1
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Ebegboni VJ, Jones TL, Brownmiller T, Zhao PX, Pehrsson EC, Rajan SS, Caplen NJ. ETS1, a Target Gene of the EWSR1::FLI1 Fusion Oncoprotein, Regulates the Expression of the Focal Adhesion Protein TENSIN3. Mol Cancer Res 2024; 22:625-641. [PMID: 38588446 PMCID: PMC11219265 DOI: 10.1158/1541-7786.mcr-23-1090] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/29/2023] [Revised: 03/25/2024] [Accepted: 04/08/2024] [Indexed: 04/10/2024]
Abstract
The mechanistic basis for the metastasis of Ewing sarcomas remains poorly understood, as these tumors harbor few mutations beyond the chromosomal translocation that initiates the disease. Instead, the epigenome of Ewing sarcoma cells reflects the regulatory state of genes associated with the DNA-binding activity of the fusion oncoproteins EWSR1::FLI1 or EWSR1::ERG. In this study, we examined the EWSR1::FLI1/ERG's repression of transcription factor genes, concentrating on those that exhibit a broader range of expression in tumors than in Ewing sarcoma cell lines. Focusing on one of these target genes, ETS1, we detected EWSR1::FLI1 binding and an H3K27me3-repressive mark at this locus. Depletion of EWSR1::FLI1 results in ETS1's binding of promoter regions, substantially altering the transcriptome of Ewing sarcoma cells, including the upregulation of the gene encoding TENSIN3 (TNS3), a focal adhesion protein. Ewing sarcoma cell lines expressing ETS1 (CRISPRa) exhibited increased TNS3 expression and enhanced movement compared with control cells. Visualization of control Ewing sarcoma cells showed a distributed vinculin signal and a network-like organization of F-actin; in contrast, ETS1-activated Ewing sarcoma cells showed an accumulation of vinculin and F-actin toward the plasma membrane. Interestingly, the phenotype of ETS1-activated Ewing sarcoma cell lines depleted of TNS3 resembled the phenotype of the control cells. Critically, these findings have clinical relevance as TNS3 expression in Ewing sarcoma tumors positively correlates with that of ETS1. Implications: ETS1's transcriptional regulation of the gene encoding the focal adhesion protein TENSIN3 in Ewing sarcoma cells promotes cell movement, a critical step in the evolution of metastasis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Vernon Justice Ebegboni
- Functional Genetics Section, Genetics Branch, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA
| | - Tamara L. Jones
- Functional Genetics Section, Genetics Branch, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA
| | - Tayvia Brownmiller
- Functional Genetics Section, Genetics Branch, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA
| | - Patrick X. Zhao
- Omics Bioinformatics Facility, Genetics Branch, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA
- Advanced Biomedical Computational Science, Frederick National Laboratory for Cancer Research, Frederick, MD 21702, USA
| | - Erica C. Pehrsson
- Omics Bioinformatics Facility, Genetics Branch, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA
- Advanced Biomedical Computational Science, Frederick National Laboratory for Cancer Research, Frederick, MD 21702, USA
| | - Soumya Sundara Rajan
- Functional Genetics Section, Genetics Branch, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA
| | - Natasha J. Caplen
- Functional Genetics Section, Genetics Branch, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA
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2
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Mahnoor S, Molnar C, Velázquez D, Reina J, Llamazares S, Heinen JP, Mora J, Gonzalez C. Human EWS-FLI protein levels and neomorphic functions show a complex, function-specific dose-response relationship in Drosophila. Open Biol 2024; 14:240043. [PMID: 39013417 PMCID: PMC11251760 DOI: 10.1098/rsob.240043] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/20/2024] [Revised: 04/26/2024] [Accepted: 04/29/2024] [Indexed: 07/18/2024] Open
Abstract
Ewing sarcoma (EwS) is a cancer that arises in the bones and soft tissues, typically driven by the Ewing's sarcoma breakpoint region 1-Friend leukemia virus integration 1 (EWS-FLI) oncogene. Implementation of genetically modified animal models of EwS has proved difficult largely owing to EWS-FLI's high toxicity. The EWS-FLI1FS frameshift variant that circumvents toxicity but is still able to perform key oncogenic functions provided the first study model in Drosophila. However, the quest for Drosophila lines expressing full-length, unmodified EWS-FLI remained open. Here, we show that EWS-FLI1FS's lower toxicity is owed to reduced protein levels caused by its frameshifted C-terminal peptide, and report new strategies through which we have generated Drosophila lines that express full-length, unmodified EWS-FLI. Using these lines, we have found that the upregulation of transcription from GGAA-microsatellites (GGAAμSats) presents a positive linear correlation within a wide range of EWS-FLI protein concentrations. In contrast, rather counterintuitively, GGAAμSats-independent transcriptomic dysregulation presents relatively minor differences across the same range, suggesting that GGAAμSat-dependent and -independent transcriptional upregulation present different kinetics of response with regards to changing EWS-FLI protein concentration. Our results underpin the functional relevance of varying EWS-FLI expression levels and provide experimental tools to investigate, in Drosophila, the effect of the EWS-FLI 'high' and 'low' states that have been reported and are suspected to be important for EwS in humans.
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Affiliation(s)
- Serena Mahnoor
- Institute for Research in Biomedicine (IRB Barcelona), The Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Cristina Molnar
- Institute for Research in Biomedicine (IRB Barcelona), The Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Diego Velázquez
- Institute for Research in Biomedicine (IRB Barcelona), The Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology, Barcelona, Spain
- Developmental Tumor Biology Laboratory, Institut de Recerca Sant Joan de Déu, Esplugues de Llobregat, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Jose Reina
- Institute for Research in Biomedicine (IRB Barcelona), The Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Salud Llamazares
- Institute for Research in Biomedicine (IRB Barcelona), The Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Jan Peter Heinen
- Institute for Research in Biomedicine (IRB Barcelona), The Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Jaume Mora
- Developmental Tumor Biology Laboratory, Institut de Recerca Sant Joan de Déu, Esplugues de Llobregat, Barcelona, Spain
- Pediatric Cancer Center Barcelona (PCCB), Hospital Sant Joan de Déu, Esplugues de Llobregat, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Cayetano Gonzalez
- Institute for Research in Biomedicine (IRB Barcelona), The Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology, Barcelona, Spain
- Institucio Catalana de Recerca i Estudis Avançats (ICREA), Barcelona, Spain
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3
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Ebegboni VJ, Jones TL, Brownmiller T, Zhao PX, Pehrsson EC, Rajan SS, Caplen NJ. ETS1, a target gene of the EWSR1::FLI1 fusion oncoprotein, regulates the expression of the focal adhesion protein TENSIN3. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2023:2023.12.21.572864. [PMID: 38187702 PMCID: PMC10769395 DOI: 10.1101/2023.12.21.572864] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/09/2024]
Abstract
The mechanistic basis for the metastasis of Ewing sarcomas remains poorly understood, as these tumors harbor few mutations beyond the chromosomal translocation that initiates the disease. Instead, the epigenome of Ewing sarcoma (EWS) cells reflects the regulatory state of genes associated with the DNA binding activity of the fusion oncoproteins EWSR1::FLI1 or EWSR1::ERG. In this study, we examined the EWSR1::FLI1/ERG's repression of transcription factor genes, concentrating on those that exhibit a broader range of expression in tumors than in EWS cell lines. Focusing on one of these target genes, ETS1, we detected EWSR1::FLI1 binding and an H3K27me3 repressive mark at this locus. Depletion of EWSR1::FLI1 results in ETS1's binding of promoter regions, substantially altering the transcriptome of EWS cells, including the upregulation of the gene encoding TENSIN3 (TNS3), a focal adhesion protein. EWS cell lines expressing ETS1 (CRISPRa) exhibited increased TNS3 expression and enhanced movement compared to control cells. The cytoskeleton of control cells and ETS1-activated EWS cell lines also differed. Specifically, control cells exhibited a distributed vinculin signal and a network-like organization of F-actin. In contrast, ETS1-activated EWS cells showed an accumulation of vinculin and F-actin towards the plasma membrane. Interestingly, the phenotype of ETS1-activated EWS cell lines depleted of TNS3 resembled the phenotype of the control cells. Critically, these findings have clinical relevance as TNS3 expression in EWS tumors positively correlates with that of ETS1.
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Affiliation(s)
- Vernon Justice Ebegboni
- Functional Genetics Section, Genetics Branch, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA
| | - Tamara L Jones
- Functional Genetics Section, Genetics Branch, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA
| | - Tayvia Brownmiller
- Functional Genetics Section, Genetics Branch, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA
| | - Patrick X Zhao
- Omics Bioinformatics Facility, Genetics Branch, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA
- Advanced Biomedical Computational Science, Frederick National Laboratory for Cancer Research, Frederick, MD 21702, USA
| | - Erica C Pehrsson
- Omics Bioinformatics Facility, Genetics Branch, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA
- Advanced Biomedical Computational Science, Frederick National Laboratory for Cancer Research, Frederick, MD 21702, USA
| | - Soumya Sundara Rajan
- Functional Genetics Section, Genetics Branch, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA
| | - Natasha J Caplen
- Functional Genetics Section, Genetics Branch, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA
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4
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Mallard HJ, Wan S, Nidhi P, Hanscom-Trofy YD, Mohapatra B, Woods NT, Lopez-Guerrero JA, Llombart-Bosch A, Machado I, Scotlandi K, Kreiling NF, Perry MC, Mirza S, Coulter DW, Band V, Band H, Ghosal G. USP1 Expression Driven by EWS::FLI1 Transcription Factor Stabilizes Survivin and Mitigates Replication Stress in Ewing Sarcoma. Mol Cancer Res 2023; 21:1186-1204. [PMID: 37478161 PMCID: PMC10618738 DOI: 10.1158/1541-7786.mcr-23-0323] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/02/2023] [Revised: 06/23/2023] [Accepted: 07/19/2023] [Indexed: 07/23/2023]
Abstract
In this study, we identify USP1 as a transcriptional target of EWS::FLI1 and demonstrate the requisite function of USP1 in Ewing sarcoma (EWS) cell survival in response to endogenous replication stress. EWS::FLI1 oncogenic transcription factor drives most EWS, a pediatric bone cancer. EWS cells display elevated levels of R-loops and replication stress. The mechanism by which EWS cells override activation of apoptosis or cellular senescence in response to increased replication stress is not known. We show that USP1 is overexpressed in EWS and EWS::FLI1 regulates USP1 transcript levels. USP1 knockdown or inhibition arrests EWS cell growth and induces cell death by apoptosis. Mechanistically, USP1 regulates Survivin (BIRC5/API4) protein stability and the activation of caspase-9 and caspase-3/7 in response to endogenous replication stress. Notably, USP1 inhibition sensitizes cells to doxorubicin and etoposide treatment. Together, our study demonstrates that USP1 is regulated by EWS::FLI1, the USP1-Survivin axis promotes EWS cell survival, and USP1 inhibition sensitizes cells to standard of care chemotherapy. IMPLICATIONS High USP1 and replication stress levels driven by EWS::FLI1 transcription factor in EWS are vulnerabilities that can be exploited to improve existing treatment avenues and overcome drug resistance.
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Affiliation(s)
- Halle J. Mallard
- Department of Genetics, Cell Biology and Anatomy, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, Nebraska
| | - Shibiao Wan
- Department of Genetics, Cell Biology and Anatomy, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, Nebraska
| | - Prakriti Nidhi
- Department of Genetics, Cell Biology and Anatomy, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, Nebraska
| | - Yvan D. Hanscom-Trofy
- Department of Genetics, Cell Biology and Anatomy, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, Nebraska
| | - Bhopal Mohapatra
- Department of Genetics, Cell Biology and Anatomy, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, Nebraska
| | - Nicholas T. Woods
- Eppley Institute for Research in Cancer and Allied Diseases, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, Nebraska
- Fred and Pamela Buffett Cancer Center, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, Nebraska
| | | | - Antonio Llombart-Bosch
- Department of Pathology, Instituto Valenciano de Oncología and Patologika Laboratory, Hospital QuironSalud, Valencia, Spain
| | - Isidro Machado
- Department of Pathology, Instituto Valenciano de Oncología and Patologika Laboratory, Hospital QuironSalud, Valencia, Spain
| | - Katia Scotlandi
- Laboratory of Experimental Oncology, IRCCS Istituto Ortopedico Rizzoli, Bologna, Italy
| | - Natasha F. Kreiling
- Department of Genetics, Cell Biology and Anatomy, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, Nebraska
| | - Megan C. Perry
- Department of Genetics, Cell Biology and Anatomy, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, Nebraska
| | - Sameer Mirza
- Department of Genetics, Cell Biology and Anatomy, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, Nebraska
| | - Donald W. Coulter
- Fred and Pamela Buffett Cancer Center, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, Nebraska
- Department of Pediatrics, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, Nebraska
| | - Vimla Band
- Department of Genetics, Cell Biology and Anatomy, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, Nebraska
- Fred and Pamela Buffett Cancer Center, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, Nebraska
| | - Hamid Band
- Eppley Institute for Research in Cancer and Allied Diseases, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, Nebraska
- Fred and Pamela Buffett Cancer Center, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, Nebraska
| | - Gargi Ghosal
- Department of Genetics, Cell Biology and Anatomy, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, Nebraska
- Fred and Pamela Buffett Cancer Center, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, Nebraska
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5
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Yasir M, Park J, Chun W. EWS/FLI1 Characterization, Activation, Repression, Target Genes and Therapeutic Opportunities in Ewing Sarcoma. Int J Mol Sci 2023; 24:15173. [PMID: 37894854 PMCID: PMC10607184 DOI: 10.3390/ijms242015173] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/19/2023] [Revised: 10/11/2023] [Accepted: 10/12/2023] [Indexed: 10/29/2023] Open
Abstract
Despite their clonal origins, tumors eventually develop into complex communities made up of phenotypically different cell subpopulations, according to mounting evidence. Tumor cell-intrinsic programming and signals from geographically and temporally changing microenvironments both contribute to this variability. Furthermore, the mutational load is typically lacking in childhood malignancies of adult cancers, and they still exhibit high cellular heterogeneity levels largely mediated by epigenetic mechanisms. Ewing sarcomas represent highly aggressive malignancies affecting both bone and soft tissue, primarily afflicting adolescents. Unfortunately, the outlook for patients facing relapsed or metastatic disease is grim. These tumors are primarily fueled by a distinctive fusion event involving an FET protein and an ETS family transcription factor, with the most prevalent fusion being EWS/FLI1. Despite originating from a common driver mutation, Ewing sarcoma cells display significant variations in transcriptional activity, both within and among tumors. Recent research has pinpointed distinct fusion protein activities as a principal source of this heterogeneity, resulting in markedly diverse cellular phenotypes. In this review, we aim to characterize the role of the EWS/FLI fusion protein in Ewing sarcoma by exploring its general mechanism of activation and elucidating its implications for tumor heterogeneity. Additionally, we delve into potential therapeutic opportunities to target this aberrant fusion protein in the context of Ewing sarcoma treatment.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Wanjoo Chun
- Department of Pharmacology, Kangwon National University School of Medicine, Chuncheon 24341, Republic of Korea; (M.Y.); (J.P.)
