Targeting FTO suppresses hepatocellular carcinoma by inhibiting ERBB3 and TUBB4A expression [MeRIP]
Ontology highlight
ABSTRACT: Fat mass and obesity-associated protein (FTO) is an N6-methyladenosine (m6A) demethylase and plays a critical oncogenic role in various cancers. Here we show that FTO is an effective target in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). FTO is highly expressed in clinical patients of HCC and presents as a poor prognostic factor. Genetic depletion of FTO dramatically attenuated HCC progression in vivo. Pharmacological inhibition of FTO by FB23/FB23-2 remarkably suppressed the proliferation and migration of HCC cell lines in vitro, as well as inhibiting the HCC tumorigenicity in xeno-transplanted mice. Mechanistically, FB23-2 suppressed the expression of Erb-b2 receptor tyrosine kinase 3 (ERBB3) and human tubulin beta class Iva (TUBB4A) by increasing the m6A level in these mRNA transcripts. The decreased ERBB3 resulted in inhibited Akt-mTOR signaling that subsequently impaired the proliferation and survival of HCC cells. Moreover, FB23-2 abolished the organization of the tubulin cytoskeleton, while enforced expression of TUBB4A rescued the migration of HCC cells. Collectively, our study demonstrated that FTO plays a critical role in HCC by maintaining the proliferation and migration of cells, and highlights the broad potential of FTO inhibitors for targeting HCC.
Project description:Fat mass and obesity-associated protein (FTO) is an N6-methyladenosine (m6A) demethylase and plays a critical oncogenic role in various cancers. Here we show that FTO is an effective target in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). FTO is highly expressed in clinical patients of HCC and presents as a poor prognostic factor. Genetic depletion of FTO dramatically attenuated HCC progression in vivo. Pharmacological inhibition of FTO by FB23/FB23-2 remarkably suppressed the proliferation and migration of HCC cell lines in vitro, as well as inhibiting the HCC tumorigenicity in xeno-transplanted mice. Mechanistically, FB23-2 suppressed the expression of Erb-b2 receptor tyrosine kinase 3 (ERBB3) and human tubulin beta class Iva (TUBB4A) by increasing the m6A level in these mRNA transcripts. The decreased ERBB3 resulted in inhibited Akt-mTOR signaling that subsequently impaired the proliferation and survival of HCC cells. Moreover, FB23-2 abolished the organization of the tubulin cytoskeleton, while enforced expression of TUBB4A rescued the migration of HCC cells. Collectively, our study demonstrated that FTO plays a critical role in HCC by maintaining the proliferation and migration of cells, and highlights the broad potential of FTO inhibitors for targeting HCC.
Project description:FTO, an N6-methyladenosine demethylase, has emerged as a promising target for the treatment of specific acute myeloid leukemia (AML) subtypes. Here, we investigate the antiproliferative effects of the FTO inhibitor FB23-2 in leukemia. We demonstrate that FB23-2 potently inhibits proliferation across both AML and CML cell lines, irrespective of their responsiveness to FTO depletion. Interestingly, FB23-2 induces cell cycle arrest without a concurrent increase in m6A levels, suggesting an alternative mechanism of action.
Project description:Single nucleotide polymorphisms in the FTO gene encoding a m6A demthylase are associated with obesity and cancer development. However, the functional role of FTO in the developemnt of progression of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) as a proteotypic obesity-associated cancer remains unclear. Here, we have generated mice with hepatic FTO deficiency (FTOL-KO) and subjected them to DEN induced HCC-development. FTOL-KO mice exhibit increased HCC burden. While control mice exhibit a dynamic regulation of FTO upon induction of liver damage, this response is abrogated in mice lacking FTO. Proteomic analyses revealed that liver damage-induced increases in FTO expression promotes m6A-demethylation of CUL4A reducing its protein expression. Functionally, knockdown of CUL4A restores the increased hepatocyte proliferation observed upon loss of FTO. Collectively, our study reveals a protective role for FTO-dependent dynamic m6A mRNA demethylation of CUL4A in the initiation of HCC development.
