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BMC Cancer

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Open Access 01.12.2023 | Research

Histone methyltransferase SETD1A interacts with notch and promotes notch transactivation to augment ovarian cancer development

verfasst von: Hongjuan Chai, Chunpeng Pan, Mingyang Zhang, Haizhong Huo, Haiyan Shan, Jugang Wu

Erschienen in: BMC Cancer | Ausgabe 1/2023

Abstract

Background

High expression of SETD1A, a histone methyltransferase that specifically methylates H3K4, acted as a key oncogene in several human cancers. However, the function and underlying molecular mechanism of SETD1A in ovarian cancer (OV) remain markedly unknown.

Methods

The expression of SETD1A in OV were detected by Western blot and analyzed online, and the prognosis of STED1A in OV were analyzed online. The protein and mRNA levels were determined by Western blot and RT-qPCR. The cell proliferatin, migration and invasion were measured by CCK-8 and transwell assays. The protein interaction was detected by co-IP assay. The interaction between protein and DNA was performed by ChIP assay. The tumor growth in vivo was performed by xenograft tumor model.

Results

SETD1A was overexpressed in OV and a predictor of poor prognosis. Overexpression of SETD1A augmented the abilities of cell proliferation, migration, and invasion in MRG1 and OVCAR5 cells. In comparison, SETD1A knockdown suppressed cell growth, migration, and invasion in SKOV3 and Caov3 cells. Specifically, SETD1A enhanced Notch signaling by promoting the expression of Notch target genes, such as Hes1, Hey1, Hey2, and Heyl. Mechanistically, SETD1A interacted with Notch1 and methylated H3K4me3 at Notch1 targets to enhance Notch signaling. In addition, restoration of Notch1 in SETD1A-knockdown OV cells recovered cell proliferation, migration and invasion, which was inhibited by SETD1A knockdown. Furthermore, reduction of SETD1A suppressed tumorigenesis in vivo.

Conclusion

In conclusion, our results highlighted the key role of SETD1A in OV development and proved that SETD1A promotes OV development by enhancing Notch1 signaling, indicating that SETD1A may be a novel target for OV treatment.

Supplementary Material 1 Fig. S1. SETD1A is positively associated with Notch target genes in human OV specimens from the TCGA dataset. The positive correlation between SETD1A and DLL1 (A), DLL4 (B), JAG1 (C), JAG2 (D), Notch1 (E), Notch2 (F), Notch3 (G), Notch4 (H), RBPJ (I), MAML1 (J), MAML2 (K), MAML3 (L), Hes1 (M), Hes3 (N), Hey1 (O), Hey2 (P) and Heyl (Q)

Supplementary Material 2

Supplementary Material 3

Supplementary Information

The online version contains supplementary material available at https://doi.org/10.1186/s12885-023-10573-3.

These authors contributed equally: Hongjuan Chai, Chunpeng Pan and Mingyang Zhang.

Publisher’s Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Background

As one of the most common malignant cancers in gynecological malignancies, ovarian cancer (OV) is the highest leading cause of marked morbidity and cancer-associated mortality worldwide [1]. Despite recent progress in early diagnosis, chemotherapy, radiotherapy, and surgical resection, most OV patients undergo recurrence or develop resistance to current treatment [2]. Against this background, it is imperative that a better understanding of the pathological process of OV be reached to facilitate the discovery of novel biomarkers for the successful prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of OV.

