Enhancer reprogramming driven by high-order assemblies of transcription factors promotes phenotypic plasticity and breast cancer endocrine resistance

Nat Cell Biol. 2020 Jun;22(6):701-715. doi: 10.1038/s41556-020-0514-z. Epub 2020 May 18.

Abstract

Acquired therapy resistance is a major problem for anticancer treatment, yet the underlying molecular mechanisms remain unclear. Using an established breast cancer cellular model, we show that endocrine resistance is associated with enhanced phenotypic plasticity, indicated by a general downregulation of luminal/epithelial differentiation markers and upregulation of basal/mesenchymal invasive markers. Consistently, similar gene expression changes are found in clinical breast tumours and patient-derived xenograft samples that are resistant to endocrine therapies. Mechanistically, the differential interactions between oestrogen receptor α and other oncogenic transcription factors, exemplified by GATA3 and AP1, drive global enhancer gain/loss reprogramming, profoundly altering breast cancer transcriptional programs. Our functional studies in multiple culture and xenograft models reveal a coordinated role of GATA3 and AP1 in re-organizing enhancer landscapes and regulating cancer phenotypes. Collectively, our study suggests that differential high-order assemblies of transcription factors on enhancers trigger genome-wide enhancer reprogramming, resulting in transcriptional transitions that promote tumour phenotypic plasticity and therapy resistance.

Publication types

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

MeSH terms

  • Adaptation, Physiological*
  • Animals
  • Antineoplastic Agents, Hormonal / pharmacology
  • Apoptosis
  • Breast Neoplasms / drug therapy*
  • Breast Neoplasms / metabolism
  • Breast Neoplasms / pathology
  • Cell Proliferation
  • Cellular Reprogramming*
  • Drug Resistance, Neoplasm*
  • Estrogen Receptor alpha / genetics
  • Estrogen Receptor alpha / metabolism
  • Female
  • GATA3 Transcription Factor / genetics
  • GATA3 Transcription Factor / metabolism*
  • Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic*
  • Humans
  • Mice
  • Mice, Nude
  • Tamoxifen / pharmacology
  • Transcription Factor AP-1 / genetics
  • Transcription Factor AP-1 / metabolism*
  • Transcriptional Activation
  • Tumor Cells, Cultured
  • Xenograft Model Antitumor Assays

Substances

  • Antineoplastic Agents, Hormonal
  • ESR1 protein, human
  • Estrogen Receptor alpha
  • GATA3 Transcription Factor
  • GATA3 protein, human
  • Transcription Factor AP-1
  • Tamoxifen