ABSTRACT
APOBEC3B (A3B)-catalyzed DNA cytosine deamination contributes to the overall mutational landscape in breast cancer. Molecular mechanisms responsible for A3B upregulation in cancer are poorly understood. Here we show that a single E2F cis-element mediates repression in normal cells and that expression is activated by its mutational disruption in a reporter construct or the endogenous A3B gene. The same E2F site is required for A3B induction by polyomavirus T antigen indicating a shared molecular mechanism. Proteomic and biochemical experiments demonstrate the binding of wildtype but not mutant E2F promoters by repressive PRC1.6/E2F6 and DREAM/E2F4 complexes. Knockdown and overexpression studies confirm the involvement of these repressive complexes in regulating A3B expression. Altogether, these studies demonstrate that A3B expression is suppressed in normal cells by repressive E2F complexes and that viral or mutational disruption of this regulatory network triggers overexpression in breast cancer and provides fuel for tumor evolution.
Subject(s)
Cytidine Deaminase/genetics , E2F Transcription Factors/genetics , Minor Histocompatibility Antigens/genetics , Signal Transduction , Cytidine Deaminase/metabolism , E2F Transcription Factors/metabolism , HEK293 Cells , Humans , MCF-7 Cells , Minor Histocompatibility Antigens/metabolism , Protein BindingABSTRACT
Virtual screening of a drug database identified Carvedilol, Loratadine, Nefazodone and Astemizole as PAR2 antagonists, after ligand docking and molecular dynamics simulations using a PAR2 homology model and a putative binding mode of a known PAR2 ligand. The drugs demonstrated competitive binding and antagonism of calcium mobilization and ERK1/2 phosphorylation in CHO-hPAR2 transfected cells, while inhibiting IL-6 secretion in PAR2 expressing MDA-MB-231 breast cancer cells. This research highlights opportunities for GPCR hit-finding from FDA-approved drugs.