101
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Hamdan FH, Johnsen SA. Perturbing Enhancer Activity in Cancer Therapy. Cancers (Basel) 2019; 11:cancers11050634. [PMID: 31067678 PMCID: PMC6563029 DOI: 10.3390/cancers11050634] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/28/2019] [Revised: 04/26/2019] [Accepted: 05/05/2019] [Indexed: 02/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Tight regulation of gene transcription is essential for normal development, tissue homeostasis, and disease-free survival. Enhancers are distal regulatory elements in the genome that provide specificity to gene expression programs and are frequently misregulated in cancer. Recent studies examined various enhancer-driven malignant dependencies and identified different approaches to specifically target these programs. In this review, we describe numerous features that make enhancers good transcriptional targets in cancer therapy and discuss different approaches to overcome enhancer perturbation. Interestingly, a number of approved therapeutic agents, such as cyclosporine, steroid hormones, and thiazolidinediones, actually function by affecting enhancer landscapes by directly targeting very specific transcription factor programs. More recently, a broader approach to targeting deregulated enhancer programs has been achieved via Bromodomain and Extraterminal (BET) inhibition or perturbation of transcription-related cyclin-dependent kinases (CDK). One challenge to enhancer-targeted therapy is proper patient stratification. We suggest that monitoring of enhancer RNA (eRNA) expression may serve as a unique biomarker of enhancer activity that can help to predict and monitor responsiveness to enhancer-targeted therapies. A more thorough investigation of cancer-specific enhancers and the underlying mechanisms of deregulation will pave the road for an effective utilization of enhancer modulators in a precision oncology approach to cancer treatment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Feda H Hamdan
- Gene Regulatory Mechanisms and Molecular Epigenetics Lab, Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN 55905, USA.
| | - Steven A Johnsen
- Gene Regulatory Mechanisms and Molecular Epigenetics Lab, Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN 55905, USA.
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Chan S, Shen D, Sang Y, Wang S, Wang Y, Chen C, Gao B, Song C. Development of enhancer-trapping and -detection vectors mediated by the Tol2 transposon in zebrafish. PeerJ 2019; 7:e6862. [PMID: 31106068 PMCID: PMC6499061 DOI: 10.7717/peerj.6862] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/12/2018] [Accepted: 03/28/2019] [Indexed: 01/02/2023] Open
Abstract
Enhancers are key transcriptional drivers of gene expression. The identification of enhancers in the genome is central for understanding gene-expression programs. Although transposon-mediated enhancer trapping (ET) is a powerful approach to the identification of enhancers in zebrafish, its efficiency varies considerably. To improve the ET efficiency, we constructed Tol2-mediated ET vectors with a reporter gene (mCherry) expression box driven by four minimal promoters (Gata, Myc, Krt4 and Oct4), respectively. The ET efficiency and expression background were compared among the four promoters by zebrafish embryo injection at the one-cell stage. The results showed that the Gata minimal promoter yielded the lowest basic expression and the second-highest trapping efficiency (44.6% at 12 hpf (hour post-fertilization) and 23.1% at 72 hpf, n = 305 and n = 307). The Krt4 promoter had the highest trapping efficiency (64% at 12 hpf and 67.1% at 72 hpf, n = 302 and n = 301) and the strongest basic expression. To detect enhancer activity, chicken 5′HS4 double insulators were cloned into the two ET vectors with the Gata or Krt4 minimal promoter, flanking the mCherry expression box. The resulting detection vectors were injected into zebrafish embryos. mCherry expression driven by the Gata promoter (about 5%, n = 301) was decreased significantly compared with that observed for embryos injected with the ET vectors (23% at 72 hpf, n = 308). These results suggest that the insulators block the genome-position effects and that this vector is fit for enhancer-activity evaluation. To assess the compatibility between the enhancers and the minimal promoters, four enhancers (CNS1, Z48, Hand2 and Hs769) were cloned upstream of the Gata or Beta-globin minimal promoter in the enhancer-activity-detection vectors. The resulting recombinant vectors were assayed by zebrafish embryo injection. We found that Z48 and CNS1 responded to the Gata minimal promoter, and that Hand2 only responded to the Beta-globin minimal promoter. In contrast, Hs769 did not respond to either the Gata or Beta-globin minimal promoters. These results suggest the existence of compatibility between enhancers and minimal promoters. This study represents a systematic approach to the discovery of optional ET and enhancer-detection vectors. We are eager to provide a superior tool for understanding functional genomics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shuheng Chan
- Yangzhou University, Institute of Animal Mobilome and Genome, College of Animal Science & Technology, Yangzhou, Jiangsu, China
| | - Dan Shen
- Yangzhou University, Institute of Animal Mobilome and Genome, College of Animal Science & Technology, Yangzhou, Jiangsu, China
| | - Yatong Sang
- Yangzhou University, Institute of Animal Mobilome and Genome, College of Animal Science & Technology, Yangzhou, Jiangsu, China
| | - Saisai Wang
- Yangzhou University, Institute of Animal Mobilome and Genome, College of Animal Science & Technology, Yangzhou, Jiangsu, China
| | - Yali Wang
- Yangzhou University, Institute of Animal Mobilome and Genome, College of Animal Science & Technology, Yangzhou, Jiangsu, China
| | - Cai Chen
- Yangzhou University, Institute of Animal Mobilome and Genome, College of Animal Science & Technology, Yangzhou, Jiangsu, China
| | - Bo Gao
- Yangzhou University, Institute of Animal Mobilome and Genome, College of Animal Science & Technology, Yangzhou, Jiangsu, China
| | - Chengyi Song
- Yangzhou University, Institute of Animal Mobilome and Genome, College of Animal Science & Technology, Yangzhou, Jiangsu, China
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103
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Machado Xavier A, Belhocine S, Gosselin D. Essential contributions of enhancer genomic regulatory elements to microglial cell identity and functions. WILEY INTERDISCIPLINARY REVIEWS-SYSTEMS BIOLOGY AND MEDICINE 2019; 11:e1449. [PMID: 31016893 DOI: 10.1002/wsbm.1449] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/12/2018] [Revised: 04/01/2019] [Accepted: 04/03/2019] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Abstract
Microglia are the specialized macrophages of the brain and play essential roles in ensuring its proper functioning. Accumulating evidence suggests that these cells coordinate the inflammatory response that accompanies various clinical brain conditions, including neurodegenerative diseases and psychiatric disorders. Therefore, investigating the functions of these cells and how these are regulated have become important areas of research in neuroscience over the past decade. In this regards, recent efforts to characterize the epigenomic mechanisms underlying microglial gene transcription have provided significant insights into the mechanisms that control the ontogeny and the cellular competences of microglia. In particular, these studies have established that a substantial proportion of the microglial repertoire of promoter-distal genomic regulatory elements, or enhancers, is relatively specific to these cells compared to other tissue-resident macrophages. Notably, this specificity is under the regulation of factors present in the brain that modulate activity of target axes of signaling pathways-transcription factors in microglia. Thus, the microglial enhancer repertoire is highly responsive to perturbations in the cerebral tissue microenvironment and this responsiveness has profound implications on the activity of these cells in brain diseases. This article is categorized under: Physiology > Mammalian Physiology in Health and Disease Models of Systems Properties and Processes > Mechanistic Models Biological Mechanisms > Cell Fates Developmental Biology > Lineages.
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Affiliation(s)
- André Machado Xavier
- CHU de Québec Research Center - Department of Molecular Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Université Laval, Quebec City, Quebec, Canada
| | - Sarah Belhocine
- CHU de Québec Research Center - Department of Molecular Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Université Laval, Quebec City, Quebec, Canada
| | - David Gosselin
- CHU de Québec Research Center - Department of Molecular Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Université Laval, Quebec City, Quebec, Canada
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104
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Laugsch M, Bartusel M, Rehimi R, Alirzayeva H, Karaolidou A, Crispatzu G, Zentis P, Nikolic M, Bleckwehl T, Kolovos P, van Ijcken WFJ, Šarić T, Koehler K, Frommolt P, Lachlan K, Baptista J, Rada-Iglesias A. Modeling the Pathological Long-Range Regulatory Effects of Human Structural Variation with Patient-Specific hiPSCs. Cell Stem Cell 2019; 24:736-752.e12. [PMID: 30982769 DOI: 10.1016/j.stem.2019.03.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 64] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/26/2018] [Revised: 01/03/2019] [Accepted: 03/06/2019] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
Abstract
The pathological consequences of structural variants disrupting 3D genome organization can be difficult to elucidate in vivo due to differences in gene dosage sensitivity between mice and humans. This is illustrated by branchiooculofacial syndrome (BOFS), a rare congenital disorder caused by heterozygous mutations within TFAP2A, a neural crest regulator for which humans, but not mice, are haploinsufficient. Here, we present a BOFS patient carrying a heterozygous inversion with one breakpoint located within a topologically associating domain (TAD) containing enhancers essential for TFAP2A expression in human neural crest cells (hNCCs). Using patient-specific hiPSCs, we show that, although the inversion shuffles the TFAP2A hNCC enhancers with novel genes within the same TAD, this does not result in enhancer adoption. Instead, the inversion disconnects one TFAP2A allele from its cognate enhancers, leading to monoallelic and haploinsufficient TFAP2A expression in patient hNCCs. Our work illustrates the power of hiPSC differentiation to unveil long-range pathomechanisms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Magdalena Laugsch
- Center for Molecular Medicine Cologne (CMMC), University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany; Institute of Human Genetics, CMMC, University Hospital Cologne, Cologne, Germany
| | - Michaela Bartusel
- Center for Molecular Medicine Cologne (CMMC), University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany
| | - Rizwan Rehimi
- Center for Molecular Medicine Cologne (CMMC), University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany
| | - Hafiza Alirzayeva
- Center for Molecular Medicine Cologne (CMMC), University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany
| | - Agathi Karaolidou
- Center for Molecular Medicine Cologne (CMMC), University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany
| | - Giuliano Crispatzu
- Center for Molecular Medicine Cologne (CMMC), University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany
| | - Peter Zentis
- Cluster of Excellence Cellular Stress Responses in Aging-Associated Diseases (CECAD), University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany
| | - Milos Nikolic
- Center for Molecular Medicine Cologne (CMMC), University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany
| | - Tore Bleckwehl
- Center for Molecular Medicine Cologne (CMMC), University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany
| | - Petros Kolovos
- Biotech Research and Innovation Centre (BRIC), University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | | | - Tomo Šarić
- Center for Physiology and Pathophysiology, Institute for Neurophysiology, Medical Faculty, University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany
| | - Katrin Koehler
- Department of Pediatrics, University Clinic Carl Gustav Carus, TU Dresden, Dresden, Germany
| | - Peter Frommolt
- Cluster of Excellence Cellular Stress Responses in Aging-Associated Diseases (CECAD), University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany
| | - Katherine Lachlan
- Human Genetics & Genomic Medicine, University of Southampton, Southampton General Hospital, Southampton, UK; Clinical Genetics Service, University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust, Princess Anne Hospital, Southampton, UK
| | - Julia Baptista
- Molecular Genetics Department, Royal Devon and Exeter NHS Foundation Trust, Exeter, UK; Institute of Biomedical and Clinical Science, University of Exeter Medical School, Exeter, UK.
| | - Alvaro Rada-Iglesias
- Center for Molecular Medicine Cologne (CMMC), University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany; Cluster of Excellence Cellular Stress Responses in Aging-Associated Diseases (CECAD), University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany; Institute of Biomedicine and Biotechnology of Cantabria (IBBTEC), University of Cantabria, Cantabria, Spain.
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105
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Bultmann S, Stricker SH. Entering the post-epigenomic age: back to epigenetics. Open Biol 2019; 8:rsob.180013. [PMID: 29593118 PMCID: PMC5881036 DOI: 10.1098/rsob.180013] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/23/2018] [Accepted: 03/02/2018] [Indexed: 12/17/2022] Open
Abstract
It is undeniably one of the greatest findings in biology that (with some very minor exceptions) every cell in the body possesses the whole genetic information needed to generate a complete individual. Today, this concept has been so thoroughly assimilated that we struggle to still see how surprising this finding actually was: all cellular phenotypes naturally occurring in one person are generated from genetic uniformity, and thus are per definition epigenetic. Transcriptional mechanisms are clearly critical for developing and protecting cell identities, because a mis-expression of few or even single genes can efficiently induce inappropriate cellular programmes. However, how transcriptional activities are molecularly controlled and which of the many known epigenomic features have causal roles remains unclear. Today, clarification of this issue is more pressing than ever because profiling efforts and epigenome-wide association studies (EWAS) continuously provide comprehensive datasets depicting epigenomic differences between tissues and disease states. In this commentary, we propagate the idea of a widespread follow-up use of epigenome editing technology in EWAS studies. This would enable them to address the questions of which features, where in the genome, and which circumstances are essential to shape development and trigger disease states.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sebastian Bultmann
- Human Biology and BioImaging, Department of Biology II, Ludwig-Maximilian-Universität, BioMedical Center, Grosshaderner Strasse 2, Planegg-Martinsried 82152, Germany
| | - Stefan H Stricker
- MCN Junior Research Group, Munich Center for Neurosciences, Ludwig-Maximilian-Universität, Biocenter, Grosshaderner Strasse 9, Planegg-Martinsried 82152, Germany .,Epigenetic Engineering, Institute of Stem Cell Research, Helmholtz Zentrum, German Research Center for Environmental Health, Neuherberg, Germany
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106
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Vendrell X, Escribà MJ. The model of "genetic compartments": a new insight into reproductive genetics. J Assist Reprod Genet 2019; 36:363-369. [PMID: 30421342 PMCID: PMC6439105 DOI: 10.1007/s10815-018-1366-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/27/2018] [Accepted: 11/02/2018] [Indexed: 12/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Currently, we are witnessing revolutionary advances in the analytical power of genetic tools. An enormous quantity of data can now be obtained from samples; however, the translation of genetic findings to the general status of individuals, or their offspring, should be done with caution. This is especially relevant in the reproductive context, where the concepts of "transmission" and "inheritability" of a trait are crucial. Against this background, we offer new insight based on a systemic view of genetic constitution in the compartmentalized organism, that is, the human body. This model considers the coexistence of "different" genomes in the same individual and the repercussion of this on reproductive efficacy and offspring. Herein, we review the major differences between somatic, germinal, embryonic, and fetal/placental genomes and their contribution to the next generation and its reproductive efficacy. The major novelty of our approach is the holistic interaction between microsystems within a macrosystem (i.e., the reproductive system). This panoramic model allows us to sketch the future implications of genetic results in function of the origin (compartment) of the sample: peripheral blood or other somatic tissues, gametes, zygotes, preimplantation embryos, fetus, or placenta. We believe this perspective can be of great use in the context of reproductive genetic counseling.
