The histone demethylase KDM4B is frequently overexpressed in various cancer types, and previous studies have indicated that the primary oncogenic function of KDM4B is its ability to demethylate H3K9me3 in different tumors, resulting in altered gene expression and genome instability. A genome-wide analysis to evaluate the effect of KDM4B on the global or local H3K9me3 level has not been performed. In this study, we assess whole-genome H3K9me3 distribution in cancer cells and find that H3K9me3 is largely enriched in long interspersed nuclear element-1 (LINE-1). A significant proportion of KDM4B-dependent H3K9me3 was located in evolutionarily young LINE-1 elements, which likely retain retrotransposition activity. Ectopic expression of KDM4B promoted LINE-1 expression, while depletion of KDM4B reduced it. Furthermore, KDM4B overexpression enhanced LINE-1 retrotransposition efficacy, copy number, and associated DNA damage, presumably via the histone demethylase activity of KDM4B. Breast cancer cell lines expressing high levels of KDM4B also exhibited increased LINE-1 expression and copy number compared with other cell lines. Pharmacologic inhibition of KDM4B significantly reduced LINE-1 expression and DNA damage in breast cancer cells with excessive KDM4B. Our study not only identifies KDM4B as a novel regulator of LINE-1, but it also suggests an unexpected oncogenic role for KDM4B overexpression in tumorigenesis, providing clues for the development of new cancer prevention strategies and therapies. SIGNIFICANCE: The histone demethylase KDM4B promotes tumorigenesis by inducing retrotransposition and DNA damage.
©2018 American Association for Cancer Research.