We used Hi-C, imaging, proteomics, and polymer modeling to define rules of engagement for SMC (structural maintenance of chromosomes) complexes as cells refold interphase chromatin into rod-shaped mitotic chromosomes. First, condensin disassembles interphase chromatin loop organization by evicting or displacing extrusive cohesin. Second, condensin bypasses cohesive cohesins, thereby maintaining sister chromatid cohesion as sisters separate. Studies of mitotic chromosomes formed by cohesin, condensin II, and condensin I alone or in combination lead to refined models of mitotic chromosome conformation. In these models, loops are consecutive and not overlapping, implying that condensins stall upon encountering each other. The dynamics of Hi-C interactions and chromosome morphology reveal that during prophase, loops are extruded in vivo at ∼1 to 3 kilobases per second by condensins as they form a disordered discontinuous helical scaffold within individual chromatids.

Chromosome compaction is a key feature of mitosis and critical for accurate chromosome segregation. However, a precise quantitative analysis of chromosome geometry during mitotic progression is lacking. Here, we use volume electron microscopy to map, with nanometer precision, chromosomes from prometaphase through telophase in human RPE1 cells. During prometaphase, chromosomes acquire a smoother surface, their arms shorten, and the primary centromeric constriction is formed. The chromatin is progressively compacted, ultimately reaching a remarkable nucleosome concentration of over 750 µM in late prometaphase that remains relatively constant during metaphase and early anaphase. Surprisingly, chromosomes then increase their volume in late anaphase prior to deposition of the nuclear envelope. The plateau of total chromosome volume from late prometaphase through early anaphase described here is consistent with proposals that the final stages of chromatin condensation in mitosis involve a limit density, such as might be expected for a process involving phase separation.

Hereditary breast and ovarian cancer (HBOC) syndrome is a genetic condition that increases the risk of breast cancer by 80% and that of ovarian cancer by 40%. The most common pathogenic variants (PVs) causing HBOC occur in the BRCA1 gene, with more than 3850 reported mutations in the gene sequence. The prevalence of specific PVs in BRCA1 has increased across populations due to the effect of founder mutations. Therefore, when a founder mutation is identified, it becomes key to improving cancer risk characterization and effective screening protocols. The only founder mutation described in the Mexican population is the deletion of exons 9 to 12 of BRCA1 (BRCA1Δ9–12), and its description focuses on the gene sequence, but no transcription profiles have been generated for individuals who carry this gene. In this study, we describe the transcription profiles of cancer patients and healthy individuals who were heterozygous for PV BRCA1Δ9–12 by analyzing the differential expression of both alleles compared with the homozygous BRCA1 control group using RT–qPCR, and we describe the isoforms produced by the BRCA1 wild-type and BRCA1Δ9–12 alleles using nanopore long-sequencing. Using the Kruskal–Wallis test, our results showed a similar transcript expression of the wild-type allele between the healthy heterozygous group and the homozygous BRCA1 control group. An association between the recurrence and increased expression of both alleles in HBOC patients was also observed. An analysis of the sequences indicated four wild-type isoforms with diagnostic potential for discerning individuals who carry the PV BRCA1Δ9–12 and identifying which of them has developed cancer.

During mitosis, interphase chromatin is rapidly converted into rod-shaped mitotic chromosomes. Using Hi-C, imaging, proteomics and polymer modeling, we determine how the activity and interplay between loop-extruding SMC motors accomplishes this dramatic transition. Our work reveals rules of engagement for SMC complexes that are critical for allowing cells to refold interphase chromatin into mitotic chromosomes. We find that condensin disassembles interphase chromatin loop organization by evicting or displacing extrusive cohesin. In contrast, condensin bypasses cohesive cohesins, thereby maintaining sister chromatid cohesion while separating the sisters. Studies of mitotic chromosomes formed by cohesin, condensin II and condensin I alone or in combination allow us to develop new models of mitotic chromosome conformation. In these models, loops are consecutive and not overlapping, implying that condensins do not freely pass one another but stall upon encountering each other. The dynamics of Hi-C interactions and chromosome morphology reveal that during prophase loops are extruded in vivo at ~1-3 kb/sec by condensins as they form a disordered discontinuous helical scaffold within individual chromatids.

