Integrative functional genomic analysis identifies epigenetically regulated fibromodulin as an essential gene for glioma cell migration.

An integrative functional genomics study of multiple forms of data are vital for discovering molecular drivers of cancer development and progression. Here, we present an integrated genomic strategy utilizing DNA methylation and transcriptome profile data to discover epigenetically regulated genes implicated in cancer development and invasive progression. More specifically, this analysis identified fibromodulin (FMOD) as a glioblastoma (GBM) upregulated gene because of the loss of promoter methylation. Secreted FMOD promotes glioma cell migration through its ability to induce filamentous actin stress fiber formation. Treatment with cytochalasin D, an actin polymerization inhibitor, significantly reduced the FMOD-induced glioma cell migration. Small interfering RNA and small molecule inhibitor-based studies identified that FMOD-induced glioma cell migration is dependent on integrin-FAK-Src-Rho-ROCK signaling pathway. FMOD lacking C-terminus LRR11 domain (ΔFMOD), which does not bind collagen type I, failed to induce integrin and promote glioma cell migration. Further, FMOD-induced integrin activation and migration was abrogated by a 9-mer wild-type peptide from the FMOD C-terminus. However, the same peptide with mutation in two residues essential for FMOD interaction with collagen type I failed to compete with FMOD, thus signifying the importance of collagen type I-FMOD interaction in integrin activation. Chromatin immunoprecipitation-PCR experiments revealed that transforming growth factor beta-1 (TGF-ß1) regulates FMOD expression through epigenetic remodeling of FMOD promoter that involved demethylation and gain of active histone marks with a simultaneous loss of DNMT3A and EZH2 occupancy, but enrichment of Sma- and Mad-related protein-2 (SMAD2) and CBP. FMOD silencing inhibited the TGF-ß1-mediated glioma cell migration significantly. In univariate and multivariate Cox regression analysis, both FMOD promoter methylation and transcript levels predicted prognosis in GBM. Thus, this study identified several epigenetically regulated alterations responsible for cancer development and progression. Specifically, we found that secreted FMOD as an important regulator of glioma cell migration downstream of TGF-ß1 pathway and forms a potential basis for therapeutic intervention in GBM.

450K-array analysis of chronic lymphocytic leukemia cells reveals global DNA methylation to be relatively stable over time and similar in resting and proliferative compartments.

In chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), the microenvironment influences gene expression patterns; however, knowledge is limited regarding the extent to which methylation changes with time and exposure to specific microenvironments. Using high-resolution 450K arrays, we provide the most comprehensive DNA methylation study of CLL to date, analyzing paired diagnostic/follow-up samples from IGHV-mutated/untreated and IGHV-unmutated/treated patients (n=36) and patient-matched peripheral blood and lymph node samples (n=20). On an unprecedented scale, we revealed 2239 differentially methylated CpG sites between IGHV-mutated and unmutated patients, with the majority of sites positioned outside annotated CpG islands. Intriguingly, CLL prognostic genes (for example, CLLU1, LPL, ZAP70 and NOTCH1), epigenetic regulator (for example, HDAC9, HDAC4 and DNMT3B), B-cell signaling (for example, IBTK) and numerous TGF-ß and NF-κB/TNF pathway genes were alternatively methylated between subgroups. Contrary, DNA methylation over time was deemed rather stable with few recurrent changes noted within subgroups. Although a larger number of non-recurrent changes were identified among IGHV-unmutated relative to mutated cases over time, these equated to a low global change. Similarly, few changes were identified between compartment cases. Altogether, we reveal CLL subgroups to display unique methylation profiles and unveil methylation as relatively stable over time and similar within different CLL compartments, implying aberrant methylation as an early leukemogenic event.

The novel NF-κB inhibitor IMD-0354 induces apoptosis in chronic lymphocytic leukemia.

Nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB) is an important regulator of cell survival and has been shown to be constitutively active in chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) cells. Recently, a novel NF-κB inhibitor, IMD-0354 (N-(3, 5-bis-trifluoromethyl-phenyl)-5-chloro-2-hydroxy-benzamide), was shown to specifically inhibit the phosphorylation of IκBα by IkB kinases, thus preventing NF-κB release. In this study, we investigated if IMD-0354 can inhibit NF-κB activation and induce apoptosis in CLL cells in vitro. The rate of increase in apoptosis, drug sensitivity and DNA-binding activity of NF-κB were studied using Annexin V stainings, the fluorometric microculture cytotoxicity assay and electrophoretic mobility shift assay, respectively. Finally, the impact of IMD-0354 treatment on the expression of a set of apoptosis-related genes was investigated. The results clearly show that IMD-0354 induced apoptosis (mean 26%, range 8-48%) in CLL cells, independent of immunoglobulin heavy variable (IGHV) gene mutational status, and showed a dose-dependent cytotoxic effect. IMD-0354 treatment also significantly lowered the DNA-binding activity of NF-κB in CLL cells. In addition, we identified differences in expression levels of pro- and antiapoptotic genes following IMD-0354 treatment. In summary, our novel findings show that IMD-0354 can induce apoptosis in CLL cells, and thus merits further investigation as an anticancer agent in vivo.

CpG methylation regulates the Igf2/H19 insulator.

The differentially methylated 5'-flank of the mouse H19 gene unidirectionally regulates the communication between enhancer elements and gene promoters and presumably represses maternal Igf2 expression in vivo [1-6]. The specific activation of the paternally inherited Igf2 allele has been proposed to involve methylation-mediated inactivation of the H19 insulator function during male germline development [1-4, 6]. Here, we addressed the role of methylation by inserting a methylated fragment of the H19-imprinting control region (ICR) into a nonmethylated episomal H19 minigene construct, followed by the transfection of ligation mixture into Hep3B cells. Individual clones were expanded and analyzed for genotype, methylation status, chromatin conformation, and insulator function. The results show that the methylated status of the H19 ICR could be propagated for several passages without spreading into the episomal vector. Moreover, the nuclease hypersensitive sites, which are typical for the maternally inherited H19 ICR allele [1], were absent on the methylated ICR, underscoring the suggestion that the methylation mark dictates parent of origin-specific chromatin conformations [1] that involve CTCF [2]. Finally, the insulator function was strongly attenuated in stably maintained episomes. Collectively, these results provide the first experimental support that the H19 insulator function is regulated by CpG methylation.

The 5' flank of mouse H19 in an unusual chromatin conformation unidirectionally blocks enhancer-promoter communication.

BACKGROUND: During mouse prenatal development, the neighbouring insulin-like growth factor II (Igf2) and H19 loci are expressed monoallelically from the paternal and maternal alleles, respectively. Identical spatiotemporal expression patterns and enhancer deletion experiments show that the Igf2 and H19 genes share a common set of enhancers. Deletion of a differentially methylated region in the 5' flank of the H19 gene partially relieves the repression of the maternal Igf2 and paternal H19 alleles in the soma. The mechanisms underlying the function of the 5' flank of the H19 gene are, however, unknown. RESULTS: Chromatin analysis showed that the 5' flank of the mouse H19 gene contains maternal-specific, multiple nuclease hypersensitive sites that map to linker regions between positioned nucleosomes. These features could be recapitulated in an episomal-based H19 minigene, which was propagated in human somatic cells. Although the 5' flank of the H19 promoter has no intrinsic silencer activity under these conditions, it unidirectionally extinguished promoter-enhancer communications in a position-dependent manner, without directly affecting the enhancer function. CONCLUSIONS: The unmethylated 5' flank of the H19 gene adopts an unusual and maternal-specific chromatin conformation in somatic cells and regulates enhancer-promoter communications, thereby providing an explanation for its role in manifesting the repressed state of the maternally inherited Igf2 allele.