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6
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Dupuy M, Lamoureux F, Mullard M, Postec A, Regnier L, Baud’huin M, Georges S, Brounais-Le Royer B, Ory B, Rédini F, Verrecchia F. Ewing sarcoma from molecular biology to the clinic. Front Cell Dev Biol 2023; 11:1248753. [PMID: 37752913 PMCID: PMC10518617 DOI: 10.3389/fcell.2023.1248753] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/27/2023] [Accepted: 08/30/2023] [Indexed: 09/28/2023] Open
Abstract
In Europe, with an incidence of 7.5 cases per million, Ewing sarcoma (ES) is the second most common primary malignant bone tumor in children, adolescents and young adults, after osteosarcoma. Since the 1980s, conventional treatment has been based on the use of neoadjuvant and adjuvant chemotherapeutic agents combined with surgical resection of the tumor when possible. These treatments have increased the patient survival rate to 70% for localized forms, which drops drastically to less than 30% when patients are resistant to chemotherapy or when pulmonary metastases are present at diagnosis. However, the lack of improvement in these survival rates over the last decades points to the urgent need for new therapies. Genetically, ES is characterized by a chromosomal translocation between a member of the FET family and a member of the ETS family. In 85% of cases, the chromosomal translocation found is (11; 22) (q24; q12), between the EWS RNA-binding protein and the FLI1 transcription factor, leading to the EWS-FLI1 fusion protein. This chimeric protein acts as an oncogenic factor playing a crucial role in the development of ES. This review provides a non-exhaustive overview of ES from a clinical and biological point of view, describing its main clinical, cellular and molecular aspects.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maryne Dupuy
- Nantes Université, Inserm UMR 1307, CNRS UMR 6075, CRCI2NA, Université d'Angers, Nantes, France
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | - Franck Verrecchia
- Nantes Université, Inserm UMR 1307, CNRS UMR 6075, CRCI2NA, Université d'Angers, Nantes, France
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7
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Sanalkumar R, Dong R, Lee L, Xing YH, Iyer S, Letovanec I, La Rosa S, Finzi G, Musolino E, Papait R, Chebib I, Nielsen GP, Renella R, Cote GM, Choy E, Aryee M, Stegmaier K, Stamenkovic I, Rivera MN, Riggi N. Highly connected 3D chromatin networks established by an oncogenic fusion protein shape tumor cell identity. SCIENCE ADVANCES 2023; 9:eabo3789. [PMID: 37000878 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.abo3789] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/30/2022] [Accepted: 01/18/2023] [Indexed: 06/19/2023]
Abstract
Cell fate transitions observed in embryonic development involve changes in three-dimensional genomic organization that provide proper lineage specification. Whether similar events occur within tumor cells and contribute to cancer evolution remains largely unexplored. We modeled this process in the pediatric cancer Ewing sarcoma and investigated high-resolution looping and large-scale nuclear conformation changes associated with the oncogenic fusion protein EWS-FLI1. We show that chromatin interactions in tumor cells are dominated by highly connected looping hubs centered on EWS-FLI1 binding sites, which directly control the activity of linked enhancers and promoters to establish oncogenic expression programs. Conversely, EWS-FLI1 depletion led to the disassembly of these looping networks and a widespread nuclear reorganization through the establishment of new looping patterns and large-scale compartment configuration matching those observed in mesenchymal stem cells, a candidate Ewing sarcoma progenitor. Our data demonstrate that major architectural features of nuclear organization in cancer cells can depend on single oncogenes and are readily reversed to reestablish latent differentiation programs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rajendran Sanalkumar
- Experimental Pathology Service, Lausanne University Hospital and University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Rui Dong
- Department of Pathology and Cancer Center, Massachusetts General Hospital, Charlestown, MA, USA
| | - Lukuo Lee
- Department of Pathology and Cancer Center, Massachusetts General Hospital, Charlestown, MA, USA
| | - Yu-Hang Xing
- Department of Pathology and Cancer Center, Massachusetts General Hospital, Charlestown, MA, USA
| | - Sowmya Iyer
- Department of Pathology and Cancer Center, Massachusetts General Hospital, Charlestown, MA, USA
| | - Igor Letovanec
- Department of Histopathology, Central Institute, Valais Hospital, Sion, Switzerland
- Institute of Pathology, Lausanne University Hospital and University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Stefano La Rosa
- Institute of Pathology, Lausanne University Hospital and University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland
- Pathology Unit, Department of Medicine and Surgery, University of Insubria, Varese, Italy
| | - Giovanna Finzi
- Department of Pathology, ASST Sette Laghi, Varese, Italy
| | - Elettra Musolino
- Department of Biotechnology and Life Sciences, University of Insubria, Varese, Italy
| | - Roberto Papait
- Department of Biotechnology and Life Sciences, University of Insubria, Varese, Italy
- IRCSS Humanitas Research Hospital, via Manzoni 56, 20089 Rozzano, Milan, Italy
| | - Ivan Chebib
- Department of Pathology and Cancer Center, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - G Petur Nielsen
- Department of Pathology and Cancer Center, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Raffaele Renella
- Department Woman-Mother-Child, Division of Pediatrics, Lausanne University Hospital and University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Gregory M Cote
- Department of Medicine, Division of Hematology and Oncology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Edwin Choy
- Department of Medicine, Division of Hematology and Oncology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Martin Aryee
- Department of Pathology and Cancer Center, Massachusetts General Hospital, Charlestown, MA, USA
- Dana-Farber/Boston Children's Cancer and Blood Disorders Center, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Kimberly Stegmaier
- Dana-Farber/Boston Children's Cancer and Blood Disorders Center, Boston, MA, USA
- Broad Institute, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Ivan Stamenkovic
- Experimental Pathology Service, Lausanne University Hospital and University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Miguel N Rivera
- Department of Pathology and Cancer Center, Massachusetts General Hospital, Charlestown, MA, USA
- Broad Institute, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Nicolò Riggi
- Experimental Pathology Service, Lausanne University Hospital and University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland
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8
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Wang Y, Huang Z, Sun M, Huang W, Xia L. ETS transcription factors: Multifaceted players from cancer progression to tumor immunity. Biochim Biophys Acta Rev Cancer 2023; 1878:188872. [PMID: 36841365 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbcan.2023.188872] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/02/2022] [Revised: 01/18/2023] [Accepted: 01/28/2023] [Indexed: 02/26/2023]
Abstract
The E26 transformation specific (ETS) family comprises 28 transcription factors, the majority of which are involved in tumor initiation and development. Serving as a group of functionally heterogeneous gene regulators, ETS factors possess a structurally conserved DNA-binding domain. As one of the most prominent families of transcription factors that control diverse cellular functions, ETS activation is modulated by multiple intracellular signaling pathways and post-translational modifications. Disturbances in ETS activity often lead to abnormal changes in oncogenicity, including cancer cell survival, growth, proliferation, metastasis, genetic instability, cell metabolism, and tumor immunity. This review systematically addresses the basics and advances in studying ETS factors, from their tumor relevance to clinical translational utility, with a particular focus on elucidating the role of ETS family in tumor immunity, aiming to decipher the vital role and clinical potential of regulation of ETS factors in the cancer field.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yufei Wang
- Department of Gastroenterology, Institute of Liver and Gastrointestinal Diseases, Hubei Key Laboratory of Hepato-Pancreato-Biliary Diseases, Tongji Hospital of Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430030, Hubei Province, China
| | - Zhao Huang
- Hubei Key Laboratory of Hepato-Pancreato-Biliary Diseases, Hepatic Surgery Center, Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Clinical Medicine Research Center for Hepatic Surgery of Hubei Province, Key Laboratory of Organ Transplantation, Ministry of Education and Ministry of Public Health, Wuhan, Hubei 430030, China
| | - Mengyu Sun
- Department of Gastroenterology, Institute of Liver and Gastrointestinal Diseases, Hubei Key Laboratory of Hepato-Pancreato-Biliary Diseases, Tongji Hospital of Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430030, Hubei Province, China
| | - Wenjie Huang
- Hubei Key Laboratory of Hepato-Pancreato-Biliary Diseases, Hepatic Surgery Center, Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Clinical Medicine Research Center for Hepatic Surgery of Hubei Province, Key Laboratory of Organ Transplantation, Ministry of Education and Ministry of Public Health, Wuhan, Hubei 430030, China.
| | - Limin Xia
- Department of Gastroenterology, Institute of Liver and Gastrointestinal Diseases, Hubei Key Laboratory of Hepato-Pancreato-Biliary Diseases, Tongji Hospital of Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430030, Hubei Province, China.
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9
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Lu DY, Ellegast JM, Ross KN, Malone CF, Lin S, Mabe NW, Dharia NV, Meyer A, Conway A, Su AH, Selich-Anderson J, Taslim C, Byrum AK, Seong BKA, Adane B, Gray NS, Rivera MN, Lessnick SL, Stegmaier K. The ETS transcription factor ETV6 constrains the transcriptional activity of EWS-FLI to promote Ewing sarcoma. Nat Cell Biol 2023; 25:285-297. [PMID: 36658220 PMCID: PMC9928584 DOI: 10.1038/s41556-022-01059-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/14/2021] [Accepted: 11/24/2022] [Indexed: 01/21/2023]
Abstract
Transcription factors (TFs) are frequently mutated in cancer. Paediatric cancers exhibit few mutations genome-wide but frequently harbour sentinel mutations that affect TFs, which provides a context to precisely study the transcriptional circuits that support mutant TF-driven oncogenesis. A broadly relevant mechanism that has garnered intense focus involves the ability of mutant TFs to hijack wild-type lineage-specific TFs in self-reinforcing transcriptional circuits. However, it is not known whether this specific type of circuitry is equally crucial in all mutant TF-driven cancers. Here we describe an alternative yet central transcriptional mechanism that promotes Ewing sarcoma, wherein constraint, rather than reinforcement, of the activity of the fusion TF EWS-FLI supports cancer growth. We discover that ETV6 is a crucial TF dependency that is specific to this disease because it, counter-intuitively, represses the transcriptional output of EWS-FLI. This work discovers a previously undescribed transcriptional mechanism that promotes cancer.
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Affiliation(s)
- Diana Y Lu
- Harvard/MIT MD-PhD Program, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
- Department of Pediatric Oncology, Dana-Farber Boston Children's Cancer and Blood Disorders Center, Boston, MA, USA
- The Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Jana M Ellegast
- Department of Pediatric Oncology, Dana-Farber Boston Children's Cancer and Blood Disorders Center, Boston, MA, USA
- The Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Kenneth N Ross
- Department of Pediatric Oncology, Dana-Farber Boston Children's Cancer and Blood Disorders Center, Boston, MA, USA
- The Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Clare F Malone
- Department of Pediatric Oncology, Dana-Farber Boston Children's Cancer and Blood Disorders Center, Boston, MA, USA
- The Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Shan Lin
- Department of Pediatric Oncology, Dana-Farber Boston Children's Cancer and Blood Disorders Center, Boston, MA, USA
- The Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Nathaniel W Mabe
- Department of Pediatric Oncology, Dana-Farber Boston Children's Cancer and Blood Disorders Center, Boston, MA, USA
- The Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Neekesh V Dharia
- Department of Pediatric Oncology, Dana-Farber Boston Children's Cancer and Blood Disorders Center, Boston, MA, USA
- The Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Ashleigh Meyer
- Department of Pediatric Oncology, Dana-Farber Boston Children's Cancer and Blood Disorders Center, Boston, MA, USA
- The Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Amy Conway
- Department of Pediatric Oncology, Dana-Farber Boston Children's Cancer and Blood Disorders Center, Boston, MA, USA
- The Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Angela H Su
- Department of Pediatric Oncology, Dana-Farber Boston Children's Cancer and Blood Disorders Center, Boston, MA, USA
- The Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Julia Selich-Anderson
- Center for Childhood Cancer and Blood Diseases, Abigail Wexner Research Institute at Nationwide Children's Hospital, Columbus, OH, USA
| | - Cenny Taslim
- Center for Childhood Cancer and Blood Diseases, Abigail Wexner Research Institute at Nationwide Children's Hospital, Columbus, OH, USA
| | - Andrea K Byrum
- Center for Childhood Cancer and Blood Diseases, Abigail Wexner Research Institute at Nationwide Children's Hospital, Columbus, OH, USA
| | - Bo Kyung A Seong
- Department of Pediatric Oncology, Dana-Farber Boston Children's Cancer and Blood Disorders Center, Boston, MA, USA
- The Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Biniam Adane
- Department of Pediatric Oncology, Dana-Farber Boston Children's Cancer and Blood Disorders Center, Boston, MA, USA
- The Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Nathanael S Gray
- Department of Cancer Biology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA, USA
- Department of Biological Chemistry and Molecular Pharmacology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Miguel N Rivera
- The Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA, USA
- Department of Pathology, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
- Center for Cancer Research, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Charlestown, MA, USA
| | - Stephen L Lessnick
- Center for Childhood Cancer and Blood Diseases, Abigail Wexner Research Institute at Nationwide Children's Hospital, Columbus, OH, USA
- Division of Pediatric Hematology, Oncology and BMT, The Ohio State University College of Medicine, Columbus, OH, USA
| | - Kimberly Stegmaier
- Department of Pediatric Oncology, Dana-Farber Boston Children's Cancer and Blood Disorders Center, Boston, MA, USA.
- The Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA, USA.
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10
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Regulation of EWSR1-FLI1 Function by Post-Transcriptional and Post-Translational Modifications. Cancers (Basel) 2023; 15:cancers15020382. [PMID: 36672331 PMCID: PMC9857208 DOI: 10.3390/cancers15020382] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/05/2022] [Revised: 01/04/2023] [Accepted: 01/04/2023] [Indexed: 01/11/2023] Open
Abstract
Ewing sarcoma is the second most common bone tumor in childhood and adolescence. Currently, first-line therapy includes multidrug chemotherapy with surgery and/or radiation. Although most patients initially respond to chemotherapy, recurrent tumors become treatment refractory. Pathologically, Ewing sarcoma consists of small round basophilic cells with prominent nuclei marked by expression of surface protein CD99. Genetically, Ewing sarcoma is driven by a fusion oncoprotein that results from one of a small number of chromosomal translocations composed of a FET gene and a gene encoding an ETS family transcription factor, with ~85% of tumors expressing the EWSR1::FLI1 fusion. EWSR1::FLI1 regulates transcription, splicing, genome instability and other cellular functions. Although a tumor-specific target, EWSR1::FLI1-targeted therapy has yet to be developed, largely due to insufficient understanding of EWSR1::FLI1 upstream and downstream signaling, and the challenges in targeting transcription factors with small molecules. In this review, we summarize the contemporary molecular understanding of Ewing sarcoma, and the post-transcriptional and post-translational regulatory mechanisms that control EWSR1::FLI1 function.
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11
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Therapeutic targeting the oncogenic driver EWSR1::FLI1 in Ewing sarcoma through inhibition of the FACT complex. Oncogene 2023; 42:11-25. [PMID: 36357572 DOI: 10.1038/s41388-022-02533-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/03/2022] [Revised: 10/26/2022] [Accepted: 10/27/2022] [Indexed: 11/12/2022]
Abstract
EWS/ETS fusion transcription factors, most commonly EWSR1::FLI1, drives initiation and progression of Ewing sarcoma (EwS). Even though direct targeting EWSR1::FLI1 is a formidable challenge, epigenetic/transcriptional modulators have been proved to be promising therapeutic targets for indirectly disrupting its expression and/or function. Here, we identified structure-specific recognition protein 1 (SSRP1), a subunit of the Facilitates Chromatin Transcription (FACT) complex, to be an essential tumor-dependent gene directly induced by EWSR1::FLI1 in EwS. The FACT-targeted drug CBL0137 exhibits potent therapeutic efficacy against multiple EwS preclinical models both in vitro and in vivo. Mechanistically, SSRP1 and EWSR1::FLI1 form oncogenic positive feedback loop via mutual transcriptional regulation and activation, and cooperatively promote cell cycle/DNA replication process and IGF1R-PI3K-AKT-mTOR pathway to drive EwS oncogenesis. The FACT inhibitor drug CBL0137 effectively targets the EWSR1::FLI1-FACT circuit, resulting in transcriptional disruption of EWSR1::FLI1, SSRP1 and their downstream effector oncogenic signatures. Our study illustrates a crucial role of the FACT complex in facilitating the expression and function of EWSR1::FLI1 and demonstrates FACT inhibition as a novel and effective epigenetic/transcriptional-targeted therapeutic strategy against EwS, providing preclinical support for adding EwS to CBL0137's future clinical trials.
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12
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Orth MF, Surdez D, Faehling T, Ehlers AC, Marchetto A, Grossetête S, Volckmann R, Zwijnenburg DA, Gerke JS, Zaidi S, Alonso J, Sastre A, Baulande S, Sill M, Cidre-Aranaz F, Ohmura S, Kirchner T, Hauck SM, Reischl E, Gymrek M, Pfister SM, Strauch K, Koster J, Delattre O, Grünewald TGP. Systematic multi-omics cell line profiling uncovers principles of Ewing sarcoma fusion oncogene-mediated gene regulation. Cell Rep 2022; 41:111761. [PMID: 36476851 DOI: 10.1016/j.celrep.2022.111761] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/02/2021] [Revised: 08/25/2022] [Accepted: 11/08/2022] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Ewing sarcoma (EwS) is characterized by EWSR1-ETS fusion transcription factors converting polymorphic GGAA microsatellites (mSats) into potent neo-enhancers. Although the paucity of additional mutations makes EwS a genuine model to study principles of cooperation between dominant fusion oncogenes and neo-enhancers, this is impeded by the limited number of well-characterized models. Here we present the Ewing Sarcoma Cell Line Atlas (ESCLA), comprising whole-genome, DNA methylation, transcriptome, proteome, and chromatin immunoprecipitation sequencing (ChIP-seq) data of 18 cell lines with inducible EWSR1-ETS knockdown. The ESCLA shows hundreds of EWSR1-ETS-targets, the nature of EWSR1-ETS-preferred GGAA mSats, and putative indirect modes of EWSR1-ETS-mediated gene regulation, converging in the duality of a specific but plastic EwS signature. We identify heterogeneously regulated EWSR1-ETS-targets as potential prognostic EwS biomarkers. Our freely available ESCLA (http://r2platform.com/escla/) is a rich resource for EwS research and highlights the power of comprehensive datasets to unravel principles of heterogeneous gene regulation by chimeric transcription factors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Martin F Orth
- Max-Eder Research Group for Pediatric Sarcoma Biology, Institute of Pathology, Faculty of Medicine, LMU Munich, 80337 Munich, Germany
| | - Didier Surdez
- INSERM Unit 830 "Genetics and Biology of Cancers," Institut Curie Research Center, 75005 Paris, France; Balgrist University Hospital, Faculty of Medicine, University of Zürich, 8008 Zürich, Switzerland
| | - Tobias Faehling
- Hopp Children's Cancer Center (KiTZ), 69120 Heidelberg, Germany; Division of Translational Pediatric Sarcoma Research, German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), German Cancer Consortium (DKTK), 69120 Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Anna C Ehlers
- Hopp Children's Cancer Center (KiTZ), 69120 Heidelberg, Germany; Division of Translational Pediatric Sarcoma Research, German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), German Cancer Consortium (DKTK), 69120 Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Aruna Marchetto
- Max-Eder Research Group for Pediatric Sarcoma Biology, Institute of Pathology, Faculty of Medicine, LMU Munich, 80337 Munich, Germany
| | - Sandrine Grossetête
- INSERM Unit 830 "Genetics and Biology of Cancers," Institut Curie Research Center, 75005 Paris, France
| | - Richard Volckmann
- Department of Oncogenomics, Amsterdam University Medical Centers (AUMC), 1105 Amsterdam, the Netherlands
| | - Danny A Zwijnenburg
- Department of Oncogenomics, Amsterdam University Medical Centers (AUMC), 1105 Amsterdam, the Netherlands
| | - Julia S Gerke
- Max-Eder Research Group for Pediatric Sarcoma Biology, Institute of Pathology, Faculty of Medicine, LMU Munich, 80337 Munich, Germany
| | - Sakina Zaidi
- INSERM Unit 830 "Genetics and Biology of Cancers," Institut Curie Research Center, 75005 Paris, France
| | - Javier Alonso
- Unidad de Tumores Sólidos Infantiles, Instituto de Investigación de Enfermedades Raras, Instituto de Salud Carlos III, 28029 Madrid, Spain; Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Enfermedades Raras (CB06/07/1009, CIBERER-ISCIII), 28029 Madrid, Spain
| | - Ana Sastre
- Unidad Hemato-oncología Pediátrica, Hospital Infantil Universitario La Paz, 28029 Madrid, Spain
| | - Sylvain Baulande
- Institut Curie Genomics of Excellence (ICGex) Platform, Institut Curie Research Center, 75005 Paris, France
| | - Martin Sill
- Hopp Children's Cancer Center (KiTZ), 69120 Heidelberg, Germany; Division of Pediatric Neuro-Oncology, German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), German Cancer Consortium (DKTK), 69120 Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Florencia Cidre-Aranaz
- Hopp Children's Cancer Center (KiTZ), 69120 Heidelberg, Germany; Division of Translational Pediatric Sarcoma Research, German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), German Cancer Consortium (DKTK), 69120 Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Shunya Ohmura
- Hopp Children's Cancer Center (KiTZ), 69120 Heidelberg, Germany; Division of Translational Pediatric Sarcoma Research, German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), German Cancer Consortium (DKTK), 69120 Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Thomas Kirchner
- Institute of Pathology, Faculty of Medicine, LMU Munich, 80337 Munich, Germany; German Cancer Consortium (DKTK), Partner Site Munich, 80337 Munich, Germany; German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), 69120 Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Stefanie M Hauck
- Research Unit Protein Science and Metabolomics and Proteomics Core, Helmholtz Zentrum München - German Research Center for Environmental Health, 85764 Neuherberg, Germany
| | - Eva Reischl
- Helmholtz Zentrum München - German Research Center for Environmental Health, 85764 Neuherberg, Germany
| | - Melissa Gymrek
- Division of Genetics, Department of Medicine, University of California, San Diego, San Diego, CA 92093, USA; Department of Computer Science and Engineering, University of California, San Diego, San Diego, CA 92093, USA
| | - Stefan M Pfister
- Hopp Children's Cancer Center (KiTZ), 69120 Heidelberg, Germany; Division of Pediatric Neuro-Oncology, German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), German Cancer Consortium (DKTK), 69120 Heidelberg, Germany; Department of Pediatric Hematology & Oncology, Heidelberg University Hospital, 69120 Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Konstantin Strauch
- Institute of Medical Biometry, Epidemiology, and Informatics (IMBEI), University Medical Center, Johannes Gutenberg University, 55131 Mainz, Germany; Institute of Genetic Epidemiology, Helmholtz Zentrum München - German Research Center for Environmental Health, 85764 Neuherberg, Germany; Institute for Medical Information Processing, Biometry, and Epidemiology (IBE), Faculty of Medicine, LMU Munich, 81377 Munich, Germany
| | - Jan Koster
- Department of Oncogenomics, Amsterdam University Medical Centers (AUMC), 1105 Amsterdam, the Netherlands
| | - Olivier Delattre
- INSERM Unit 830 "Genetics and Biology of Cancers," Institut Curie Research Center, 75005 Paris, France
| | - Thomas G P Grünewald
- Max-Eder Research Group for Pediatric Sarcoma Biology, Institute of Pathology, Faculty of Medicine, LMU Munich, 80337 Munich, Germany; Hopp Children's Cancer Center (KiTZ), 69120 Heidelberg, Germany; Division of Translational Pediatric Sarcoma Research, German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), German Cancer Consortium (DKTK), 69120 Heidelberg, Germany; Institute of Pathology, Heidelberg University Hospital, 69120 Heidelberg, Germany.
