Suchergebnisse

Cancer is an aging-associated disease, but the underlying molecular links between these processes are still largely unknown. Gene promoters that become hypermethylated in aging and cancer share a common chromatin signature in ES cells. In addition, there is also global DNA hypomethylation in both processes. However, the similarity of the regions where this loss of DNA methylation occurs is currently not well characterized, and it is unknown if such regions also share a common chromatin signature in aging and cancer. To address this issue, we analyzed TCGA DNA methylation data from a total of 2,311 samples, including control and cancer cases from patients with breast, kidney, thyroid, skin, brain, and lung tumors and healthy blood, and integrated the results with histone, chromatin state, and transcription factor binding site data from the NIH Roadmap Epigenomics and ENCODE projects. We identified 98,857 CpG sites differentially methylated in aging and 286,746 in cancer. Hyper- and hypomethylated changes in both processes each had a similar genomic distribution across tissues and displayed tissue-independent alterations. The identified hypermethylated regions in aging and cancer shared a similar bivalent chromatin signature. In contrast, hypomethylated DNA sequences occurred in very different chromatin contexts. DNA hypomethylated sequences were enriched at genomic regions marked with the activating histone posttranslational modification H3K4me1 in aging, while in cancer, loss of DNA methylation was primarily associated with the repressive H3K9me3 mark. Our results suggest that the role of DNA methylation as a molecular link between aging and cancer is more complex than previously thought. ; This work was supported by the Plan Nacional de I+D+I [2013‐2016/FEDER PI15/00892 to M.F.F. and A.F.F., 2008‐2011/FEDER CP11/00131 to A.F.F.]; the ISCIII‐Subdirección General de Evaluación y Fomento de la Investigación [Miguel Servet contract CP11/00131 to A.F.F.]; Instituto Universitario de Oncología del Principado de Asturias (IUOPA) to [G.F.B.]; Fundación Ramón Areces to [M.F.F.]; and the Asturias Regional Government [GRUPIN14‐052 to M.F.F.]. R.F.P. is supported by the Retención de Jóvenes Talentos Fellowship from the Obra Social Cajastur‐Liberbank. J.R.T. is supported by the Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness Through a Juan de la Cierva Postdoctoral Fellowship [FJCI‐2015‐26965]. The IUOPA is supported by the Obra Social Cajastur‐Liberbank, Spain. ; Peer Reviewed

[Background]: Age-associated changes in genomic DNA methylation have been primarily attributed to 5-methylcytosine (5mC). However, the recent discovery of 5-hydroxymethylcytosine (5hmC) suggests that this epigenetic mark might also play a role in the process. [Methods]: Here, we analyzed the genome-wide profile of 5hmc in mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) obtained from bone-marrow donors, aged 2-89 years. [Results]: We identified 10,685 frequently hydroxymethylated CpG sites in MSCs that were, as in other cell types, significantly associated with low density CpG regions, introns, the histone posttranslational modification H3k4me1 and enhancers. Study of the age-associated changes to 5hmC identified 785 hyper- and 846 hypo-hydroxymethylated CpG sites in the MSCs obtained from older individuals. [Conclusions]: DNA hyper-hydroxymethylation in the advanced-age group was associated with loss of 5mC, which suggests that, at specific CpG sites, this epigenetic modification might play a role in DNA methylation changes during lifetime. Since bone-marrow MSCs have many clinical applications, and the fact that the epigenomic alterations in this cell type associated with aging identified in this study could have associated functional effects, the age of donors should be taken into account in clinical settings. ; This work has been financially supported by the Plan Nacional de I + D + I 2008–2011/2013–2016/FEDER (PI11/01728 to A.F.F.; PI12/01080 and PI15/00892 to M.F.F.; PI 12/0615 to J.A.R.; PI05/2217 and PI08/0029 to J.G-C); the ISCIII-Subdirección General de Evaluación y Fomento de la Investigación (Miguel Servet contract: CP11/00131 to A.F.F.); IUOPA (to G.F.B. and M.S); Fundacion Cientifica de la AECC (to R.G.U.); Fundación Ramón Areces (to M.F.F); and FICYT (to E.G.T., M.G.G and A.C.);the Madrid Regional Government (S-BIO-02042006 and S2010/BMD-2420 to J.G-C) and the Asturias Regional Government (GRUPIN14-052 to M.F.F.). The IUOPA is supported by the Obra Social Cajastur, Spain. ; Peer Reviewed

BACKGROUND: Age-associated changes in genomic DNA methylation have been primarily attributed to 5-methylcytosine (5mC). However, the recent discovery of 5-hydroxymethylcytosine (5hmC) suggests that this epigenetic mark might also play a role in the process. METHODS: Here, we analyzed the genome-wide profile of 5hmc in mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) obtained from bone-marrow donors, aged 2-89 years. RESULTS: We identified 10,685 frequently hydroxymethylated CpG sites in MSCs that were, as in other cell types, significantly associated with low density CpG regions, introns, the histone posttranslational modification H3k4me1 and enhancers. Study of the age-associated changes to 5hmC identified 785 hyper- and 846 hypo-hydroxymethylated CpG sites in the MSCs obtained from older individuals. CONCLUSIONS: DNA hyper-hydroxymethylation in the advanced-age group was associated with loss of 5mC, which suggests that, at specific CpG sites, this epigenetic modification might play a role in DNA methylation changes during lifetime. Since bone-marrow MSCs have many clinical applications, and the fact that the epigenomic alterations in this cell type associated with aging identified in this study could have associated functional effects, the age of donors should be taken into account in clinical settings. ; This work has been financially supported by the Plan Nacional de I+D+I 2008–2011/2013–2016/FEDER (PI11/01728 to A.F.F.; PI12/01080 and PI15/00892 to M.F.F.; PI 12/0615 to J.A.R.; PI05/2217 and PI08/0029 to J.G‑C); the ISCIII‑Subdirección General de Evaluación y Fomento de la Investigación (Miguel Servet contract: CP11/00131 to A.F.F.); IUOPA (to G.F.B. and M.S); Fundacion Cientifica de la AECC (to R.G.U.); Fundación Ramón Areces (to M.F.F); and FICYT (to E.G.T., M.G.G and A.C.); the Madrid Regional Government (S‑BIO‑0204‑2006 and S2010/BMD‑2420 to J.G‑C) and the Asturias Regional Government (GRUPIN14‑052 to M.F.F.). The IUOPA is supported by the Obra Social Cajastur, Spain.

Ten-eleven translocation (TET) enzymes are frequently deregulated in cancer, but the underlying molecular mechanisms are still poorly understood. Here we report that TET2 shows frequent epigenetic alterations in human glioblastoma including DNA hypermethylation and hypo-hydroxymethylation, as well as loss of histone acetylation. Ectopic overexpression of TET2 regulated neural differentiation in glioblastoma cell lines and impaired tumor growth. Our results suggest that epigenetic dysregulation of TET2 plays a role in human glioblastoma. ; This work has been financially supported by: the Plan Nacional de I+D+I 2013-2016/FEDER (PI15/00892 to M.F.F. and A.F.F.); the ISCIII-Subdirección General de Evaluación y Fomento de la Investigación, and the Plan Nacional de I+D+I 2008-2011/FEDER (CP11/00131 to A.F.F.); IUOPA (to G.F.B., M.I.S. and C.M.); the Fundación Científica de la AECC (to R.G.U.); FICYT (to M.G.G. and A.C.); and the Asturias Regional Government (GRUPIN14-052 to M.F.F.). A.F.F. is also supported from Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad and the European Regional Development Fund (FEDER), Programa Retos de la Sociedad 2015 (RTC-2015-3393-1). The IUOPA is supported by the Obra Social Cajastur-Liberbank, Spain. ; Peer Reviewed

B cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (B-ALL) is the most common childhood cancer. As predicted by its prenatal origin, infant B-ALL (iB-ALL) shows an exceptionally silent DNA mutational landscape, suggesting that alternative epigenetic mechanisms may substantially contribute to its leukemogenesis. Here, we have integrated genome-wide DNA methylome and transcriptome data from 69 patients with de novo MLL-rearranged leukemia (MLLr) and non-MLLr iB-ALL leukemia uniformly treated according to the Interfant-99/06 protocol. iB-ALL methylome signatures display a plethora of common and specific alterations associated with chromatin states related to enhancer and transcriptional control in normal hematopoietic cells. DNA methylation, gene expression, and gene coexpression network analyses segregated MLLr away from non-MLLr iB-ALL and identified a coordinated and enriched expression of the AP-1 complex members FOS and JUN and RUNX factors in MLLr iB-ALL, consistent with the significant enrichment of hypomethylated CpGs in these genes. Integrative methylome-transcriptome analysis identified consistent cancer cell vulnerabilities, revealed a robust iB-ALL–specific gene expression–correlating dmCpG signature, and confirmed an epigenetic control of AP-1 and RUNX members in reshaping the molecular network of MLLr iB-ALL. Finally, pharmacological inhibition or functional ablation of AP-1 dramatically impaired MLLr-leukemic growth in vitro and in vivo using MLLr-iB-ALL patient–derived xenografts, providing rationale for new therapeutic avenues in MLLr-iB-ALL. ; We thank CERCA/Generalitat de Catalunya (SGR180) and Fundació Josep Carreras-Obra Social la Caixa for their institutional support. Financial support for this work was obtained from the European Research Council (CoG-2014-646903 and PoC-2018-811220 to PM), the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (SAF-2019-108160-R and SAF2016-76758-R to PM and IV, respectively), the Spanish Association against cancer (AECC-CI-2015 and PROYE18061FERN to CB and MFF), the Fundación Uno entre Cienmil (to PM), the Health Institute Carlos III (ISCIII/FEDER, PI17/01028, PI15/00892, PI18/01527 to CB and AFF/MFF, respectively). We also acknowledge the Plan de Ciencia, Tecnología e Innovación from the Asturias Government cofunding 2018–2022/FEDER (IDI/2018/146to MFF). MFF also acknowledges funding from Fundación General CSIC (0348_CIE_6_E). PM also acknowledges financial support from Fundación Leo Messi. JRT and MV are supported by Juan de la Cierva fellowships by the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation (FJCI-2015-26965, IJC2018-36825-I, IJCI-2017-3317) and IUOPA-ISPA-FINBA (The IUOPA is supported by the Obra Social Cajastur-Liberbank, Spain). RTR is supported by a fellowship from the AECC scientific foundation. RFP and PSO are supported by the Severo Ochoa program (BP17-114 and BP17-165, respectively). ; Peer reviewed

In differentiated cells, aging is associated with hypermethylation of DNA regions enriched in repressive histone post-translational modifications. However, the chromatin marks associated with changes in DNA methylation in adult stem cells during lifetime are still largely unknown. Here, DNA methylation profiling of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) obtained from individuals aged 2 to 92 yr identified 18,735 hypermethylated and 45,407 hypomethylated CpG sites associated with aging. As in differentiated cells, hypermethylated sequences were enriched in chromatin repressive marks. Most importantly, hypomethylated CpG sites were strongly enriched in the active chromatin mark H3K4me1 in stem and differentiated cells, suggesting this is a cell type-independent chromatin signature of DNA hypomethylation during aging. Analysis of scedasticity showed that interindividual variability of DNA methylation increased during aging in MSCs and differentiated cells, providing a new avenue for the identification of DNA methylation changes over time. DNA methylation profiling of genetically identical individuals showed that both the tendency of DNA methylation changes and scedasticity depended on nongenetic as well as genetic factors. Our results indicate that the dynamics of DNA methylation during aging depend on a complex mixture of factors that include the DNA sequence, cell type, and chromatin context involved and that, depending on the locus, the changes can be modulated by genetic and/or external factors. ; We thank Ronnie Lendrum for manuscript preparation and Tim Triche Jr. for his invaluable advice. This work has been financially supported by the Plan Nacional de I+D+I 2008-2011/2013-2016/FEDER (PI11/01728 to A.F.F., PI 12/0615 to J.A.R., PI10/0449 to P.M., and PI11/0119 to C.B.); the ISCIII-Subdirección General de Evaluación y Fomento de la Investigación (Miguel Servet contracts CP11/00131 to A.F.F. and CP07/0059 to C.B.); the Spanish Ministry of Health (PS09/02454 and PI12/01080 to M.F.F.); the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC; 200820I172 to M.F.F.); IUOPA (to C.F. and G.F.B.); Fundacion Cientifica de la AECC (to R.G.U. and P.M.); Fundación Ramón Areces (to M.F.F.); and FICYT (to E.G.T.). J.G.-C. receives funding from the Fondo de Investigaciones Sanitarias (FIS; PI05/2217 and PI08/0029) and the Madrid Regional Government (S-BIO-0204-2006 and S2010/BMD-2420). J.A.R. receives funding from the Fondo de Investigaciones Sanitarias (ISCIII-FIS PI 12/0615). P.M. is also supported by MINECO (SAF2013/43065), ERANET E-Rare (PI112/03112), and Fundación Sandra Ibarra. P.M. also acknowledges support from Obra Social "La Caixa/Fundacio Josep Carreras." The IUOPA is supported by the Obra Social Cajastur, Spain. ; Sí

