Project description:STAG2, a member of cohesin, is one of the most recurrently mutated genes in human cancer. Here, we investigated STAG2 function in the context of Ewing sarcoma. Using a CRISPR/Cas9 approach, we generated two STAG2 knock-out isogenic clones (A673_SA2m#1 and TC71_SA2m#2) derived from A673 and TC71 STAG2 wild type (WT) Ewing sarcoma cell line. A STAG2 rescue model (A673_SA2r) was generated by correcting the CRISPR mutation in the A673_SA2m#1 model. These STAG1/2 proficient and deficient models were profiled by CTCF HiChIP experiments. STAG2 isogenic models were also profiled by H3K27ac HiChIP experiments. Analyses of HiChIP data allowed to show that STAG2 promotes CTCF-anchored loop extrusion and cis-promoter and -enhancer interactions.
Project description:We have discovered frequent genetic inactivation of the STAG2 gene in diverse human cancers including glioblastoma, Ewing's sarcoma, and melanoma. STAG2 encodes a subunit of the sister chromatid cohesion complex called the "cohesin complex" that is responsible for the cohesion of sister chromatids following DNA replication and is cleaved at the metaphase to anaphase transition to enable chromosome segregation into daughter cells. Interestingly, the cohesin complex has also been implicated as a regulator of chromatin architecture and transcription. To determine the functional significance of STAG2 inactivation in cancer pathogenesis, we used somatic cell gene targeting to correct the endogenous mutations of STAG2 in two aneuploid human glioblastoma cell lines, H4 and 42MGBA. Similarly, somatic cell gene targeting was also used to introduce a nonsense mutation into codon 6 of the endogenous wild-type allele of STAG2 in HCT116 cells, a near-diploid human colorectal cancer cell line with stable karyotype. Expression profiling of these three paired sets of STAG2-proficient and deficient cells demonstrated that STAG2 does not play a global role in transcriptional regulation nor does it recurrently modulate the expression of specific tumor-promoting or suppressing genes. For further details, see Solomon et al., Mutational inactivation of STAG2 causes aneuploidy in human cancer.
Project description:<p>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.</p>
Project description:Gene expression profiling of immortalized human mesenchymal stem cells with hTERT/E6/E7 transfected MSCs. hTERT may change gene expression in MSCs. Goal was to determine the gene expressions of immortalized MSCs.
Project description:Transcriptional profiling of human mesenchymal stem cells comparing normoxic MSCs cells with hypoxic MSCs cells. Hypoxia may inhibit senescence of MSCs during expansion. Goal was to determine the effects of hypoxia on global MSCs gene expression.
Project description:STAG2, a member of cohesin, is one of the most recurrently mutated genes in human cancer. Here, we investigated STAG2 function in the context of Ewing sarcoma, an aggressive bone tumor driven by EWS-FLI1 oncogene chimeric transcription factor. Using a CRISPR/Cas9 approach, we generated three STAG2 knock-out isogenic clones (A673_SA2m#1, TC71_SA2m#1 and TC71_SA2m#2) derived from A673 and TC71 STAG2 wild type (WT) Ewing sarcoma cell line. Similarly, a STAG1 knock-out isogenic clone (A673_SA1m#1) was generated. Finally, a STAG2 rescue model (A673_SA2r) was generated by correcting the CRISPR mutation in the A673_SA2m#1 model. These STAG1/2 proficient and deficient models were profiled by ChIP-seq for EWS-FLI1, CTCF, cohesin members, and histone marks and allowed to highlight a global conservation of binding for these marks upon STAG2 mutation.
Project description:Gene expression profiling of immortalized human mesenchymal stem cells with hTERT/E6/E7 transfected MSCs. hTERT may change gene expression in MSCs. Goal was to determine the gene expressions of immortalized MSCs. One-condition experment, gene expression of 3A6