Polycomb-dependent repression of the potassium channel-encoding gene KCNA5 promotes cancer cell survival under conditions of stress.

ABSTRACT: Relapse after clinical remission remains a leading cause of cancer-associated death. Although the mechanisms of tumor relapse are complex, the ability of cancer cells to survive physiological stress is a prerequisite for recurrence. Ewing sarcoma (ES) and neuroblastoma (NB) are aggressive cancers that frequently relapse after initial remission. In addition, both tumors overexpress the polycomb group (PcG) proteins BMI-1 and EZH2, which contribute to tumorigenicity. We have discovered that ES and NB resist hypoxic stress-induced death and that survival depends on PcG function. Epigenetic repression of developmental programs is the most well-established cancer-associated function of PcG proteins. However, we noted that voltage-gated potassium (Kv) channel genes are also targets of PcG regula

SUBMITTER: Ryland KE 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4451446 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature