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bioRxiv · 10.1101/392142

Epigenetic inactivation of miR-203 as a key step in neural crest epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition

Sanchez-Vasquez, E.·Bronner, M.·Strobl-Mazzulla, P. H.
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Abstract

miR-203 is a tumor-suppressor microRNA with known functions in cancer metastasis. Here, we explore its normal developmental role in the context of neural crest development. As neural crest cells undergo an epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition to emigrate from the neural tube, miR-203 displays a reciprocal expression pattern with key regulators of neural crest delamination, Phf12 and Snail2, and interacts with their 3UTRs. Ectopic maintenance of miR-203 inhibits neural crest migration, whereas its functional inhibition using a \"sponge\" vector promotes premature neural crest delamination. Bisulfite sequencing further shows that epigenetic repression of miR-203 is mediated by the de novo DNA methyltransferase DNMT3B, whose recruitment to regulatory regions on the miR-203 locus is directed by SNAIL2 in a negative feedback loop. These findings reveal an important role for miR-203 in an epigenetic-microRNA regulatory network that influences the timing of neural crest delamination.\n\nSummary statementThe EMT is a highly conserved process, involving similar levels of regulation in both neural crest and cancer cells. Our work shows an epigenetic-miRNA-gene regulatory circuit, conserved in cancer, which controls the timing of neural crest EMT as well.

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Sanchez-Vasquez, E., Bronner, M., Strobl-Mazzulla, P. H.. 2018-08-14. Epigenetic inactivation of miR-203 as a key step in neural crest epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition. https://doi.org/10.1101/392142

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