Nancy H. Nabilsi

The ZEB1 pathway links glioblastoma initiation, invasion and chemoresistance

Glioblastoma remains one of the most lethal types of cancer, and is the most common brain tumour in adults. In particular, tumour recurrence after surgical resection and radiation invariably occurs regardless of aggressive chemotherapy. Here, we provide evidence that the transcription factor ZEB1 (zinc finger E‐box binding homeobox 1) exerts simultaneous influence over invasion, chemoresistance and tumourigenesis in glioblastoma. ZEB1 is preferentially expressed in invasive glioblastoma cells, where the ZEB1‐miR‐200 feedback loop interconnects these processes through the downstream effectors ROBO1, c‐MYB and MGMT. Moreover, ZEB1 expression in glioblastoma patients is predictive of shorter survival and poor Temozolomide response. Our findings indicate that this regulator of epithelial‐mesenchymal transition orchestrates key features of cancer stem cells in malignant glioma and identify ROBO1, OLIG2, CD133 and MGMT as novel targets of the ZEB1 pathway. Thus, ZEB1 is an important candidate molecule for glioblastoma recurrence, a marker of invasive tumour cells and a potential therapeutic target, along with its downstream effectors.

Multiplex mapping of chromatin accessibility and DNA methylation within targeted single molecules identifies epigenetic heterogeneity in neural stem cells and glioblastoma

Human tumors are comprised of heterogeneous cell populations that display diverse molecular and phenotypic features. To examine the extent to which epigenetic differences contribute to intratumoral cellular heterogeneity, we have developed a high-throughput method, termed MAPit-patch. The method uses multiplexed amplification of targeted sequences from submicrogram quantities of genomic DNA followed by next generation bisulfite sequencing. This provides highly scalable and simultaneous mapping of chromatin accessibility and DNA methylation on single molecules at high resolution. Long sequencing reads from targeted regions maintain the structural integrity of epigenetic information and provide substantial depth of coverage, detecting for the first time minority subpopulations of epigenetic configurations formerly obscured by existing genome-wide and population-ensemble methodologies. Analyzing a cohort of 71 promoters of genes with exons commonly mutated in cancer, MAPit-patch uncovered several differentially accessible and methylated promoters that are associated with altered gene expression between neural stem cell (NSC) and glioblastoma (GBM) cell populations. In addition, considering each promoter individually, substantial epigenetic heterogeneity was observed across the sequenced molecules, indicating the presence of epigenetically distinct cellular subpopulations. At the divergent MLH1/EPM2AIP1 promoter, a locus with three well-defined, nucleosome-depleted regions (NDRs), a fraction of promoter copies with inaccessible chromatin was detected and enriched upon selection of temozolomide-tolerant GBM cells. These results illustrate the biological relevance of epigenetically distinct subpopulations that in part underlie the phenotypic heterogeneity of tumor cell populations. Furthermore, these findings show that alterations in chromatin accessibility without accompanying changes in DNA methylation may constitute a novel class of epigenetic biomarker.

Sex hormone regulation of survivin gene expression

Survivin (BIRC5) is a cell survival gene that is overexpressed in endometrial cancer and has been implicated to have a physiological role in normal endometrial function. To determine whether survivin gene expression is regulated by reproductive steroid hormones in the human endometrium, RNA was prepared from normal cycling women in the proliferative and secretory phases of the menstrual cycle. RNA was also isolated from 21 endometrial biopsies from premenopausal women at baseline and following 3 months of treatment with depot medroxyprogesterone acetate. Finally, RNA was isolated from endometrial biopsies from ten healthy postmenopausal women participating in a clinical trial of estrogen replacement therapy at baseline and following 6 months of treatment with conjugated equine estrogen. Quantitative RT-PCR analysis was used to determine survivin, insulin-like growth factor binding protein 1 (IGFBP1), Ki67, and IGF1 gene expression levels. Survivin gene expression was highest in the proliferative phase of the menstrual cycle and showed a statistically significant 4-fold increase in expression following chronic treatment with estrogens; this was strongly correlated with increased Ki67, a marker of proliferation. Survivin gene expression decreased 4.6-fold following chronic progestin treatment in the human endometrium. These data suggest that survivin transcript is regulated by estrogens and progestins in the disease-free human endometrium. The data also suggest that survivin transcript may be used as a biomarker of estrogen and progestin treatment efficacy, but validation studies must be conducted to support this conclusion.

