title: Targeting the chromatin remodeling enzyme BRG1 increases the efficacy of chemotherapy drugs in breast cancer cells.
abstract: Brahma related gene product 1 (BRG1) is an ATPase that drives the catalytic activity of a subset of the mammalian SWI/SNF chromatin remodeling enzymes. BRG1 is overexpressed in most human breast cancer tumors without evidence of mutation and is required for breast cancer cell proliferation. We demonstrate that knockdown of BRG1 sensitized triple negative breast cancer cells to chemotherapeutic drugs used to treat breast cancer. An inhibitor of the BRG1 bromodomain had no effect on breast cancer cell viability, but an inhibitory molecule that targets the BRG1 ATPase activity recapitulated the increased drug efficacy observed in the presence of BRG1 knockdown. We further demonstrate that inhibition of BRG1 ATPase activity blocks the induction of ABC transporter genes by these chemotherapeutic drugs and that BRG1 binds to ABC transporter gene promoters. This inhibition increased intracellular concentrations of the drugs, providing a likely mechanism for the increased chemosensitivity. Since ABC transporters and their induction by chemotherapy drugs are a major cause of chemoresistance and treatment failure, these results support the idea that targeting the enzymatic activity of BRG1 would be an effective adjuvant therapy for breast cancer.
authors.affiliation: Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, MA, USA.
authors.forename: Qiong
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.affiliation: School of Life Sciences, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, Delhi, India.
authors.forename: Soni
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Sharma
authors.affiliation: Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, MA, USA.|Abace Biotech Co Ltd., Yi Zhuang Biomedical Park, BDA, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Hang
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Cui
authors.affiliation: Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, MA, USA.
authors.forename: Scott E
authors.initials: SE
authors.lastname: LeBlanc
authors.affiliation: Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, MA, USA.
authors.forename: Hong
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: School of Life Sciences, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, Delhi, India.
authors.forename: Rohini
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Muthuswami
authors.affiliation: Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, MA, USA.
authors.forename: Jeffrey A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Nickerson
authors.affiliation: Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, MA, USA.
authors.forename: Anthony N
authors.initials: AN
authors.lastname: Imbalzano
mesh_terms: D000970:Antineoplastic Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D045744:Cell Line, Tumor; D002470:Cell Survival / Q000187:drug effects / Q000235:genetics; D042002:Chromatin Assembly and Disassembly; D004265:DNA Helicases / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D004791:Enzyme Inhibitors / Q000627:therapeutic use; D020869:Gene Expression Profiling / Q000379:methods; D015972:Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic / Q000187:drug effects / Q000235:genetics; D006801:Humans; D053208:Kaplan-Meier Estimate; D009687:Nuclear Proteins / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D034622:RNA Interference; D014157:Transcription Factors / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D064726:Triple Negative Breast Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D000970:Antineoplastic Agents; D004791:Enzyme Inhibitors; D009687:Nuclear Proteins; D014157:Transcription Factors; C084108:SMARCA4 protein, human; D004265:DNA Helicases
keywords: BRG1; SWI/SNF; breast cancer; drug transporters; epigenetics