NF-Y Subunits Overexpression in HNSCC.
Ontology highlight
ABSTRACT:
SUBMITTER: Bezzecchi E
PROVIDER: S-EPMC8234210 | biostudies-literature |
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature
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Project description:NF-Y is a pioneer transcription factor-TF-formed by the Histone-like NF-YB/NF-YC subunits and the regulatory NF-YA. It binds to the CCAAT box, an element enriched in promoters of genes overexpressed in many types of cancer. NF-YA is present in two major isoforms-NF-YAs and NF-YAl-due to alternative splicing, overexpressed in epithelial tumors. Here we analyzed NF-Y expression in stomach adenocarcinomas (STAD). We completed the partitioning of all TCGA tumor samples (450) according to molecular subtypes proposed by TCGA and ACRG, using the deep learning tool DeepCC. We analyzed differentially expressed genes-DEG-for enriched pathways and TFs binding sites in promoters. CCAAT is the predominant element only in the core group of genes upregulated in all subtypes, with cell-cycle gene signatures. NF-Y subunits are overexpressed, particularly NF-YA. NF-YAs is predominant in CIN, MSI and EBV TCGA subtypes, NF-YAl is higher in GS and in the ACRG EMT subtypes. Moreover, NF-YAlhigh tumors correlate with a discrete Claudinlow cohort. Elevated NF-YB levels are protective in MSS;TP53+ patients, whereas high NF-YAl/NF-YAs ratios correlate with worse prognosis. We conclude that NF-Y isoforms are associated to clinically relevant features of gastric cancer.
| S-EPMC8660849 | biostudies-literature
Project description:The NF-?B transcription factor is the master regulator of the inflammatory response and is essential for the homeostasis of the immune system. NF-?B regulates the transcription of genes that control inflammation, immune cell development, cell cycle, proliferation, and cell death. The fundamental role that NF-?B plays in key physiological processes makes it an important factor in determining health and disease. The importance of NF-?B in tissue homeostasis and immunity has frustrated therapeutic approaches aimed at inhibiting NF-?B activation. However, significant research efforts have revealed the crucial contribution of NF-?B phosphorylation to controlling NF-?B directed transactivation. Importantly, NF-?B phosphorylation controls transcription in a gene-specific manner, offering new opportunities to selectively target NF-?B for therapeutic benefit. This review will focus on the phosphorylation of the NF-?B subunits and the impact on NF-?B function.
| S-EPMC4810097 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Oral (OSCC) and oropharyngeal (OPSCC) squamous cell carcinomas show high morbidity and mortality rates. We aimed to investigate the role of the "Chromatin Assembly Factor-1" (CAF-1) p60 and p150 subunits, involved in DNA repair and replication, in OSCC and OPSCC progression and in response to Poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP)-inhibitors and exposure to ionizing radiation (IR). We immunostained tissue microarrays (TMAs), including 112 OSCC and 42 OPSCC, with anti-CAF-1/p60 and anti-CAF-1/p150 specific antibodies, correlating their expression with prognosis. Moreover, we assessed the sensitivity to PARP inhibitors and the double-strand breaks repair proficiency by cell viability and HR reporter assays, respectively, in HPV-positive and HPV-negative cell lines upon CAF-1/p60 and CAF-1/p150 depletion. The immunohistochemical analysis revealed a significant prognostic value of both tissue biomarkers combined expression in OSCC but not in OPSCC. In in vitro studies, the p60/150 CAF-1 subunits' depletion impaired the proficiency of Homologous Recombination DNA damage repair, inducing sensitivity to the PARP-inhibitors, able to sensitize both the cell lines to IR. These results indicate that regardless of the prognostic meaning of p60/p150 tissue expression, the pharmacological depletion of CAF-1 complex's function, combined to PARP-inhibitors and/or IR treatment, could represent a valid therapeutic strategy for squamous cell carcinomas of head and neck region.
