Disruption of CTCF Boundary at HOXA Locus Promote BET Inhibitors' Therapeutic Sensitivity in Acute Myeloid Leukemia
STEM CELL REVIEWS AND REPORTS
Authors: Zha, Jie; Lai, Qian; Deng, Manman; Shi, Pengcheng; Zhao, Haijun; Chen, Qinwei; Wu, Hua; Xu, Bing
Abstract
BothHOXgene expression and CTCF regulation have been well demonstrated to play a critical role in regulating maintenance of leukemic stem cells (LSCs) that are known to be resistant to BET inhibitor (BETi). To investigate the regulatory role of CTCF boundary in aberrantHOXgene expression and the therapeutic sensitivity of BETi in AML, we employed CRISPR-Cas9 genome editing technology to delete 47 base pairs of the CTCF binding motif which is located betweenHOXA7andHOXA9genes (CBS7/9) in different subtypes of AML with eitherMLL-rearrangement orNPM1mutation. Our results revealed thatHOXA9is significantly downregulated in response to the CBS7/9 deletion. Moreover, CBS7/9 boundary deletion sensitized the BETi treatment reaction in both MOLM-13 and OCI-AML3 cells. To further examine whether BETi therapeutic sensitivity in AML is depended on the expression level of theHOXA9gene, we overexpressed theHOXA9in the CBS7/9 deleted AML cell lines, which can rescue and restore the resistance to BETi treatment of the CBS7/9 KO cells by activating MAPK signaling pathway. Deletion of CBS7/9 specifically decreased the recruitment of BRD4 and RNA pol II to the posteriorHOXAgenes, in which, a transcription elongation factorELL3is the key factor in regulatingHOXAgene transcription monitored by CBS7/9 chromatin boundary. Thus, disruption of CBS7/9 boundary perturbsHOXA9transcription and regulates BETi sensitivity in AML treatment. Moreover, alteration of CTCF boundaries in the oncogene loci may provide a novel strategy to overcome the drug resistance of LSCs.
Ribavirin-induced intracellular GTP depletion activates transcription elongation in coagulation Factor VII gene expression
BIOCHEMICAL JOURNAL
Authors: Suzuki, Atsuo; Miyawaki, Yuhri; Okuyama, Eriko; Murata, Moe; Ando, Yumi; Kato, Io; Takagi, Yuki; Takagi, Akira; Murate, Takashi; Saito, Hidehiko; Kojima, Tetsuhito
Abstract
Coagulation FVII (Factor VII) is a vitamin K-dependent glycoprotein synthesized in hepatocytes. It was reported previously that FVII gene (F7) expression was up-regulated by ribavirin treatment in hepatitis C virus-infected haemophilia patients; however, its precise mechanism is still unknown. In the present study, we investigated the molecular mechanism of ribavirin-induced up-regulation of F7 expression in HepG2 (human hepatoma cell line). We found that intracellular GTP depletion by ribavirin as well as other IMPDH (inosine-5'-monophosphate dehydrogenase) inhibitors, such as mycophenolic acid and 6-mercaptopurine, up-regulated F7 expression. FVII mRNA transcription was mainly enhanced by accelerated transcription elongation, which was mediated by the P-TEFb (positive-transcription elongation factor b) complex, rather than by promoter activation. Ribavirin unregulated ELL (eleven-nineteen lysine-rich leukaemia) 3 mRNA expression before F7 up-regulation. We observed that ribavirin enhanced ELL3 recruitment to F7, whereas knockdown of ELL3 diminished ribavirin-induced FVII mRNA up-regulation. Ribavirin also enhanced recruitment of CDK9 (cyclin-dependent kinase 9) and AFF4 to F7. These data suggest that ribavirin-induced intracellular GTP depletion recruits a super elongation complex containing P-TEFb, AFF4 and ELL3, to F7, and modulates FVII mRNA transcription elongation. Collectively, we have elucidated a basal mechanism for ribavirin-induced FVII mRNA up-regulation by acceleration of transcription elongation, which may be crucial in understanding its pleiotropic functions in vivo.