Project description:Sensing of double-stranded RNA (dsRNA) is an important component of innate immunity. Proteins like PKR and MDA5 recognize dsRNA and activate various pathways to fight viral infection. In addition to viral dsRNA, many endogenous RNAs containing double-stranded regions can be misrecognized as immunogenic. The RNA editing enzyme ADAR1, specifically its p150 isoform, has been shown to suppress activation of PKR and MDA5 through its A-to-I editing activity. While the cytoplasmic ADAR1-p150 isoform has been well established within this role, the functions of the nuclear ADAR1-p110 isoform are less understood. To address this knowledge gap, we utilized proximity labeling by APEX2 to identify putative ADAR1-p110 interacting proteins. We identified 110 proteins across three breast cancer cell lines that either interact with p110 or are within close proximity. Many of these proteins have known roles in RNA metabolism. Nine of the identified proteins belong to the DEAD or DEAH box families of RNA helicases, including DHX9. DHX9 is overexpressed in breast cancer, with expression closely correlated with that of p110. By co-immunoprecipitation we confirmed that p110 interacts with DHX9. Knockdown of DHX9 in several triple-negative breast cancer cell lines caused cell death and activation of the dsRNA sensor PKR. In two cell lines that are refractory to knockdown of ADAR1, the combined knockdown of DHX9 and ADAR1 caused a substantial increase in PKR activity, where knockdown of either alone had no effect. Knockdown of DHX9 and ADAR1 caused activation of the type I IFN pathway, RNase L and NF-KB signaling. Activation of these proteins and pathways was not seen with individual knockdown of ADAR1 or DHX9. Activation of PKR following combined knockdown of ADAR1 and DHX9 could be rescued by expression of p110, p150, DHX9, and catalytically inactive DHX9. Additionally PKR activation could be rescued by the dsRBM of DHX9, revealing an important role for dsRBMs in suppressing PKR activation. Together these results reveal an important role for DHX9 in suppressing dsRNA sensing by multiple pathways.
Project description:Detection of viral double-stranded RNA (dsRNA) is an important component of innate immunity. However, many endogenous RNAs containing double-stranded regions can be misrecognized and activate innate immunity. The interferon inducible ADAR1-p150 suppresses dsRNA sensing, an essential function for ADAR1 in many cancers, including breast. Although ADAR1-p150 has been well established in this role, the functions of the constitutively expressed ADAR1-p110 isoform are less understood. We used proximity labeling to identify putative ADAR1-p110 interacting proteins in breast cancer cell lines. Of the proteins identified, the RNA helicase DHX9 was of particular interest. Knockdown of DHX9 in ADAR1-dependent cell lines caused cell death and activation of the dsRNA sensor PKR. In ADAR1-independent cell lines, combined knockdown of DHX9 and ADAR1, but neither alone, caused activation of multiple dsRNA sensing pathways leading to a viral mimicry phenotype. Together, these results reveal an important role for DHX9 in suppressing dsRNA sensing by multiple pathways.
Project description:Detection of viral double-stranded RNA (dsRNA) is an important component of innate immunity. However, many endogenous RNAs containing double-stranded regions can be misrecognized and activate innate immunity. The IFN-inducible ADAR1-p150 suppresses dsRNA sensing, an essential function for adenosine deaminase acting on RNA 1 (ADAR1) in many cancers, including breast. Although ADAR1-p150 has been well established in this role, the functions of the constitutively expressed ADAR1-p110 isoform are less understood. We used proximity labeling to identify putative ADAR1-p110-interacting proteins in breast cancer cell lines. Of the proteins identified, the RNA helicase DHX9 was of particular interest. Knockdown of DHX9 in ADAR1-dependent cell lines caused cell death and activation of the dsRNA sensor PKR. In ADAR1-independent cell lines, combined knockdown of DHX9 and ADAR1, but neither alone, caused activation of multiple dsRNA sensing pathways leading to a viral mimicry phenotype. Together, these results reveal an important role for DHX9 in suppressing dsRNA sensing by multiple pathways.SignificanceThese findings implicate DHX9 as a suppressor of dsRNA sensing. In some cell lines, loss of DHX9 alone is sufficient to cause activation of dsRNA sensing pathways, while in other cell lines DHX9 functions redundantly with ADAR1 to suppress pathway activation.