Histone H4 acetylation at Lysine 16 (H4K16ac) is a key epigenetic mark involved in gene regulation, DNA repair and chromatin remodeling, and though it is known to be essential for embryonic development, its role during adult life is still poorly understood. Here we show that this lysine is massively hyperacetylated in peripheral neutrophils. Genome-wide mapping of H4K16ac in terminally differentiated blood cells, along with functional experiments, supported a role for this histone post-translational modification in the regulation of cell differentiation and apoptosis in the hematopoietic system. Furthermore, in neutrophils, H4K16ac was enriched at specific DNA repeats. These DNA regions presented an accessible chromatin conformation and were associated with the cleavage sites that generate the 50 kb DNA fragments during the first stages of programmed cell death. Our results thus suggest that H4K16ac plays a dual role in myeloid cells as it not only regulates differentiation and apoptosis, but it also exhibits a non-canonical structural role in poising chromatin for cleavage at an early stage of neutrophil cell death. ; Plan Nacional de I+D+I co-funding FEDER [PI15/00892 and PI18/01527 to M.F.F. and A.F.F.; PI16/01318 and PI14/01244 to C.L.]; ISCIII-Subdireccion General de Evaluacion y Fomento de la Investigacion, and Plan Nacional de I+D+I 2008–2011/FEDER [CP11/00131 to A.F.F.]; IUOPA (to G.F.B. and M.I.S.); Fundacion Cientifica de la AECC (to R.G.U.); Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness Juan de la Cierva postdoctoral fellowships [FJCI-2015-26965 to J.R.T., IJCI-2015- 23316 to V.L.]; Fundacion Ramon Areces (to M.F.F); FICYT (to E.G.T., M.G.G., A.C.); Asturias Regional Government [GRUPIN14-052 to M.F.F.]; Gobierno del Principado de Asturias, PCTI-Plan de Ciencia, Tecnologia e Innovacion co-funding Fondos FEDER (grant number IDI/2018/146 to M.F.F. and IDI/2018/144 to C.L.); Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) [SFB960 to A.V.G., R.D.]; European Research Council [CoG-2014-646903]; Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness [SAF-SAF2013-43065 to P.M.]; Asociacion Española Contra el Cancer [AECC-CI-2015]; FERO Foundation, and the ISCIII [PI14-01191 to C.B.]; P.M. acknowledges financial support from The Obra Social La Caixa Fundacio Josep Carreras and The Generalitat de Catalunya (SGR330). P.M. an investigator from the Spanish Cell Therapy cooperative network (TERCEL). The IUOPA is supported by the Obra Social Liberbank-Cajastur, Spain. Funding for open access charge: Plan Nacional de I+D+I co-funding FEDER [PI18/01527].