Project description:Oncogene-induced DNA methylation-mediated transcriptional silencing of tumor suppressors frequently occurs in cancer, but the mechanism and functional role of this silencing in oncogenesis is not fully understood. Here, we show that oncogenic epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) induces silencing of multiple unrelated tumor suppressors in lung adenocarcinomas and glioblastomas by inhibiting DNA demethylase TET oncogene family member 1 (TET1) via the C/EBPα transcription factor. After oncogenic EGFR inhibition, TET1 binds to tumor suppressor promoters and induces their re-expression via active DNA demethylation. Ectopic expression of TET1 potently inhibits lung and glioblastoma tumor growth, and TET1 knockdown confers resistance to EGFR inhibitors in lung cancer cells. Lung cancer samples exhibited reduced TET1 expression or TET1 cytoplasmic localization in a majority of cases. Collectively, these results identify a conserved pathway of oncogenic EGFR-induced DNA methylation-mediated transcriptional silencing of tumor suppressors, which may have therapeutic benefit for oncogenic EGFR-mediated lung cancers and glioblastomas. HCC827-Del (EGFR L747-S752) and HCC827-Del-TM (EGFR L747-S752/T790M) cell lines were treated with Decitibine (2.5 μM) and Vorinostat (1μM) or as a control cells that were treated with DMSO for 72 hrs. Expression profiling was performed using 3 biological replicates for each condition for a total of 12 samples analyzed.
Project description:Oncogene-induced DNA methylation-mediated transcriptional silencing of tumor suppressors frequently occurs in cancer, but the mechanism and functional role of this silencing in oncogenesis is not fully understood. Here, we show that oncogenic epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) induces silencing of multiple unrelated tumor suppressors in lung adenocarcinomas and glioblastomas by inhibiting DNA demethylase TET oncogene family member 1 (TET1) via the C/EBPα transcription factor. After oncogenic EGFR inhibition, TET1 binds to tumor suppressor promoters and induces their re-expression via active DNA demethylation. Ectopic expression of TET1 potently inhibits lung and glioblastoma tumor growth, and TET1 knockdown confers resistance to EGFR inhibitors in lung cancer cells. Lung cancer samples exhibited reduced TET1 expression or TET1 cytoplasmic localization in a majority of cases. Collectively, these results identify a conserved pathway of oncogenic EGFR-induced DNA methylation-mediated transcriptional silencing of tumor suppressors, which may have therapeutic benefit for oncogenic EGFR-mediated lung cancers and glioblastomas.
Project description:Both gains and losses of DNA methylation are common in cancer but the factors controlling this methylation balance remain unclear. Triple negative breast cancer (TNBC), a subtype that does not overexpress hormone receptors or HER2/NEU is one of the most hypomethylated cancers observed. In search for an explanation for this, we discovered that the TET1 DNA demethylase is specifically overexpressed in about 40% of patients with TNBC, where it is associated with hypomethylation of up to 10% of queried CpG sites and a worse overall survival. Through bioinformatic analyses in both breast and ovarian cancer cell line panels, we uncovered an intricate network connecting TET1 to hypomethylation and activation of cancer specific oncogenic pathways including PI3K, EGFR and PDGF. TET1 expression correlated with sensitivity to drugs targeting the PI3K-mTOR pathway. CRISPR mediated deletion of TET1 in two independent TNBC cell lines resulted in reduced expression of PI3K pathway genes, upregulation of immune response genes and substantially reduced cellular proliferation, suggesting dependence of oncogenic pathways on TET1 overexpression. Our work establishes TET1 as a potential oncogene that contributes to aberrant hypomethylation in cancer and suggests that TET1 could serve as a novel druggable target for therapeutic intervention.
Project description:Both gains and losses of DNA methylation are common in cancer but the factors controlling this methylation balance remain unclear. Triple negative breast cancer (TNBC), a subtype that does not overexpress hormone receptors or HER2/NEU is one of the most hypomethylated cancers observed. In search for an explanation for this, we discovered that the TET1 DNA demethylase is specifically overexpressed in about 40% of patients with TNBC, where it is associated with hypomethylation of up to 10% of queried CpG sites and a worse overall survival. Through bioinformatic analyses in both breast and ovarian cancer cell line panels, we uncovered an intricate network connecting TET1 to hypomethylation and activation of cancer specific oncogenic pathways including PI3K, EGFR and PDGF. TET1 expression correlated with sensitivity to drugs targeting the PI3K-mTOR pathway. CRISPR mediated deletion of TET1 in two independent TNBC cell lines resulted in reduced expression of PI3K pathway genes, upregulation of immune response genes and substantially reduced cellular proliferation, suggesting dependence of oncogenic pathways on TET1 overexpression. Our work establishes TET1 as a potential oncogene that contributes to aberrant hypomethylation in cancer and suggests that TET1 could serve as a novel druggable target for therapeutic intervention.
