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Choline metabolism drives metastasis in BRCA1-deficient ovarian cancers by activating FAM3C [RNA-seq]

ABSTRACT: BRCA1 mutations are a hallmark of hereditary ovarian cancer, strongly linked to deficiencies in homologous recombination (HR) DNA repair and impaired DNA replication fork protection. However, its roles in cancer progression beyond maintaining genomic integrity remain poorly understood. Through metabolomics approaches, we found BRCA1-deficiency strikingly increased choline metabolism. Loss of BRCA1 promotes choline uptake through upregulating choline transporter-like protein 4 (CTL4). BRCA1 directly binds and recruits EZH2-mediated H3K27Me3 deposition to CTL4 promoter. CTL4 was therefore overexpressed in ovarian cancer tissues with BRCA1 mutations. Furthermore, BRCA1-deficiency significantly promotes ovarian cancer invasion, while inhibition of CTL4 reverses the high metastatic potential of BRCA1-deficient ovarian cancer cells, suggesting the functionality and specificity of CTL4 as a therapeutic target. Additionally, we discovered that phosphocholine, the choline metabolite increased by CTL4 overexpression, interacted with and stabilized the epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition inducer FAM3C in BRCA1-deficient ovarian cancer cells. Importantly, we identified a potent CTL4 inhibitor, DT-13, which significantly reduces choline metabolism and effectively suppresses metastasis in BRCA1-deficient ovarian cancers. Therefore, our study uncovers a mechanism underlying metastasis in BRCA1-deficient cancers and identifies CTL4 as a therapeutic target for metastatic ovarian cancer patients with BRCA1 mutations.

ORGANISM(S): Homo sapiens

PROVIDER: GSE289966 | GEO | 2025/06/16

REPOSITORIES: GEO

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Project description:BRCA1 is an essential gene of the homologous recombination repair (HR) pathway. Ovarian cancers with BRCA1 mutations represent about 20% of HGSOC and are characterized by loss-of-function TP53 mutations, copy number alterations, chromosomal instability, high neoantigen loads and increased infiltration of intraepithelial CD8 tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs). We propose that DNA damage induced by BRCA1 loss could be a tumor-autonomous inflammatory mechanism. Our hypothesis was corroborated by studies in human and mouse isogenic ovarian cancer cell lines which revealed that BRCA1 deficiency leads to increased cytoplasmic gamma H2AX+ double stranded (ds) DNA species, overexpression of proteins of the nucleic acid sensor pathway (IFI16, STING, MX1), phosphorylation of TBK1, IRF3 and STAT1 and secretion of pro-inflammatory cytokines (IFN-b, IFN-a) and T cell recruiting chemokines (CCL5, CXCL9, CXCL10). PARP inhibition exacerbated type I IFN responses in BRCA1 deficient ovarian cancer cell lines and simultaneously increased surface expression of PDL1. Increased DNA damage, as measured by γH2AX tumor staining, was also detected in situ in human ovarian cancers with BRCA1 mutations. Importantly, we detected tumor expression of pSTAT1 confirming a type I IFN activation in tumors with DNA damage. Both DNA damage and pSTAT1 activation correlated with higher TIL infiltration and better overall survival. Our results translated in mouse models of ovarian cancer where Trp53-/-Brca1-/- but not Trp53-/-Brca1WT tumors presented with biomarkers of DNA damage, type I IFN pathway activation and responded to a therapeutic combination of PARP inhibitor Olaparib with dual checkpoint blockade antibodies. Our results provide a mechanistic link between loss of BRCA1 and induction of tumor-driven inflammatory and immunogenic responses in ovarian cancer that was mediated by tumor-cell autonomous type I IFN signaling. which translated to increased immune surveillance by CD8 T cells.

Project description:Mutations in BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes confer an increased lifetime risk for breast and ovarian cancer. Ovarian cancer risk can be decreased by risk-reducing salpingo-oophorectomy (RRSO). Studies on RRSO material have altered the paradigm of serous ovarian cancer pathogenesis. The purpose of this study was to identify candidate genes possibly involved in pathogenesis of serous ovarian cancer by carrying out a microarray analysis of differentially expressed genes in BRCA1/2- mutation positive ovarian and fallopian tube epithelium derived from RRSO surgery. Freshly frozen ovarian and fallopian tube samples from nine BRCA1/2 mutation carriers scheduled for RRSO were prospectively collected in comparison with five mutation-negative control patients undergoing salpingo-oophorectomy for benign indications. Microarray analysis of genome-wide gene expression was performed on ovarian and fallopian tube samples from BRCA1/2 and control patients. The validation of microarray data was performed by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) in selected cases of RRSO samples, and also high grade serous carcinoma samples collected from patients with BRCA phenotype. From 22,733 genes, 454 transcripts were identified that were differentially expressed in BRCA1/2 mutation carriers when statistically compared to controls pooling all ovarian and fallopian tube samples together. Of these, 299 genes were statistically significantly downregulated and 155 genes were upregulated. Differentially expressed genes in BRCA1/2 samples reported here might be involved in serous ovarian carcinogenesis and provide interesting targets for further studies. Both fallopian tube and ovarian samples were collected from each BRCA1/2 mutation carrier resulting in eighteen mutation positive adnexal samples. Both fallopian tube and ovarian control samples were collected from one control patient while either ovarian or fallopian tube sample was available from four control patients, respectively, resulting in 6 adnexal control samples. High quality RNA was available from nine BRCA1/2-mutation positive ovarian and eight BRCA1/2-mutation positive fallopian tube samples and from three control ovarian and three control fallopian tube samples.

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Choline metabolism drives metastasis in BRCA1-deficient ovarian cancers by activating FAM3C [RNA-seq]

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