Endocrine resistance and breast cancer plasticity are controlled by CoREST

L Garcia-Martinez, AM Adams, HL Chan… - Nature structural & …, 2022 - nature.com
L Garcia-Martinez, AM Adams, HL Chan, Y Nakata, N Weich, S Stransky, Z Zhang
Nature structural & molecular biology, 2022nature.com
Resistance to cancer treatment remains a major clinical hurdle. Here, we demonstrate that
the CoREST complex is a key determinant of endocrine resistance and ER+ breast cancer
plasticity. In endocrine-sensitive cells, CoREST is recruited to regulatory regions co-bound
to ERα and FOXA1 to regulate the estrogen pathway. In contrast, during temporal
reprogramming towards a resistant state, CoREST is recruited to AP-1 sites. In
reprogrammed cells, CoREST favors chromatin opening, cJUN binding to chromatin, and …
Abstract
Resistance to cancer treatment remains a major clinical hurdle. Here, we demonstrate that the CoREST complex is a key determinant of endocrine resistance and ER+ breast cancer plasticity. In endocrine-sensitive cells, CoREST is recruited to regulatory regions co-bound to ERα and FOXA1 to regulate the estrogen pathway. In contrast, during temporal reprogramming towards a resistant state, CoREST is recruited to AP-1 sites. In reprogrammed cells, CoREST favors chromatin opening, cJUN binding to chromatin, and gene activation by controlling SWI/SNF recruitment independently of the demethylase activity of the CoREST subunit LSD1. Genetic and pharmacological CoREST inhibition reduces tumorigenesis and metastasis of endocrine-sensitive and endocrine-resistant xenograft models. Consistently, CoREST controls a gene signature involved in invasiveness in clinical breast tumors resistant to endocrine therapies. Our studies reveal CoREST functions that are co-opted to drive cellular plasticity and resistance to endocrine therapies and tumorigenesis, thus establishing CoREST as a potential therapeutic target for the treatment of advanced breast cancer.
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