PVT1 signals an androgen-dependent transcriptional repression program in prostate cancer cells and a set of the repressed genes predicts high-risk tumors

Background: Androgen receptor (AR) and polycomb repressive complex 2 (PRC2) are known to co-occupy the loci of genes that are downregulated by androgen-stimulus. Long intergenic non-coding RNA (lincRNA) PVT1 is an overexpressed oncogene that is associated with AR in LNCaP prostate cancer cells, and with PRC2 in HeLa and many other types of cancer cells. The possible involvement of PVT1 in mediating androgen-induced gene expression downregulation in prostate cancer has not been explored. Methods: LNCaP cell line was used. Native RNA-binding-protein immunoprecipitation with anti-AR or anti-EZH2 was followed by RT-qPCR with primers for PVT1. Knockdown of PVT1 with specifc GapmeRs (or a control with scrambled GapmeR) was followed by diferentially expressed genes (DEGs) determination with Agilent microarrays and with Signifcance Analysis of Microarrays statistical test. DEGs were tested as a tumor risk classifer with a machine learning Random Forest algorithm run with gene expression data from all TCGA-PRAD (prostate adenocarcinoma) tumors as input. ChIP-qPCR was performed for histone marks at the promoter of one DEG. Results: We show that PVT1 knockdown in androgen-stimulated LNCaP cells caused statistically signifcant expression upregulation/downregulation of hundreds of genes. Interestingly, PVT1 knockdown caused upregulation of 160 genes that were repressed by androgen, including a signifcantly enriched set of tumor suppressor genes, and among them FAS, NOV/CCN3, BMF, HRK, IFIT2, AJUBA, DRAIC and TNFRSF21. A 121-gene-set (out of the 160) was able to correctly predict the classifcation of all 293 intermediate- and high-risk TCGA-PRAD tumors, with a mean ROC area under the curve AUC=0.89±0.04, pointing to the relevance of these genes in cancer aggressiveness. Native RIP-qPCR in LNCaP showed that PVT1 was associated with EZH2, a component of PRC2. PVT1 knockdown followed by ChIP-qPCR showed signifcant epigenetic remodeling at the enhancer and promoter regions of tumor suppressor gene NOV, one of the androgen-repressed genes that were upregulated upon PVT1 silencing. Conclusions: Overall, we provide frst evidence that PVT1 was involved in signaling a genome-wide androgendependent transcriptional repressive program of tumor suppressor protein-coding genes in prostate cancer cells. Identifcation of transcriptional inhibition of tumor suppressor genes by PVT1 highlights the pathway to the investiga‑tion of mechanisms that lie behind the oncogenic role of PVT1 in cancer.

Inhibition of histone methyltransferase EZH2 in Schistosoma mansoni in vitro by GSK343 reduces egg laying and decreases the expression of genes implicated in DNA replication and noncoding RNA metabolism

Background The possibility of emergence of praziquantel-resistant Schistosoma parasites and the lack of other effective drugs demand the discovery of new schistosomicidal agents. In this context the study of compounds that target histone-modifying enzymes is extremely promising. Our aim was to investigate the effect of inhibition of EZH2, a histone methyltransferase that is involved in chromatin remodeling processes and gene expression control; we tested different developmental forms of Schistosoma mansoni using GKS343, a selective inhibitor of EZH2 in human cells. Methodology/Principal findings Adult male and female worms and schistosomula were treated with different concentrations of GSK343 for up to two days in vitro. Western blotting showed a decrease in the H3K27me3 histone mark in all three developmental forms. Motility, mortality, pairing and egg laying were employed as schistosomicidal parameters for adult worms. Schistosomula viability was evaluated with propidium iodide staining and ATP quantification. Adult worms showed decreased motility when exposed to GSK343. Also, an approximate 40% reduction of egg laying by GSK343-treated females was observed when compared with controls (0.1% DMSO). Scanning electron microscopy showed the formation of bulges and bubbles throughout the dorsal region of GSK343-treated adult worms. In schistosomula the body was extremely contracted with the presence of numerous folds, and growth was markedly slowed. RNA-seq was applied to identify the metabolic pathways affected by GSK343 sublethal doses. GSK343-treated adult worms showed significantly altered expression of genes related to transmembrane transport, cellular homeostasis and egg development. In females, genes related to DNA replication and noncoding RNA metabolism processes were downregulated. Schistosomula showed altered expression of genes related to cell adhesion and membrane synthesis pathways. Conclusions/Significance The results indicated that GSK343 presents in vitro activities against S. mansoni, and the characterization of EZH2 as a new potential molecular target establishes EZH2 inhibitors as part of a promising new group of compounds that could be used for the development of schistosomicidal agents. Author summary

