Wei Heyang, Zheng Hongdan, Wang Siqing, Yang Yun, Zhao Ruiqian, Gu Aihong, Hu Ronggui, Lan Fei, Wen Wenyu
Department of Neurosurgery, Huashan Hospital, the Shanghai Key Laboratory of Medical Epigenetics, State Key Laboratory of Medical Neurobiology and MOE Frontiers Center for Brain Science, Institutes of Biomedical Sciences, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Fudan University, Shanghai, China.
Hangzhou Institute of Advanced Study, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Hangzhou, China.
Nat Cell Biol. 2025 May;27(5):801-816. doi: 10.1038/s41556-025-01657-2. Epub 2025 Apr 30.
Transcriptional silencing of hypermethylated tumour suppressor genes is a hallmark of tumorigenesis but the underlying mechanism remains enigmatic. Here we show that methyl-CpG-binding domain protein 2 (MBD2) forms nuclear condensate in diverse cancer cells, where it assembles and navigates the chromatin remodeller NuRD complex to these gene loci for transcriptional suppression, thus fuelling tumour growth. Disturbance of MBD2 condensate reduces the level of NuRD complex-specific proteins, destabilizes heterochromatin foci, facilitates chromatin relaxation and consequently impedes tumour progression. We demonstrate that MBD2 condensate is redox sensitive, mediated by C359. Pro-oxidative interventions disperse MBD2-NuRD condensate, thereby alleviating the transcriptional repression of tumour suppressor genes. Our findings illuminate a hitherto unappreciated function of MBD2 condensate in sustaining a repressive chromatin state essential for cancer cell proliferation and suggest an oxidative stress targeting approach for malignancies with excessive MBD2 condensate.
Nat Cell Biol. 2025-5
Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2023-8-15
Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2011-4-13
J Cell Sci. 2024-3-1
Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2023-8-15
Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2023-8-15
Redox Biol. 2023-7
Sci China Life Sci. 2023-10
Cell Death Dis. 2023-5-4
Nat Cell Biol. 2023-4
Trends Biochem Sci. 2023-1