During mitosis, many cellular structures are organized to segregate the replicated genome to the daughter cells. Chromatin is condensed to shape a mitotic chromosome. A multiprotein complex known as kinetochore is organized on a specific region of each chromosome, the centromere, which is defined by the presence of a histone H3 variant called CENP-A. The cytoskeleton is re-arranged to give rise to the mitotic spindle that binds to kinetochores and leads to the movement of chromosomes. How chromatin regulates different activities during mitosis is not well known. The role of histone post-translational modifications (HPTMs) in mitosis has been recently revealed. Specific HPTMs participate in local compaction during chromosome condensation. On the other hand, HPTMs are involved in CENP-A incorporation in the centromere region, an essential activity to maintain centromere identity. HPTMs also participate in the formation of regulatory protein complexes, such as the chromosomal passenger complex (CPC) and the spindle assembly checkpoint (SAC). Finally, we discuss how HPTMs can be modified by environmental factors and the possible consequences on chromosome segregation and genome stability.

The long noncoding RNA (lncRNA) telomeric repeat-containing RNA (TERRA) has been associated with telomeric homeostasis, telomerase recruitment, and the process of chromosome healing; nevertheless, the impact of this association has not been investigated during the carcinogenic process. Determining whether changes in TERRA expression are a cause or a consequence of cell transformation is a complex task because studies are usually carried out using either cancerous cells or tumor samples. To determine the role of this lncRNA in cellular aging and chromosome healing, we evaluated telomeric integrity and TERRA expression during the establishment of a clone of untransformed myeloid cells. We found that reduced expression of TERRA disturbed the telomeric homeostasis of certain loci, but the expression of the lncRNA was affected only when the methylation of subtelomeric bivalent chromatin domains was compromised. We conclude that the disruption in TERRA homeostasis is a consequence of cellular transformation and that changes in its expression profile can lead to telomeric and genomic instability.

Ki-67 is one of the most famous marker proteins used by histologists to identify proliferating cells. Indeed, over 30 000 articles referring to Ki-67 are listed on PubMed. Here, we review some of the current literature regarding the protein. Despite its clinical importance, our knowledge of the molecular biology and biochemistry of Ki-67 is far from complete, and its exact molecular function(s) remain enigmatic. Furthermore, reports describing Ki-67 function are often contradictory, and it has only recently become clear that this proliferation marker is itself dispensable for cell proliferation. We discuss the unusual organization of the protein and its mRNA and how they relate to various models for its function. In particular, we focus on ways in which the intrinsically disordered structure of Ki-67 might aid in the assembly of the still-mysterious mitotic chromosome periphery compartment by controlling liquid–liquid phase separation of nucleolar proteins and RNAs.

Most eukaryotic centromeres are located within heterochromatic regions. Paradoxically, heterochromatin can also antagonize de novo centromere formation, and some centromeres lack it altogether. In order to investigate the importance of heterochromatin at centromeres, we used epigenetic engineering of a synthetic alphoid(tetO) human artificial chromosome (HAC), to which chimeric proteins can be targeted. By tethering the JMJD2D demethylase (also known as KDM4D), we removed heterochromatin mark H3K9me3 (histone 3 lysine 9 trimethylation) specifically from the HAC centromere. This caused no short-term defects, but long-term tethering reduced HAC centromere protein levels and triggered HAC mis-segregation. However, centromeric CENP-A was maintained at a reduced level. Furthermore, HAC centromere function was compatible with an alternative low-H3K9me3, high-H3K27me3 chromatin signature, as long as residual levels of H3K9me3 remained. When JMJD2D was released from the HAC, H3K9me3 levels recovered over several days back to initial levels along with CENP-A and CENP-C centromere levels, and mitotic segregation fidelity. Our results suggest that a minimal level of heterochromatin is required to stabilize mitotic centromere function but not for maintaining centromere epigenetic memory, and that a homeostatic pathway maintains heterochromatin at centromeres. This article has an associated First Person interview with the first authors of the paper.