Project description:We report that full length TET1 (TET1-FL) overexpression fails to induce global DNA demethylation in HEK293T cells. The preferential binding of TET1-FL to hypomethylated CpG islands (CGIs) through its CXXC domain leads to its inhibited 5-hydroxymethylcytosine (5hmC) production as methylation level increases. TET1-FL-induced 5hmC accumulates at CGI edges, while TET1 knockdown induces methylation spreading from methylated edges into hypomethylated CGIs. However, TET1 can regulate gene transcription independent of its dioxygenase catalytic function. Thus, our results identify TET1 as a maintenance DNA demethylase that does not purposely decrease methylation levels, but specifically maintains the DNA hypomethylation state of CGIs in adult cells. hMeDIP-seq analysis of genomic 5-hydroxymethylcytosine in HEK293T cells overexpressing mTET1-CD, TET1-CD, mTET1-FL, or TET1-FL
Project description:We report that full length TET1 (TET1-FL) overexpression fails to induce global DNA demethylation in HEK293T cells. The preferential binding of TET1-FL to hypomethylated CpG islands (CGIs) through its CXXC domain leads to its inhibited 5-hydroxymethylcytosine (5hmC) production as methylation level increases. TET1-FL-induced 5hmC accumulates at CGI edges, while TET1 knockdown induces methylation spreading from methylated edges into hypomethylated CGIs. However, TET1 can regulate gene transcription independent of its dioxygenase catalytic function. Thus, our results identify TET1 as a maintenance DNA demethylase that does not purposely decrease methylation levels, but specifically maintains the DNA hypomethylation state of CGIs in adult cells. Genome-wdie profiling of gene expression in HEK293T cells following overexpression of wild type or catalytically mutant TET1-FL or TET1-CD
Project description:We report that full length TET1 (TET1-FL) overexpression fails to induce global DNA demethylation in HEK293T cells. The preferential binding of TET1-FL to hypomethylated CpG islands (CGIs) through its CXXC domain leads to its inhibited 5-hydroxymethylcytosine (5hmC) production as methylation level increases. TET1-FL-induced 5hmC accumulates at CGI edges, while TET1 knockdown induces methylation spreading from methylated edges into hypomethylated CGIs. However, TET1 can regulate gene transcription independent of its dioxygenase catalytic function. Thus, our results identify TET1 as a maintenance DNA demethylase that does not purposely decrease methylation levels, but specifically maintains the DNA hypomethylation state of CGIs in adult cells. HEK293T cells were transfected with wild type or catalytically mutant TET1 expression plasmids (TET1-CD, mTET1-CD, TET1-FL and mTET1-FL), or subjected to shRNA-mediated TET1 knockdown. Total RNA samples were extracted and assayed on Affymetrix microarrays
Project description:We report that full length TET1 (TET1-FL) overexpression fails to induce global DNA demethylation in HEK293T cells. The preferential binding of TET1-FL to hypomethylated CpG islands (CGIs) through its CXXC domain leads to its inhibited 5-hydroxymethylcytosine (5hmC) production as methylation level increases. TET1-FL-induced 5hmC accumulates at CGI edges, while TET1 knockdown induces methylation spreading from methylated edges into hypomethylated CGIs. However, TET1 can regulate gene transcription independent of its dioxygenase catalytic function. Thus, our results identify TET1 as a maintenance DNA demethylase that does not purposely decrease methylation levels, but specifically maintains the DNA hypomethylation state of CGIs in adult cells.
Project description:We report that full length TET1 (TET1-FL) overexpression fails to induce global DNA demethylation in HEK293T cells. The preferential binding of TET1-FL to hypomethylated CpG islands (CGIs) through its CXXC domain leads to its inhibited 5-hydroxymethylcytosine (5hmC) production as methylation level increases. TET1-FL-induced 5hmC accumulates at CGI edges, while TET1 knockdown induces methylation spreading from methylated edges into hypomethylated CGIs. However, TET1 can regulate gene transcription independent of its dioxygenase catalytic function. Thus, our results identify TET1 as a maintenance DNA demethylase that does not purposely decrease methylation levels, but specifically maintains the DNA hypomethylation state of CGIs in adult cells.
Project description:We report that full length TET1 (TET1-FL) overexpression fails to induce global DNA demethylation in HEK293T cells. The preferential binding of TET1-FL to hypomethylated CpG islands (CGIs) through its CXXC domain leads to its inhibited 5-hydroxymethylcytosine (5hmC) production as methylation level increases. TET1-FL-induced 5hmC accumulates at CGI edges, while TET1 knockdown induces methylation spreading from methylated edges into hypomethylated CGIs. However, TET1 can regulate gene transcription independent of its dioxygenase catalytic function. Thus, our results identify TET1 as a maintenance DNA demethylase that does not purposely decrease methylation levels, but specifically maintains the DNA hypomethylation state of CGIs in adult cells.