Biology subjects

Terlecki-Zaniewicz, S.

Publications and source records attributed to Terlecki-Zaniewicz, S..

2 recordsLinked to original sources

bioRxiv2020

Biomolecular Condensation Drives Leukemia Caused by NUP98-Fusion Proteins

NUP98-fusion proteins cause acute myeloid leukemia via unknown molecular mechanisms. All NUP98-fusion proteins share an intrinsically disordered region (IDR) featuring >35 repeats of Phenylalanine-Glycine (FG) in the NUP98 N-terminus. Conversely, different C-terminal NUP98-fusion partners are often transcriptional and epigenetic regulators. Given these structural features we hypothesized that mechanisms of oncogenic transformation by NUP98-fusion proteins are hard-wired in their protein interactomes. Affinity purification coupled to mass spectrometry of five distinct NUP98-fusion proteins revealed a conserved set of interactors that was highly enriched for proteins involved in biomolecular condensation. We developed biotinylated isoxazole-mediated condensome mass spectrometry (biCon-MS) to show that NUP98-fusion proteins alter the global composition of biomolecular condensates. In addition, an artificial FG-repeat containing fusion protein was able to phenocopy the induction of leukemic gene expression as mediated by NUP98-KDM5A. Thus, we propose that IDR-containing fusion proteins have evolved to uniquely combine biomolecular condensation with gene control to induce cancer. AML, NUP98, fusion protein, AP-MS, LLPS, biCon-MS, condensate

cancer biology↗

bioRxiv2019

Histone H3K27me3 demethylases regulate human Th17 cell development and effector functions by impacting on metabolism

T helper (Th) cells are CD4+ effector T cells that play an instrumental role in immunity by shaping the inflammatory cytokine environment in a variety of physiological and pathological situations. Using a combined chemico-genetic approach we identify histone H3K27 demethylases KDM6A and KDM6B as central regulators of human Th subsets. The prototypic KDM6 inhibitor GSK-J4 increases genome-wide levels of the repressive H3K27me3 chromatin mark and leads to suppression of the key transcription factor ROR{gamma}t during Th17 differentiation, whereas in mature Th17 cells an altered transcriptional program leads to a profound metabolic reprogramming with concomitant suppression of IL-17 cytokine levels and reduced proliferation. Single cell analysis reveals a specific shift from highly inflammatory cell subsets towards a resting state upon demethylase inhibition. The root cause of the observed anti-inflammatory phenotype in stimulated Th17 cells is reduced expression of key metabolic transcription factors, such as PPRC1 and c-myc. Overall, this leads to reduced mitochondrial biogenesis resulting in a metabolic switch with concomitant anti-inflammatory effects. These data are consistent with an opposing effect of GSK-J4 on Th17 T-cell differentiation pathways directly related to proliferation and effector cytokine profiles.

immunology↗