The deubiquitination of histone H2A on lysine 119 by 2A-DUB/MYSM1, BAP1, USP16, and other enzymes is required for key cellular processes, including transcriptional activation, apoptosis, and cell cycle control, during normal hematopoiesis and tissue development, and in tumor cells. Based on our finding that MYSM1 colocalizes with γH2AX foci in human peripheral blood mononuclear cells, leukemia cells, and melanoma cells upon induction of DNA double-strand breaks with topoisomerase inhibitor etoposide, we applied a mass spectrometry-based proteomics approach to identify novel 2A-DUB/MYSM1 interaction partners in DNA-damage responses. Differential display of MYSM1 binding proteins significantly enriched after exposure of 293T cells to etoposide revealed an interacting network of proteins involved in DNA damage and replication, including factors associated with poor melanoma outcome.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: There is strong evidence for the effectiveness of addressing tobacco use in health care settings. However, few smokers receive cessation advice when visiting a hospital. Implementing smoking cessation technology in outpatient waiting rooms could be an effective strategy for change, with the potential to expose almost all patients visiting a health care provider without preluding physician action needed.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFOver the last decade, the treatment of tumor patients has been revolutionized by the highly successful introduction of novel targeted therapies, in particular small-molecule kinase inhibitors and monoclonal antibodies, as well as by immunotherapies. Depending on the mutational status, BRAF and MEK inhibitor combinations or immune checkpoint inhibitors are current first-line treatments for metastatic melanoma. However, despite great improvements of survival rates limitations due to tumor heterogeneity, primary and acquired therapy resistance, immune evasion, and economical considerations will need to be overcome.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFHistone modifying enzymes, such as histone deacetylases (HDACs) and polycomb repressive complex (PRC) components, have been implicated in regulating tumor growth, epithelial-mesenchymal transition, tumor stem cell maintenance, or repression of tumor suppressor genes - and may be promising targets for combination therapies of melanoma and other cancers. According to recent findings, the histone H2A deubiquitinase 2A-DUB/Mysm1 interacts with the p53-axis in hematopoiesis and tissue differentiation in mice, in part by modulating DNA-damage responses in stem cell and progenitor compartments. Based on the identification of alterations in skin pigmentation and melanocyte specification in Mysm1-deficient mice, we hypothesized that MYSM1 may be involved in melanoma formation.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF