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Mulero-Hernández J, Mironov V, Miñarro-Giménez JA, Kuiper M, Fernández-Breis JT. Integration of chromosome locations and functional aspects of enhancers and topologically associating domains in knowledge graphs enables versatile queries about gene regulation. Nucleic Acids Res 2024:gkae566. [PMID: 38967009 DOI: 10.1093/nar/gkae566] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/12/2023] [Revised: 06/12/2024] [Accepted: 06/19/2024] [Indexed: 07/06/2024] Open
Abstract
Knowledge about transcription factor binding and regulation, target genes, cis-regulatory modules and topologically associating domains is not only defined by functional associations like biological processes or diseases but also has a determinative genome location aspect. Here, we exploit these location and functional aspects together to develop new strategies to enable advanced data querying. Many databases have been developed to provide information about enhancers, but a schema that allows the standardized representation of data, securing interoperability between resources, has been lacking. In this work, we use knowledge graphs for the standardized representation of enhancers and topologically associating domains, together with data about their target genes, transcription factors, location on the human genome, and functional data about diseases and gene ontology annotations. We used this schema to integrate twenty-five enhancer datasets and two domain datasets, creating the most powerful integrative resource in this field to date. The knowledge graphs have been implemented using the Resource Description Framework and integrated within the open-access BioGateway knowledge network, generating a resource that contains an interoperable set of knowledge graphs (enhancers, TADs, genes, proteins, diseases, GO terms, and interactions between domains). We show how advanced queries, which combine functional and location restrictions, can be used to develop new hypotheses about functional aspects of gene expression regulation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Juan Mulero-Hernández
- Departamento de Informática y Sistemas, Universidad de Murcia, CEIR Campus Mare Nostrum, Instituto Murciano de Investigación Biosanitaria (IMIB),30100 Murcia, Spain
| | - Vladimir Mironov
- Department of Biology, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, NO-7491 Trondheim, Norway
| | - José Antonio Miñarro-Giménez
- Departamento de Informática y Sistemas, Universidad de Murcia, CEIR Campus Mare Nostrum, Instituto Murciano de Investigación Biosanitaria (IMIB),30100 Murcia, Spain
| | - Martin Kuiper
- Department of Biology, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, NO-7491 Trondheim, Norway
| | - Jesualdo Tomás Fernández-Breis
- Departamento de Informática y Sistemas, Universidad de Murcia, CEIR Campus Mare Nostrum, Instituto Murciano de Investigación Biosanitaria (IMIB),30100 Murcia, Spain
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2
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Bayanjargal A, Taslim C, Showpnil IA, Selich-Anderson J, Crow JC, Lessnick SL, Theisen ER. DBD-α4 helix of EWSR1::FLI1 is required for GGAA microsatellite binding that underlies genome regulation in Ewing sarcoma. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2024:2024.01.31.578127. [PMID: 38352344 PMCID: PMC10862889 DOI: 10.1101/2024.01.31.578127] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/24/2024]
Abstract
Ewing sarcoma is the second most common bone cancer in children and young adults. In 85% of patients, a translocation between chromosomes 11 and 22 results in a potent fusion oncoprotein, EWSR1::FLI1. EWSR1::FLI1 is the only genetic alteration in an otherwise unaltered genome of Ewing sarcoma tumors. The EWSR1 portion of the protein is an intrinsically disordered domain involved in transcriptional regulation by EWSR1::FLI1. The FLI portion of the fusion contains a DNA binding domain shown to bind core GGAA motifs and GGAA repeats. A small alpha-helix in the DNA binding domain of FLI1, DBD-𝛼4 helix, is critical for the transcription function of EWSR1::FLI1. In this study, we aimed to understand the mechanism by which the DBD-𝛼4 helix promotes transcription, and therefore oncogenic transformation. We utilized a multi-omics approach to assess chromatin organization, active chromatinmarks, genome binding, and gene expression in cells expressing EWSR1::FLI1 constructs with and without the DBD-𝛼4 helix. Our studies revealed DBD-𝛼4 helix is crucial for cooperative binding of EWSR1::FLI1 at GGAA microsatellites. This binding underlies many aspects of genome regulation by EWSR1::FLI1 such as formation of TADs, chromatin loops, enhancers and productive transcription hubs.
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3
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Milne TA. Chromatin and aberrant enhancer activity in KMT2A rearranged acute lymphoblastic leukemia. Curr Opin Genet Dev 2024; 86:102191. [PMID: 38579381 DOI: 10.1016/j.gde.2024.102191] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/18/2023] [Revised: 03/11/2024] [Accepted: 03/19/2024] [Indexed: 04/07/2024]
Abstract
To make a multicellular organism, genes need to be transcribed at the right developmental stages and in the right tissues. DNA sequences termed 'enhancers' are crucial to achieve this. Despite concerted efforts, the exact mechanisms of enhancer activity remain elusive. Mixed lineage leukemia (MLL or KMT2A) rearrangements (MLLr), commonly observed in cases of acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) and acute myeloid leukemia, produce novel in-frame fusion proteins. Recent work has shown that the MLL-AF4 fusion protein drives aberrant enhancer activity at key oncogenes in ALL, dependent on the continued presence of MLL-AF4 complex components. As well as providing some general insights into enhancer function, these observations may also provide an explanation for transcriptional heterogeneity observed in MLLr patients.
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Affiliation(s)
- Thomas A Milne
- MRC Molecular Haematology Unit, MRC Weatherall Institute of Molecular Medicine, Radcliffe Department of Medicine, University of Oxford, Oxford OX3 9DS, UK.
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4
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Hayward-Lara G, Fischer MD, Mir M. Dynamic microenvironments shape nuclear organization and gene expression. Curr Opin Genet Dev 2024; 86:102177. [PMID: 38461773 PMCID: PMC11162947 DOI: 10.1016/j.gde.2024.102177] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/05/2023] [Revised: 02/11/2024] [Accepted: 02/14/2024] [Indexed: 03/12/2024]
Abstract
Live imaging has revealed that the regulation of gene expression is largely driven by transient interactions. For example, many regulatory proteins bind chromatin for just seconds, and loop-like genomic contacts are rare and last only minutes. These discoveries have been difficult to reconcile with our canonical models that are predicated on stable and hierarchical interactions. Proteomic microenvironments that concentrate nuclear factors may explain how brief interactions can still mediate gene regulation by creating conditions where reactions occur more frequently. Here, we summarize new imaging technologies and recent discoveries implicating microenvironments as a potential driver of nuclear function. Finally, we propose that key properties of proteomic microenvironments, such as their size, enrichment, and lifetimes, are directly linked to regulatory function.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gabriela Hayward-Lara
- Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania. Philadelphia, PA 19104
- Center for Computational and Genomic Medicine, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. Philadelphia, PA 19104
- Developmental, Stem Cell, and Regenerative Biology Graduate Group, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania. Philadelphia, PA 19104
| | - Matthew D. Fischer
- Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania. Philadelphia, PA 19104
- Center for Computational and Genomic Medicine, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. Philadelphia, PA 19104
| | - Mustafa Mir
- Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania. Philadelphia, PA 19104
- Center for Computational and Genomic Medicine, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. Philadelphia, PA 19104
- Epigenetics Institute, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania. Philadelphia, PA 19104
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. Philadelphia, PA 19104
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5
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McShane A, Narayanan IV, Paulsen MT, Ashaka M, Blinkiewicz H, Yang NT, Magnuson B, Bedi K, Wilson TE, Ljungman M. Characterizing nascent transcription patterns of PROMPTs, eRNAs, and readthrough transcripts in the ENCODE4 deeply profiled cell lines. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2024:2024.04.09.588612. [PMID: 38645116 PMCID: PMC11030308 DOI: 10.1101/2024.04.09.588612] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 04/23/2024]
Abstract
Arising as co-products of canonical gene expression, transcription-associated lincRNAs, such as promoter upstream transcripts (PROMPTs), enhancer RNAs (eRNAs), and readthrough (RT) transcripts, are often regarded as byproducts of transcription, although they may be important for the expression of nearby genes. We identified regions of nascent expression of these lincRNA in 16 human cell lines using Bru-seq techniques, and found distinctly regulated patterns of PROMPT, eRNA, and RT transcription using the diverse biochemical approaches in the ENCODE4 deeply profiled cell lines collection. Transcription of these lincRNAs was influenced by sequence-specific features and the local or 3D chromatin landscape. However, these sequence and chromatin features do not describe the full spectrum of lincRNA expression variability we identify, highlighting the complexity of their regulation. This may suggest that transcription-associated lincRNAs are not merely byproducts, but rather that the transcript itself, or the act of its transcription, is important for genomic function.
