Epigenetically induced changes in nuclear textural patterns and gelatinase expression in human fibrosarcoma cells.

Chromatin texture patterns of tumour cell nuclei can serve as cancer biomarkers, either to define diagnostic classifications or to obtain relevant prognostic information, in a large number of human tumours. Epigenetic mechanisms, mainly DNA methylation and histone post-translational modification, have been shown to influence chromatin packing states, and therefore nuclear texture. The aim of this study was to analyse effects of these two mechanisms on chromatin texture, and also on correlation with gelatinase expression, in human fibrosarcoma tumour cells. We investigated effects of DNA hypomethylating agent 5-aza-2'-deoxycytidine (5-azadC) and histone deacetylase inhibitor trichostatin A (TSA) on nuclear textural characteristics of human HT1080 fibrosarcoma cells, evaluated by image cytometry, and expression of gelatinases MMP-2 and MMP-9, two metalloproteinases implicated in cancer progression and metastasis. 5-azadC induced significant variation in chromatin higher order organization, particularly chromatin decondensation, associated with reduction in global DNA methylation, concomitantly with increase in MMP-9, and to a lesser extent, MMP-2 expression. TSA alone did not have any effect on HT1080 cells, but exhibited differential activity when added to cells treated with 5-azadC. When treated with both drugs, nuclei had higher texture abnormalities. In this setting, reduction in MMP-9 expression was observed, whereas MMP-2 expression remained unaffected. These data show that hypomethylating drug 5-azadC and histone deacetylase inhibitor TSA were able to induce modulation of higher order chromatin organization and gelatinase expression in human HT1080 fibrosarcoma cells.

Poplineau M ，Doliwa C ，Schnekenburger M ，Antonicelli F ，Diederich M ，Trussardi-Régnier A ，Dufer J ... -  《-》

The DNA hypomethylating agent, 5-aza-2'-deoxycytidine, enhances tumor cell invasion through a transcription-dependent modulation of MMP-1 expression in human fibrosarcoma cells.

In diseases such as cancer, cells need to degrade the extracellular matrix (ECM) and therefore require high protease levels. Thus, aberrant tissue degradation is associated to matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) overexpression resulting from different mechanisms including epigenetic events. One of the most characterized epigenetic mechanisms is DNA methylation causing changes in chromatin conformation, thereby decreasing the accessibility to the transcriptional machinery and resulting in a robust gene silencing. Modulation of DNA methylation by DNA hypomethylating agents such as 5-aza-2'-deoxycytidine (5-azadC) is widely used in epigenetic anticancer treatments. Here, we focus on the effects of this drug on the expression level of MMP-1, -2, and -9 in human HT1080 fibrosarcoma cells. We demonstrate that 5-azadC increases MMP expression at both mRNA and protein levels, and promotes invasion potential of HT1080 cells. Using broad-spectrum and specific MMP inhibitors, we establish that MMP-1, but not MMP-2 and -9, plays a key role in 5-azadC-enhanced cell invasion. We show that 5-azadC induces MMP-1 expression through a transcriptional mechanism without affecting MMP-1 promoter methylation status. Finally, we demonstrate that 5-azadC treatment increases the nuclear levels of Sp1 and Sp3 transcription factors, and modulates their recruitment to the MMP-1 promoter, resulting in chromatin remodeling associated to 5-azadC-induced MMP-1 expression. All together, our data indicate that the hypomethylating agent 5-azadC modulates, mainly via Sp1 recruitment, MMP-1 expression resulting in an increased invasive potential of HT1080 cells.

Poplineau M ，Schnekenburger M ，Dufer J ，Kosciarz A ，Brassart-Pasco S ，Antonicelli F ，Diederich M ，Trussardi-Régnier A ... -  《-》

Epigenetic regulation of proMMP-1 expression in the HT1080 human fibrosarcoma cell line.

Poplineau M ，Dufer J ，Antonicelli F ，Trussardi-Regnier A ... -  《-》

Inhibition of DNA methyltransferases, histone deacetylases and lysine-specific demethylase-1 suppresses the tumorigenicity of the ovarian cancer ascites cell line SKOV3.

Meng F ，Sun G ，Zhong M ，Yu Y ，Brewer MA ... -  《-》

Demethylation by 5-aza-2'-deoxycytidine in colorectal cancer cells targets genomic DNA whilst promoter CpG island methylation persists.

Mossman D ，Kim KT ，Scott RJ 《BMC CANCER》