Open AccessBmi1 regulates cell fate via tumor suppressor WWOX repression in small‐cell lung cancer cells
Author(s) -
Kimura Masaki,
Takenobu Hisanori,
Akita Nobuhiro,
Nakazawa Atsuko,
Ochiai Hidemasa,
Shimozato Osamu,
Fujimura Yuichi,
Koseki Haruhiko,
Yoshino Ichiro,
Kimura Hideki,
Nakagawara Akira,
Kamijo Takehiko
Publication year - 2011
Publication title -
cancer science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.035
H-Index - 141
eISSN - 1349-7006
pISSN - 1347-9032
DOI - 10.1111/j.1349-7006.2011.01891.x
Subject(s) - wwox , bmi1 , cancer research , lung cancer , biology , epigenetics , cancer stem cell , cell growth , cancer , dna methylation , chromatin immunoprecipitation , suppressor , pathology , medicine , genetics , gene expression , gene , promoter
Mortality from lung cancer is important worldwide. Recently, epigenetic aberration of lung cancer, not only genomic DNA methylation but also chromatin modification, has become an important target for lung cancer research, although previous research has demonstrated that lung cancer develops as a result of both environmental and genetic factors. Here, we demonstrated that an epigenetic regulator/polycomb group protein Bmi1 is more highly expressed in small‐cell lung cancer (SCLC) than in non‐small‐cell lung cancer by immunohistochemical analysis. In vitro experiments indicated that Bmi1 reduction by lentivirus‐derived shRNA significantly suppressed proliferation, colony formation and in vivo tumor formation. Importantly, apoptosis was induced by Bmi1 depletion in small‐cell lung cancer cells. Furthermore, a tumor suppressor WWOX was identified as a Bmi1 target in the cells by a chromatin immunoprecipitation assay and a quantitative real‐time PCR assay; WWOX had a role as a tumor suppressor in SCLC cells; therefore, the Bmi1/WWOX pathway could be a new candidate for a new therapeutic approach for SCLC. ( Cancer Sci 2011; 102: 983–990)