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Double strand breaks can initiate gene silencing and SIRT1-dependent onset of DNA methylation in an exogenous promoter CpG island.

ABSTRACT: Chronic exposure to inducers of DNA base oxidation and single and double strand breaks contribute to tumorigenesis. In addition to the genetic changes caused by this DNA damage, such tumors often contain epigenetically silenced genes with aberrant promoter region CpG island DNA hypermethylation. We herein explore the relationships between such DNA damage and epigenetic gene silencing using an experimental model in which we induce a defined double strand break in an exogenous promoter construct of the E-cadherin CpG island, which is frequently aberrantly DNA hypermethylated in epithelial cancers. Following the onset of repair of the break, we observe recruitment to the site of damage of key proteins involved in establishing and maintaining transcriptional repression, namely SIRT1, EZH2, DNMT1, and DNMT3B, and the appearance of the silencing histone modifications, hypoacetyl H4K16, H3K9me2 and me3, and H3K27me3. Although in most cells selected after the break, DNA repair occurs faithfully with preservation of activity of the promoter, a small percentage of the plated cells demonstrate induction of heritable silencing. The chromatin around the break site in such a silent clone is enriched for most of the above silent chromatin proteins and histone marks, and the region harbors the appearance of increasing DNA methylation in the CpG island of the promoter. During the acute break, SIRT1 appears to be required for the transient recruitment of DNMT3B and subsequent methylation of the promoter in the silent clones. Taken together, our data suggest that normal repair of a DNA break can occasionally cause heritable silencing of a CpG island-containing promoter by recruitment of proteins involved in silencing. Furthermore, with contribution of the stress-related protein SIRT1, the break can lead to the onset of aberrant CpG island DNA methylation, which is frequently associated with tight gene silencing in cancer.

SUBMITTER: O'Hagan HM

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2491723 | biostudies-literature | 2008 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Double strand breaks can initiate gene silencing and SIRT1-dependent onset of DNA methylation in an exogenous promoter CpG island.

O'Hagan Heather M HM Mohammad Helai P HP Baylin Stephen B SB

PLoS genetics 20080815 8

Chronic exposure to inducers of DNA base oxidation and single and double strand breaks contribute to tumorigenesis. In addition to the genetic changes caused by this DNA damage, such tumors often contain epigenetically silenced genes with aberrant promoter region CpG island DNA hypermethylation. We herein explore the relationships between such DNA damage and epigenetic gene silencing using an experimental model in which we induce a defined double strand break in an exogenous promoter construct o ...[more]

PMID: 18704159

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Project description:We report the generation and analysis of high-throughput DNA methylation profiles at nucleotide resolution in a subset of targeted gene trap mouse mutants. Using high-throughput sequencing of bisulfite treated DNA, we generated DNA methylation percentage for CpG islands, and LacZ (reporter) gene in mice with the apparent silencing of the targeted gene promoter reflected by reduced reporter mRNA level. These results were contrasted with findings for a set of mutants with no silencing or CpG methylation following targeted mutagenesis using the same gene trap vector. Our findings supports the hypothesis that presence of the exogenous DNA in the targeting vector may influence the expression of genes in close proximity or may lead to promoter silencing of the target where the promoter is marked by CpG methylation. Examination of CpG methylation profiles in Knock-out and wild type mice We evaluated targeted gene promoter silencing in a group of six mutants carrying the tm1a Knockout Mouse Project allele containing both a LacZ reporter gene driven by the native promoter and a neo selection cassette. Methylation of the promoter CpG islands and LacZ coding sequence were evaluated by sequencing of bisulfite-treated DNA. CpG Islands (samples labeled as CpG) and trans gene (samples labeled as LacZ) were amplified after Bisulfite treatment. Please note that the same gDNA was used to amplify CpG Island (Gene_CpG_KO ) and LacZ (Gene_LacZ_KO) reporter for the same gene. PCR product of amplification was gel separated, isolated and pooled. After libraries were prepared and sequenced, the alignment was performed. CpG island and LacZ alignments were done separately resulting in three different Processed Data files per gene investigated: Gene_CpG_KO, Gene_LacZ_KO and Gene_CpG_WT. LacZ reference is included in the submission, but is also available for download from KOMP Phenotype website (www.kompphenotype.org). Also please note that the libraries were prepared using Illumina TruSeq RNA Sample Prep Kit starting from adapter binding step as samples were double stranded Bisulfite treated DNA amplicons. So the library preparation was done as with RNASeq, but samples investigated were bisulfite treated.

Project description:Much effort in cancer research has focused on the tiny part of our genome that codes for mRNA. However, it has recently been recognized that microRNAs also contribute decisively to tumorigenesis. Studies have also shown that epigenetic silencing by CpG island hypermethylation of microRNAs with tumor suppressor activities is a common feature of human cancer. The importance of other classes of non-coding RNAs, such as long intergenic ncRNAs (lincRNAs) and transcribed ultraconserved regions (T-UCRs) as altered elements in neoplasia, is also gaining recognition. Thus, we wondered whether there were other ncRNAs undergoing CpG island hypermethylation-associated inactivation in cancer cells. We focused on the small nucleolar RNAs (snoRNAs), a subset of ncRNA with a wide variety of cellular functions, such as chemical modification of RNA, pre-RNA processing and control of alternative splicing. By data mining snoRNA databases and the scientific literature, we selected 49 snoRNAs that had a CpG island within ? 2 Kb or that were processed from a host gene with a 5'-CpG island. Bisulfite genomic sequencing of multiple clones in normal colon mucosa and the colorectal cancer cell line HCT-116 showed that 46 snoRNAs were equally methylated in the two samples: completely unmethylated (n = 26) or fully methylated (n = 20). Most interestingly, the host gene-associated 5'-CpG islands of the snoRNAs SNORD123, U70C and ACA59B were hypermethylated in the cancer cells but not in the corresponding normal tissue. CpG island hypermethylation was associated with the transcriptional silencing of the respective snoRNAs. Results of a DNA methylation microarray platform in a comprehensive collection of normal tissues, cancer cell lines and primary malignancies demonstrated that the observed hypermethylation of snoRNAs was a common feature of various tumor types, particularly in leukemias. Overall, our findings indicate the existence of a new subclass of ncRNAs, snoRNAs, that are targeted by epigenetic inactivation in human cancer.

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Double strand breaks can initiate gene silencing and SIRT1-dependent onset of DNA methylation in an exogenous promoter CpG island.

Publications

Double strand breaks can initiate gene silencing and SIRT1-dependent onset of DNA methylation in an exogenous promoter CpG island.

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