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6
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Gómez Acuña LI, Flyamer I, Boyle S, Friman ET, Bickmore WA. Transcription decouples estrogen-dependent changes in enhancer-promoter contact frequencies and spatial proximity. PLoS Genet 2024; 20:e1011277. [PMID: 38781242 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pgen.1011277] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/27/2023] [Revised: 06/05/2024] [Accepted: 04/29/2024] [Indexed: 05/25/2024] Open
Abstract
How enhancers regulate their target genes in the context of 3D chromatin organization is extensively studied and models which do not require direct enhancer-promoter contact have recently emerged. Here, we use the activation of estrogen receptor-dependent enhancers in a breast cancer cell line to study enhancer-promoter communication at two loci. This allows high temporal resolution tracking of molecular events from hormone stimulation to efficient gene activation. We examine how both enhancer-promoter spatial proximity assayed by DNA fluorescence in situ hybridization, and contact frequencies resulting from chromatin in situ fragmentation and proximity ligation, change dynamically during enhancer-driven gene activation. These orthogonal methods produce seemingly paradoxical results: upon enhancer activation enhancer-promoter contact frequencies increase while spatial proximity decreases. We explore this apparent discrepancy using different estrogen receptor ligands and transcription inhibitors. Our data demonstrate that enhancer-promoter contact frequencies are transcription independent whereas altered enhancer-promoter proximity depends on transcription. Our results emphasize that the relationship between contact frequencies and physical distance in the nucleus, especially over short genomic distances, is not always a simple one.
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Affiliation(s)
- Luciana I Gómez Acuña
- MRC Human Genetics Unit, Institute of Genetics and Cancer, University of Edinburgh, Crewe Road, Edinburgh, United Kingdom
| | - Ilya Flyamer
- MRC Human Genetics Unit, Institute of Genetics and Cancer, University of Edinburgh, Crewe Road, Edinburgh, United Kingdom
| | - Shelagh Boyle
- MRC Human Genetics Unit, Institute of Genetics and Cancer, University of Edinburgh, Crewe Road, Edinburgh, United Kingdom
| | - Elias T Friman
- MRC Human Genetics Unit, Institute of Genetics and Cancer, University of Edinburgh, Crewe Road, Edinburgh, United Kingdom
| | - Wendy A Bickmore
- MRC Human Genetics Unit, Institute of Genetics and Cancer, University of Edinburgh, Crewe Road, Edinburgh, United Kingdom
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7
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Melnikova L, Molodina V, Georgiev P, Golovnin A. Development of a New Model System to Study Long-Distance Interactions Supported by Architectural Proteins. Int J Mol Sci 2024; 25:4617. [PMID: 38731837 PMCID: PMC11083095 DOI: 10.3390/ijms25094617] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/19/2024] [Revised: 04/20/2024] [Accepted: 04/21/2024] [Indexed: 05/13/2024] Open
Abstract
Chromatin architecture is critical for the temporal and tissue-specific activation of genes that determine eukaryotic development. The functional interaction between enhancers and promoters is controlled by insulators and tethering elements that support specific long-distance interactions. However, the mechanisms of the formation and maintenance of long-range interactions between genome regulatory elements remain poorly understood, primarily due to the lack of convenient model systems. Drosophila became the first model organism in which architectural proteins that determine the activity of insulators were described. In Drosophila, one of the best-studied DNA-binding architectural proteins, Su(Hw), forms a complex with Mod(mdg4)-67.2 and CP190 proteins. Using a combination of CRISPR/Cas9 genome editing and attP-dependent integration technologies, we created a model system in which the promoters and enhancers of two reporter genes are separated by 28 kb. In this case, enhancers effectively stimulate reporter gene promoters in cis and trans only in the presence of artificial Su(Hw) binding sites (SBS), in both constructs. The expression of the mutant Su(Hw) protein, which cannot interact with CP190, and the mutation inactivating Mod(mdg4)-67.2, lead to the complete loss or significant weakening of enhancer-promoter interactions, respectively. The results indicate that the new model system effectively identifies the role of individual subunits of architectural protein complexes in forming and maintaining specific long-distance interactions in the D. melanogaster model.
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Affiliation(s)
- Larisa Melnikova
- Department of Drosophila Molecular Genetics, Institute of Gene Biology, Russian Academy of Sciences, 34/5 Vavilov Street, Moscow 119334, Russia;
| | - Varvara Molodina
- Department of Drosophila Molecular Genetics, Institute of Gene Biology, Russian Academy of Sciences, 34/5 Vavilov Street, Moscow 119334, Russia;
| | - Pavel Georgiev
- Department of the Control of Genetic Processes, Institute of Gene Biology, Russian Academy of Sciences, 34/5 Vavilov Street, Moscow 119334, Russia;
| | - Anton Golovnin
- Department of Drosophila Molecular Genetics, Institute of Gene Biology, Russian Academy of Sciences, 34/5 Vavilov Street, Moscow 119334, Russia;
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Wang A. Conceptual breakthroughs of the long noncoding RNA functional system and its endogenous regulatory role in the cancerous regime. EXPLORATION OF TARGETED ANTI-TUMOR THERAPY 2024; 5:170-186. [PMID: 38464381 PMCID: PMC10918237 DOI: 10.37349/etat.2024.00211] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/29/2023] [Accepted: 12/18/2023] [Indexed: 03/12/2024] Open
Abstract
Long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) derived from noncoding regions in the human genome were once regarded as junks with no biological significance, but recent studies have shown that these molecules are highly functional, prompting an explosion of studies on their biology. However, these recent efforts have only begun to recognize the biological significance of a small fraction (< 1%) of the lncRNAs. The basic concept of these lncRNA functions remains controversial. This controversy arises primarily from conventional biased observations based on limited datasets. Fortunately, emerging big data provides a promising path to circumvent conventional bias to understand an unbiased big picture of lncRNA biology and advance the fundamental principles of lncRNA biology. This review focuses on big data studies that break through the critical concepts of the lncRNA functional system and its endogenous regulatory roles in all cancers. lncRNAs have unique functional systems distinct from proteins, such as transcriptional initiation and regulation, and they abundantly interact with mitochondria and consume less energy. lncRNAs, rather than proteins as traditionally thought, function as the most critical endogenous regulators of all cancers. lncRNAs regulate the cancer regulatory regime by governing the endogenous regulatory network of all cancers. This is accomplished by dominating the regulatory network module and serving as a key hub and top inducer. These critical conceptual breakthroughs lay a blueprint for a comprehensive functional picture of the human genome. They also lay a blueprint for combating human diseases that are regulated by lncRNAs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anyou Wang
- Feinstone Center for Genomic Research, University of Memphis, Memphis, TN 38152, USA
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9
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Wahl N, Espeso-Gil S, Chietera P, Nagel A, Laighneach A, Morris DW, Rajarajan P, Akbarian S, Dechant G, Apostolova G. SATB2 organizes the 3D genome architecture of cognition in cortical neurons. Mol Cell 2024; 84:621-639.e9. [PMID: 38244545 PMCID: PMC10923151 DOI: 10.1016/j.molcel.2023.12.024] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/27/2023] [Revised: 10/02/2023] [Accepted: 12/15/2023] [Indexed: 01/22/2024]
Abstract
The DNA-binding protein SATB2 is genetically linked to human intelligence. We studied its influence on the three-dimensional (3D) epigenome by mapping chromatin interactions and accessibility in control versus SATB2-deficient cortical neurons. We find that SATB2 affects the chromatin looping between enhancers and promoters of neuronal-activity-regulated genes, thus influencing their expression. It also alters A/B compartments, topologically associating domains, and frequently interacting regions. Genes linked to SATB2-dependent 3D genome changes are implicated in highly specialized neuronal functions and contribute to cognitive ability and risk for neuropsychiatric and neurodevelopmental disorders. Non-coding DNA regions with a SATB2-dependent structure are enriched for common variants associated with educational attainment, intelligence, and schizophrenia. Our data establish SATB2 as a cell-type-specific 3D genome modulator, which operates both independently and in cooperation with CCCTC-binding factor (CTCF) to set up the chromatin landscape of pyramidal neurons for cognitive processes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nico Wahl
- Institute for Neuroscience, Medical University of Innsbruck, Innsbruck 6020, Austria.
| | - Sergio Espeso-Gil
- Institute for Neuroscience, Medical University of Innsbruck, Innsbruck 6020, Austria; Department of Psychiatry, Friedman Brain Institute, Department of Neuroscience, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY 10029, USA
| | - Paola Chietera
- Institute for Neuroscience, Medical University of Innsbruck, Innsbruck 6020, Austria
| | - Amelie Nagel
- Institute for Neuroscience, Medical University of Innsbruck, Innsbruck 6020, Austria
| | - Aodán Laighneach
- Centre for Neuroimaging, Cognition and Genomics (NICOG), School of Biological and Chemical Sciences, University of Galway, Galway, H91 TK33, Ireland
| | - Derek W Morris
- Centre for Neuroimaging, Cognition and Genomics (NICOG), School of Biological and Chemical Sciences, University of Galway, Galway, H91 TK33, Ireland
| | - Prashanth Rajarajan
- Department of Psychiatry, Friedman Brain Institute, Department of Neuroscience, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY 10029, USA
| | - Schahram Akbarian
- Department of Psychiatry, Friedman Brain Institute, Department of Neuroscience, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY 10029, USA
| | - Georg Dechant
- Institute for Neuroscience, Medical University of Innsbruck, Innsbruck 6020, Austria.
| | - Galina Apostolova
- Institute for Neuroscience, Medical University of Innsbruck, Innsbruck 6020, Austria.
