LMTK3 confers chemo-resistance in breast cancer

Lemur tyrosine kinase 3 (LMTK3) is an oncogenic kinase that is involved in different types of cancer (breast, lung, gastric, colorectal) and biological processes including proliferation, invasion, migration, chromatin remodeling as well as innate and acquired endocrine resistance. However, the role of LMTK3 in response to cytotoxic chemotherapy has not been investigated thus far. Using both 2D and 3D tissue culture models, we found that overexpression of LMTK3 decreased the sensitivity of breast cancer cell lines to cytotoxic (doxorubicin) treatment. In a mouse model we showed that ectopic overexpression of LMTK3 decreases the efficacy of doxorubicin in reducing tumor growth. Interestingly, breast cancer cells overexpressing LMTK3 delayed the generation of double strand breaks (DSBs) after exposure to doxorubicin, as measured by the formation of γH2AX foci. This effect was at least partly mediated by decreased activity of ataxia-telangiectasia mutated kinase (ATM) as indicated by its reduced phosphorylation levels. In addition, our RNA-seq analyses showed that doxorubicin differentially regulated the expression of over 700 genes depending on LMTK3 protein expression levels. Furthermore, these genes were found to promote DNA repair, cell viability and tumorigenesis processes / pathways in LMTK3-overexpressing MCF7 cells. In human cancers, immunohistochemistry staining of LMTK3 in pre- and postchemotherapy breast tumor pairs from four separate clinical cohorts revealed a significant increase of LMTK3 following both doxorubicin and docetaxel based chemotherapy. In aggregate, our findings show for the first time a contribution of LMTK3 in cytotoxic drug resistance in breast cancer

Loss of H3K9me3 Correlates with ATM Activation and Histone H2AX Phosphorylation Deficiencies in Hutchinson-Gilford Progeria Syndrome

Compelling evidence suggests that defective DNA damage response (DDR) plays a key role in the premature aging phenotypes in Hutchinson-Gilford progeria syndrome (HGPS). Studies document widespread alterations in histone modifications in HGPS cells, especially, the global loss of histone H3 trimethylated on lysine 9 (H3K9me3). In this study, we explore the potential connection(s) between H3K9me3 loss and the impaired DDR in HGPS. When cells are exposed to a DNA-damaging agent Doxorubicin (Dox), double strand breaks (DSBs) are generated that result in the phosphorylation of histone H2A variant H2AX (gammaH2AX) within an hour. We find that the intensities of gammaH2AX foci appear significantly weaker in the G0/G1 phase HGPS cells compared to control cells. This reduction is associated with a delay in the recruitment of essential DDR factors. We further demonstrate that ataxia-telangiectasia mutated (ATM) is responsible for the amplification of gammaH2AX signals at DSBs during G0/G1 phase, and its activation is inhibited in the HGPS cells that display significant loss of H3K9me3. Moreover, methylene (MB) blue treatment, which is known to save heterochromatin loss in HGPS, restores H3K9me3, stimulates ATM activity, increases gammaH2AX signals and rescues deficient DDR. In summary, this study demonstrates an early DDR defect of attenuated gammaH2AX signals in G0/G1 phase HGPS cells and provides a plausible connection between H3K9me3 loss and DDR deficiency