Project description:K-RAS activating mutations occur frequently in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), leading to aberrant activation of Ras-MAPK signaling pathway that contributes to the malignant phenotype. However, the development of Ras-targeted therapeutics remains challenging. Here, we show that MED23, a component of the multisubunit Mediator complex that is known to integrate signaling and gene activities, is selectively important for Ras-active lung cancer. By screening a large panel of human lung cancer cell lines with or without a Ras mutation, we found that Med23 RNAi specifically inhibits the proliferation and tumorigenicity of lung cancer cells with hyperactive Ras activity. Med23-deficiency in fibroblasts selectively inhibited the oncogenic transformation induced by Ras but not by c-Myc. Transcription factor ELK1, which is phosphorylated by MAPK for relaying the Ras signaling to MED23, was also required for the Ras-driven oncogenesis. Transcriptiome analysis revealed that MED23 and ELK1 co-regulate a common set of target genes enriched in regulating cell cycle and proliferation to support the Ras-dependency. Furthermore, correlated with the strength of Ras signaling as indicated by the ELK1 phosphorylation level, MED23 was up-regulated by Ras-transformation, and was found to be overexpressed in both Ras-mutated lung cancer cell lines and primary tumor samples. Remarkably, lower Med23 expression predicts better survival in Ras-active lung cancer patients and xenograft mice. Collectively, our findings demonstrate a critical role for MED23 in enabling the 'Ras-addiction' of lung carcinogenesis, thus providing a vulnerable target for the treatment of Ras-active lung cancer. To gain a genome-wide understanding of how MED23 and ELK1 control gene expression in Ras-active lung cancer cells, we performed gene profiling experiments to analyze the transcriptomes from control, si-Med23, or si-Elk1 A549 cells. The si-Ctrl, si-Med23 and si-Elk1 A549 cells were cultured in the normal condition. Then the cells were harvested for RNA extraction and hybridization on Affymetrix microarrays. The analysis contain 9 samples. si-Ctrl cells have three replicates (si-Ctrl#1, si-Ctrl#2 and si-Ctrl#3), and the si-Med23 or si-Elk1 group contains three different cell lines that harbor three different RNAi oligos against Med23 or Elk1 (si-Med23A, B, C and si-Elk1A, B, C).
Project description:K-RAS activating mutations occur frequently in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), leading to aberrant activation of Ras-MAPK signaling pathway that contributes to the malignant phenotype. However, the development of Ras-targeted therapeutics remains challenging. Here, we show that MED23, a component of the multisubunit Mediator complex that is known to integrate signaling and gene activities, is selectively important for Ras-active lung cancer. By screening a large panel of human lung cancer cell lines with or without a Ras mutation, we found that Med23 RNAi specifically inhibits the proliferation and tumorigenicity of lung cancer cells with hyperactive Ras activity. Med23-deficiency in fibroblasts selectively inhibited the oncogenic transformation induced by Ras but not by c-Myc. Transcription factor ELK1, which is phosphorylated by MAPK for relaying the Ras signaling to MED23, was also required for the Ras-driven oncogenesis. Transcriptiome analysis revealed that MED23 and ELK1 co-regulate a common set of target genes enriched in regulating cell cycle and proliferation to support the Ras-dependency. Furthermore, correlated with the strength of Ras signaling as indicated by the ELK1 phosphorylation level, MED23 was up-regulated by Ras-transformation, and was found to be overexpressed in both Ras-mutated lung cancer cell lines and primary tumor samples. Remarkably, lower Med23 expression predicts better survival in Ras-active lung cancer patients and xenograft mice. Collectively, our findings demonstrate a critical role for MED23 in enabling the “Ras-addiction” of lung carcinogenesis, thus providing a vulnerable target for the treatment of Ras-active lung cancer. To gain a genome-wide understanding of how MED23 and ELK1 control gene expression in Ras-active lung cancer cells, we performed gene profiling experiments to analyze the transcriptomes from control, si-Med23, or si-Elk1 A549 cells.
