MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are small, noncoding RNAs that can contribute to cancer development and progression by acting as oncogenes or tumor suppressor genes. Recent studies have also linked different sets of miRNAs to metastasis through either the promotion or suppression of this malignant process. Interestingly, epigenetic silencing of miRNAs with tumor suppressor features by CpG island hypermethylation is also emerging as a common hallmark of human tumors. Thus, we wondered whether there was a miRNA hypermethylation profile characteristic of human metastasis. We used a pharmacological and genomic approach to reveal this aberrant epigenetic silencing program by treating lymph node metastatic cancer cells with a DNA demethylating agent followed by hybridization to an expression microarray. Among the miRNAs that were reactivated upon drug treatment, miR-148a, miR-34b/c, and miR-9 were found to undergo specific hypermethylation-associated silencing in cancer cells compared with normal tissues. The reintroduction of miR-148a and miR-34b/c in cancer cells with epigenetic inactivation inhibited their motility, reduced tumor growth, and inhibited metastasis formation in xenograft models, with an associated down-regulation of the miRNA oncogenic target genes, such as C-MYC, E2F3, CDK6, and TGIF2. Most important, the involvement of miR-148a, miR-34b/c, and miR-9 hypermethylation in metastasis formation was also suggested in human primary malignancies (n = 207) because it was significantly associated with the appearance of lymph node metastasis. Our findings indicate that DNA methylation-associated silencing of tumor suppressor miRNAs contributes to the development of human cancer metastasis.

/pdf/a-microrna-dna-methylation-signature-for-human-cancer-3e1jkdus01.pdf

A microRNA DNA methylation signature for human cancer metastasis

Acetylation of the p53 DNA-binding domain regulates apoptosis induction.

The nucleosome remodelling and histone deacetylase (NuRD; also known as Mi-2) complex regulates gene expression at the level of chromatin. The NuRD complex has been identified - using both genetic and molecular analyses - as a key determinant of differentiation in mouse embryonic stem cells and during development in various model systems. Similar to other chromatin remodellers, such as SWI/SNF and Polycomb complexes, NuRD has also been implicated in the regulation of transcriptional events that are integral to oncogenesis and cancer progression. Emerging molecular details regarding the recruitment of NuRD to specific loci during development, and the modulation of these events in cancer, are used to illustrate how the inappropriate localization of the complex could contribute to tumour biology.

/pdf/cancer-biology-and-nurd-a-multifaceted-chromatin-remodelling-35mqcr27xq.pdf

Cancer biology and NuRD: a multifaceted chromatin remodelling complex

The putative cancer stem cell marker USP22 is a subunit of the human SAGA complex required for activated transcription and cell-cycle progression.

The family of myc proto-oncogenes encodes transcription factors (c-, N-, and L-Myc) that regulate cell growth and proliferation and are involved in the etiology of diverse cancers. Myc proteins are thought to function by binding and regulating specific target genes. Here we report that Myc proteins are required for the widespread maintenance of active chromatin. Disruption of N-myc in neuronal progenitors and other cell types leads to nuclear condensation accompanied by large-scale changes in histone modifications associated with chromatin inactivation, including hypoacetylation and altered methylation. These effects are largely reversed by exogenous Myc as well as by differentiation and are mimicked by the Myc antagonist Mad1. The first chromatin changes are evident within 6 h of Myc loss and lead to changes in chromatin structure. Myc widely influences chromatin in part through upregulation of the histone acetyltransferase GCN5. This study provides the first evidence for regulation of global chromatin structure by an oncoprotein and may explain the broad effects of Myc on cell behavior and tumorigenesis.

/pdf/myc-influences-global-chromatin-structure-3yf65d5w24.pdf

Myc influences global chromatin structure.

The c-myc oncogene is among the most commonly overexpressed genes in human cancer. c-myc encodes a basic helix–loop–helix/leucine zipper (bHLH/LZ) transcription factor (c-MYC) that activates a cascade of downstream targets that ultimately mediate cellular transformation. Although a large number of genes are regulated by c-MYC, only a few have been functionally linked to c-MYC-mediated transformation. By expression profiling, the metastasis-associated protein 1 (MTA1) gene was identified here as a target of the c-MYC oncoprotein in primary human cells, a result confirmed in human cancer cells. MTA1 itself has been previously implicated in cellular transformation, in part through its ability to regulate the epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition and metastasis. MTA1 is a component of the Mi-2/nucleosome remodeling and deacetylating (NURD) complex that contains both histone deacetylase and nucleosome remodeling activity. The data reported here demonstrate that endogenous c-MYC binds to the genomic MTA1 locus and recruits transcriptional coactivators. Most importantly, short hairpin RNA (shRNA)-mediated knockdown of MTA1 blocks the ability of c-MYC to transform mammalian cells. These data implicate MTA1 and the Mi-2/NURD complex as one of the first downstream targets of c-MYC function that are essential for the transformation potential of c-MYC.

https://www.pnas.org/content/pnas/102/39/13968.full.pdf

Metastasis-associated protein 1 (MTA1) is an essential downstream effector of the c-MYC oncoprotein.

The MYC oncoprotein is among the most potent regulators of cell cycle progression and malignant transformation in human cells. Current models suggest that much of MYC's role in these processes is related to its ability to regulate the transcription of downstream target genes that encode the ultimate effector proteins. In addition to its carboxy-terminal DNA binding and dimerization domains, an enigmatic motif in the amino terminus termed MbII is required for all of MYC's biological activities. In spite of historical observations demonstrating the absolute requirement for MbII in these biological functions, clues implicating this domain in target gene transcription have only recently appeared. Based on this emerging link between MbII and transcriptional activation, we hypothesized that the identification of individual MYC targets whose transactivation requires MbII would help define the essential downstream effectors of MYC in transformation and cell cycle progression. In hopes of directly identifying new MbII-dependent MYC target genes, an expression profiling screen was conducted. This screen resulted in our identification of ten novel downstream targets of MYC. As a proof of principle, we recently demonstrated using RNAi-mediated depletion that one of these targets, the metastasis regulator MTA1, is absolutely required for MYC mediated transformation. Here we report the identity of these previously uncharacterized MYC targets and discuss their potential roles in MYC function. In addition, we attempt to reconcile the historical and contemporary evidence linking MbII to transcriptional activation.

Lauren M. DeSalle

Papers

Metastasis-associated protein 1 (MTA1) is an essential downstream effector of the c-MYC oncoprotein.

Identification of novel targets of MYC whose transcription requires the essential MbII domain