Abstract 2319: Histone demethylase JMJD2C is a coactivator for hypoxia-inducible factor 1 that is required for breast cancer progression.

Abstract Hypoxia-inducible factor 1 (HIF-1) activates transcription of genes encoding proteins that play key roles in breast cancer biology. We hypothesized that interaction of HIF-1 with epigenetic regulators may increase HIF-1 transcriptional activity and thereby promote breast cancer progression. We report that the histone demethylase jumonji domain containing protein 2C (JMJD2C) selectively interacts with HIF-1α, but not HIF-2α, and that HIF-1α mediates recruitment of JMJD2C to the hypoxia response elements (HREs) of HIF-1 target genes. JMJD2C decreases trimethylation of histone H3 at lysine 9, and enhances HIF-1 binding to HREs, thereby activating transcription of BNIP3, LDHA,PDK1, and SLC2A1, which encode proteins that are required for metabolic reprogramming, as well as LOXL2 and L1CAM, which encode proteins that are required for lung metastasis. JMJD2C expression is significantly associated with expression of GLUT1, LDHA, PDK1, LOX, LOXL2, and L1CAM mRNA in human breast cancer biopsies. JMJD2C knockdown inhibits breast tumor growth and spontaneous metastasis to the lungs of mice following mammary fat pad injection. Taken together, these findings establish a novel epigenetic mechanism that stimulates HIF-1-mediated transactivation of genes encoding proteins involved in metabolic reprogramming and lung metastasis in breast cancer. Citation Format: Weibo Luo, Ryan Chang, Jun Zhong, Akhilesh Pandey, Gregg L. Semenza. Histone demethylase JMJD2C is a coactivator for hypoxia-inducible factor 1 that is required for breast cancer progression. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 104th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2013 Apr 6-10; Washington, DC. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2013;73(8 Suppl):Abstract nr 2319. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2013-2319