ABSTRACT First Person is a series of interviews with the first authors of a selection of papers published in Journal of Cell Science, helping early-career researchers promote themselves alongside their papers. Nuno Martins, Fernanda Cisneros-Soberani and Elisa Pesenti are co-first authors on ‘H3K9me3 maintenance on a human artificial chromosome is required for segregation but not centromere epigenetic memory’, published in JCS. Nuno conducted the research described in this article while a PhD student in William C. Earnshaw's lab at the Wellcome Trust Centre for Cell Biology, University of Edinburgh, UK. He is now a postdoc in the lab of Ting Wu at Harvard Medical School, Boston, USA, where his research interests lie in the structural and dynamic chromatin regulation of the more mysterious regions of the cell nucleus, such as centromeres, repetitive elements and nucleoli. Fernanda conducted the research described in this article while a postdoc in William C. Earnshaw's lab. She is now an Investigadora en Ciencias Médicas in the lab of Luis Alonso Herrera at Instituto Nacional de Cancerología, México City, México, investigating the transcriptional regulation of microRNAs in breast cancer. Elisa is a postdoc/lab manager in the lab of William C. Earnshaw and is interested in developing human artificial chromosomes (HACs) by applying molecular and synthetic biology techniques to study chromosome segregation and epigenetics in human cells.

The cell cycle is strictly ordered to ensure faithful genome duplication and chromosome segregation. Control mechanisms establish this order by dictating when a cell transitions from one phase to the next. Much is known about the control of the G1/S, G2/M, and metaphase/anaphase transitions, but thus far, no control mechanism has been identified for the S/G2 transition. Here we show that cells transactivate the mitotic gene network as they exit the S phase through a CDK1 (cyclin-dependent kinase 1)-directed FOXM1 phosphorylation switch. During normal DNA replication, the checkpoint kinase ATR (ataxia-telangiectasia and Rad3-related) is activated by ETAA1 to block this switch until the S phase ends. ATR inhibition prematurely activates FOXM1, deregulating the S/G2 transition and leading to early mitosis, underreplicated DNA, and DNA damage. Thus, ATR couples DNA replication with mitosis and preserves genome integrity by enforcing an S/G2 checkpoint.

Abstract In this study we aim to identify new lncRNAs, using RNA-seq data, and study whether those transcripts could be involved in chromosomal instability in prostate cancer and propose new possible RNA-based biomarkers. Using RNA-seq data from two prostate cell lines, neoplastic and non-neoplastic, we have identified a new lncRNA adjacent to CEP55, a gene associated with chromosomal instability. This lncRNA, which we have named lncRNA-CEP55, is 1.6 kb long and it is downregulated in the neoplastic cell line; this is also seen in the adjacent coding gene, CEP55, where the expression decreases in the neoplastic line, suggesting an important role of this transcript in carcinogenesis. This new lncRNA could be regulating CEP55 expression in these cell lines. Changes in expression of CEP55 have been associated to chromosomal instability and cancer development in colon cancer cell lines. Another lncRNA with differential expression in both cell lines has been identified, lncRNA-RFC4. This lncRNA has been reported before; it is an annotated gene in the human genome GRCh38/hg38, but it has not been studied in cancer. This lncRNA is highly expressed in the neoplastic cell line whereas its expression is very low in the non-neoplastic cell line. This lncRNA is 4.3 kb away from RFC4 (Replication Factor C Subunit 4), a protein coding gene related to mismatch repair and DNA double-strand break repair, which has been associated with chromosomal instability. lncRNA-RFC4 could be playing an important role in the cis regulation of RFC4 gene. lncRNA-CEP55 and lncRNA-RFC4 are important targets of study because of their differential expression in prostate cell lines (neoplastic and non-neoplastic). These lncRNAs could be playing an essential role in regulating the expression of the adjacent genes related to chromosomal instability, a enabling characteristic that facilitates the acquisition of the hallmarks of cancer. Citation Format: Rogelio Montiel Manriquez, Cristian Gabriel Oliverio Arriaga Canon, Fernanda Cisneros Soberanis, Carlo César Cortés, Inti Alberto De La Rosa Velazquez, Luis Alonso Herrera Montalvo. Identification of lncRNAs involved in regulation of chromosome instability-associated genes in a prostate cancer model [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2018; 2018 Apr 14-18; Chicago, IL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2018;78(13 Suppl):Abstract nr 2474.

