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The epithelial splicing regulator ESRP2 is epigenetically repressed by DNA hypermethylation in Wilms tumor and acts as a tumor suppressor

ABSTRACT: Wilms tumor (WT), a childhood kidney cancer with embryonal origins, has been extensively characterised for genetic and epigenetic alterations, but a proportion of WTs still lack identifiable abnormalities. To uncover DNA methylation changes critical for WT pathogenesis, we compared the epigenome of fetal kidney with two WT cell lines, using methyl-CpG immunoprecipitation. We filtered our results to remove common cancer-associated epigenetic changes, and to enrich for genes involved in early kidney development. This identified four candidate genes that were hypermethylated in WT cell lines compared to fetal kidney, of which ESRP2 (epithelial splicing regulatory protein 2), was the most promising gene for further study. ESRP2 was commonly repressed by DNA methylation early in WT development (in nephrogenic rests) and could be reactivated by DNA methyltransferase inhibition in WT cell lines. When ESRP2 was expressed in WT cell lines, it acted as an inhibitor of cellular proliferation in vitro and in vivo it suppressed tumor growth of orthotopic xenografts in nude mice. RNA-seq of the ESRP2-expressing WT cell lines identified several novel splicing targets, in addition to well-characterised targets of ESRP2. One of these targets, LEF1, is a component of the Wnt signalling pathway that is essential for kidney development and commonly disrupted in WT. We propose a model in which the Wnt pathway can be disrupted in early kidney development to generate WT, either by genetic abnormalities such as WT1 mutations, or by epigenetic defects, such as ESRP2 methylation.

ORGANISM(S): Homo sapiens

PROVIDER: GSE154496 | GEO | 2020/11/02

REPOSITORIES: GEO

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Project description:The majority of long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) is still poorly characterized with respect to function, interactions with protein-coding genes, and mechanisms that regulate their expression. As for protein-coding RNAs, epigenetic deregulation of lncRNA expression by alterations in DNA methylation might contribute to carcinogenesis. To provide genome-wide information on lncRNAs aberrantly methylated in breast cancer we profiled tumors of the C3(1) SV40TAg mouse model by MCIp-seq (Methylated CpG Immunoprecipitation followed by sequencing). This approach detected 69 lncRNAs differentially methylated between tumor tissue and normal mammary glands, with 26 located in antisense orientation of a protein-coding gene. One of the hypomethylated lncRNAs, 1810019D21Rik (now called Esrp2-antisense (as)) was identified in proximity to the epithelial splicing regulatory protein 2 (Esrp2) that is significantly elevated in C3(1) tumors. ESRPs seem to have a dual role in carcinogenesis. Both gain and loss has been associated with poor prognosis in human cancers, but the mechanism regulating expression is not known. In-depth analyses indicate that coordinate overexpression of Esrp2 and Esrp2-as inversely correlates with DNA methylation. Luciferase reporter gene assays support co-expression of Esrp2 and the major short Esrp2-as variant from a bidirectional promoter, and transcriptional regulation by methylation of a proximal enhancer. Ultimately, this enhancer-based regulatory mechanism provides a novel explanation for tissue-specific expression differences and upregulation of Esrp2 during carcinogenesis. Knockdown of Esrp2-as reduced Esrp2 protein levels without affecting mRNA expression and resulted in an altered transcriptional profile associated with extracellular matrix (ECM), cell motility and reduced proliferation, whereas overexpression enhanced proliferation. Our findings not only hold true for the murine tumor model, but led to the identification of an unannotated human homolog of Esrp2-as which is significantly upregulated in human breast cancer and associated with poor prognosis.

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The epithelial splicing regulator ESRP2 is epigenetically repressed by DNA hypermethylation in Wilms tumor and acts as a tumor suppressor

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