Abstract
Histone methylation regulates normal stem cell fate decisions through a coordinated interplay between histone methyltransferases and demethylases at lineage specific genes. Malignant transformation is associated with aberrant accumulation of repressive histone modifications, such as polycomb mediated histone 3 lysine 27 (H3K27me3) resulting in a histone methylation mediated block to differentiation. The relevance, however, of histone demethylases in cancer remains less clear. We report that JMJD3, a H3K27me3 demethylase, is induced during differentiation of glioblastoma stem cells (GSCs), where it promotes a differentiation-like phenotype via chromatin dependent (INK4A/ARF locus activation) and chromatin independent (nuclear p53 protein stabilization) mechanisms. Our findings indicate that deregulation of JMJD3 may contribute to gliomagenesis via inhibition of the p53 pathway resulting in a block to terminal differentiation.
Original language | English (US) |
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Article number | e51407 |
Journal | PLoS One |
Volume | 7 |
Issue number | 12 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Dec 7 2012 |
Externally published | Yes |
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Agricultural and Biological Sciences(all)
- Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology(all)
- Medicine(all)