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13
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Apfelbaum AA, Wrenn ED, Lawlor ER. The importance of fusion protein activity in Ewing sarcoma and the cell intrinsic and extrinsic factors that regulate it: A review. Front Oncol 2022; 12:1044707. [PMID: 36505823 PMCID: PMC9727305 DOI: 10.3389/fonc.2022.1044707] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/14/2022] [Accepted: 10/27/2022] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Accumulating evidence shows that despite clonal origins tumors eventually become complex communities comprised of phenotypically distinct cell subpopulations. This heterogeneity arises from both tumor cell intrinsic programs and signals from spatially and temporally dynamic microenvironments. While pediatric cancers usually lack the mutational burden of adult cancers, they still exhibit high levels of cellular heterogeneity that are largely mediated by epigenetic mechanisms. Ewing sarcomas are aggressive bone and soft tissue malignancies with peak incidence in adolescence and the prognosis for patients with relapsed and metastatic disease is dismal. Ewing sarcomas are driven by a single pathognomonic fusion between a FET protein and an ETS family transcription factor, the most common of which is EWS::FLI1. Despite sharing a single driver mutation, Ewing sarcoma cells demonstrate a high degree of transcriptional heterogeneity both between and within tumors. Recent studies have identified differential fusion protein activity as a key source of this heterogeneity which leads to profoundly different cellular phenotypes. Paradoxically, increased invasive and metastatic potential is associated with lower EWS::FLI1 activity. Here, we review what is currently understood about EWS::FLI1 activity, the cell autonomous and tumor microenvironmental factors that regulate it, and the downstream consequences of these activity states on tumor progression. We specifically highlight how transcription factor regulation, signaling pathway modulation, and the extracellular matrix intersect to create a complex network of tumor cell phenotypes. We propose that elucidation of the mechanisms by which these essential elements interact will enable the development of novel therapeutic approaches that are designed to target this complexity and ultimately improve patient outcomes.
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14
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Apfelbaum AA, Wu F, Hawkins AG, Magnuson B, Jiménez JA, Taylor SD, Wrenn ED, Waltner O, Pfaltzgraff ER, Song JY, Hall C, Wellik DM, Ljungman M, Furlan SN, Ryan RJ, Sarthy JF, Lawlor ER. EWS::FLI1 and HOXD13 Control Tumor Cell Plasticity in Ewing Sarcoma. Clin Cancer Res 2022; 28:4466-4478. [PMID: 35653119 PMCID: PMC9588607 DOI: 10.1158/1078-0432.ccr-22-0384] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/05/2022] [Revised: 04/05/2022] [Accepted: 05/25/2022] [Indexed: 01/28/2023]
Abstract
PURPOSE Propagation of Ewing sarcoma requires precise regulation of EWS::FLI1 transcriptional activity. Determining the mechanisms of fusion regulation will advance our understanding of tumor progression. Here we investigated whether HOXD13, a developmental transcription factor that promotes Ewing sarcoma metastatic phenotypes, influences EWS::FLI1 transcriptional activity. EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN Existing tumor and cell line datasets were used to define EWS::FLI1 binding sites and transcriptional targets. Chromatin immunoprecipitation and CRISPR interference were employed to identify enhancers. CUT&RUN and RNA sequencing defined binding sites and transcriptional targets of HOXD13. Transcriptional states were investigated using bulk and single-cell transcriptomic data from cell lines, patient-derived xenografts, and patient tumors. Mesenchymal phenotypes were assessed by gene set enrichment, flow cytometry, and migration assays. RESULTS We found that EWS::FLI1 creates a de novo GGAA microsatellite enhancer in a developmentally conserved regulatory region of the HOXD locus. Knockdown of HOXD13 led to widespread changes in expression of developmental gene programs and EWS::FLI1 targets. HOXD13 binding was enriched at established EWS::FLI1 binding sites where it influenced expression of EWS::FLI1-activated genes. More strikingly, HOXD13 bound and activated EWS::FLI1-repressed genes, leading to adoption of mesenchymal and migratory cell states that are normally suppressed by the fusion. Single-cell analysis confirmed that direct transcriptional antagonism between HOXD13-mediated gene activation and EWS::FLI1-dependent gene repression defines the state of Ewing sarcoma cells along a mesenchymal axis. CONCLUSIONS Ewing sarcoma tumors are comprised of tumor cells that exist along a mesenchymal transcriptional continuum. The identity of cells along this continuum is, in large part, determined by the competing activities of EWS::FLI1 and HOXD13. See related commentary by Weiss and Bailey, p. 4360.
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Affiliation(s)
- April A. Apfelbaum
- Cancer Biology PhD Program, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, 48109, USA,Seattle Children’s Research Institute, Seattle, WA, 98101, USA
| | - Feinan Wu
- Genomics and Bioinformatics Shared Resource, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle, WA, 98109, USA
| | - Allegra G. Hawkins
- Childhood Cancer Data Lab Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | - Brian Magnuson
- Department of Biostatistics, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, 48109, USA
| | - Jennifer A. Jiménez
- Cancer Biology PhD Program, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, 48109, USA
| | - Sean D. Taylor
- Seattle Children’s Research Institute, Seattle, WA, 98101, USA
| | - Emma D. Wrenn
- Seattle Children’s Research Institute, Seattle, WA, 98101, USA
| | - Olivia Waltner
- Fred Hutch Cancer Research Center, Seattle, WA, 98109, USA
| | | | - Jane Y. Song
- Immunology Discovery, Genentech, Inc., 1 DNA Way, South San Francisco, CA 94080, USA
| | - Cody Hall
- Department of Pathology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, 48109, USA
| | - Deneen M. Wellik
- Department of Cell and Regenerative Biology, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI, 53705
| | - Mats Ljungman
- Department of Radiation Oncology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, 48109, USA
| | - Scott N. Furlan
- Fred Hutch Cancer Research Center, Seattle, WA, 98109, USA,Department of Pediatrics, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, 98105, USA
| | - Russell J.H. Ryan
- Immunology Discovery, Genentech, Inc., 1 DNA Way, South San Francisco, CA 94080, USA
| | - Jay F. Sarthy
- Fred Hutch Cancer Research Center, Seattle, WA, 98109, USA,Department of Pediatrics, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, 98105, USA
| | - Elizabeth R. Lawlor
- Seattle Children’s Research Institute, Seattle, WA, 98101, USA,Department of Pediatrics, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, 98105, USA.,Correspondence: Elizabeth R. Lawlor MD, PhD, Seattle Children’s Research Institute, Olive Lab, 1100 Olive Way, Suite 100 Seattle, WA 98101,
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15
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Neomorphic DNA-binding enables tumor-specific therapeutic gene expression in fusion-addicted childhood sarcoma. Mol Cancer 2022; 21:199. [PMID: 36229873 PMCID: PMC9558418 DOI: 10.1186/s12943-022-01641-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/14/2022] [Accepted: 08/03/2022] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
Chimeric fusion transcription factors are oncogenic hallmarks of several devastating cancer entities including pediatric sarcomas, such as Ewing sarcoma (EwS) and alveolar rhabdomyosarcoma (ARMS). Despite their exquisite specificity, these driver oncogenes have been considered largely undruggable due to their lack of enzymatic activity. Here, we show in the EwS model that – capitalizing on neomorphic DNA-binding preferences – the addiction to the respective fusion transcription factor EWSR1-FLI1 can be leveraged to express therapeutic genes. We genetically engineered a de novo enhancer-based, synthetic and highly potent expression cassette that can elicit EWSR1-FLI1-dependent expression of a therapeutic payload as evidenced by episomal and CRISPR-edited genomic reporter assays. Combining in silico screens and immunohistochemistry, we identified GPR64 as a highly specific cell surface antigen for targeted transduction strategies in EwS. Functional experiments demonstrated that anti-GPR64-pseudotyped lentivirus harboring our expression cassette can specifically transduce EwS cells to promote the expression of viral thymidine kinase sensitizing EwS for treatment to otherwise relatively non-toxic (Val)ganciclovir and leading to strong anti-tumorigenic, but no adverse effects in vivo. Further, we prove that similar vector designs can be applied in PAX3-FOXO1-driven ARMS, and to express immunomodulatory cytokines, such as IL-15 and XCL1, in tumor entities typically considered to be immunologically ‘cold’. Collectively, these results generated in pediatric sarcomas indicate that exploiting, rather than suppressing, the neomorphic functions of chimeric transcription factors may open inroads to innovative and personalized therapies, and that our highly versatile approach may be translatable to other cancers addicted to oncogenic transcription factors with unique DNA-binding properties.
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16
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Regulation of Metastasis in Ewing Sarcoma. Cancers (Basel) 2022; 14:cancers14194902. [PMID: 36230825 PMCID: PMC9563756 DOI: 10.3390/cancers14194902] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/09/2022] [Revised: 10/01/2022] [Accepted: 10/04/2022] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Ewing sarcoma (EwS) is a type of bone and soft tissue tumor in children and adolescents. Over 85% of cases are caused by the expression of fusion protein EWSR1-FLI1 generated by chromosome translocation. Acting as a potent chimeric oncoprotein, EWSR1-FLI1 binds to chromatin, changes the epigenetic states, and thus alters the expression of a large set of genes. Several studies have revealed that the expression level of EWSR1-FLI1 is variable and dynamic within and across different EwS cell lines and primary tumors, leading to tumoral heterogeneity. Cells with high EWSR1-FLI1 expression (EWSR1-FLI1-high) proliferate in an exponential manner, whereas cells with low EWSR1-FLI1 expression (EWSR1-FLI1-low) tend to have a strong propensity to migrate, invade, and metastasize. Metastasis is the leading cause of cancer-related deaths. The continuous evolution of EwS research has revealed some of the molecular underpinnings of this dissemination process. In this review, we discuss the molecular signatures that contribute to metastasis.
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17
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Kitagawa T, Kobayashi D, Baron B, Okita H, Miyamoto T, Takai R, Paudel D, Ohta T, Asaoka Y, Tokunaga M, Nakagawa K, Furutani-Seiki M, Araki N, Kuramitsu Y, Kobayashi M. AT-hook DNA-binding motif-containing protein one knockdown downregulates EWS-FLI1 transcriptional activity in Ewing's sarcoma cells. PLoS One 2022; 17:e0269077. [PMID: 36194562 PMCID: PMC9531837 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0269077] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/12/2022] [Accepted: 09/06/2022] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Ewing's sarcoma is the second most common bone malignancy in children or young adults and is caused by an oncogenic transcription factor by a chromosomal translocation between the EWSR1 gene and the ETS transcription factor family. However, the transcriptional mechanism of EWS-ETS fusion proteins is still unclear. To identify the transcriptional complexes of EWS-ETS fusion transcription factors, we applied a proximal labeling system called BioID in Ewing's sarcoma cells. We identified AHDC1 as a proximal protein of EWS-ETS fusion proteins. AHDC1 knockdown showed a reduced cell growth and transcriptional activity of EWS-FLI1. AHDC1 knockdown also reduced BRD4 and BRG1 protein levels, both known as interacting proteins of EWS-FLI1. Our results suggest that AHDC1 supports cell growth through EWS-FLI1.
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Affiliation(s)
- Takao Kitagawa
- Advanced Research Promotion Center, Health Sciences University of Hokkaido, Kanazawa, Ishikari-Tobetsu, Hokkaido, Japan
- * E-mail:
| | - Daiki Kobayashi
- Department of Omics and Systems Biology, Graduate School of Medical and Dental Sciences, Niigata University, Niigata, Japan
- Department of Tumor Genetics and Biology, Faculty of Life Sciences, Kumamoto University, Kumamoto-Shi, Kumamoto, Japan
| | - Byron Baron
- Center for Molecular Medicine and Biobanking, University of Malta, Msida, Malta
| | - Hajime Okita
- Division of Diagnostic Pathology, Keio University School of Medicine, Shinano, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Tatsuo Miyamoto
- Department of Molecular and Cellular Physiology, Yamaguchi University Graduate School of Medicine, Ube, Yamaguchi, Japan
| | - Rie Takai
- Advanced Research Promotion Center, Health Sciences University of Hokkaido, Kanazawa, Ishikari-Tobetsu, Hokkaido, Japan
| | - Durga Paudel
- Advanced Research Promotion Center, Health Sciences University of Hokkaido, Kanazawa, Ishikari-Tobetsu, Hokkaido, Japan
| | - Tohru Ohta
- Advanced Research Promotion Center, Health Sciences University of Hokkaido, Kanazawa, Ishikari-Tobetsu, Hokkaido, Japan
| | - Yoichi Asaoka
- Department of Systems Biochemistry in Pathology and Regeneration, Yamaguchi University Graduate School of Medicine, Ube, Yamaguchi, Japan
| | - Masayuki Tokunaga
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Yamaguchi University Graduate School of Medicine, Ube, Yamaguchi, Japan
| | - Koji Nakagawa
- Advanced Research Promotion Center, Health Sciences University of Hokkaido, Kanazawa, Ishikari-Tobetsu, Hokkaido, Japan
| | - Makoto Furutani-Seiki
- Department of Systems Biochemistry in Pathology and Regeneration, Yamaguchi University Graduate School of Medicine, Ube, Yamaguchi, Japan
| | - Norie Araki
- Department of Tumor Genetics and Biology, Faculty of Life Sciences, Kumamoto University, Kumamoto-Shi, Kumamoto, Japan
| | - Yasuhiro Kuramitsu
- Advanced Research Promotion Center, Health Sciences University of Hokkaido, Kanazawa, Ishikari-Tobetsu, Hokkaido, Japan
| | - Masanobu Kobayashi
- Advanced Research Promotion Center, Health Sciences University of Hokkaido, Kanazawa, Ishikari-Tobetsu, Hokkaido, Japan
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18
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Showpnil IA, Selich-Anderson J, Taslim C, Boone MA, Crow JC, Theisen ER, Lessnick SL. EWS/FLI mediated reprogramming of 3D chromatin promotes an altered transcriptional state in Ewing sarcoma. Nucleic Acids Res 2022; 50:9814-9837. [PMID: 36124657 PMCID: PMC9508825 DOI: 10.1093/nar/gkac747] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/12/2022] [Revised: 08/10/2022] [Accepted: 08/23/2022] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Ewing sarcoma is a prototypical fusion transcription factor-associated pediatric cancer that expresses EWS/FLI or a highly related FET/ETS chimera. EWS/FLI dysregulates transcription to induce and maintain sarcomagenesis, but the mechanisms utilized are not fully understood. We therefore sought to define the global effects of EWS/FLI on chromatin conformation and transcription in Ewing sarcoma cells using a well-validated ‘knock-down/rescue’ model of EWS/FLI function in combination with next generation sequencing assays to evaluate how the chromatin landscape changes with loss, and recovery, of EWS/FLI expression. We found that EWS/FLI (and EWS/ERG) genomic localization is largely conserved across multiple patient-derived Ewing sarcoma cell lines. This EWS/FLI binding signature is associated with establishment of topologically-associated domain (TAD) boundaries, compartment activation, enhancer-promoter looping that involve both intra- and inter-TAD interactions, and gene activation. In addition, EWS/FLI co-localizes with the loop-extrusion factor cohesin to promote chromatin loops and TAD boundaries. Importantly, local chromatin features provide the basis for transcriptional heterogeneity in regulation of direct EWS/FLI target genes across different Ewing sarcoma cell lines. These data demonstrate a key role of EWS/FLI in mediating genome-wide changes in chromatin configuration and support the notion that fusion transcription factors serve as master regulators of three-dimensional reprogramming of chromatin.
