will focus primarily on the active histone mark H3K36me3 in the regulation of DNA damage repair and the maintenance of genomic stability after DNA damage. There are diverse clues showing H3K36me3 participates in DNA damage response by directly recruiting DNA repair machinery to set the chromatin at a “ready” status, leading to a quick response upon damage. Reduced H3K36me3 is associated with low DNA repair efficiency. This review will also place a main emphasis on the H3K36me3-mediated DNA damage repair in the tumorigenesis of the newly found oncohistone mutant tumors. Gaining an understanding of different aspects of H3K36me3 in DNA damage repair, especially in cancers, would share the knowledge of chromatin and DNA repair to serve to the drug discovery and patient care.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhongxing Sun
- Life Sciences Institute, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, 310058 Zhejiang China
| | - Yanjun Zhang
- Life Sciences Institute, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, 310058 Zhejiang China
| | - Junqi Jia
- Life Sciences Institute, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, 310058 Zhejiang China
| | - Yuan Fang
- Life Sciences Institute, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, 310058 Zhejiang China
| | - Yin Tang
- Life Sciences Institute, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, 310058 Zhejiang China
| | - Hongfei Wu
- Life Sciences Institute, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, 310058 Zhejiang China
| | - Dong Fang
- Life Sciences Institute, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, 310058 Zhejiang China
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Wang Z, Yip LY, Lee JHJ, Wu Z, Chew HY, Chong PKW, Teo CC, Ang HYK, Peh KLE, Yuan J, Ma S, Choo LSK, Basri N, Jiang X, Yu Q, Hillmer AM, Lim WT, Lim TKH, Takano A, Tan EH, Tan DSW, Ho YS, Lim B, Tam WL. Methionine is a metabolic dependency of tumor-initiating cells. Nat Med 2019; 25:825-837. [PMID: 31061538 DOI: 10.1038/s41591-019-0423-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 207] [Impact Index Per Article: 41.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/21/2016] [Accepted: 03/14/2019] [Indexed: 12/21/2022]
Abstract
Understanding cellular metabolism holds immense potential for developing new classes of therapeutics that target metabolic pathways in cancer. Metabolic pathways are altered in bulk neoplastic cells in comparison to normal tissues. However, carcinoma cells within tumors are heterogeneous, and tumor-initiating cells (TICs) are important therapeutic targets that have remained metabolically uncharacterized. To understand their metabolic alterations, we performed metabolomics and metabolite tracing analyses, which revealed that TICs have highly elevated methionine cycle activity and transmethylation rates that are driven by MAT2A. High methionine cycle activity causes methionine consumption to far outstrip its regeneration, leading to addiction to exogenous methionine. Pharmacological inhibition of the methionine cycle, even transiently, is sufficient to cripple the tumor-initiating capability of these cells. Methionine cycle flux specifically influences the epigenetic state of cancer cells and drives tumor initiation. Methionine cycle enzymes are also enriched in other tumor types, and MAT2A expression impinges upon the sensitivity of certain cancer cells to therapeutic inhibition.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhenxun Wang
- Genome Institute of Singapore, Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), Singapore, Singapore
| | - Lian Yee Yip
- Bioprocessing Technology Institute, Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), Singapore, Singapore
| | - Jia Hui Jane Lee
- Genome Institute of Singapore, Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), Singapore, Singapore.,School of Biological Sciences, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, Singapore
| | - Zhengwei Wu
- Genome Institute of Singapore, Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), Singapore, Singapore.,Cancer Science Institute of Singapore, National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore
| | - Hui Yi Chew
- Genome Institute of Singapore, Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), Singapore, Singapore
| | - Pooi Kiat William Chong
- Bioprocessing Technology Institute, Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), Singapore, Singapore
| | - Chin Chye Teo
- Bioprocessing Technology Institute, Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), Singapore, Singapore
| | - Heather Yin-Kuan Ang
- Genome Institute of Singapore, Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), Singapore, Singapore
| | - Kai Lay Esther Peh
- Bioprocessing Technology Institute, Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), Singapore, Singapore
| | - Ju Yuan
- Genome Institute of Singapore, Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), Singapore, Singapore
| | - Siming Ma
- Genome Institute of Singapore, Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), Singapore, Singapore
| | - Li Shi Kimberly Choo
- Genome Institute of Singapore, Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), Singapore, Singapore
| | - Nurhidayah Basri
- Bioprocessing Technology Institute, Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), Singapore, Singapore
| | - Xia Jiang
- Genome Institute of Singapore, Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), Singapore, Singapore
| | - Qiang Yu
- Genome Institute of Singapore, Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), Singapore, Singapore
| | - Axel M Hillmer
- Genome Institute of Singapore, Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), Singapore, Singapore
| | - Wan Teck Lim
- Division of Medical Oncology, National Cancer Centre Singapore, Singapore, Singapore.,Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology, Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), Singapore, Singapore.,Duke-NUS Medical School, Singapore, Singapore
| | - Tony Kiat Hon Lim
- Department of Anatomical Pathology, Singapore General Hospital, Singapore, Singapore
| | - Angela Takano
- Department of Anatomical Pathology, Singapore General Hospital, Singapore, Singapore
| | - Eng Huat Tan
- Division of Medical Oncology, National Cancer Centre Singapore, Singapore, Singapore
| | - Daniel Shao Weng Tan
- Genome Institute of Singapore, Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), Singapore, Singapore.,Division of Medical Oncology, National Cancer Centre Singapore, Singapore, Singapore
| | - Ying Swan Ho
- Bioprocessing Technology Institute, Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), Singapore, Singapore
| | - Bing Lim
- Merck Sharp and Dohme Translational Medicine Research Centre, Singapore, Singapore.
| | - Wai Leong Tam
- Genome Institute of Singapore, Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), Singapore, Singapore. .,School of Biological Sciences, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, Singapore. .,Cancer Science Institute of Singapore, National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore. .,Department of Biochemistry, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore.
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Fang D, Wang H, Zhang Z. Probing the Function of Oncohistones Using Mutant Transgenes and Knock-In Mutations. Methods Mol Biol 2018; 1832:339-356. [PMID: 30073537 DOI: 10.1007/978-1-4939-8663-7_19] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/08/2023]
Abstract
Recently, frequent somatic mutations at histone genes have been detected in high grade pediatric brain tumor, chondroblastoma, and giant cell tumor of bone. These mutant histones are also termed oncohistones. Since oncohistone proteins co-exist with wild type histone proteins in cells, it is critically important to understand how they promote tumorigenesis. Here, we describe two methods to analyze the impact of these oncohistones on histone modification and epigenome, including the expression of oncohistone from a transgene and the utilization of CRISPR/Cas9 system to knock-in specific oncohistone mutations. The methods described are useful for the initial characterization of oncohistones. Other methods such as ChIP-seq and RNA-seq, which analyze the effect of oncohistone mutations genome wide, are not detailed in this protocol.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dong Fang
- Department of Pediatrics, Institute for Cancer Genetics, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA
- Department of Genetics and Development, Institute for Cancer Genetics, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA
| | - Heping Wang
- Department of Neurosurgery, Tongji Hospital of Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, P. R. China
| | - Zhiguo Zhang
- Department of Pediatrics, Institute for Cancer Genetics, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA.
- Department of Genetics and Development, Institute for Cancer Genetics, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA.
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