There is mounting evidence that Notch can enhance the proliferation and differentiation of ovary stem/progenitor cells [3‐6]. For example, the abnormal activation of Notch signaling and its essential roles in cancer development have been demonstrated in multiple types of cancer, including OV [6‐10]. Some studies have documented 5 Notch ligands (Delta-like 1, 3, 4, and Jagged 1 and 2) and 4 Notch receptors (Notch 1–4) in the highly conserved Notch signaling pathway of mammals [11]. In addition, binding of the ligand to the receptor initiates gamma-secretase complex cleavage Notch receptor at the cell membrane, thereby releasing the intracellular signaling fragment of the Notch receptor, known as Notch receptor intracellular domain (NICD). Following this activity is the translocation of the released NICD to the nucleus and assemble of a transactivation complex with the DNA binding protein CSL and coactivator MAML, which could induce the transcription of target genes, such as those in the hairy and enhancer of split (Hes) and Hes related with YRPW motif (hey) -related gene family. The above findings are testimony to the potential effectiveness of targeting Notch signaling as a treatment of OV.

Histone methylation is an essential pattern of epigenetic modification that controls gene expression. The methyltransferases and demethylases of histone lysine mediate the balance of histone methylation, serving critical functions in homeostasis, development, physiology, cancer, and other diseases [12, 13]. Accumulation of evidence indicated that the aberrant methylation of H3K4 induced multiple tumors development [14‐17]. SETD1A, an H3K4 methyltransferase, plays essential roles in multiple types of cancer progression including gastric cancer, colorectal cancer, and breast cancer [18‐23], and liver cancer sorafenib resistance [24]. However, the detailed functions of SETD1A in OV development have not been determined and more studies are required to clarify the potential mechanism.

In this work, we identified the mechanism by which SETD1A enhances Notch signaling and OV tumorigenesis. Our findings add to the functions of SETD1A in OV development and helped to identify a potential target for OV treatment.

Methods

Antibodies and reagents

Antibodies against SETD1A (A300-289 A) was purchased from Bethyl (Montgomery, TX, US). Antibodies against H3K4me3 (ab8580), Hes1 (ab108937), Hey1 (ab22614), Hey2 (ab167280), Heyl (ab26138), Notch1 (ab27526), Ki-67 (ab16667), β-actin (ab8226), and Rabbit IgG-Isotype Control (ab172730) were obtained from Abcam (Cambridge, UK).

Cell Counting Kit (CCK)-8, G418, puromycin, and Trizol were purchased from Sigma-Aldrich (St. Louis, MO, US). Dulbecco’s modified Eagle’s medium (DMEM), RPMI1640, penicillin-streptomycin (P/S), and fetal bovine serum (FBS) were purchased from Gibco (Woodland, CA, USA). RIPA buffer and BCA Kit were purchased from Beyotime Biotechnology (Shanghai, China). Protease inhibitor cocktail was purchased from Roche (Basel, Switzerland). HiScript Q RT SuperMix was obtained from Vazyme (Nanjing, China). Lipofectamine 2000 and SYBR were obtained from Invitrogen (Carlsbad, CA, US). Polyvinylidene difluoride membrane was purchased from Millipore (Bedford, MA, US). A dual-luciferase assay system was obtained from Promega (Madison, WI, US). SimpleChIP® Enzymatic Chromatin IP Kit was obtained from Cell Signaling Technology (Danvers, MA, United States).

Patients and specimens

Clinical specimens from 21 patients with OV were taken from the tumor and adjacent normal ovarian tissues. All the patients who underwent radical ovarian cancer resection had never received radiotherapy or chemotherapy before, and the clinicopathological characteristics were showed in the Table 1. The human studies were approved by the Translational Medical Independent Ethics Committee of Shanghai Ninth People’s Hospital (Shanghai, China). The study methodologies conformed to the standards set by the Declaration of Helsinki.

Table 1

Association between SETD1A expression and clinicopathological characteristics of primary epithelial ovarian cancer in human

Clinical characteristic	Patient (n)	SETD1A		X ²	P-value
Clinical characteristic	Patient (n)	Low expression	High expression	X ²	P-value
Age				0.018	0.893
≥ 60	15	7	8
< 60	6	3	3
Pathologicl Characteristic				0.4	0.527
Serous carcinoma	16	4	12
Non-serous carcinoma	5	2	3
Differentiation degree				3	0.083
High	3	1	2
Moderate	8	2	6
Low	10	3	7
FIGO stage				3.033	0.219
I	3	2	1
II	6	2	4
III-IV	12	2	10

FIGO, International Federation of Gynaecological Oncologists.