Atlas of Schistosoma mansoni long non-coding RNAs and their expression correlation to protein-coding genes

Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) have been widely discovered in several organisms with the help of high-throughput RNA sequencing. LncRNAs are over 200 nt-long transcripts that do not have protein-coding (PC) potential, having been reported in model organisms to act mainly on the overall control of PC gene expression. Little is known about the functionality of lncRNAs in evolutionarily ancient non-model metazoan organisms, like Schistosoma mansoni, the parasite that causes schistosomiasis, one of the most prevalent infectious-parasitic diseases worldwide. In a recent transcriptomics effort, we identified thousands of S. mansoni lncRNAs predicted to be functional along the course of parasite development. Here, we present an online catalog of each of the S. mansoni lncRNAs whose expression is correlated to PC genes along the parasite lifecycle, which can be conveniently browsed and downloaded through a new web resource http://verjolab.usp.br. We also provide access now to navigation on the co-expression networks disclosed in our previous publication, where we correlated mRNAs and lncRNAs transcriptional patterns across five life-cycle stages/forms, pinpointing biological processes where lncRNAs might act upon.

Chromatin landscape distinguishes the genomic loci of hundreds of Androgen-Receptor-Associated LincRNAs from the loci of non-associated LincRNAs

Cell signaling events triggered by androgen hormone in prostate cells is dependent on activation of the androgen receptor (AR) transcription factor. Androgen hormone binding to AR promotes its displacement from the cytoplasm to the nucleus and AR binding to DNA motifs, thus inducing activatory and inhibitory transcriptional programs through a complex regulatory mechanism not yet fully understood. In this work, we performed RNA-seq deep-sequencing of LNCaP prostate cancer cells and found over 7000 expressed long intergenic non-coding RNAs (lincRNAs), of which similar to 4000 are novel lincRNAs, and 258 lincRNAs have their expression activated by androgen. Immunoprecipitation of AR, followed by large-scale sequencing of co-immunoprecipitated RNAs (RIP-Seq) has identified in the LNCaP cell line a total of 619 lincRNAs that were significantly enriched (FDR < 10%, DESeq2) in the anti-Androgen Receptor (antiAR) fraction in relation to the control fraction (non-specific IgG), and we named them Androgen-Receptor-Associated lincRNAs (ARA-lincRNAs). A genome-wide analysis showed that protein-coding gene neighbors to ARA-lincRNAs had a significantly higher androgen-induced change in expression than protein-coding genes neighboring lincRNAs not associated to AR. To find relevant epigenetic signatures enriched at the ARA-lincRNAs' transcription start sites (TSSs) we used a machine learning approach and identified that the ARA-lincRNA genomic loci in LNCaP cells are significantly enriched with epigenetic marks that are characteristic of in cis enhancer RNA regulators, and that the H3K27ac mark of active enhancers is conspicuously enriched at the TSS of ARA-lincRNAs adjacent to androgen-activated protein-coding genes. In addition, LNCaP topologically associating domains (TADs) that comprise chromatin regions with ARA-lincRNAs exhibit transcription factor contents, epigenetic marks and gene transcriptional activities that are significantly different from TADs not containing ARA-lincRNAs. This work highlights the possible involvement of hundreds of lincRNAs working in synergy with the AR on the genome-wide androgen-induced gene regulatory program in prostate cells.

