JQ1, an inhibitor of the epigenetic reader BRD4, suppresses the bidirectional MYC-AP4 axis via multiple mechanisms

Oncol Rep. 2016 Feb;35(2):1186-94. doi: 10.3892/or.2015.4410. Epub 2015 Nov 11.

Abstract

Bromodomain and extra-terminal domain (BET) family proteins are representative epigenetic modulators that read acetylated lysine residues and transfer cellular signals. Recently, the BET protein inhibitor JQ1 was developed and has been extensively studied in many cancer cell types. We demonstrated that JQ1 effectively suppressed the MYC-AP4 axis and induced antitumorigenic effects by targeting a bidirectional positive loop between MYC and AP4 which was first proposed in the present study. MYC and AP4 are the direct targets of BRD4, as demonstrated by chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP) assay and BRD4 loss-of-function experiments. Although inhibition of the MYC/MAC dimer suppressed AP4, the efficacy of suppression was not as effective as BRD4 inhibition. Notably, AP4 loss-of-function studies demonstrated that AP4 is a major critical target of JQ1 and that MYC is a novel downstream target of AP4, as demonstrated by AP4 binding to the MYC promoter. Taken together, our results suggest that the epigenetic reader BRD4 is a key mediator of the activated MYC-AP4 axis, which supports the possibility that targeting BET protein is a novel therapeutic strategy for MYC-AP4 axis-activated cancers.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Adenocarcinoma / pathology*
  • Antineoplastic Agents / pharmacology*
  • Azepines / pharmacology*
  • Basic Helix-Loop-Helix Leucine Zipper Transcription Factors / antagonists & inhibitors*
  • Breast Neoplasms / pathology*
  • Cell Cycle Proteins
  • Cell Line, Tumor
  • DNA-Binding Proteins
  • Epigenesis, Genetic / drug effects
  • Female
  • Genes, myc / drug effects
  • Humans
  • Molecular Targeted Therapy
  • Neoplasm Proteins / antagonists & inhibitors*
  • Nuclear Proteins / antagonists & inhibitors*
  • Promoter Regions, Genetic / drug effects
  • Protein Binding / drug effects
  • Protein Structure, Tertiary
  • Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-myc / antagonists & inhibitors*
  • RNA-Binding Proteins
  • Transcription Factors / antagonists & inhibitors*
  • Triazoles / pharmacology*
  • Tumor Stem Cell Assay

Substances

  • (+)-JQ1 compound
  • Antineoplastic Agents
  • Azepines
  • BRD4 protein, human
  • Basic Helix-Loop-Helix Leucine Zipper Transcription Factors
  • Cell Cycle Proteins
  • DNA-Binding Proteins
  • MYC protein, human
  • Neoplasm Proteins
  • Nuclear Proteins
  • Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-myc
  • REPIN1 protein, human
  • RNA-Binding Proteins
  • Transcription Factors
  • Triazoles