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10
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Kawasaki K, Fukaya T. Regulatory landscape of enhancer-mediated transcriptional activation. Trends Cell Biol 2024:S0962-8924(24)00020-5. [PMID: 38355349 DOI: 10.1016/j.tcb.2024.01.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/31/2023] [Revised: 12/21/2023] [Accepted: 01/22/2024] [Indexed: 02/16/2024]
Abstract
Enhancers are noncoding regulatory elements that instruct spatial and temporal specificity of gene transcription in response to a variety of intrinsic and extrinsic signals during development. Although it has long been postulated that enhancers physically interact with target promoters through the formation of stable loops, recent studies have changed this static view: sequence-specific transcription factors (TFs) and coactivators are dynamically recruited to enhancers and assemble so-called transcription hubs. Dynamic assembly of transcription hubs appears to serve as a key scaffold to integrate regulatory information encoded by surrounding genome and biophysical properties of transcription machineries. In this review, we outline emerging new models of transcriptional regulation by enhancers and discuss future perspectives.
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Affiliation(s)
- Koji Kawasaki
- Laboratory of Transcription Dynamics, Research Center for Biological Visualization, Institute for Quantitative Biosciences, The University of Tokyo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-0032, Japan
| | - Takashi Fukaya
- Laboratory of Transcription Dynamics, Research Center for Biological Visualization, Institute for Quantitative Biosciences, The University of Tokyo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-0032, Japan; Department of Life Sciences, Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, The University of Tokyo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-0032, Japan.
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11
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Lee J, Simpson L, Li Y, Becker S, Zou F, Zhang X, Bai L. Transcription Factor Condensates Mediate Clustering of MET Regulon and Enhancement in Gene Expression. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2024:2024.02.06.579062. [PMID: 38370634 PMCID: PMC10871269 DOI: 10.1101/2024.02.06.579062] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/20/2024]
Abstract
Some transcription factors (TFs) can form liquid-liquid phase separated (LLPS) condensates. However, the functions of these TF condensates in 3D genome organization and gene regulation remain elusive. In response to methionine (met) starvation, budding yeast TF Met4 and a few co-activators, including Met32, induce a set of genes involved in met biosynthesis. Here, we show that the endogenous Met4 and Met32 form co-localized puncta-like structures in yeast nuclei upon met depletion. Recombinant Met4 and Met32 form mixed droplets with LLPS properties in vitro. In relation to chromatin, Met4 puncta co-localize with target genes, and at least a subset of these target genes are clustered in 3D in a Met4-dependent manner. A MET3pr-GFP reporter inserted near several native Met4 binding sites becomes co-localized with Met4 puncta and displays enhanced transcriptional activity. A Met4 variant with a partial truncation of an intrinsically disordered region (IDR) shows less puncta formation, and this mutant selectively reduces the reporter activity near Met4 binding sites to the basal level. Overall, these results support a model where Met4 and co-activators form condensates to bring multiple target genes into a vicinity with higher local TF concentrations, which facilitates a strong response to methionine depletion.
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Affiliation(s)
- James Lee
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, 16802, USA
- Center for Eukaryotic Gene Regulation, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, 16802, USA
| | - Leman Simpson
- Center for Eukaryotic Gene Regulation, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, 16802, USA
- Department of Chemistry, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, 16802, USA
| | - Yi Li
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, 16802, USA
- Center for Eukaryotic Gene Regulation, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, 16802, USA
| | - Samuel Becker
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, 16802, USA
| | - Fan Zou
- Department of Physics, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, 16802, USA
| | - Xin Zhang
- Department of Chemistry, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, 16802, USA
| | - Lu Bai
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, 16802, USA
- Center for Eukaryotic Gene Regulation, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, 16802, USA
- Department of Physics, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, 16802, USA
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12
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Wang Z, Zhang Z, Luo S, Zhou T, Zhang J. Power-law behavior of transcriptional bursting regulated by enhancer-promoter communication. Genome Res 2024; 34:106-118. [PMID: 38171575 PMCID: PMC10903953 DOI: 10.1101/gr.278631.123] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/12/2023] [Accepted: 12/18/2023] [Indexed: 01/05/2024]
Abstract
Revealing how transcriptional bursting kinetics are genomically encoded is challenging because genome structures are stochastic at the organization level and are suggestively linked to gene transcription. To address this challenge, we develop a generic theoretical framework that integrates chromatin dynamics, enhancer-promoter (E-P) communication, and gene-state switching to study transcriptional bursting. The theory predicts that power law can be a general rule to quantitatively describe bursting modulations by E-P spatial communication. Specifically, burst frequency and burst size are up-regulated by E-P communication strength, following power laws with positive exponents. Analysis of the scaling exponents further reveals that burst frequency is preferentially regulated. Bursting kinetics are down-regulated by E-P genomic distance with negative power-law exponents, and this negative modulation desensitizes at large distances. The mutual information between burst frequency (or burst size) and E-P spatial distance further reveals essential characteristics of the information transfer from E-P communication to transcriptional bursting kinetics. These findings, which are in agreement with experimental observations, not only reveal fundamental principles of E-P communication in transcriptional bursting but also are essential for understanding cellular decision-making.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zihao Wang
- Guangdong Province Key Laboratory of Computational Science, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510275, P.R. China
- School of Mathematics, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510275, P.R. China
| | - Zhenquan Zhang
- Guangdong Province Key Laboratory of Computational Science, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510275, P.R. China
- School of Mathematics, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510275, P.R. China
| | - Songhao Luo
- Guangdong Province Key Laboratory of Computational Science, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510275, P.R. China
- School of Mathematics, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510275, P.R. China
| | - Tianshou Zhou
- Guangdong Province Key Laboratory of Computational Science, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510275, P.R. China;
- School of Mathematics, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510275, P.R. China
| | - Jiajun Zhang
- Guangdong Province Key Laboratory of Computational Science, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510275, P.R. China;
- School of Mathematics, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510275, P.R. China
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13
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Archuleta SR, Goodrich JA, Kugel JF. Mechanisms and Functions of the RNA Polymerase II General Transcription Machinery during the Transcription Cycle. Biomolecules 2024; 14:176. [PMID: 38397413 PMCID: PMC10886972 DOI: 10.3390/biom14020176] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/21/2023] [Revised: 01/29/2024] [Accepted: 01/30/2024] [Indexed: 02/25/2024] Open
Abstract
Central to the development and survival of all organisms is the regulation of gene expression, which begins with the process of transcription catalyzed by RNA polymerases. During transcription of protein-coding genes, the general transcription factors (GTFs) work alongside RNA polymerase II (Pol II) to assemble the preinitiation complex at the transcription start site, open the promoter DNA, initiate synthesis of the nascent messenger RNA, transition to productive elongation, and ultimately terminate transcription. Through these different stages of transcription, Pol II is dynamically phosphorylated at the C-terminal tail of its largest subunit, serving as a control mechanism for Pol II elongation and a signaling/binding platform for co-transcriptional factors. The large number of core protein factors participating in the fundamental steps of transcription add dense layers of regulation that contribute to the complexity of temporal and spatial control of gene expression within any given cell type. The Pol II transcription system is highly conserved across different levels of eukaryotes; however, most of the information here will focus on the human Pol II system. This review walks through various stages of transcription, from preinitiation complex assembly to termination, highlighting the functions and mechanisms of the core machinery that participates in each stage.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - James A. Goodrich
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Colorado Boulder, 596 UCB, Boulder, CO 80309, USA;
| | - Jennifer F. Kugel
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Colorado Boulder, 596 UCB, Boulder, CO 80309, USA;
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14
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Murphy D, Salataj E, Di Giammartino DC, Rodriguez-Hernaez J, Kloetgen A, Garg V, Char E, Uyehara CM, Ee LS, Lee U, Stadtfeld M, Hadjantonakis AK, Tsirigos A, Polyzos A, Apostolou E. 3D Enhancer-promoter networks provide predictive features for gene expression and coregulation in early embryonic lineages. Nat Struct Mol Biol 2024; 31:125-140. [PMID: 38053013 PMCID: PMC10897904 DOI: 10.1038/s41594-023-01130-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/24/2022] [Accepted: 09/18/2023] [Indexed: 12/07/2023]
Abstract
Mammalian embryogenesis commences with two pivotal and binary cell fate decisions that give rise to three essential lineages: the trophectoderm, the epiblast and the primitive endoderm. Although key signaling pathways and transcription factors that control these early embryonic decisions have been identified, the non-coding regulatory elements through which transcriptional regulators enact these fates remain understudied. Here, we characterize, at a genome-wide scale, enhancer activity and 3D connectivity in embryo-derived stem cell lines that represent each of the early developmental fates. We observe extensive enhancer remodeling and fine-scale 3D chromatin rewiring among the three lineages, which strongly associate with transcriptional changes, although distinct groups of genes are irresponsive to topological changes. In each lineage, a high degree of connectivity, or 'hubness', positively correlates with levels of gene expression and enriches for cell-type specific and essential genes. Genes within 3D hubs also show a significantly stronger probability of coregulation across lineages compared to genes in linear proximity or within the same contact domains. By incorporating 3D chromatin features, we build a predictive model for transcriptional regulation (3D-HiChAT) that outperforms models using only 1D promoter or proximal variables to predict levels and cell-type specificity of gene expression. Using 3D-HiChAT, we identify, in silico, candidate functional enhancers and hubs in each cell lineage, and with CRISPRi experiments, we validate several enhancers that control gene expression in their respective lineages. Our study identifies 3D regulatory hubs associated with the earliest mammalian lineages and describes their relationship to gene expression and cell identity, providing a framework to comprehensively understand lineage-specific transcriptional behaviors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dylan Murphy
- Sanford I. Weill Department of Medicine, Sandra and Edward Meyer Cancer Center, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY, USA
- Physiology, Biophysics and Systems Biology Program, Weill Cornell Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Cornell University, New York, NY, USA
| | - Eralda Salataj
- Sanford I. Weill Department of Medicine, Sandra and Edward Meyer Cancer Center, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY, USA
| | - Dafne Campigli Di Giammartino
- Sanford I. Weill Department of Medicine, Sandra and Edward Meyer Cancer Center, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY, USA
- 3D Chromatin Conformation and RNA Genomics Laboratory, Center for Human Technologies (CHT), Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia (IIT), Genova, Italy
| | - Javier Rodriguez-Hernaez
- Department of Pathology, New York University Langone Health, New York, NY, USA
- Department of Medicine, New York University Langone Health, New York, NY, USA
- Applied Bioinformatics Laboratory, New York University Langone Health, New York, NY, USA
| | - Andreas Kloetgen
- Department of Pathology, New York University Langone Health, New York, NY, USA
- Department of Medicine, New York University Langone Health, New York, NY, USA
- Applied Bioinformatics Laboratory, New York University Langone Health, New York, NY, USA
| | - Vidur Garg
- Developmental Biology Program, Sloan Kettering Institute, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY, USA
- Biochemistry Cell and Molecular Biology Program, Weill Cornell Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Cornell University, New York, NY, USA
| | - Erin Char
- Tri-Institutional Training Program in Computational Biology and Medicine, Weill Cornell Medical College, New York, NY, USA
| | - Christopher M Uyehara
- Sanford I. Weill Department of Medicine, Sandra and Edward Meyer Cancer Center, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY, USA
| | - Ly-Sha Ee
- Sanford I. Weill Department of Medicine, Sandra and Edward Meyer Cancer Center, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY, USA
| | - UkJin Lee
- Sanford I. Weill Department of Medicine, Sandra and Edward Meyer Cancer Center, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY, USA
- Biochemistry Cell and Molecular Biology Program, Weill Cornell Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Cornell University, New York, NY, USA
| | - Matthias Stadtfeld
- Sanford I. Weill Department of Medicine, Sandra and Edward Meyer Cancer Center, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY, USA
| | - Anna-Katerina Hadjantonakis
- Developmental Biology Program, Sloan Kettering Institute, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY, USA
| | - Aristotelis Tsirigos
- Department of Pathology, New York University Langone Health, New York, NY, USA.
- Department of Medicine, New York University Langone Health, New York, NY, USA.
- Applied Bioinformatics Laboratory, New York University Langone Health, New York, NY, USA.
| | - Alexander Polyzos
- Sanford I. Weill Department of Medicine, Sandra and Edward Meyer Cancer Center, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY, USA.
| | - Effie Apostolou
- Sanford I. Weill Department of Medicine, Sandra and Edward Meyer Cancer Center, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY, USA.
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15
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Coleman DJL, Keane P, Luque-Martin R, Chin PS, Blair H, Ames L, Kellaway SG, Griffin J, Holmes E, Potluri S, Assi SA, Bushweller J, Heidenreich O, Cockerill PN, Bonifer C. Gene regulatory network analysis predicts cooperating transcription factor regulons required for FLT3-ITD+ AML growth. Cell Rep 2023; 42:113568. [PMID: 38104314 PMCID: PMC10874628 DOI: 10.1016/j.celrep.2023.113568] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/13/2023] [Revised: 11/03/2023] [Accepted: 11/27/2023] [Indexed: 12/19/2023] Open
Abstract
Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is a heterogeneous disease caused by different mutations. Previously, we showed that each mutational subtype develops its specific gene regulatory network (GRN) with transcription factors interacting within multiple gene modules, many of which are transcription factor genes themselves. Here, we hypothesize that highly connected nodes within such networks comprise crucial regulators of AML maintenance. We test this hypothesis using FLT3-ITD-mutated AML as a model and conduct an shRNA drop-out screen informed by this analysis. We show that AML-specific GRNs predict crucial regulatory modules required for AML growth. Furthermore, our work shows that all modules are highly connected and regulate each other. The careful multi-omic analysis of the role of one (RUNX1) module by shRNA and chemical inhibition shows that this transcription factor and its target genes stabilize the GRN of FLT3-ITD+ AML and that its removal leads to GRN collapse and cell death.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniel J L Coleman
- Institute of Cancer and Genomic Sciences, College of Medicine and Dentistry, University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham B15 2TT, UK
| | - Peter Keane
- Institute of Cancer and Genomic Sciences, College of Medicine and Dentistry, University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham B15 2TT, UK; School of Biosciences, University of Birmingham, Birmingham B15 2TT, U.K
| | - Rosario Luque-Martin
- Wolfson Childhood Cancer Research Centre, Translational and Clinical Research Institute, Newcastle University, Herschel Building, Level 6, Brewery Lane, Newcastle upon Tyne NE1 7RU, UK
| | - Paulynn S Chin
- Institute of Cancer and Genomic Sciences, College of Medicine and Dentistry, University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham B15 2TT, UK
| | - Helen Blair
- Wolfson Childhood Cancer Research Centre, Translational and Clinical Research Institute, Newcastle University, Herschel Building, Level 6, Brewery Lane, Newcastle upon Tyne NE1 7RU, UK
| | - Luke Ames
- Institute of Cancer and Genomic Sciences, College of Medicine and Dentistry, University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham B15 2TT, UK
| | - Sophie G Kellaway
- Institute of Cancer and Genomic Sciences, College of Medicine and Dentistry, University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham B15 2TT, UK
| | - James Griffin
- Institute of Cancer and Genomic Sciences, College of Medicine and Dentistry, University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham B15 2TT, UK
| | - Elizabeth Holmes
- Institute of Cancer and Genomic Sciences, College of Medicine and Dentistry, University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham B15 2TT, UK
| | - Sandeep Potluri
- Institute of Cancer and Genomic Sciences, College of Medicine and Dentistry, University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham B15 2TT, UK
| | - Salam A Assi
- Institute of Cancer and Genomic Sciences, College of Medicine and Dentistry, University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham B15 2TT, UK
| | - John Bushweller
- University of Virginia, 1340 Jefferson Park Avenue, Charlottesville, VA 22908, USA
| | - Olaf Heidenreich
- Wolfson Childhood Cancer Research Centre, Translational and Clinical Research Institute, Newcastle University, Herschel Building, Level 6, Brewery Lane, Newcastle upon Tyne NE1 7RU, UK; Prinses Máxima Centrum for Pediatric Oncology, Postbus 113, 3720 AC Bilthoven, Heidelberglaan 25, 3584CS Utrecht, the Netherlands.
| | - Peter N Cockerill
- Institute of Cancer and Genomic Sciences, College of Medicine and Dentistry, University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham B15 2TT, UK.
| | - Constanze Bonifer
- Institute of Cancer and Genomic Sciences, College of Medicine and Dentistry, University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham B15 2TT, UK.
