Cancer Cells Hijack PRC2 to Modify Multiple Cytokine Pathways

PLoS One. 2015 Jun 1;10(6):e0126466. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0126466. eCollection 2015.

Abstract

Polycomb Repressive Complex 2 (PRC2) is an epigenetic regulator induced in many cancers. It is thought to drive tumorigenesis by repressing division, stemness, and/or developmental regulators. Cancers evade immune detection, and diverse immune regulators are perturbed in different tumors. It is unclear how such cell-specific effects are coordinated. Here, we show a profound and cancer-selective role for PRC2 in repressing multiple cytokine pathways. We find that PRC2 represses hundreds of IFNγ stimulated genes (ISGs), cytokines and cytokine receptors. This target repertoire is significantly broadened in cancer vs non-cancer cells, and is distinct in different cancer types. PRC2 is therefore a higher order regulator of the immune program in cancer cells. Inhibiting PRC2 with either RNAi or EZH2 inhibitors activates cytokine/cytokine receptor promoters marked with bivalent H3K27me3/H3K4me3 chromatin, and augments responsiveness to diverse immune signals. PRC2 inhibition rescues immune gene induction even in the absence of SWI/SNF, a tumor suppressor defective in ~20% of human cancers. This novel PRC2 function in tumor cells could profoundly impact the mechanism of action and efficacy of EZH2 inhibitors in cancer treatment.

Publication types

  • Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Cell Line, Tumor
  • Cytokines / metabolism*
  • DNA Helicases / metabolism
  • Enhancer of Zeste Homolog 2 Protein
  • Epigenesis, Genetic / drug effects
  • Gene Knockdown Techniques
  • Genome, Human
  • Humans
  • Interferon-gamma / metabolism
  • Neoplasm Proteins
  • Neoplasms / immunology
  • Neoplasms / metabolism*
  • Neoplasms / pathology*
  • Nuclear Proteins / metabolism
  • Polycomb Repressive Complex 2 / metabolism*
  • Promoter Regions, Genetic / genetics
  • RNA, Small Interfering / metabolism
  • Signal Transduction* / drug effects
  • Small Molecule Libraries / pharmacology
  • Transcription Factors / metabolism

Substances

  • Cytokines
  • Neoplasm Proteins
  • Nuclear Proteins
  • RNA, Small Interfering
  • SUZ12 protein, human
  • Small Molecule Libraries
  • Transcription Factors
  • Interferon-gamma
  • EZH2 protein, human
  • Enhancer of Zeste Homolog 2 Protein
  • Polycomb Repressive Complex 2
  • SMARCA4 protein, human
  • DNA Helicases