articleProceedings of the National Academy of SciencesMar 21, 2016BRONZE OA

Hypoxia induces the breast cancer stem cell phenotype by HIF-dependent and ALKBH5-mediated m 6 A-demethylation of NANOG mRNA

Johns Hopkins University · Sun Yat-sen University · +3 more institutions

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Abstract

N(6)-methyladenosine (m(6)A) modification of mRNA plays a role in regulating embryonic stem cell pluripotency. However, the physiological signals that determine the balance between methylation and demethylation have not been described, nor have studies addressed the role of m(6)A in cancer stem cells. We report that exposure of breast cancer cells to hypoxia stimulated hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF)-1α- and HIF-2α-dependent expression of AlkB homolog 5 (ALKBH5), an m(6)A demethylase, which demethylated NANOG mRNA, which encodes a pluripotency factor, at an m(6)A residue in the 3'-UTR. Increased NANOG mRNA and protein expression, and the breast cancer stem cell (BCSC) phenotype, were induced by hypoxia in an…

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