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Llinàs-Arias P, Ensenyat-Mendez M, Íñiguez-Muñoz S, Orozco JIJ, Valdez B, Salomon MP, Matsuba C, Solivellas-Pieras M, Bedoya-López AF, Sesé B, Mezger A, Ormestad M, Unzueta F, Strand SH, Boiko AD, Hwang ES, Cortés J, DiNome ML, Esteller M, Lupien M, Marzese DM. Chromatin insulation orchestrates matrix metalloproteinase gene cluster expression reprogramming in aggressive breast cancer tumors. Mol Cancer 2023; 22:190. [PMID: 38017545 PMCID: PMC10683115 DOI: 10.1186/s12943-023-01906-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/08/2023] [Accepted: 11/17/2023] [Indexed: 11/30/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) is an aggressive subtype that exhibits a high incidence of distant metastases and lacks targeted therapeutic options. Here we explored how the epigenome contributes to matrix metalloprotease (MMP) dysregulation impacting tumor invasion, which is the first step of the metastatic process. METHODS We combined RNA expression and chromatin interaction data to identify insulator elements potentially associated with MMP gene expression and invasion. We employed CRISPR/Cas9 to disrupt the CCCTC-Binding Factor (CTCF) binding site on an insulator element downstream of the MMP8 gene (IE8) in two TNBC cellular models. We characterized these models by combining Hi-C, ATAC-seq, and RNA-seq with functional experiments to determine invasive ability. The potential of our findings to predict the progression of ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS), was tested in data from clinical specimens. RESULTS We explored the clinical relevance of an insulator element located within the Chr11q22.2 locus, downstream of the MMP8 gene (IE8). This regulatory element resulted in a topologically associating domain (TAD) boundary that isolated nine MMP genes into two anti-correlated expression clusters. This expression pattern was associated with worse relapse-free (HR = 1.57 [1.06 - 2.33]; p = 0.023) and overall (HR = 2.65 [1.31 - 5.37], p = 0.005) survival of TNBC patients. After CRISPR/Cas9-mediated disruption of IE8, cancer cells showed a switch in the MMP expression signature, specifically downregulating the pro-invasive MMP1 gene and upregulating the antitumorigenic MMP8 gene, resulting in reduced invasive ability and collagen degradation. We observed that the MMP expression pattern predicts DCIS that eventually progresses into invasive ductal carcinomas (AUC = 0.77, p < 0.01). CONCLUSION Our study demonstrates how the activation of an IE near the MMP8 gene determines the regional transcriptional regulation of MMP genes with opposing functional activity, ultimately influencing the invasive properties of aggressive forms of breast cancer.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pere Llinàs-Arias
- Cancer Epigenetics Laboratory, Health Research Institute of the Balearic Islands (IdISBa), Palma, 07120, Spain
| | - Miquel Ensenyat-Mendez
- Cancer Epigenetics Laboratory, Health Research Institute of the Balearic Islands (IdISBa), Palma, 07120, Spain
| | - Sandra Íñiguez-Muñoz
- Cancer Epigenetics Laboratory, Health Research Institute of the Balearic Islands (IdISBa), Palma, 07120, Spain
| | - Javier I J Orozco
- Saint John's Cancer Institute, Providence Saint John's Health Center, Santa Monica, CA, USA
| | - Betsy Valdez
- Saint John's Cancer Institute, Providence Saint John's Health Center, Santa Monica, CA, USA
| | - Matthew P Salomon
- Keck School of Medicine, USC Research Center for Liver Diseases, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Chikako Matsuba
- Keck School of Medicine, USC Research Center for Liver Diseases, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Maria Solivellas-Pieras
- Cancer Epigenetics Laboratory, Health Research Institute of the Balearic Islands (IdISBa), Palma, 07120, Spain
| | - Andrés F Bedoya-López
- Cancer Epigenetics Laboratory, Health Research Institute of the Balearic Islands (IdISBa), Palma, 07120, Spain
| | - Borja Sesé
- Cancer Epigenetics Laboratory, Health Research Institute of the Balearic Islands (IdISBa), Palma, 07120, Spain
| | - Anja Mezger
- Science for Life Laboratory, Solna, 17665, Sweden
| | | | - Fernando Unzueta
- Advanced Optical Microscopy Facility Scientific and Technological Centres of University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Siri H Strand
- Department of Pathology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, 94305, USA
| | - Alexander D Boiko
- Department of Medicine, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Samuel Oschin Comprehensive Cancer Institute, Los Angeles, CA, 90048, USA
| | - E Shelley Hwang
- Department of Surgery, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, NC, USA
| | - Javier Cortés
- Pangaea Oncology, Quiron Group, International Breast Cancer Center (IBCC), Barcelona, 08017, Spain
- Medica Scientia Innovation Research SL (MEDSIR), Barcelona, 08018, Spain
- Department of Medicine, Faculty of Biomedical and Health Sciences, Universidad Europea de Madrid, Madrid, 28670, Spain
| | - Maggie L DiNome
- Department of Surgery, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, NC, USA
| | - Manel Esteller
- Josep Carreras Leukaemia Research Institute, Badalona, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain
- Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red Cancer (CIBERONC), Madrid, 28029, Spain
- Institució Catalana de Recerca i Estudis Avançats (ICREA), Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain
- Physiological Sciences Department, School of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Barcelona (UB), Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain
| | - Mathieu Lupien
- Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, Toronto, ON, M5G 1L7, Canada
- Department of Medical Biophysics, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, M5G 1L7, Canada
- Ontario Institute for Cancer Research, Toronto, ON, M5G 0A3, Canada
| | - Diego M Marzese
- Cancer Epigenetics Laboratory, Health Research Institute of the Balearic Islands (IdISBa), Palma, 07120, Spain.
- Department of Surgery, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, NC, USA.
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