The Role of Protein Methylation in Squamous Cell Carcinoma of the Head and Neck

Division Of Basic Sciences - Nci

Investigators

Linked publications & trials

Abstract

Squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck (SCCHN) is a significant public health concern affecting over 50,000 patients annually in the US. Recurrence rates in HPV-negative SCCHN are approximately 50%, while the median overall survival for patients with recurrent/metastatic disease is approximately 1 year, thus novel therapies are urgently needed. Protein lysine methyltransferases (PKMTs) are a class of histone modifiers that are mostly known to regulate the histone epigenome through methylation of specific histone lysine residues. With the advent of the Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA), PMTs were found to be mutated, amplified or overexpressed in SCCHN. The role of SMYD3 in SCCHN: In this project, we will assess the immunomodulatory and oncogenic functions of SMYD3 in SCCHN. To this purpose, we will be conducting CHIP-seq, ATAC-seq and RNA-seq to identify direct downstream targets of SMYD3, assess if it affects chromatin condensation and the enhancer activation status in SCCHN cells, as well as mouse experiments to evaluate the growth and tumor immunomodulatory effects of SMYD3.