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Chung Nien Chin S, O’Connor L, Scurr M, Busada JT, Graham AN, Alipour Talesh G, Tran CP, Sarkar S, Minamoto T, Giraud AS, Cidlowski JA, Sutton P, Menheniott TR. Coordinate expression loss of GKN1 and GKN2 in gastric cancer via impairment of a glucocorticoid-responsive enhancer. Am J Physiol Gastrointest Liver Physiol 2020; 319:G175-G188. [PMID: 32538140 PMCID: PMC9373792 DOI: 10.1152/ajpgi.00019.2020] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/31/2023]
Abstract
Gastrokines (GKNs) are anti-inflammatory proteins secreted by gastric epithelial (surface mucous and pit) cells, with their aberrant loss of expression causally linked to premalignant inflammation and gastric cancer (GC). Transcriptional mechanisms accounting for GKN expression loss have not been elucidated. Using human clinical cohorts, mouse transgenics, bioinformatics, and transfection/reporter assays, we report a novel mechanism of GKN gene transcriptional regulation and its impairment in GC. GKN1/GKN2 loss is highly coordinated, with both genes showing parallel downregulation during human and mouse GC development, suggesting joint transcriptional control. In BAC transgenic studies, we defined a 152-kb genomic region surrounding the human GKN1/GKN2 genes sufficient to direct their tissue- and lineage-restricted expression. A screen of the 152-kb region for candidate regulatory elements identified a DNase I hypersensitive site (CR2) located 4 kb upstream of the GKN1 gene. CR2 showed overlapping enrichment of enhancer-related histone marks (H3K27Ac), a consensus binding site (GRE) for the glucocorticoid receptor (GR), strong GR occupancy in ChIP-seq data sets and, critically, exhibited dexamethasone-sensitive enhancer activity in reporter assays. Strikingly, GR showed progressive expression loss, paralleling that of GKN1/2, in human and mouse GC, suggesting desensitized glucocorticoid signaling as a mechanism underlying GKN loss. Finally, mouse adrenalectomy studies revealed a critical role for endogenous glucocorticoids in sustaining correct expression (and anti-inflammatory restraint) of GKNs in vivo. Together, these data link the coordinate expression of GKNs to a glucocorticoid-responsive and likely shared transcriptional enhancer mechanism, with its compromised activation contributing to dual GKN loss during GC progression.NEW & NOTEWORTHY Gastrokine 2 (GKN2) is an anti-inflammatory protein produced by the gastric epithelium. GKN2 expression is progressively lost during gastric cancer (GC), which is believed to play a casual role in GC development. Here, we use bacterial artificial chromosome transgenic studies to identify a glucocorticoid-responsive enhancer element that likely governs expression of GKN1/GKN2, which, via parallel expression loss of the anti-inflammatory glucocorticoid receptor, reveals a novel mechanism to explain the loss of GKN2 during GC pathogenesis.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Louise O’Connor
- 1Murdoch Children’s Research Institute, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
| | - Michelle Scurr
- 1Murdoch Children’s Research Institute, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
| | - Jonathan T. Busada
- 2Molecular Endocrinology Group, Signal Transduction Laboratory, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, National Institutes of Health, Research Triangle Park, North Carolina
| | - Alison N. Graham
- 1Murdoch Children’s Research Institute, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
| | - Ghazal Alipour Talesh
- 1Murdoch Children’s Research Institute, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia,3Division of Translational and Clinical Oncology, Cancer Research Institute, Kanazawa University, Kanazawa, Japan
| | - Chau P. Tran
- 1Murdoch Children’s Research Institute, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
| | - Sohinee Sarkar
- 1Murdoch Children’s Research Institute, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
| | - Toshinari Minamoto
- 3Division of Translational and Clinical Oncology, Cancer Research Institute, Kanazawa University, Kanazawa, Japan
| | - Andrew S. Giraud
- 1Murdoch Children’s Research Institute, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia,4Department of Pediatrics, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
| | - John A. Cidlowski
- 2Molecular Endocrinology Group, Signal Transduction Laboratory, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, National Institutes of Health, Research Triangle Park, North Carolina
| | - Philip Sutton
- 1Murdoch Children’s Research Institute, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia,4Department of Pediatrics, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
| | - Trevelyan R. Menheniott
- 1Murdoch Children’s Research Institute, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia,4Department of Pediatrics, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
