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Serum Response Factor (SRF) Drives the Transcriptional Upregulation of the MDM4 Oncogene in HCC.

ABSTRACT: Different molecular mechanisms support the overexpression of the mouse double minute homolog 4 (MDM4), a functional p53 inhibitor, in human hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). However, the transcription factors (TFs) leading to its transcriptional upregulation remain unknown. Following promoter and gene expression analyses, putative TFs were investigated using gene-specific siRNAs, cDNAs, luciferase reporter assays, chromatin immunoprecipitation, and XI-011 drug treatment in vitro. Additionally, MDM4 expression was investigated in SRF-VP16^iHep transgenic mice. We observed a copy-number-independent upregulation of MDM4 in human HCCs. Serum response factor (SRF), ELK1 and ELK4 were identified as TFs activating MDM4 transcription. While SRF was constitutively detected in TF complexes at the MDM4 promoter, presence of ELK1 and ELK4 was cell-type dependent. Furthermore, MDM4 was upregulated in SRF-VP16-driven murine liver tumors. The pharmacological inhibitor XI-011 exhibited anti-MDM4 activity by downregulating the TFs driving MDM4 transcription, which decreased HCC cell viability and increased apoptosis. In conclusion, SRF drives transcriptional MDM4 upregulation in HCC, acting in concert with either ELK1 or ELK4. The transcriptional regulation of MDM4 may be a promising target for precision oncology of human HCC, as XI-011 treatment exerts anti-MDM4 activity independent from the MDM4 copy number and the p53 status.

SUBMITTER: Pellegrino R

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7829828 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Serum Response Factor (SRF) Drives the Transcriptional Upregulation of the MDM4 Oncogene in HCC.

Pellegrino Rossella R Thavamani Abhishek A Calvisi Diego F DF Budczies Jan J Neumann Ariane A Geffers Robert R Kroemer Jasmin J Greule Damaris D Schirmacher Peter P Nordheim Alfred A Longerich Thomas T

Cancers 20210108 2

Different molecular mechanisms support the overexpression of the mouse double minute homolog 4 (MDM4), a functional p53 inhibitor, in human hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). However, the transcription factors (TFs) leading to its transcriptional upregulation remain unknown. Following promoter and gene expression analyses, putative TFs were investigated using gene-specific siRNAs, cDNAs, luciferase reporter assays, chromatin immunoprecipitation, and XI-011 drug treatment in vitro. Additionally, MDM ...[more]

PMID: 33429878

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Project description:BackgroundSerum sphingolipids are widely involved in the development of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). We investigated the serum sphingolipid profile in patients with HCC or cirrhosis and explored the potential diagnostic efficiency of serum sphingolipid metabolites which may be helpful in differentiating HCC including α-fetoprotein (AFP)-negative HCC from cirrhosis.MethodsSeventy-two HCC patients (including 24 AFP-negative HCC) and 104 cirrhotic patients were consecutively enrolled in this study. High-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry was used to detect a panel of 57 serum sphingolipid metabolites.ResultsTwenty-four sphingolipid metabolites showed significant differences between HCC and cirrhotic patients (all P < 0.05). Sphingosine (d18:1)-1-P was found to have the potential to differentiate HCC from cirrhosis by orthogonal partial least squares discriminant analysis (OPLS-DA). There was no significant difference in the efficacy of Sphingosine (d18:1)-1-P and AFP to distinguish HCC from cirrhosis, and the area under the receiver operating curve (AUC) were 0.85 and 0.83 (P > 0.05), respectively. When the cut-off value of Sphingosine (d18:1)-1-P was set at 56.29 pmol/0.1 ml, the sensitivity and specificity were 79.20% and 78.70%, respectively. Notably, the upregulation of Sphingosine (d18:1)-1-P could also distinguish AFP-negative HCC from cirrhosis with an AUC of 0.79. The sensitivity and specificity were 62.50% and 77.90% at a cut-off value of 56.29 pmol/0.1 ml. Spearman rank correlation analysis revealed that serum Sphingosine (d18:1)-1-P was not correlated with AFP in patients with cirrhosis, AFP-positive HCC, and AFP-negative HCC. Moreover, the difference in the diagnostic efficiency of serum Sphingosine (d18:1)-1-P was not statistically significant between tumor size (≤2 cm vs. >2 cm, P = 0.476). Also, there was no difference among patients with different TNM stages and BCLC stages.ConclusionThe upregulation of serum Sphingosine (d18:1)-1-P exhibits good diagnostic performance for HCC. Particularly, Sphingosine (d18:1)-1-P could also serve as a biomarker for the diagnosis of AFP-negative HCC. These findings may contribute to the non-invasive diagnosis of HCC including AFP-negative HCC.

Project description:To identify in vivo new cardiac SRF target genes and to study the response of these novel genes to SRF overexpression, we employed a cardiac-specific, transgenic mouse model that has a phenotype in young adulthood which resembles that of the typically aged heart. Using this “cardiac aging” model, we identified 207 genes that are important to cardiac function that were differentially expressed in vivo. Among them, 192 genes had SRF binding motifs (56 with CArG and 136 with CArG-like elements) in their promoter region. Fifty-one of 56 genes with classic CArG elements were not previously reported. These SRF target genes were grouped into 12 categories based on their function. It was observed that genes associated with cardiac energy metabolism shifted toward that of carbohydrate metabolism and away from that of fatty acid metabolism. The expression of genes that are involved in transcription and ion regulation were decreased, but expression of cytoskeletal genes were significantly increased. Using public databases of mouse models of stress, we also found that altered expression of the SRF target genes occurred in these hearts as well. Thus, SRF target genes are actively regulated under various physiological and pathological conditions, including hemodynamic stress. The mild elevation of SRF protein in the rodent heart that is observed during typical adult aging may have a major impact on many SRF target genes, thereby affecting cardiac structure and performance. In addition, these results could help to enhance our understanding of SRF regulation of cellular processes, including metabolic and cytoskeletal function. The generation and characterization of transgenic mice with mild cardiac-specific overexpression of SRF was previously reported (Zhang et al., 2003). At 6 months of age, the transgenic mice manifested cardiac changes suggestive of an “aged heart” (Zhang et al., 2003). Therefore, 6-month-old transgenic and non-transgenic mice were used in this study.

Dataset Information

Serum Response Factor (SRF) Drives the Transcriptional Upregulation of the MDM4 Oncogene in HCC.

Publications

Serum Response Factor (SRF) Drives the Transcriptional Upregulation of the MDM4 Oncogene in HCC.

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