The expression of SETD1A, clinical survival analysis, and KEGG pathway of ovarian cancer patients

The expression of SETD1A in OV patients and adjacent normal ovarian tissues from Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) was analyzed by GEO2R. The survival rates of OV patients from GEO and the cancer genome atlas (TCGA) were analyzed by KM plotter: Kaplan-Meier Plotter (http://kmplot.com/analysis/index.php?p=service&cancer=ovar)[25]. The SETD1A low or high expression was divided by the best separation of survival. The differently changed genes associated with SETD1A and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway analysis were performed by LinkedOmics (http://www.linkedomics.org/admin.php) [26‐29].

Cell lines and stable cell lines

Human ovarian epithelial cell ISOE80, OV cell lines SKOV3, Caov3, RMGI, OVCAR5 and OVCAR8, and human embryonic kidney 293T (HEK293T) cells were obtained from the Shanghai Institutes for Biological Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences (Shanghai, China). All cell lines were maintained at 37 ℃ in RPMI1640 or DMEM supplemented with 10% FBS and 1% P/S.

Recombinant retroviruses expressing the pBABE vector and SETD1A cDNA were generated according to the manufacturer’s operating procedures. The retroviruses were utilized to infect RMGI and OVCAR5 cells and then stable cell lines with 1 µg/ml puromycin were selected. Recombinant lentiviruses expressing the pll3.7 vector and SETD1A Knockdown were generated according to the manufacturer’s operating procedures. The sequences of SETD1A shRNA are: 5’-GACAACAACGAATGAAATATT-3’ and 5’-CAACGACTCAAAGTATATATT-3’. The lentiviruses were utilized to infect SKOV3 and Caov3 cells, and then stable single clones with 1 µg/ml puromycin were selected.

Real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR)

In compliance with the manufacturer’s operation procedures, Trizol was employed to isolate total RNA, and HiScript Q RT SuperMix was utilized for cDNA synthesis of 1 µg total RNA. The synthesized cDNAs were selected for RT-qPCR using SYBR. The primers of Notch target genes in the current study were listed as follows: Notch1: Forward 5’-GAGGCGTGGCAGACTATGC-3’, Reverse 5’- CTTGTACTCCGTCAGCGTGA-3’; Hes1: Forward 5’-TCAACACGACACCGGATAAAC-3’, Reverse 5’-GCCGCGAGCTATCTTTCTTCA-3’; Hey1: Forward 5’-ATCTGCTAAGCTAGAAAAAGCCG-3’, Reverse 5’-GTGCGCGTCAAAGTAACCT-3’; Hey2: Forward 5’-AAGGCGTCGGGATCGGATAA-3’, Reverse 5’-AGAGCGTGTGCGTCAAAGTAG-3’; Heyl: Forward 5’-GGCTGCTTACGTGGCTGTT-3’, Reverse 5’-GACCCAGGAGTGGTAGAGCAT-3’; β-actin: Forward 5’- GGAGCGAGATCCCTCCAAAAT-3’, Reverse 5’- GGCTGTTGTCATACTTCTCATGG-3’.

Western blot

The total protein utilized for Western blot was extracted with RIPA buffer supplemented with a protease inhibitor cocktail. The protein concentration was quantified using the BCA Kit. The Western blot system was established using a Bio-Rad Bis-Tris Gel System (Bio-Rad, Hercules, CA) following the manufacturer’s operating procedures. The primary antibodies, which had been prepared in TBST with 3% BSA at a 1:1000 dilution, were utilized for incubation with the membrane at 4 °C overnight. After washing, the membrane was incubated with horseradish peroxidase-conjugated secondary antibodies at a 1:10000 dilution at room temperature for 1 h. After rinsing, the signal in the PVDF membrane which carried blots and antibodies were captured using the Bio-Rad ChemiDoc XRS system (Bio-Rad, Hercules, CA).

