Histone H3K9 and H3K14 acetylation at the promoter of the LGALS9 gene is associated with mRNA levels in cervical cancer cells

• Published in: FEBS open bio Vol. 10; no. 11; pp. 2305 - 2315
• Main Authors: Armenta‐Castro, Erick, Reyes‐Vallejo, Tania, Máximo‐Sánchez, Daniel, Herrera‐Camacho, Irma, López‐López, Gustavo, Reyes‐Carmona, Sandra, Conde‐Rodríguez, Ileana, Ramírez‐Díaz, Ivonne, Aguilar‐Lemarroy, Adriana, Jave‐Suárez, Luis Felipe, Milflores‐Flores, Lorena, Santos‐Lopez, Gerardo, Reyes‐Leyva, Julio, Vallejo‐Ruiz, Verónica
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England John Wiley & Sons, Inc 01.11.2020; John Wiley and Sons Inc; Wiley
• Subjects: Acetylation; Biomarkers; Carbon dioxide; Cell adhesion & migration; Cell culture; Cervical cancer; Cervix; Chromatin; Deoxyribonucleic acid; DNA; DNA methylation; Epigenetics; galectin‐9; Gene expression; histone acetylation; Histones; Human papillomavirus; Hypoxanthine phosphoribosyltransferase; Immunocytochemistry; Immunofluorescence; Immunoprecipitation; LGALS9; mRNA; mRNA variants; Penicillin; Primers; promoter methylation; Streptomycin; Trypsin; United States > US; Germany; mRNA variants; LGALS9; promoter methylation; cervical cancer; histone acetylation; galectin-9
• ISSN: 2211-5463; 2211-5463
• DOI: 10.1002/2211-5463.12973

Altered expression of the LGALS9 gene has been reported for several cancer types. This study showed that increased histone acetylation at the LGALS9 promoter was associated with higher mRNA levels of LGALS9. In a nontumoral cell line, HaCaT, the LGALS9 gene presented higher levels of histone acetylation than in cervical cancer cells. Our work suggests that epigenetic mechanisms may regulate the expression of the LGALS9 gene during tumor transformation. Galectin‐9 levels have been reported to be altered in several cancer types, but the mechanism that regulates the expression of Galectin‐9 has not been clarified. Galectin‐9 is encoded by the LGALS9 gene, which gives rise to eight mRNA variants. The aims of this study were: (a) to identify the mRNA variants of LGALS9, (b) to characterize CpG methylation and H3K9 and H3K14 histone acetylation at the promoter of the LGALS9 gene, and (c) to characterize the relationship between these modifications and LGALS9 expression level in cervical cancer cells. All mRNA variants were detected in HaCaT (nontumoural keratinocytes) and SiHa cells, and seven were observed in HeLa cells. The promoter region of LGALS9 contains eight CpG dinucleotides. No hypermethylation pattern related to low LGALS9 expression was identified in tumour cells. Chromatin immunoprecipitation analysis demonstrated higher acetylation of H3K9ac and H3K14ac in HaCaT cells, which was related to higher mRNA levels. The presence of the mRNA variants suggests that alternative splicing may regulate the expression of galectin‐9 isoforms. The results of this study suggest that histone acetylation, but not promoter CpG methylation, may be involved in the transcriptional regulation of the LGALS9 gene.