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Affiliation(s)
- X Vendrell
- Reproductive Genetics Unit, Sistemas Genómicos, Parc Tecnològic de Paterna, G. Marconi 6, 46980, València, Spain.
| | - M J Escribà
- IVF Laboratory, IVIRMA-Valencia, Plaça de la Policia Local, 3, 46015, València, Spain
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107
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Tanimoto K, Matsuzaki H, Okamura E, Ushiki A, Fukamizu A, Engel JD. Transvection-like interchromosomal interaction is not observed at the transcriptional level when tested in the Rosa26 locus in mouse. PLoS One 2019; 14:e0203099. [PMID: 30763343 PMCID: PMC6375575 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0203099] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/10/2018] [Accepted: 01/30/2019] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Long-range associations between enhancers and their target gene promoters have been shown to play critical roles in executing genome function. Recent variations of chromosome capture technology have revealed a comprehensive view of intra- and interchromosomal contacts between specific genomic sites. The locus control region of the β-globin genes (β-LCR) is a super-enhancer that is capable of activating all of the β-like globin genes within the locus in cis through physical interaction by forming DNA loops. CTCF helps to mediate loop formation between LCR-HS5 and 3’HS1 in the human β-globin locus, in this way thought to contribute to the formation of a “chromatin hub”. The β-globin locus is also in close physical proximity to other erythrocyte-specific genes located long distances away on the same chromosome. In this case, erythrocyte-specific genes gather together at a shared “transcription factory” for co-transcription. Theoretically, enhancers could also activate target gene promoters at the identical loci, yet on different chromosomes in trans, a phenomenon originally described as transvection in Drosophilla. Although close physical proximity has been reported for the β-LCR and the β-like globin genes when integrated at the mouse homologous loci in trans, their structural and functional interactions were found to be rare, possibly because of a lack of suitable regulatory elements that might facilitate such trans interactions. Therefore, we re-evaluated presumptive transvection-like enhancer-promoter communication by introducing CTCF binding sites and erythrocyte-specific transcription units into both LCR-enhancer and β-promoter alleles, each inserted into the mouse ROSA26 locus on separate chromosomes. Following cross-mating of mice to place the two mutant loci at the identical chromosomal position and into active chromation in trans, their transcriptional output was evaluated. The results demonstrate that there was no significant functional association between the LCR and the β-globin gene in trans even in this idealized experimental context.
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Affiliation(s)
- Keiji Tanimoto
- Faculty of Life and Environmental Sciences, Life Science Center for Survival Dynamics, Tsukuba Advanced Research Alliance (TARA), University of Tsukuba, Tsukuba, Ibaraki, Japan
- Graduate School of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Tsukuba, Tsukuba, Ibaraki, Japan
- * E-mail:
| | - Hitomi Matsuzaki
- Faculty of Life and Environmental Sciences, Life Science Center for Survival Dynamics, Tsukuba Advanced Research Alliance (TARA), University of Tsukuba, Tsukuba, Ibaraki, Japan
- Graduate School of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Tsukuba, Tsukuba, Ibaraki, Japan
| | - Eiichi Okamura
- Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Tokushima University, Tokushima, Japan
| | - Aki Ushiki
- Graduate School of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Tsukuba, Tsukuba, Ibaraki, Japan
| | - Akiyoshi Fukamizu
- Faculty of Life and Environmental Sciences, Life Science Center for Survival Dynamics, Tsukuba Advanced Research Alliance (TARA), University of Tsukuba, Tsukuba, Ibaraki, Japan
- Graduate School of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Tsukuba, Tsukuba, Ibaraki, Japan
| | - James Douglas Engel
- Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, United States of America
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Abstract
Although the number of sequenced insect genomes numbers in the hundreds, little is known about gene regulatory sequences in any species other than the well-studied Drosophila melanogaster. We provide here a detailed protocol for using SCRMshaw, a computational method for predicting cis-regulatory modules (CRMs, also "enhancers") in sequenced insect genomes. SCRMshaw is effective for CRM discovery throughout the range of holometabolous insects and potentially in even more diverged species, with true-positive prediction rates of 75% or better. Minimal requirements for using SCRMshaw are a genome sequence and training data in the form of known Drosophila CRMs; a comprehensive set of the latter can be obtained from the SCRMshaw download site. For basic applications, a user with only modest computational know-how can run SCRMshaw on a desktop computer. SCRMshaw can be run with a single, narrow set of training data to predict CRMs regulating a specific pattern of gene expression, or with multiple sets of training data covering a broad range of CRM activities to provide an initial rough regulatory annotation of a complete, newly-sequenced genome.
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Affiliation(s)
- Majid Kazemian
- Departments of Biochemistry and Computer Science, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, USA.
| | - Marc S Halfon
- Departments of Biochemistry, Biomedical Informatics, and Biological Sciences, University at Buffalo-State University of New York, Buffalo, NY, USA.
- NY State Center of Excellence in Bioinformatics and Life Sciences, Buffalo, NY, USA.
- Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology and Program in Cancer Genetics, Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center, Buffalo, NY, USA.
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109
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Mao R, Wu Y, Ming Y, Xu Y, Wang S, Chen X, Wang X, Fan Y. Enhancer RNAs: a missing regulatory layer in gene transcription. SCIENCE CHINA-LIFE SCIENCES 2018; 62:905-912. [PMID: 30593613 DOI: 10.1007/s11427-017-9370-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/10/2018] [Accepted: 09/01/2018] [Indexed: 01/12/2023]
Abstract
Enhancers and super-enhancers exert indispensable roles in maintaining cell identity through spatiotemporally regulating gene transcription. Meanwhile, active enhancers and super-enhancers also produce transcripts termed enhancer RNAs (eRNAs) from their DNA elements. Although enhancers have been identified for more than 30 years, widespread transcription from enhancers are just discovered by genome-wide sequencing and considered as the key to understand longstanding questions in gene transcription. RNA-transcribed enhancers are marked by histone modifications such as H3K4m1/2 and H3K27Ac, and enriched with transcription regulatory factors such as LDTFs, P300, CBP, BRD4 and MED1. Those regulatory factors might constitute a Mega-Trans-like complex to potently activate enhancers. Compared to mRNAs, eRNAs are quite unstable and play roles at local. Functionally, it has been shown that eRNAs promote formation of enhancer-promoter loops. Several studies also demonstrated that eRNAs help the binding of RNA polymerase II (RNAPII) or transition of paused RNAPII by de-association of the negative elongation factor (NELF) complex. Nevertheless, these proposed mechanisms are not universally accepted and still under controversy. Here, we comprehensively summarize the reported findings and make perspectives for future exploration. We also believe that super-enhancer derived RNAs (seRNAs) might be informative to understand the nature of super-enhancers.
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Affiliation(s)
- Renfang Mao
- Department of Pathophysiology, School of Medicine, Nantong University, Nantong, 226019, China
| | - Yuanyuan Wu
- Basic Medical Research Center, School of Medicine, Nantong University, Nantong, 226019, China
| | - Yue Ming
- Department of Immunology, School of Medicine, Nantong University, Nantong, 226019, China
| | - Yuanpei Xu
- Department of Immunology, School of Medicine, Nantong University, Nantong, 226019, China
| | - Shouyan Wang
- Basic Medical Research Center, School of Medicine, Nantong University, Nantong, 226019, China
| | - Xia Chen
- Basic Medical Research Center, School of Medicine, Nantong University, Nantong, 226019, China
| | - Xiaoying Wang
- Department of Immunology, School of Medicine, Nantong University, Nantong, 226019, China
| | - Yihui Fan
- Basic Medical Research Center, School of Medicine, Nantong University, Nantong, 226019, China.
- Department of Immunology, School of Medicine, Nantong University, Nantong, 226019, China.
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110
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Halfon MS. Studying Transcriptional Enhancers: The Founder Fallacy, Validation Creep, and Other Biases. Trends Genet 2018; 35:93-103. [PMID: 30553552 DOI: 10.1016/j.tig.2018.11.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/25/2018] [Revised: 11/15/2018] [Accepted: 11/21/2018] [Indexed: 12/21/2022]
Abstract
Transcriptional enhancers play a major role in regulating metazoan gene expression. Recent developments in genomics and next-generation sequencing have accelerated and revitalized the study of this important class of sequence elements. Increased interest and attention, however, has also led to troubling trends in the enhancer literature. In this Opinion, I describe some of these issues and show how they arise from shifting and nonuniform enhancer definitions, and genome-era biases. I discuss how they can lead to interpretative errors and an unduly narrow focus on certain aspects of enhancer biology to the potential exclusion of others.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marc S Halfon
- Department of Biochemistry, University at Buffalo-State University of New York, Buffalo, NY, USA; NY State Center of Excellence in Bioinformatics and Life Sciences, Buffalo, NY, USA; Department of Biological Sciences, University at Buffalo-State University of New York, Buffalo, NY, USA; Department of Biomedical Informatics, University at Buffalo-State University of New York, Buffalo, NY, USA; Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology and Program in Cancer Genetics, Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center, Buffalo, NY, USA.
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111
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A conserved enhancer regulates Il9 expression in multiple lineages. Nat Commun 2018; 9:4803. [PMID: 30442929 PMCID: PMC6237898 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-018-07202-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/02/2018] [Accepted: 10/23/2018] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Cytokine genes are regulated by multiple regulatory elements that confer tissue-specific and activation-dependent expression. The cis-regulatory elements of the gene encoding IL-9, a cytokine that promotes allergy, autoimmune inflammation and tumor immunity, have not been defined. Here we identify an enhancer (CNS-25) upstream of the Il9 gene that binds most transcription factors (TFs) that promote Il9 gene expression. Deletion of the enhancer in the mouse germline alters transcription factor binding to the remaining Il9 regulatory elements, and results in diminished IL-9 production in multiple cell types including Th9 cells, and attenuates IL-9-dependent immune responses. Moreover, deletion of the homologous enhancer (CNS-18) in primary human Th9 cultures results in significant decrease of IL-9 production. Thus, Il9 CNS-25/IL9 CNS-18 is a critical and conserved regulatory element for IL-9 production. Interleukin-9 (IL-9) is important for allergy, autoimmunity and tumor immunity, but how its expression is regulated is unclear. Here the authors show the essential function of an enhancer, CNS-25 in mouse and CNS-18 in human, for IL-9 expression, with the deletion of this enhancer severely hampering IL-9 production in mice or human cells.
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112
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Hope CM, Webber JL, Tokamov SA, Rebay I. Tuned polymerization of the transcription factor Yan limits off-DNA sequestration to confer context-specific repression. eLife 2018; 7:37545. [PMID: 30412049 PMCID: PMC6226293 DOI: 10.7554/elife.37545] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/13/2018] [Accepted: 10/22/2018] [Indexed: 01/08/2023] Open
Abstract
During development, transcriptional complexes at enhancers regulate gene expression in complex spatiotemporal patterns. To achieve robust expression without spurious activation, the affinity and specificity of transcription factor–DNA interactions must be precisely balanced. Protein–protein interactions among transcription factors are also critical, yet how their affinities impact enhancer output is not understood. The Drosophila transcription factor Yan provides a well-suited model to address this, as its function depends on the coordinated activities of two independent and essential domains: the DNA-binding ETS domain and the self-associating SAM domain. To explore how protein–protein affinity influences Yan function, we engineered mutants that increase SAM affinity over four orders of magnitude. This produced a dramatic subcellular redistribution of Yan into punctate structures, reduced repressive output and compromised survival. Cell-type specification and genetic interaction defects suggest distinct requirements for polymerization in different regulatory decisions. We conclude that tuned protein–protein interactions enable the dynamic spectrum of complexes that are required for proper regulation.
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Affiliation(s)
- C Matthew Hope
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics, University of Chicago, Chicago, United States
| | - Jemma L Webber
- Ben May Department for Cancer Research, University of Chicago, Chicago, United States
| | - Sherzod A Tokamov
- Committee on Development, Regeneration, and Stem Cell Biology, University of Chicago, Chicago, United States
| | - Ilaria Rebay
- Ben May Department for Cancer Research, University of Chicago, Chicago, United States.,Committee on Development, Regeneration, and Stem Cell Biology, University of Chicago, Chicago, United States
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Thibodeau A, Uyar A, Khetan S, Stitzel ML, Ucar D. A neural network based model effectively predicts enhancers from clinical ATAC-seq samples. Sci Rep 2018; 8:16048. [PMID: 30375457 PMCID: PMC6207744 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-018-34420-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/13/2018] [Accepted: 10/16/2018] [Indexed: 01/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Enhancers are cis-acting sequences that regulate transcription rates of their target genes in a cell-specific manner and harbor disease-associated sequence variants in cognate cell types. Many complex diseases are associated with enhancer malfunction, necessitating the discovery and study of enhancers from clinical samples. Assay for Transposase Accessible Chromatin (ATAC-seq) technology can interrogate chromatin accessibility from small cell numbers and facilitate studying enhancers in pathologies. However, on average, ~35% of open chromatin regions (OCRs) from ATAC-seq samples map to enhancers. We developed a neural network-based model, Predicting Enhancers from ATAC-Seq data (PEAS), to effectively infer enhancers from clinical ATAC-seq samples by extracting ATAC-seq data features and integrating these with sequence-related features (e.g., GC ratio). PEAS recapitulated ChromHMM-defined enhancers in CD14+ monocytes, CD4+ T cells, GM12878, peripheral blood mononuclear cells, and pancreatic islets. PEAS models trained on these 5 cell types effectively predicted enhancers in four cell types that are not used in model training (EndoC-βH1, naïve CD8+ T, MCF7, and K562 cells). Finally, PEAS inferred individual-specific enhancers from 19 islet ATAC-seq samples and revealed variability in enhancer activity across individuals, including those driven by genetic differences. PEAS is an easy-to-use tool developed to study enhancers in pathologies by taking advantage of the increasing number of clinical epigenomes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Asa Thibodeau
- The Jackson Laboratory for Genomic Medicine, Farmington, CT, 06032, USA
| | - Asli Uyar
- The Jackson Laboratory for Genomic Medicine, Farmington, CT, 06032, USA
| | - Shubham Khetan
- The Jackson Laboratory for Genomic Medicine, Farmington, CT, 06032, USA.,Department of Genetics and Genome Sciences, University of Connecticut Health Center, Farmington, CT, 06030, USA
| | - Michael L Stitzel
- The Jackson Laboratory for Genomic Medicine, Farmington, CT, 06032, USA.,Institute for Systems Genomics, University of Connecticut Health Center, Farmington, CT, 06030, USA
| | - Duygu Ucar
- The Jackson Laboratory for Genomic Medicine, Farmington, CT, 06032, USA. .,Institute for Systems Genomics, University of Connecticut Health Center, Farmington, CT, 06030, USA.
