Somatic mutations of MLL4/COMPASS induce cytoplasmic localization providing molecular insight into cancer prognosis and treatment

Cancer genome sequencing consortiums have recently catalogued an abundance of somatic mutations, across a wide range of human cancers, in the chromatin-modifying enzymes that regulate gene expression. Defining the molecular mechanisms underlying the potentially oncogenic functions of these epigenetic mutations could serve as the basis for precision medicine approaches to cancer therapy. MLL4 encoded by the KMT2D gene highly mutated in a large number of human cancers, is a key histone lysine monomethyltransferase within the Complex of Proteins Associated with Set1 (COMPASS) family that regulates gene expression through enhancer function, potentially functioning as a tumor suppressor. We report that the KMT2D mutations which cause MLL4 protein truncation also alter MLL4's subcellular localization, resulting in loss-of-function in the nucleus and gain-of-function in the cytoplasm. We demonstrate that isogenic correction of KMT2D truncation mutation rescues the aberrant localization phenotype and restores multiple regulatory functions of MLL4, including COMPASS integrity/stabilization, histone H3K4 mono-methylation, enhancer activation, and therefore transcriptional regulation. Moreover, isogenic correction diminishes the sensitivity of KMT2D-mutated cancer cells to targeted metabolic inhibition. Using immunohistochemistry, we identified that cytoplasmic MLL4 is unique to the tissue of bladder cancer patients with KMT2D truncation mutations. Using a preclinical carcinogen model of bladder cancer in mouse, we demonstrate that truncated cytoplasmic MLL4 predicts response to targeted metabolic inhibition therapy for bladder cancer and could be developed as a biomarker for KMT2D-mutated cancers. We also highlight the broader potential for prognosis, patient stratification and treatment decision-making based on KMT2D mutation status in MLL4 truncation-relevant diseases, including human cancers and Kabuki Syndrome.

Head and neck squamous cell growth suppression using adenovirus-p53-FLAG: a potential marker for gene therapy trials

The recombinant wild-type p53 adenovirus has been proven effective against the growth of human head and neck squamous cell cancer (SCCHN) cell lines iir vitro and in a nude mouse model. The addition of a FLAG peptide sequence was used in this study, along with the p53 adenovirus vector as a marker of the site of the gene therapy activity. It provides clear evidence of the exogenous gene product within the transduced carcinoma cells. No alterations in transcription or translation of the p53 gene product were noted with the addition of the FLAG sequence to the original p53 adenovirus vector. Immunohistochemical analysis displayed simultaneous expression of the p53 and FLAG proteins in the infected cells. The p53 protein remained localized to the nucleus, whereas the FLAG protein was additionally noted in the cytoplasm. In vitro growth suppression assays and in vivo microscopic residual tumor model experiments in nude mice showed a similar tumoricidal effect with the p53-FLAG adenovirus vector to that with the previously studied p53 adenovirus vector without the addition of the FLAG sequence. We conclude that the addition of the FLAG octapeptide sequence allows identification of those cells that have been affected by the molecular therapy independent of the endogenous gene expression of the cells. This novel molecular tracer may prove useful in characterizing infection efficiency and in gene therapy trials.