Genetics
Abstract
Epigenetic status-altering mutations in chromatin-modifying enzymes are a feature of human diseases including many cancers. However, the functional outcomes and cellular dependencies arising from these mutations remain unresolved. In this study, we investigated cellular dependencies, or vulnerabilities, that arise when enhancer function is compromised by loss of the frequently mutated COMPASS family members MLL3 and MLL4. CRISPR dropout screens in MLL3/4-depleted mouse embryonic stem cells (mESCs) revealed synthetic lethality upon suppression of purine and pyrimidine nucleotide synthesis pathways. Consistently, we observed a shift in metabolic activity towards increased purine synthesis in MLL3/4 knockout (KO) mESCs. These cells also exhibited enhanced sensitivity to the purine synthesis inhibitor lometrexol, which induced a unique gene expression signature. RNA sequencing identified the top MLL3/4 target genes coinciding with suppression of purine metabolism, and tandem mass tag (TMT) proteomic profiling further confirmed upregulation of purine synthesis in MLL3/4 KO cells. Mechanistically, compensation by MLL1/COMPASS underlied these effects. Finally, we demonstrated that tumors with MLL3 and/or MLL4 mutations were highly sensitive to lometrexol in vivo, both in culture and in animal models of cancer. Our results depicted a targetable metabolic dependency arising from epigenetic factor deficiency, providing molecular insight to inform therapy for cancers with epigenetic alterations secondary to MLL3/4 COMPASS dysfunction.
Authors
Zibo Zhao, Kaixiang Cao, Jun Watanabe, Cassandra N. Philips, Jacob M. Zeidner, Yukitomo Ishi, Qixuan Wang, Sarah R. Gold, Katherine Junkins, Elizabeth T. Bartom, Feng Yue, Navdeep S. Chandel, Rintaro Hashizume, Issam Ben-Sahra, Ali Shilatifard
Abstract
Increased levels and diversity of human endogenous retrovirus (HERV) transcription characterizes most cancer types, linked with disease outcomes. However, the underlying processes are incompletely understood. We show that elevated transcription of HERVH proviruses predicts survival of lung squamous cell carcinoma (LUSC) and identify an isoform of CALB1, encoding Calbindin, ectopically driven by an upstream HERVH provirus under the control of KLF5, as the mediator of this effect. HERVH-CALB1 expression initiates in pre-invasive lesions and associates with their progression. Calbindin loss in LUSC cell lines impairs in vitro and in vivo growth and triggers senescence, consistent with a pro-tumor effect. However, Calbindin also directly controls the senescence-associated secretory phenotype (SASP), marked by secretion of CXCL8 and other neutrophil chemoattractants. In established carcinomas, CALB1-negative cancer cells become the dominant source of CXCL8, correlating with neutrophil infiltration and worse prognosis. Thus, HERVH-CALB1 expression in LUSC may display antagonistic pleiotropy, whereby the benefits of escaping senescence early during cancer initiation and clonal competition are offset by the prevention of SASP and pro-tumor inflammation at later stages.
Authors
Jan Attig, Judith Pape, Laura Doglio, Anastasiya Kazachenka, Eleonora Ottina, George R. Young, Katey S.S. Enfield, Iker Valle Aramburu, Kevin W. Ng, Nikhil Faulkner, William Bolland, Venizelos Papayannopoulos, Charles Swanton, George Kassiotis
Abstract
Childhood neuroblastomas exhibit plasticity between an undifferentiated neural crest–like mesenchymal cell state and a more differentiated sympathetic adrenergic cell state. These cell states are governed by autoregulatory transcriptional loops called core regulatory circuitries (CRCs), which drive the early development of sympathetic neuronal progenitors from migratory neural crest cells during embryogenesis. The adrenergic cell identity of neuroblastoma requires LMO1 as a transcriptional cofactor. Both LMO1 expression levels and the risk of developing neuroblastoma in children are associated with a single nucleotide polymorphism, G/T, that affects a GATA motif in the first intron of LMO1. Here, we showed that WT zebrafish with the GATA genotype developed adrenergic neuroblastoma, while knock-in of the protective TATA allele at this locus reduced the penetrance of MYCN-driven tumors, which were restricted to the mesenchymal cell state. Whole genome sequencing of childhood neuroblastomas demonstrated that TATA/TATA tumors also exhibited a mesenchymal cell state and were low risk at diagnosis. Thus, conversion of the regulatory GATA to a TATA allele in the first intron of LMO1 reduced the neuroblastoma-initiation rate by preventing formation of the adrenergic cell state. This mechanism was conserved over 400 million years of evolution, separating zebrafish and humans.