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114
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Sequence based prediction of enhancer regions from DNA random walk. Sci Rep 2018; 8:15912. [PMID: 30374023 PMCID: PMC6206163 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-018-33413-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/16/2018] [Accepted: 09/28/2018] [Indexed: 12/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Regulatory elements play a critical role in development process of eukaryotic organisms by controlling the spatio-temporal pattern of gene expression. Enhancer is one of these elements which contributes to the regulation of gene expression through chromatin loop or eRNA expression. Experimental identification of a novel enhancer is a costly exercise, due to which there is an interest in computational approaches to predict enhancer regions in a genome. Existing computational approaches to achieve this goal have primarily been based on training of high-throughput data such as transcription factor binding sites (TFBS), DNA methylation, and histone modification marks etc. On the other hand, purely sequence based approaches to predict enhancer regions are promising as they are not biased by the complexity or context specificity of such datasets. In sequence based approaches, machine learning models are either directly trained on sequences or sequence features, to classify sequences as enhancers or non-enhancers. In this paper, we derived statistical and nonlinear dynamic features along with k-mer features from experimentally validated sequences taken from Vista Enhancer Browser through random walk model and applied different machine learning based methods to predict whether an input test sequence is enhancer or not. Experimental results demonstrate the success of proposed model based on Ensemble method with area under curve (AUC) 0.86, 0.89, and 0.87 in B cells, T cells, and Natural killer cells for histone marks dataset.
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115
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Promoter bivalency favors an open chromatin architecture in embryonic stem cells. Nat Genet 2018; 50:1452-1462. [PMID: 30224650 DOI: 10.1038/s41588-018-0218-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 82] [Impact Index Per Article: 13.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/04/2017] [Accepted: 08/01/2018] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
In embryonic stem cells (ESCs), developmental gene promoters are characterized by their bivalent chromatin state, with simultaneous modification by MLL2 and Polycomb complexes. Although essential for embryogenesis, bivalency is functionally not well understood. Here, we show that MLL2 plays a central role in ESC genome organization. We generate a catalog of bona fide bivalent genes in ESCs and demonstrate that loss of MLL2 leads to increased Polycomb occupancy. Consequently, promoters lose accessibility, long-range interactions are redistributed, and ESCs fail to differentiate. We pose that bivalency balances accessibility and long-range connectivity of promoters, allowing developmental gene expression to be properly modulated.
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116
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Genome-wide identification of enhancer elements in the placenta. Placenta 2018; 79:72-77. [PMID: 30268337 DOI: 10.1016/j.placenta.2018.09.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/02/2018] [Revised: 09/03/2018] [Accepted: 09/10/2018] [Indexed: 12/25/2022]
Abstract
Normal placental development is essential for a healthy pregnancy, and is contingent upon tight spatiotemporal regulation of gene expression. One level of transcriptional control is via enhancer elements in the genome. Enhancers are distal cis-regulatory elements that can impact gene expression regardless of their position or orientation. The study of enhancers in the placenta is usually focused on one or two at a time, and the simultaneous identification of all enhancers has been limited. However, such a holistic approach is necessary if we are to gain a systems-level understanding of gene expression regulation in the placenta. Here, we review current methods for genome-scale enhancer identification, as well as studies that have applied those techniques in the placenta, with the aim of guiding future research.
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117
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Liang Y, Xu P, Zou Q, Luo H, Yu W. An epigenetic perspective on tumorigenesis: Loss of cell identity, enhancer switching, and NamiRNA network. Semin Cancer Biol 2018; 57:1-9. [PMID: 30213688 DOI: 10.1016/j.semcancer.2018.09.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/01/2018] [Revised: 08/26/2018] [Accepted: 09/06/2018] [Indexed: 02/09/2023]
Abstract
Various tumorigenic theories have been proposed in the past century, which contribute to the prevention and treatment of cancer clinically. However, the underlying mechanisms of the initiation of cancer, drug resistance, neoplasm relapse, and metastasis are still challenging to be panoramically addressed. Based on the abundant evidence provided by others and us, we postulate that Tumor Initiated by Loss of Cell Identity (LOCI), which is an inevitable initiating event of tumorigenesis. As a result, normal cells are transformed into the cancerous cell. In this process, epigenetic regulatory program, especially NamiRNA (Nuclear activating miRNA)-enhancer-gene activation network, is vital for the cell identity. The disorganization of NamiRNA-enhancer-gene activation network is a causal predisposition to the cell identity loss, and the altered cell identity is stabilized by genetic variations of the NamiRNA-enhancer-gene activation network. Furthermore, the additional genetic or epigenetic abnormities confer those cells to carcinogenic characteristics, such as growth advantage over normal cells, and finally yield cancer. In this review, we literally explain our tumor initiation hypothesis based on the corresponding evidence, which will not only help to refresh our understanding of tumorigenesis but also bring benefits to developing "cell identity reversing" based therapies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ying Liang
- Shanghai Public Health Clinical Center & Laboratory of RNA Epigenetics, Institute of Biomedical Sciences, Shanghai Medical College, Fudan University, Shanghai, 201508, China; Department of General Surgery, Huashan Hospital, Cancer Metastasis Institute, Fudan University, Shanghai 200032, China; Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Shanghai Medical College, MOE Key Laboratory of Metabolism and Molecular Medicine, Department of Molecular Biology, Fudan University, Shanghai, 200032, China; Collaborative Innovation Center for Genetics and Development, School of Life Sciences, Fudan University, Shanghai, 200433, China
| | - Peng Xu
- Shanghai Public Health Clinical Center & Laboratory of RNA Epigenetics, Institute of Biomedical Sciences, Shanghai Medical College, Fudan University, Shanghai, 201508, China; Department of General Surgery, Huashan Hospital, Cancer Metastasis Institute, Fudan University, Shanghai 200032, China; Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Shanghai Medical College, MOE Key Laboratory of Metabolism and Molecular Medicine, Department of Molecular Biology, Fudan University, Shanghai, 200032, China; Collaborative Innovation Center for Genetics and Development, School of Life Sciences, Fudan University, Shanghai, 200433, China
| | - Qingping Zou
- Shanghai Public Health Clinical Center & Laboratory of RNA Epigenetics, Institute of Biomedical Sciences, Shanghai Medical College, Fudan University, Shanghai, 201508, China; Department of General Surgery, Huashan Hospital, Cancer Metastasis Institute, Fudan University, Shanghai 200032, China; Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Shanghai Medical College, MOE Key Laboratory of Metabolism and Molecular Medicine, Department of Molecular Biology, Fudan University, Shanghai, 200032, China; Collaborative Innovation Center for Genetics and Development, School of Life Sciences, Fudan University, Shanghai, 200433, China
| | - Huaibing Luo
- Shanghai Public Health Clinical Center & Laboratory of RNA Epigenetics, Institute of Biomedical Sciences, Shanghai Medical College, Fudan University, Shanghai, 201508, China; Department of General Surgery, Huashan Hospital, Cancer Metastasis Institute, Fudan University, Shanghai 200032, China; Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Shanghai Medical College, MOE Key Laboratory of Metabolism and Molecular Medicine, Department of Molecular Biology, Fudan University, Shanghai, 200032, China; Collaborative Innovation Center for Genetics and Development, School of Life Sciences, Fudan University, Shanghai, 200433, China
| | - Wenqiang Yu
- Shanghai Public Health Clinical Center & Laboratory of RNA Epigenetics, Institute of Biomedical Sciences, Shanghai Medical College, Fudan University, Shanghai, 201508, China; Department of General Surgery, Huashan Hospital, Cancer Metastasis Institute, Fudan University, Shanghai 200032, China; Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Shanghai Medical College, MOE Key Laboratory of Metabolism and Molecular Medicine, Department of Molecular Biology, Fudan University, Shanghai, 200032, China; Collaborative Innovation Center for Genetics and Development, School of Life Sciences, Fudan University, Shanghai, 200433, China.
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118
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Liang Y, Xu P, Zou Q, Luo H, Yu W. An epigenetic perspective on tumorigenesis: Loss of cell identity, enhancer switching, and NamiRNA network. Semin Cancer Biol 2018; 83:596-604. [PMID: 30208341 DOI: 10.1016/j.semcancer.2018.09.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/06/2018] [Accepted: 09/07/2018] [Indexed: 02/09/2023]
Abstract
Various tumorigenic theories have been proposed in the past century, which contribute to the prevention and treatment of cancer clinically. However, the underlying mechanisms of the initiation of cancer, drug resistance, neoplasm relapse, and metastasis are still challenging to be panoramically addressed. Based on the abundant evidence provided by others and us, we postulate that Tumor Initiated by Loss of Cell Identity (LOCI), which is an inevitable initiating event of tumorigenesis. As a result, normal cells are transformed into the cancerous cell. In this process, epigenetic regulatory program, especially NamiRNA (Nuclear activating miRNA)-enhancer-gene activation network, is vital for the cell identity. The disorganization of NamiRNA-enhancer-gene activation network is a causal predisposition to the cell identity loss, and the altered cell identity is stabilized by genetic variations of the NamiRNA-enhancer-gene activation network. Furthermore, the additional genetic or epigenetic abnormities confer those cells to carcinogenic characteristics, such as growth advantage over normal cells, and finally yield cancer. In this review, we literally explain our tumor imitation hypothesis based on the corresponding evidence, which will not only help to refresh our understanding of tumorigenesis but also bring benefits to developing "cell identity reversing" based therapies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ying Liang
- Shanghai Public Health Clinical Center & Laboratory of RNA Epigenetics, Institute of Biomedical Sciences, Shanghai Medical College, Fudan University, Shanghai, 201508, China; Department of General Surgery, Huashan Hospital, Cancer Metastasis Institute, Fudan University, Shanghai 200032, China; Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Shanghai Medical College, MOE Key Laboratory of Metabolism and Molecular Medicine, Department of Molecular Biology, Fudan University, Shanghai, 200032, China; Collaborative Innovation Center for Genetics and Development, School of Life Sciences, Fudan University, Shanghai, 200433, China
| | - Peng Xu
- Shanghai Public Health Clinical Center & Laboratory of RNA Epigenetics, Institute of Biomedical Sciences, Shanghai Medical College, Fudan University, Shanghai, 201508, China; Department of General Surgery, Huashan Hospital, Cancer Metastasis Institute, Fudan University, Shanghai 200032, China; Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Shanghai Medical College, MOE Key Laboratory of Metabolism and Molecular Medicine, Department of Molecular Biology, Fudan University, Shanghai, 200032, China; Collaborative Innovation Center for Genetics and Development, School of Life Sciences, Fudan University, Shanghai, 200433, China
| | - Qingping Zou
- Shanghai Public Health Clinical Center & Laboratory of RNA Epigenetics, Institute of Biomedical Sciences, Shanghai Medical College, Fudan University, Shanghai, 201508, China; Department of General Surgery, Huashan Hospital, Cancer Metastasis Institute, Fudan University, Shanghai 200032, China; Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Shanghai Medical College, MOE Key Laboratory of Metabolism and Molecular Medicine, Department of Molecular Biology, Fudan University, Shanghai, 200032, China; Collaborative Innovation Center for Genetics and Development, School of Life Sciences, Fudan University, Shanghai, 200433, China
| | - Huaibing Luo
- Shanghai Public Health Clinical Center & Laboratory of RNA Epigenetics, Institute of Biomedical Sciences, Shanghai Medical College, Fudan University, Shanghai, 201508, China; Department of General Surgery, Huashan Hospital, Cancer Metastasis Institute, Fudan University, Shanghai 200032, China; Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Shanghai Medical College, MOE Key Laboratory of Metabolism and Molecular Medicine, Department of Molecular Biology, Fudan University, Shanghai, 200032, China; Collaborative Innovation Center for Genetics and Development, School of Life Sciences, Fudan University, Shanghai, 200433, China
| | - Wenqiang Yu
- Shanghai Public Health Clinical Center & Laboratory of RNA Epigenetics, Institute of Biomedical Sciences, Shanghai Medical College, Fudan University, Shanghai, 201508, China; Department of General Surgery, Huashan Hospital, Cancer Metastasis Institute, Fudan University, Shanghai 200032, China; Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Shanghai Medical College, MOE Key Laboratory of Metabolism and Molecular Medicine, Department of Molecular Biology, Fudan University, Shanghai, 200032, China; Collaborative Innovation Center for Genetics and Development, School of Life Sciences, Fudan University, Shanghai, 200433, China.