Project description:To identify the potential mRNA targets of FTO inhibitor, we conducted m6A-seq with mRNA samples enriched from AML cells upon DMSO and FB23-2 (FTO inhibitor) treatment
Project description:Diabetic retinopathy (DR), a leading cause of irreversible vision loss in the working-age population, is an inflammatory, neuro-vascular complication of diabetes with poorly understood mechanism. N6-methyladenosine (m6A) modification plays crucial roles in biological and pathological events, while its role in DR remain elusive. Herein, we identified the pathological involvement of m6A demethylase FTO in DR. FTO expression was elevated in proliferative membranes of DR patients, endothelial cells (EC) under diabetic stress, and retinal vessels of diabetic murine models. FTO overexpression in EC promoted EC cycle progression and tip cell formation to facilitate angiogenesis in vitro, in mice and in zebrafish. FTO also regulated EC-pericyte crosstalk to trigger diabetes-induced microvascular leakage, and mediated EC-microglia crosstalk to induce retinal inflammation and subsequent neurodegeneration in vivo and in vitro. Mechanistically, FTO regulated EC features depending on its demethylation activity via modulating CDK2 mRNA stability with YTHDF2 as the reader. Moreover, FTO up-regulation in EC under diabetic conditions was driven by lactic acid mediated histone lactylation. FB23-2, which inhibits FTO’s m6A demethylase activity, suppressed diabetes associated endothelial phenotypes in vitro and in vivo. Noteworthy, we developed a novel macrophage membrane coated and PLGA-Dil based nanoplatform encapsulating FB23-2 for systemic administration, and confirmed its targeting and therapeutic efficacy in mice. Collectively, our study demonstrated an FTO-mediated regulatory network that coordinates EC biology and retinal homeostasis in DR, providing a promising nanotherapeutic approach for DR treatment. Diabetic retinopathy (DR), a leading cause of irreversible vision loss in the working-age population, is an inflammatory, neuro-vascular complication of diabetes with poorly understood mechanism. N6-methyladenosine (m6A) modification plays crucial roles in biological and pathological events, while its role in DR remain elusive. Herein, we identified the pathological involvement of m6A demethylase FTO in DR. FTO expression was elevated in proliferative membranes of DR patients, endothelial cells (EC) under diabetic stress, and retinal vessels of diabetic murine models. FTO overexpression in EC promoted EC cycle progression and tip cell formation to facilitate angiogenesis in vitro, in mice and in zebrafish. FTO also regulated EC-pericyte crosstalk to trigger diabetes-induced microvascular leakage, and mediated EC-microglia crosstalk to induce retinal inflammation and subsequent neurodegeneration in vivo and in vitro. Mechanistically, FTO regulated EC features depending on its demethylation activity via modulating CDK2 mRNA stability with YTHDF2 as the reader. Moreover, FTO up-regulation in EC under diabetic conditions was driven by lactic acid mediated histone lactylation. FB23-2, which inhibits FTO’s m6A demethylase activity, suppressed diabetes associated endothelial phenotypes in vitro and in vivo. Noteworthy, we developed a novel macrophage membrane coated and PLGA-Dil based nanoplatform encapsulating FB23-2 for systemic administration, and confirmed its targeting and therapeutic efficacy in mice. Collectively, our study demonstrated an FTO-mediated regulatory network that coordinates EC biology and retinal homeostasis in DR, providing a promising nanotherapeutic approach for DR treatment.
Project description:Human tubulin beta class IVa (TUBB4A) is a member of the β-tubulin family. In most normal tissues, expression of TUBB4A is little to none, but it is highly expressed in human prostate cancer. Here we show that high expression levels of TUBB4A are associated with aggressive prostate cancers and poor patient survival, especially for African-American men. Additionally, in prostate cancer cells, TUBB4A knockout (KO) reduces cell growth and migration but induces DNA damage through increased γH2AX and 53BP1. Furthermore, during constricted cell migration, TUBB4A interacts with MYH9 to protect the nucleus, but either TUBB4A KO or MYH9 knockdown leads to severe DNA damage and reduces the NF-κB signaling response. Also, TUBB4A KO retards tumor growth and metastasis. Functional analysis reveals that TUBB4A/GSK3β binds the N-terminal of MYH9, and TUBB4A KO reduces MYH9-mediated GSK3β ubiquitination and degradation, leading to increased activation of GSK3β/β-catenin signaling and to the epithelial-mesenchymal transition. Likewise, prostate-specific deletion of Tubb4a reduces spontaneous tumor growth and metastasis via inhibition of NF-κB, cyclin D1, and c-MYC signaling activation. Our results suggest an oncogenic role of TUBB4A and provide a potentially new actionable therapeutic target for prostate cancers with TUBB4A overexpression.
Project description:To determine the potential targets of FTO and identify treatment significance of FTO inhibition in AML, we conducted transcriptome wide RNA seq with NB4 cells upon DMSO and FTO inhibitors (FB23 and FB23-2) treatment.
Project description:N6-methyladenosine (m6A) modification is the major post-transcriptional modification present in mammalian mRNA. m6A controls fundamental biological processes including cell proliferation, but the molecular mechanism remains unclear. Herein, we demonstrate that the m6A demethylase fat mass and obesity-associated (FTO) controls the cell cycle by targeting cyclin D1, the key regulator required for G1 phase progression. FTO silencing suppressed cyclin D1 expression and induced G1 arrest. FTO depletion upregulated cyclin D1 m6A modification, which in turn accelerated the degradation of cyclin D1 mRNA. Importantly, m6A modification of cyclin D1 oscillates in a cell cycle-dependent manner; m6A levels were suppressed during the G1 phase and enhanced during other phases. Low m6A levels during G1 were associated with nuclear translocation of FTO from the cytosol. Furthermore, nucleocytoplasmic shuttling of FTO is regulated by Casein Kinase II-mediated phosphorylation at Thr 150 of FTO. Our results highlight the role of m6A in regulating cyclin D1 mRNA stability, and add a new layer of complexity to cell cycle regulation.
Project description:FTO, an N6-methyladenosine (m6A) demethylase, can promote cervical cancer cell proliferation and migration. RNA-sequencing of SiHa cells with FTO knockdown was conducted to dissect the differentially expressed genes and the potential mechanism of FTO in cervical cancer.
Project description:Only a few studies have attempted to explore the potential role of FTO in gastric cancer, with one focusing on mitochondrial metabolism, while others have focused on the association of FTO with cell proliferation, migration, and invasion. To date, no study has comprehensively linked FTO-dependent m6A methylation to any form of cell death. We comprehensively explore the role of FTO-mediated m6A modification in gastric cancer ferroptosis by MeRIP-seq.