Project description:Loss-of-function mutations in SWI/SNF chromatin remodeling subunit genes are observed in many cancers, but an oncogenic role for SWI/SNF is not well established. Here we reveal that ACTL6A, encoding a SWI/SNF subunit linked to stem and progenitor cell function, is frequently co-amplified and highly expressed together with the p53 family member p63 in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC). ACTL6A and p63 physically interact and cooperatively control a transcriptional program that promotes proliferation and suppresses differentiation, in part through activation of the Hippo-YAP pathway via regulators including WWC1. Consequently, loss of ACTL6A or p63 in tumor cells induces YAP phosphorylation and inactivation, associated with growth arrest and terminal differentiation, all phenocopied by WWC1 overexpression. In vivo, ectopic ACTLC6A/p63 expression promotes tumorigenesis, while ACTL6A expression and YAP activation are highly correlated in primary HNSCC and predict poor patient survival. Thus, ACTL6A and p63 collaborate as oncogenic drivers in HNSCC. Gene expression profiling of HNSCC cells with and without ablated endogenous ACTL6A via lentiviral shRNA.
Project description:Loss-of-function mutations in SWI/SNF chromatin remodeling subunit genes are observed in many cancers, but an oncogenic role for SWI/SNF is not well established. Here we reveal that ACTL6A, encoding a SWI/SNF subunit linked to stem and progenitor cell function, is frequently co-amplified and highly expressed together with the p53 family member p63 in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC). ACTL6A and p63 physically interact and cooperatively control a transcriptional program that promotes proliferation and suppresses differentiation, in part through activation of the Hippo-YAP pathway via regulators including WWC1. Consequently, loss of ACTL6A or p63 in tumor cells induces YAP phosphorylation and inactivation, associated with growth arrest and terminal differentiation, all phenocopied by WWC1 overexpression. In vivo, ectopic ACTLC6A/p63 expression promotes tumorigenesis, while ACTL6A expression and YAP activation are highly correlated in primary HNSCC and predict poor patient survival. Thus, ACTL6A and p63 collaborate as oncogenic drivers in HNSCC. Gene expression profiling of HNSCC cells with and without ablated endogenous p63 via lentiviral shRNA
Project description:Loss-of-function mutations in SWI/SNF chromatin remodeling subunit genes are observed in many cancers, but an oncogenic role for SWI/SNF is not well established. Here we reveal that ACTL6A, encoding a SWI/SNF subunit linked to stem and progenitor cell function, is frequently co-amplified and highly expressed together with the p53 family member p63 in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC). ACTL6A and p63 physically interact and cooperatively control a transcriptional program that promotes proliferation and suppresses differentiation, in part through activation of the Hippo-YAP pathway via regulators including WWC1. Consequently, loss of ACTL6A or p63 in tumor cells induces YAP phosphorylation and inactivation, associated with growth arrest and terminal differentiation, all phenocopied by WWC1 overexpression. In vivo, ectopic ACTLC6A/p63 expression promotes tumorigenesis, while ACTL6A expression and YAP activation are highly correlated in primary HNSCC and predict poor patient survival. Thus, ACTL6A and p63 collaborate as oncogenic drivers in HNSCC.
Project description:Loss-of-function mutations in SWI/SNF chromatin remodeling subunit genes are observed in many cancers, but an oncogenic role for SWI/SNF is not well established. Here we reveal that ACTL6A, encoding a SWI/SNF subunit linked to stem and progenitor cell function, is frequently co-amplified and highly expressed together with the p53 family member p63 in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC). ACTL6A and p63 physically interact and cooperatively control a transcriptional program that promotes proliferation and suppresses differentiation, in part through activation of the Hippo-YAP pathway via regulators including WWC1. Consequently, loss of ACTL6A or p63 in tumor cells induces YAP phosphorylation and inactivation, associated with growth arrest and terminal differentiation, all phenocopied by WWC1 overexpression. In vivo, ectopic ACTLC6A/p63 expression promotes tumorigenesis, while ACTL6A expression and YAP activation are highly correlated in primary HNSCC and predict poor patient survival. Thus, ACTL6A and p63 collaborate as oncogenic drivers in HNSCC. Gene expression profiling of untransformed keratinocytes (HaCaT) with and without ablated endogenous p63 via lentiviral shRNA.
Project description:The Hippo pathway is crucial in organ size control and tumorigenesis. The dys-regulation of Hippo/YAP axis is vastly observed in gastric cancer, while the effective therapeutic targets for Hippo/YAP axis are still not clear. It is important and urgent to identify reliable drug targets and the underlying mechanisms, which could inhibit the activity of Hippo/YAP axis and gastric cancer progression. In our current study, we demonstrate the membrane receptor CXCR7 (C-X-C chemokine receptor 7) is an important modulator for Hippo/YAP axis. The activation of CXCR7 could stimulate gastric cancer cell progression through Hippo/YAP axis in vitro and in vivo, while pharmaceutical inhibition of CXCR7 via ACT-1004-1239 could block the tumorigenesis in gastric cancer. Molecular studies reveal that the activation of CXCR7 could dephosphorylate YAP, facilitate YAP nuclear accumulation and transcriptional activation in gastric cancer. CXCR7 functions via G-protein Gαq/11 and Rho GTPase to activate YAP activity. Interestingly, ChIP assay shows that YAP could bind to the promoter region of CXCR7 and facilitate its gene transcription, which indicates CXCR7 is both the upstream signaling and downstream target for Hippo/YAP axis in gastric cancer. In general, we identified a novel positive feedback loop between CXCR7 and Hippo/YAP axis, while blockade of CXCR7 could be a plausible strategy for gastric cancer.
Project description:SOX2 is a transcription factor essential for pluripotent stem cells, and development and maintenance of squamous epithelium. We previously reported SOX2 an oncogene subject to highly recurrent genomic amplification in squamous cell carcinomas (SCCs). Here we demonstrate in SCCs that SOX2 interacts with another master squamous transcription factor p63, and through ChIP-seq show that genomic occupancy of SOX2 overlaps with that of p63 at a large number of loci and that they cooperatively regulate gene expression including ETV4, which we find essential for SOX2-amplified SCC cell survival. Furthermore, SOX2 binds to distinct genomic loci in SCCs than in embryonic stem cells and the SOX2-p63 coordinate binding is unique to SCC. In addition, a subset of SOX2 genomic binding sites in SCC that lack p63 co-occupancy are co-occupied by the AP-1 transcriptional complex. These demonstrate that SOX2’s actions in SCC differ substantially from its role in pluripotency and identify novel SOX2 interactions that will enable deeper characterization of SOX2’s function in SCC. SOX2 and p63 ChIP-seq from three lung and esophageal squamous carcinoma cell lines with amplification of SOX2 as well as SOX2 ChIP-seq from an ES cells.