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119
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Cheng D, Cheng T, Yang X, Zhang Q, Fu J, Feng T, Gong J, Xia Q. The genome-wide transcriptional regulatory landscape of ecdysone in the silkworm. Epigenetics Chromatin 2018; 11:48. [PMID: 30149809 PMCID: PMC6109983 DOI: 10.1186/s13072-018-0216-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/18/2018] [Accepted: 08/10/2018] [Indexed: 12/24/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND The silkworm, Bombyx mori, a typical representative of metamorphic insects, is of great agricultural and economic importance. The steroid hormone ecdysone (20-hydroxyecdysone, 20E) is the central regulator of insect developmental transitions, and its nuclear receptors are crucial for numerous biological processes, including reproduction, metabolism, and immunity. However, genome-wide DNA regulatory elements and the ecdysone receptor (EcR) that control these programs of gene expression are not well defined. RESULTS In this study, we investigated the alterations in three types of histone modification in silkworm embryonic cells treated with 20E by chromatin immunoprecipitation sequencing (ChIP-seq). We identified enhancers using histone modifications and derived genome-wide ecdysone-dependent enhancer activity maps in the silkworm. We found enhancers enriched for monomethylation of histone H3 Lys4 (H3K4me1) that showed dynamic changes in acetylation of histone H3 Lys27 (H3K27ac) after 20E treatment and functioned to regulate the transcription of specific genes. EcR regulated transcription by binding not only to proximal promoters but also to the distal enhancers of target genes. Moreover, only 52.65% EcR peaks contained ecdysone response element (EcRE) motif, suggesting that EcR regulates the expression of target genes not only by binding directly to EcRE, but also by binding with other transcription factor. CONCLUSIONS Our findings provide novel insights into the complex regulatory landscape of hormone-responsive cell activity and a basis for understanding the complex transcriptional regulatory processes of ecdysone.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dong Cheng
- State Key Laboratory of Silkworm Genome Biology, Southwest University, Chongqing, 400715, China
| | - Tingcai Cheng
- State Key Laboratory of Silkworm Genome Biology, Southwest University, Chongqing, 400715, China. .,Chongqing Engineering and Technology Research Center for Novel Silk Materials, Southwest University, 2, Tiansheng Road, Beibei, Chongqing, 400715, China.
| | - Xi Yang
- State Key Laboratory of Silkworm Genome Biology, Southwest University, Chongqing, 400715, China
| | - Quan Zhang
- State Key Laboratory of Silkworm Genome Biology, Southwest University, Chongqing, 400715, China
| | - Jianfeng Fu
- State Key Laboratory of Silkworm Genome Biology, Southwest University, Chongqing, 400715, China
| | - Tieshan Feng
- State Key Laboratory of Silkworm Genome Biology, Southwest University, Chongqing, 400715, China
| | - Jiao Gong
- State Key Laboratory of Silkworm Genome Biology, Southwest University, Chongqing, 400715, China
| | - Qingyou Xia
- State Key Laboratory of Silkworm Genome Biology, Southwest University, Chongqing, 400715, China.,Chongqing Engineering and Technology Research Center for Novel Silk Materials, Southwest University, 2, Tiansheng Road, Beibei, Chongqing, 400715, China
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120
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Hu CJ, Zhang H, Laux A, Pullamsetti SS, Stenmark KR. Mechanisms contributing to persistently activated cell phenotypes in pulmonary hypertension. J Physiol 2018; 597:1103-1119. [PMID: 29920674 PMCID: PMC6375873 DOI: 10.1113/jp275857] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/16/2018] [Accepted: 05/16/2018] [Indexed: 12/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Chronic pulmonary hypertension (PH) is characterized by the accumulation of persistently activated cell types in the pulmonary vessel exhibiting aberrant expression of genes involved in apoptosis resistance, proliferation, inflammation and extracellular matrix (ECM) remodelling. Current therapies for PH, focusing on vasodilatation, do not normalize these activated phenotypes. Furthermore, current approaches to define additional therapeutic targets have focused on determining the initiating signals and their downstream effectors that are important in PH onset and development. Although these approaches have produced a large number of compelling PH treatment targets, many promising human drugs have failed in PH clinical trials. Herein, we propose that one contributing factor to these failures is that processes important in PH development may not be good treatment targets in the established phase of chronic PH. We hypothesize that this is due to alterations of chromatin structure in PH cells, resulting in functional differences between the same factor or pathway in normal or early PH cells versus cells in chronic PH. We propose that the high expression of genes involved in the persistently activated phenotype of PH vascular cells is perpetuated by an open chromatin structure and multiple transcription factors (TFs) via the recruitment of high levels of epigenetic regulators including the histone acetylases P300/CBP, histone acetylation readers including BRDs, the Mediator complex and the positive transcription elongation factor (Abstract figure). Thus, determining how gene expression is controlled by examining chromatin structure, TFs and epigenetic regulators associated with aberrantly expressed genes in pulmonary vascular cells in chronic PH, may uncover new PH therapeutic targets.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cheng-Jun Hu
- Department of Craniofacial Biology, School of Dental Medicine, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, CO, USA
| | - Hui Zhang
- Cardiovascular Pulmonary Research Laboratories, Departments of Pediatrics and Medicine, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, CO, USA
| | - Aya Laux
- Department of Craniofacial Biology, School of Dental Medicine, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, CO, USA
| | - Soni S Pullamsetti
- Department of Lung Development and Remodeling, Max Planck Institute for Heart and Lung Research, member of the German Center for Lung Research (DZL), Bad Nauheim, Germany.,Department of Internal Medicine, Universities of Giessen and Marburg Lung Center (UGMLC), member of the DZL, Justus-Liebig University, Giessen, Germany
| | - Kurt R Stenmark
- Cardiovascular Pulmonary Research Laboratories, Departments of Pediatrics and Medicine, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, CO, USA
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121
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Swinstead EE, Paakinaho V, Hager GL. Chromatin reprogramming in breast cancer. Endocr Relat Cancer 2018; 25:R385-R404. [PMID: 29692347 PMCID: PMC6029727 DOI: 10.1530/erc-18-0033] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/29/2018] [Accepted: 04/24/2018] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Abstract
Reprogramming of the chromatin landscape is a critical component to the transcriptional response in breast cancer. Effects of sex hormones such as estrogens and progesterone have been well described to have a critical impact on breast cancer proliferation. However, the complex network of the chromatin landscape, enhancer regions and mode of function of steroid receptors (SRs) and other transcription factors (TFs), is an intricate web of signaling and functional processes that is still largely misunderstood at the mechanistic level. In this review, we describe what is currently known about the dynamic interplay between TFs with chromatin and the reprogramming of enhancer elements. Emphasis has been placed on characterizing the different modes of action of TFs in regulating enhancer activity, specifically, how different SRs target enhancer regions to reprogram chromatin in breast cancer cells. In addition, we discuss current techniques employed to study enhancer function at a genome-wide level. Further, we have noted recent advances in live cell imaging technology. These single-cell approaches enable the coupling of population-based assays with real-time studies to address many unsolved questions about SRs and chromatin dynamics in breast cancer.
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Affiliation(s)
- Erin E Swinstead
- Laboratory of Receptor Biology and Gene ExpressionNational Cancer Institute, NIH, Bethesda, Maryland, USA
| | - Ville Paakinaho
- Laboratory of Receptor Biology and Gene ExpressionNational Cancer Institute, NIH, Bethesda, Maryland, USA
- Institute of BiomedicineUniversity of Eastern Finland, Kuopio, Finland
| | - Gordon L Hager
- Laboratory of Receptor Biology and Gene ExpressionNational Cancer Institute, NIH, Bethesda, Maryland, USA
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122
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Niu M, Tabari E, Ni P, Su Z. Towards a map of cis-regulatory sequences in the human genome. Nucleic Acids Res 2018; 46:5395-5409. [PMID: 29733395 PMCID: PMC6009671 DOI: 10.1093/nar/gky338] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/17/2018] [Revised: 04/14/2018] [Accepted: 04/19/2018] [Indexed: 01/10/2023] Open
Abstract
Accumulating evidence indicates that transcription factor (TF) binding sites, or cis-regulatory elements (CREs), and their clusters termed cis-regulatory modules (CRMs) play a more important role than do gene-coding sequences in specifying complex traits in humans, including the susceptibility to common complex diseases. To fully characterize their roles in deriving the complex traits/diseases, it is necessary to annotate all CREs and CRMs encoded in the human genome. However, the current annotations of CREs and CRMs in the human genome are still very limited and mostly coarse-grained, as they often lack the detailed information of CREs in CRMs. Here, we integrated 620 TF ChIP-seq datasets produced by the ENCODE project for 168 TFs in 79 different cell/tissue types and predicted an unprecedentedly completely map of CREs in CRMs in the human genome at single nucleotide resolution. The map includes 305 912 CRMs containing a total of 1 178 913 CREs belonging to 736 unique TF binding motifs. The predicted CREs and CRMs tend to be subject to either purifying selection or positive selection, thus are likely to be functional. Based on the results, we also examined the status of available ChIP-seq datasets for predicting the entire regulatory genome of humans.
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Affiliation(s)
- Meng Niu
- Department of Bioinformatics and Genomics, College of Computing and Informatics, The University of North Carolina at Charlotte, 9201 University City Blvd., Charlotte, NC 28223, USA
| | - Ehsan Tabari
- Department of Bioinformatics and Genomics, College of Computing and Informatics, The University of North Carolina at Charlotte, 9201 University City Blvd., Charlotte, NC 28223, USA
| | - Pengyu Ni
- Department of Bioinformatics and Genomics, College of Computing and Informatics, The University of North Carolina at Charlotte, 9201 University City Blvd., Charlotte, NC 28223, USA
| | - Zhengchang Su
- Department of Bioinformatics and Genomics, College of Computing and Informatics, The University of North Carolina at Charlotte, 9201 University City Blvd., Charlotte, NC 28223, USA
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123
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The chromatin basis of neurodevelopmental disorders: Rethinking dysfunction along the molecular and temporal axes. Prog Neuropsychopharmacol Biol Psychiatry 2018; 84:306-327. [PMID: 29309830 DOI: 10.1016/j.pnpbp.2017.12.013] [Citation(s) in RCA: 51] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/14/2017] [Revised: 12/19/2017] [Accepted: 12/24/2017] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
The complexity of the human brain emerges from a long and finely tuned developmental process orchestrated by the crosstalk between genome and environment. Vis à vis other species, the human brain displays unique functional and morphological features that result from this extensive developmental process that is, unsurprisingly, highly vulnerable to both genetically and environmentally induced alterations. One of the most striking outcomes of the recent surge of sequencing-based studies on neurodevelopmental disorders (NDDs) is the emergence of chromatin regulation as one of the two domains most affected by causative mutations or Copy Number Variations besides synaptic function, whose involvement had been largely predicted for obvious reasons. These observations place chromatin dysfunction at the top of the molecular pathways hierarchy that ushers in a sizeable proportion of NDDs and that manifest themselves through synaptic dysfunction and recurrent systemic clinical manifestation. Here we undertake a conceptual investigation of chromatin dysfunction in NDDs with the aim of systematizing the available evidence in a new framework: first, we tease out the developmental vulnerabilities in human corticogenesis as a structuring entry point into the causation of NDDs; second, we provide a much needed clarification of the multiple meanings and explanatory frameworks revolving around "epigenetics", highlighting those that are most relevant for the analysis of these disorders; finally we go in-depth into paradigmatic examples of NDD-causing chromatin dysregulation, with a special focus on human experimental models and datasets.
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124
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MLL4 Is Required to Maintain Broad H3K4me3 Peaks and Super-Enhancers at Tumor Suppressor Genes. Mol Cell 2018; 70:825-841.e6. [PMID: 29861161 DOI: 10.1016/j.molcel.2018.04.028] [Citation(s) in RCA: 88] [Impact Index Per Article: 14.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/17/2017] [Revised: 02/26/2018] [Accepted: 04/27/2018] [Indexed: 01/03/2023]
Abstract
Super-enhancers are large clusters of enhancers that activate gene expression. Broad trimethyl histone H3 lysine 4 (H3K4me3) often defines active tumor suppressor genes. However, how these epigenomic signatures are regulated for tumor suppression is little understood. Here we show that brain-specific knockout of the H3K4 methyltransferase MLL4 (a COMPASS-like enzyme, also known as KMT2D) in mice spontaneously induces medulloblastoma. Mll4 loss upregulates oncogenic Ras and Notch pathways while downregulating neuronal gene expression programs. MLL4 enhances DNMT3A-catalyzed DNA methylation and SIRT1/BCL6-mediated H4K16 deacetylation, which antagonize expression of Ras activators and Notch pathway components, respectively. Notably, Mll4 loss downregulates tumor suppressor genes (e.g., Dnmt3a and Bcl6) by diminishing broad H3K4me3 and super-enhancers and also causes widespread impairment of these epigenomic signatures during medulloblastoma genesis. These findings suggest an anti-tumor role for super-enhancers and provide a unique tumor-suppressive mechanism in which MLL4 is necessary to maintain broad H3K4me3 and super-enhancers at tumor suppressor genes.
