Abstract
A rare germline duplication upstream of the bone morphogenetic protein antagonist GREM1 causes a Mendelian-dominant predisposition to colorectal cancer (CRC). The underlying disease mechanism is strong, ectopic GREM1 overexpression in the intestinal epithelium. Here, we confirm that a common GREM1 polymorphism, rs16969681, is also associated with CRC susceptibility, conferring ∼20% differential risk in the general population. We hypothesized the underlying cause to be moderate differences in GREM1 expression. We showed that rs16969681 lies in a region of active chromatin with allele- and tissue-specific enhancer activity. The CRC high-risk allele was associated with stronger gene expression, and higher Grem1 mRNA levels increased the intestinal tumor burden in ApcMin mice. The intestine-specific transcription factor CDX2 and Wnt effector TCF7L2 bound near rs16969681, with significantly higher affinity for the risk allele, and CDX2 overexpression in CDX2/GREM1-negative cells caused re-expression of GREM1. rs16969681 influences CRC risk through effects on Wnt-driven GREM1 expression in colorectal tumors.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 983-990 |
Number of pages | 8 |
Journal | Cell Reports |
Volume | 8 |
Issue number | 4 |
Early online date | 14 Aug 2014 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 21 Aug 2014 |
Keywords
- Animals
- Base Sequence
- CDX2 Transcription Factor
- Cell Line, Tumor
- Colonic Neoplasms/genetics
- Enhancer Elements, Genetic
- Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic
- Genetic Association Studies
- Genetic Predisposition to Disease
- Homeodomain Proteins/metabolism
- Humans
- Intercellular Signaling Peptides and Proteins/genetics
- Mice, Transgenic
- Organ Specificity
- Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide
- Risk
- Transcription Factor 7-Like 2 Protein/metabolism