title: Small RNAs targeting transcription start site induce heparanase silencing through interference with transcription initiation in human cancer cells.
abstract: Heparanase (HPA), an endo-h-D-glucuronidase that cleaves the heparan sulfate chain of heparan sulfate proteoglycans, is overexpressed in majority of human cancers. Recent evidence suggests that small interfering RNA (siRNA) induces transcriptional gene silencing (TGS) in human cells. In this study, transfection of siRNA against -9/+10 bp (siH3), but not -174/-155 bp (siH1) or -134/-115 bp (siH2) region relative to transcription start site (TSS) locating at 101 bp upstream of the translation start site, resulted in TGS of heparanase in human prostate cancer, bladder cancer, and gastric cancer cells in a sequence-specific manner. Methylation-specific PCR and bisulfite sequencing revealed no DNA methylation of CpG islands within heparanase promoter in siH3-transfected cells. The TGS of heparanase did not involve changes of epigenetic markers histone H3 lysine 9 dimethylation (H3K9me2), histone H3 lysine 27 trimethylation (H3K27me3) or active chromatin marker acetylated histone H3 (AcH3). The regulation of alternative splicing was not involved in siH3-mediated TGS. Instead, siH3 interfered with transcription initiation via decreasing the binding of both RNA polymerase II and transcription factor II B (TFIIB), but not the binding of transcription factors Sp1 or early growth response 1, on the heparanase promoter. Moreover, Argonaute 1 and Argonaute 2 facilitated the decreased binding of RNA polymerase II and TFIIB on heparanase promoter, and were necessary in siH3-induced TGS of heparanase. Stable transfection of the short hairpin RNA construct targeting heparanase TSS (-9/+10 bp) into cancer cells, resulted in decreased proliferation, invasion, metastasis and angiogenesis of cancer cells in vitro and in athymic mice models. These results suggest that small RNAs targeting TSS can induce TGS of heparanase via interference with transcription initiation, and significantly suppress the tumor growth, invasion, metastasis and angiogenesis of cancer cells.
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, Union Hospital of Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hubei Province, China.
authors.forename: Guosong
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Jiang
authors.forename: Liduan
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Zheng
authors.forename: Jiarui
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Pu
authors.forename: Hong
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Mei
authors.forename: Jun
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Zhao
authors.forename: Kai
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.forename: Fuqing
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Zeng
authors.forename: Qiangsong
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Tong
mesh_terms: D000107:Acetylation; D060565:Argonaute Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D002448:Cell Adhesion; D045744:Cell Line, Tumor; D049109:Cell Proliferation; D019175:DNA Methylation / Q000235:genetics; D039642:Eukaryotic Initiation Factors / Q000378:metabolism; D015972:Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic; D005966:Glucuronidase / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D006657:Histones / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D009361:Neoplasm Invasiveness; D009362:Neoplasm Metastasis; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000098:blood supply / Q000201:enzymology* / Q000235:genetics* / Q000473:pathology; D009389:Neovascularization, Pathologic; D011401:Promoter Regions, Genetic / Q000235:genetics; D034622:RNA Interference; D034741:RNA, Small Interfering / Q000378:metabolism*; D024363:Transcription Initiation Site; D014158:Transcription, Genetic; D014162:Transfection; D000099175:Heparanase
chemical_list: D060565:Argonaute Proteins; D039642:Eukaryotic Initiation Factors; D005966:Glucuronidase; D006657:Histones; D034741:RNA, Small Interfering; D000099175:Heparanase; C115848:AGO1 protein, human; C466422:AGO2 protein, human