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125
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Abstract
Transcriptional enhancers constitute a subclass of regulatory elements that facilitate transcription. Such regions are generally organized by short stretches of DNA enriched in transcription factor-binding sites but also can include very large regions containing clusters of enhancers, termed super-enhancers. These regions increase the probability or the rate (or both) of transcription generally in
cis and sometimes over very long distances by altering chromatin states and the activity of Pol II machinery at promoters. Although enhancers were discovered almost four decades ago, their inner workings remain enigmatic. One important opening into the underlying principle has been provided by observations that enhancers make physical contacts with their target promoters to facilitate the loading of the RNA polymerase complex. However, very little is known about how such chromatin loops are regulated and how they govern transcription in the three-dimensional context of the nuclear architecture. Here, we present current themes of how enhancers may boost gene expression in three dimensions and we identify currently unresolved key questions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anita Göndör
- Department of Oncology and Pathology, Karolinska Institutet, Karolinska University Hospital, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Rolf Ohlsson
- Department of Oncology and Pathology, Karolinska Institutet, Karolinska University Hospital, Stockholm, Sweden
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126
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Larizza L, Finelli P. Developmental disorders with intellectual disability driven by chromatin dysregulation: Clinical overlaps and molecular mechanisms. Clin Genet 2018; 95:231-240. [DOI: 10.1111/cge.13365] [Citation(s) in RCA: 32] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/05/2018] [Revised: 03/28/2018] [Accepted: 04/14/2018] [Indexed: 12/30/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- L. Larizza
- Laboratory of Cytogenetics and Molecular Genetics; Istituto Auxologico Italiano; Milan Italy
| | - P. Finelli
- Laboratory of Cytogenetics and Molecular Genetics; Istituto Auxologico Italiano; Milan Italy
- Department of Medical Biotechnology and Translational Medicine; Università degli Studi di Milano; Milan Italy
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127
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Rickels R, Shilatifard A. Enhancer Logic and Mechanics in Development and Disease. Trends Cell Biol 2018; 28:608-630. [PMID: 29759817 DOI: 10.1016/j.tcb.2018.04.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 117] [Impact Index Per Article: 19.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/16/2018] [Revised: 04/11/2018] [Accepted: 04/13/2018] [Indexed: 12/31/2022]
Abstract
Enhancers are distally located genomic cis-regulatory elements that integrate spatiotemporal cues to coordinate gene expression in a tissue-specific manner during metazoan development. Enhancer function depends on a combination of bound transcription factors and cofactors that regulate local chromatin structure, as well as on the topological interactions that are necessary for their activity. Numerous genome-wide studies concur that the vast majority of disease-associated variations occur within non-coding genomic sequences, in other words the 'cis-regulome', and this underscores their relevance for human health. Advances in DNA sequencing and genome-editing technologies have dramatically expanded our ability to identify enhancers and investigate their properties in vivo, revealing an extraordinary level of interconnectivity underlying cis-regulatory networks. We discuss here these recently developed methodologies, as well as emerging trends and remaining questions in the field of enhancer biology, and how perturbation of enhancer activities/functions results in enhanceropathies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ryan Rickels
- Simpson Querrey Center for Epigenetics, and the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, 320 East Superior Street, Chicago, IL 60611, USA
| | - Ali Shilatifard
- Simpson Querrey Center for Epigenetics, and the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, 320 East Superior Street, Chicago, IL 60611, USA.
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128
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PM20D1 is a quantitative trait locus associated with Alzheimer's disease. Nat Med 2018; 24:598-603. [PMID: 29736028 DOI: 10.1038/s41591-018-0013-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 54] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/22/2016] [Accepted: 02/12/2018] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Abstract
The chances to develop Alzheimer's disease (AD) result from a combination of genetic and non-genetic risk factors 1 , the latter likely being mediated by epigenetic mechanisms 2 . In the past, genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have identified an important number of risk loci associated with AD pathology 3 , but a causal relationship remains difficult to establish. In contrast, locus-specific or epigenome-wide association studies (EWAS) have revealed site-specific epigenetic alterations, which provide mechanistic insights for a particular risk gene but often lack the statistical power of GWAS 4 . Here, combining both approaches, we report a previously unidentified association of the peptidase M20-domain-containing protein 1 (PM20D1) with AD. We find that PM20D1 is a methylation and expression quantitative trait locus coupled to an AD-risk associated haplotype, which displays enhancer-like characteristics and contacts the PM20D1 promoter via a haplotype-dependent, CCCTC-binding-factor-mediated chromatin loop. Furthermore, PM20D1 is increased following AD-related neurotoxic insults at symptomatic stages in the APP/PS1 mouse model of AD and in human patients with AD who are carriers of the non-risk haplotype. In line, genetically increasing or decreasing the expression of PM20D1 reduces and aggravates AD-related pathologies, respectively. These findings suggest that in a particular genetic background, PM20D1 contributes to neuroprotection against AD.
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129
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Medina-Rivera A, Santiago-Algarra D, Puthier D, Spicuglia S. Widespread Enhancer Activity from Core Promoters. Trends Biochem Sci 2018; 43:452-468. [PMID: 29673772 DOI: 10.1016/j.tibs.2018.03.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 42] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/11/2018] [Revised: 03/09/2018] [Accepted: 03/12/2018] [Indexed: 01/04/2023]
Abstract
Gene expression in higher eukaryotes is precisely regulated in time and space through the interplay between promoters and gene-distal regulatory regions, known as enhancers. The original definition of enhancers implies the ability to activate gene expression remotely, while promoters entail the capability to locally induce gene expression. Despite the conventional distinction between them, promoters and enhancers share many genomic and epigenomic features. One intriguing finding in the gene regulation field comes from the observation that many core promoter regions display enhancer activity. Recent high-throughput reporter assays along with clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR)/Cas9-related approaches have indicated that this phenomenon is common and might have a strong impact on our global understanding of genome organisation and gene expression regulation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alejandra Medina-Rivera
- Laboratorio Internacional de Investigación sobre el Genoma Humano, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Juriquilla, Mexico
| | - David Santiago-Algarra
- Aix-Marseille University, INSERM, TAGC, UMR 1090, Marseille, France; Equipe Labéllisée, Ligue Contre le Cancer, Paris, France
| | - Denis Puthier
- Aix-Marseille University, INSERM, TAGC, UMR 1090, Marseille, France; Equipe Labéllisée, Ligue Contre le Cancer, Paris, France
| | - Salvatore Spicuglia
- Aix-Marseille University, INSERM, TAGC, UMR 1090, Marseille, France; Equipe Labéllisée, Ligue Contre le Cancer, Paris, France.
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130
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Jung HJ, Raghuram V, Lee JW, Knepper MA. Genome-Wide Mapping of DNA Accessibility and Binding Sites for CREB and C/EBP β in Vasopressin-Sensitive Collecting Duct Cells. J Am Soc Nephrol 2018; 29:1490-1500. [PMID: 29572403 DOI: 10.1681/asn.2017050545] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/19/2017] [Accepted: 02/18/2018] [Indexed: 11/03/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Renal water excretion is controlled by vasopressin, in part through regulation of the transcription of the aquaporin-2 gene (Aqp2).Methods To identify enhancer regions likely to be involved in the regulation of Aqp2 and other principal cell-specific genes, we used several next generation DNA-sequencing techniques in a well characterized cultured cell model of collecting duct principal cells (mpkCCD). To locate enhancers, we performed the assay for transposase-accessible chromatin using sequencing (ATAC-Seq) to identify accessible regions of DNA and integrated the data with data generated by chromatin immunoprecipitation followed by next generation DNA-sequencing (ChIP-Seq) for CCCTC binding factor (CTCF) binding, histone H3 lysine-27 acetylation, and RNA polymerase II.Results We identified two high-probability enhancers centered 81 kb upstream and 5.8 kb downstream from the Aqp2 transcriptional start site. Motif analysis of these regions and the Aqp2 promoter identified several potential transcription factor binding sites, including sites for two b-ZIP transcription factors: CCAAT/enhancer binding protein-β (C/EBPβ) and cAMP-responsive element binding protein (CREB). To identify genomic binding sites for both, we conducted ChIP-Seq using well characterized antibodies. In the presence of vasopressin, C/EBPβ, a pioneer transcription factor critical to cell-specific gene expression, bound strongly at the identified enhancer downstream from Aqp2 However, over multiple replicates, we found no detectable CREB binding sites within 390 kb of Aqp2 Thus, any role for CREB in the regulation of Aqp2 gene transcription is likely to be indirect.Conclusions The analysis identified two enhancer regions pertinent to transcriptional regulation of the Aqp2 gene and showed C/EBPβ (but not CREB) binding.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hyun Jun Jung
- Epithelial Systems Biology Laboratory, Systems Biology Center, National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland; and
| | - Viswanathan Raghuram
- Epithelial Systems Biology Laboratory, Systems Biology Center, National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland; and
| | - Jae Wook Lee
- National Cancer Center, Goyang, Gyeonggi-do, Republic of Korea
| | - Mark A Knepper
- Epithelial Systems Biology Laboratory, Systems Biology Center, National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland; and
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131
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Homeostatic Response of Mouse renin Gene Transcription in a Hypertensive Environment Is Mediated by a Novel 5' Enhancer. Mol Cell Biol 2018; 38:MCB.00566-17. [PMID: 29358217 DOI: 10.1128/mcb.00566-17] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/30/2017] [Accepted: 01/17/2018] [Indexed: 01/22/2023] Open
Abstract
The renin-angiotensin system plays an essential role in blood pressure homeostasis. Because renin activity is reflected as a blood pressure phenotype, its gene expression in the kidney is tightly regulated by a feedback mechanism; i.e., renin gene transcription is suppressed in a hypertensive state. To address the molecular mechanisms controlling hypertension-responsive mouse renin (mRen) gene regulation, we deleted either 5' (17-kb) or 3' (78-kb) regions of the endogenous mRen gene and placed the animals in a hypertensive environment. While the mRen gene bearing the 3' deletion was appropriately downregulated, the one bearing the 5' deletion lost this hypertension responsiveness. Because the 17-kb sequence exhibited enhancer activity in vivo and in vitro, we narrowed down the enhancer to a 2.3-kb core using luciferase assays in As4.1 cells. When this 2.3-kb sequence was removed from the endogenous mRen gene in the mouse, its basal expression was dramatically reduced, and the hypertension responsiveness was significantly attenuated. Furthermore, we demonstrated that the angiotensin II signal played an important role in mRen gene suppression. We propose that in a hypertensive environment, the activity of this novel enhancer is attenuated, and, as a consequence, mRen gene transcription is suppressed to maintain blood pressure.
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132
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133
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Comoglio F, Park HJ, Schoenfelder S, Barozzi I, Bode D, Fraser P, Green AR. Thrombopoietin signaling to chromatin elicits rapid and pervasive epigenome remodeling within poised chromatin architectures. Genome Res 2018; 28:295-309. [PMID: 29429976 PMCID: PMC5848609 DOI: 10.1101/gr.227272.117] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/06/2017] [Accepted: 01/26/2018] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
Thrombopoietin (TPO) is a critical cytokine regulating hematopoietic stem cell maintenance and differentiation into the megakaryocytic lineage. However, the transcriptional and chromatin dynamics elicited by TPO signaling are poorly understood. Here, we study the immediate early transcriptional and cis-regulatory responses to TPO in hematopoietic stem/progenitor cells (HSPCs) and use this paradigm of cytokine signaling to chromatin to dissect the relationship between cis-regulatory activity and chromatin architecture. We show that TPO profoundly alters the transcriptome of HSPCs, with key hematopoietic regulators being transcriptionally repressed within 30 min of TPO. By examining cis-regulatory dynamics and chromatin architectures, we demonstrate that these changes are accompanied by rapid and extensive epigenome remodeling of cis-regulatory landscapes that is spatially coordinated within topologically associating domains (TADs). Moreover, TPO-responsive enhancers are spatially clustered and engage in preferential homotypic intra- and inter-TAD interactions that are largely refractory to TPO signaling. By further examining the link between cis-regulatory dynamics and chromatin looping, we show that rapid modulation of cis-regulatory activity is largely independent of chromatin looping dynamics. Finally, we show that, although activated and repressed cis-regulatory elements share remarkably similar DNA sequence compositions, transcription factor binding patterns accurately predict rapid cis-regulatory responses to TPO.
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Affiliation(s)
- Federico Comoglio
- Cambridge Institute for Medical Research, Medical Research Council/Wellcome Trust Stem Cell Institute, and Department of Haematology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 0XY, United Kingdom
| | - Hyun Jung Park
- Cambridge Institute for Medical Research, Medical Research Council/Wellcome Trust Stem Cell Institute, and Department of Haematology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 0XY, United Kingdom
| | - Stefan Schoenfelder
- Nuclear Dynamics Programme, The Babraham Institute, Cambridge CB22 3AT, United Kingdom
| | - Iros Barozzi
- Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, California 94720, USA
| | - Daniel Bode
- Cambridge Institute for Medical Research, Medical Research Council/Wellcome Trust Stem Cell Institute, and Department of Haematology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 0XY, United Kingdom
| | - Peter Fraser
- Nuclear Dynamics Programme, The Babraham Institute, Cambridge CB22 3AT, United Kingdom
- Department of Biological Science, Florida State University, Tallahassee, Florida 32301, USA
| | - Anthony R Green
- Cambridge Institute for Medical Research, Medical Research Council/Wellcome Trust Stem Cell Institute, and Department of Haematology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 0XY, United Kingdom
- Department of Haematology, Addenbrooke's Hospital, Cambridge CB2 0XY, United Kingdom
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134
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Henriques T, Scruggs BS, Inouye MO, Muse GW, Williams LH, Burkholder AB, Lavender CA, Fargo DC, Adelman K. Widespread transcriptional pausing and elongation control at enhancers. Genes Dev 2018; 32:26-41. [PMID: 29378787 PMCID: PMC5828392 DOI: 10.1101/gad.309351.117] [Citation(s) in RCA: 226] [Impact Index Per Article: 37.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/07/2017] [Accepted: 12/21/2017] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
Abstract
In this study, Henriques et al. demonstrate that transcription is a nearly universal feature of enhancers in Drosophila and mammalian cells and that nascent RNA sequencing strategies are optimal for identification of both enhancers and superenhancers. Their findings provide insights into the unique characteristics of superenhancers, which stimulate high-level gene expression through rapid pause release; interestingly, this property renders associated genes resistant to loss of factors that stabilize paused RNAPII. Regulation by gene-distal enhancers is critical for cell type-specific and condition-specific patterns of gene expression. Thus, to understand the basis of gene activity in a given cell type or tissue, we must identify the precise locations of enhancers and functionally characterize their behaviors. Here, we demonstrate that transcription is a nearly universal feature of enhancers in Drosophila and mammalian cells and that nascent RNA sequencing strategies are optimal for identification of both enhancers and superenhancers. We dissect the mechanisms governing enhancer transcription and discover remarkable similarities to transcription at protein-coding genes. We show that RNA polymerase II (RNAPII) undergoes regulated pausing and release at enhancers. However, as compared with mRNA genes, RNAPII at enhancers is less stable and more prone to early termination. Furthermore, we found that the level of histone H3 Lys4 (H3K4) methylation at enhancers corresponds to transcriptional activity such that highly active enhancers display H3K4 trimethylation rather than the H3K4 monomethylation considered a hallmark of enhancers. Finally, our work provides insights into the unique characteristics of superenhancers, which stimulate high-level gene expression through rapid pause release; interestingly, this property renders associated genes resistant to the loss of factors that stabilize paused RNAPII.
