Nuclear ANLN regulates transcription initiation related Pol II clustering and target gene expression

Yu-Fei Cao, Hui Wang, Yong Sun, Bei-Bei Tong, Wen-Qi Shi, Liu Peng, Yi-Meng Zhang, Yu-Qiu Wu, Teng Fu, Hua-Yan Zou, Kai Zhang (), Li-Yan Xu () and En-Min Li ()
Additional contact information
Yu-Fei Cao: Shantou
Hui Wang: Sichuan Agricultural University
Yong Sun: Shantou
Bei-Bei Tong: Shantou
Wen-Qi Shi: Shantou
Liu Peng: Shantou
Yi-Meng Zhang: Shantou
Yu-Qiu Wu: Shantou
Teng Fu: Shantou
Hua-Yan Zou: Shantou
Kai Zhang: Tianjin Medical University
Li-Yan Xu: Shantou
En-Min Li: Shantou

Nature Communications, 2025, vol. 16, issue 1, 1-19

Abstract: Abstract Anillin (ANLN), a mitotic protein that regulates contractile ring assembly, has been reported as an oncoprotein. However, the function of ANLN in cancer cells, especially in the nucleus, has not been fully understood. Here, we report a role of nuclear ANLN in gene transcriptional regulation. We find that nuclear ANLN directly interacts with the RNA polymerase II (Pol II) large subunit to form transcriptional condensates. ANLN enhances initiated Pol II clustering and promotes Pol II CTD phase separation. Short-term depletion of ANLN alters the chromatin binding and enhancer-mediated transcriptional activity of Pol II. The target genes of ANLN-Pol II axis are involved in oxidoreductase activity, Wnt signaling and cell differentiation. THZ1, a super-enhancer inhibitor, specifically inhibits ANLN-Pol II clustering, target gene expression and esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) cell proliferation. Our results reveal the function of nuclear ANLN in transcriptional regulation, providing a theoretical basis for ESCC treatment.

Date: 2025
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-025-56645-9 Abstract (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:nat:natcom:v:16:y:2025:i:1:d:10.1038_s41467-025-56645-9

Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from
https://www.nature.com/ncomms/

DOI: 10.1038/s41467-025-56645-9

Access Statistics for this article

Nature Communications is currently edited by Nathalie Le Bot, Enda Bergin and Fiona Gillespie

More articles in Nature Communications from Nature
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Sonal Shukla () and Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing ().