Project description:MYC genes are frequently amplified and correlate with poor prognosis in MB. BET bromodomains recognize acetylated lysine residues and often promote and maintain MYC transcription. Certain cyclin-dependent kinases (CDKs) are further known to support MYC stabilization in tumor cells. In this report, MB cells were suppressed by combined targeting of MYC expression and MYC stabilization using BET bromodomain inhibition and CDK2 inhibition, respectively. Such combination treatment worked synergistically and caused cell cycle arrest as well as massive apoptosis. Immediate transcriptional changes from this combined MYC blockade were found using RNA-Seq profiling and showed remarkable similarities to changes in MYC target gene expression when MYCN was turned off with doxycycline in our MYCN-inducible animal model for Group 3 MB. In addition, the combination treatment significantly prolonged survival as compared to single agent therapy in orthotopically transplanted human Group 3 MB with MYC amplifications. Our data suggests that dual inhibition of CDK2 and BET bromodomains can be a novel treatment approach for suppressing MYC-driven cancer.
Project description:we used gene expression profiling to determine gene expression changes in sensitive and drug tolerant medulloblastoma cells to reexposure to BET-bromodomain inhibitors
Project description:MYC-amplified medulloblastomas are highly lethal tumors. BET bromodomain inhibition was recently described to downregulate MYC-associated transcriptional activity in various cancer subtypes. To investigate whether JQ1, a BET bromodomain inhibitor is downregulation MYC and MYC-associated transcriptional activity, we performed global gene expression profiling of five medulloblastomas MYC-amplified patient-derived cell lines treated by JQ1 and the inactive form of JQ1. Five medulloblastomas patient-derived MYC-amplified cell lines were treated with the active and the inactive form of the drug (JQ1S or JQ1R, respectively, 1μM for 24 hours) followed by RNA extraction and hybridization on Affymetrix microarrays
Project description:MYC-amplified medulloblastomas are highly lethal tumors. BET bromodomain inhibition was recently described to downregulate MYC-associated transcriptional activity in various cancer subtypes. To investigate whether JQ1, a BET bromodomain inhibitor is downregulation MYC and MYC-associated transcriptional activity, we performed global gene expression profiling of five medulloblastomas MYC-amplified patient-derived cell lines treated by JQ1 and the inactive form of JQ1.
Project description:BET-bromodomain inhibition (BETi) has shown pre-clinical promise for MYC-amplified medulloblastoma. However, the mechanisms for its action, and ultimately for resistance, have not been fully defined. Here, using a combination of expression profiling, genome-scale CRISPR/Cas9-mediated loss of function and ORF/cDNA driven rescue screens, and cell-based models of spontaneous resistance, we identify bHLH/homeobox transcription factors and cell-cycle regulators as key genes mediating BETi’s response and resistance. Cells that acquire drug tolerance exhibit a more neuronally differentiated cell-state and expression of lineage-specific bHLH/homeobox transcription factors. However, they do not terminally differentiate, maintain expression of CCND2, and continue to cycle through S-phase. Moreover, CDK4/CDK6 inhibition delays acquisition of resistance. Therefore, our data provide insights about the mechanisms underlying BETi effects and the appearance of resistance and support the therapeutic use of combined cell-cycle inhibitors with BETi in MYC-amplified medulloblastoma.
Project description:Bromodomain inhibition comprises a promising therapeutic strategy in cancer, particularly for hematologic malignancies. To date, however, genomic biomarkers to direct clinical translation have been lacking. We conducted a cell-based screen of genetically-defined cancer cell lines using a prototypical inhibitor of BET bromodomains. Integration of genetic features with chemosensitivity data revealed a robust correlation between MYCN amplification and sensitivity to bromodomain inhibition. We characterized the mechanistic and translational significance of this finding in neuroblastoma, a childhood cancer with frequent amplification of MYCN. Genome-wide expression analysis demonstrated downregulation of the MYCN transcriptional program accompanied by suppression of MYCN transcription. Functionally, bromodomain-mediated inhibition of MYCN impaired growth and induced apoptosis in neuroblastoma. BRD4 knock-down phenocopied these effects, establishing BET bromodomains as transcriptional regulators of MYCN. BET inhibition conferred a significant survival advantage in three in vivo neuroblastoma models, providing a compelling rationale for developing BET bromodomain inhibitors in patients with neuroblastoma. Significance: Biomarkers of response to small-molecule inhibitors of BET bromodomains, a new compound class with promising anti-cancer activity, have been lacking. Here, we reveal MYCN amplification as a strong genetic predictor of sensitivity to BET bromodomain inhibitors, demonstrate a mechanistic rationale for this finding, and provide a translational framework for clinical trial development of BET bromodomain inhibitors for pediatric patients with MYCN-amplified neuroblastoma. JQ1 is a novel thieno-triazolo-1,4-diazepine, which displaces BET bromodomains from chromatin by competitively binding to the acetyl lysine recognition pocket. BE(2)-C and Kelly cells were treated in triplicate with 1 µM JQ1 or DMSO for 24 hours. RNA was extracted and a decrease in MYCN transcript was confirmed by real time RT-PCR as described above. The samples were profiled using the Affymetrix PrimeView Human Gene Expression Array (Affymetrix) at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (Boston, MA, USA).
Project description:IL-17-producing T helper (TH17) cells have been selected through evolution for their ability to control fungal and bacterial infections. It is also firmly established that their aberrant generation and activation results in autoimmune conditions. Using a characterized potent and selective small molecule inhibitor, we show that the bromodomain and extra-terminal domain (BET) family of chromatin adaptors plays fundamental and selective roles in human and murine TH17 differentiation from naM-CM-/ve CD4+ T cells, as well as in the activation of previously differentiated TH17 cells. We provide evidence that BET controls TH17 differentiation in a bromodomain-dependent manner through a mechanism that includes the direct regulation of multiple effector TH17-associated cytokines, including IL17, IL21 and GMCSF. We also demonstrate that BET family members Brd2 and Brd4 associate with the Il17 locus in TH17 cells, and that this association requires bromodomains. We recapitulate the critical role of BET bromodomains in TH17 differentiation in vivo and show that therapeutic dosing of the BET inhibitor is efficacious in mouse models of autoimmunity. Our results identify the BET family of proteins as a fundamental link between chromatin signaling and TH17 biology, and support the notion of BET inhibition as a point of therapeutic intervention in autoimmune conditions. 4 samples were analyzed: two conditions in duplicate. Naive T cells were placed in conditions leading to TH17 differentiation, with and without BET inhibitor. RNA was collected at 48 hours.