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16
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Zhao J, Faryabi RB. Spatial promoter-enhancer hubs in cancer: organization, regulation, and function. Trends Cancer 2023; 9:1069-1084. [PMID: 37599153 PMCID: PMC10840977 DOI: 10.1016/j.trecan.2023.07.017] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/24/2023] [Revised: 07/14/2023] [Accepted: 07/27/2023] [Indexed: 08/22/2023]
Abstract
Transcriptional dysregulation is a hallmark of cancer and can be driven by altered enhancer landscapes. Recent studies in genome organization have revealed that multiple enhancers and promoters can spatially coalesce to form dynamic topological assemblies, known as promoter-enhancer hubs, which strongly correlate with elevated gene expression. In this review, we discuss the structure and complexity of promoter-enhancer hubs recently identified in multiple cancer types. We further discuss underlying mechanisms driving dysregulation of promoter-enhancer hubs and speculate on their functional role in pathogenesis. Understanding the role of promoter-enhancer hubs in transcriptional dysregulation can provide insight into new therapeutic approaches to target these complex features of genome organization.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jingru Zhao
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA; Penn Epigenetics Institute, University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA; Abramson Family Cancer Research Institute, University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA
| | - Robert B Faryabi
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA; Penn Epigenetics Institute, University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA; Abramson Family Cancer Research Institute, University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA.
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17
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Medwig-Kinney TN, Kinney BA, Martinez MAQ, Yee C, Sirota SS, Mullarkey AA, Somineni N, Hippler J, Zhang W, Shen K, Hammell C, Pani AM, Matus DQ. Dynamic compartmentalization of the pro-invasive transcription factor NHR-67 reveals a role for Groucho in regulating a proliferative-invasive cellular switch in C. elegans. eLife 2023; 12:RP84355. [PMID: 38038410 PMCID: PMC10691804 DOI: 10.7554/elife.84355] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/02/2023] Open
Abstract
A growing body of evidence suggests that cell division and basement membrane invasion are mutually exclusive cellular behaviors. How cells switch between proliferative and invasive states is not well understood. Here, we investigated this dichotomy in vivo by examining two cell types in the developing Caenorhabditis elegans somatic gonad that derive from equipotent progenitors, but exhibit distinct cell behaviors: the post-mitotic, invasive anchor cell and the neighboring proliferative, non-invasive ventral uterine (VU) cells. We show that the fates of these cells post-specification are more plastic than previously appreciated and that levels of NHR-67 are important for discriminating between invasive and proliferative behavior. Transcription of NHR-67 is downregulated following post-translational degradation of its direct upstream regulator, HLH-2 (E/Daughterless) in VU cells. In the nuclei of VU cells, residual NHR-67 protein is compartmentalized into discrete punctae that are dynamic over the cell cycle and exhibit liquid-like properties. By screening for proteins that colocalize with NHR-67 punctae, we identified new regulators of uterine cell fate maintenance: homologs of the transcriptional co-repressor Groucho (UNC-37 and LSY-22), as well as the TCF/LEF homolog POP-1. We propose a model in which the association of NHR-67 with the Groucho/TCF complex suppresses the default invasive state in non-invasive cells, which complements transcriptional regulation to add robustness to the proliferative-invasive cellular switch in vivo.
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Affiliation(s)
- Taylor N Medwig-Kinney
- Department of Biochemistry and Cell Biology, Stony Brook UniversityStony BrookUnited States
| | - Brian A Kinney
- Cold Spring Harbor LaboratoryCold Spring HarborUnited States
| | - Michael AQ Martinez
- Department of Biochemistry and Cell Biology, Stony Brook UniversityStony BrookUnited States
| | - Callista Yee
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Department of Biology, Stanford UniversityStanfordUnited States
| | - Sydney S Sirota
- Department of Biochemistry and Cell Biology, Stony Brook UniversityStony BrookUnited States
| | - Angelina A Mullarkey
- Department of Biochemistry and Cell Biology, Stony Brook UniversityStony BrookUnited States
| | - Neha Somineni
- Department of Biochemistry and Cell Biology, Stony Brook UniversityStony BrookUnited States
| | - Justin Hippler
- Department of Biochemistry and Cell Biology, Stony Brook UniversityStony BrookUnited States
- Science and Technology Research Program, Smithtown High School EastSt. JamesUnited States
| | - Wan Zhang
- Department of Biochemistry and Cell Biology, Stony Brook UniversityStony BrookUnited States
| | - Kang Shen
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Department of Biology, Stanford UniversityStanfordUnited States
| | | | - Ariel M Pani
- Departments of Biology and Cell Biology, University of VirginiaCharlottesvilleUnited States
| | - David Q Matus
- Department of Biochemistry and Cell Biology, Stony Brook UniversityStony BrookUnited States
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18
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Wang F, Alinejad‐Rokny H, Lin J, Gao T, Chen X, Zheng Z, Meng L, Li X, Wong K. A Lightweight Framework For Chromatin Loop Detection at the Single-Cell Level. ADVANCED SCIENCE (WEINHEIM, BADEN-WURTTEMBERG, GERMANY) 2023; 10:e2303502. [PMID: 37816141 PMCID: PMC10667817 DOI: 10.1002/advs.202303502] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/30/2023] [Revised: 08/10/2023] [Indexed: 10/12/2023]
Abstract
Single-cell Hi-C (scHi-C) has made it possible to analyze chromatin organization at the single-cell level. However, scHi-C experiments generate inherently sparse data, which poses a challenge for loop calling methods. The existing approach performs significance tests across the imputed dense contact maps, leading to substantial computational overhead and loss of information at the single-cell level. To overcome this limitation, a lightweight framework called scGSLoop is proposed, which sets a new paradigm for scHi-C loop calling by adapting the training and inferencing strategies of graph-based deep learning to leverage the sequence features and 1D positional information of genomic loci. With this framework, sparsity is no longer a challenge, but rather an advantage that the model leverages to achieve unprecedented computational efficiency. Compared to existing methods, scGSLoop makes more accurate predictions and is able to identify more loops that have the potential to play regulatory roles in genome functioning. Moreover, scGSLoop preserves single-cell information by identifying a distinct group of loops for each individual cell, which not only enables an understanding of the variability of chromatin looping states between cells, but also allows scGSLoop to be extended for the investigation of multi-connected hubs and their underlying mechanisms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fuzhou Wang
- Department of Computer ScienceCity University of Hong KongKowloon TongHong Kong SAR
| | - Hamid Alinejad‐Rokny
- BioMedical Machine Learning Lab, Graduate School of Biomedical EngineeringUniversity of New South WalesSydney2052Australia
| | - Jiecong Lin
- Molecular Pathology Unit, Center for Cancer Research, Massachusetts General HospitalDepartment of PathologyHarvard Medical SchoolBostonMA02129USA
- Department of Computer ScienceThe University of Hong KongPok Fu LamHong Kong SAR
| | - Tingxiao Gao
- Department of Medical Biophysics, Faculty of MedicineUniversity of TorontoTorontoOntarioM5G1L7Canada
| | - Xingjian Chen
- Department of Computer ScienceCity University of Hong KongKowloon TongHong Kong SAR
| | - Zetian Zheng
- Department of Computer ScienceCity University of Hong KongKowloon TongHong Kong SAR
| | - Lingkuan Meng
- Department of Computer ScienceCity University of Hong KongKowloon TongHong Kong SAR
| | - Xiangtao Li
- School of Artificial IntelligenceJilin UniversityChangchun130012China
| | - Ka‐Chun Wong
- Department of Computer ScienceCity University of Hong KongKowloon TongHong Kong SAR
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19
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Eichenberger BT, Griesbach E, Mitchell J, Chao JA. Following the Birth, Life, and Death of mRNAs in Single Cells. Annu Rev Cell Dev Biol 2023; 39:253-275. [PMID: 37843928 DOI: 10.1146/annurev-cellbio-022723-024045] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/18/2023]
Abstract
Recent advances in single-molecule imaging of mRNAs in fixed and living cells have enabled the lives of mRNAs to be studied with unprecedented spatial and temporal detail. These approaches have moved beyond simply being able to observe specific events and have begun to allow an understanding of how regulation is coupled between steps in the mRNA life cycle. Additionally, these methodologies are now being applied in multicellular systems and animals to provide more nuanced insights into the physiological regulation of RNA metabolism.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bastian T Eichenberger
- Friedrich Miescher Institute for Biomedical Research, Basel, Switzerland;
- University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland
| | - Esther Griesbach
- Friedrich Miescher Institute for Biomedical Research, Basel, Switzerland;
| | - Jessica Mitchell
- Friedrich Miescher Institute for Biomedical Research, Basel, Switzerland;
| | - Jeffrey A Chao
- Friedrich Miescher Institute for Biomedical Research, Basel, Switzerland;
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20
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Saxton MN, Morisaki T, Krapf D, Kimura H, Stasevich TJ. Live-cell imaging uncovers the relationship between histone acetylation, transcription initiation, and nucleosome mobility. SCIENCE ADVANCES 2023; 9:eadh4819. [PMID: 37792937 PMCID: PMC10550241 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.adh4819] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/08/2023] [Accepted: 09/01/2023] [Indexed: 10/06/2023]
Abstract
Histone acetylation and RNA polymerase II phosphorylation are associated with transcriptionally active chromatin, but their spatiotemporal relationship in live cells remains poorly understood. To address this problem, we combine Fab-based labeling of endogenous protein modifications with single-molecule tracking to quantify the dynamics of chromatin enriched with histone H3 lysine-27 acetylation (H3K27ac) and RNA polymerase II serine-5 phosphorylation (RNAP2-Ser5ph). Our analysis reveals that chromatin enriched with these two modifications is generally separate. In these separated sites, we show that the two modifications are inversely correlated with one another on the minutes time scale and that single nucleosomes within each region display distinct and opposing dynamics on the subsecond time scale. While nucleosomes diffuse ~15% faster in chromatin enriched with H3K27ac, they diffuse ~15% slower in chromatin enriched with RNAP2-Ser5ph. These results argue that high levels of H3K27ac and RNAP2-Ser5ph are not often present together at the same place and time, but rather each marks distinct transcriptionally poised or active sites, respectively.
