Acetylated histone variant H2A.Z is involved in the activation of neo-enhancers in prostate cancer.
basic_science · Level V
Where this comes from
- Record sourced from PubMed, PMID 29116202.
- Also identified by DOI 10.1038/s41467-017-01393-8 and PMC identifier 5676741.
- Licence recorded as CC BY.
- The licence permits redistribution, so the abstract is shown in full and the full text is available from the publisher.
Abstract
Acetylation of the histone variant H2A.Z (H2A.Zac) occurs at active promoters and is associated with oncogene activation in prostate cancer, but its role in enhancer function is still poorly understood. Here we show that H2A.Zac containing nucleosomes are commonly redistributed to neo-enhancers in cancer resulting in a concomitant gain of chromatin accessibility and ectopic gene expression. Notably incorporation of acetylated H2A.Z nucleosomes is a pre-requisite for activation of Androgen receptor (AR) associated enhancers. H2A.Zac nucleosome occupancy is rapidly remodeled to flank the AR sites to initiate the formation of nucleosome-free regions and the production of AR-enhancer RNAs upon androgen treatment. Remarkably higher levels of global H2A.Zac correlate with poorer prognosis. Altogether these data demonstrate the novel contribution of H2A.Zac in activation of newly formed enhancers in prostate cancer.
Medical subject headings
- Enhancer Elements, Genetic
- Histones
- Prostatic Neoplasms