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Affiliation(s)
- Telmo Henriques
- Epigenetics and Stem Cell Biology Laboratory, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, Research Triangle Park, North Carolina 27709, USA.,Department of Biological Chemistry and Molecular Pharmacology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts 02115, USA
| | - Benjamin S Scruggs
- Epigenetics and Stem Cell Biology Laboratory, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, Research Triangle Park, North Carolina 27709, USA
| | - Michiko O Inouye
- Epigenetics and Stem Cell Biology Laboratory, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, Research Triangle Park, North Carolina 27709, USA.,Department of Biological Chemistry and Molecular Pharmacology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts 02115, USA
| | - Ginger W Muse
- Epigenetics and Stem Cell Biology Laboratory, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, Research Triangle Park, North Carolina 27709, USA
| | - Lucy H Williams
- Epigenetics and Stem Cell Biology Laboratory, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, Research Triangle Park, North Carolina 27709, USA
| | - Adam B Burkholder
- Center for Integrative Bioinformatics, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, Research Triangle Park, North Carolina 27709, USA
| | - Christopher A Lavender
- Center for Integrative Bioinformatics, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, Research Triangle Park, North Carolina 27709, USA
| | - David C Fargo
- Center for Integrative Bioinformatics, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, Research Triangle Park, North Carolina 27709, USA
| | - Karen Adelman
- Epigenetics and Stem Cell Biology Laboratory, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, Research Triangle Park, North Carolina 27709, USA.,Department of Biological Chemistry and Molecular Pharmacology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts 02115, USA
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135
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Fishilevich S, Nudel R, Rappaport N, Hadar R, Plaschkes I, Iny Stein T, Rosen N, Kohn A, Twik M, Safran M, Lancet D, Cohen D. GeneHancer: genome-wide integration of enhancers and target genes in GeneCards. DATABASE-THE JOURNAL OF BIOLOGICAL DATABASES AND CURATION 2017; 2017:3737828. [PMID: 28605766 PMCID: PMC5467550 DOI: 10.1093/database/bax028] [Citation(s) in RCA: 675] [Impact Index Per Article: 96.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/15/2016] [Accepted: 03/10/2017] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
A major challenge in understanding gene regulation is the unequivocal identification of enhancer elements and uncovering their connections to genes. We present GeneHancer, a novel database of human enhancers and their inferred target genes, in the framework of GeneCards. First, we integrated a total of 434 000 reported enhancers from four different genome-wide databases: the Encyclopedia of DNA Elements (ENCODE), the Ensembl regulatory build, the functional annotation of the mammalian genome (FANTOM) project and the VISTA Enhancer Browser. Employing an integration algorithm that aims to remove redundancy, GeneHancer portrays 285 000 integrated candidate enhancers (covering 12.4% of the genome), 94 000 of which are derived from more than one source, and each assigned an annotation-derived confidence score. GeneHancer subsequently links enhancers to genes, using: tissue co-expression correlation between genes and enhancer RNAs, as well as enhancer-targeted transcription factor genes; expression quantitative trait loci for variants within enhancers; and capture Hi-C, a promoter-specific genome conformation assay. The individual scores based on each of these four methods, along with gene–enhancer genomic distances, form the basis for GeneHancer’s combinatorial likelihood-based scores for enhancer–gene pairing. Finally, we define ‘elite’ enhancer–gene relations reflecting both a high-likelihood enhancer definition and a strong enhancer–gene association. GeneHancer predictions are fully integrated in the widely used GeneCards Suite, whereby candidate enhancers and their annotations are displayed on every relevant GeneCard. This assists in the mapping of non-coding variants to enhancers, and via the linked genes, forms a basis for variant–phenotype interpretation of whole-genome sequences in health and disease. Database URL:http://www.genecards.org/
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Affiliation(s)
- Simon Fishilevich
- Department of Molecular Genetics, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot 7610001, Israel
| | - Ron Nudel
- Department of Molecular Genetics, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot 7610001, Israel
| | - Noa Rappaport
- Department of Molecular Genetics, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot 7610001, Israel
| | - Rotem Hadar
- Department of Molecular Genetics, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot 7610001, Israel
| | - Inbar Plaschkes
- Department of Molecular Genetics, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot 7610001, Israel
| | - Tsippi Iny Stein
- Department of Molecular Genetics, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot 7610001, Israel
| | - Naomi Rosen
- Department of Molecular Genetics, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot 7610001, Israel
| | - Asher Kohn
- LifeMap Sciences Inc, Marshfield, MA 02050, USA
| | - Michal Twik
- Department of Molecular Genetics, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot 7610001, Israel
| | - Marilyn Safran
- Department of Molecular Genetics, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot 7610001, Israel
| | - Doron Lancet
- Department of Molecular Genetics, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot 7610001, Israel
| | - Dana Cohen
- Department of Molecular Genetics, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot 7610001, Israel
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136
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Hartl D, Krebs AR, Jüttner J, Roska B, Schübeler D. Cis-regulatory landscapes of four cell types of the retina. Nucleic Acids Res 2017; 45:11607-11621. [PMID: 29059322 PMCID: PMC5714137 DOI: 10.1093/nar/gkx923] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/17/2017] [Revised: 07/28/2017] [Accepted: 10/02/2017] [Indexed: 12/18/2022] Open
Abstract
The retina is composed of ∼50 cell-types with specific functions for the process of vision. Identification of the cis-regulatory elements active in retinal cell-types is key to elucidate the networks controlling this diversity. Here, we combined transcriptome and epigenome profiling to map the regulatory landscape of four cell-types isolated from mouse retinas including rod and cone photoreceptors as well as rare inter-neuron populations such as horizontal and starburst amacrine cells. Integration of this information reveals sequence determinants and candidate transcription factors for controlling cellular specialization. Additionally, we refined parallel reporter assays to enable studying the transcriptional activity of large collection of sequences in individual cell-types isolated from a tissue. We provide proof of concept for this approach and its scalability by characterizing the transcriptional capacity of several hundred putative regulatory sequences within individual retinal cell-types. This generates a catalogue of cis-regulatory regions active in retinal cell types and we further demonstrate their utility as potential resource for cellular tagging and manipulation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dominik Hartl
- Friedrich Miescher Institute for Biomedical Research, Maulbeerstrasse 66, CH 4058 Basel, Switzerland
- University of Basel, Faculty of Sciences, Petersplatz 1, CH 4003 Basel, Switzerland
| | - Arnaud R. Krebs
- Friedrich Miescher Institute for Biomedical Research, Maulbeerstrasse 66, CH 4058 Basel, Switzerland
| | - Josephine Jüttner
- Friedrich Miescher Institute for Biomedical Research, Maulbeerstrasse 66, CH 4058 Basel, Switzerland
| | - Botond Roska
- Friedrich Miescher Institute for Biomedical Research, Maulbeerstrasse 66, CH 4058 Basel, Switzerland
- University of Basel, Department of Ophthalmology, Mittlere Strasse 91, CH 4031 Basel, Switzerland
| | - Dirk Schübeler
- Friedrich Miescher Institute for Biomedical Research, Maulbeerstrasse 66, CH 4058 Basel, Switzerland
- University of Basel, Faculty of Sciences, Petersplatz 1, CH 4003 Basel, Switzerland
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137
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Rickels R, Herz HM, Sze CC, Cao K, Morgan MA, Collings CK, Gause M, Takahashi YH, Wang L, Rendleman EJ, Marshall SA, Krueger A, Bartom ET, Piunti A, Smith ER, Abshiru NA, Kelleher NL, Dorsett D, Shilatifard A. Histone H3K4 monomethylation catalyzed by Trr and mammalian COMPASS-like proteins at enhancers is dispensable for development and viability. Nat Genet 2017; 49:1647-1653. [PMID: 28967912 DOI: 10.1038/ng.3965] [Citation(s) in RCA: 135] [Impact Index Per Article: 19.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/25/2017] [Accepted: 09/01/2017] [Indexed: 12/21/2022]
Abstract
Histone H3 lysine 4 monomethylation (H3K4me1) is an evolutionarily conserved feature of enhancer chromatin catalyzed by the COMPASS-like methyltransferase family, which includes Trr in Drosophila melanogaster and MLL3 (encoded by KMT2C) and MLL4 (encoded by KMT2D) in mammals. Here we demonstrate that Drosophila embryos expressing catalytically deficient Trr eclose and develop to productive adulthood. Parallel experiments with a trr allele that augments enzyme product specificity show that conversion of H3K4me1 at enhancers to H3K4me2 and H3K4me3 is also compatible with life and results in minimal changes in gene expression. Similarly, loss of the catalytic SET domains of MLL3 and MLL4 in mouse embryonic stem cells (mESCs) does not disrupt self-renewal. Drosophila embryos with trr alleles encoding catalytic mutants manifest subtle developmental abnormalities when subjected to temperature stress or altered cohesin levels. Collectively, our findings suggest that animal development can occur in the context of Trr or mammalian COMPASS-like proteins deficient in H3K4 monomethylation activity and point to a possible role for H3K4me1 on cis-regulatory elements in specific settings to fine-tune transcriptional regulation in response to environmental stress.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ryan Rickels
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, Illinois, USA
| | - Hans-Martin Herz
- Stowers Institute for Medical Research, Kansas City, Missouri, USA
| | - Christie C Sze
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, Illinois, USA
| | - Kaixiang Cao
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, Illinois, USA
| | - Marc A Morgan
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, Illinois, USA
| | - Clayton K Collings
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, Illinois, USA
| | - Maria Gause
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Saint Louis University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri, USA
| | - Yoh-Hei Takahashi
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, Illinois, USA
| | - Lu Wang
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, Illinois, USA
| | - Emily J Rendleman
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, Illinois, USA
| | - Stacy A Marshall
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, Illinois, USA
| | - Annika Krueger
- Stowers Institute for Medical Research, Kansas City, Missouri, USA
| | - Elizabeth T Bartom
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, Illinois, USA
| | - Andrea Piunti
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, Illinois, USA
| | - Edwin R Smith
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, Illinois, USA
| | - Nebiyu A Abshiru
- Department of Chemistry, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois, USA
| | - Neil L Kelleher
- Department of Chemistry, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois, USA
| | - Dale Dorsett
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Saint Louis University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri, USA
| | - Ali Shilatifard
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, Illinois, USA.,Robert H. Lurie NCI Comprehensive Cancer Center, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, Illinois, USA
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138
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Hewitt KJ, Katsumura KR, Matson DR, Devadas P, Tanimura N, Hebert AS, Coon JJ, Kim JS, Dewey CN, Keles S, Hao S, Paulson RF, Bresnick EH. GATA Factor-Regulated Samd14 Enhancer Confers Red Blood Cell Regeneration and Survival in Severe Anemia. Dev Cell 2017; 42:213-225.e4. [PMID: 28787589 DOI: 10.1016/j.devcel.2017.07.009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/19/2017] [Revised: 05/05/2017] [Accepted: 07/11/2017] [Indexed: 12/31/2022]
Abstract
An enhancer with amalgamated E-box and GATA motifs (+9.5) controls expression of the regulator of hematopoiesis GATA-2. While similar GATA-2-occupied elements are common in the genome, occupancy does not predict function, and GATA-2-dependent genetic networks are incompletely defined. A "+9.5-like" element resides in an intron of Samd14 (Samd14-Enh) encoding a sterile alpha motif (SAM) domain protein. Deletion of Samd14-Enh in mice strongly decreased Samd14 expression in bone marrow and spleen. Although steady-state hematopoiesis was normal, Samd14-Enh-/- mice died in response to severe anemia. Samd14-Enh stimulated stem cell factor/c-Kit signaling, which promotes erythrocyte regeneration. Anemia activated Samd14-Enh by inducing enhancer components and enhancer chromatin accessibility. Thus, a GATA-2/anemia-regulated enhancer controls expression of an SAM domain protein that confers survival in anemia. We propose that Samd14-Enh and an ensemble of anemia-responsive enhancers are essential for erythrocyte regeneration in stress erythropoiesis, a vital process in pathologies, including β-thalassemia, myelodysplastic syndrome, and viral infection.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kyle J Hewitt
- Department of Cell and Regenerative Biology, UW-Madison Blood Research Program, Carbone Cancer Center, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, Madison, WI, USA
| | - Koichi R Katsumura
- Department of Cell and Regenerative Biology, UW-Madison Blood Research Program, Carbone Cancer Center, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, Madison, WI, USA
| | - Daniel R Matson
- Department of Cell and Regenerative Biology, UW-Madison Blood Research Program, Carbone Cancer Center, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, Madison, WI, USA
| | - Prithvia Devadas
- Department of Cell and Regenerative Biology, UW-Madison Blood Research Program, Carbone Cancer Center, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, Madison, WI, USA
| | - Nobuyuki Tanimura
- Department of Cell and Regenerative Biology, UW-Madison Blood Research Program, Carbone Cancer Center, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, Madison, WI, USA
| | | | - Joshua J Coon
- Department of Chemistry, UW-Madison, Madison, WI, USA; Department of Biomolecular Chemistry, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, Madison, WI, USA
| | - Jin-Soo Kim
- Center for Genome Engineering, Institute for Basic Science and Department of Chemistry, Seoul National University, Gwanak-ro 1, Gwanak-gu, Seoul, South Korea
| | - Colin N Dewey
- Department of Biostatistics and Medical Informatics, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, Madison, WI, USA
| | - Sunduz Keles
- Department of Biostatistics and Medical Informatics, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, Madison, WI, USA
| | - Siyang Hao
- Department of Veterinary and Biomedical Sciences, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, USA
| | - Robert F Paulson
- Department of Veterinary and Biomedical Sciences, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, USA
| | - Emery H Bresnick
- Department of Cell and Regenerative Biology, UW-Madison Blood Research Program, Carbone Cancer Center, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, Madison, WI, USA.
