Upregulation of the chromatin remodeler HELLS is mediated by YAP1 in Sonic Hedgehog Medulloblastoma

Sci Rep. 2019 Sep 20;9(1):13611. doi: 10.1038/s41598-019-50088-1.

Abstract

Medulloblastoma is a malignant pediatric tumor that arises from neural progenitors in the cerebellum. Despite a five-year survival rate of ~70%, nearly all patients incur adverse side effects from current treatment strategies that drastically impact quality of life. Roughly one-third of medulloblastoma are driven by aberrant activation of the Sonic Hedgehog (SHH) signaling pathway. However, the scarcity of genetic mutations in medulloblastoma has led to investigation of other mechanisms contributing to cancer pathogenicity including epigenetic regulation of gene expression. Here, we show that Helicase, Lymphoid Specific (HELLS), a chromatin remodeler with epigenetic functions including DNA methylation and histone modification, is induced by Sonic Hedgehog (SHH) in SHH-dependent cerebellar progenitor cells and the developing murine cerebella. HELLS is also up-regulated in mouse and human SHH medulloblastoma. Others have shown that HELLS activity generally results in a repressive chromatin state. Our results demonstrate that increased expression of HELLS in our experimental systems is regulated by the oncogenic transcriptional regulator YAP1 downstream of Smoothened, the positive transducer of SHH signaling. Elucidation of HELLS as one of the downstream effectors of the SHH pathway may lead to novel targets for precision therapeutics with the promise of better outcomes for SHH medulloblastoma patients.

Publication types

  • Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Adaptor Proteins, Signal Transducing / genetics
  • Adaptor Proteins, Signal Transducing / metabolism*
  • Adult
  • Animals
  • Cell Cycle Proteins / genetics
  • Cell Cycle Proteins / metabolism*
  • Cells, Cultured
  • Cerebellar Neoplasms / pathology
  • Cerebellum / metabolism
  • Child
  • Chromatin / metabolism
  • Chromatin Assembly and Disassembly / genetics
  • DNA Helicases / genetics*
  • DNA Helicases / metabolism
  • Epigenesis, Genetic / genetics
  • Female
  • Hedgehog Proteins / metabolism
  • Hedgehog Proteins / physiology
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Medulloblastoma / genetics*
  • Medulloblastoma / metabolism
  • Mice
  • Neural Stem Cells / metabolism
  • Neurons / metabolism
  • Quality of Life
  • Signal Transduction
  • Transcription Factors / genetics
  • Transcription Factors / metabolism
  • Transcriptional Activation
  • Up-Regulation
  • YAP-Signaling Proteins

Substances

  • Adaptor Proteins, Signal Transducing
  • Cell Cycle Proteins
  • Chromatin
  • Hedgehog Proteins
  • Transcription Factors
  • YAP-Signaling Proteins
  • YAP1 protein, human
  • Yap1 protein, mouse
  • DNA Helicases
  • HELLS protein, human
  • Hells protein, mouse