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Research Paper|Volume 11, Issue 23|pp 11722—11755

Histone proteomics reveals novel post-translational modifications in breast cancer

Angela Mena Perri1, Valter Agosti2, Erika Olivo1, Antonio Concolino1, MariaTeresa De Angelis3, Laura Tammè1, Claudia Vincenza Fiumara1, Giovanni Cuda1, Domenica Scumaci1
  • 1Laboratory of Proteomics, Research Center on Advanced Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Department of Experimental and Clinical Medicine, Magna Græcia University of Catanzaro, Salvatore Venuta University Campus, Catanzaro, Italy
  • 2Laboratory of Molecular Oncology, Department of Experimental and Clinical Medicine, Magna Graecia University, Catanzaro, Italy, CIS for Genomics and Molecular Pathology, Magna Graecia University, Catanzaro, Italy
  • 3Stem Cell Laboratory, Research Center of Advanced Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Department of Experimental and Clinical Medicine University “Magna Graecia” of Catanzaro, Salvatore Venuta University Campus, Catanzaro, Italy
* Co-first authors
# Co-senior authors
Received: March 25, 2019Accepted: November 26, 2019Published: December 8, 2019
https://doi.org/10.18632/aging.102577

Copyright © 2019 Perri et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY 3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.

Abstract

Histones and their variants are subjected to several post-translational modifications (PTMs). Histones PTMs play an important role in the regulation of gene expression and are critical for the development and progression of many types of cancer, including breast cancer. In this study, we used two-dimensional TAU/SDS electrophoresis, coupled with mass spectrometry for a comprehensive profiling of histone PTMs in breast cancer cell lines.

Proteomic approach allowed us to identify 85 histone PTMs, seventeen of which are not reported in the UniProt database. Western blot analysis was performed to confirm a peculiar pattern of PTMs in the sporadic and hereditary breast cancer cell lines compared to normal cells. Overlapping mass spectrometry data with western blotting results, we identified, for the first time to our knowledge, a tyrosine phosphorylation on histone H1, which is significantly higher in breast cancer cells. Additionally, by inhibiting specific signaling paths, such as PI3K, PPARγ and FAK pathways, we established a correlation between their regulation and the presence of new histone PTMs. Our results may provide new insight on the possible implication of these modifications in breast cancer and may offer new perspectives for future clinical applications.