The human tumour antigen PRAME (preferentially expressed antigen of melanoma) is frequently overexpressed in tumours. High PRAME levels correlate with poor clinical outcome of several cancers, but the mechanisms by which PRAME could be involved in tumourigenesis remain largely elusive. We applied protein-complex purification strategies and identified PRAME as a substrate recognition subunit of a Cullin2-based E3 ubiquitin ligase. PRAME can be recruited to DNA in vitro, and genome-wide chromatin immunoprecipitation experiments revealed that PRAME is specifically enriched at transcriptionally active promoters that are also bound by NFY and at enhancers. Our results are consistent with a role for the PRAME ubiquitin ligase complex in NFY-mediated transcriptional regulation.
Resistance to glucocorticoids (GCs) is a major clinical problem in the treatment of acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), but the underlying mechanisms are not well understood. Although mutations in the glucocorticoid receptor (GR) gene can give rise to therapy resistance in vitro, acquired somatic mutations in the GR are rarely encountered in patients. Here we report that the protein encoded by the BTG1 gene, which is frequently deleted in (pediatric) ALL, is a key determinant of GC responsiveness. Using RNA interference, we show that loss of BTG1 expression causes GC resistance both by decimating GR expression and by controlling GR-mediated transcription. Conversely, reexpression of BTG1 restores GC sensitivity by potentiating GC-induced GR expression, a phenomenon known as GR autoinduction. In addition, the arginine methyltransferase PRMT1, a BTG1-binding partner and transcriptional coactivator, is recruited to the GR gene promoter in a BTG1-dependent manner. These results implicate the BTG1/PRMT1 complex in GR-mediated gene expression and reveal that deregulation of a nuclear receptor coactivator complex can give rise to GC resistance. IntroductionAcute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) is the most common type of cancer in children. Although cure rates are exceeding 80%, therapy resistance and associated disease relapse remain a significant clinical problem. Pediatric ALL is a genetically heterogeneous disease characterized by chromosomal abnormalities, including translocations, aneuploidies, and deletions. Molecular analysis of the most common chromosomal alterations in ALL has allowed classification into different subtypes that are associated with distinct clinical outcome. In addition to these chromosomal abnormalities, prognosis is determined by blast count at diagnosis, lineage (B or T cell), and the initial response to therapy. 1 Despite these advances in the molecular pathology of pediatric ALL, little is known about the mechanisms that contribute to relapse or therapy resistance in the patient.Synthetic glucocorticoids (GCs) are essential drugs in the treatment of pediatric ALL, as they effectively induce apoptosis in leukemic blasts. GCs exert their effects by binding to the glucocorticoid receptor (GR), a ligand-activated receptor and member of the nuclear receptor family. Activation of the GR by GCs leads to recruitment of GR to large transcription regulatory complexes that modulate expression of GC response genes, which leads to the induction of apoptosis in lymphoblasts. Resistance to GCs is a major clinical problem predictive of poor therapy outcome. 2 In most in vitro models, resistance to GCs appears to occur at the level of the receptor, either by mutations in the GR or by the inability of cells to up-regulate the GR in response to GC exposure, a phenomenon known as GR autoinduction. 3 However, mutations in the GR are rarely seen in (relapsed) ALL, 4 and it remains unclear to what extent differences in GR expression affect therapy response in the patient. 5,6 Through genome-wide profiling using si...
The t(8;21) acute myeloid leukemia (AML)-associated oncoprotein AML1-ETO disrupts normal hematopoietic differentiation. Here, we have investigated its effects on the transcriptome and epigenome in t(8,21) patient cells. AML1-ETO binding was found at promoter regions of active genes with high levels of histone acetylation but also at distal elements characterized by low acetylation levels and binding of the hematopoietic transcription factors LYL1 and LMO2. In contrast, ERG, FLI1, TAL1, and RUNX1 bind at all AML1-ETO-occupied regulatory regions, including those of the AML1-ETO gene itself, suggesting their involvement in regulating AML1-ETO expression levels. While expression of AML1-ETO in myeloid differentiated induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) induces leukemic characteristics, overexpression increases cell death. We find that expression of wild-type transcription factors RUNX1 and ERG in AML is required to prevent this oncogene overexpression. Together our results show that the interplay of the epigenome and transcription factors prevents apoptosis in t(8;21) AML cells.
Differentiation of hematopoietic stem cells into B lymphocytes requires the concerted action of specific transcription factors, such as RUNX1, IKZF1, E2A, EBF1 and PAX5. As key determinants of normal B-cell development, B-lineage transcription factors are frequently deregulated in hematological malignancies, such as B-cell precursor acute lymphoblastic leukemia (BCP-ALL), and affected by either chromosomal translocations, gene deletions or point mutations. However, genetic aberrations in this developmental pathway are generally insufficient to induce BCP-ALL, and often complemented by genetic defects in cytokine receptors and tyrosine kinases (IL-7Rα, CRLF2, JAK2 and c-ABL1), transcriptional cofactors (TBL1XR1, CBP and BTG1), as well as the regulatory pathways that mediate cell-cycle control (pRB and INK4A/B). Here we provide a detailed overview of the genetic pathways that interact with these B-lineage specification factors, and describe how mutations affecting these master regulators together with cooperating lesions drive leukemia development.
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