Abstract
It has been well established that the von Hippel-Lindau/hypoxia-inducible factor α (VHL-HIFα) axis and epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) signaling pathway play a critical role in the pathogenesis and progression of renal cell carcinoma (RCC). However, few studies have addressed the relationship between the two oncogenic drivers in RCC. SET and MYND domain-containing protein 3 (SMYD3) is a histone methyltransferase involved in gene transcription and oncogenesis, but its expression and function in RCC remain unclear. In the present study, we found that SMYD3 expression was significantly elevated in RCC tumors and correlated with advanced tumor stage, histological and nuclear grade, and shorter survival. Depletion of SMYD3 inhibited RCC cell proliferation, colony numbers, and xenograft tumor formation, while promoted apoptosis. Mechanistically, SMYD3 cooperates with SP1 to transcriptionally promote EGFR expression, amplifying its downstream signaling activity. TCGA data analyses revealed a significantly increased SMYD3 expression in primary RCC tumors carrying the loss-of-function VHL mutations. We further showed that HIF-2α can directly bind to the SMYD3 promoter and subsequently induced SMYD3 transcription and expression. Taken together, we identify the VHL/HIF-2α/SMYD3 signaling cascade-mediated EGFR hyperactivity through which SMYD3 promotes RCC progression. Our study suggests that SMYD3 is a potential therapeutic target and prognostic factor in RCC.
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Acknowledgements
The study was funded by Peking University Medicine Fund of Fostering Young Scholars’ Scientific and Technological Innovation BMU2018PY003; the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Nos: 81711530048, 81572515, 81672522, and 81972381); Peking University Third Hospital Clinical Research Fund BYSY2018062 and BYSY2018012; the Fundamental Research funds for the Central Universities (No. 2020-JYB-XJSJJ-031); the Swedish Cancer Society, the Swedish Research Council, and Cancer Society in Stockholm.
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Liu, C., Liu, L., Wang, K. et al. VHL-HIF-2α axis-induced SMYD3 upregulation drives renal cell carcinoma progression via direct trans-activation of EGFR. Oncogene 39, 4286–4298 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41388-020-1291-7
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41388-020-1291-7
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