Inhibition of histone methyltransferase EZH2 in Schistosoma mansoni in vitro by GSK343 reduces egg laying and decreases the expression of genes implicated in DNA replication and noncoding RNA metabolism

Background The possibility of emergence of praziquantel-resistant Schistosoma parasites and the lack of other effective drugs demand the discovery of new schistosomicidal agents. In this context the study of compounds that target histone-modifying enzymes is extremely promising. Our aim was to investigate the effect of inhibition of EZH2, a histone methyltransferase that is involved in chromatin remodeling processes and gene expression control; we tested different developmental forms of Schistosoma mansoni using GKS343, a selective inhibitor of EZH2 in human cells. Methodology/Principal findings Adult male and female worms and schistosomula were treated with different concentrations of GSK343 for up to two days in vitro. Western blotting showed a decrease in the H3K27me3 histone mark in all three developmental forms. Motility, mortality, pairing and egg laying were employed as schistosomicidal parameters for adult worms. Schistosomula viability was evaluated with propidium iodide staining and ATP quantification. Adult worms showed decreased motility when exposed to GSK343. Also, an approximate 40% reduction of egg laying by GSK343-treated females was observed when compared with controls (0.1% DMSO). Scanning electron microscopy showed the formation of bulges and bubbles throughout the dorsal region of GSK343-treated adult worms. In schistosomula the body was extremely contracted with the presence of numerous folds, and growth was markedly slowed. RNA-seq was applied to identify the metabolic pathways affected by GSK343 sublethal doses. GSK343-treated adult worms showed significantly altered expression of genes related to transmembrane transport, cellular homeostasis and egg development. In females, genes related to DNA replication and noncoding RNA metabolism processes were downregulated. Schistosomula showed altered expression of genes related to cell adhesion and membrane synthesis pathways. Conclusions/Significance The results indicated that GSK343 presents in vitro activities against S. mansoni, and the characterization of EZH2 as a new potential molecular target establishes EZH2 inhibitors as part of a promising new group of compounds that could be used for the development of schistosomicidal agents. Author summary

Atlas of Schistosoma mansoni long non-coding RNAs and their expression correlation to protein-coding genes

Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) have been widely discovered in several organisms with the help of high-throughput RNA sequencing. LncRNAs are over 200 nt-long transcripts that do not have protein-coding (PC) potential, having been reported in model organisms to act mainly on the overall control of PC gene expression. Little is known about the functionality of lncRNAs in evolutionarily ancient non-model metazoan organisms, like Schistosoma mansoni, the parasite that causes schistosomiasis, one of the most prevalent infectious-parasitic diseases worldwide. In a recent transcriptomics effort, we identified thousands of S. mansoni lncRNAs predicted to be functional along the course of parasite development. Here, we present an online catalog of each of the S. mansoni lncRNAs whose expression is correlated to PC genes along the parasite lifecycle, which can be conveniently browsed and downloaded through a new web resource http://verjolab.usp.br. We also provide access now to navigation on the co-expression networks disclosed in our previous publication, where we correlated mRNAs and lncRNAs transcriptional patterns across five life-cycle stages/forms, pinpointing biological processes where lncRNAs might act upon.

Chromatin landscape distinguishes the genomic loci of hundreds of Androgen-Receptor-Associated LincRNAs from the loci of non-associated LincRNAs

