Aberrant Upregulation of RUNX3 Activates Developmental Genes to Drive Metastasis in Gastric Cancer.

Gastric cancer metastasis is a major cause of mortality worldwide. Inhibition of RUNX3 in gastric cancer cell lines reduced migration, invasion, and anchorage-independent growth in vitro. Following splenic inoculation, CRISPR-mediated RUNX3-knockout HGC-27 cells show suppression of xenograft growth and liver metastasis. We interrogated the potential of RUNX3 as a metastasis driver in gastric cancer by profiling its target genes. Transcriptomic analysis revealed strong involvement of RUNX3 in the regulation of multiple developmental pathways, consistent with the notion that Runt domain transcription factor (RUNX) family genes are master regulators of development. RUNX3 promoted "cell migration" and "extracellular matrix" programs, which are necessary for metastasis. Of note, we found pro-metastatic genes WNT5A, CD44, and VIM among the top differentially expressed genes in RUNX3 knockout versus control cells. Chromatin immunoprecipitation sequencing and HiChIP analyses revealed that RUNX3 bound to the enhancers and promoters of these genes, suggesting that they are under direct transcriptional control by RUNX3. We show that RUNX3 promoted metastasis in part through its upregulation of WNT5A to promote migration, invasion, and anchorage-independent growth in various malignancies. Our study therefore reveals the RUNX3-WNT5A axis as a key targetable mechanism for gastric cancer metastasis. SIGNIFICANCE: Subversion of RUNX3 developmental gene targets to metastasis program indicates the oncogenic nature of inappropriate RUNX3 regulation in gastric cancer.

KDM6A Depletion in Breast Epithelial Cells Leads to Reduced Sensitivity to Anticancer Agents and Increased TGFß Activity.

KDM6A, an X chromosome-linked histone lysine demethylase, was reported to be frequently mutated in many tumor types including breast and bladder cancer. However, the functional role of KDM6A is not fully understood. Using MCF10A as a model of non-tumorigenic epithelial breast cells, we found that silencing KDM6A promoted cell migration and transformation demonstrated by the formation of tumor-like acini in three-dimensional culture. KDM6A loss reduced the sensitivity of MCF10A cells to therapeutic agents commonly used to treat patients with triple-negative breast cancer and also induced TGFß extracellular secretion leading to suppressed expression of cytotoxic genes in normal human CD8+ T cells in vitro. Interestingly, when cells were treated with TGFß, de novo synthesis of KDM6A protein was suppressed while TGFB1 transcription was enhanced, indicating a TGFß/KDM6A-negative regulatory axis. Furthermore, both KDM6A deficiency and TGFß treatment promoted disorganized acinar structures in three-dimensional culture, as well as transcriptional profiles associated with epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition and metastasis, suggesting KDM6A depletion and TGFß drive tumor progression. IMPLICATIONS: Our study provides the preclinical rationale for evaluating KDM6A and TGFß in breast tumor samples as predictors for response to chemo and immunotherapy, informing personalized therapy based on these findings.