| S-EPMC6827109 | biostudies-literature
Project description:The CCAAT box is recognized by the trimeric transcription factor NF-Y, whose NF-YA subunit is present in two major splicing isoforms, NF-YAl ("long") and NF-YAs ("short"). Little is known about the expression levels of NF-Y subunits in tumors, and nothing in lung cancer. By interrogating RNA-seq TCGA and GEO datasets, we found that, unlike NF-YB/NF-YC, NF-YAs is overexpressed in lung squamous cell carcinomas (LUSC). The ratio of the two isoforms changes from normal to cancer cells, with NF-YAs becoming predominant in the latter. NF-YA increased expression correlates with common proliferation markers. We partitioned all 501 TCGA LUSC tumors in the four molecular cohorts and verified that NF-YAs is similarly overexpressed. We analyzed global and subtype-specific RNA-seq data and found that CCAAT is the most abundant DNA matrix in promoters of genes overexpressed in all subtypes. Enriched Gene Ontology terms are cell-cycle and signaling. Survival curves indicate a worse clinical outcome for patients with increasing global amounts of NF-YA; same with hazard ratios with very high and, surprisingly, very low NF-YAs/NF-YAl ratios. We then analyzed gene expression in this latter cohort and identified a different, pro-migration signature devoid of CCAAT. We conclude that overexpression of the NF-Y regulatory subunit in LUSC has the scope of increasing CCAAT-dependent, proliferative (NF-YAshigh) or CCAAT-less, pro-migration (NF-YAlhigh) genes. The data further reinstate the importance of analysis of single isoforms of TFs involved in tumor development.
| S-EPMC6895822 | biostudies-literature
Project description:The trimeric transcription factor (TF) NF-Y regulates the CCAAT box, a DNA element enriched in promoters of genes overexpressed in many types of cancer. The regulatory NF-YA is present in two major isoforms, NF-YAl ("long") and NF-YAs ("short"). There is growing indication that NF-YA levels are increased in tumors. Here, we report interrogation of RNA-Seq TCGA (The Cancer Genome Atlas)-all 576 samples-and GEO (Gene Expression Ominibus) datasets of lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD). NF-YAs is overexpressed in the three subtypes, proliferative, inflammatory, and TRU (terminal respiratory unit). CCAAT is enriched in promoters of tumor differently expressed genes (DEG) and in the proliferative/inflammatory intersection, matching with KEGG (Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes) terms cell-cycle and signaling. Increasing levels of NF-YAs are observed from low to high CpG island methylator phenotypes (CIMP). We identified 166 genes overexpressed in LUAD cell lines with low NF-YAs/NF-YAl ratios: applying this centroid to TCGA samples faithfully predicted tumors' isoform ratio. This signature lacks CCAAT in promoters. Finally, progression-free intervals and hazard ratios concurred with the worst prognosis of patients with either a low or high NF-YAs/NF-YAl ratio. In conclusion, global overexpression of NF-YAs is documented in LUAD and is associated with aggressive tumor behavior; however, a similar prognosis is recorded in tumors with high levels of NF-YAl and overexpressed CCAAT-less genes.
| S-EPMC7074112 | biostudies-literature
Project description:BackgroundNF-Y is a transcription factor that recognizes with high specificity and affinity the widespread CCAAT box promoter element. It is formed by three subunits: NF-YA and the NF-YB/NF-YC- heterodimer containing histone fold domains (HFDs). We previously identified a large NF-Y gene family in Arabidopsis thaliana, composed of 29 members, and characterized their expression patterns in various plant tissues.MethodsWe used yeast Two-hybrids assays (Y2H), pull-down and Electrophoretic Mobility Shift Assay (EMSA) in vitro experiments with recombinant proteins to dissect AtNF-YB/AtNF-YC interactions and DNA-binding with different AtNF-YAs.ResultsConsistent with robust conservation within HFDs, we show that heterodimerization is possible among all histone-like subunits, including the divergent and related LEC1/AtNF-YB9 and L1L/AtNF-YB6 required for embryo development. DNA-binding to a consensus CCAAT box was investigated with specific AtNF-YB/AtNF-YC combinations and observed with some, but not all AtNF-YA subunits.ConclusionsOur results highlight (i) the conserved heterodimerization capacity of AtNF-Y histone-like subunits, and (ii) the different affinities of AtNF-YAs for the CCAAT sequence. Because of the general expansion of NF-Y genes in plants, these results most likely apply to other species.
| S-EPMC3422339 | biostudies-literature
Project description:NF-Y is a pioneer trimeric transcription factor formed by the Histone Fold Domain (HFD) NF-YB/NF-YC subunits and NF-YA. Three subunits are required for DNA binding. CCAAT-specificity resides in NF-YA and transactivation resides in Q-rich domains of NF-YA and NF-YC. They are involved in alternative splicing (AS). We recently showed that NF-YA is overexpressed in breast and lung carcinomas. We report here on the overexpression of all subunits in the liver hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) TCGA database, specifically the short NF-YAs and NF-YC2 (37 kDa) isoforms. This is observed at all tumor stages, in viral-infected samples and independently from the inflammatory status. Up-regulation of NF-YAs and NF-YC, but not NF-YB, is associated to tumors with mutant p53. We used a deep-learning-based method (DeepCC) to extend the partitioning of the three molecular clusters to all HCC TCGA tumors. In iCluster3, CCAAT is a primary matrix found in promoters of up-regulated genes, and cell-cycle pathways are enriched. Finally, clinical data indicate that, globally, only NF-YAs, but not HFD subunits, correlate with the worst prognosis; in iCluster1 patients, however, all subunits correlate. The data show a difference with other epithelial cancers, in that global overexpression of the three subunits is reported and clinically relevant in a subset of patients; yet, they further reinstate the regulatory role of the sequence-specific subunit.
