The oncogenic MicroRNA Hsa-miR-155-5p targets the transcription factor ELK3 and links it to the hypoxia response

PLoS One. 2014 Nov 17;9(11):e113050. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0113050. eCollection 2014.

Abstract

The molecular response to hypoxia is a critical cellular process implicated in cancer, and a target for drug development. The activity of the major player, HIF1α, is regulated at different levels by various factors, including the transcription factor ELK3. The molecular mechanisms of this intimate connection remain largely unknown. Whilst investigating global ELK3-chromatin interactions, we uncovered an unexpected connection that involves the microRNA hsa-miR-155-5p, a hypoxia-inducible oncomir that targets HIF1α. One of the ELK3 chromatin binding sites, detected by Chromatin Immuno-Precipitation Sequencing (ChIP-seq) of normal Human Umbilical Vein Endothelial Cells (HUVEC), is located at the transcription start site of the MIR155HG genes that expresses hsa-miR-155-5p. We confirmed that ELK3 binds to this promoter by ChIP and quantitative polymerase chain reaction (QPCR). We showed that ELK3 and hsa-miR-155-5p form a double-negative regulatory loop, in that ELK3 depletion induced hsa-miR-155-5p expression and hsa-miR-155-5p expression decreased ELK3 expression at the RNA level through a conserved target sequence in its 3'-UTR. We further showed that the activities of hsa-miR-155-5p and ELK3 are functionally linked. Pathway analysis indicates that both factors are implicated in related processes, including cancer and angiogenesis. Hsa-miR-155-5p expression and ELK3 depletion have similar effects on expression of known ELK3 target genes, and on in-vitro angiogenesis and wound closure. Bioinformatic analysis of cancer RNA-seq data shows that hsa-miR-155-5p and ELK3 expression are significantly anti-correlated, as would be expected from hsa-miR-155-5p targeting ELK3 RNA. Finally, hypoxia (0% oxygen) down-regulates ELK3 mRNA in a microRNA and hsa-miR-155-5p dependent manner. These results tie ELK3 into the hypoxia response pathway through an oncogenic microRNA and into a circuit implicated in the dynamics of the hypoxic response. This crosstalk could be important for the development of new treatments for a range of pathologies.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • 3' Untranslated Regions
  • Animals
  • Base Sequence
  • Binding Sites
  • Cell Line
  • Chromatin / metabolism
  • Chromatin Immunoprecipitation
  • Gene Expression Regulation
  • High-Throughput Nucleotide Sequencing
  • Humans
  • Hypoxia / genetics*
  • Mice
  • MicroRNAs / chemistry
  • MicroRNAs / genetics*
  • Position-Specific Scoring Matrices
  • Protein Binding
  • Proto-Oncogene Proteins / genetics*
  • Proto-Oncogene Proteins / metabolism
  • Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-ets
  • RNA Interference*
  • RNA, Messenger / chemistry
  • RNA, Messenger / genetics
  • Transcription Factors / genetics*
  • Transcription Factors / metabolism

Substances

  • 3' Untranslated Regions
  • Chromatin
  • Elk3 protein, human
  • MIRN155 microRNA, human
  • MicroRNAs
  • Proto-Oncogene Proteins
  • Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-ets
  • RNA, Messenger
  • Transcription Factors

Associated data

  • GEO/GSE60156

Grants and funding

The authors are thankful for financial support from the Institut National du Cancer (INCa; HypoNet, PLBIO2010), the Association pour la Recherche sur le Cancer, the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), the Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale (INSERM), the Université de Strasbourg (UdS) and the Conférence de Coordination Interrégionale du Grand Est (CCIR-GE) de la Ligue Contre le Cancer. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.