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Affiliation(s)
- Iftekhar A Showpnil
- Center for Childhood Cancer and Blood Diseases, Abigail Wexner Research Institute at Nationwide Children's Hospital, Columbus, OH 43205, USA.,Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology Graduate Program, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210, USA
| | - Julia Selich-Anderson
- Center for Childhood Cancer and Blood Diseases, Abigail Wexner Research Institute at Nationwide Children's Hospital, Columbus, OH 43205, USA
| | - Cenny Taslim
- Center for Childhood Cancer and Blood Diseases, Abigail Wexner Research Institute at Nationwide Children's Hospital, Columbus, OH 43205, USA
| | - Megann A Boone
- Center for Childhood Cancer and Blood Diseases, Abigail Wexner Research Institute at Nationwide Children's Hospital, Columbus, OH 43205, USA.,Biomedical Sciences Graduate Program, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210, USA
| | - Jesse C Crow
- Center for Childhood Cancer and Blood Diseases, Abigail Wexner Research Institute at Nationwide Children's Hospital, Columbus, OH 43205, USA
| | - Emily R Theisen
- Center for Childhood Cancer and Blood Diseases, Abigail Wexner Research Institute at Nationwide Children's Hospital, Columbus, OH 43205, USA.,Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology Graduate Program, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210, USA.,Biomedical Sciences Graduate Program, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210, USA.,Department of Pediatrics, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210, USA
| | - Stephen L Lessnick
- Center for Childhood Cancer and Blood Diseases, Abigail Wexner Research Institute at Nationwide Children's Hospital, Columbus, OH 43205, USA.,Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology Graduate Program, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210, USA.,Biomedical Sciences Graduate Program, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210, USA.,Department of Pediatrics, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210, USA.,Division of Pediatric Heme/Onc/BMT, The Ohio State University College of Medicine, Columbus, OH 43210, USA
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19
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Hai Y, Kawachi A, He X, Yoshimi A. Pathogenic Roles of RNA-Binding Proteins in Sarcomas. Cancers (Basel) 2022; 14:cancers14153812. [PMID: 35954475 PMCID: PMC9367343 DOI: 10.3390/cancers14153812] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/13/2022] [Revised: 08/04/2022] [Accepted: 08/04/2022] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
RNA-binding proteins (RBPs) are proteins that physically and functionally bind to RNA to regulate the RNA metabolism such as alternative splicing, polyadenylation, transport, maintenance of stability, localization, and translation. There is accumulating evidence that dysregulated RBPs play an essential role in the pathogenesis of malignant tumors including a variety of types of sarcomas. On the other hand, prognosis of patients with sarcoma, especially with sarcoma in advanced stages, is very poor, and almost no effective standard treatment has been established for most of types of sarcomas so far, highlighting the urgent need for identifying novel therapeutic targets based on the deep understanding of pathogenesis. Therefore, defining the network of interactions between RBPs and disease-related RNA targets will contribute to a better understanding of sarcomagenesis and identification of a novel therapeutic target for sarcomas.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yu Hai
- Cancer RNA Research Unit, National Cancer Center Research Institute, Tokyo 104-0045, Japan
- Department of Physical and Chemical Inspection, School of Public Health, Cheeloo College of Medicine, Shandong University, Jinan 250012, China
| | - Asuka Kawachi
- Cancer RNA Research Unit, National Cancer Center Research Institute, Tokyo 104-0045, Japan
| | - Xiaodong He
- Department of Physical and Chemical Inspection, School of Public Health, Cheeloo College of Medicine, Shandong University, Jinan 250012, China
| | - Akihide Yoshimi
- Cancer RNA Research Unit, National Cancer Center Research Institute, Tokyo 104-0045, Japan
- Correspondence: ; Tel.: +81-3-3542-2511
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20
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Martin JC, Sims JR, Gupta A, Bakin AV, Ohm JE. WEE1 inhibition augments CDC7 (DDK) inhibitor-induced cell death in Ewing sarcoma by forcing premature mitotic entry and mitotic catastrophe. CANCER RESEARCH COMMUNICATIONS 2022; 2:471-482. [PMID: 36338546 PMCID: PMC9635308 DOI: 10.1158/2767-9764.crc-22-0130] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/21/2022] [Revised: 04/08/2022] [Accepted: 05/25/2022] [Indexed: 06/16/2023]
Abstract
Ewing sarcoma is an aggressive childhood cancer for which treatment options remain limited and toxic. There is an urgent need for the identification of novel therapeutic strategies. Our group has recently shown that Ewing cells rely on the S-phase kinase CDC7 (DDK) to maintain replication rates and cell viability and that DDK inhibition causes an increase in the phosphorylation of CDK1 and a significant delay in mitotic entry. Here, we expand on our previous findings and show that DDK inhibitor-induced mitotic entry delay is dependent upon WEE1 kinase. Specifically, WEE1 phosphorylates CDK1 and prevents mitotic entry upon DDK inhibition due to the presence of under-replicated DNA, potentially limiting the cytotoxic effects of DDK inhibition. To overcome this, we combined the inhibition of DDK with the inhibition of WEE1 and found that this results in elevated levels of premature mitotic entry, mitotic catastrophe, and apoptosis. Importantly, we have found that DDK and WEE1 inhibitors display a synergistic relationship with regards to reducing cell viability of Ewing sarcoma cells. Interestingly, the cytotoxic nature of this combination can be suppressed by the inhibition of CDK1 or microtubule polymerization, indicating that mitotic progression is required to elicit the cytotoxic effects. This is the first study to display the potential of utilizing the combined inhibition of DDK and WEE1 for the treatment of cancer. We believe this will offer a potential therapeutic strategy for the treatment of Ewing sarcoma as well as other tumor types that display sensitivity to DDK inhibitors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jeffrey C. Martin
- Department of Cancer Genetics and Genomics, Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center, Buffalo, New York
| | - Jennie R. Sims
- Department of Cancer Genetics and Genomics, Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center, Buffalo, New York
| | - Ajay Gupta
- Division of Pediatric Oncology, Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center, Department of Pediatrics, University at Buffalo Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Buffalo, New York
| | - Andrei V. Bakin
- Department of Cancer Genetics and Genomics, Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center, Buffalo, New York
| | - Joyce Ellen Ohm
- Department of Cancer Genetics and Genomics, Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center, Buffalo, New York
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21
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Buchou C, Laud-Duval K, van der Ent W, Grossetête S, Zaidi S, Gentric G, Corbé M, Müller K, Del Nery E, Surdez D, Delattre O. Upregulation of the Mevalonate Pathway through EWSR1-FLI1/EGR2 Regulatory Axis Confers Ewing Cells Exquisite Sensitivity to Statins. Cancers (Basel) 2022; 14:cancers14092327. [PMID: 35565457 PMCID: PMC9100622 DOI: 10.3390/cancers14092327] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/08/2022] [Revised: 05/02/2022] [Accepted: 05/05/2022] [Indexed: 02/04/2023] Open
Abstract
Simple Summary The objective of this project was to search for new dependencies in Ewing sarcoma, a deadly disease for which new therapeutic approaches are urgently needed. A pharmacological screening of off-patent approved drugs (FDA agency) and the investigation of downstream targets of EGR2 were performed. The two approaches showed the MVA pathway as a major dependency in Ewing sarcoma and statin, an inhibitor of this pathway, as a potential new therapeutic agent for the treatment of Ewing sarcoma. Abstract Ewing sarcoma (EwS) is an aggressive primary bone cancer in children and young adults characterized by oncogenic fusions between genes encoding FET-RNA-binding proteins and ETS transcription factors, the most frequent fusion being EWSR1-FLI1. We show that EGR2, an Ewing-susceptibility gene and an essential direct target of EWSR1-FLI1, directly regulates the transcription of genes encoding key enzymes of the mevalonate (MVA) pathway. Consequently, Ewing sarcoma is one of the tumors that expresses the highest levels of mevalonate pathway genes. Moreover, genome-wide screens indicate that MVA pathway genes constitute major dependencies of Ewing cells. Accordingly, the statin inhibitors of HMG-CoA-reductase, a rate-limiting enzyme of the MVA pathway, demonstrate cytotoxicity in EwS. Statins induce increased ROS and lipid peroxidation levels, as well as decreased membrane localization of prenylated proteins, such as small GTP proteins. These metabolic effects lead to an alteration in the dynamics of S-phase progression and to apoptosis. Statin-induced effects can be rescued by downstream products of the MVA pathway. Finally, we further show that statins impair tumor growth in different Ewing PDX models. Altogether, the data show that statins, which are off-patent, well-tolerated, and inexpensive compounds, should be strongly considered in the therapeutic arsenal against this deadly childhood disease.
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Affiliation(s)
- Charlie Buchou
- INSERM U830, Équipe Labellisée LNCC, Diversity & Plasticity of Childhood Tumors Laboratory, PSL Research University, SIREDO Oncology Center, Institut Curie Research Center, 26 rue d’ULM, 75005 Paris, France; (C.B.); (K.L.-D.); (W.v.d.E.); (S.G.); (S.Z.); (D.S.)
| | - Karine Laud-Duval
- INSERM U830, Équipe Labellisée LNCC, Diversity & Plasticity of Childhood Tumors Laboratory, PSL Research University, SIREDO Oncology Center, Institut Curie Research Center, 26 rue d’ULM, 75005 Paris, France; (C.B.); (K.L.-D.); (W.v.d.E.); (S.G.); (S.Z.); (D.S.)
| | - Wietske van der Ent
- INSERM U830, Équipe Labellisée LNCC, Diversity & Plasticity of Childhood Tumors Laboratory, PSL Research University, SIREDO Oncology Center, Institut Curie Research Center, 26 rue d’ULM, 75005 Paris, France; (C.B.); (K.L.-D.); (W.v.d.E.); (S.G.); (S.Z.); (D.S.)
| | - Sandrine Grossetête
- INSERM U830, Équipe Labellisée LNCC, Diversity & Plasticity of Childhood Tumors Laboratory, PSL Research University, SIREDO Oncology Center, Institut Curie Research Center, 26 rue d’ULM, 75005 Paris, France; (C.B.); (K.L.-D.); (W.v.d.E.); (S.G.); (S.Z.); (D.S.)
| | - Sakina Zaidi
- INSERM U830, Équipe Labellisée LNCC, Diversity & Plasticity of Childhood Tumors Laboratory, PSL Research University, SIREDO Oncology Center, Institut Curie Research Center, 26 rue d’ULM, 75005 Paris, France; (C.B.); (K.L.-D.); (W.v.d.E.); (S.G.); (S.Z.); (D.S.)
| | - Géraldine Gentric
- INSERM U830, Équipe Labellisée LNCC, Stress and Cancer Laboratory, PSL Research University, Institut Curie Research Center, 26 rue d’ULM, 75005 Paris, France;
| | - Maxime Corbé
- Department of Translational Research, The Biophenics High-Content Screening Laboratory, PSL Research University, Institut Curie Research Center, 26 rue d’ULM, 75005 Paris, France; (M.C.); (K.M.); (E.D.N.)
| | - Kévin Müller
- Department of Translational Research, The Biophenics High-Content Screening Laboratory, PSL Research University, Institut Curie Research Center, 26 rue d’ULM, 75005 Paris, France; (M.C.); (K.M.); (E.D.N.)
| | - Elaine Del Nery
- Department of Translational Research, The Biophenics High-Content Screening Laboratory, PSL Research University, Institut Curie Research Center, 26 rue d’ULM, 75005 Paris, France; (M.C.); (K.M.); (E.D.N.)
| | - Didier Surdez
- INSERM U830, Équipe Labellisée LNCC, Diversity & Plasticity of Childhood Tumors Laboratory, PSL Research University, SIREDO Oncology Center, Institut Curie Research Center, 26 rue d’ULM, 75005 Paris, France; (C.B.); (K.L.-D.); (W.v.d.E.); (S.G.); (S.Z.); (D.S.)
- Balgrist University Hospital, University of Zurich, Zurich, Forchstrasse 340, 8008 Zürich, Switzerland
| | - Olivier Delattre
- INSERM U830, Équipe Labellisée LNCC, Diversity & Plasticity of Childhood Tumors Laboratory, PSL Research University, SIREDO Oncology Center, Institut Curie Research Center, 26 rue d’ULM, 75005 Paris, France; (C.B.); (K.L.-D.); (W.v.d.E.); (S.G.); (S.Z.); (D.S.)
- Correspondence:
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22
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Vibert J, Saulnier O, Collin C, Petit F, Borgman KJE, Vigneau J, Gautier M, Zaidi S, Pierron G, Watson S, Gruel N, Hénon C, Postel-Vinay S, Deloger M, Raynal V, Baulande S, Laud-Duval K, Hill V, Grossetête S, Dingli F, Loew D, Torrejon J, Ayrault O, Orth MF, Grünewald TGP, Surdez D, Coulon A, Waterfall JJ, Delattre O. Oncogenic chimeric transcription factors drive tumor-specific transcription, processing, and translation of silent genomic regions. Mol Cell 2022; 82:2458-2471.e9. [PMID: 35550257 DOI: 10.1016/j.molcel.2022.04.019] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/15/2021] [Revised: 02/20/2022] [Accepted: 04/14/2022] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
Abstract
Many cancers are characterized by gene fusions encoding oncogenic chimeric transcription factors (TFs) such as EWS::FLI1 in Ewing sarcoma (EwS). Here, we find that EWS::FLI1 induces the robust expression of a specific set of novel spliced and polyadenylated transcripts within otherwise transcriptionally silent regions of the genome. These neogenes (NGs) are virtually undetectable in large collections of normal tissues or non-EwS tumors and can be silenced by CRISPR interference at regulatory EWS::FLI1-bound microsatellites. Ribosome profiling and proteomics further show that some NGs are translated into highly EwS-specific peptides. More generally, we show that hundreds of NGs can be detected in diverse cancers characterized by chimeric TFs. Altogether, this study identifies the transcription, processing, and translation of novel, specific, highly expressed multi-exonic transcripts from otherwise silent regions of the genome as a new activity of aberrant TFs in cancer.
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Affiliation(s)
- Julien Vibert
- INSERM U830, Équipe Labellisée LNCC, Diversity and Plasticity of Childhood Tumors Lab, PSL Research University, SIREDO Oncology Center, Institut Curie Research Center, Paris, France; INSERM U830, Integrative Functional Genomics of Cancer Lab, PSL Research University, Institut Curie Research Center, Paris, France; Department of Translational Research, PSL Research University, Institut Curie Research Center, Paris, France
| | - Olivier Saulnier
- INSERM U830, Équipe Labellisée LNCC, Diversity and Plasticity of Childhood Tumors Lab, PSL Research University, SIREDO Oncology Center, Institut Curie Research Center, Paris, France
| | - Céline Collin
- INSERM U830, Équipe Labellisée LNCC, Diversity and Plasticity of Childhood Tumors Lab, PSL Research University, SIREDO Oncology Center, Institut Curie Research Center, Paris, France
| | - Floriane Petit
- INSERM U830, Équipe Labellisée LNCC, Diversity and Plasticity of Childhood Tumors Lab, PSL Research University, SIREDO Oncology Center, Institut Curie Research Center, Paris, France
| | - Kyra J E Borgman
- Institut Curie, PSL Research University, Sorbonne Université, CNRS UMR 3664, Laboratoire Dynamique du Noyau, 75005 Paris, France; Institut Curie, PSL Research University, Sorbonne Université, CNRS UMR168, Laboratoire Physico Chimie Curie, 75005 Paris, France
| | - Jérômine Vigneau
- INSERM U830, Équipe Labellisée LNCC, Diversity and Plasticity of Childhood Tumors Lab, PSL Research University, SIREDO Oncology Center, Institut Curie Research Center, Paris, France
| | - Maud Gautier
- INSERM U830, Équipe Labellisée LNCC, Diversity and Plasticity of Childhood Tumors Lab, PSL Research University, SIREDO Oncology Center, Institut Curie Research Center, Paris, France
| | - Sakina Zaidi
- INSERM U830, Équipe Labellisée LNCC, Diversity and Plasticity of Childhood Tumors Lab, PSL Research University, SIREDO Oncology Center, Institut Curie Research Center, Paris, France
| | - Gaëlle Pierron
- Unité de Génétique Somatique, Service d'oncogénétique, Institut Curie, Centre Hospitalier, Paris, France
| | - Sarah Watson
- INSERM U830, Équipe Labellisée LNCC, Diversity and Plasticity of Childhood Tumors Lab, PSL Research University, SIREDO Oncology Center, Institut Curie Research Center, Paris, France; Medical Oncology Department, PSL Research University, Institut Curie Hospital, Paris, France
| | - Nadège Gruel
- INSERM U830, Équipe Labellisée LNCC, Diversity and Plasticity of Childhood Tumors Lab, PSL Research University, SIREDO Oncology Center, Institut Curie Research Center, Paris, France; Department of Translational Research, PSL Research University, Institut Curie Research Center, Paris, France
| | - Clémence Hénon
- ATIP-Avenir group, Inserm Unit U981, Gustave Roussy, Villejuif, France
| | - Sophie Postel-Vinay
- ATIP-Avenir group, Inserm Unit U981, Gustave Roussy, Villejuif, France; Drug Development Department, DITEP, Gustave Roussy, Villejuif, France
| | - Marc Deloger
- Bioinformatics and Computational Systems Biology of Cancer, PSL Research University, Mines Paris Tech, INSERM U900, Paris, France
| | - Virginie Raynal
- Institut Curie Genomics of Excellence (ICGex) Platform, PSL Research University, Institut Curie Research Center, Paris, France
| | - Sylvain Baulande
- Institut Curie Genomics of Excellence (ICGex) Platform, PSL Research University, Institut Curie Research Center, Paris, France
| | - Karine Laud-Duval
- INSERM U830, Équipe Labellisée LNCC, Diversity and Plasticity of Childhood Tumors Lab, PSL Research University, SIREDO Oncology Center, Institut Curie Research Center, Paris, France
| | - Véronique Hill
- INSERM U830, Équipe Labellisée LNCC, Diversity and Plasticity of Childhood Tumors Lab, PSL Research University, SIREDO Oncology Center, Institut Curie Research Center, Paris, France
| | - Sandrine Grossetête
- INSERM U830, Équipe Labellisée LNCC, Diversity and Plasticity of Childhood Tumors Lab, PSL Research University, SIREDO Oncology Center, Institut Curie Research Center, Paris, France
| | - Florent Dingli
- Laboratoire de Spectrométrie de Masse Protéomique, PSL Research University, Institut Curie Research Center, Paris, France
| | - Damarys Loew
- Laboratoire de Spectrométrie de Masse Protéomique, PSL Research University, Institut Curie Research Center, Paris, France
| | - Jacob Torrejon
- Institut Curie, CNRS UMR3347, INSERM, PSL Research University, Orsay, France; CNRS UMR 3347, INSERM U1021, Université Paris Sud, Université Paris-Saclay, Orsay, France
| | - Olivier Ayrault
- Institut Curie, CNRS UMR3347, INSERM, PSL Research University, Orsay, France; CNRS UMR 3347, INSERM U1021, Université Paris Sud, Université Paris-Saclay, Orsay, France
| | - Martin F Orth
- Max-Eder Research Group for Pediatric Sarcoma Biology, Institute of Pathology, Faculty of Medicine, LMU Munich, Munich, Germany
| | - Thomas G P Grünewald
- Division of Translational Pediatric Sarcoma Research, German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), German Cancer Consortium (DKTK), Heidelberg, Germany; Hopp-Children's Cancer Center (KiTZ), Heidelberg, Germany; Institute of Pathology, Heidelberg University Hospital, Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Didier Surdez
- INSERM U830, Équipe Labellisée LNCC, Diversity and Plasticity of Childhood Tumors Lab, PSL Research University, SIREDO Oncology Center, Institut Curie Research Center, Paris, France
| | - Antoine Coulon
- Institut Curie, PSL Research University, Sorbonne Université, CNRS UMR 3664, Laboratoire Dynamique du Noyau, 75005 Paris, France; Institut Curie, PSL Research University, Sorbonne Université, CNRS UMR168, Laboratoire Physico Chimie Curie, 75005 Paris, France
| | - Joshua J Waterfall
- INSERM U830, Integrative Functional Genomics of Cancer Lab, PSL Research University, Institut Curie Research Center, Paris, France; Department of Translational Research, PSL Research University, Institut Curie Research Center, Paris, France.
| | - Olivier Delattre
- INSERM U830, Équipe Labellisée LNCC, Diversity and Plasticity of Childhood Tumors Lab, PSL Research University, SIREDO Oncology Center, Institut Curie Research Center, Paris, France; Institut Curie, PSL Research University, Sorbonne Université, CNRS UMR 3664, Laboratoire Dynamique du Noyau, 75005 Paris, France.