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139
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Nizovtseva EV, Todolli S, Olson WK, Studitsky VM. Towards quantitative analysis of gene regulation by enhancers. Epigenomics 2017; 9:1219-1231. [PMID: 28799793 DOI: 10.2217/epi-2017-0061] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/01/2023] Open
Abstract
Enhancers are regulatory DNA sequences that can activate transcription over large distances. Recent studies have revealed the widespread role of distant activation in eukaryotic gene regulation and in the development of various human diseases, including cancer. Here we review recent progress in the field, focusing on new experimental and computational approaches that quantify the role of chromatin structure and dynamics during enhancer-promoter interactions in vitro and in vivo.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ekaterina V Nizovtseva
- Cancer Epigenetics Program, Fox Chase Cancer Center, 333 Cottman Ave., Philadelphia, PA 19422, USA
| | - Stefjord Todolli
- Department of Chemistry & Chemical Biology, Center for Quantitative Biology, Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey, 610 Taylor Rd., Piscataway, NJ 08854, USA
| | - Wilma K Olson
- Department of Chemistry & Chemical Biology, Center for Quantitative Biology, Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey, 610 Taylor Rd., Piscataway, NJ 08854, USA
| | - Vasily M Studitsky
- Cancer Epigenetics Program, Fox Chase Cancer Center, 333 Cottman Ave., Philadelphia, PA 19422, USA.,Biology Faculty, Moscow State University, Moscow 119991, Russia.,Laboratory of Epigenetics, Institute of Gene Biology, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russia
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140
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Rio-Machin A, Gómez-López G, Muñoz J, Garcia-Martinez F, Maiques-Diaz A, Alvarez S, Salgado RN, Shrestha M, Torres-Ruiz R, Haferlach C, Larráyoz MJ, Calasanz MJ, Fitzgibbon J, Cigudosa JC. The molecular pathogenesis of the NUP98-HOXA9 fusion protein in acute myeloid leukemia. Leukemia 2017. [PMID: 28630438 PMCID: PMC5596207 DOI: 10.1038/leu.2017.194] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/17/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- A Rio-Machin
- Molecular Cytogenetics Group, Human Cancer Genetics Programme, Centro Nacional Investigaciones Oncologicas (CNIO), Madrid, Spain.,Centre for Haemato-Oncology, Barts Cancer Institute, Queen Mary University of London, London, UK
| | - G Gómez-López
- Bioinformatics Unit, Centro Nacional Investigaciones Oncologicas (CNIO), Madrid, Spain
| | - J Muñoz
- Proteomics Unit, Centro Nacional Investigaciones Oncologicas (CNIO), ProteoRed-ISCIII, Madrid, Spain
| | - F Garcia-Martinez
- Proteomics Unit, Centro Nacional Investigaciones Oncologicas (CNIO), ProteoRed-ISCIII, Madrid, Spain
| | - A Maiques-Diaz
- Molecular Cytogenetics Group, Human Cancer Genetics Programme, Centro Nacional Investigaciones Oncologicas (CNIO), Madrid, Spain
| | - S Alvarez
- Molecular Cytogenetics Group, Human Cancer Genetics Programme, Centro Nacional Investigaciones Oncologicas (CNIO), Madrid, Spain
| | - R N Salgado
- Molecular Cytogenetics Group, Human Cancer Genetics Programme, Centro Nacional Investigaciones Oncologicas (CNIO), Madrid, Spain
| | - M Shrestha
- Division of Experimental Hematology and Cancer Biology, Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, OH, USA
| | - R Torres-Ruiz
- Viral Vector Facility, Fundacion Centro Nacional de Investigaciones Cardiovasculares (CNIC), Madrid, Spain
| | - C Haferlach
- MLL, Münchner Leukämielabor, München, Germany
| | - M J Larráyoz
- Servicio de Citogenética, Departamento de Genética, Universidad de Navarra, Pamplona, Spain
| | - M J Calasanz
- Servicio de Citogenética, Departamento de Genética, Universidad de Navarra, Pamplona, Spain
| | - J Fitzgibbon
- Centre for Haemato-Oncology, Barts Cancer Institute, Queen Mary University of London, London, UK
| | - J C Cigudosa
- Molecular Cytogenetics Group, Human Cancer Genetics Programme, Centro Nacional Investigaciones Oncologicas (CNIO), Madrid, Spain
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141
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Abstract
In this review, Hu and Shilatifard summarize recent advances in our understanding of the role of chromatin modifiers in normal hematopoiesis and their contributions in hematopoietic transformation. Hematological malignancies comprise a diverse set of lymphoid and myeloid neoplasms in which normal hematopoiesis has gone awry and together account for ∼10% of all new cancer cases diagnosed in the United States in 2016. Recent intensive genomic sequencing of hematopoietic malignancies has identified recurrent mutations in genes that encode regulators of chromatin structure and function, highlighting the central role that aberrant epigenetic regulation plays in the pathogenesis of these neoplasms. Deciphering the molecular mechanisms for how alterations in epigenetic modifiers, specifically histone and DNA methylases and demethylases, drive hematopoietic cancer could provide new avenues for developing novel targeted epigenetic therapies for treating hematological malignancies. Just as past studies of blood cancers led to pioneering discoveries relevant to other cancers, determining the contribution of epigenetic modifiers in hematologic cancers could also have a broader impact on our understanding of the pathogenesis of solid tumors in which these factors are mutated.
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Affiliation(s)
- Deqing Hu
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics
| | - Ali Shilatifard
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics.,Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, Illinois 60611, USA
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142
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Gabriele M, Vulto-van Silfhout AT, Germain PL, Vitriolo A, Kumar R, Douglas E, Haan E, Kosaki K, Takenouchi T, Rauch A, Steindl K, Frengen E, Misceo D, Pedurupillay CRJ, Stromme P, Rosenfeld JA, Shao Y, Craigen WJ, Schaaf CP, Rodriguez-Buritica D, Farach L, Friedman J, Thulin P, McLean SD, Nugent KM, Morton J, Nicholl J, Andrieux J, Stray-Pedersen A, Chambon P, Patrier S, Lynch SA, Kjaergaard S, Tørring PM, Brasch-Andersen C, Ronan A, van Haeringen A, Anderson PJ, Powis Z, Brunner HG, Pfundt R, Schuurs-Hoeijmakers JHM, van Bon BWM, Lelieveld S, Gilissen C, Nillesen WM, Vissers LELM, Gecz J, Koolen DA, Testa G, de Vries BBA. YY1 Haploinsufficiency Causes an Intellectual Disability Syndrome Featuring Transcriptional and Chromatin Dysfunction. Am J Hum Genet 2017; 100:907-925. [PMID: 28575647 DOI: 10.1016/j.ajhg.2017.05.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 98] [Impact Index Per Article: 14.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/21/2016] [Accepted: 05/04/2017] [Indexed: 01/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Yin and yang 1 (YY1) is a well-known zinc-finger transcription factor with crucial roles in normal development and malignancy. YY1 acts both as a repressor and as an activator of gene expression. We have identified 23 individuals with de novo mutations or deletions of YY1 and phenotypic features that define a syndrome of cognitive impairment, behavioral alterations, intrauterine growth restriction, feeding problems, and various congenital malformations. Our combined clinical and molecular data define "YY1 syndrome" as a haploinsufficiency syndrome. Through immunoprecipitation of YY1-bound chromatin from affected individuals' cells with antibodies recognizing both ends of the protein, we show that YY1 deletions and missense mutations lead to a global loss of YY1 binding with a preferential retention at high-occupancy sites. Finally, we uncover a widespread loss of H3K27 acetylation in particular on the YY1-bound enhancers, underscoring a crucial role for YY1 in enhancer regulation. Collectively, these results define a clinical syndrome caused by haploinsufficiency of YY1 through dysregulation of key transcriptional regulators.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michele Gabriele
- Laboratory of Stem Cell Epigenetics, Department of Experimental Oncology, European Institute of Oncology, Milan 20139, Italy
| | | | - Pierre-Luc Germain
- Laboratory of Stem Cell Epigenetics, Department of Experimental Oncology, European Institute of Oncology, Milan 20139, Italy
| | - Alessandro Vitriolo
- Laboratory of Stem Cell Epigenetics, Department of Experimental Oncology, European Institute of Oncology, Milan 20139, Italy
| | - Raman Kumar
- School of Medicine and Robinson Research Institute, University of Adelaide, Adelaide, SA 5000, Australia
| | - Evelyn Douglas
- SA Clinical Genetics Service, SA Pathology, Adelaide, SA 5000, Australia; School of Medicine, University of Adelaide, Adelaide, SA 5000, Australia
| | - Eric Haan
- SA Clinical Genetics Service, SA Pathology, Adelaide, SA 5000, Australia; School of Medicine, University of Adelaide, Adelaide, SA 5000, Australia
| | - Kenjiro Kosaki
- Center for Medical Genetics, Keio University School of Medicine, 160-8582 Tokyo, Japan
| | - Toshiki Takenouchi
- Center for Medical Genetics, Keio University School of Medicine, 160-8582 Tokyo, Japan
| | - Anita Rauch
- Institute of Medical Genetics, University of Zurich, 8952 Schlieren-Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Katharina Steindl
- Institute of Medical Genetics, University of Zurich, 8952 Schlieren-Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Eirik Frengen
- Department of Medical Genetics, University of Oslo and Oslo University Hospital, 0315 Oslo, Norway
| | - Doriana Misceo
- Department of Medical Genetics, University of Oslo and Oslo University Hospital, 0315 Oslo, Norway
| | | | - Petter Stromme
- Division of Paediatric and Adolescent Medicine, Oslo University Hospital and University of Oslo, 0313 Oslo, Norway
| | - Jill A Rosenfeld
- Department of Molecular and Human Genetics, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX 77030, USA
| | - Yunru Shao
- Department of Molecular and Human Genetics, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX 77030, USA
| | - William J Craigen
- Department of Molecular and Human Genetics, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX 77030, USA
| | - Christian P Schaaf
- Department of Molecular and Human Genetics, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX 77030, USA
| | - David Rodriguez-Buritica
- Division of Genetics, Department of Pediatrics, University of Texas Health, Houston, TX 77030, USA
| | - Laura Farach
- Division of Genetics, Department of Pediatrics, University of Texas Health, Houston, TX 77030, USA
| | - Jennifer Friedman
- Departments of Neurosciences and Pediatrics, University of California, San Diego, and Rady Children's Hospital, San Diego, CA 92123, USA
| | - Perla Thulin
- Department of Neurology, University of Utah, San Diego, CA 92123, USA
| | - Scott D McLean
- Clinical Genetics Section, Children's Hospital of San Antonio, San Antonio, TX 78207, USA
| | - Kimberly M Nugent
- Clinical Genetics Section, Children's Hospital of San Antonio, San Antonio, TX 78207, USA
| | - Jenny Morton
- Birmingham Women's Hospital, B15 2TG Birmingham, UK
| | - Jillian Nicholl
- SA Clinical Genetics Service, SA Pathology, Adelaide, SA 5000, Australia; School of Medicine, University of Adelaide, Adelaide, SA 5000, Australia
| | - Joris Andrieux
- Institut de Génétique Médicale, Hopital Jeanne de Flandre, 59000 Lille, France
| | | | - Pascal Chambon
- Laboratory of Cytogenetics, Rouen University Hospital, 76031 Rouen, France
| | - Sophie Patrier
- Service d'Anatomie Pathologique, Rouen University Hospital, 76031 Rouen, France
| | - Sally A Lynch
- National Centre for Medical Genetics, Our Lady's Children's Hospital, D12 V004 Dublin, Ireland
| | - Susanne Kjaergaard
- Department of Clinical Genetics, Rigshospitalet, 2100 Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Pernille M Tørring
- Department of Clinical Genetics, Odense University Hospital, 5000 Odense, Denmark
| | | | - Anne Ronan
- Hunter Genetics, Waratah, NSW 2298, Australia
| | - Arie van Haeringen
- Department of Clinical Genetics, Leiden University Medical Center, 2333 ZA Leiden, the Netherlands
| | - Peter J Anderson
- Australian Craniofacial Unit, Women's and Children's Hospital, North Adelaide, SA 5006, Australia
| | - Zöe Powis
- Ambry Genetics, Aliso Viejo, CA 92656, USA
| | - Han G Brunner
- Department of Human Genetics, Radboud University Medical Center, 6500 HB Nijmegen, the Netherlands
| | - Rolph Pfundt
- Department of Human Genetics, Radboud University Medical Center, 6500 HB Nijmegen, the Netherlands
| | | | - Bregje W M van Bon
- Department of Human Genetics, Radboud University Medical Center, 6500 HB Nijmegen, the Netherlands
| | - Stefan Lelieveld
- Department of Human Genetics, Radboud University Medical Center, 6500 HB Nijmegen, the Netherlands
| | - Christian Gilissen
- Department of Human Genetics, Radboud University Medical Center, 6500 HB Nijmegen, the Netherlands
| | - Willy M Nillesen
- Department of Human Genetics, Radboud University Medical Center, 6500 HB Nijmegen, the Netherlands
| | - Lisenka E L M Vissers
- Department of Human Genetics, Radboud University Medical Center, 6500 HB Nijmegen, the Netherlands
| | - Jozef Gecz
- School of Medicine and Robinson Research Institute, University of Adelaide, Adelaide, SA 5000, Australia; South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute, Adelaide, SA 5000, Australia
| | - David A Koolen
- Department of Human Genetics, Radboud University Medical Center, 6500 HB Nijmegen, the Netherlands
| | - Giuseppe Testa
- Laboratory of Stem Cell Epigenetics, Department of Experimental Oncology, European Institute of Oncology, Milan 20139, Italy; Department of Oncology and Hemato-Oncology, University of Milan, 20122 Milan, Italy.
| | - Bert B A de Vries
- Department of Human Genetics, Radboud University Medical Center, 6500 HB Nijmegen, the Netherlands.