Cell viability assay

Cells were seeded in 96-well plates and cultured for a different time. CCK-8 was added into cells for 1 h, and then the OD values were recorded at 450 nm.

Cell numbers assay

For cell numbers counting, cells were seeded in 6-well plates and cultured for a different time, and then harvested. Each 20 µl of cells were mixed together with 20 µl of 0.4% Trypan Blue and maintained for 5 min at room temperature. Cells were counted.

Wound healing assay

Cells were seeded into 12-well plates until the cells reached 95% confluency. The adherent cells were then scratched with a pipette tip (10 µl), and the detached cells were washed gently with PBS. Subsequently, the cells were cultured in a serum-free medium for 48 h. The images at 0 and 48 h were captured with × 100 magnification to evaluate wound healing.

Cell migration and invasion

A modified two-chamber transwell migration and invasion assay was performed to measure cell migration and invasion. Cells that were suspended in 200 µL of medium without serum were plated on the upper chamber without (migration) or with (invasion) gel of 24-well transwell chamber, while 700 µL of medium with serum was thrown into the lower chamber. After being maintained for 48 h, cells were fixed with methanol and the non-traversed cells on the upper surface of the filter were removed. In comparison, the traversed cells on the lower surface of the filter were subjected to staining with 0.1% crystal violet and then counted.

Dual-luciferase activity assay

The Hes1 promoter-reporter was cloned into the pGL3 report vector. Lipofectamine 2000 was used to co-transfect SETD1A and NICD with the reporter constructs. The dual-luciferase assay system was employed to measure the reporter activity according to the manufacturer’s operating procedures.

Co-IP assay

Cells were harvested and lysed in IP lysis buffer (150 mM NaCl, 30 mM Tris, 1% Triton X-100, 0.5 mM EDTA, 100 µM orthovanadate, 10 mM NaF, 200 µM PMSF, 10% glycerol, pH 7.5) supplemented with cocktail. The lysates were incubated with SETD1A or Notch antibody with protein A/G agarose overnight at 4 °C with agitation. The complexes were precipitated and washed.

ChIP assay

ChIP assay was performed using SimpleChIP® Enzymatic Chromatin IP Kit under the manufacturer’s operating procedures. The following primers were utilized to amplify the Hes1 promoter DNA fragment: Forward 5′-CAGACCTTGTGCCTGGCG-3′, and Reverse 5′-TGTGATCCCTAGGCCCTG-3′.

Tumor xenografts

A total of 5 × 10⁶ control or SETD1A knockdown SKOV3 cells were subcutaneously injected into nude mice. Each group has 6 mice. The tumor size of mice was monitored every other 2 days using a vernier caliper from the 7th day after injection. The tumor size was calculated according to the formula: size = 0.52 x length x width². All animal experiments were according to the ethic regulations and approved by the Translational Medical Independent Ethics Committee of Shanghai Ninth People’s Hospital (Shanghai, China).

Immunohistochemistry

Slides were deparaffinized and then subjected to antigen retrieval and H₂O₂ treatment followed by blocking in 3%BSA for 30 min. Next, the samples were stained with Ki-67 antibody (1:200) overnight at 4 °C. On the next day, the sections were incubated with alkaline phosphatase-conjugated secondary antibody incubation for 1 h at room temperature. The signal was visualized using NBT/BCIP reagent.

Statistical analysis

Means ± standard deviation (SD) was presented as indicators of the results. To compare differences between different groups, the nonparametric Mann-Whitney U test, and unpaired t-test were conducted with the GraphPad Prism software (version 8; GraphPad Software, Inc., La Jolla, CA, USA). p < 0.05 was a statistically significant difference.