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Buzzelli JN, O'Connor L, Scurr M, Chung Nien Chin S, Catubig A, Ng GZ, Oshima M, Oshima H, Giraud AS, Sutton P, Judd LM, Menheniott TR. Overexpression of IL-11 promotes premalignant gastric epithelial hyperplasia in isolation from germline gp130-JAK-STAT driver mutations. Am J Physiol Gastrointest Liver Physiol 2019; 316:G251-G262. [PMID: 30520693 DOI: 10.1152/ajpgi.00304.2018] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/31/2023]
Abstract
Expression of the cytokine IL-11 is elevated in human Helicobacter pylori infection and progressively increases with worsening gastric pathology. Additionally, IL-11 is required for tumor development in STAT3-dependent murine models of gastric cancer (GC) and, when administered acutely, causes resolving atrophic gastritis. However, it is unclear whether locally elevated IL-11 ligand expression can, in isolation from oncogenic gp130-JAK-STAT pathway mutations, initiate GC pathogenesis. Here we developed a transgenic mouse model of stomach-specific (keratin 19 promoter) IL-11 ligand overexpression. Keratin 19 promoter-IL-11 transgenic ( K19-IL11Tg) mice showed specific IL-11 overexpression in gastric corpus and antrum but not elsewhere in the gastrointestinal tract or in other tissues. K19-IL11Tg mice developed spontaneous premalignant disease of the gastric epithelium, progressing from atrophic gastritis to TFF2-positive metaplasia and severe epithelial hyperplasia, including adenoma-like lesions in a subset of older (1 yr old) animals. Although locally advanced, the hyperplastic lesions remained noninvasive. H. pylori infection in K19-IL11Tg mice accelerated some aspects of the premalignant phenotype. Finally, K19-IL11Tg mice had splenomegaly in association with elevated serum IL-11, with spleens showing an expanded myeloid compartment. Our results provide direct in vivo functional evidence that stomach-specific overexpression of IL-11, in isolation from germline gp130-JAK-STAT3 genetic drivers, is sufficient for premalignant progression. These findings have important functional implications for human GC, in which frequent IL-11 overexpression occurs in the reported absence of somatic mutations in gp130 signaling components. NEW & NOTEWORTHY We provide direct in vivo functional evidence that stomach-specific overexpression of the cytokine IL-11, in isolation from gp130-JAK-STAT3 pathway mutations, can trigger spontaneous atrophic gastritis progressing to locally advanced epithelial hyperplasia (but not dysplasia or carcinoma), which does not require, but may be accelerated by, concomitant Helicobacter pylori infection.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jon N Buzzelli
- Murdoch Children's Research Institute, The Royal Children's Hospital , Parkville, Victoria , Australia
| | - Louise O'Connor
- Murdoch Children's Research Institute, The Royal Children's Hospital , Parkville, Victoria , Australia
| | - Michelle Scurr
- Murdoch Children's Research Institute, The Royal Children's Hospital , Parkville, Victoria , Australia
| | - Sharleen Chung Nien Chin
- Murdoch Children's Research Institute, The Royal Children's Hospital , Parkville, Victoria , Australia
| | - Angelique Catubig
- Murdoch Children's Research Institute, The Royal Children's Hospital , Parkville, Victoria , Australia
| | - Garrett Z Ng
- Murdoch Children's Research Institute, The Royal Children's Hospital , Parkville, Victoria , Australia
| | - Masanobu Oshima
- Division of Translational and Clinical Oncology, Cancer Research Institute, Kanazawa University , Kanazawa , Japan
| | - Hiroko Oshima
- Division of Translational and Clinical Oncology, Cancer Research Institute, Kanazawa University , Kanazawa , Japan
| | - Andrew S Giraud
- Murdoch Children's Research Institute, The Royal Children's Hospital , Parkville, Victoria , Australia.,Department of Paediatrics, University of Melbourne, The Royal Children's Hospital , Parkville, Victoria , Australia
| | - Philip Sutton
- Murdoch Children's Research Institute, The Royal Children's Hospital , Parkville, Victoria , Australia.,Department of Paediatrics, University of Melbourne, The Royal Children's Hospital , Parkville, Victoria , Australia.,Faculty of Veterinary and Agricultural Science, University of Melbourne , Parkville, Victoria , Australia
| | - Louise M Judd
- Murdoch Children's Research Institute, The Royal Children's Hospital , Parkville, Victoria , Australia.,Department of Paediatrics, University of Melbourne, The Royal Children's Hospital , Parkville, Victoria , Australia
| | - Trevelyan R Menheniott
- Murdoch Children's Research Institute, The Royal Children's Hospital , Parkville, Victoria , Australia.,Department of Paediatrics, University of Melbourne, The Royal Children's Hospital , Parkville, Victoria , Australia
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