TP63 links chromatin remodeling and enhancer reprogramming to epidermal differentiation and squamous cell carcinoma development

• Published in: Cellular and molecular life sciences : CMLS Vol. 77; no. 21; pp. 4325 - 4346
• Main Authors: Yi, Mei, Tan, Yixin, Wang, Li, Cai, Jing, Li, Xiaoling, Zeng, Zhaoyang, Xiong, Wei, Li, Guiyuan, Li, Xiayu, Tan, Pingqing, Xiang, Bo
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Cham Springer International Publishing 01.11.2020; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Accessibility; Animals; Biochemistry; Biomedical and Life Sciences; Biomedicine; Carcinoma, Squamous Cell - genetics; Carcinoma, Squamous Cell - pathology; Cell Biology; Cell Differentiation; Chromatin - genetics; Chromatin Assembly and Disassembly; Chromatin remodeling; Differentiation; Enhancers; Epigenesis, Genetic; Epigenetics; Epithelial Cells - metabolism; Epithelial Cells - pathology; Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic; Humans; Landscape architecture; Life Sciences; Malignancy; Modulators; Organs; Post-transcription; Post-translation; Regulators; Review; Squamous cell carcinoma; Transcription Factors - genetics; Transcriptional Activation; Tumor Suppressor Proteins - genetics; Histone modification; Oncogene addiction; Epigenetic reprogramming; Basal cell; SWI/SNF complex; Ubiquitin–proteasome system
• ISSN: 1420-682X; 1420-9071
• DOI: 10.1007/s00018-020-03539-2

Squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) is an aggressive malignancy that can originate from various organs. TP63 is a master regulator that plays an essential role in epidermal differentiation. It is also a lineage-dependent oncogene in SCC. ΔNp63α is the prominent isoform of TP63 expressed in epidermal cells and SCC, and overexpression promotes SCC development through a variety of mechanisms. Recently, ΔNp63α was highlighted to act as an epidermal-specific pioneer factor that binds closed chromatin and enhances chromatin accessibility at epidermal enhancers. ΔNp63α coordinates chromatin-remodeling enzymes to orchestrate the tissue-specific enhancer landscape and three-dimensional high-order architecture of chromatin. Moreover, ΔNp63α establishes squamous-like enhancer landscapes to drive oncogenic target expression during SCC development. Importantly, ΔNp63α acts as an upstream regulator of super enhancers to activate a number of oncogenic transcripts linked to poor prognosis in SCC. Mechanistically, ΔNp63α activates genes transcription through physically interacting with a number of epigenetic modulators to establish enhancers and enhance chromatin accessibility. In contrast, ΔNp63α also represses gene transcription via interacting with repressive epigenetic regulators. ΔNp63α expression is regulated at multiple levels, including transcriptional, post-transcriptional, and post-translational levels. In this review, we summarize recent advances of p63 in epigenomic and transcriptional control, as well as the mechanistic regulation of p63.