RESUMO
The role of enhancer of zeste homolog 2 (EZH2) in cancer is complex and may vary depending on the cellular context. We found that EZH2 is aberrantly overexpressed in the majority of natural killer/T-cell lymphoma (NKTL), an aggressive lymphoid malignancy with very poor prognosis. We show that EZH2 upregulation is mediated by MYC-induced repression of its regulatory micro RNAs and EZH2 exerts oncogenic properties in NKTL. Ectopic expression of EZH2 in both primary NK cells and NKTL cell lines leads to a significant growth advantage. Conversely, knock-down of EZH2 in NKTL cell lines results in cell growth inhibition. Intriguingly, ectopic EZH2 mutant deficient for histone methyltransferase activity is also able to confer growth advantage and rescue growth inhibition on endogenous EZH2 depletion in NKTL cells, indicating an oncogenic role of EZH2 independent of its gene-silencing activity. Mechanistically, we show that EZH2 directly promotes the transcription of cyclin D1 and this effect is independent of its enzymatic activity. Furthermore, depletion of EZH2 using a PRC2 inhibitor 3-deazaneplanocin A significantly inhibits growth of NK tumor cells. Therefore, our study uncovers an oncogenic role of EZH2 independent of its methyltransferase activity in NKTL and suggests that targeting EZH2 may have therapeutic usefulness in this lymphoma.
Assuntos
Histona-Lisina N-Metiltransferase/metabolismo , Células Matadoras Naturais/fisiologia , Linfoma de Células T/fisiopatologia , Complexo Repressor Polycomb 2/genética , Adenosina/análogos & derivados , Adenosina/farmacologia , Adolescente , Adulto , Idoso , Idoso de 80 Anos ou mais , Apoptose/efeitos dos fármacos , Apoptose/fisiologia , Linhagem Celular Tumoral , Proliferação de Células/efeitos dos fármacos , Ciclina D1/genética , Ciclina D1/metabolismo , Proteína Potenciadora do Homólogo 2 de Zeste , Feminino , Regulação Neoplásica da Expressão Gênica , Histona Metiltransferases , Histona-Lisina N-Metiltransferase/genética , Humanos , Células Matadoras Naturais/citologia , Linfoma de Células T/patologia , Masculino , MicroRNAs/metabolismo , Pessoa de Meia-Idade , Mutagênese/fisiologia , Complexo Repressor Polycomb 2/metabolismo , Regiões Promotoras Genéticas/fisiologia , Regulação para Cima/fisiologia , Adulto JovemRESUMO
We performed a comprehensive genome-wide miRNA expression profiling of extranodal nasal-type natural killer/T-cell lymphoma (NKTL) using formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded tissue (n = 30) and NK cell lines (n = 6) compared with normal NK cells, with the objective of understanding the pathogenetic role of miRNA deregulation in NKTL. Compared with normal NK cells, differentially expressed miRNAs in NKTL are predominantly down-regulated. Re-expression of down-regulated miRNAs, such as miR-101, miR-26a, miR26b, miR-28-5, and miR-363, reduced the growth of the NK cell line and modulated the expression of their predicted target genes, suggesting the potential functional role of the deregulated miRNAs in the oncogenesis of NKTL. Taken together, the predicted targets whose expression is inversely correlated with the expression of deregulated miRNA in NKTL are significantly enriched for genes involved in cell cycle-related, p53, and MAPK signaling pathways. We also performed immunohistochemical validation for selected target proteins and found overexpression of MUM1, BLIMP1, and STMN1 in NKTL, and notably, a corresponding increase in MYC expression. Because MYC is known to cause repression of miRNA expression, it is possible that MYC activation in NKTL may contribute to the suppression of the miRNAs regulating MUM1, BLIMP1, and STMN1.