Results

SETD1A is overexpressed in human OV and indicated poor prognosis

To evaluate the expression profile of SETD1A in OV, we first analyzed OV samples and adjacent normal ovarian tissues from our own collected samples by western blot. 71.42% (15/21) of tumor tissues have high levels of SETD1A compared with adjacent normal ovarian tissues (Fig. 1A, B). Then, OV samples and adjacent normal ovarian tissues from public databases were also analyzed. We found that SETD1A was overexpressed in OV samples compared with adjacent normal ovarian tissues in two GSE cohorts (GSE26712) (Fig. 1C) from GEO. Additional analysis of overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS) between SETD1A high-expression and low-expression OV patients was performed. As shown in Fig. 1D, E, the patients who have high level of SETD1A expression revealed shorter overall in TCGA (Fig. 1D) and the GSE cohort (GSE63885) (Fig. 1E). In addition, patients with high expression of SETD1A have much shorter PFS than patients with low expression of SETD1A in the GSE cohort (GSE63885 and GSE26712) (Fig. 1F, G). All these data suggest that SETD1A may be a tumor oncogene in OV development.

SETD1A promotes OV cell proliferation

To elucidate the role of SETD1A in OV cell proliferation, we first compared the expression of SETD1A between ovarian epithelial cell and several OV cells. The tumor cells (CAOV3, SKOV3, RMGI, OVCAR5 and OVCAR8) expressed high levels of SETD1A compared with normal epithelial cell IOSE80 (Fig. 2A). The RMGI and OVCAR5 cells, which expressed relatively low levels of SETD1A, were transfected with SETD1A overexpression retroviruses, and SKOV3 and Caov3, which expressed relatively high levels of SETD1A, were transfected with SETD1A knockdown lentivirus. The SETD1A overexpression and knockdown stable cell lines were constructed through selecting by puromycin (Fig. 2B, C). CCK-8 assay was performed to measure cell viability. As shown in Fig. 2D, the ectopic increase in SETD1A expression enhanced cell viability in RMGI and OVCAR5 cells. Conversely, the downregulation of SETD1A significantly reduced the cell viability of SKOV3 and Caov3 cells (Fig. 2E). Furthermore, cell proliferation was also detected by counting cell numbers. SETD1A overexpression increased the cell numbers of RMGI and OVCAR5 cells (Fig. 2F), conversely, SETD1A knockdown reduced the cell numbers of SKOV3 and Caov3 cells (Fig. 2G). These results suggest that SETD1A augmented OV cell proliferation in vitro.

SETD1A promotes OV cell migration and invasion

As migration and invasion are two other key features of pernicious cancer cells, we also detected whether SETD1A could affect cell migration and invasion. Toward this end, wound healing, transwell cell migration and invasion assays were conducted. As shown in Fig. 3, overexpression of SETD1A promoted cell wound healing of RMGI and OVCAR5 (Fig. 3A), conversely, knockdown of SETD1A reduced cell wound healing of SKOV3 and Caov3 (Fig. 3B) cells. Furthermore, overexpression of SETD1A promoted the migration and invasion of RMGI (Fig. 3C) and OVCAR5 (Fig. 3D), whereas knockdown of SETD1A attenuated the migratory and invasive ability of SKOV3 (Fig. 3E) and Caov3 (Fig. 3F) cells. These results suggest that SETD1A augmented OV cell migration and invasion in vitro.