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Affiliation(s)
- Matthew N. Saxton
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, USA
| | - Tatsuya Morisaki
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, USA
| | - Diego Krapf
- Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, and School of Biomedical Engineering, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, USA
| | - Hiroshi Kimura
- Cell Biology Center and World Research Hub Initiative, Tokyo Institute of Technology, Yokohama, Japan
- School of Life Science and Technology, Tokyo Institute of Technology, Yokohama, Japan
| | - Timothy J. Stasevich
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, USA
- Cell Biology Center and World Research Hub Initiative, Tokyo Institute of Technology, Yokohama, Japan
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21
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Kassouf M, Ford S, Blayney J, Higgs D. Understanding fundamental principles of enhancer biology at a model locus: Analysing the structure and function of an enhancer cluster at the α-globin locus. Bioessays 2023; 45:e2300047. [PMID: 37404089 DOI: 10.1002/bies.202300047] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/08/2023] [Revised: 05/03/2023] [Accepted: 05/05/2023] [Indexed: 07/06/2023]
Abstract
Despite ever-increasing accumulation of genomic data, the fundamental question of how individual genes are switched on during development, lineage-specification and differentiation is not fully answered. It is widely accepted that this involves the interaction between at least three fundamental regulatory elements: enhancers, promoters and insulators. Enhancers contain transcription factor binding sites which are bound by transcription factors (TFs) and co-factors expressed during cell fate decisions and maintain imposed patterns of activation, at least in part, via their epigenetic modification. This information is transferred from enhancers to their cognate promoters often by coming into close physical proximity to form a 'transcriptional hub' containing a high concentration of TFs and co-factors. The mechanisms underlying these stages of transcriptional activation are not fully explained. This review focuses on how enhancers and promoters are activated during differentiation and how multiple enhancers work together to regulate gene expression. We illustrate the currently understood principles of how mammalian enhancers work and how they may be perturbed in enhanceropathies using expression of the α-globin gene cluster during erythropoiesis, as a model.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mira Kassouf
- Laboratory of Gene Regulation, MRC Weatherall Institute of Molecular Medicine, Radcliffe Department of Medicine, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
| | - Seren Ford
- Laboratory of Gene Regulation, MRC Weatherall Institute of Molecular Medicine, Radcliffe Department of Medicine, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
| | - Joseph Blayney
- Laboratory of Gene Regulation, MRC Weatherall Institute of Molecular Medicine, Radcliffe Department of Medicine, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
| | - Doug Higgs
- Laboratory of Gene Regulation, MRC Weatherall Institute of Molecular Medicine, Radcliffe Department of Medicine, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
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22
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Sexton T, Platania A, Erb C, Barbieri M, Molcrette B, Grandgirard E, de Kort M, Meabum K, Taylor T, Shchuka V, Kocanova S, Oliveira G, Mitchell J, Soutoglou E, Lenstra T, Molina N, Papantonis A, Bystricky K. Competition between transcription and loop extrusion modulates promoter and enhancer dynamics. RESEARCH SQUARE 2023:rs.3.rs-3164817. [PMID: 37645793 PMCID: PMC10462181 DOI: 10.21203/rs.3.rs-3164817/v1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 08/31/2023]
Abstract
The spatiotemporal configuration of genes with distal regulatory elements, and the impact of chromatin mobility on transcription, remain unclear. Loop extrusion is an attractive model for bringing genetic elements together, but how this functionally interacts with transcription is also largely unknown. We combine live tracking of genomic loci and nascent transcripts with molecular dynamics simulations to assess the spatiotemporal arrangement of the Sox2 gene and its enhancer, in response to a battery of perturbations. We find a close link between chromatin mobility and transcriptional status: active elements display more constrained mobility, consistent with confinement within specialized nuclear sites, and alterations in enhancer mobility distinguish poised from transcribing alleles. Strikingly, we find that whereas loop extrusion and transcription factor-mediated clustering contribute to promoter-enhancer proximity, they have antagonistic effects on chromatin dynamics. This provides an experimental framework for the underappreciated role of chromatin dynamics in genome regulation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tom Sexton
- IGBMC (Institute of Genetics and Molecular and Cellular Biology)
| | | | - Cathie Erb
- IGBMC (Institute of Genetics and Molecular and Cellular Biology)
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | - Nacho Molina
- IGBMC (Institute of Genetics and Molecular and Cellular Biology)
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23
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Sun C, Ruzycki PA, Chen S. Rho enhancers play unexpectedly minor roles in Rhodopsin transcription and rod cell integrity. Sci Rep 2023; 13:12899. [PMID: 37558693 PMCID: PMC10412641 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-39979-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/06/2022] [Accepted: 08/02/2023] [Indexed: 08/11/2023] Open
Abstract
Enhancers function with a basal promoter to control the transcription of target genes. Enhancer regulatory activity is often studied using reporter-based transgene assays. However, unmatched results have been reported when selected enhancers are silenced in situ. In this study, using genomic deletion analysis in mice, we investigated the roles of two previously identified enhancers and the promoter of the Rho gene that codes for the visual pigment rhodopsin. The Rho gene is robustly expressed by rod photoreceptors of the retina, and essential for the subcellular structure and visual function of rod photoreceptors. Mutations in RHO cause severe vision loss in humans. We found that each Rho regulatory region can independently mediate local epigenomic changes, but only the promoter is absolutely required for establishing active Rho chromatin configuration and transcription and maintaining the cell integrity and function of rod photoreceptors. To our surprise, two Rho enhancers that enable strong promoter activation in reporter assays are largely dispensable for Rho expression in vivo. Only small and age-dependent impact is detectable when both enhancers are deleted. Our results demonstrate context-dependent roles of enhancers and highlight the importance of studying functions of cis-regulatory regions in the native genomic context.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chi Sun
- Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, Washington University, Saint Louis, MO, USA
| | - Philip A Ruzycki
- Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, Washington University, Saint Louis, MO, USA.
- Department of Genetics, Washington University, 660 South Euclid Avenue, MSC 8096-0006-11, Saint Louis, MO, 63110, USA.
| | - Shiming Chen
- Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, Washington University, Saint Louis, MO, USA.
- Department of Developmental Biology, Washington University, 660 South Euclid Avenue, MSC 8096-0006-06, Saint Louis, MO, 63110, USA.
