Induction of cancer cell stemness by depletion of macrohistone H2A1 in hepatocellular carcinoma

Abstract

Hepatocellular carcinomas (HCC) contain a sub-population of cancer stem cells (CSCs), which exhibit stem-cell like features and are responsible for tumor relapse, metastasis, and chemoresistance. The development of effective treatments for HCC will depend on a molecular-level understanding of the specific pathways driving CSC emergence and stemness. MacroH2A1 is a variant of the histone H2A and an epigenetic regulator of stem cell function, where it promotes differentiation and, conversely, acts as a barrier to somatic cell reprogramming. Here we focused on the role played by the histone variant macroH2A1 as a potential epigenetic factor promoting CSC differentiation. In human HCC sections we uncovered a significant correlation between low frequencies of macroH2A1 staining and advanced, aggressive HCC subtypes with poorly-differentiated tumor phenotypes. Using HCC cell lines we found that shRNA-mediated macroH2A1 knock-down induces acquisition of CSC-like features, including the growth of significantly larger and less-differentiated tumors when injected into nude mice. MacroH2A1-depleted HCC cells also exhibited reduced proliferation, resistance to chemotherapeutic agents, and stem-like metabolic changes consistent with enhanced hypoxia responses and increased glycolysis. The loss of macroH2A1 increased expression of a panel of stemness-associated genes, and drove hyper-activation of the NF-κBp65 pathway. Blocking phosphorylation of NF-κBp65 on Ser536 inhibited the emergence of CSC-like features in HCC cells knocked-down for macroH2A1. Conclusion: the absence of histone variant macroH2A1 confers a CSC-like phenotype to HCC cells in vitro and in vivo that depends on Ser536 phosphorylation of NF-κBp65. This pathway may hold valuable targets for the development of CSC-focused treatments for HCC. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

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