Project description:FOXA (Forkhead Box Protein A) family proteins function as pioneer transcription factors by loosening the compact chromatin structure and facilitating access for other transcription factors. The role of FOXA1 has been intensively studied in normal prostate epithelial cells and the adenocarcinoma subtype of prostate cancer (PCa) where it acts as a critical pioneer factor for the chromatin binding of androgen receptor (AR). Recent studies have indicated the emergence of FOXA2 as an adaptive response to AR signaling inhibition, particularly in prostate tumors that have undergone lineage reprogramming to a neuroendocrine PCa subtype. However, the molecular basis for this transition from FOXA1 to FOXA2 and its role in regulating the development of PCa lineage plasticity remains unclear. In this study, we show that FOXA2 binds to distinct chromatin regions in multiple AR-null PCa models with different molecular subtypes and that its binding is dependent on an epigenetic factor, LSD1. More importantly, we demonstrate that FOXA2 can function as a major pioneer factor of JUN and govern the chromatin binding of AP-1 complex in PCa exhibiting lineage plasticity. Mechanistically, differential reprogramming of JUN activates lineage-specific super-enhancers that may promote PCa progression by enhancing cell state transitions to multiple lineages. Overall, our study reveals a pivotal function of the LSD1-FOXA2 axis in rewiring AP-1 to induce differential transcriptional reprogramming required for PCa lineage plasticity.
Project description:FOXA (Forkhead Box Protein A) family proteins function as pioneer transcription factors by loosening the compact chromatin structure and facilitating access for other transcription factors. The role of FOXA1 has been intensively studied in normal prostate epithelial cells and the adenocarcinoma subtype of prostate cancer (PCa) where it acts as a critical pioneer factor for the chromatin binding of androgen receptor (AR). Recent studies have indicated the emergence of FOXA2 as an adaptive response to AR signaling inhibition, particularly in prostate tumors that have undergone lineage reprogramming to a neuroendocrine PCa subtype. However, the molecular basis for this transition from FOXA1 to FOXA2 and its role in regulating the development of PCa lineage plasticity remains unclear. In this study, we show that FOXA2 binds to distinct chromatin regions in multiple AR-null PCa models with different molecular subtypes and that its binding is dependent on an epigenetic factor, LSD1. More importantly, we demonstrate that FOXA2 can function as a major pioneer factor of JUN and govern the chromatin binding of AP-1 complex in PCa exhibiting lineage plasticity. Mechanistically, differential reprogramming of JUN activates lineage-specific super-enhancers that may promote PCa progression by enhancing cell state transitions to multiple lineages. Overall, our study reveals a pivotal function of the LSD1-FOXA2 axis in rewiring AP-1 to induce differential transcriptional reprogramming required for PCa lineage plasticity.
Project description:FOXA (Forkhead Box Protein A) family proteins function as pioneer transcription factors by loosening the compact chromatin structure and facilitating access for other transcription factors. The role of FOXA1 has been intensively studied in normal prostate epithelial cells and the adenocarcinoma subtype of prostate cancer (PCa) where it acts as a critical pioneer factor for the chromatin binding of androgen receptor (AR). Recent studies have indicated the emergence of FOXA2 as an adaptive response to AR signaling inhibition, particularly in prostate tumors that have undergone lineage reprogramming to a neuroendocrine PCa subtype. However, the molecular basis for this transition from FOXA1 to FOXA2 and its role in regulating the development of PCa lineage plasticity remains unclear. In this study, we show that FOXA2 binds to distinct chromatin regions in multiple AR-null PCa models with different molecular subtypes and that its binding is dependent on an epigenetic factor, LSD1. More importantly, we demonstrate that FOXA2 can function as a major pioneer factor of JUN and govern the chromatin binding of AP-1 complex in PCa exhibiting lineage plasticity. Mechanistically, differential reprogramming of JUN activates lineage-specific super-enhancers that may promote PCa progression by enhancing cell state transitions to multiple lineages. Overall, our study reveals a pivotal function of the LSD1-FOXA2 axis in rewiring AP-1 to induce differential transcriptional reprogramming required for PCa lineage plasticity.
Project description:For FLAG pull-down, protein extracts of cells stably expressing FLAG-tagged FOXA2 were incubated with FLAG-conjugated beads. To perform mass spectrometry analysis, we used at least 6 x 108 cells to map post-translational modification sites through Thermo EASY-nLC 1200 at the Proteomics Core of University of Massachusetts Boston
Project description:Despite recent therapeutic advances, prostate cancer remains a leading cause of cancer-related death. A subset of castration resistant prostate cancers become androgen receptor (AR) signaling-independent and develop neuroendocrine prostate cancer (NEPC) features through lineage plasticity. These NEPC tumors, associated with aggressive disease and poor prognosis, are driven, in part, by aberrant expression of N-Myc, through mechanisms that remain unclear. Integrative analysis of the N-Myc transcriptome, cistrome and interactome using in vivo, in vitro and ex vivo models (including patient-derived organoids) identified a lineage switch towards a neural identity associated with epigenetic reprogramming. N-Myc and known AR-co-factors (e.g., FOXA1 and HOXB13) overlapped, independently of AR, at genomic loci implicated in neural lineage specification. Moreover, histone marks specifically associated with lineage-defining genes were reprogrammed by N-Myc. We also demonstrated that the N-Myc-induced molecular program accurately classifies our cohort of patients with advanced prostate cancer. Finally, we revealed the potential for EZH2 inhibition to reverse the N-Myc-induced suppression of epithelial lineage genes. Altogether, our data provide insights on how N-Myc regulates lineage plasticity and epigenetic reprogramming associated with lineage-specification. The N-Myc signature we defined could also help predict the evolution of prostate cancer and thus better guide the choice of future therapeutic strategies.