Oncogenic Ras suppresses ING4-TDG-Fas axis to promote apoptosis resistance

Ras is aberrantly activated in many cancers and active DNA demethylation plays a fundamental role to establish DNA methylation pattern which is of importance to cancer development. However, it was unknown whether and how Ras regulate DNA demethylation during carcinogenesis. Here we found that Ras downregulated thymine-DNA glycosylase (TDG), a DNA demethylation enzyme, by inhibiting the interaction of transcription activator ING4 with TDG promoter. TDG recruited histone lysine demethylase JMJD3 to the Fas promoter and activated its expression, thus restoring sensitivity to apoptosis. TDG suppressed in vivo tumorigenicity of xenograft pancreatic cancer. Thus, we speculate that reversing Ras-mediated ING4 inhibition to activate Fas expression is a potential therapeutic approach for Ras-driven cancers.