Spindle poisons activate the spindle assembly checkpoint and prevent mitotic exit until cells die or override the arrest. Several studies have focused on spindle poison-mediated cell death, but less is known about consequences in cells that survive a mitotic arrest. During mitosis, proteins such as CYCLIN B, SECURIN, BUB1 and SURVIVIN are degraded in order to allow mitotic exit, and these proteins are maintained at low levels in the next interphase. In contrast, exit from a prolonged mitosis depends only on degradation of CYCLIN B; it is not known whether the levels of other proteins decrease or remain high. Here, we analyzed the levels and localization of the BUB1 and SURVIVIN proteins in cells that escaped from a paclitaxel-mediated prolonged mitosis. We compared cells with a short arrest (HCT116 cells) with cells that spent more time in mitosis (HT29 cells) after paclitaxel treatment. BUB1 and SURVIVIN were not degraded and remained localized to the nuclei of HCT116 cells after a mitotic arrest. Moreover, BUB1 nuclear foci were observed; BUB1 did not colocalize with centromere proteins. In HT29 cells, the levels of BUB1 and SURVIVIN decreased during the arrest, and these proteins were not present in cells that reached the next interphase. Using time-lapse imaging, we observed morphological heterogeneity in HCT116 cells that escaped from the arrest; this heterogeneity was due to the cytokinesis-like mechanism by which the cells exited mitosis. Thus, our results show that high levels of BUB1 and SURVIVIN can be maintained after a mitotic arrest, which may promote resistance to cell death.

Purpose Downregulation of miR - 125b - 1 is associated with poor prognosis in breast cancer patients. In this work we investigated the effect of histone modifications on the regulation of this gene promoter. Methods and results We evaluated the enrichment of two histone modifications involved in gene repression, H3K9me3 and H3K27me3, on the miR - 125b - 1 promoter in two breast cancer cell lines, MCF7 (luminal A subtype) and MDA-MB-231 (triple-negative subtype), compared to the non-transformed breast cell line MCF10A. H3K27me3 and H3K9me3 were enriched in MCF7 and MDA-MB-231 cells, respectively. Next, we used an EZH2 inhibitor to examine the reactivation of miR - 125b - 1 in MCF7 cells and evaluated the transcriptional levels of pri-miR-125b-1 and mature miR-125b by qRT-PCR. pri-miRNA and mature miRNA transcripts were both increased after treatment of MCF7 cells with the EZH2 inhibitor, whereas no effect on miR - 125b - 1 expression levels was observed in MDA-MB-231 and MCF10A cells. We subsequently evaluated the effect of miR - 125b - 1 reactivation on the expression and protein levels of BAK1, a target of miR-125b. We observed 60 and 70 % decreases in the expression and protein levels of BAK1, respectively, compared to cells that were not treated with the EZH2 inhibitor. We over-expressed KDM4B/JMJD2B to reactivate this miRNA, resulting in a three-fold increase in miR-125b expression compared with the same cell line without KDM4B/JMJD2B over-expression. Conclusion The miR - 125b - 1 is repressed by different epigenetic mechanisms depending on the breast cancer subtype and that miR - 125b - 1 reactivation specifically eliminates the effect of repressive histone modifications on the expression of an pro-apoptotic target.

