SIRT7 is a histone H3 lysine 18 deacetylase that regulates oncogenic transformation

ABSTRACT: Sirtuin proteins regulate diverse cellular pathways that influence genomic stability, metabolism, and ageing. SIRT7 is a mammalian sirtuin whose biochemical activity, molecular targets, and physiologic functions have been unclear. Here we show that SIRT7 is an NAD+-dependent, histone H3 acetyl-lysine 18 (H3K18Ac) deacetylase that stabilizes the transformed state of cancer cells. Genome-wide binding studies reveal that SIRT7 binds to promoters of a specific set of gene targets, where it deacetylates H3K18Ac and promotes transcriptional repression. The spectrum of SIRT7 target genes is defined in part by interaction of SIRT7 with the cancer-related ETS transcription factor ELK4, and comprises numerous genes with links to tumour suppression. Notably, selective hypoacetylation of H3K18Ac has recently been linked to oncogenic transformation, and in patients, is associated with aggressive tumour phenotypes and poor prognosis. We find that deacetylation of H3K18Ac by SIRT7 is necessary for maintaining essential features of human cancer cells including anchorage independent growth and escape from contact inhibition. Moreover, SIRT7 is necessary for a global hypoacetylation of H3K18Ac associated with cellular transformation by viral oncoproteins. Finally, SIRT7 depletion markedly reduces the tumourigenicity of human cancer cell xenografts in mice. Together, our work establishes SIRT7 as the first known site-specific H3K18Ac deacetylase and demonstrates a pivotal role for SIRT7 in chromatin regulation, cellular transformation programs, and tumour formation in vivo. SIRT7 ChIP-seq was performed in K562 cell lines under normal conditions. Two replicates were performed for both the SIRT7 ChIP as well as input control.

ORGANISM(S): Homo sapiens

SUBMITTER: Yuanxin Xi 

PROVIDER: E-GEOD-28149 | biostudies-arrayexpress |

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-arrayexpress