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24
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Xu W, Li X. Regulation of Pol II Pausing during Daily Gene Transcription in Mouse Liver. BIOLOGY 2023; 12:1107. [PMID: 37626993 PMCID: PMC10452108 DOI: 10.3390/biology12081107] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/25/2023] [Revised: 07/20/2023] [Accepted: 08/03/2023] [Indexed: 08/27/2023]
Abstract
Cell autonomous circadian oscillation is present in central and various peripheral tissues. The intrinsic tissue clock and various extrinsic cues drive gene expression rhythms. Transcription regulation is thought to be the main driving force for gene rhythms. However, how transcription rhythms arise remains to be fully characterized due to the fact that transcription is regulated at multiple steps. In particular, Pol II recruitment, pause release, and premature transcription termination are critical regulatory steps that determine the status of Pol II pausing and transcription output near the transcription start site (TSS) of the promoter. Recently, we showed that Pol II pausing exhibits genome-wide changes during daily transcription in mouse liver. In this article, we review historical as well as recent findings on the regulation of transcription rhythms by the circadian clock and other transcription factors, and the potential limitations of those results in explaining rhythmic transcription at the TSS. We then discuss our results on the genome-wide characteristics of daily changes in Pol II pausing, the possible regulatory mechanisms involved, and their relevance to future research on circadian transcription regulation.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Xiaodong Li
- College of Life Sciences, Wuhan University, Wuhan 430072, China;
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25
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Ochiai H, Ohishi H, Sato Y, Kimura H. Organization of transcription and 3D genome as revealed by live-cell imaging. Curr Opin Struct Biol 2023; 81:102615. [PMID: 37257205 DOI: 10.1016/j.sbi.2023.102615] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/24/2023] [Revised: 04/03/2023] [Accepted: 05/01/2023] [Indexed: 06/02/2023]
Abstract
Higher-order genomic structures play a critical role in regulating gene expression by influencing the spatial proximity of promoters and enhancers. Live-cell imaging studies have demonstrated that three-dimensional genome structures undergo dynamic changes over time. Transcription is also dynamic, with genes frequently switching between active and inactive states. Recent observations suggest that the formation of condensates, composed of transcription-related factors, RNA, and RNA-binding proteins, around genes can regulate transcription. Advancements in technology have facilitated the visualization of the intricate spatiotemporal relationship between higher-order genomic structures, condensate formation, and transcriptional activity in living cells.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hiroshi Ochiai
- Medical Institute of Bioregulation, Kyushu University, Fukuoka, 812-0054, Japan.
| | - Hiroaki Ohishi
- Medical Institute of Bioregulation, Kyushu University, Fukuoka, 812-0054, Japan
| | - Yuko Sato
- School of Life Science and Technology, Tokyo Institute of Technology, Yokohama, 226-8501, Japan; Cell Biology Center, Institute of Innovative Research, Tokyo Institute of Technology, Yokohama, 226-8503, Japan
| | - Hiroshi Kimura
- School of Life Science and Technology, Tokyo Institute of Technology, Yokohama, 226-8501, Japan; Cell Biology Center, Institute of Innovative Research, Tokyo Institute of Technology, Yokohama, 226-8503, Japan.
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26
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Barshad G, Lewis JJ, Chivu AG, Abuhashem A, Krietenstein N, Rice EJ, Ma Y, Wang Z, Rando OJ, Hadjantonakis AK, Danko CG. RNA polymerase II dynamics shape enhancer-promoter interactions. Nat Genet 2023; 55:1370-1380. [PMID: 37430091 DOI: 10.1038/s41588-023-01442-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 18.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/12/2022] [Accepted: 06/09/2023] [Indexed: 07/12/2023]
Abstract
How enhancers control target gene expression over long genomic distances remains an important unsolved problem. Here we investigated enhancer-promoter communication by integrating data from nucleosome-resolution genomic contact maps, nascent transcription and perturbations affecting either RNA polymerase II (Pol II) dynamics or the activity of thousands of candidate enhancers. Integration of new Micro-C experiments with published CRISPRi data demonstrated that enhancers spend more time in close proximity to their target promoters in functional enhancer-promoter pairs compared to nonfunctional pairs, which can be attributed in part to factors unrelated to genomic position. Manipulation of the transcription cycle demonstrated a key role for Pol II in enhancer-promoter interactions. Notably, promoter-proximal paused Pol II itself partially stabilized interactions. We propose an updated model in which elements of transcriptional dynamics shape the duration or frequency of interactions to facilitate enhancer-promoter communication.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gilad Barshad
- Baker Institute for Animal Health, College of Veterinary Medicine, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, USA
| | - James J Lewis
- Baker Institute for Animal Health, College of Veterinary Medicine, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, USA
- Department of Genetics and Biochemistry, Clemson University, Clemson, SC, USA
| | - Alexandra G Chivu
- Baker Institute for Animal Health, College of Veterinary Medicine, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, USA
| | - Abderhman Abuhashem
- Developmental Biology Program, Sloan Kettering Institute, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York City, NY, USA
- Weill Cornell/Rockefeller/Sloan Kettering Tri-Institutional MD-PhD Program, New York City, NY, USA
- Biochemistry Cell and Molecular Biology Program, Weill Cornell Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Cornell University, New York City, NY, USA
| | - Nils Krietenstein
- The Novo Nordisk Center for Protein Research (CPR), Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Edward J Rice
- Baker Institute for Animal Health, College of Veterinary Medicine, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, USA
| | - Yitian Ma
- School of Life and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Dalian University of Technology, Dalian, China
| | - Zhong Wang
- School of Life and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Dalian University of Technology, Dalian, China
| | - Oliver J Rando
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biotechnology, University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School, Worcester, MA, USA
| | - Anna-Katerina Hadjantonakis
- Developmental Biology Program, Sloan Kettering Institute, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York City, NY, USA
- Biochemistry Cell and Molecular Biology Program, Weill Cornell Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Cornell University, New York City, NY, USA
| | - Charles G Danko
- Baker Institute for Animal Health, College of Veterinary Medicine, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, USA.
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, USA.
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27
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Sakellaropoulos T, Do C, Jiang G, Cova G, Meyn P, Dimartino D, Ramaswami S, Heguy A, Tsirigos A, Skok JA. MethNet: a robust approach to identify regulatory hubs and their distal targets in cancer. RESEARCH SQUARE 2023:rs.3.rs-3150386. [PMID: 37577603 PMCID: PMC10418566 DOI: 10.21203/rs.3.rs-3150386/v1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 08/15/2023]
Abstract
Aberrations in the capacity of DNA/chromatin modifiers and transcription factors to bind non-coding regions can lead to changes in gene regulation and impact disease phenotypes. However, identifying distal regulatory elements and connecting them with their target genes remains challenging. Here, we present MethNet, a pipeline that integrates large-scale DNA methylation and gene expression data across multiple cancers, to uncover novel cis regulatory elements (CREs) in a 1Mb region around every promoter in the genome. MethNet identifies clusters of highly ranked CREs, referred to as 'hubs', which contribute to the regulation of multiple genes and significantly affect patient survival. Promoter-capture Hi-C confirmed that highly ranked associations involve physical interactions between CREs and their gene targets, and CRISPRi based scRNA Perturb-seq validated the functional impact of CREs. Thus, MethNet-identified CREs represent a valuable resource for unraveling complex mechanisms underlying gene expression, and for prioritizing the verification of predicted non-coding disease hotspots.
