DOT 1L methylates histone H3K79 and is aberrantly regulated in MLL ‐rearranged leukemia. Inhibitors have been developed to target DOT 1L activity in leukemia, but cellular mechanisms that regulate DOT 1L are still poorly understood. We have identified the histone deacetylase Rpd3 as a negative regulator of budding yeast Dot1. At its target genes, the transcriptional repressor Rpd3 restricts H3K79 methylation, explaining the absence of H3K79me3 at a subset of genes in the yeast genome. Similar to the crosstalk in yeast, inactivation of the murine Rpd3 homolog HDAC 1 in thymocytes led to an increase in H3K79 methylation. Thymic lymphomas that arise upon genetic deletion of Hdac1 retained the increased H3K79 methylation and were sensitive to reduced DOT 1L dosage. Furthermore, cell lines derived from Hdac1 Δ/Δ thymic lymphomas were sensitive to a DOT 1L inhibitor, which induced apoptosis. In summary, we identified an evolutionarily conserved crosstalk between HDAC 1 and DOT 1L with impact in murine thymic lymphoma development.

Androgen receptor (AR) inhibitors represent the mainstay of prostate cancer treatment. In a genome-wide CRISPR-Cas9 screen using LNCaP prostate cancer cells, loss of co-repressor TLE3 conferred resistance to AR antagonists apalutamide and enzalutamide. Genes differentially expressed upon TLE3 loss share AR as the top transcriptional regulator, and TLE3 loss rescued the expression of a subset of androgen-responsive genes upon enzalutamide treatment. GR expression was strongly upregulated upon AR inhibition in a TLE3-negative background. This was consistent with binding of TLE3 and AR at the GR locus. Furthermore, GR binding was observed proximal to TLE3/AR-shared genes. GR inhibition resensitized TLE3KO cells to enzalutamide. Analyses of patient samples revealed an association between TLE3 and GR levels that reflected our findings in LNCaP cells, of which the clinical relevance is yet to be determined. Together, our findings reveal a mechanistic link between TLE3 and GR-mediated resistance to AR inhibitors in human prostate cancer.

Cancer cells are frequently exposed to physiological stress conditions such as hypoxia and nutrient limitation. Escape from stress-induced apoptosis is one of the mechanisms used by malignant cells to survive unfavorable conditions. B-cell Translocation Gene 1 (BTG1) is a tumor suppressor that is frequently deleted in acute lymphoblastic leukemia and recurrently mutated in diffuse large B cell lymphoma. Moreover, low BTG1 expression levels have been linked to poor outcome in several solid tumors. How loss of BTG1 function contributes to tumor progression is not well understood. Here, using Btg1 knockout mice, we demonstrate that loss of Btg1 provides a survival advantage to primary mouse embryonic fibroblasts (MEFs) under stress conditions. This pro-survival effect involves regulation of Activating Transcription Factor 4 (ATF4), a key mediator of cellular stress responses. We show that BTG1 interacts with ATF4 and positively modulates its activity by recruiting the protein arginine methyl transferase PRMT1 to methylate ATF4 on arginine residue 239. We further extend these findings to B-cell progenitors, by showing that loss of Btg1 expression enhances stress adaptation of mouse bone marrow-derived B cell progenitors. In conclusion, we have identified the BTG1/PRMT1 complex as a new modifier of ATF4 mediated stress responses.

Neuroblastoma cell lines can differentiate upon treatment with retinoic acid (RA), a finding that provided the basis for the clinical use of RA to treat neuroblastoma. However, resistance to RA is often observed, which limits its clinical utility. Using a gain-of-function genetic screen, we identified an unexpected link between RA signaling and mastermindlike 3 (MAML3), a known transcriptional coactivator for NOTCH. Our findings indicate that MAML3 expression leads to the loss of activation of a subset of RA target genes, which hampers RA-induced differentiation and promotes resistance to RA. The regulatory DNA elements of this subset of RA target genes show overlap in binding of MAML3 and the RA receptor, suggesting a direct role for MAML3 in the regulation of these genes. In addition, MAML3 has RA-independent functions, including the activation of IGF1R and downstream AKT signaling via upregulation of IGF2, resulting in increased proliferation. These results demonstrate an important mechanistic role for MAML3 in proliferation and RA-mediated differentiation.Implications: MAML3 coordinates transcription regulation with receptor tyrosine kinase pathway activation, shedding new light on why this gene is mutated in multiple cancers.