NF-κB-Dependent Lymphoid Enhancer Co-option Promotes Renal Carcinoma Metastasis.

P Rodrigues, SA Patel, L Harewood, I Olan, E Vojtasova, SE Syafruddin, MN Zaini, EK Richardson, J Burge, AY Warren, GD Stewart, K Saeb-Parsy, S Vanharanta

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

40 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Metastases, the spread of cancer cells to distant organs, cause the majority of cancer-related deaths. Few metastasis-specific driver mutations have been identified, suggesting aberrant gene regulation as a source of metastatic traits. However, how metastatic gene expression programs arise is poorly understood. Here, using human-derived metastasis models of renal cancer, we identify transcriptional enhancers that promote metastatic carcinoma progression. Specific enhancers and enhancer clusters are activated in metastatic cancer cell populations, and the associated gene expression patterns are predictive of poor patient outcome in clinical samples. We find that the renal cancer metastasis-associated enhancer complement consists of multiple coactivated tissue-specific enhancer modules. Specifically, we identify and functionally characterize a coregulatory enhancer cluster, activated by the renal cancer driver HIF2A and an NF-κB-driven lymphoid element, as a mediator of metastasis in vivo We conclude that oncogenic pathways can acquire metastatic phenotypes through cross-lineage co-option of physiologic epigenetic enhancer states.SIGNIFICANCE: Renal cancer is associated with significant mortality due to metastasis. We show that in metastatic renal cancer, functionally important metastasis genes are activated via co-option of gene regulatory enhancer modules from distant developmental lineages, thus providing clues to the origins of metastatic cancer.
Original languageEnglish
JournalCancer discovery
Early online date01 Jun 2018
DOIs
Publication statusEarly online date - 01 Jun 2018
Externally publishedYes

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'NF-κB-Dependent Lymphoid Enhancer Co-option Promotes Renal Carcinoma Metastasis.'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this