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143
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Feng ZX, Li QZ. Recognition of long-range enhancer-promoter interactions by adding genomic signatures of segmented regulatory regions. Genomics 2017; 109:341-352. [PMID: 28579514 DOI: 10.1016/j.ygeno.2017.05.009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/07/2017] [Revised: 05/16/2017] [Accepted: 05/31/2017] [Indexed: 01/21/2023]
Abstract
Enhancer-promoter interaction (EPI) is an important cis-regulatory mechanism in the regulation of tissue-specific gene expression. However, it still has limitation to precisely identity these interactions so far. In this paper, using diverse genomic features for various regulatory regions, we presented a computational approach to predict EPIs with improved accuracies. Meanwhile, we comprehensively studied more potential regulatory factors that are important to EPIs prediction, such as nucleosome occupancy, enhancer RNA; and found the cell line-specificity and region-specificity of the contributions of diverse regulatory signatures. By adding genomic signatures of segmented regulatory regions, our best accuracies of cross-validation test were about 11%-16% higher than the previous results, indicating the location-specificity of genomic signatures in a regulatory region for predicting EPIs. Additionally, more training samples and related features can provide reliable performances in new cell lines. Consequently, our study provided additional insights into the roles of diverse signature features for predicting long-range EPIs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhen-Xing Feng
- Laboratory of Theoretical Biophysics, School of Physical Science and Technology, Inner Mongolia University, Hohhot 010021, China
| | - Qian-Zhong Li
- Laboratory of Theoretical Biophysics, School of Physical Science and Technology, Inner Mongolia University, Hohhot 010021, China.
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144
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UTX promotes hormonally responsive breast carcinogenesis through feed-forward transcription regulation with estrogen receptor. Oncogene 2017; 36:5497-5511. [PMID: 28534508 DOI: 10.1038/onc.2017.157] [Citation(s) in RCA: 36] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/05/2016] [Revised: 04/18/2017] [Accepted: 04/20/2017] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
Abstract
UTX is implicated in embryonic development and lineage specification. However, how this X-linked histone demethylase contributes to the occurrence and progression of breast cancer remains to be clarified. Here we report that UTX is physically associated with estrogen receptor (ER) and functions in ER-regulated transcription. We showed that UTX coordinates with JHDM1D and CBP to direct H3K27 methylation-acetylation transition and to create a permissive chromatin state on ER targets. Genome-wide analysis of the transcriptional targets of UTX by ChIP-seq identified a set of genes such as chemokine receptor CXCR4 that are intimately involved in breast cancer tumorigenesis and metastasis. We demonstrated that UTX promotes the proliferation and migration of ER+ breast cancer cells. Interestingly, UTX itself is transactivated by ER, forming a feed-forward loop in the regulation of hormone response. Indeed, UTX is upregulated during ER+ breast cancer progression, and the expression level of UTX is positively correlated with that of CXCR4 and negatively correlated with the overall survival of ER+ breast cancer patients. Our study identified a feed-forward loop between UTX and ER in the regulation of hormonally responsive breast carcinogenesis, supporting the pursuit of UTX as an emerging therapeutic target for the intervention of certain ER+ breast cancer with specific epigenetic vulnerability.
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145
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Cao K, Collings CK, Marshall SA, Morgan MA, Rendleman EJ, Wang L, Sze CC, Sun T, Bartom ET, Shilatifard A. SET1A/COMPASS and shadow enhancers in the regulation of homeotic gene expression. Genes Dev 2017; 31:787-801. [PMID: 28487406 PMCID: PMC5435891 DOI: 10.1101/gad.294744.116] [Citation(s) in RCA: 40] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/15/2016] [Accepted: 04/12/2017] [Indexed: 01/16/2023]
Abstract
In this study, Cao et al. identify two cis-regulatory elements (E1 and E2) functioning as shadow enhancers to regulate the early expression of the HoxA genes. Their results reveal multiple regulatory layers for Hox genes to fine-tune transcriptional programs essential for development. The homeotic (Hox) genes are highly conserved in metazoans, where they are required for various processes in development, and misregulation of their expression is associated with human cancer. In the developing embryo, Hox genes are activated sequentially in time and space according to their genomic position within Hox gene clusters. Accumulating evidence implicates both enhancer elements and noncoding RNAs in controlling this spatiotemporal expression of Hox genes, but disentangling their relative contributions is challenging. Here, we identify two cis-regulatory elements (E1 and E2) functioning as shadow enhancers to regulate the early expression of the HoxA genes. Simultaneous deletion of these shadow enhancers in embryonic stem cells leads to impaired activation of HoxA genes upon differentiation, while knockdown of a long noncoding RNA overlapping E1 has no detectable effect on their expression. Although MLL/COMPASS (complex of proteins associated with Set1) family of histone methyltransferases is known to activate transcription of Hox genes in other contexts, we found that individual inactivation of the MLL1-4/COMPASS family members has little effect on early Hox gene activation. Instead, we demonstrate that SET1A/COMPASS is required for full transcriptional activation of multiple Hox genes but functions independently of the E1 and E2 cis-regulatory elements. Our results reveal multiple regulatory layers for Hox genes to fine-tune transcriptional programs essential for development.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kaixiang Cao
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, Illinois 60611, USA
| | - Clayton K Collings
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, Illinois 60611, USA
| | - Stacy A Marshall
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, Illinois 60611, USA
| | - Marc A Morgan
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, Illinois 60611, USA
| | - Emily J Rendleman
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, Illinois 60611, USA
| | - Lu Wang
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, Illinois 60611, USA
| | - Christie C Sze
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, Illinois 60611, USA
| | - Tianjiao Sun
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, Illinois 60611, USA
| | - Elizabeth T Bartom
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, Illinois 60611, USA
| | - Ali Shilatifard
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, Illinois 60611, USA.,Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, Illinois 60611, USA
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146
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Xie S, Duan J, Li B, Zhou P, Hon GC. Multiplexed Engineering and Analysis of Combinatorial Enhancer Activity in Single Cells. Mol Cell 2017; 66:285-299.e5. [PMID: 28416141 DOI: 10.1016/j.molcel.2017.03.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 200] [Impact Index Per Article: 28.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/13/2016] [Revised: 01/18/2017] [Accepted: 03/07/2017] [Indexed: 12/25/2022]
Abstract
The study of enhancers has been hampered by the scarcity of methods to systematically quantify their endogenous activity. We develop Mosaic-seq to systematically perturb enhancers and measure their endogenous activities at single-cell resolution. Mosaic-seq uses a CRISPR barcoding system to jointly measure a cell's transcriptome and its sgRNA modulators, thus quantifying the effects of dCas9-KRAB-mediated enhancer repression in single cells. Applying Mosaic-seq to 71 constituent enhancers from 15 super-enhancers, our analysis of 51,448 sgRNA-induced transcriptomes finds that only a small number of constituents are major effectors of target gene expression. Binding of p300 and RNAPII are key features of these constituents. We determine two key parameters of enhancer activity in single cells: their penetrance in a population and their contribution to expression in these cells. Through combinatorial interrogation, we find that simultaneous repression of multiple weak constituents can alter super-enhancer activity in a manner greatly exceeding repression of individual constituents.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shiqi Xie
- Laboratory of Regulatory Genomics, Cecil H. and Ida Green Center for Reproductive Biology Sciences, Division of Basic Reproductive Biology Research, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX 75390, USA
| | - Jialei Duan
- Laboratory of Regulatory Genomics, Cecil H. and Ida Green Center for Reproductive Biology Sciences, Division of Basic Reproductive Biology Research, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX 75390, USA
| | - Boxun Li
- Laboratory of Regulatory Genomics, Cecil H. and Ida Green Center for Reproductive Biology Sciences, Division of Basic Reproductive Biology Research, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX 75390, USA
| | - Pei Zhou
- Laboratory of Regulatory Genomics, Cecil H. and Ida Green Center for Reproductive Biology Sciences, Division of Basic Reproductive Biology Research, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX 75390, USA
| | - Gary C Hon
- Laboratory of Regulatory Genomics, Cecil H. and Ida Green Center for Reproductive Biology Sciences, Division of Basic Reproductive Biology Research, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX 75390, USA.
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147
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Wang W, Sidoli S, Zhang W, Wang Q, Wang L, Jensen ON, Guo L, Zhao X, Zheng L. Abnormal levels of histone methylation in the retinas of diabetic rats are reversed by minocycline treatment. Sci Rep 2017; 7:45103. [PMID: 28338045 PMCID: PMC5364468 DOI: 10.1038/srep45103] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/09/2016] [Accepted: 02/17/2017] [Indexed: 02/07/2023] Open
Abstract
In this study we quantified the alterations of retinal histone post-translational modifications (PTMs) in diabetic rats using a liquid chromatography - tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) approach. Some diabetic rats were subsequently treated with minocycline, a tetracycline antibiotic, which has been shown to inhibit the diabetes-induced chronic inflammation in the retinas of rodents. We quantified 266 differentially modified histone peptides, including 48 out of 83 methylation marks with significantly different abundancein retinas of diabetic rats as compared to non-diabetic controls. About 67% of these marks had their relative abundance restored to non-diabetic levels after minocycline treatment. Mono- and di-methylation states of histone H4 lysine 20 (H4K20me1/me2), markers related to DNA damage response, were found to be up-regulated in the retinas of diabetic rats and restored to control levels upon minocycline treatment. DNA damage response biomarkers showed the same pattern once quantified by western blotting. Collectively, this study indicates that alteration of some histone methylation levels is associated with the development of diabetic retinopathy in rodents, and the beneficial effect of minocycline on the retinas of diabetic rodents is partially through its ability to normalize the altered histone methylation levels.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wenjun Wang
- Hubei Key Laboratory of Cell Homeostasis, College of Life Sciences, Wuhan University, Wuhan, 430072, P.R. China
| | - Simone Sidoli
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology and VILLUM Center for Bioanalytical Sciences, University of Southern Denmark, DK-5230 Odense M, Denmark
| | - Wenquan Zhang
- Hubei Key Laboratory of Cell Homeostasis, College of Life Sciences, Wuhan University, Wuhan, 430072, P.R. China
| | - Qing Wang
- Hubei Key Laboratory of Cell Homeostasis, College of Life Sciences, Wuhan University, Wuhan, 430072, P.R. China
| | - Leilei Wang
- Hubei Key Laboratory of Cell Homeostasis, College of Life Sciences, Wuhan University, Wuhan, 430072, P.R. China
| | - Ole N Jensen
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology and VILLUM Center for Bioanalytical Sciences, University of Southern Denmark, DK-5230 Odense M, Denmark
| | - Lin Guo
- Hubei Key Laboratory of Cell Homeostasis, College of Life Sciences, Wuhan University, Wuhan, 430072, P.R. China
| | - Xiaolu Zhao
- Hubei Key Laboratory of Cell Homeostasis, College of Life Sciences, Wuhan University, Wuhan, 430072, P.R. China
| | - Ling Zheng
- Hubei Key Laboratory of Cell Homeostasis, College of Life Sciences, Wuhan University, Wuhan, 430072, P.R. China
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Meeks JJ, Shilatifard A. Multiple Roles for the MLL/COMPASS Family in the Epigenetic Regulation of Gene Expression and in Cancer. ANNUAL REVIEW OF CANCER BIOLOGY-SERIES 2017. [DOI: 10.1146/annurev-cancerbio-050216-034333] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Joshua J. Meeks
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, Illinois 60611
| | - Ali Shilatifard
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, Illinois 60611
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149
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Cai Y, Tsai HC, Yen RWC, Zhang YW, Kong X, Wang W, Xia L, Baylin SB. Critical threshold levels of DNA methyltransferase 1 are required to maintain DNA methylation across the genome in human cancer cells. Genome Res 2017; 27:533-544. [PMID: 28232479 PMCID: PMC5378172 DOI: 10.1101/gr.208108.116] [Citation(s) in RCA: 38] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/07/2016] [Accepted: 02/22/2017] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
Abstract
Reversing DNA methylation abnormalities and associated gene silencing, through inhibiting DNA methyltransferases (DNMTs) is an important potential cancer therapy paradigm. Maximizing this potential requires defining precisely how these enzymes maintain genome-wide, cancer-specific DNA methylation. To date, there is incomplete understanding of precisely how the three DNMTs, 1, 3A, and 3B, interact for maintaining DNA methylation abnormalities in cancer. By combining genetic and shRNA depletion strategies, we define not only a dominant role for DNA methyltransferase 1 (DNMT1) but also distinct roles of 3A and 3B in genome-wide DNA methylation maintenance. Lowering DNMT1 below a threshold level is required for maximal loss of DNA methylation at all genomic regions, including gene body and enhancer regions, and for maximally reversing abnormal promoter DNA hypermethylation and associated gene silencing to reexpress key genes. It is difficult to reach this threshold with patient-tolerable doses of current DNMT inhibitors (DNMTIs). We show that new approaches, like decreasing the DNMT targeting protein, UHRF1, can augment the DNA demethylation capacities of existing DNA methylation inhibitors for fully realizing their therapeutic potential.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yi Cai
- Department of Oncology, the Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland 21287, USA
| | - Hsing-Chen Tsai
- Graduate Institute of Toxicology, National Taiwan University, Taipei, 10051, Taiwan.,Department of Internal Medicine, National Taiwan University Hospital, Taipei, 10002, Taiwan
| | - Ray-Whay Chiu Yen
- Department of Oncology, the Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland 21287, USA
| | - Yang W Zhang
- Department of Oncology, the Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland 21287, USA
| | - Xiangqian Kong
- Department of Oncology, the Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland 21287, USA
| | - Wei Wang
- Department of Oncology, the Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland 21287, USA
| | - Limin Xia
- Department of Oncology, the Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland 21287, USA
| | - Stephen B Baylin
- Department of Oncology, the Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland 21287, USA
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150
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