Authors
Nina Weichert-Leahey, Hui Shi, Ting Tao, Derek A. Oldridge, Adam D. Durbin, Brian J. Abraham, Mark W. Zimmerman, Shizhen Zhu, Andrew C. Wood, Deepak Reyon, J. Keith Joung, Richard A. Young, Sharon J. Diskin, John M. Maris, A. Thomas Look
Abstract
Neonatal herpes simplex virus (HSV) infection is a devastating disease with substantial morbidity and mortality. The genetic basis of susceptibility to HSV in neonates remains undefined. We investigated a male infant with neonatal skin/eye/mouth (SEM) HSV1 disease who had complete recovery after acyclovir but developed HSV1 encephalitis at 1 year of age. Immune work up showed an anergic peripheral blood monocyte cytokine (PBMC) response to TLR3 stimulation but no other TLRs. Exome sequencing identified rare missense variants in IRF7 and UNC93B1. PBMC single cell RNA sequencing done during childhood revealed decreased expression of several innate immune genes and a repressed TLR3 pathway signature at baseline in several immune cell populations, including CD14 monocytes. Functional studies in fibroblasts and THP-1 showed that both variants individually suppressed TLR3-driven IRF3 promoter activity and type I interferon response in vitro. Furthermore, fibroblasts expressing the IRF7 and UNC93B1 variants had higher intracellular viral titers with blunting of the type I interferon response upon HSV1 challenge. This study reports an infant with recurrent HSV1 disease complicated by encephalitis associated with deleterious variants in IRF7 and UNC93B1 genes. Our results suggest that TLR3 pathway mutations may predispose neonates to recurrent severe HSV.
Authors
Megan H. Tucker, Wei Yu, Heather L. Menden, Sheng Xia, Carl F. Schreck, Margaret I. Gibson, Daniel A. Louiselle, Tomi Pastinen, Nikita Raje, Venkatesh Sampath
Abstract
The deadliest anaplastic thyroid cancer (ATC) often transforms from indolent differentiated thyroid cancer (DTC); however, the complex intra-tumor transformation process is poorly understood. We investigated an anaplastic transformation model by dissecting both cell lineage and cell fate transitions using single cell transcriptomes and genetic alteration data from patients with different subtypes of thyroid cancer. The resulting spectrum of ATC transformation included stress-responsive DTC cells, inflammatory ATC cells (iATCs), mitotic-defective ATC cells and extended all the way to mesenchymal ATC cells (mATCs). Further, our analysis identified two important milestones: 1) a diploid stage, where iATC cells were diploids with inflammatory phenotypes, and 2) an aneuploid stage, where mATCs gained aneuploid genomes and mesenchymal phenotypes producing excessive collagens and collagen-interacting receptors. In parallel, cancer-associated-fibroblasts showed strong interactions among mesenchymal cell-types, macrophages shifted from M1 to M2 states, and T cells reprogrammed from cytotoxic to exhausted states, highlighting new therapeutic opportunities for ATC.
Authors
Lina Lu, Jennifer Rui Wang, Ying C. Henderson, Shanshan Bai, Jie Yang, Min Hu, Cheng-Kai Shiau, Timothy Y. Pan, Yuanqing Yan, Tuan M. Tran, Jianzhuo Li, Rachel Kieser, Xiao Zhao, Jiping Wang, Roza Nurieva, Michelle D. Williams, Maria E. Cabanillas, Ramona Dadu, Naifa Busaidy, Mark Zafereo, Nicholas Navin, Stephen Y. Lai, Ruli Gao
Abstract
Excessive Erythrocytosis (EE) is a major hallmark of patients suffering from chronic mountain sickness (CMS, Monge’s disease) and is responsible for major morbidity and even mortality in early adulthood. We took advantage of unique populations, one living at high altitude (Peru) showing EE, while another population, at the same altitude and region, shows no evidence of EE (non-CMS). Through RNA-seq, we identified and validated the function of a group of long non-coding RNA (lncRNAs) that regulate erythropoiesis in Monge’s disease but not in the non-CMS population. Among these lncRNAs is HIKER (Hypoxia Induced Kinase-mediated Erythropoietic Regulator)/LINC02228 which we showed plays a critical role in erythropoiesis in CMS cells. Under hypoxia, HIKER modulated CSNK2B (the regulatory subunit of Casein kinase 2). A down-regulation of HIKER down-regulated CSNK2B, remarkably reducing erythropoiesis (<70% reduction of BFUs); furthermore, an up-regulation of CSNK2B on the background of HIKER down-regulation rescued erythropoiesis defects. Pharmacologic inhibition of CSNK2B drastically reduced erythroid colonies (50-75% reduction in BFU colonies) and knock-down of CSNK2B in zebrafish lead to a defect in hemoglobinization (<97% morphants show reduction in hemoglobin levels). We conclude that HIKER regulates erythropoiesis in Monge’s disease and acts through at least one specific target, CSNK2B, a casein kinase.