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23
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Tak YE, Boulay G, Lee L, Iyer S, Perry NT, Schultz HT, Garcia SP, Broye L, Horng JE, Rengarajan S, Naigles B, Volorio A, Sander JD, Gong J, Riggi N, Joung JK, Rivera MN. Genome-wide functional perturbation of human microsatellite repeats using engineered zinc finger transcription factors. CELL GENOMICS 2022; 2. [PMID: 35967079 PMCID: PMC9374162 DOI: 10.1016/j.xgen.2022.100119] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/05/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Y. Esther Tak
- Molecular Pathology Unit and Center for Cancer Research, Massachusetts General Hospital, Charlestown, MA, USA
- Center for Computational and Integrative Biology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Charlestown, MA, USA
- Department of Pathology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Gaylor Boulay
- Molecular Pathology Unit and Center for Cancer Research, Massachusetts General Hospital, Charlestown, MA, USA
- Department of Pathology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
- Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Lukuo Lee
- Molecular Pathology Unit and Center for Cancer Research, Massachusetts General Hospital, Charlestown, MA, USA
| | - Sowmya Iyer
- Molecular Pathology Unit and Center for Cancer Research, Massachusetts General Hospital, Charlestown, MA, USA
| | - Nicholas T. Perry
- Molecular Pathology Unit and Center for Cancer Research, Massachusetts General Hospital, Charlestown, MA, USA
- Center for Computational and Integrative Biology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Charlestown, MA, USA
| | - Hayley T. Schultz
- Molecular Pathology Unit and Center for Cancer Research, Massachusetts General Hospital, Charlestown, MA, USA
- Center for Computational and Integrative Biology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Charlestown, MA, USA
| | - Sara P. Garcia
- Molecular Pathology Unit and Center for Cancer Research, Massachusetts General Hospital, Charlestown, MA, USA
| | - Liliane Broye
- Institute of Pathology, Department of Experimental Pathology, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Vaudois, University of Lausanne, 1011 Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Joy E. Horng
- Molecular Pathology Unit and Center for Cancer Research, Massachusetts General Hospital, Charlestown, MA, USA
- Center for Computational and Integrative Biology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Charlestown, MA, USA
| | - Shruthi Rengarajan
- Molecular Pathology Unit and Center for Cancer Research, Massachusetts General Hospital, Charlestown, MA, USA
| | - Beverly Naigles
- Molecular Pathology Unit and Center for Cancer Research, Massachusetts General Hospital, Charlestown, MA, USA
| | - Angela Volorio
- Molecular Pathology Unit and Center for Cancer Research, Massachusetts General Hospital, Charlestown, MA, USA
- Institute of Pathology, Department of Experimental Pathology, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Vaudois, University of Lausanne, 1011 Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Jeffry D. Sander
- Molecular Pathology Unit and Center for Cancer Research, Massachusetts General Hospital, Charlestown, MA, USA
- Center for Computational and Integrative Biology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Charlestown, MA, USA
- Department of Pathology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Jingyi Gong
- Molecular Pathology Unit and Center for Cancer Research, Massachusetts General Hospital, Charlestown, MA, USA
- Center for Computational and Integrative Biology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Charlestown, MA, USA
| | - Nicolò Riggi
- Institute of Pathology, Department of Experimental Pathology, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Vaudois, University of Lausanne, 1011 Lausanne, Switzerland
- Corresponding author
| | - J. Keith Joung
- Molecular Pathology Unit and Center for Cancer Research, Massachusetts General Hospital, Charlestown, MA, USA
- Center for Computational and Integrative Biology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Charlestown, MA, USA
- Department of Pathology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
- Corresponding author
| | - Miguel N. Rivera
- Molecular Pathology Unit and Center for Cancer Research, Massachusetts General Hospital, Charlestown, MA, USA
- Department of Pathology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
- Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA, USA
- Corresponding author
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24
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Schwope R, Magris G, Miculan M, Paparelli E, Celii M, Tocci A, Marroni F, Fornasiero A, De Paoli E, Morgante M. Open chromatin in grapevine marks candidate CREs and with other chromatin features correlates with gene expression. THE PLANT JOURNAL : FOR CELL AND MOLECULAR BIOLOGY 2021; 107:1631-1647. [PMID: 34219317 PMCID: PMC8518642 DOI: 10.1111/tpj.15404] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/07/2020] [Revised: 06/24/2021] [Accepted: 06/25/2021] [Indexed: 05/14/2023]
Abstract
Vitis vinifera is an economically important crop and a useful model in which to study chromatin dynamics. In contrast to the small and relatively simple genome of Arabidopsis thaliana, grapevine contains a complex genome of 487 Mb that exhibits extensive colonization by transposable elements. We used Hi-C, ChIP-seq and ATAC-seq to measure how chromatin features correlate to the expression of 31 845 grapevine genes. ATAC-seq revealed the presence of more than 16 000 open chromatin regions, of which we characterize nearly 5000 as possible distal enhancer candidates that occur in intergenic space > 2 kb from the nearest transcription start site (TSS). A motif search identified more than 480 transcription factor (TF) binding sites in these regions, with those for TCP family proteins in greatest abundance. These open chromatin regions are typically within 15 kb from their nearest promoter, and a gene ontology analysis indicated that their nearest genes are significantly enriched for TF activity. The presence of a candidate cis-regulatory element (cCRE) > 2 kb upstream of the TSS, location in the active nuclear compartment as determined by Hi-C, and the enrichment of H3K4me3, H3K4me1 and H3K27ac at the gene are correlated with gene expression. Taken together, these results suggest that regions of intergenic open chromatin identified by ATAC-seq can be considered potential candidates for cis-regulatory regions in V. vinifera. Our findings enhance the characterization of a valuable agricultural crop, and help to clarify the understanding of unique plant biology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rachel Schwope
- Dipartimento di Scienze AgroalimentariAmbientali e Animali (DI4A)UdineI‐33100Italy
- Istituto di Genomica ApplicataUdineI‐33100Italy
| | - Gabriele Magris
- Dipartimento di Scienze AgroalimentariAmbientali e Animali (DI4A)UdineI‐33100Italy
- Istituto di Genomica ApplicataUdineI‐33100Italy
| | - Mara Miculan
- Dipartimento di Scienze AgroalimentariAmbientali e Animali (DI4A)UdineI‐33100Italy
- Istituto di Genomica ApplicataUdineI‐33100Italy
- Present address:
Institute of Life SciencesScuola Superiore Sant'Anna PisaPisa56127Italy
| | - Eleonora Paparelli
- Dipartimento di Scienze AgroalimentariAmbientali e Animali (DI4A)UdineI‐33100Italy
- Istituto di Genomica ApplicataUdineI‐33100Italy
- Present address:
IGA Technology ServicesUdineI‐33100Italy
| | - Mirko Celii
- Dipartimento di Scienze AgroalimentariAmbientali e Animali (DI4A)UdineI‐33100Italy
- Istituto di Genomica ApplicataUdineI‐33100Italy
- Present address:
Center for Desert Agriculture, Biological and Environmental Sciences & Engineering Division (BESE)KAUSTThuwalMakkahSaudi Arabia
| | - Aldo Tocci
- Dipartimento di Scienze AgroalimentariAmbientali e Animali (DI4A)UdineI‐33100Italy
- Istituto di Genomica ApplicataUdineI‐33100Italy
- Scuola Internazionale Superiore di Studi AvanzatiTriesteFriuli‐Venezia GiuliaItaly
| | - Fabio Marroni
- Dipartimento di Scienze AgroalimentariAmbientali e Animali (DI4A)UdineI‐33100Italy
- Istituto di Genomica ApplicataUdineI‐33100Italy
| | - Alice Fornasiero
- Dipartimento di Scienze AgroalimentariAmbientali e Animali (DI4A)UdineI‐33100Italy
- Istituto di Genomica ApplicataUdineI‐33100Italy
- Present address:
Center for Desert Agriculture, Biological and Environmental Sciences & Engineering Division (BESE)KAUSTThuwalMakkahSaudi Arabia
| | - Emanuele De Paoli
- Dipartimento di Scienze AgroalimentariAmbientali e Animali (DI4A)UdineI‐33100Italy
| | - Michele Morgante
- Dipartimento di Scienze AgroalimentariAmbientali e Animali (DI4A)UdineI‐33100Italy
- Istituto di Genomica ApplicataUdineI‐33100Italy
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25
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Heisey DAR, Jacob S, Lochmann TL, Kurupi R, Ghotra MS, Calbert ML, Shende M, Maves YK, Koblinski JE, Dozmorov MG, Boikos SA, Benes CH, Faber AC. Pharmaceutical Interference of the EWS-FLI1-driven Transcriptome By Cotargeting H3K27ac and RNA Polymerase Activity in Ewing Sarcoma. Mol Cancer Ther 2021; 20:1868-1879. [PMID: 34315769 DOI: 10.1158/1535-7163.mct-20-0489] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/12/2020] [Revised: 12/23/2020] [Accepted: 07/19/2021] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
The EWSR1-FLI1 t(11;22)(q24;q12) translocation is the hallmark genomic alteration of Ewing sarcoma, a malignancy of the bone and surrounding tissue, predominantly affecting children and adolescents. Although significant progress has been made for the treatment of localized disease, patients with metastasis or who relapse after chemotherapy have less than a 30% five-year survival rate. EWS-FLI1 is currently not clinically druggable, driving the need for more effective targeted therapies. Treatment with the H3K27 demethylase inhibitor, GSK-J4, leads to an increase in H3K27me and a decrease in H3K27ac, a significant event in Ewing sarcoma because H3K27ac associates strongly with EWS-FLI1 binding at enhancers and promoters and subsequent activity of EWS-FLI1 target genes. We were able to identify targets of EWS-FLI1 tumorigenesis directly inhibited by GSK-J4. GSK-J4 disruption of EWS-FLI1-driven transcription was toxic to Ewing sarcoma cells and slowed tumor growth in patient-derived xenografts (PDX) of Ewing sarcoma. Responses were markedly exacerbated by cotreatment with a disruptor of RNA polymerase II activity, the CDK7 inhibitor THZ1. This combination together suppressed EWS-FLI1 target genes and viability of ex vivo PDX Ewing sarcoma cells in a synergistic manner. In PDX models of Ewing Sarcoma, the combination shrank tumors. We present a new therapeutic strategy to treat Ewing sarcoma by decreasing H3K27ac at EWS-FLI1-driven transcripts, exacerbated by blocking phosphorylation of the C-terminal domain of RNA polymerase II to further hinder the EWS-FLI1-driven transcriptome.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniel A R Heisey
- VCU Philips Institute, School of Dentistry and Massey Cancer Center; Richmond, Virginia
| | - Sheeba Jacob
- VCU Philips Institute, School of Dentistry and Massey Cancer Center; Richmond, Virginia
| | - Timothy L Lochmann
- VCU Philips Institute, School of Dentistry and Massey Cancer Center; Richmond, Virginia
| | - Richard Kurupi
- VCU Philips Institute, School of Dentistry and Massey Cancer Center; Richmond, Virginia
| | - Maninderjit S Ghotra
- VCU Philips Institute, School of Dentistry and Massey Cancer Center; Richmond, Virginia
| | - Marissa L Calbert
- VCU Philips Institute, School of Dentistry and Massey Cancer Center; Richmond, Virginia
| | - Mayuri Shende
- Department of Pathology, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, Virginia
| | | | | | - Mikhail G Dozmorov
- Department of Biostatistics, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, Virginia
| | - Sosipatros A Boikos
- Hematology, Oncology and Palliative Care, School of Medicine and Massey Cancer Center, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, Virginia.
| | - Cyril H Benes
- Massachusetts General Hospital Cancer Center, Boston, Massachusetts
| | - Anthony C Faber
- VCU Philips Institute, School of Dentistry and Massey Cancer Center; Richmond, Virginia.
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26
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Damerell V, Pepper MS, Prince S. Molecular mechanisms underpinning sarcomas and implications for current and future therapy. Signal Transduct Target Ther 2021; 6:246. [PMID: 34188019 PMCID: PMC8241855 DOI: 10.1038/s41392-021-00647-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 41] [Impact Index Per Article: 13.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/24/2020] [Revised: 04/18/2021] [Accepted: 05/18/2021] [Indexed: 02/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Sarcomas are complex mesenchymal neoplasms with a poor prognosis. Their clinical management is highly challenging due to their heterogeneity and insensitivity to current treatments. Although there have been advances in understanding specific genomic alterations and genetic mutations driving sarcomagenesis, the underlying molecular mechanisms, which are likely to be unique for each sarcoma subtype, are not fully understood. This is in part due to a lack of consensus on the cells of origin, but there is now mounting evidence that they originate from mesenchymal stromal/stem cells (MSCs). To identify novel treatment strategies for sarcomas, research in recent years has adopted a mechanism-based search for molecular markers for targeted therapy which has included recapitulating sarcomagenesis using in vitro and in vivo MSC models. This review provides a comprehensive up to date overview of the molecular mechanisms that underpin sarcomagenesis, the contribution of MSCs to modelling sarcomagenesis in vivo, as well as novel topics such as the role of epithelial-to-mesenchymal-transition (EMT)/mesenchymal-to-epithelial-transition (MET) plasticity, exosomes, and microRNAs in sarcomagenesis. It also reviews current therapeutic options including ongoing pre-clinical and clinical studies for targeted sarcoma therapy and discusses new therapeutic avenues such as targeting recently identified molecular pathways and key transcription factors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Victoria Damerell
- Division of Cell Biology, Department of Human Biology, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Cape Town, Observatory, Cape Town, South Africa
| | - Michael S Pepper
- Institute for Cellular and Molecular Medicine, Department of Immunology, SAMRC Extramural Unit for Stem Research and Therapy, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, South Africa
| | - Sharon Prince
- Division of Cell Biology, Department of Human Biology, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Cape Town, Observatory, Cape Town, South Africa.
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27
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Surdez D, Zaidi S, Grossetête S, Laud-Duval K, Ferre AS, Mous L, Vourc'h T, Tirode F, Pierron G, Raynal V, Baulande S, Brunet E, Hill V, Delattre O. STAG2 mutations alter CTCF-anchored loop extrusion, reduce cis-regulatory interactions and EWSR1-FLI1 activity in Ewing sarcoma. Cancer Cell 2021; 39:810-826.e9. [PMID: 33930311 DOI: 10.1016/j.ccell.2021.04.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 45] [Impact Index Per Article: 15.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/02/2019] [Revised: 08/31/2020] [Accepted: 04/02/2021] [Indexed: 12/19/2022]
Abstract
STAG2, a cohesin family gene, is among the most recurrently mutated genes in cancer. STAG2 loss of function (LOF) is associated with aggressive behavior in Ewing sarcoma, a childhood cancer driven by aberrant transcription induced by the EWSR1-FLI1 fusion oncogene. Here, using isogenic Ewing cells, we show that, while STAG2 LOF profoundly changes the transcriptome, it does not significantly impact EWSR1-FLI1, CTCF/cohesin, or acetylated H3K27 DNA binding patterns. In contrast, it strongly alters the anchored dynamic loop extrusion process at boundary CTCF sites and dramatically decreases promoter-enhancer interactions, particularly affecting the expression of genes regulated by EWSR1-FLI1 at GGAA microsatellite neo-enhancers. Down-modulation of cis-mediated EWSR1-FLI1 activity, observed in STAG2-LOF conditions, is associated with enhanced migration and invasion properties of Ewing cells previously observed in EWSR1-FLI1low cells. Our study illuminates a process whereby STAG2-LOF fine-tunes the activity of an oncogenic transcription factor through altered CTCF-anchored loop extrusion and cis-mediated enhancer mechanisms.
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MESH Headings
- Bone Neoplasms/genetics
- Bone Neoplasms/mortality
- Bone Neoplasms/pathology
- CCCTC-Binding Factor/chemistry
- CCCTC-Binding Factor/genetics
- CCCTC-Binding Factor/metabolism
- Cell Cycle Proteins/genetics
- Cell Cycle Proteins/metabolism
- Cell Line, Tumor
- Cell Movement/genetics
- Chromatin Immunoprecipitation
- Chromosomal Proteins, Non-Histone/metabolism
- Enhancer Elements, Genetic
- Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic
- Histones/metabolism
- Humans
- Loss of Function Mutation
- Lysine/metabolism
- Oncogene Proteins, Fusion/genetics
- Oncogene Proteins, Fusion/metabolism
- Promoter Regions, Genetic
- Sarcoma, Ewing/genetics
- Sarcoma, Ewing/mortality
- Sarcoma, Ewing/pathology
- Cohesins
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Affiliation(s)
- Didier Surdez
- INSERM U830, Équipe Labellisée LNCC, Diversity and Plasticity of Childhood Tumors Lab, PSL Research University, SIREDO Oncology Centre, Institut Curie Research Centre, 75005 Paris, France.
| | - Sakina Zaidi
- INSERM U830, Équipe Labellisée LNCC, Diversity and Plasticity of Childhood Tumors Lab, PSL Research University, SIREDO Oncology Centre, Institut Curie Research Centre, 75005 Paris, France
| | - Sandrine Grossetête
- INSERM U830, Équipe Labellisée LNCC, Diversity and Plasticity of Childhood Tumors Lab, PSL Research University, SIREDO Oncology Centre, Institut Curie Research Centre, 75005 Paris, France
| | - Karine Laud-Duval
- INSERM U830, Équipe Labellisée LNCC, Diversity and Plasticity of Childhood Tumors Lab, PSL Research University, SIREDO Oncology Centre, Institut Curie Research Centre, 75005 Paris, France
| | - Anna Sole Ferre
- INSERM UMR 1163, Laboratory of Genome Dynamics in the Immune System, Equipe Labellisée Ligue contre le Cancer and Université de Paris, Imagine Institute, 75005 Paris, France
| | - Lieke Mous
- INSERM U830, Équipe Labellisée LNCC, Diversity and Plasticity of Childhood Tumors Lab, PSL Research University, SIREDO Oncology Centre, Institut Curie Research Centre, 75005 Paris, France
| | - Thomas Vourc'h
- UMR 168, Biology Inspired Physics at Mesoscales, PSL Research University, Institut Curie Research Centre, 75005 Paris, France
| | - Franck Tirode
- Univ Lyon, Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1, CNRS 5286, INSERM U1052, Cancer Research Center of Lyon, 69008 Lyon, France
| | - Gaelle Pierron
- Unité de Génétique Somatique, Service d'oncogénétique, Institut Curie, Centre Hospitalier, 75005 Paris, France
| | - Virginie Raynal
- INSERM U830, Équipe Labellisée LNCC, Diversity and Plasticity of Childhood Tumors Lab, PSL Research University, SIREDO Oncology Centre, Institut Curie Research Centre, 75005 Paris, France; Institut Curie Genomics of Excellence (ICGex) Platform, PSL Université, Institut Curie Research Centre, 75005 Paris, France
| | - Sylvain Baulande
- Institut Curie Genomics of Excellence (ICGex) Platform, PSL Université, Institut Curie Research Centre, 75005 Paris, France
| | - Erika Brunet
- INSERM UMR 1163, Laboratory of Genome Dynamics in the Immune System, Equipe Labellisée Ligue contre le Cancer and Université de Paris, Imagine Institute, 75005 Paris, France
| | - Véronique Hill
- INSERM U830, Équipe Labellisée LNCC, Diversity and Plasticity of Childhood Tumors Lab, PSL Research University, SIREDO Oncology Centre, Institut Curie Research Centre, 75005 Paris, France
| | - Olivier Delattre
- INSERM U830, Équipe Labellisée LNCC, Diversity and Plasticity of Childhood Tumors Lab, PSL Research University, SIREDO Oncology Centre, Institut Curie Research Centre, 75005 Paris, France; Unité de Génétique Somatique, Service d'oncogénétique, Institut Curie, Centre Hospitalier, 75005 Paris, France.
