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Interaction between SNAI2 and MYOD enhances oncogenesis and suppresses differentiation in Fusion Negative Rhabdomyosarcoma.

Silvia PomellaPrethish SreenivasBerkley E GryderLong WangDavid MilewskiMatteo CassandriKunal BaxiNicole Rae HenschElena CarcarinoYoung SongHsien-Chao ChouMarielle E YoheBenjamin Z StantonBruno AmadioIgnazio CaruanaCristiano De StefanisRita De VitoFranco LocatelliYidong ChenEleanor Y ChenPeter HoughtonJaved KhanRossella RotaMyron S Ignatius
Published in: Nature communications (2021)
Rhabdomyosarcoma (RMS) is an aggressive pediatric malignancy of the muscle, that includes Fusion Positive (FP)-RMS harboring PAX3/7-FOXO1 and Fusion Negative (FN)-RMS commonly with RAS pathway mutations. RMS express myogenic master transcription factors MYOD and MYOG yet are unable to terminally differentiate. Here, we report that SNAI2 is highly expressed in FN-RMS, is oncogenic, blocks myogenic differentiation, and promotes growth. MYOD activates SNAI2 transcription via super enhancers with striped 3D contact architecture. Genome wide chromatin binding analysis demonstrates that SNAI2 preferentially binds enhancer elements and competes with MYOD at a subset of myogenic enhancers required for terminal differentiation. SNAI2 also suppresses expression of a muscle differentiation program modulated by MYOG, MEF2, and CDKN1A. Further, RAS/MEK-signaling modulates SNAI2 levels and binding to chromatin, suggesting that the differentiation blockade by oncogenic RAS is mediated in part by SNAI2. Thus, an interplay between SNAI2, MYOD, and RAS prevents myogenic differentiation and promotes tumorigenesis.
Keyphrases
  • transcription factor
  • skeletal muscle
  • genome wide
  • signaling pathway
  • dna methylation
  • gene expression
  • dna binding
  • dna damage
  • poor prognosis
  • binding protein
  • pi k akt
  • oxidative stress