Project description:The Mediator complex functions as a control center orchestrating diverse signalings, gene activities, and biological processes. However, how Mediator subunits determine distinct cell fates remains to be fully elucidated. Here, we show that Mediator MED23 controls the cell fate preference that directs differentiation into smooth muscle cells (SMCs) or adipocytes. Med23-deficiency facilitates SMC differentiation but represses adipocyte differentiation from the multipotent mesenchymal stem cells. Gene profiling revealed that the presence or absence of Med23 oppositely regulates two sets of genes: the RhoA/MAL-targeted cytoskeleton/SMC genes and the Ras/ELK1 targeted growth/adipocyte genes. Mechanistically, MED23 favors ELK1-SRF binding to SMC gene promoters for repression, whereas the lack of MED23 favors MAL-SRF binding to SMC gene promoters for activation. Remarkably, the effect of MED23 on SMC differentiation can be recapitulated in zebrafish embryogenesis. Collectively, our data demonstrate the dual, opposing roles for MED23 in regulating the cytoskeleton/SMC and growth/adipocyte gene programs, suggesting its “Ying-Yang” function in directing adipogenesis vs. SMC differentiation. Examination of SRF enrichment in sictrl and si23 10T1/2 cells
Project description:The Mediator complex functions as a control center orchestrating diverse signalings, gene activities, and biological processes. However, how Mediator subunits determine distinct cell fates remains to be fully elucidated. Here, we show that Mediator MED23 controls the cell fate preference that directs differentiation into smooth muscle cells (SMCs) or adipocytes. Med23-deficiency facilitates SMC differentiation but represses adipocyte differentiation from the multipotent mesenchymal stem cells. Gene profiling revealed that the presence or absence of Med23 oppositely regulates two sets of genes: the RhoA/MAL-targeted cytoskeleton/SMC genes and the Ras/ELK1 targeted growth/adipocyte genes. Mechanistically, MED23 favors ELK1-SRF binding to SMC gene promoters for repression, whereas the lack of MED23 favors MAL-SRF binding to SMC gene promoters for activation. Remarkably, the effect of MED23 on SMC differentiation can be recapitulated in zebrafish embryogenesis. Collectively, our data demonstrate the dual, opposing roles for MED23 in regulating the cytoskeleton/SMC and growth/adipocyte gene programs, suggesting its “Ying-Yang” function in directing adipogenesis vs. SMC differentiation.
Project description:The Mediator complex orchestrates multiple transcription factors with the Pol II apparatus for precise transcriptional control. However, its interplay with the surrounding chromatin remains poorly understood. Here, we analyze differential histone modifications between WT and MED23-/- (KO) cells and identify H2B mono-ubiquitination at lysine 120 (H2Bub) as a MED23-dependent histone modification. Using tandem affinity purification and mass spectrometry, we find that MED23 associates with the RNF20/40 complex, the enzyme for H2Bub, and show that this association is critical for the recruitment of RNF20/40 to chromatin. In a cell-free system, Mediator directly and substantially increases H2Bub on recombinant chromatin through its cooperation with RNF20/40 and the PAF complex. Integrative genome-wide analyses show that MED23 depletion specifically reduces H2Bub on a subset of MED23-contolled genes. Importantly, MED23-coupled H2Bub levels are oppositely regulated during myogenesis and lung carcinogenesis. In sum, these results establish a mechanistic link between the Mediator complex and a critical chromatin modification in coordinating transcription with cell growth and differentiation. To examine the enrichment of H2B ubiquitination, Pol II, H3K4me3, H3K79me3 in WT and KO MED23 MEF cells, we performed H2Bub ChIP-seq, Pol II ChIP-seq, H3K4me3 ChIP-seq and H3K79me3 ChIP-seq assays. 10 high-throughput sequencing data were deposited and WT, KO input data were controls for peak calling.
Project description:The Mediator complex orchestrates multiple transcription factors with the Pol II apparatus for precise transcriptional control. However, its interplay with the surrounding chromatin remains poorly understood. Here, we analyze differential histone modifications between WT and MED23-/- (KO) cells and identify H2B mono-ubiquitination at lysine 120 (H2Bub) as a MED23-dependent histone modification. Using tandem affinity purification and mass spectrometry, we find that MED23 associates with the RNF20/40 complex, the enzyme for H2Bub, and show that this association is critical for the recruitment of RNF20/40 to chromatin. In a cell-free system, Mediator directly and substantially increases H2Bub on recombinant chromatin through its cooperation with RNF20/40 and the PAF complex. Integrative genome-wide analyses show that MED23 depletion specifically reduces H2Bub on a subset of MED23-contolled genes. Importantly, MED23-coupled H2Bub levels are oppositely regulated during myogenesis and lung carcinogenesis. In sum, these results establish a mechanistic link between the Mediator complex and a critical chromatin modification in coordinating transcription with cell growth and differentiation.
