Biomolecular condensation of NUP98 fusion proteins drives leukemogenic gene expression

Nat Struct Mol Biol. 2021 Feb;28(2):190-201. doi: 10.1038/s41594-020-00550-w. Epub 2021 Jan 21.

Abstract

NUP98 fusion proteins cause leukemia via unknown molecular mechanisms. All NUP98 fusion proteins share an intrinsically disordered region (IDR) in the NUP98 N terminus, featuring repeats of phenylalanine-glycine (FG), and C-terminal fusion partners often function in gene control. We investigated whether mechanisms of oncogenic transformation by NUP98 fusion proteins are hardwired in their protein interactomes. Affinity purification coupled to mass spectrometry (MS) and confocal imaging of five NUP98 fusion proteins expressed in human leukemia cells revealed that shared interactors were enriched for proteins involved in biomolecular condensation and that they colocalized with NUP98 fusion proteins in nuclear puncta. We developed biotinylated isoxazole-mediated condensome MS (biCon-MS) to show that NUP98 fusion proteins alter the global composition of biomolecular condensates. An artificial FG-repeat-containing fusion protein phenocopied the nuclear localization patterns of NUP98 fusion proteins and their capability to drive oncogenic gene expression programs. Thus, we propose that IDR-containing fusion proteins combine biomolecular condensation with transcriptional control to induce cancer.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Cell Nucleus / metabolism*
  • Gene Expression
  • Gene Expression Regulation, Leukemic
  • HEK293 Cells
  • HL-60 Cells
  • Homeodomain Proteins* / chemistry
  • Homeodomain Proteins* / physiology
  • Humans
  • Leukemia* / metabolism
  • Leukemia* / pathology
  • Mice
  • NIH 3T3 Cells
  • Nuclear Pore Complex Proteins* / chemistry
  • Nuclear Pore Complex Proteins* / physiology
  • Oncogene Proteins, Fusion* / chemistry
  • Oncogene Proteins, Fusion* / physiology

Substances

  • Homeodomain Proteins
  • Nuclear Pore Complex Proteins
  • Nup98 protein, human
  • Oncogene Proteins, Fusion