Authors
Priti Azad, Dan Zhou, Hung-Chi Tu, Francisco C. Villafuerte, David Traver, Tariq M. Rana, Gabriel G. Haddad
Abstract
Current therapies for Fabry disease are based on reversing intra-cellular accumulation of globotriaosylceramide (Gb3) by enzyme replacement therapy (ERT) or chaperone-mediated stabilization of the defective enzyme, thereby alleviating lysosome dysfunction. However, their effect in the reversal of end-organ damage, like kidney injury and chronic kidney disease remains unclear. First, ultrastructural analysis of serial human kidney biopsies showed that long-term use of ERT reduced Gb3 accumulation in podocytes but did not reverse podocyte injury. Then, a CRISPR/CAS9-mediated α-Galactosidase knockout podocyte cell line confirmed ERT-mediated reversal of Gb3 accumulation without resolution of lysosomal dysfunction. Transcriptome-based connectivity mapping and SILAC-based quantitative proteomics identified alpha-synuclein (SNCA) accumulation as a key event mediating podocyte injury. Genetic and pharmacological inhibition of SNCA improved lysosomal structure and function in Fabry podocytes, exceeding the benefits of ERT. Together, this work reconceptualizes Fabry-associated cell injury beyond Gb3 accumulation, and introduces SNCA modulation as a potential intervention, especially for patients with Fabry nephropathy.
Authors
Fabian Braun, Ahmed Abed, Dominik Sellung, Manuel Rogg, Mathias Woidy, Oysten Eikrem, Nicola Wanner, Jessica Gambardella, Sandra D. Laufer, Fabian Haas, Milagros N. Wong, Bernhard Dumoulin, Paula Rischke, Anne K. Mühlig, Wiebke Sachs, Katharina von Cossel, Kristina Schulz, Nicole Muschol, Sören W. Gersting, Ania C. Muntau, Oliver Kretz, Oliver Hahn, Markus M. Rinschen, Michael Mauer, Tillmann Bork, Florian Grahammer, Wei Liang, Thorsten Eierhoff, Winfried Römer, Arne Hansen, Catherine Meyer-Schwesinger, Guido Iaccarino, Camilla Tøndel, Hans-Peter Marti, Behzad Najafian, Victor G. Puelles, Christoph Schell, Tobias B. Huber
Abstract
Neural differentiation, synaptic transmission, and action potential propagation depend on membrane sphingolipids, whose metabolism is tightly regulated. Mutations in the ceramide transporter CERT (CERT1), which is involved in sphingolipid biosynthesis, are associated with intellectual disability, but the pathogenic mechanism remains obscure. Here, we characterize 31 individuals with de novo missense variants in CERT1. Several variants fall into a previously uncharacterized dimeric helical domain that enables CERT homeostatic inactivation, without which sphingolipid production goes unchecked. The clinical severity reflects the degree to which CERT autoregulation is disrupted, and inhibiting CERT pharmacologically corrects morphological and motor abnormalities in a Drosophila model of the disease, which we call CerTra syndrome. These findings uncover a central role for CERT autoregulation in the control of the sphingolipid biosynthetic flux, provide unexpected insight into the structural organisation of CERT, and suggest a possible therapeutic approach for CerTra syndrome patients.
