Epigenetic silencing of Kruppel like factor-3 increases expression of pro-metastatic miR-182.
Journal Article (Journal Article)
Accumulating evidence indicates that microRNAs (miRs) regulate cancer metastasis. We have shown that miR-182 drives sarcoma metastasis in vivo by coordinated regulation of multiple genes. Recently, we also demonstrated that in a subset of primary sarcomas that metastasize to the lung, miR-182 expression is elevated through binding of MyoD1 to the miR-182 promoter. However, it is not known if there are also transcription factors that inhibit miR-182 expression. Defining negative regulators of miR-182 expression may help explain why some sarcomas do not metastasize and may also identify pathways that can modulate miR-182 for therapeutic benefit. Here, we use an in silico screen, chromatin-immunoprecipitation, and luciferase reporter assays to discover that Kruppel like factor-3 (Klf-3) is a novel transcriptional repressor of miR-182. Knockdown of Klf-3 increases miR-182 expression, and stable overexpression of Klf-3, but not a DNA-binding mutant Klf-3, decreases miR-182 levels. Klf-3 expression is downregulated in both primary mouse and human metastatic sarcomas, and Klf-3 levels negatively correlate with miR-182 expression. Interestingly, Klf-3 also negatively regulates MyoD1, suggesting an alternative mechanism for Klf-3 to repress miR-182 expression in addition to direct binding of the miR-182 promoter. Using Methylation Specific PCR (MSP) and pyrosequencing assays, we found that Klf-3 is epigenetically silenced by DNA hypermethylation both in mouse and human sarcoma cells. Finally, we show the DNA methylation inhibitor 5'Azacytidine (Aza) restores Klf-3 expression while reducing miR-182 levels. Thus, our findings suggest that demethylating agents could potentially be used to modulate miR-182 levels as a therapeutic strategy.
Full Text
Duke Authors
Cited Authors
- Sachdeva, M; Dodd, RD; Huang, Z; Grenier, C; Ma, Y; Lev, DC; Cardona, DM; Murphy, SK; Kirsch, DG
Published Date
- December 1, 2015
Published In
Volume / Issue
- 369 / 1
Start / End Page
- 202 - 211
PubMed ID
- 26314219
Pubmed Central ID
- PMC4600675
Electronic International Standard Serial Number (EISSN)
- 1872-7980
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
- 10.1016/j.canlet.2015.08.016
Language
- eng
Conference Location
- Ireland