ABSTRACT
Cancer epigenetics plays an important role in the pathogenesis of many cancers including gastric cancer. Histone deacetylases (HDACs) emerge as exciting therapeutic targets for cancer treatment and prevention. In this study, we identified DTWD1 as one of the 122 genes upregulated after treatment of trichostatin A (TSA) in two gastric cancer cell lines. Moreover, DTWD1 was downregulated in gastric cancer cell lines and primary gastric carcinoma tissues. It was further identified as the new target of p53. Then we revealed that HDAC3 downregulated DTWD1 by disrupting the interaction of p53 with DTWD1 promoter. Furthermore, DTWD1 functioned as a tumor suppressor by downregulating cyclin B1 expression to inhibit proliferation. In summary, as the new p53 target gene, DTWD1 was downregulated in gastric cancer by HDAC3 and acted as a novel tumor suppressor gene. Specific inhibitors of HDAC3 might be a new approach for gastric cancer treatment by activating DTWD1 expression.
ABSTRACT
Autophagy is a self-proteolytic process that degrades intracellular material to enable cellular survival under unfavorable conditions. However, how autophagy is activated in human carcinogenesis remains largely unknown. Herein we report an epigenetic regulation of autophagy in human cancer cells. YY1 (YY1 transcription factor) is a well-known epigenetic regulator and is upregulated in many cancers. We found that YY1 knockdown inhibited cell viability and autophagy flux through downregulating SQSTM1 (sequestosome 1). YY1 regulated SQSTM1 expression through the epigenetic modulation of the transcription of MIR372 (microRNA 372) which was found to target SQSTM1 directly. During nutrient starvation, YY1 was stimulated to promote SQSTM1 expression and subsequent autophagy activation by suppressing MIR372 expression. Similar to YY1 depletion, MIR372 overexpression blocked autophagy activation and inhibited in vivo tumor growth. SQSTM1 upregulation and competent autophagy flux thus contributed to the oncogenic function of YY1. YY1-promoted SQSTM1 upregulation might be a useful histological marker for cancer detection and a potential target for drug development.