miR-125b-1 downregulates targets as ERBB2, BAK1 and ETS1. These targets are involved in cell proliferation, apoptosis and cell migration, respectively. Previous studies on tumor cells reveal that downregulation of miR-125b-1 is associated with poor prognosis in breast cancer patients. DNA methylation of the miR-125b-1 promoter can repress its expression, in addition, this promoter is embedded in an intermediate CpG island thus, DNA methylation and histone modifications could also affect its transcription. Repression by DNA methylation has been well characterized, but there is no information about the role of histone modifications in the regulation of miR-125b-1 promoter. We evaluated the enrichment of two histone modifications involved in gene repression, H3K9me3 and H3K27me3, on the miR-125b-1 promoter of two breast cancer cell lines, a luminal A, MCF 7, and a triple negative, MDA-MB-231, compared with a non-transformed breast cell line, MCF 10A. We found that breast cancer cell lines are enriched with H3K27me3 and H3K9me3 in MCF 7 and MDA-MB-231, respectively. Then, we focused on reactivating miR-125b-1 in MCF 7 using an EZH2 inhibitor. After the treatment with the EZH2 inhibitor, we evaluated the transcriptional levels of the pri-miR-125b-1 and the mature miR-125b by qRT-PCR. Our results suggest that transcripts, pri-miRNA and mature miRNA, increase their expression levels after the treatment in the MCF7 cell line, but not in the MDA-MB-231 and MCF 10A cell lines. Subsequently, we evaluated the BAK1 expression and protein levels to investigate whether the miR-125b-1 reactivation could affect some targets. We observed a 60% and 70% decrease in the expression and protein levels of after treatment with the EZH2 inhibitor. To determine if the H3K9me3 is involved on miR-125b-1 silencing in MDA-MB-231, we over-expressed KDM4B/JMJD2B to reactivate this miRNA. Then, we evaluated the transcript. A three-fold increase was observed compared. We conclude that the miR-125b-1 can be repressed by different epigenetic mechanisms depending on the breast cancer subtype; the miR-125b-1 reactivation by removing the repression histone modification marks affect the expression of BAK1, a pro-apoptotic target. Citation Format: Fernanda Cisneros-Soberanis, Marco Alonso Andonegui, Clementina Castro, Luis Alonso Herrera. Repression of miR-125b-1 by epigenetic mechanisms in breast cancer cell lines. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 107th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2016 Apr 16-20; New Orleans, LA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2016;76(14 Suppl):Abstract nr LB-171.

e22151 Background: Genetic and epigenetic alterations may promote the initiation or development of cancer. Global DNA hypomethylation and local hypermethylation have been observed, particularly in cell cycle control-associated genes, such as tumor suppressor genes like CTCF. The dissociation of CTCF is associated with hypermethylation of several promoters; its paralogue gene (BORIS) is normally expressed in testicular tissue during spermatogenesis. BORIS over-expression has been identified in multiple neoplasms such as melanoma, gynecological cancer, glioblastoma and – recently – breast cancer. The aim of this study was to characterize the methylation status of the promoter regions of CTCF and BORIS in samples from breast and ovarian cancer compared to non-neoplastic tissue, and correlate it to its expression. Methods: Tissue samples from breast and ovarian cancer, as well as healthy controls were analyzed by MS-PCR for CTCF and BORIS. BorismRNA expression was also analyzed by RT-PCR. Results: A total of 8 ovarian and 16 breast tumors, as well as 10 tumor-adjacent breast tissue samples were prospectively obtained. In non-neoplastic tissue, BORIS was found to be hypermethylated, while in ovarian tumors a loss of methylation was identified in 75% of the samples. The same phenomenon was observed in 68% of breast cancer samples when compared to non-neoplastic tissue. A correlation between loss of DNA methylation of the promoter and gene over-expression was found by RT-PCR, thus suggesting that methylation is an epigenetic phenomenon associated to the over-expression of the oncogene BORIS. The methylation analysis of CTCF did not show any differences between neoplastic and non-neoplastic tissue, suggesting that epigenetic changes mainly affect BORIS. Conclusions: Loss of methylation of the promoter region of BORIS is associated with the over-expression of the gene. No differences were found in the methylation status between healthy and neoplastic tissue for CTCF.