Cell signaling events triggered by androgen hormone in prostate cells is dependent on activation of the androgen receptor (AR) transcription factor. Androgen hormone binding to AR promotes its displacement from the cytoplasm to the nucleus and AR binding to DNA motifs, thus inducing activatory and inhibitory transcriptional programs through a complex regulatory mechanism not yet fully understood. In this work, we performed RNA-seq deep-sequencing of LNCaP prostate cancer cells and found over 7000 expressed long intergenic non-coding RNAs (lincRNAs), of which similar to 4000 are novel lincRNAs, and 258 lincRNAs have their expression activated by androgen. Immunoprecipitation of AR, followed by large-scale sequencing of co-immunoprecipitated RNAs (RIP-Seq) has identified in the LNCaP cell line a total of 619 lincRNAs that were significantly enriched (FDR < 10%, DESeq2) in the anti-Androgen Receptor (antiAR) fraction in relation to the control fraction (non-specific IgG), and we named them Androgen-Receptor-Associated lincRNAs (ARA-lincRNAs). A genome-wide analysis showed that protein-coding gene neighbors to ARA-lincRNAs had a significantly higher androgen-induced change in expression than protein-coding genes neighboring lincRNAs not associated to AR. To find relevant epigenetic signatures enriched at the ARA-lincRNAs' transcription start sites (TSSs) we used a machine learning approach and identified that the ARA-lincRNA genomic loci in LNCaP cells are significantly enriched with epigenetic marks that are characteristic of in cis enhancer RNA regulators, and that the H3K27ac mark of active enhancers is conspicuously enriched at the TSS of ARA-lincRNAs adjacent to androgen-activated protein-coding genes. In addition, LNCaP topologically associating domains (TADs) that comprise chromatin regions with ARA-lincRNAs exhibit transcription factor contents, epigenetic marks and gene transcriptional activities that are significantly different from TADs not containing ARA-lincRNAs. This work highlights the possible involvement of hundreds of lincRNAs working in synergy with the AR on the genome-wide androgen-induced gene regulatory program in prostate cells.

Discordant congenital Zika syndrome twins show differential in vitro viral susceptibility of neural progenitor cells

Congenital Zika syndrome (CZS) causes early brain development impairment by affecting neural progenitor cells (NPCs). Here, we analyze NPCs from three pairs of dizygotic twins discordant for CZS. We compare by RNA-Seq the NPCs derived from CZS-affected and CZS-unaffected twins. Prior to Zika virus (ZIKV) infection the NPCs from CZS babies show a significantly different gene expression signature of mTOR and Wnt pathway regulators, key to a neurodevelopmental program. Following ZIKV in vitro infection, cells from affected individuals have significantly higher ZIKV replication and reduced cell growth. Whole-exome analysis in 18 affected CZS babies as compared to 5 unaffected twins and 609 controls excludes a monogenic model to explain resistance or increased susceptibility to CZS development. Overall, our results indicate that CZS is not a stochastic event and depends on NPC intrinsic susceptibility, possibly related to oligogenic and/or epigenetic mechanisms.

Histone deacetylase inhibition modulates histone acetylation at gene promoter regions and affects genome-wide gene transcription in Schistosoma mansoni

Background Schistosomiasis is a parasitic disease infecting hundreds of millions of people worldwide. Treatment depends on a single drug, praziquantel, which kills the Schistosoma spp. parasite only at the adult stage. HDAC inhibitors (HDACi) such as Trichostatin A (TSA) induce parasite mortality in vitro (schistosomula and adult worms), however the downstream effects of histone hyperacetylation on the parasite are not known. Methodology/Principal findings TSA treatment of adult worms in vitro increased histone acetylation at H3K9ac and H3K14ac, which are transcription activation marks, not affecting the unrelated transcription repression mark H3K27me3. We investigated the effect of TSA HDACi on schistosomula gene expression at three different time points, finding a marked genome-wide change in the transcriptome profile. Gene transcription activity was correlated with changes on the chromatin acetylation mark at gene promoter regions. Moreover, combining expression data with ChIP-Seq public data for schistosomula, we found that differentially expressed genes having the H3K4me3 mark at their promoter region in general showed transcription activation upon HDACi treatment, compared with those without the mark, which showed transcription down-regulation. Affected genes are enriched for DNA replication processes, most of them being up-regulated. Twenty out of 22 genes encoding proteins involved in reducing reactive oxygen species accumulation were down-regulated. Dozens of genes encoding proteins with histone reader motifs were changed, including SmEED from the PRC2 complex. We targeted SmEZH2 methyltransferase PRC2 component with a new EZH2 inhibitor (GSK343) and showed a synergistic effect with TSA, significantly increasing schistosomula mortality. Conclusions/Significance Genome-wide gene expression analyses have identified important pathways and cellular functions that were affected and may explain the schistosomicidal effect of TSA HDACi. The change in expression of dozens of histone reader genes involved in regulation of the epigenetic program in S. mansoni can be used as a starting point to look for possible novel schistosomicidal targets.