macroH2A2 shapes chromatin accessibility at enhancer elements in glioblastoma to modulate a targetable self-renewal epigenetic network

Self-renewal is a crucial property of glioblastoma cells and is enabled by the choreographed function of chromatin regulators and transcription factors. Identifying targetable epigenetic mechanisms of self-renewal could represent an important step toward developing new and effective treatments for this universally lethal cancer. Here we uncover a targetable epigenetic axis of self-renewal mediated by the histone variant macroH2A2. Using patient-derived in vitro and in vivo models, we show that macroH2A2 has a direct role in shaping chromatin accessibility at enhancer elements to antagonize transcriptional programs of self-renewal. Pharmaceutical inhibition of the chromatin remodeler Menin increased macroH2A2 levels and repressed self- renewal. Our results reveal a targetable epigenetic mechanism of self-renewal controlled by macroH2A2 and suggest new treatment approaches for glioblastoma patients. SIGNIFICANCE Glioblastoma is an incurable brain cancer. Malignant self-renewing cells have been shown to drive tumor growth, to be refractory to current treatment approaches and to seed relapses, which ultimately prove lethal. Identifying new and targetable mechanisms associated with self-renewal could be a fundamental first step in designing effective therapies that slow or prevent glioblastoma relapses. Using patient-derived models of glioblastoma, we deployed epigenomic approaches and functional assays to define the role of the histone variant macroH2A2 in repressing self-renewal. We identified compounds that increase macroH2A2 levels and repress self-renewal, including a Menin inhibitor. As Menin inhibitors are being tested in clinical trials, these compounds could be used in new therapeutic paradigms to target self-renewing cell populations in glioblastoma.