Background In cancer cells, transcriptional gene silencing has been associated with genetic and epigenetic defects. The disruption of DNA methylation patterns and covalent histone marks has been associated with cancer development. Until recently, microRNA (miRNA) gene silencing was not well understood. In particular, miR-125b1 has been suggested to be an miRNA with tumor suppressor activity, and it has been shown to be deregulated in various human cancers. In the present study, we evaluated the DNA methylation at the CpG island proximal to the transcription start site of miR-125b1 in cancer cell lines as well as in normal tissues and gynecological tumor samples. In addition, we analyzed the association of CTCF and covalent histone modifications at the miR-125b1 locus. Methods To assess the DNA methylation status of the miR-125b1, genomic DNA was transformed with sodium bisulfite, and then PCR-amplified with modified primers and sequenced. The miR-125b1 gene expression was analyzed by qRT-PCR using U6 as a control for constitutive gene expression. CTCF repressive histone marks abundance was evaluated by chromatin immunoprecipitation assays. Results The disruption of CTCF in breast cancer cells correlated with the incorporation of repressive histone marks such H3K9me3 and H3K27me3 as well as with aberrant DNA methylation patterns. To determine the effect of DNA methylation at the CpG island of miR-125b1 on the expression of this gene, we performed a qRT-PCR assay. We observed a significant reduction on the expression of miR-125b1 in cancer cells in comparison with controls, suggesting that DNA methylation at the CpG island might reduce miR-125b1 expression. These effects were observed in other gynecological cancers, including ovarian and cervical tumors. Conclusions A reduction of miR-125b1 expression in cancers, correlated with methylation, repressive histone marks and loss of CTCF binding at the promoter region.

Abstract In cancer cells, transcriptional gene silencing has been associated with genetic and epigenetic defects. The disruption of DNA methylation patterns and covalent histone marks has been associated with cancer development. Until recently, microRNA (miRNA) gene silencing was not well understood. In particular, miR-125b1 has been suggested to be a miRNA with tumor suppressor activity, and it has been shown to be deregulated in various human cancers. In this study, we characterized the promoter of the miR-125b1 and the modifications associated with gene silencing. We studied in silico the miR-125b1 locus to delimit the promoter region and then, we characterized the promoter activity by the luciferase assay, cloning a fragment in the 5′ extreme close to the transcriptional start site of the miR-125b1 gene. We found that this sequence has promoter activity and it is unidirectional. Subsequently, we analyzed the DNA methylation status in the CpG island promoter and found that it was methylated in breast cancer cell lines compared with a non-transformed breast cell line. To determine the effect of DNA methylation in the CpG island of miR-125b1 on the expression of this gene, we performed a qRT-PCR assay. We observed a significant reduction on the expression of miR-125b1 in cancer cells lines in comparison with a non-transformed cell line, suggesting that DNA methylation at the CpG island might reduce the expression of miR-125b1. Our data suggest that the fragment in the 5′ extreme close to the transcriptional start site of the miR-125b1 gene is a functional and unidirectional promoter. Also, the CpG island in this region is methylated in breast cancer cell lines and this methylation is associated with the silencing of the miR-125b1 gene. This work was supported by the Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnología (CONACyT: 83959) and the Programa de Apoyo a Proyectos de Investigación e Innovación Tecnológica of the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (PAPIIT, IN213311). Citation Format: {Authors}. {Abstract title} [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 103rd Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2012 Mar 31-Apr 4; Chicago, IL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2012;72(8 Suppl):Abstract nr 5041. doi:1538-7445.AM2012-5041