Project description:Epigenetic therapies that alter DNA- and/or histone modifications facilitate transcription of immunogenic repetitive elements that cull cancer cells through ‘viral mimicry’ responses. Paradoxically, cancer-initiating events that include functional inactivation of canonical tumor suppressor proteins also facilitate transcription of repetitive elements. Contributions of repetitive element transcription towards cancer initiation, and the mechanisms by which cancer cells evade lethal viral mimicry responses during tumor initiation remain poorly understood. In this report, we characterize patient-derived premalignant lesions of the fallopian tube along with syngeneic mouse models of epithelial ovarian cancer to explore the earliest events of tumorigenesis following loss of the p53 tumor suppressor protein. We report that p53 loss disrupts constitutive heterochromatin to permit transcription of immunogenic repetitive elements capable of activating viral mimicry responses. While acute viral mimicry activation diminishes cell fitness, chronic viral mimicry activation following p53 loss promotes epigenetic reprogramming that increases tolerance of cytosolic nucleic acids and diminishes cellular immunogenicity as a pro-survival adaptation. This selection process we describe as ‘viral mimicry conditioning’ can be partially attenuated by the reverse transcriptase inhibitor 3TC to delay spontaneous tumorigenesis. Altogether, these results reveal that viral mimicry conditioning following p53 loss selects for diminished cell immunogenicity to promote immune evasion upon cancer initiation. Disruption of viral mimicry conditioning during cancer initiation may represent a pharmacological target for early cancer interception.
Project description:In this study we show that intronic and intergenic SINE elements, specifically inverted repeats (IR) Alus, are the major source of drug-induced immunogenic dsRNA. These IR-Alus are frequently located downstream of ‘orphan’ CpG Islands (CGIs). In mammals, the enzyme Adenosine Deaminases Acting on RNA (ADAR1) targets and destabilizes IR-Alu dsRNA, which prevents activation of MDA5. We found that ADAR1 establishes a negative feedback loop, restricting the viral mimicry response to epigenetic therapy. Depletion of ADAR1 in patient-derived cancer cells potentiates the efficacy of epigenetic therapy, restraining tumour growth and reducing cancer initiation. Thus, epigenetic therapies trigger viral mimicry by inducing a subset of IR-Alus, leading to an ADAR1 dependency. Our findings suggest that combining epigenetic therapies with ADAR1 inhibitors represents a promising new strategy for cancer treatment.
Project description:Adenosine deaminases acting on RNA (Adar1 and Adar2) catalyze I-to-A RNA editing, a post-transcriptional mechanism involved in multiple cellular functions. The role of Adar1-dependent RNA editing in cardiomyocytes (CMs) remains unclear. Here we show that conditional deletion of Adar1 in CMs results in myocarditis progressively evolving into dilated cardiomyopathy and heart failure at only 6 months of age. Adar1 depletion drives activation of interferon signaling genes (ISGs) in the absence of apoptosis and cytokine activation, and reduces the hypertrophic response of CMs upon pressure overload. Interestingly, ablation of the cytosolic sensor MDA5 prevents cardiac ISG activation and delays disease onset, but does not rescue the long-term lethal phenotype elicited by conditional deletion of Adar1. Retention of a single catalytically inactive Adar1 allele in CMs, in combination with MDA5 depletion, however, completely restores the cardiac function and prevents heart failure. Finally, ablation of interferon regulatory factor 7 (Irf7) attenuates the phenotype of Adar1-deficient CMs to a similar extent as MDA5 depletion, highlighting Irf7 as the main regulator of the immune response triggered by lack of Adar1 in CMs.
Project description:The ATP-dependent DExH/D-box helicase DHX9 is a key participant in a number of gene regulatory steps, including transcriptional, translational, microRNA-mediated control, DNA replication, and maintenance of genomic stability. DHX9 has also been implicated in maintenance of the tumorigenic process and in drug response. Here, we report that inhibition of DHX9 expression is lethal to multiple human and mouse cancer cell lines. In contrast, using a novel conditional shDHX9 mouse model, we demonstrate that sustained and prolonged suppression of DHX9 is well tolerated at the organismal level. Our results demonstrate a robust tolerance for DHX9 knockdown in non-transformed cells and supports the targeting of DHX9 as an effective and specific chemotherapeutic approach. Comparison of gene expression in large intestine of mice with or without reduced expression of DHX9.
Project description:Activating innate immunity in cancer cells through cytoplasmic nucleic acid sensing pathways, a phenomenon known as “viral mimicry”, has emerged as an effective strategy to convert immunologically “cold” tumors into “hot”. Through a curated CRISPR-based screen of RNA Helicases, we identified DExD/H-box helicase 9 (DHX9) as a potent repressor of double-stranded RNA (dsRNA) in small cell lung cancers (SCLCs). Depletion of DHX9 induced accumulation of cytoplasmic dsRNA and triggered tumor-intrinsic innate immunity. Intriguingly, ablating DHX9 also induced aberrant accumulation of R-loops, which resulted in an increase of DNA damage-derived cytoplasmic DNA and replication stress in SCLCs. In vivo, DHX9 deletion promoted decrease in tumor growth while inducing a more immunogenic tumor microenvironment, invigorating responsiveness to immune checkpoint blockade. These findings suggest that DHX9 is a crucial repressor of tumor-intrinsic innate immunity and replication stress, representing a promising target for SCLC and other “cold” tumors where genomic instability contribute to pathology.