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28
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Eslami Rasekh M, Hernández Y, Drinan SD, Fuxman Bass J, Benson G. Genome-wide characterization of human minisatellite VNTRs: population-specific alleles and gene expression differences. Nucleic Acids Res 2021; 49:4308-4324. [PMID: 33849068 PMCID: PMC8096271 DOI: 10.1093/nar/gkab224] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/03/2020] [Revised: 03/06/2021] [Accepted: 03/18/2021] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Variable Number Tandem Repeats (VNTRs) are tandem repeat (TR) loci that vary in copy number across a population. Using our program, VNTRseek, we analyzed human whole genome sequencing datasets from 2770 individuals in order to detect minisatellite VNTRs, i.e., those with pattern sizes ≥7 bp. We detected 35 638 VNTR loci and classified 5676 as commonly polymorphic (i.e. with non-reference alleles occurring in >5% of the population). Commonly polymorphic VNTR loci were found to be enriched in genomic regions with regulatory function, i.e. transcription start sites and enhancers. Investigation of the commonly polymorphic VNTRs in the context of population ancestry revealed that 1096 loci contained population-specific alleles and that those could be used to classify individuals into super-populations with near-perfect accuracy. Search for quantitative trait loci (eQTLs), among the VNTRs proximal to genes, indicated that in 187 genes expression differences correlated with VNTR genotype. We validated our predictions in several ways, including experimentally, through the identification of predicted alleles in long reads, and by comparisons showing consistency between sequencing platforms. This study is the most comprehensive analysis of minisatellite VNTRs in the human population to date.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Yözen Hernández
- Graduate Program in Bioinformatics, Boston University, Boston, MA 02215, USA
| | | | - Juan I Fuxman Bass
- Graduate Program in Bioinformatics, Boston University, Boston, MA 02215, USA
- Department of Biology, Boston University, Boston, MA 02215, USA
| | - Gary Benson
- Graduate Program in Bioinformatics, Boston University, Boston, MA 02215, USA
- Department of Biology, Boston University, Boston, MA 02215, USA
- Department of Computer Science, Boston University, Boston, MA 02215, USA
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29
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Keskin T, Bakaric A, Waszyk P, Boulay G, Torsello M, Cornaz-Buros S, Chevalier N, Geiser T, Martin P, Volorio A, Iyer S, Kulkarni A, Letovanec I, Cherix S, Cote GM, Choy E, Digklia A, Montemurro M, Chebib I, Nielsen PG, Carcaboso AM, Mora J, Renella R, Suvà ML, Fusco C, Provero P, Rivera MN, Riggi N, Stamenkovic I. LIN28B Underlies the Pathogenesis of a Subclass of Ewing Sarcoma LIN28B Control of EWS-FLI1 Stability. Cell Rep 2021; 30:4567-4583.e5. [PMID: 32234488 DOI: 10.1016/j.celrep.2019.12.053] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/02/2018] [Revised: 06/19/2019] [Accepted: 12/13/2019] [Indexed: 12/26/2022] Open
Abstract
Ewing sarcoma (EwS) is associated with poor prognosis despite current multimodal therapy. Targeting of EWS-FLI1, the fusion protein responsible for its pathogenesis, and its principal downstream targets has not yet produced satisfactory therapeutic options, fueling the search for alternative approaches. Here, we show that the oncofetal RNA-binding protein LIN28B regulates the stability of EWS-FLI1 mRNA in ~10% of EwSs. LIN28B depletion in these tumors leads to a decrease in the expression of EWS-FLI1 and its direct transcriptional network, abrogating EwS cell self-renewal and tumorigenicity. Moreover, pharmacological inhibition of LIN28B mimics the effect of LIN28B depletion, suggesting that LIN28B sustains the emergence of a subset of EwS in which it also serves as an effective therapeutic target.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tugba Keskin
- Experimental Pathology Service, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Vaudois, University of Lausanne, 1011 Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Arnaud Bakaric
- Experimental Pathology Service, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Vaudois, University of Lausanne, 1011 Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Patricia Waszyk
- Experimental Pathology Service, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Vaudois, University of Lausanne, 1011 Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Gaylor Boulay
- Department of Pathology and Center for Cancer Research, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02114, USA; Broad Institute of Harvard and MIT, Cambridge, MA 02142, USA
| | - Matteo Torsello
- Experimental Pathology Service, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Vaudois, University of Lausanne, 1011 Lausanne, Switzerland; Department of Oncology, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Vaudois, University of Lausanne, 1011 Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Sandrine Cornaz-Buros
- Experimental Pathology Service, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Vaudois, University of Lausanne, 1011 Lausanne, Switzerland; Department of Pediatrics, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Vaudois, University of Lausanne, 1011 Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Nadja Chevalier
- Experimental Pathology Service, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Vaudois, University of Lausanne, 1011 Lausanne, Switzerland; Department Woman-Mother-Child, Division of Pediatrics, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Vaudois, University of Lausanne, 1011 Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Thibaud Geiser
- Experimental Pathology Service, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Vaudois, University of Lausanne, 1011 Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Patricia Martin
- Experimental Pathology Service, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Vaudois, University of Lausanne, 1011 Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Angela Volorio
- Experimental Pathology Service, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Vaudois, University of Lausanne, 1011 Lausanne, Switzerland; Department of Pathology and Center for Cancer Research, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02114, USA
| | - Sowmya Iyer
- Department of Pathology and Center for Cancer Research, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02114, USA
| | - Anupriya Kulkarni
- Department of Pathology and Center for Cancer Research, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02114, USA
| | - Igor Letovanec
- Department of Pathology, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Vaudois, University of Lausanne, 1011 Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Stéphane Cherix
- Department of Orthopaedics and Traumatology, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Vaudois, University of Lausanne, 1011 Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Gregory M Cote
- Center for Sarcoma and Connective Tissue Oncology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA 02114, USA
| | - Edwin Choy
- Center for Sarcoma and Connective Tissue Oncology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA 02114, USA
| | - Antonia Digklia
- Department of Oncology, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Vaudois, University of Lausanne, 1011 Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Michael Montemurro
- Department of Oncology, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Vaudois, University of Lausanne, 1011 Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Ivan Chebib
- Department of Pathology, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02114, USA
| | - Petur G Nielsen
- Department of Pathology, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02114, USA
| | - Angel M Carcaboso
- Department of Pediatric Hematology and Oncology, Hospital Sant Joan de Déu, 08950 Barcelona, Spain
| | - Jaume Mora
- Department of Pediatric Hematology and Oncology, Hospital Sant Joan de Déu, 08950 Barcelona, Spain
| | - Raffaele Renella
- Department Woman-Mother-Child, Division of Pediatrics, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Vaudois, University of Lausanne, 1011 Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Mario L Suvà
- Department of Pathology and Center for Cancer Research, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02114, USA
| | - Carlo Fusco
- Experimental Pathology Service, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Vaudois, University of Lausanne, 1011 Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Paolo Provero
- Center for Translational Genomics and Bioinformatics, San Raffaele Scientific Institute, 20132 Milan, Italy; Department of Molecular Biotechnology and Health Sciences, University of Turin, 10124 Turin, Italy
| | - Miguel N Rivera
- Department of Pathology and Center for Cancer Research, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02114, USA; Broad Institute of Harvard and MIT, Cambridge, MA 02142, USA
| | - Nicolò Riggi
- Experimental Pathology Service, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Vaudois, University of Lausanne, 1011 Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Ivan Stamenkovic
- Experimental Pathology Service, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Vaudois, University of Lausanne, 1011 Lausanne, Switzerland.
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30
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Su XA, Ma D, Parsons JV, Replogle JM, Amatruda JF, Whittaker CA, Stegmaier K, Amon A. RAD21 is a driver of chromosome 8 gain in Ewing sarcoma to mitigate replication stress. Genes Dev 2021; 35:556-572. [PMID: 33766983 PMCID: PMC8015718 DOI: 10.1101/gad.345454.120] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/04/2020] [Accepted: 02/25/2021] [Indexed: 01/08/2023]
Abstract
In this study, Su et al. investigate why ∼50% of Ewing sarcomas, driven by the EWS-FLI1 fusion oncogene, harbor chromosome 8 gains. Using an evolution approach, they show that trisomy 8 mitigates EWS-FLI1-induced replication stress through gain of a copy of RAD21, and deleting one copy of RAD21 in trisomy 8 cells largely neutralizes the fitness benefit of chromosome 8 gain and reduces tumorgenicity of a Ewing sarcoma cancer cell line in soft agar assays. Aneuploidy, defined as whole-chromosome gain or loss, causes cellular stress but, paradoxically, is a frequent occurrence in cancers. Here, we investigate why ∼50% of Ewing sarcomas, driven by the EWS-FLI1 fusion oncogene, harbor chromosome 8 gains. Expression of the EWS-FLI1 fusion in primary cells causes replication stress that can result in cellular senescence. Using an evolution approach, we show that trisomy 8 mitigates EWS-FLI1-induced replication stress through gain of a copy of RAD21. Low-level ectopic expression of RAD21 is sufficient to dampen replication stress and improve proliferation in EWS-FLI1-expressing cells. Conversely, deleting one copy in trisomy 8 cells largely neutralizes the fitness benefit of chromosome 8 gain and reduces tumorgenicity of a Ewing sarcoma cancer cell line in soft agar assays. We propose that RAD21 promotes tumorigenesis through single gene copy gain. Such genes may explain some recurrent aneuploidies in cancer.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiaofeng A Su
- David H. Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, USA
| | - Duanduan Ma
- The Barbara K. Ostrom (1978) Bioinformatics and Computing Facility, Swanson Biotechnology Center, Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, USA
| | - James V Parsons
- Department of Biology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, USA
| | - John M Replogle
- David H. Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, USA
| | - James F Amatruda
- Department of Pediatrics, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, Texas 75390, USA.,Department of Molecular Biology, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, Texas 75390, USA
| | - Charles A Whittaker
- The Barbara K. Ostrom (1978) Bioinformatics and Computing Facility, Swanson Biotechnology Center, Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, USA
| | - Kimberly Stegmaier
- Department of Pediatric Oncology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston Children's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts 02215, USA.,The Broad Institute of Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02142, USA
| | - Angelika Amon
- David H. Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, USA
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31
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Loci-specific phase separation of FET fusion oncoproteins promotes gene transcription. Nat Commun 2021; 12:1491. [PMID: 33674598 PMCID: PMC7935978 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-021-21690-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 55] [Impact Index Per Article: 18.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/27/2020] [Accepted: 02/08/2021] [Indexed: 12/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Abnormally formed FUS/EWS/TAF15 (FET) fusion oncoproteins are essential oncogenic drivers in many human cancers. Interestingly, at the molecular level, they also form biomolecular condensates at specific loci. However, how these condensates lead to gene transcription and how features encoded in the DNA element regulate condensate formation remain unclear. Here, we develop an in vitro single-molecule assay to visualize phase separation on DNA. Using this technique, we observe that FET fusion proteins undergo phase separation at target binding loci and the phase separated condensates recruit RNA polymerase II and enhance gene transcription. Furthermore, we determine a threshold number of fusion-binding DNA elements that can enhance the formation of FET fusion protein condensates. These findings suggest that FET fusion oncoprotein promotes aberrant gene transcription through loci-specific phase separation, which may contribute to their oncogenic transformation ability in relevant cancers, such as sarcomas and leukemia.
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32
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Shi X, Zheng Y, Jiang L, Zhou B, Yang W, Li L, Ding L, Huang M, Gery S, Lin DC, Koeffler HP. EWS-FLI1 regulates and cooperates with core regulatory circuitry in Ewing sarcoma. Nucleic Acids Res 2020; 48:11434-11451. [PMID: 33080033 PMCID: PMC7672457 DOI: 10.1093/nar/gkaa901] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/19/2020] [Revised: 09/22/2020] [Accepted: 10/01/2020] [Indexed: 12/11/2022] Open
Abstract
Core regulatory circuitry (CRC)-dependent transcriptional network is critical for developmental tumors in children and adolescents carrying few gene mutations. However, whether and how CRC contributes to transcription regulation in Ewing sarcoma is unknown. Here, we identify and functionally validate a CRC 'trio' constituted by three transcription factors (TFs): KLF15, TCF4 and NKX2-2, in Ewing sarcoma cells. Epigenomic analyses demonstrate that EWS-FLI1, the primary fusion driver for this cancer, directly establishes super-enhancers of each of these three TFs to activate their transcription. In turn, KLF15, TCF4 and NKX2-2 co-bind to their own and each other's super-enhancers and promoters, forming an inter-connected auto-regulatory loop. Functionally, CRC factors contribute significantly to cell proliferation of Ewing sarcoma both in vitro and in vivo. Mechanistically, CRC factors exhibit prominent capacity of co-regulating the epigenome in cooperation with EWS-FLI1, occupying 77.2% of promoters and 55.6% of enhancers genome-wide. Downstream, CRC TFs coordinately regulate gene expression networks in Ewing sarcoma, controlling important signaling pathways for cancer, such as lipid metabolism pathway, PI3K/AKT and MAPK signaling pathways. Together, molecular characterization of the oncogenic CRC model advances our understanding of the biology of Ewing sarcoma. Moreover, CRC-downstream genes and signaling pathways may contain potential therapeutic targets for this malignancy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xianping Shi
- Guangzhou Municipal and Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Protein Modification and Degradation; State Key Laboratory of Respiratory Disease; Affiliated Cancer Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University; Sino-French Hoffmann institute, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou 510120, P.R. China
- Department of Medicine, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles, CA 90048, USA
| | - Yueyuan Zheng
- Department of Medicine, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles, CA 90048, USA
| | - Liling Jiang
- Guangzhou Municipal and Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Protein Modification and Degradation; State Key Laboratory of Respiratory Disease; Affiliated Cancer Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University; Sino-French Hoffmann institute, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou 510120, P.R. China
| | - Bo Zhou
- Departments of Surgery and Biomedical Sciences, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles, CA 90048, USA
| | - Wei Yang
- Departments of Surgery and Biomedical Sciences, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles, CA 90048, USA
| | - Liyan Li
- Department of Medicine, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles, CA 90048, USA
| | - Lingwen Ding
- Cancer Science Institute of Singapore, National University of Singapore, Singapore 117600, Singapore
| | - Moli Huang
- School of Biology and Basic Medical Sciences, Soochow University, Suzhou 215123, P.R. China
| | - Sigal Gery
- Department of Medicine, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles, CA 90048, USA
| | - De-Chen Lin
- Department of Medicine, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles, CA 90048, USA
| | - H Phillip Koeffler
- Department of Medicine, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles, CA 90048, USA
- Cancer Science Institute of Singapore, National University of Singapore, Singapore 117600, Singapore
- National University Cancer Institute, National University Hospital Singapore, Singapore 119074, Singapore
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Nacev BA, Jones KB, Intlekofer AM, Yu JSE, Allis CD, Tap WD, Ladanyi M, Nielsen TO. The epigenomics of sarcoma. Nat Rev Cancer 2020; 20:608-623. [PMID: 32782366 PMCID: PMC8380451 DOI: 10.1038/s41568-020-0288-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 106] [Impact Index Per Article: 26.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 06/26/2020] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
Abstract
Epigenetic regulation is critical to physiological control of development, cell fate, cell proliferation, genomic integrity and, fundamentally, transcriptional regulation. This epigenetic control occurs at multiple levels including through DNA methylation, histone modification, nucleosome remodelling and modulation of the 3D chromatin structure. Alterations in genes that encode chromatin regulators are common among mesenchymal neoplasms, a collection of more than 160 tumour types including over 60 malignant variants (sarcomas) that have unique and varied genetic, biological and clinical characteristics. Herein, we review those sarcomas in which chromatin pathway alterations drive disease biology. Specifically, we emphasize examples of dysregulation of each level of epigenetic control though mechanisms that include alterations in metabolic enzymes that regulate DNA methylation and histone post-translational modifications, mutations in histone genes, subunit loss or fusions in chromatin remodelling and modifying complexes, and disruption of higher-order chromatin structure. Epigenetic mechanisms of tumorigenesis have been implicated in mesenchymal tumours ranging from chondroblastoma and giant cell tumour of bone to chondrosarcoma, malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumour, synovial sarcoma, epithelioid sarcoma and Ewing sarcoma - all diseases that present in a younger patient population than most cancers. Finally, we review current and potential future approaches for the development of sarcoma therapies based on this emerging understanding of chromatin dysregulation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Benjamin A Nacev
- Department of Medicine, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY, USA
- The Laboratory of Chromatin Biology and Epigenetics, The Rockefeller University, New York, NY, USA
| | - Kevin B Jones
- Department of Orthopaedics, Huntsman Cancer Institute, University of Utah School of Medicine, Salt Lake City, UT, USA
- Department of Oncological Sciences, Huntsman Cancer Institute, University of Utah School of Medicine, Salt Lake City, UT, USA
| | - Andrew M Intlekofer
- Human Oncology & Pathogenesis Program, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY, USA
| | - Jamie S E Yu
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
| | - C David Allis
- The Laboratory of Chromatin Biology and Epigenetics, The Rockefeller University, New York, NY, USA
| | - William D Tap
- Department of Medicine, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY, USA
| | - Marc Ladanyi
- Department of Pathology, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY, USA
| | - Torsten O Nielsen
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
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Sánchez-Molina S, Figuerola-Bou E, Blanco E, Sánchez-Jiménez M, Táboas P, Gómez S, Ballaré C, García-Domínguez DJ, Prada E, Hontecillas-Prieto L, M Carcaboso Á, Tirado ÓM, Hernández-Muñoz I, de Álava E, Lavarino C, Di Croce L, Mora J. RING1B recruits EWSR1-FLI1 and cooperates in the remodeling of chromatin necessary for Ewing sarcoma tumorigenesis. SCIENCE ADVANCES 2020; 6:6/43/eaba3058. [PMID: 33097530 PMCID: PMC7608835 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.aba3058] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/03/2019] [Accepted: 09/09/2020] [Indexed: 05/04/2023]
Abstract
Ewing sarcoma (EwS) is an aggressive tumor that affects adolescents and young adults. EwS is defined by a chromosomal translocation, EWSR1-FLI1 being the most common, that causes genome reprogramming through remodeling of enhancers. Here, we describe an unexpected function of RING1B, which is highly expressed in EwS. While retaining its repressive activity at Polycomb developmental regulated genes, RING1B colocalizes with EWSR1-FLI1 at active enhancers. We demonstrate that RING1B is necessary for the expression of key EWSR1-FLI1 targets by facilitating oncogene recruitment to their enhancers. Knockdown of RING1B impairs growth of tumor xenografts and expression of genes regulated by EWSR1-FLI1 bound enhancers. Pharmacological inhibition of AURKB with AZD1152 increases H2Aub levels causing down-regulation of RING1B/EWSR1-FLI1 common targets. Our findings demonstrate that RING1B is a critical modulator of EWSR1-FLI1-induced chromatin remodeling, and its inhibition is a potential therapeutic strategy for the treatment of these tumors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sara Sánchez-Molina
- Developmental Tumor Biology Laboratory, Institut de Recerca Sant Joan de Déu, Esplugues de Llobregat, 08950 Barcelona, Spain.
