SUMMARY UHRF1 is an essential regulator of DNA methylation that is highly expressed in many cancers. Here, we use transgenic zebrafish, cultured cells and human tumors to demonstrate that UHRF1 is an oncogene. UHRF1 overexpression in zebrafish hepatocytes destabilizes and delocalizes DNMT1, causes DNA hypomethylation and Tp53-mediated senescence. Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) emerges when senescence is bypassed. tp53 mutation both alleviates senescence and accelerates tumor onset. Human HCCs recapitulate this paradigm, as UHRF1 overexpression defines a subclass of aggressive HCCs characterized by genomic instability, TP53 mutation and abrogation of the TP53-mediated senescence program. We propose that UHRF1 overexpression is a mechanism underlying DNA hypomethylation in cancer cells and that senescence is a primary means of restricting tumorigenesis due to epigenetic disruption.

Intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (iCCA) is a fatal bile duct cancer with dismal prognosis and limited therapeutic options. By performing RNA-and exome-sequencing analyses, we report a novel fusion event, FGFR2-PPHLN1 (16%), and damaging mutations in the ARAF oncogene (11%). Here we demonstrate that the chromosomal translocation t(10;12)(q26;q12) leading to FGFR2-PPHLN1 fusion possesses transforming and oncogenic activity, which is successfully inhibited by a selective FGFR2 inhibitor in vitro. Among the ARAF mutations, N217I and G322S lead to activation of the pathway and N217I shows oncogenic potential in vitro. Screening of a cohort of 107 iCCA patients reveals that FGFR2 fusions represent the most recurrent targetable alteration (45%, 17/107), while they are rarely present in other primary liver tumours (0/100 of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC); 1/21 of mixed iCCA-HCC). Taken together, around 70% of iCCA patients harbour at least one actionable molecular alteration (FGFR2 fusions, IDH1/2, ARAF, KRAS, BRAF and FGF19) that is amenable for therapeutic targeting.

BACKGROUND & AIMS Epigenetic silencing of tumor suppressor genes contributes to the pathogenesis of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). To identify clinically relevant tumor suppressor genes silenced by DNA methylation in HCC, we integrated DNA methylation data from human primary HCC samples with data on up-regulation of gene expression after epigenetic unmasking. METHODS We performed genome-wide methylation analysis of 71 human HCC samples using the Illumina Human Beadchip 27K array; data were combined with those from microarray analysis of gene re-expression in 4 liver cancer cell lines after their exposure to reagents that reverse DNA methylation (epigenetic unmasking). RESULTS Based on DNA methylation in primary HCC and gene re-expression in cell lines after epigenetic unmasking, we identified 13 candidate tumor suppressor genes. Subsequent validation led us to focus on functionally characterizing 2 candidates, sphingomyelin phosphodiesterase 3 (SMPD3) and neurofilament, heavy polypeptide (NEFH), which we found to behave as tumor suppressor genes in HCC. Overexpression of SMPD3 and NEFH by stable transfection of inducible constructs into an HCC cell line reduced cell proliferation by 50% and 20%, respectively (SMPD3, P = .003 and NEFH, P = .003). Conversely, knocking down expression of these genes with small hairpin RNA promoted cell invasion and migration in vitro (SMPD3, P = .0001 and NEFH, P = .022), and increased their ability to form tumors after subcutaneous injection or orthotopic transplantation into mice, confirming their role as tumor suppressor genes in HCC. Low levels of SMPD3 were associated with early recurrence of HCC after curative surgery in an independent patient cohort (P = .001; hazard ratio = 3.22; 95% confidence interval: 1.6–6.5 in multivariate analysis). CONCLUSIONS Integrative genomic analysis identified SMPD3 and NEFH as tumor suppressor genes in HCC. We provide evidence that SMPD3 is a potent tumor suppressor gene that could affect tumor aggressiveness; a reduced level of SMPD3 is an independent prognostic factor for early recurrence of HCC.

The large chromosomal deletions frequently observed in cancer genomes are often thought to arise as a "two-hit" mechanism in the process of tumor-suppressor gene (TSG) inactivation. Using a murine model system of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and in vivo RNAi, we test an alternative hypothesis, that such deletions can arise from selective pressure to attenuate the activity of multiple genes. By targeting the mouse orthologs of genes frequently deleted on human 8p22 and adjacent regions, which are lost in approximately half of several other major epithelial cancers, we provide evidence suggesting that multiple genes on chromosome 8p can cooperatively inhibit tumorigenesis in mice, and that their cosuppression can synergistically promote tumor growth. In addition, in human HCC patients, the combined down-regulation of functionally validated 8p TSGs is associated with poor survival, in contrast to the down-regulation of any individual gene. Our data imply that large cancer-associated deletions can produce phenotypes distinct from those arising through loss of a single TSG, and as such should be considered and studied as distinct mutational events.cancer genomics | chromosome 8p deletion | RNAi screen