SETD1A enhances notch signaling

To explore how SETD1A augmented OV development, we analyzed the RNA sequencing data of OV patients from TCGA. Differentially expressed genes associated with SETD1A were distinguished by a cutoff of 1-fold and p < 0.05 (Fig. 4A). Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway analysis showed that the Notch signaling pathway was the TOP 1 positively associated with SETD1A (Fig. 4B). It has been documented that the abnormal activation of Notch promotes OV development [6]. Based on this knowledge, we intend to investigate whether SETD1A promoted OV development by enhancing Notch signaling. Firstly, we calculated the correlation between the expression of SETD1A and the core genes of the Notch pathway in OV patients from TCGA. The results displayed a positive correlation between SETD1A and the core genes of the Notch pathway, such as the ligands DLL1 (Fig. S1A), DLL4 (Fig. S1B), JAG1 (Fig. S1C), and JAG2 (Fig. S1D), the receptors Notch1 (Fig. S1E), Notch2 (Fig. S1F), Notch3 (Fig. S1G) and Notch4 (Fig. S1H), the transcription complexes RBPJ (Fig. S1I), MAML1 (Fig. S1J), MAML2 (Fig. S1K) and MAML3 (Fig. S1L), and the target genes Hes1 (Fig. S1M), Hes3 (Fig. S1N), Hey1 (Fig. S1O), Hey2 (Fig. S1P) and Heyl (Fig. S1Q). Next, Western Blot and RT-PCR were performed to detect the effect of SETD1A on the Notch pathway in SETD1A overexpression and knockdown OV cells. Interestingly, the results were in line with our expectations. The expression of Notch1 and Notch target genes were increased in SETD1A overexpressed RMGI and OVCAR5 cells (Fig. 4C-E). In addition, knockdown of SETD1A resulted in a decrease in the expression of Notch1 and Notch target genes in SKOV3 (Fig. 4F, H) and Caov3 (Fig. 4G, I) cells. These results indicate that SETD1A enhanced Notch signaling.

SETD1A interacts with notch to initiate notch signaling

Given that SETD1A mediated the transcription of Notch target genes, we hypothesized that SETD1A cooperated with Notch to augment the transcription of Notch target genes. To test this, SETD1A and/or NICD, together with the promoter-reporter of Notch core target Hes1, were transfected into HEK293T cells. The luciferase assay results demonstrated that exogenous expression of SETD1A and NICD alone increased the reporter activity of the Hes1 promoter to 1.98 and 3.67 times, respectively, while simultaneous overexpression of SETD1A and NICD increased the reporter activity of the Hes1 promoter to 10.17 times (Fig. 5A). This finding was further corroborated by the observation that the Hes1 promoter reporter activities were reduced in SETD1A-knockdown SKOV3 (Fig. 5B) and Caov3 (Fig. 5C) cells, respectively.

To measure whether SETD1A could interact with Notch, we performed coimmunoprecipitation (Co-IP) assays to determine the interaction of SETD1A and Notch. First, we coexpressed Flag-SETD1A and/or Notch1-HA in HEK293T cells, the Flag and HA antibodies were used to pull down SETD1A and Notch1, then detect the binding. As shown in Fig. 5D, the ectopic overexpression of SETD1A and Notch1 could bind with each other. Furthermore, we also found that the endogenous SETD1A and Notch1 could precipitate each other in SKOV3 (Fig. 5E) and Caov3 (Fig. 5F) cells. The results indicate that SETD1A could interact with Notch.

SETD1A increases H3K4me3 levels at the promoters of Hes1 to enhance notch transactivation

Since SETD1A could cooperate with Notch to augment Notch signaling, we hypothesized that SETD1A could be recruited to the promoters of Notch target genes to methylate H3K4me3, thereby enhancing the expression of Notch target genes. To demonstrate this, we detected whether SETD1A could be recruited to the promoters of Notch1 target gene Hes1, when Notch signaling was induced by JAG1. The recruitments were measured by ChIP assay. As shown in Fig. 6A, overexpression of JAG1 increased the recruitments of Notch1 to Hes1 promoter, indicating that Notch signaling was induced by JAG1. Furthermore, overexpression of JAG1 resulted in an increment of SETD1A recruitments (Fig. 6B), and an increase in the levels of H3K4me3 at the Hes1 promoters (Fig. 6C), suggesting that activating Notch signaling could enhance SETD1A recruitments to the Hes1 promoters to methylate H3K4me3. Conversely, when SETD1A knockdown decreased SETD1A recruitments (Fig. 6D) and reduced H3K4me3 levels at the Hes1 promoters (Fig. 6E), the recruitments of Notch1 were markedly suppressed (Fig. 6F), suggesting that SETD1A can enhance the recruitments of Notch1 to the Hes1 promoters. In addition, overexpression of JAG1 in SETD1A knockdown SKOV3 cell could increase the expression of Notch1 and the target genes (Hes1, Hey1, Hey2 and Heyl) (Fig. 6G), as well as the recruitments of Notch1 (Fig. 6H), SETD1A (Fig. 6I) and H3K4me3 (Fig. 6J) to Hes1 promoter. All these results indicated that SETD1A enhanced Notch1 signal through regulating the dynamic balance of H3K4me3 and binding of Notch1 and SETD1A to Notch1 target genes.