| S-EPMC7731131 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Cadherin-mediated cell-cell contacts regulated by intracellular binders play critical roles in tissue homeostasis and tumorigenesis. Here, we screened mutational profiles of 312 annotated genes involved in cadherin binding in human squamous cell carcinomas and found MB21D2 to carry a unique recurrent Q311E mutation. MB21D2 overexpression was also frequently found in head and neck cancer (HNSCC) and was associated with poor clinical outcomes. Cell-based characterizations revealed pro-oncogenic roles for MB21D2 wild-type (WT) and its Q311E mutant (Q311E) in cell proliferation, colony formation, sphere growth, and migration/invasion by promoting epithelial-mesenchymal transition. Conversely, MB21D2 knockdown in MB21D2-overexpressing cells resulted in cell growth arrest and apoptosis. Xenograft tumor models with Q311E-expressing cells formed larger and more aggressive lesions, compared to models with WT-MB21D2-expressing cells or an empty vector. Transcriptome and protein interactome analyses revealed enrichment of KRAS signaling by MB21D2 expression. Immunoblotting confirmed RAS elevation, along with upregulation/phosphorylation of PI3K, AKT, and CREB. Blocking RAS signaling in MB21D2-expressing cells by manumycin significantly reduced cell growth and survival. Our study thus defined RAS signaling-dependent pro-oncogenic roles for MB21D2 overexpression and Q311E MB21D2 expression in HNSCC development.
| S-EPMC7718949 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Regulated gene expression is essential for a proper progression through the cell cycle. The transcription factor NF-Y has a fundamental function in transcriptional regulation of cell cycle genes, particularly of G2/M genes. In order to investigate common and distinct functions of NF-Y subunits in cell cycle regulation, NF-YA, NF-YB and NF-YC have been silenced by shRNAs in HCT116 cells. NF-YA loss led to a delay in S-phase progression, DNA damage and apoptosis: we showed the activation of the replication checkpoint, through the recruitment of ?p53 and of the replication proteins PCNA and Mcm7 to chromatin. Differently, NF-YB depletion impaired cells from exiting G2/M, but did not interfere with S-phase progression. Gene expression analysis of NF-YA and NF-YB inactivated cells highlighted a common set of hit genes, as well as a plethora of uncommon genes, unveiling a different effect of NF-Y subunits loss on NF-Y binding to its target genes. Chromatin extracts and ChIP analysis showed that NF-YA depletion was more effective than NF-YB in hitting NF-Y recruitment to CCAAT-promoters. Our data suggest a critical role of NF-Y expression, highlighting that the lack of the single subunits are differently perceived by the cells, which activate diverse cell cycle blocks and signaling pathways.
| S-EPMC3141247 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Cisplatin-based chemotherapy is the standard treatment of choice for head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC). The efficiency of platinum-based therapies is directly influenced by the development of tumor resistance. Multiple signaling pathways have been linked to tumor resistance, including activation of nuclear factor kappa B (NF?B). We explore a novel mechanism by which NF?B drives HNSCC resistance through histone modifications. Post-translational modification of histones alters chromatin structure, facilitating the binding of nuclear factors that mediate DNA repair, transcription, and other processes. We found that chemoresistant HNSCC cells with active NF?B signaling respond to chemotherapy by reducing nuclear BRCA1 levels and by promoting histone deacetylation (chromatin compaction). Activation of this molecular signature resulted in impaired DNA damage repair, prolonged accumulation of histone ?H2AX and increased genomic instability. We found that pharmacological induction of histone acetylation using HDAC inhibitors prevented NF?B-induced cisplatin resistance. Furthermore, silencing NF?B in HNSCC induced acetylation of tumor histones, resulting in reduced chemoresistance and increased cytotoxicity following cisplatin treatment. Collectively, these findings suggest that epigenetic modifications of HNSCC resulting from NF?B-induced histone modifications constitute a novel molecular mechanism responsible for chemoresistance in HNSCC. Therefore, targeted inhibition of HDAC may be used as a viable therapeutic strategy for disrupting tumor resistance caused by NF?B.
| S-EPMC3907686 | biostudies-literature