Simultaneous Single‐Molecule Mapping of Protein‐DNA Interactions and DNA Methylation by MAPit

Sites of protein binding to DNA are inferred from footprints or spans of protection against a probing reagent. In most protocols, sites of accessibility to a probe are detected by mapping breaks in DNA strands. As discussed in this unit, such methods obscure molecular heterogeneity by averaging cuts at a given site over all DNA strands in a sample population. The DNA methyltransferase accessibility protocol for individual templates (MAPit), an alternative method described in this unit, localizes protein‐DNA interactions by probing with cytosine‐modifying DNA methyltransferases followed by bisulfite sequencing. Sequencing individual DNA products after amplification of bisulfite‐converted sequences permits assignment of the methylation status of every enzyme target site along a single DNA strand. Use of the GC‐methylating enzyme M.CviPI allows simultaneous mapping of chromatin accessibility and endogenous CpG methylation. MAPit is therefore the only footprinting method that can detect subpopulations of molecules with distinct patterns of protein binding or chromatin architecture and correlate them directly with the occurrence of endogenous methylation. Additional advantages of MAPit methylation footprinting as well as considerations for experimental design and potential sources of error are discussed. Curr. Protoc. Mol. Biol. 95:21.22.1‐21.22.18.

DNA methyltransferase accessibility protocol for individual templates by deep sequencing.

A single-molecule probe of chromatin structure can uncover dynamic chromatin states and rare epigenetic variants of biological importance that bulk measures of chromatin structure miss. In bisulfite genomic sequencing, each sequenced clone records the methylation status of multiple sites on an individual molecule of DNA. An exogenous DNA methyltransferase can thus be used to image nucleosomes and other protein-DNA complexes. In this chapter, we describe the adaptation of this technique, termed Methylation Accessibility Protocol for individual templates, to modern high-throughput sequencing, which both simplifies the workflow and extends its utility.

Local Depletion of DNA Methylation Identifies a Repressive p53 Regulatory Region in the NEK2 Promoter

Background: NEK2 is a mammalian kinase that promotes centrosome separation during the cell cycle. Results: Agents that demethylate the NEK2 promoter or induce DNA damage repress NEK2 expression in a p53-dependent manner. Conclusion: p53 represses NEK2 expression and protects its binding region from accumulating DNA methylation. Significance: Knowledge regarding novel mechanisms of NEK2 regulation may help inform clinical application of NEK2-based anticancer therapeutics. Genome-scale mapping suggests that the function of DNA methylation varies with genomic context beyond transcriptional repression. However, the use of DNA-demethylating agents (e.g. 5-aza-2′-deoxycytidine (5aza-dC)) to study epigenetic regulation often focuses on gene activation and ignores repression elicited by 5aza-dC. Here, we show that repression of NEK2, which encodes the never in mitosis A (NIMA)-related kinase, by 5aza-dC is context-specific as NEK2 transcript levels were reduced in HCT116 colon cancer cells but not in isogenic p53−/− cells. Bisulfite sequencing showed that DNA methylation was restricted to the distal region of the NEK2 promoter. Demethylation by 5aza-dC was associated with increased accessibility to micrococcal nuclease, i.e. nucleosome depletion. Conversely, methyltransferase accessibility protocol for individual templates (MAPit) methylation footprinting showed that nucleosome occupancy and DNA methylation at the distal promoter were significantly increased in p53−/− cells, suggesting dynamic regulation of chromatin structure at this region by p53 in HCT116 cells. Stabilization of endogenous p53 by doxorubicin or ectopic expression of p53, but not a p53 DNA-binding mutant, decreased NEK2 expression. Chromatin immunoprecipitation demonstrated direct and specific association of p53 with the distal NEK2 promoter, which was enhanced by doxorubicin. Luciferase reporters confirmed that this region is required for p53-mediated repression of NEK2 promoter activity. Lastly, modulation of p53 abundance altered nucleosome occupancy and DNA methylation at its binding region. These results identify NEK2 as a novel p53-repressed gene, illustrate that its repression by 5aza-dC is specific and associated with nucleosome reorganization, and provide evidence that identification of partially methylated regions can reveal novel p53 target genes.