Authors
Charlotte Gehin, Museer A. Lone, Winston Lee, Laura Capolupo, Sylvia Ho, Adekemi M. Adeyemi, Erica H. Gerkes, Alexander P.A. Stegmann, Estrella López-Martín, Eva Bermejo-Sánchez, Beatriz Martínez-Delgado, Christiane Zweier, Cornelia Kraus, Bernt Popp, Vincent Strehlow, Daniel Gräfe, Ina Knerr, Eppie R. Jones, Stefano Zamuner, Luciano A. Abriata, Vidya Kunnathully, Brandon E. Moeller, Anthony Vocat, Samuel Rommelaere, Jean-Philippe Bocquete, Evelyne Ruchti, Greta Limoni, Marine Van Campenhoudt, Samuel Bourgeat, Petra Henklein, Christian Gilissen, Bregje W. van Bon, Rolph Pfundt, Marjolein H. Willemsen, Jolanda H. Schieving, Emanuela Leonardi, Fiorenza Soli, Alessandra Murgia, Hui Guo, Qiumeng Zhang, Kun Xia, Christina R. Fagerberg, Christoph P. Beier, Martin J. Larsen, Irene Valenzuela, Paula Fernández-Álvarez, Shiyi Xiong, Robert Śmigiel, Vanesa López-González, Lluís Armengol, Manuela Morleo, Angelo Selicorni, Annalaura Torella, Moira Blyth, Nicola S. Cooper, Valerie Wilson, Renske Oegema, Yvan Herenger, Aurore Garde, Ange-Line Bruel, Frederic Tran Mau-Them, Alexis B.R. Maddocks, Jennifer M. Bain, Musadiq A. Bhat, Gregory Costain, Peter Kannu, Ashish Marwaha, Neena L. Champaigne, Michael J. Friez, Ellen B. Richardson, Vykuntaraju K. Gowda, Varunvenkat M. Srinivasan, Yask Gupta, Tze Y. Lim, Simone Sanna-Cherchi, Bruno Lemaitre, Toshiyuki Yamaji, Kentaro Hanada, John E. Burke, Ana Marija Jakšić, Brian D. McCabe, Paolo De Los Rios, Thorsten Hornemann, Giovanni D'Angelo, Vincenzo A Gennarino
Abstract
Defects in primary or motile cilia result in a variety of human pathologies, and retinal degeneration is frequently associated with these so-called ciliopathies. We found that homozygosity for a truncating variant in CEP162, a centrosome and microtubule-associated protein required for transition zone assembly during ciliogenesis and neuronal differentiation in the retina, caused late-onset retinitis pigmentosa in 2 unrelated families. The mutant CEP162-E646R*5 protein was expressed and properly localized to the mitotic spindle, but was missing from the basal body in primary and photoreceptor cilia. This impaired recruitment of transition zone components to the basal body and corresponded to complete loss of CEP162 function at the ciliary compartment, reflected by delayed formation of dysmorphic cilia. In contrast, shRNA knockdown of Cep162 in the developing mouse retina increased cell death, which was rescued by expression of CEP162-E646R*5, indicating that the mutant retains its role for retinal neurogenesis. Human retinal degeneration thus resulted from specific loss of the ciliary function of CEP162.
Authors
Nafisa Nuzhat, Kristof Van Schil, Sandra Liakopoulos, Miriam Bauwens, Alfredo Dueñas Rey, Stephan Käseberg, Melanie Jäger, Jason R. Willer, Jennifer Winter, Hanh M. Truong, Nuria Gruartmoner, Mattias Van Heetvelde, Joachim C. Wolf, Robert Merget, Sabine Grasshoff-Derr, Jo Van Dorpe, Anne Hoorens, Heidi Stöhr, Luke Mansard, Anne-Françoise Roux, Thomas Langmann, Katharina Dannhausen, David Rosenkranz, Karl M. Wissing, Michel Van Lint, Heidi Rossmann, Friederike Häuser, Peter Nürnberg, Holger Thiele, Ulrich Zechner, Jillian N. Pearring, Elfride De Baere, Hanno J. Bolz
Abstract
The transcription factor p63 guards genome integrity in the female germline, and its mutations have been reported in patients with premature ovarian insufficiency (POI). However, the precise contribution of the TP63 gene to the pathogenesis of POI needs to be further determined. Here, in 1,030 Chinese patients with POI, we identified 6 heterozygous mutations of the TP63 gene that impaired the C-terminal transactivation-inhibitory domain (TID) of the TAp63α protein and resulted in tetramer formation and constitutive activation of the mutant proteins. The mutant proteins induced cell apoptosis by increasing the expression of apoptosis-inducing factors in vitro. We next introduced a premature stop codon and selectively deleted the TID of TAp63α in mice and observed rapid depletion of the p63+/ΔTID mouse oocytes through apoptosis after birth. Finally, to further verify the pathogenicity of the mutation p.R647C in the TID that was present in 3 patients, we generated p63+/R647C mice and also found accelerated oocyte loss, but to a lesser degree than in the p63+/ΔTID mice. Together, these findings show that TID-related variants causing constitutive activation of TAp63α lead to POI by inducing oocyte apoptosis, which will facilitate the genetic diagnosis of POI in patients and provide a potential therapeutic target for extending female fertility.
Authors
Chengzi Huang, Simin Zhao, Yajuan Yang, Ting Guo, Hanni Ke, Xin Mi, Yingying Qin, Zi-Jiang Chen, Shidou Zhao
Copyright © 2023 American Society for Clinical Investigation
ISSN: 0021-9738 (print), 1558-8238 (online)