| | - Elisabet Figuerola-Bou
- Developmental Tumor Biology Laboratory, Institut de Recerca Sant Joan de Déu, Esplugues de Llobregat, 08950 Barcelona, Spain
| | - Enrique Blanco
- Center for Genomic Regulation (CRG), Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology, 08003 Barcelona, Spain
- Universitat Pompeu Fabra (UPF), 08002 Barcelona, Spain
| | - María Sánchez-Jiménez
- Developmental Tumor Biology Laboratory, Institut de Recerca Sant Joan de Déu, Esplugues de Llobregat, 08950 Barcelona, Spain
| | - Pablo Táboas
- Developmental Tumor Biology Laboratory, Institut de Recerca Sant Joan de Déu, Esplugues de Llobregat, 08950 Barcelona, Spain
| | - Soledad Gómez
- Developmental Tumor Biology Laboratory, Institut de Recerca Sant Joan de Déu, Esplugues de Llobregat, 08950 Barcelona, Spain
| | - Cecilia Ballaré
- Center for Genomic Regulation (CRG), Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology, 08003 Barcelona, Spain
- Universitat Pompeu Fabra (UPF), 08002 Barcelona, Spain
| | - Daniel J García-Domínguez
- Instituto de Biomedicina de Sevilla (IBiS), Hospital Universitario Virgen del Rocio/CSIC/Universidad de Sevilla-CIBERONC, Department of Pathology, 41013 Seville, Spain
| | - Estela Prada
- Developmental Tumor Biology Laboratory, Institut de Recerca Sant Joan de Déu, Esplugues de Llobregat, 08950 Barcelona, Spain
| | - Lourdes Hontecillas-Prieto
- Instituto de Biomedicina de Sevilla (IBiS), Hospital Universitario Virgen del Rocio/CSIC/Universidad de Sevilla-CIBERONC, Department of Pathology, 41013 Seville, Spain
| | - Ángel M Carcaboso
- Developmental Tumor Biology Laboratory, Institut de Recerca Sant Joan de Déu, Esplugues de Llobregat, 08950 Barcelona, Spain
| | - Óscar M Tirado
- Sarcoma Research Group, Laboratori d'Oncologia Molecular, Institut d'Investigació Biomèdica de Bellvitge (IDIBELL)-CIBERONC, L'Hospitalet de Llobregat, 08908 Barcelona, Spain
| | - Inmaculada Hernández-Muñoz
- Developmental Tumor Biology Laboratory, Institut de Recerca Sant Joan de Déu, Esplugues de Llobregat, 08950 Barcelona, Spain
- Fundació Institut Hospital del Mar d'Investigacions Mèdiques (FIMIM), 08003 Barcelona, Spain
| | - Enrique de Álava
- Instituto de Biomedicina de Sevilla (IBiS), Hospital Universitario Virgen del Rocio/CSIC/Universidad de Sevilla-CIBERONC, Department of Pathology, 41013 Seville, Spain
- Department of Normal and Pathological Cytology and Histology, School of Medicine, University of Seville, 41009 Seville, Spain
| | - Cinzia Lavarino
- Developmental Tumor Biology Laboratory, Institut de Recerca Sant Joan de Déu, Esplugues de Llobregat, 08950 Barcelona, Spain
- Pediatric Cancer Center Barcelona (PCCB), Hospital Sant Joan de Déu, Esplugues de Llobregat, 08950 Barcelona, Spain
| | - Luciano Di Croce
- Center for Genomic Regulation (CRG), Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology, 08003 Barcelona, Spain.
- Universitat Pompeu Fabra (UPF), 08002 Barcelona, Spain
- Institucio Catalana de Recerca i Estudis Avançats (ICREA), Pg Lluis Companys 23, 08010 Barcelona, Spain
| | - Jaume Mora
- Developmental Tumor Biology Laboratory, Institut de Recerca Sant Joan de Déu, Esplugues de Llobregat, 08950 Barcelona, Spain.
- Pediatric Cancer Center Barcelona (PCCB), Hospital Sant Joan de Déu, Esplugues de Llobregat, 08950 Barcelona, Spain
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35
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Theisen ER, Selich-Anderson J, Miller KR, Tanner JM, Taslim C, Pishas KI, Sharma S, Lessnick SL. Chromatin profiling reveals relocalization of lysine-specific demethylase 1 by an oncogenic fusion protein. Epigenetics 2020; 16:405-424. [PMID: 32842875 PMCID: PMC7993145 DOI: 10.1080/15592294.2020.1805678] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/08/2023] Open
Abstract
Paediatric cancers commonly harbour quiet mutational landscapes and are instead characterized by single driver events such as the mutation of critical chromatin regulators, expression of oncohistones, or expression of oncogenic fusion proteins. These events ultimately promote malignancy through disruption of normal gene regulation and development. The driver protein in Ewing sarcoma, EWS/FLI, is an oncogenic fusion and transcription factor that reshapes the enhancer landscape, resulting in widespread transcriptional dysregulation. Lysine-specific demethylase 1 (LSD1) is a critical functional partner for EWS/FLI as inhibition of LSD1 reverses the transcriptional activity of EWS/FLI. However, how LSD1 participates in fusion-directed epigenomic regulation and aberrant gene activation is unknown. We now show EWS/FLI causes dynamic rearrangement of LSD1 and we uncover a role for LSD1 in gene activation through colocalization at EWS/FLI binding sites throughout the genome. LSD1 is integral to the establishment of Ewing sarcoma super-enhancers at GGAA-microsatellites, which ubiquitously overlap non-microsatellite loci bound by EWS/FLI. Together, we show that EWS/FLI induces widespread changes to LSD1 distribution in a process that impacts the enhancer landscape throughout the genome.
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Affiliation(s)
- Emily R Theisen
- Center for Childhood Cancer and Blood Diseases, The Abigail Wexner Research Institute at Nationwide Children's Hospital, Columbus, OH, USA
| | - Julia Selich-Anderson
- Center for Childhood Cancer and Blood Diseases, The Abigail Wexner Research Institute at Nationwide Children's Hospital, Columbus, OH, USA
| | - Kyle R Miller
- Center for Childhood Cancer and Blood Diseases, The Abigail Wexner Research Institute at Nationwide Children's Hospital, Columbus, OH, USA
| | - Jason M Tanner
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Utah School of Medicine, Salt Lake City, UT, USA
| | - Cenny Taslim
- Center for Childhood Cancer and Blood Diseases, The Abigail Wexner Research Institute at Nationwide Children's Hospital, Columbus, OH, USA
| | - Kathleen I Pishas
- Center for Childhood Cancer and Blood Diseases, The Abigail Wexner Research Institute at Nationwide Children's Hospital, Columbus, OH, USA.,Cancer Genomics and Genetics, Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, Melbourne, VIC, USA
| | - Sunil Sharma
- Applied Cancer Research and Drug Discovery, Translational Genomics Research Institute (Tgen), Phoenix, AX, USA
| | - Stephen L Lessnick
- Center for Childhood Cancer and Blood Diseases, The Abigail Wexner Research Institute at Nationwide Children's Hospital, Columbus, OH, USA.,Division of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology/Blood and Marrow Transplant, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA
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36
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Disruption of ATRX-RNA interactions uncovers roles in ATRX localization and PRC2 function. Nat Commun 2020; 11:2219. [PMID: 32376827 PMCID: PMC7203109 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-020-15902-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/15/2019] [Accepted: 03/27/2020] [Indexed: 01/01/2023] Open
Abstract
Heterochromatin in the eukaryotic genome is rigorously controlled by the concerted action of protein factors and RNAs. Here, we investigate the RNA binding function of ATRX, a chromatin remodeler with roles in silencing of repetitive regions of the genome and in recruitment of the polycomb repressive complex 2 (PRC2). We identify ATRX RNA binding regions (RBRs) and discover that the major ATRX RBR lies within the N-terminal region of the protein, distinct from its PHD and helicase domains. Deletion of this ATRX RBR (ATRXΔRBR) compromises ATRX interactions with RNAs in vitro and in vivo and alters its chromatin binding properties. Genome-wide studies reveal that loss of RNA interactions results in a redistribution of ATRX on chromatin. Finally, our studies identify a role for ATRX-RNA interactions in regulating PRC2 localization to a subset of polycomb target genes. ATRX is an RNA binding protein that mediates targeting of polycomb repressive complex 2 (PRC2) to genomic sites. Here the authors identify the RNA binding region and show that the RNA binding is required for ATRX localization and for its recruitment of PRC2 to a subset of polycomb targets.
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37
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Targeting the undruggable: exploiting neomorphic features of fusion oncoproteins in childhood sarcomas for innovative therapies. Cancer Metastasis Rev 2020; 38:625-642. [PMID: 31970591 PMCID: PMC6994515 DOI: 10.1007/s10555-019-09839-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/16/2022]
Abstract
While sarcomas account for approximately 1% of malignant tumors of adults, they are particularly more common in children and adolescents affected by cancer. In contrast to malignancies that occur in later stages of life, childhood tumors, including sarcoma, are characterized by a striking paucity of somatic mutations. However, entity-defining fusion oncogenes acting as the main oncogenic driver mutations are frequently found in pediatric bone and soft-tissue sarcomas such as Ewing sarcoma (EWSR1-FLI1), alveolar rhabdomyosarcoma (PAX3/7-FOXO1), and synovial sarcoma (SS18-SSX1/2/4). Since strong oncogene-dependency has been demonstrated in these entities, direct pharmacological targeting of these fusion oncogenes has been excessively attempted, thus far, with limited success. Despite apparent challenges, our increasing understanding of the neomorphic features of these fusion oncogenes in conjunction with rapid technological advances will likely enable the development of new strategies to therapeutically exploit these neomorphic features and to ultimately turn the “undruggable” into first-line target structures. In this review, we provide a broad overview of the current literature on targeting neomorphic features of fusion oncogenes found in Ewing sarcoma, alveolar rhabdomyosarcoma, and synovial sarcoma, and give a perspective for future developments. Scheme depicting the different targeting strategies of fusion oncogenes in pediatric fusion-driven sarcomas. Fusion oncogenes can be targeted on their DNA level (1), RNA level (2), protein level (3), and by targeting downstream functions and interaction partners (4). ![]()
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38
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Musa J, Cidre-Aranaz F, Aynaud MM, Orth MF, Knott MML, Mirabeau O, Mazor G, Varon M, Hölting TLB, Grossetête S, Gartlgruber M, Surdez D, Gerke JS, Ohmura S, Marchetto A, Dallmayer M, Baldauf MC, Stein S, Sannino G, Li J, Romero-Pérez L, Westermann F, Hartmann W, Dirksen U, Gymrek M, Anderson ND, Shlien A, Rotblat B, Kirchner T, Delattre O, Grünewald TGP. Cooperation of cancer drivers with regulatory germline variants shapes clinical outcomes. Nat Commun 2019; 10:4128. [PMID: 31511524 PMCID: PMC6739408 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-019-12071-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 41] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/15/2019] [Accepted: 08/16/2019] [Indexed: 12/02/2022] Open
Abstract
Pediatric malignancies including Ewing sarcoma (EwS) feature a paucity of somatic alterations except for pathognomonic driver-mutations that cannot explain overt variations in clinical outcome. Here, we demonstrate in EwS how cooperation of dominant oncogenes and regulatory germline variants determine tumor growth, patient survival and drug response. Binding of the oncogenic EWSR1-FLI1 fusion transcription factor to a polymorphic enhancer-like DNA element controls expression of the transcription factor MYBL2 mediating these phenotypes. Whole-genome and RNA sequencing reveals that variability at this locus is inherited via the germline and is associated with variable inter-tumoral MYBL2 expression. High MYBL2 levels sensitize EwS cells for inhibition of its upstream activating kinase CDK2 in vitro and in vivo, suggesting MYBL2 as a putative biomarker for anti-CDK2-therapy. Collectively, we establish cooperation of somatic mutations and regulatory germline variants as a major determinant of tumor progression and highlight the importance of integrating the regulatory genome in precision medicine.
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Affiliation(s)
- Julian Musa
- Max-Eder Research Group for Pediatric Sarcoma Biology, Institute of Pathology, Faculty of Medicine, LMU Munich, Munich, Germany
| | - Florencia Cidre-Aranaz
- Max-Eder Research Group for Pediatric Sarcoma Biology, Institute of Pathology, Faculty of Medicine, LMU Munich, Munich, Germany
| | - Marie-Ming Aynaud
- INSERM U830, Équipe Labellisée LNCC Genetics and Biology of Pediatric Cancers, PSL Research University, SIREDO Oncology Centre, Institut Curie Research Centre, Paris, France
| | - Martin F Orth
- Max-Eder Research Group for Pediatric Sarcoma Biology, Institute of Pathology, Faculty of Medicine, LMU Munich, Munich, Germany
| | - Maximilian M L Knott
- Max-Eder Research Group for Pediatric Sarcoma Biology, Institute of Pathology, Faculty of Medicine, LMU Munich, Munich, Germany
- Institute of Pathology, Faculty of Medicine, LMU Munich, Munich, Germany
| | - Olivier Mirabeau
- INSERM U830, Équipe Labellisée LNCC Genetics and Biology of Pediatric Cancers, PSL Research University, SIREDO Oncology Centre, Institut Curie Research Centre, Paris, France
| | - Gal Mazor
- Department of Life Sciences, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer-Sheva, Israel
| | - Mor Varon
- Department of Life Sciences, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer-Sheva, Israel
| | - Tilman L B Hölting
- Max-Eder Research Group for Pediatric Sarcoma Biology, Institute of Pathology, Faculty of Medicine, LMU Munich, Munich, Germany
| | - Sandrine Grossetête
- INSERM U830, Équipe Labellisée LNCC Genetics and Biology of Pediatric Cancers, PSL Research University, SIREDO Oncology Centre, Institut Curie Research Centre, Paris, France
| | - Moritz Gartlgruber
- Neuroblastoma Genomics, German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Didier Surdez
- INSERM U830, Équipe Labellisée LNCC Genetics and Biology of Pediatric Cancers, PSL Research University, SIREDO Oncology Centre, Institut Curie Research Centre, Paris, France
| | - Julia S Gerke
- Max-Eder Research Group for Pediatric Sarcoma Biology, Institute of Pathology, Faculty of Medicine, LMU Munich, Munich, Germany
| | - Shunya Ohmura
- Max-Eder Research Group for Pediatric Sarcoma Biology, Institute of Pathology, Faculty of Medicine, LMU Munich, Munich, Germany
| | - Aruna Marchetto
- Max-Eder Research Group for Pediatric Sarcoma Biology, Institute of Pathology, Faculty of Medicine, LMU Munich, Munich, Germany
| | - Marlene Dallmayer
- Max-Eder Research Group for Pediatric Sarcoma Biology, Institute of Pathology, Faculty of Medicine, LMU Munich, Munich, Germany
| | - Michaela C Baldauf
- Max-Eder Research Group for Pediatric Sarcoma Biology, Institute of Pathology, Faculty of Medicine, LMU Munich, Munich, Germany
| | - Stefanie Stein
- Max-Eder Research Group for Pediatric Sarcoma Biology, Institute of Pathology, Faculty of Medicine, LMU Munich, Munich, Germany
| | - Giuseppina Sannino
- Max-Eder Research Group for Pediatric Sarcoma Biology, Institute of Pathology, Faculty of Medicine, LMU Munich, Munich, Germany
| | - Jing Li
- Max-Eder Research Group for Pediatric Sarcoma Biology, Institute of Pathology, Faculty of Medicine, LMU Munich, Munich, Germany
| | - Laura Romero-Pérez
- Max-Eder Research Group for Pediatric Sarcoma Biology, Institute of Pathology, Faculty of Medicine, LMU Munich, Munich, Germany
| | - Frank Westermann
- Neuroblastoma Genomics, German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Wolfgang Hartmann
- Division of Translational Pathology, Gerhard-Domagk Institute of Pathology, University Hospital of Münster, Münster, Germany
| | - Uta Dirksen
- Department of Pediatric Hematology and Oncology, University Hospital of Essen, Essen, Germany
| | - Melissa Gymrek
- Department of Medicine, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA
- Department of Computer Science and Engineering, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA
| | - Nathaniel D Anderson
- Program in Genetics and Genome Biology, The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, ON, Canada
- Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathobiology, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada
| | - Adam Shlien
- Program in Genetics and Genome Biology, The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, ON, Canada
- Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathobiology, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada
- Department of Paediatric Laboratory Medicine, The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, ON, Canada
| | - Barak Rotblat
- Department of Life Sciences, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer-Sheva, Israel
| | - Thomas Kirchner
- Institute of Pathology, Faculty of Medicine, LMU Munich, Munich, Germany
- German Cancer Consortium (DKTK), Partner site Munich, Munich, Germany
- German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Olivier Delattre
- INSERM U830, Équipe Labellisée LNCC Genetics and Biology of Pediatric Cancers, PSL Research University, SIREDO Oncology Centre, Institut Curie Research Centre, Paris, France
| | - Thomas G P Grünewald
- Max-Eder Research Group for Pediatric Sarcoma Biology, Institute of Pathology, Faculty of Medicine, LMU Munich, Munich, Germany.
