STAT3 acts through pre-existing nucleosome-depleted regions bound by FOS during an epigenetic switch linking inflammation to cancer

Transient induction of the Src oncoprotein in a non-transformed breast cell line can initiate an epigenetic switch to a cancer cell via a positive feedback loop that involves activation of the signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 protein (STAT3) and NF-κB transcription factors.

These observations uncover additional complexities to the inflammatory feedback loop that are likely to contribute to the epigenetic switch. In addition, gene expression changes during transformation, whether driven by pre-existing or induced transcription factors, occur largely through pre-existing nucleosome-depleted regions.

We show that during the transformation process, nucleosome-depleted regions (defined by formaldehyde-assisted isolation of regulatory elements (FAIRE)) are largely unchanged and that both before and during transformation, STAT3 binds almost exclusively to previously open chromatin regions. Roughly, a third of the transformation-inducible genes require STAT3 for the induction. STAT3 and NF-κB appear to drive the regulation of different gene sets during the transformation process. Interestingly, STAT3 directly regulates the expression of NFKB1, which encodes a subunit of NF-κB, and IL6, a cytokine that stimulates STAT3 activity. Lastly, many STAT3 binding sites are also bound by FOS and the expression of several AP-1 factors is altered during transformation in a STAT3-dependent manner, suggesting that STAT3 may cooperate with AP-1 proteins. Conclusions: These observations uncover additional complexities to the inflammatory feedback loop that are likely to contribute to the epigenetic switch. In addition, gene expression changes during transformation, whether driven by pre-existing or induced transcription factors, occur largely through pre-existing nucleosome-depleted regions.