Restoration of notch expression in SETD1A-knockdown OV cells recovers cell proliferation

Our above data indicated that SETD1A played key roles in promoting OV cell proliferation and enhancing Notch signal activation. So we wondered whether SETD1A promoted OV development dependent on the Notch signaling pathway. We overexpressed Notch1 in SETD1A-knockdown OV cells, and then determined the OV cell proliferation rate. As expected, restoration of Notch in SETD1A-knockdown SKOV3 and Caov3 cells recovered cell proliferation rate (Fig. 7A, B), as well as migration and invasion rate (Fig. 7C,D), suggesting SETD1A promoted OV development dependent on Notch1 signaling.

Downregulation of SETD1A in SKOV3 cells reduces tumorigenesis in vivo

Previous results showed that SETD1A played a key role in promoting OV cell proliferation, migration, and invasion in vitro, we furtherly determined whether SETD1A enhanced OV cell tumorigenesis in vivo. A xenograft model was established through the subcutaneous injection of SETD1A-knockdown or control SKOV3 cells into nude mice. The tumor growth rate was monitored. Downregulated SETD1A significantly suppressed tumor growth and reduced tumor size and weight (Fig. 8A, B). Meanwhile, the Ki67 staining results showed that the cell proliferation rate of SETD1A knockdown tumors was lower compared with the control tumor (Fig. 8C). In addition, we also determined the mRNA levels of Notch target genes in control and SETD1A knockdown tumors. The RT-qPCR results revealed that Notch target genes, including Hes1, Hey1, Hey2, and Heyl, were reduced in SETD1A knockdown tumors compared with control tumors (Fig. 8D). These results indicate that knockdown of SETD1A suppressed OV tumorigenesis in vivo.

Discussion

There is increasing evidence that the abnormal expression and activation of SETD1A promote cancer progression including gastric cancer, colorectal cancer, and breast cancer [18‐23]. However, the detailed functions and mechanism of SETD1A in OV development have remained unclear. In this study, the critical role of SETD1A in OV development was demonstrated as follows: (1) SETD1A was overexpressed in OV patients and indicated poor prognosis; (2) SETD1A significantly augmented OV cell proliferation, migration, invasion, and tumorigenesis; (3) SETD1A acted a coactivator to enhance Notch signaling (Fig. 8E).

The classical activation of Notch signaling should be that Notch first binds with its ligand, gamma-secretase complex cleavage Notch, and then, the activated form of Notch translocates to the nucleus to generate a transactivation complex with CSL and MAML, thereby initiating the transcription of Notch target genes. However, what controls the transactivation of the NICD–CSL–MAML complex is still unclear. Increasing evidence has shown that the NICD–CSL–MAML transcriptional complex could interact with several nuclear factors, including p300, GCN5, and PCAF, and then mediate Notch signaling [30, 31]. In addition, the Notch1 nuclear interactome exhibited critical regulators that initiated Notch signaling through demethylating modifications at the promoter of Notch target genes, highlighting the important role of histone modificator as a coactivator in the mediation of Notch signaling [32]. In the current study, we found that the histone methyltransferase SETD1A, which methylates H3K4me/3, could augment Notch signaling (Fig. 6). To our best knowledge, this is the very first report that SETD1A could serve as a critical coactivator for Notch signaling.