- Institute of Pathology, Faculty of Medicine, LMU Munich, Munich, Germany.
- German Cancer Consortium (DKTK), Partner site Munich, Munich, Germany.
- German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Heidelberg, Germany.
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39
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Sannino G, Marchetto A, Ranft A, Jabar S, Zacherl C, Alba-Rubio R, Stein S, Wehweck FS, Kiran MM, Hölting TLB, Musa J, Romero-Pérez L, Cidre-Aranaz F, Knott MML, Li J, Jürgens H, Sastre A, Alonso J, Da Silveira W, Hardiman G, Gerke JS, Orth MF, Hartmann W, Kirchner T, Ohmura S, Dirksen U, Grünewald TGP. Gene expression and immunohistochemical analyses identify SOX2 as major risk factor for overall survival and relapse in Ewing sarcoma patients. EBioMedicine 2019; 47:156-162. [PMID: 31427232 PMCID: PMC6796576 DOI: 10.1016/j.ebiom.2019.08.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/12/2019] [Revised: 07/30/2019] [Accepted: 08/01/2019] [Indexed: 01/16/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Up to 30-40% of Ewing sarcoma (EwS) patients with non-metastatic disease develop local or metastatic relapse within a time span of 2-10 years. This is in part caused by the absence of prognostic biomarkers that can identify high-risk patients and thus assign them to risk-adapted monitoring and treatment regimens. Since cancer stemness has been associated with tumour relapse and poor patient outcomes, we investigated in the current study the prognostic potential SOX2 (sex determining region Y box 2) - a major transcription factor involved in development and stemness - which was previously described to contribute to the undifferentiated phenotype of EwS. METHODS Two independent patient cohorts, one consisting of 189 retrospectively collected EwS tumours with corresponding mRNA expression data (test-cohort) and the other consisting of 141 prospectively collected formalin-fixed and paraffin-embedded resected tumours (validation and cohort), were employed to analyse SOX2 expression levels through DNA microarrays or immunohistochemistry, respectively, and to compare them with clinical parameters and patient outcomes. Two methods were employed to test the validity of the results at both the mRNA and protein levels. FINDINGS Both cohorts showed that only a subset of EwS patients (16-20%) expressed high SOX2 mRNA or protein levels, which significantly correlated with poor overall survival. Multivariate analyses of our validation-cohort revealed that high SOX2 expression represents a major risk-factor for poor survival (HR = 3·19; 95%CI 1·74-5·84; p < 0·01) that is independent from metastasis and other known clinical risk-factors at the time of diagnosis. Univariate analyses demonstrated that SOX2-high expression was correlated with tumour relapse (p = 0·002). The median first relapse was at 14·7 months (range: 3·5-180·7). INTERPRETATION High SOX2 expression constitutes an independent prognostic biomarker for EwS patients with poor outcomes. This may help to identify patients with localised disease who are at high risk for tumour relapse within the first two years after diagnosis. FUNDING The laboratory of T. G. P. Grünewald is supported by grants from the 'Verein zur Förderung von Wissenschaft und Forschung an der Medizinischen Fakultät der LMU München (WiFoMed)', by LMU Munich's Institutional Strategy LMUexcellent within the framework of the German Excellence Initiative, the 'Mehr LEBEN für krebskranke Kinder - Bettina-Bräu-Stiftung', the Walter Schulz Foundation, the Wilhelm Sander-Foundation (2016.167.1), the Friedrich-Baur foundation, the Matthias-Lackas foundation, the Barbara & Hubertus Trettner foundation, the Dr. Leopold & Carmen Ellinger foundation, the Gert & Susanna Mayer foundation, the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG 391665916), and by the German Cancer Aid (DKH-111886 and DKH-70112257). J. Li was supported by a scholarship of the China Scholarship Council (CSC), J. Musa was supported by a scholarship of the Kind-Philipp foundation, and T. L. B. Hölting by a scholarship of the German Cancer Aid. M. F. Orth and M. M. L. Knott were supported by scholarships of the German National Academic Foundation. G. Sannino was supported by a scholarship from the Fritz-Thyssen Foundation (FTF-40.15.0.030MN). The work of U. Dirksen is supported by grants from the German Cancer Aid (DKH-108128, DKH-70112018, and DKH-70113419), the ERA-Net-TRANSCAN consortium (project number 01KT1310), and Euro Ewing Consortium (EEC, project number EU-FP7 602,856), both funded under the European Commission Seventh Framework Program FP7-HEALTH (http://cordis.europa.eu/), the Barbara & Hubertus Trettner foundation, and the Gert & Susanna Mayer foundation. G. Hardiman was supported by grants from the National Science Foundation (SC EPSCoR) and National Institutes of Health (U01-DA045300). The laboratory of J. Alonso was supported by Instituto de Salud Carlos III (PI12/00816; PI16CIII/00026); Asociación Pablo Ugarte (TPY-M 1149/13; TRPV 205/18), ASION (TVP 141/17), Fundación Sonrisa de Alex & Todos somos Iván (TVP 1324/15).
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Affiliation(s)
- Giuseppina Sannino
- Max-Eder Research Group for Pediatric Sarcoma Biology, Institute of Pathology, Faculty of Medicine, LMU Munich, Munich, Germany
| | - Aruna Marchetto
- Max-Eder Research Group for Pediatric Sarcoma Biology, Institute of Pathology, Faculty of Medicine, LMU Munich, Munich, Germany
| | - Andreas Ranft
- Department of Pediatrics III, West German Cancer Centre, University Hospital Essen, Essen, Germany
| | - Susanne Jabar
- Department of Pediatrics III, West German Cancer Centre, University Hospital Essen, Essen, Germany
| | - Constanze Zacherl
- Max-Eder Research Group for Pediatric Sarcoma Biology, Institute of Pathology, Faculty of Medicine, LMU Munich, Munich, Germany
| | - Rebeca Alba-Rubio
- Max-Eder Research Group for Pediatric Sarcoma Biology, Institute of Pathology, Faculty of Medicine, LMU Munich, Munich, Germany
| | - Stefanie Stein
- Max-Eder Research Group for Pediatric Sarcoma Biology, Institute of Pathology, Faculty of Medicine, LMU Munich, Munich, Germany
| | - Fabienne S Wehweck
- Max-Eder Research Group for Pediatric Sarcoma Biology, Institute of Pathology, Faculty of Medicine, LMU Munich, Munich, Germany
| | - Merve M Kiran
- Department of Pathology, Medical Faculty, Ankara Yildirim Beyazit University, Ankara, Turkey
| | - Tilman L B Hölting
- Max-Eder Research Group for Pediatric Sarcoma Biology, Institute of Pathology, Faculty of Medicine, LMU Munich, Munich, Germany
| | - Julian Musa
- Max-Eder Research Group for Pediatric Sarcoma Biology, Institute of Pathology, Faculty of Medicine, LMU Munich, Munich, Germany
| | - Laura Romero-Pérez
- Max-Eder Research Group for Pediatric Sarcoma Biology, Institute of Pathology, Faculty of Medicine, LMU Munich, Munich, Germany
| | - Florencia Cidre-Aranaz
- Max-Eder Research Group for Pediatric Sarcoma Biology, Institute of Pathology, Faculty of Medicine, LMU Munich, Munich, Germany
| | - Maximilian M L Knott
- Max-Eder Research Group for Pediatric Sarcoma Biology, Institute of Pathology, Faculty of Medicine, LMU Munich, Munich, Germany
| | - Jing Li
- Max-Eder Research Group for Pediatric Sarcoma Biology, Institute of Pathology, Faculty of Medicine, LMU Munich, Munich, Germany
| | - Heribert Jürgens
- Department of Pediatric Hematology and Oncology, University Hospital Münster, Münster, Germany
| | - Ana Sastre
- Unidad hemato-oncología pediátrica, Hospital Infantil Universitario La Paz, Madrid, Spain
| | - Javier Alonso
- Pediatric Solid Tumour Laboratory, Institute of Rare Diseases Research (IIER), Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Madrid, Spain; Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Enfermedades Raras, Instituto de Salud Carlos III (CB06/07/1009; CIBERER-ISCIII), Spain
| | - Willian Da Silveira
- Center for Genomics Medicine, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC, USA
| | - Gary Hardiman
- Center for Genomics Medicine, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC, USA; School of Biological Sciences, Institute for Global Food Security, Queen's University Belfast, Belfast, UK
| | - Julia S Gerke
- Max-Eder Research Group for Pediatric Sarcoma Biology, Institute of Pathology, Faculty of Medicine, LMU Munich, Munich, Germany
| | - Martin F Orth
- Max-Eder Research Group for Pediatric Sarcoma Biology, Institute of Pathology, Faculty of Medicine, LMU Munich, Munich, Germany
| | - Wolfgang Hartmann
- Gerhard-Domagk Institute of Pathology, University Hospital of Münster, Münster, Germany
| | - Thomas Kirchner
- Institute of Pathology, Faculty of Medicine, LMU Munich, Germany; German Cancer Consortium (DKTK), partner site Munich, Germany; German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Shunya Ohmura
- Max-Eder Research Group for Pediatric Sarcoma Biology, Institute of Pathology, Faculty of Medicine, LMU Munich, Munich, Germany
| | - Uta Dirksen
- Department of Pediatrics III, West German Cancer Centre, University Hospital Essen, Essen, Germany; German Cancer Consortium (DKTK), partner site Essen, Germany.
| | - Thomas G P Grünewald
- Max-Eder Research Group for Pediatric Sarcoma Biology, Institute of Pathology, Faculty of Medicine, LMU Munich, Munich, Germany; German Cancer Consortium (DKTK), partner site Munich, Germany; German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Heidelberg, Germany.
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40
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Abstract
This Outlook discusses the finding by Boulay et al. that silencing individual microsatellite repeats abolishes local nascent transcription and leads to markedly reduced expression of putative target genes in Ewing sarcoma. Dysregulation of repetitive elements has been implicated in many cancers and other human diseases; however, the role of repetitive elements remains largely unexplored. In this issue of Genes & Development, Boulay and colleagues (pp. 1008–1019) explore the ability of GGAA repeats to act as alternative enhancers activated by EWS-FLI1 in Ewing sarcoma and contribute to tumorigenesis. Using CRISPR-mediated epigenome editing, repression of EWS-FLI1 targeted microsatellite enhancers halted aberrant gene expression and impaired the growth of Ewing sarcoma xenografts in vivo. The study reveals the regulatory capacity of repetitive elements in cancer and offers insight into therapeutic targets for Ewing sarcoma.
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41
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Wright RHG, Le Dily F, Beato M. ATP, Mg 2+, Nuclear Phase Separation, and Genome Accessibility. Trends Biochem Sci 2019; 44:565-574. [PMID: 31072688 DOI: 10.1016/j.tibs.2019.03.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/01/2018] [Revised: 02/13/2019] [Accepted: 03/07/2019] [Indexed: 12/23/2022]
Abstract
Misregulation of the processes controlling eukaryotic gene expression can result in disease. Gene expression is influenced by the surrounding chromatin; hence the nuclear environment is also of vital importance. Recently, understanding of chromatin hierarchical folding has increased together with the discovery of membrane-less organelles which are distinct, dynamic liquid droplets that merge and expand within the nucleus. These 'sieve'-like regions may compartmentalize and separate functionally distinct regions of chromatin. This article aims to discuss recent studies on nuclear phase within the context of poly(ADP-ribose), ATP, and Mg2+ levels, and we propose a combinatorial complex role for these molecules in phase separation and genome regulation. We also discuss the implications of this process for gene regulation and discuss possible strategies to test this.
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Affiliation(s)
- Roni H G Wright
- Centre for Genomic Regulation (CRG), The Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology, Dr Aiguader 88, 08003 Barcelona, Spain; Universitat Pompeu Fabra (UPF), 08003, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Francois Le Dily
- Centre for Genomic Regulation (CRG), The Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology, Dr Aiguader 88, 08003 Barcelona, Spain; Universitat Pompeu Fabra (UPF), 08003, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Miguel Beato
- Centre for Genomic Regulation (CRG), The Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology, Dr Aiguader 88, 08003 Barcelona, Spain; Universitat Pompeu Fabra (UPF), 08003, Barcelona, Spain.
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42
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Anatomic Origin of Osteochondrogenic Progenitors Impacts Sensitivity to EWS-FLI1-Induced Transformation. Cancers (Basel) 2019; 11:cancers11030313. [PMID: 30845695 PMCID: PMC6468467 DOI: 10.3390/cancers11030313] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/14/2019] [Revised: 02/28/2019] [Accepted: 03/01/2019] [Indexed: 12/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Ewing sarcomas predominantly arise in pelvic and stylopod bones (i.e., femur and humerus), likely as a consequence of EWS-FLI1 oncogene-induced transformation of mesenchymal stem/progenitor cells (MSCs). MSCs located in the embryonic superficial zone cells (eSZ) of limbs express anatomically distinct posterior Hox genes. Significantly, high expression of posterior HOXD genes, especially HOXD13, is a hallmark of Ewing sarcoma. These data drove our hypothesis that Hox genes in posterior skeleton MSCs contribute to Ewing sarcoma tumorigenesis. We isolated eSZ cells from stylopod and zeugopod (i.e., tibia/fibula, radius/ulna) bones, from wild-type and Hoxd13 mutant embryos, and tested the impact of EWS-FLI1 transduction on cell proliferation, gene expression, and tumorigenicity. Our data demonstrate that both stylopod and zeugopod eSZ cells tolerate EWS-FLI1 but that stylopod eSZ cells are relatively more susceptible, demonstrating changes in proliferation and gene expression consistent with initiation of malignant transformation. Significantly, loss of Hoxd13 had no impact, showing that it is dispensable for the initiation of EWS-FLI1-induced transformation in mouse MSCs. These findings show that MSCs from anatomically distinct sites are differentially susceptible to EWS-FLI1-induced transformation, supporting the premise that the dominant presentation of Ewing sarcoma in pelvic and stylopod bones is attributable to anatomically-defined differences in MSCs.
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43
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Theisen ER, Miller KR, Showpnil IA, Taslim C, Pishas KI, Lessnick SL. Transcriptomic analysis functionally maps the intrinsically disordered domain of EWS/FLI and reveals novel transcriptional dependencies for oncogenesis. Genes Cancer 2019; 10:21-38. [PMID: 30899417 PMCID: PMC6420793 DOI: 10.18632/genesandcancer.188] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/25/2022] Open
Abstract
EWS/FLI is the pathognomic fusion oncoprotein that drives Ewing sarcoma. The amino-terminal EWS portion coordinates transcriptional regulation and the carboxy-terminal FLI portion contains an ETS DNA-binding domain. EWS/FLI acts as an aberrant transcription factor, orchestrating a complex mix of gene activation and repression, from both high affinity ETS motifs and repetitive GGAA-microsatellites. Our overarching hypothesis is that executing multi-faceted transcriptional regulation requires EWS/FLI to use distinct molecular mechanisms at different loci. Many attempts have been made to map distinct functions to specific features of the EWS domain, but described deletion mutants are either fully active or completely "dead" and other approaches have been limited by the repetitive and disordered nature of the EWS domain. Here, we use transcriptomic approaches to show an EWS/FLI mutant, called DAF, previously thought to be nonfunctional, displays context-dependent and partial transcriptional activity but lacks transforming capacity. Using transcriptomic and phenotypic anchorage-independent growth profiles of other EWS/FLI mutants coupled with reported EWS/FLI localization data, we have mapped the critical structure-function requirements of the EWS domain for EWS/FLI-mediated oncogenesis. This approach defined unique classes of EWS/FLI response elements and revealed novel structure-function relationships required for EWS/FLI activation at these response elements.
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Affiliation(s)
- Emily R Theisen
- Center for Childhood Cancer and Blood Diseases, The Research Institute at Nationwide Children's Hospital, Columbus, OH, USA
| | - Kyle R Miller
- Center for Childhood Cancer and Blood Diseases, The Research Institute at Nationwide Children's Hospital, Columbus, OH, USA
| | - Iftekhar A Showpnil
- Center for Childhood Cancer and Blood Diseases, The Research Institute at Nationwide Children's Hospital, Columbus, OH, USA.,Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology Program, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA
| | - Cenny Taslim
- Center for Childhood Cancer and Blood Diseases, The Research Institute at Nationwide Children's Hospital, Columbus, OH, USA
| | - Kathleen I Pishas
- Center for Childhood Cancer and Blood Diseases, The Research Institute at Nationwide Children's Hospital, Columbus, OH, USA
| | - Stephen L Lessnick
- Center for Childhood Cancer and Blood Diseases, The Research Institute at Nationwide Children's Hospital, Columbus, OH, USA.,Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology Program, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA.,Division of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology/Blood & Marrow Transplant, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA
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44
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Warmerdam DO, Wolthuis RMF. Keeping ribosomal DNA intact: a repeating challenge. Chromosome Res 2018; 27:57-72. [PMID: 30556094 PMCID: PMC6394564 DOI: 10.1007/s10577-018-9594-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 54] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/03/2018] [Revised: 11/20/2018] [Accepted: 11/29/2018] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Abstract
More than half of the human genome consists of repetitive sequences, with the ribosomal DNA (rDNA) representing two of the largest repeats. Repetitive rDNA sequences may form a threat to genomic integrity and cellular homeostasis due to the challenging aspects of their transcription, replication, and repair. Predisposition to cancer, premature aging, and neurological impairment in ataxia-telangiectasia and Bloom syndrome, for instance, coincide with increased cellular rDNA repeat instability. However, the mechanisms by which rDNA instability contributes to these hereditary syndromes and tumorigenesis remain unknown. Here, we review how cells govern rDNA stability and how rDNA break repair influences expansion and contraction of repeat length, a process likely associated with human disease. Recent advancements in CRISPR-based genome engineering may help to explain how cells keep their rDNA intact in the near future.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniël O Warmerdam
- CRISPR Platform, University of Amsterdam, Cancer Center Amsterdam, Amsterdam UMC, Meibergdreef 9, 1105 AZ, Amsterdam, the Netherlands.
| | - Rob M F Wolthuis
- Section of Oncogenetics, Department of Clinical Genetics, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Cancer Center Amsterdam, Amsterdam UMC, de Boelelaan 1117, 1081 HV, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
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