BCL6 evolved to enable stress tolerance in vertebrates and is broadly required by cancer cells to adapt to stress

Tharu M. Fernando, Rossella Marullo, Benet Pera Gresely, Jude M. Phillip, Shao Ning Yang, Geoffrey Lundell-Smith, Ingrid Torregroza, Haelee Ahn, Todd Evans, Balázs Győrffy, Gilbert G. Privé, Masayuki Hirano, Ari M. Melnick, Leandro Cerchietti

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

Several lines of evidence link the canonical oncogene BCL6 to stress response. Here we demonstrate that BCL6 evolved in vertebrates as a component of the HSF1-driven stress response, which has been co-opted by the immune system to support germinal center formation and may have been decisive in the convergent evolution of humoral immunity in jawless and jawed vertebrates. We find that the highly conserved BTB corepressor binding site of BCL6 mediates stress adaptation across vertebrates. We demonstrate that pan-cancer cells hijack this stress tolerance mechanism to aberrantly express BCL6. Targeting the BCL6 BTB domain in cancer cells induces apoptosis and increases susceptibility to repeated doses of cytotoxic therapy. The chemosensitization effect upon BCL6 BTB inhibition is dependent on the derepression of TOX, implicating modulation of DNA repair as a downstream mechanism. Collectively, these data suggest a form of adaptive nononco-gene addiction rooted in the natural selection of BCL6 during vertebrate evolution.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)662-679
Number of pages18
JournalCancer discovery
Volume9
Issue number5
DOIs
StatePublished - May 2019
Externally publishedYes

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Oncology

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