Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, Cold Spring Harbor, New York.
Molecular and Cellular Biology Program, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, New York.
Cancer Res. 2021 Dec 15;81(24):6246-6258. doi: 10.1158/0008-5472.CAN-21-0707. Epub 2021 Oct 25.
Bromodomain containing protein 4 (BRD4) plays a critical role in controlling the expression of genes involved in development and cancer. Inactivation of BRD4 inhibits cancer growth, making it a promising anticancer drug target. The cancer stem cell (CSC) population is a key driver of recurrence and metastasis in patients with cancer. Here we show that cancer stem-like cells can be enriched from squamous cell carcinomas (SCC), and that these cells display an aggressive phenotype with enhanced stem cell marker expression, migration, invasion, and tumor growth. BRD4 is highly elevated in this aggressive subpopulation of cells, and its function is critical for these CSC-like properties. Moreover, BRD4 regulates ΔNp63α, a key transcription factor that is essential for epithelial stem cell function that is often overexpressed in cancers. BRD4 regulates an EZH2/STAT3 complex that leads to increased ΔNp63α-mediated transcription. Targeting BRD4 in human SCC reduces ΔNp63α, leading to inhibition of spheroid formation, migration, invasion, and tumor growth. These studies identify a novel BRD4-regulated signaling network in a subpopulation of cancer stem-like cells, elucidating a possible avenue for effective therapeutic intervention. SIGNIFICANCE: This study identifies a signaling cascade driven by BRD4 that upregulates ΔNp63α to promote cancer stem-like properties, which has potential therapeutic implications for the treatment of squamous cell carcinomas.
溴结构域蛋白 4(BRD4)在控制参与发育和癌症的基因表达方面发挥着关键作用。BRD4 的失活抑制了癌症的生长,使其成为一种有前途的抗癌药物靶点。癌症干细胞(CSC)群体是癌症患者复发和转移的关键驱动因素。在这里,我们表明可以从鳞状细胞癌(SCC)中富集癌症样干细胞,并且这些细胞表现出侵袭性表型,增强了干细胞标志物的表达、迁移、侵袭和肿瘤生长。BRD4 在这些侵袭性细胞亚群中高度升高,其功能对于这些 CSC 样特性至关重要。此外,BRD4 调节 ΔNp63α,ΔNp63α 是上皮干细胞功能所必需的关键转录因子,在癌症中经常过表达。BRD4 调节 EZH2/STAT3 复合物,导致 ΔNp63α 介导的转录增加。在人 SCC 中靶向 BRD4 会降低 ΔNp63α,从而抑制球体形成、迁移、侵袭和肿瘤生长。这些研究确定了癌症样干细胞亚群中由 BRD4 调节的新型信号网络,为有效的治疗干预提供了可能的途径。意义:本研究确定了由 BRD4 驱动的信号级联,该级联上调 ΔNp63α 以促进癌症样干细胞特性,这对治疗鳞状细胞癌具有潜在的治疗意义。
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