Project description:Mediator complex is an integrative hub for transcriptional regulation. Here we show that Mediator regulates alternative mRNA processing via its Med23 subunit. Combining tandem affinity purification and mass spectrometry, we identified a number of mRNA processing factors that bind to a soluble recombinant Mediator subunit MED23 but not to several other Mediator components. One of these factors, hnRNP L, specifically interacts with MED23 in vitro and in vivo. Consistently, Mediator partially colocalizes with hnRNP L and the splicing machinery in the cell. Functionally Med23 regulates a subset of hnRNP L-targeted alternative splicing (AS) and alternative cleavage and polyadenylation (APA) events as shown by minigene reporters and exon array analysis. ChIP-seq analysis revealed that Med23 can regulate hnRNP L occupancy at their co-regulated genes. Taken together, these results demonstrate a crosstalk between Mediator and the splicing machinery, suggesting a novel mechanism for coupling mRNA processing to transcription. Examination of hnRNP L and H3K36me3 enrichment in sictrl and si23 Hela cells
Project description:macroautophagy/autophagy plays a key role in regulating the balance between cell survival and senescence during the progression of lung cancer. Med23 (also known as Sur2), a protein belonging to an evolutionarily conserved high-molecularmass complex composed of more than 20 distinct subunits, promotes the growth, metastasis , and migration of lung cancer cells and is overexpressed in multiple cancers. However, the function of MED23 in autophagy regulation remains unknown. Here, we observes that MED23 expression is significantly upregulated in a subset of cancer cells and reversely correlated with overall survival rates and clinical stage for lung cancer patients. Mechanistically, MED23 is found to interact with BCLAF1 (BCL-2-associated transcription factor 1, BTF) ,a nuclear protein that can induce apoptosis and autophagy. Moreover, BCLAF1 interacts with the promoter of NUPR1 and downregulates its expression. We further show that BCLAF1 and MED23 depletion inhibits autophagy and induces premature senescence in vitro. Remarkably, the expression of BCLAF1 and MED23 are negatively correlated with NUPR1 in the human lung cancer tissues and adjacent normal tissues. Collectively, our data reveal a physical and genetic interaction between BCLAF1 and MED23, suggesting that MED23 constitutes a molecular node in the regulatory network of autophagy and this pathway may be an important therapeutic target in lung cancer.
Project description:Mediator complex function as an integrative hub for transcriptional regulation. Here we show that Mediator subunit MED23 regulate glucose and lipid metabolism via FOXO1 in liver. Here, we have generated a liver-specific Med23-knockout (LMKO) mouse and found that Med23-deletion in liver improved glucose and lipid metabolism, as well as insulin responsiveness, and prevented diet-induced obesity. Mechanistically, MED23 participated in gluconeogenesis and cholesterol synthesis by interacting with FOXO1. Disruption of this interaction by hepatic Med23-deletion impaired the Mediator and RNAP II recruitment and partially reduced the expression of the FOXO1 target genes. Remarkably, acute hepatic Med23 knockdown in db/db mice significantly improved insulin sensitivity. Overall, our data revealed Mediator MED23 as a critical regulator of glucose and lipid metabolism, suggesting novel therapeutic strategies against metabolic diseases.
Project description:Mediator complex is an integrative hub for transcriptional regulation. Here we show that Mediator regulates alternative mRNA processing via its Med23 subunit. Combining tandem affinity purification and mass spectrometry, we identified a number of mRNA processing factors that bind to a soluble recombinant Mediator subunit MED23 but not to several other Mediator components. One of these factors, hnRNP L, specifically interacts with MED23 in vitro and in vivo. Consistently, Mediator partially colocalizes with hnRNP L and the splicing machinery in the cell. Functionally Med23 regulates a subset of hnRNP L-targeted alternative splicing (AS) and alternative cleavage and polyadenylation (APA) events as shown by minigene reporters and exon array analysis. ChIP-seq analysis revealed that Med23 can regulate hnRNP L occupancy at their co-regulated genes. Taken together, these results demonstrate a crosstalk between Mediator and the splicing machinery, suggesting a novel mechanism for coupling mRNA processing to transcription. We performed an exon array experiment using HeLa cells expressing Med23, hnRNP L or control siRNAs which were established by a virus-mediated siRNA technology. Each sample was done in three biological replicates. Total RNA of these cell lines was processed and hybridized to the Affymetrix human exon array.