Simultaneous Single-Molecule Detection of Endogenous C-5 DNA Methylation and Chromatin Accessibility Using MAPit

Bisulfite genomic sequencing provides a single-molecule view of cytosine methylation states. After deamination, each cloned molecule contains a record of methylation within its sequence. The full power of this technique is harnessed by treating nuclei with an exogenous DNMT prior to DNA extraction. This exogenous methylation marks regions of accessibility and footprints nucleosomes, as well as other DNA-binding proteins. Thus, each cloned molecule records not only the endogenous methylation present (at CG sites, in mammals), but also the exogenous (GC, when using the Chlorella virus protein M.CviPI). We term this technique MAPit, methylation accessibility protocol for individual templates.

High Fractional Occupancy of a Tandem Maf Recognition Element and Its Role in Long-Range β-Globin Gene Regulation

ABSTRACT Enhancers and promoters assemble protein complexes that ultimately regulate the recruitment and activity of RNA polymerases. Previous work has shown that at least some enhancers form stable protein complexes, leading to the formation of enhanceosomes. We analyzed protein-DNA interactions in the murine β-globin gene locus using the methyltransferase accessibility protocol for individual templates (MAPit). The data show that a tandem Maf recognition element (MARE) in locus control region (LCR) hypersensitive site 2 (HS2) reveals a remarkably high degree of occupancy during differentiation of mouse erythroleukemia cells. Most of the other transcription factor binding sites in LCR HS2 or in the adult β-globin gene promoter regions exhibit low fractional occupancy, suggesting highly dynamic protein-DNA interactions. Targeting of an artificial zinc finger DNA-binding domain (ZF-DBD) to the HS2 tandem MARE caused a reduction in the association of MARE-binding proteins and transcription complexes at LCR HS2 and the adult βmajor-globin gene promoter but did not affect expression of the βminor-globin gene. The data demonstrate that a stable MARE-associated footprint in LCR HS2 is important for the recruitment of transcription complexes to the adult βmajor-globin gene promoter during erythroid cell differentiation.

Integrated DNA methylation and chromatin structural analysis at single-molecule resolution.

Chromatin limits the accessibility of DNA to trans-acting factors in transcription, replication, and repair. Although transcriptional variation between cells in a population may contribute to survival and disease, most assays of chromatin structure recover only population averages. We have developed DNA methyltransferases (MTases) as probing agents of DNA accessibility in chromatin, either expressed in vivo in budding yeast or as recombinant enzymatic probes of nuclei isolated from mammalian cells. In this chapter, we focus on the use of recombinant MTase (M) M.CviPI to probe chromatin accessibility in nuclei isolated from mammalian cell lines and animal tissue. This technique, named methylation accessibility protocol for individual templates (MAPit), reports protein-DNA interactions at single-molecule resolution. The single-molecule readout allows identification of chromatin subpopulations and rare epigenetic variants within a cell population. Furthermore, the use of M.CviPI in mammalian systems gives a comprehensive view of both chromatin structure and endogenous DNA methylation in a single assay.

Breast Cancer Epigenetics: Biomarkers and Therapeutic Potential

In this chapter, we review the central roles that epigenetic mechanisms, including DNA methylation, histone posttranslational modifications, and nucleosome positioning, play in governing gene expression and how their dysregulation contributes to carcinogenesis. Dramatic improvements in high-throughput DNA sequencing, so-called next-generation technologies, have driven a veritable revolution in the large-scale assessment of cellular “epigenomes.” We also review several reports that have profiled epigenomic differences between normal tissue and diverse types of breast tumors, emphasizing how they inform our understanding of disease complexity and the utility of epigenetic-based therapies for breast cancer treatment. Finally, we discuss a methodology that interrogates multiple epigenetic as well as genetic features at the single-molecule level and how it may be utilized to increase our understanding of intratumoral heterogeneity.