The NuRD-SWI/SNF antagonism regulates the coordinated activation of EMT and inflammation in oral cancer.

Abstract

Phenotypic plasticity and inflammation, two well-established hallmarks of cancer, play key roles in local invasion and distant metastasis by enabling the rapid adaptation of tumor cells to dynamic micro-environmental changes. Here, we show that in oral squamous carcinoma cell carcinoma (OSCC), the competition between the NuRD and SWI/SNF chromatin remodeling complexes plays a pivotal role in regulating both epithelial-mesenchymal plasticity (EMP) and inflammation. By perturbing these complexes, we demonstrated their opposing downstream effects on the inflammatory pathways and EMP regulation. In particular, downregulation of the BRG1-specific SWI/SNF complex deregulates key inflammatory genes, such as TNF-α and IL6, in opposite ways when compared with the loss of CDK2AP1, a key member of the NuRD complex. We showed that CDK2AP1 genetic ablation triggers a pro-inflammatory secretome encompassing several chemokines and cytokines, thus promoting the recruitment of monocytes into the tumor microenvironment (TME). Furthermore, CDK2AP1 deletion stimulates their differentiation into M2-like macrophages, as validated on tumor microarrays from OSCC patient-derived tumor samples. Further analysis of the inverse correlation between CDK2AP1 expression and TME immune infiltration revealed specific downstream effects on the abundance and localization of CD68+ macrophages. Our study sheds light on the role of chromatin remodeling complexes in OSCC locoregional invasion and highlights the potential of CDK2AP1 and other members of NuRD and SWI/SNF chromatin remodeling complexes as prognostic markers and therapeutic targets.