Notch signaling is implicated not only in OV progression, but also in ovary development and homeostasis, which mediates female reproduction, directly influences fertility in women [33]. Notch signaling is activated in the adult and neonatal mouse ovaries, and mouse oocytes from entering meiosis are arrested when Notch signaling is inhibited [33, 34]. Sustained activation of Notch in dedifferentiated parietal cells eventually augmented cell proliferation, and inhibition of Notch signaling reduced OV cell proliferation, migration and invasion, and drug resistance of OV cells [35‐38]. These reports suggest that although targeting Notch signaling is a reasonable treatment for OV, directly reducing Notch signaling may weaken the differentiation of stem/progenitor cells, leading to serious side effects. Therefore, there is an urgent need for a strategy that only inhibits Notch signaling in OV cells without affecting healthy ovary cells. Indeed, our research only focused on the role of SETD1A in OV cells. Additional research is required to further investigate the effect of SETD1A on ovary cells.

Conclusion

In conclusion, our findings provide sufficient evidence that the high expression of Notch’s co-activator SETD1A enhances the abnormal activation of Notch signaling in OV. In addition, it was found that inhibition of SETD1A reduced OV development. Overall, this study indicates that inhibition of SETD1A might be a potentially valuable strategy for OV therapy.

Acknowledgements

Not applicable.

Declarations

OV specimens were obtained from patients undergoing surgical resection at Shanghai Ninth People’s Hospital. All experiments involving human specimens were approved by the Translational Medical Independent Ethics Review Committee of Shanghai Ninth People’s Hospital and conformed to the ethical standards of the 1964 Helsinki Declaration. Written informed consents from the donors for the research use of tissues in this study were obtained prior to the acquisition of the specimens.

All animal experiment protocols and procedures were approved by the Translational Medical Independent Ethics Review Committee of Shanghai Ninth People’s Hospital. The study was carried out in compliance with the ARRIVE guidelines. All methods were carried out in accordance with relevant guidelines and regulations.

Not applicable.

Competing interests

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

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Titel: Histone methyltransferase SETD1A interacts with notch and promotes notch transactivation to augment ovarian cancer development
verfasst von: Hongjuan Chai
Chunpeng Pan
Mingyang Zhang
Haizhong Huo
Haiyan Shan
Jugang Wu
Publikationsdatum: 01.12.2023
Verlag: BioMed Central
Erschienen in: BMC Cancer / Ausgabe 1/2023
Elektronische ISSN: 1471-2407
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1186/s12885-023-10573-3

Springer Medizin

Abstract

Background

Methods

Results

Conclusion

Supplementary Information

Publisher’s Note

Background

Methods

Antibodies and reagents

Patients and specimens

The expression of SETD1A, clinical survival analysis, and KEGG pathway of ovarian cancer patients

Cell lines and stable cell lines

Real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR)

Western blot

Cell viability assay

Cell numbers assay

Wound healing assay

Cell migration and invasion

Dual-luciferase activity assay

Co-IP assay

ChIP assay

Tumor xenografts

Immunohistochemistry

Statistical analysis

Results

SETD1A is overexpressed in human OV and indicated poor prognosis

SETD1A promotes OV cell proliferation

SETD1A promotes OV cell migration and invasion

SETD1A enhances notch signaling

SETD1A interacts with notch to initiate notch signaling

SETD1A increases H3K4me3 levels at the promoters of Hes1 to enhance notch transactivation

Restoration of notch expression in SETD1A-knockdown OV cells recovers cell proliferation

Downregulation of SETD1A in SKOV3 cells reduces tumorigenesis in vivo

Discussion

Conclusion

Acknowledgements

Declarations

Ethics approval and consent to participate

Consent for publication

Competing interests

Publisher’s Note

Electronic supplementary material

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