HNRNPU promotes the progression of hepatocellular carcinoma by enhancing CDK2 transcription
- The Key Laboratory of Molecular Biology of Infectious Diseases Designated By the Chinese Ministry of Education, Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing (China)
- Affiliated Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital, Southwest Medical University, Luzhou, 646000 (China)
Highlights: • The expression of HNRNPU is upregulated in hepatocellular carcinoma. • HNRNPU knockdown significantly inhibits HCC cell proliferation. • HNRNPU knockdown induces cell cycle arrest. • HNRNPU regulates CDK2 transcription by directly binding to the CDK2 gene locus. The nuclear matrix-associated protein Heterogeneous Nuclear Ribonucleoprotein U (HNRNPU), also known as SAF-A, is known to maintain active chromatin structure in mouse hepatocytes. However, the functional roles and molecular mechanisms of HNRNPU in the development of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) remain largely unknown. Herein, we found that HNRNPU was upregulated in HCC, and the proliferation of HCC cells was inhibited in vitro and in vivo upon HNRNPU knockdown. Moreover, the upregulation of HNRNPU was correlated with poor prognosis in HCC. Mechanistically, HNRNPU bound to the CDK2 gene locus, a key factor in cell cycle regulation, where it was enriched with H3K27 acetylation (H3K27ac), H3K9 acetylation (H3K9ac), and H3K4 mono-methylation (H3K4me1). Furthermore, HNRNPU knockdown reduced the levels of H3K27ac and H3K9ac at the binding site, where the levels of H3K27 tri-methylation (H3K27me3) were increased, eventually leading to the downregulation of CDK2. Collectively, our results provide a new mechanism whereby HNRNPU promotes HCC development by enhancing the transcription of CDK2.
- OSTI ID:
- 23195434
- Journal Information:
- Experimental Cell Research, Vol. 409, Issue 1; Other Information: Copyright (c) 2021 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc.; Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 0014-4827
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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