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Affiliation(s)
- Theodore Sakellaropoulos
- Department of Pathology, NYU Grossman School of Medicine, New York, NY, USA
- Perlmutter Cancer Center, NYU Langone Health, New York, NY, USA
| | - Catherine Do
- Department of Pathology, NYU Grossman School of Medicine, New York, NY, USA
- Perlmutter Cancer Center, NYU Langone Health, New York, NY, USA
| | - Guimei Jiang
- Department of Pathology, NYU Grossman School of Medicine, New York, NY, USA
- Perlmutter Cancer Center, NYU Langone Health, New York, NY, USA
| | - Giulia Cova
- Department of Pathology, NYU Grossman School of Medicine, New York, NY, USA
- Perlmutter Cancer Center, NYU Langone Health, New York, NY, USA
| | - Peter Meyn
- Genome Technology Center, NYU Grossman School of Medicine, New York, NY, USA
| | - Dacia Dimartino
- Genome Technology Center, NYU Grossman School of Medicine, New York, NY, USA
| | - Sitharam Ramaswami
- Genome Technology Center, NYU Grossman School of Medicine, New York, NY, USA
| | - Adriana Heguy
- Genome Technology Center, NYU Grossman School of Medicine, New York, NY, USA
| | - Aristotelis Tsirigos
- Department of Pathology, NYU Grossman School of Medicine, New York, NY, USA
- Perlmutter Cancer Center, NYU Langone Health, New York, NY, USA
- Applied Bioinformatics Laboratories, Office of Science & Research, NYU Grossman School of Medicine, New York, NY, USA
| | - Jane A Skok
- Department of Pathology, NYU Grossman School of Medicine, New York, NY, USA
- Perlmutter Cancer Center, NYU Langone Health, New York, NY, USA
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28
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Murphy D, Salataj E, Di Giammartino DC, Rodriguez-Hernaez J, Kloetgen A, Garg V, Char E, Uyehara CM, Ee LS, Lee U, Stadtfeld M, Hadjantonakis AK, Tsirigos A, Polyzos A, Apostolou E. Systematic mapping and modeling of 3D enhancer-promoter interactions in early mouse embryonic lineages reveal regulatory principles that determine the levels and cell-type specificity of gene expression. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2023:2023.07.19.549714. [PMID: 37577543 PMCID: PMC10422694 DOI: 10.1101/2023.07.19.549714] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 08/15/2023]
Abstract
Mammalian embryogenesis commences with two pivotal and binary cell fate decisions that give rise to three essential lineages, the trophectoderm (TE), the epiblast (EPI) and the primitive endoderm (PrE). Although key signaling pathways and transcription factors that control these early embryonic decisions have been identified, the non-coding regulatory elements via which transcriptional regulators enact these fates remain understudied. To address this gap, we have characterized, at a genome-wide scale, enhancer activity and 3D connectivity in embryo-derived stem cell lines that represent each of the early developmental fates. We observed extensive enhancer remodeling and fine-scale 3D chromatin rewiring among the three lineages, which strongly associate with transcriptional changes, although there are distinct groups of genes that are irresponsive to topological changes. In each lineage, a high degree of connectivity or "hubness" positively correlates with levels of gene expression and enriches for cell-type specific and essential genes. Genes within 3D hubs also show a significantly stronger probability of coregulation across lineages, compared to genes in linear proximity or within the same contact domains. By incorporating 3D chromatin features, we build a novel predictive model for transcriptional regulation (3D-HiChAT), which outperformed models that use only 1D promoter or proximal variables in predicting levels and cell-type specificity of gene expression. Using 3D-HiChAT, we performed genome-wide in silico perturbations to nominate candidate functional enhancers and hubs in each cell lineage, and with CRISPRi experiments we validated several novel enhancers that control expression of one or more genes in their respective lineages. Our study comprehensively identifies 3D regulatory hubs associated with the earliest mammalian lineages and describes their relationship to gene expression and cell identity, providing a framework to understand lineage-specific transcriptional behaviors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dylan Murphy
- Sanford I. Weill Department of Medicine, Sandra and Edward Meyer Cancer Center, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY, United States
| | - Eralda Salataj
- Sanford I. Weill Department of Medicine, Sandra and Edward Meyer Cancer Center, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY, United States
| | - Dafne Campigli Di Giammartino
- Sanford I. Weill Department of Medicine, Sandra and Edward Meyer Cancer Center, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY, United States
- 3D Chromatin Conformation and RNA genomics laboratory, Instituto Italiano di Tecnologia (IIT), Center for Human Technologies (CHT), Genova, Italy (current affiliation)
| | - Javier Rodriguez-Hernaez
- Department of Pathology, New York University Langone Health, New York, NY 10016, USA
- Applied Bioinformatics Laboratory, New York University Langone Health, New York, NY 10016, USA
| | - Andreas Kloetgen
- Department of Pathology, New York University Langone Health, New York, NY 10016, USA
- Applied Bioinformatics Laboratory, New York University Langone Health, New York, NY 10016, USA
| | - Vidur Garg
- Developmental Biology Program, Sloan Kettering Institute, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY 10065, USA; Biochemistry Cell and Molecular Biology Program, Weill Cornell Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Cornell University, New York, NY 10065, USA
| | - Erin Char
- Tri-Institutional Training Program in Computational Biology and Medicine, Weill Cornell Medical College, New York, 10065, New York, USA
| | - Christopher M. Uyehara
- Sanford I. Weill Department of Medicine, Sandra and Edward Meyer Cancer Center, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY, United States
| | - Ly-sha Ee
- Sanford I. Weill Department of Medicine, Sandra and Edward Meyer Cancer Center, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY, United States
| | - UkJin Lee
- Sanford I. Weill Department of Medicine, Sandra and Edward Meyer Cancer Center, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY, United States
| | - Matthias Stadtfeld
- Sanford I. Weill Department of Medicine, Sandra and Edward Meyer Cancer Center, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY, United States
| | - Anna-Katerina Hadjantonakis
- Developmental Biology Program, Sloan Kettering Institute, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY 10065, USA; Biochemistry Cell and Molecular Biology Program, Weill Cornell Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Cornell University, New York, NY 10065, USA
| | - Aristotelis Tsirigos
- Department of Pathology, New York University Langone Health, New York, NY 10016, USA
- Applied Bioinformatics Laboratory, New York University Langone Health, New York, NY 10016, USA
| | - Alexander Polyzos
- Sanford I. Weill Department of Medicine, Sandra and Edward Meyer Cancer Center, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY, United States
| | - Effie Apostolou
- Sanford I. Weill Department of Medicine, Sandra and Edward Meyer Cancer Center, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY, United States
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29
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Coleman DJL, Keane P, Luque-Martin R, Chin PS, Blair H, Ames L, Kellaway SG, Griffin J, Holmes E, Potluri S, Assi SA, Bushweller J, Heidenreich O, Cockerill PN, Bonifer C. Gene regulatory network analysis predicts cooperating transcription factor regulons required for FLT3-ITD+ AML growth. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2023:2023.07.18.549495. [PMID: 37503022 PMCID: PMC10370108 DOI: 10.1101/2023.07.18.549495] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 07/29/2023]
Abstract
AML is a heterogenous disease caused by different mutations. We have previously shown that each mutational sub-type develops its specific gene regulatory network (GRN) with transcription factors interacting with multiple gene modules, many of which are transcription factor genes themselves. Here we hypothesized that highly connected nodes within such networks comprise crucial regulators of AML maintenance. We tested this hypothesis using FLT3-ITD mutated AML as a model and conducted an shRNA drop-out screen informed by this analysis. We show that AML-specific GRNs predict identifying crucial regulatory modules required for AML but not normal cellular growth. Furthermore, our work shows that all modules are highly connected and regulate each other. The careful multi-omic analysis of the role of one (RUNX1) module by shRNA and chemical inhibition shows that this transcription factor and its target genes stabilize the GRN of FLT3-ITD AML and that its removal leads to GRN collapse and cell death.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniel J L Coleman
- Institute of Cancer and Genomic Sciences, College of Medicine and Dentistry, University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham B152TT, UK
| | - Peter Keane
- Institute of Cancer and Genomic Sciences, College of Medicine and Dentistry, University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham B152TT, UK
| | - Rosario Luque-Martin
- Wolfson Childhood Cancer Research Centre, Translational and Clinical Research Institute, Newcastle University, Herschel Building, Level 6, Brewery Lane, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 7RU, UK
| | - Paulynn S Chin
- Institute of Cancer and Genomic Sciences, College of Medicine and Dentistry, University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham B152TT, UK
| | - Helen Blair
- Wolfson Childhood Cancer Research Centre, Translational and Clinical Research Institute, Newcastle University, Herschel Building, Level 6, Brewery Lane, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 7RU, UK
| | - Luke Ames
- Institute of Cancer and Genomic Sciences, College of Medicine and Dentistry, University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham B152TT, UK
| | - Sophie G Kellaway
- Institute of Cancer and Genomic Sciences, College of Medicine and Dentistry, University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham B152TT, UK
| | - James Griffin
- Institute of Cancer and Genomic Sciences, College of Medicine and Dentistry, University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham B152TT, UK
| | - Elizabeth Holmes
- Institute of Cancer and Genomic Sciences, College of Medicine and Dentistry, University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham B152TT, UK
| | - Sandeep Potluri
- Institute of Cancer and Genomic Sciences, College of Medicine and Dentistry, University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham B152TT, UK
| | - Salam A Assi
- Institute of Cancer and Genomic Sciences, College of Medicine and Dentistry, University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham B152TT, UK
| | - John Bushweller
- University of Virginia, 1340 Jefferson Park Ave, Charlottesville, VA 22908, USA
| | - Olaf Heidenreich
- Wolfson Childhood Cancer Research Centre, Translational and Clinical Research Institute, Newcastle University, Herschel Building, Level 6, Brewery Lane, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 7RU, UK
- Prinses Máxima Centrum for Pediatric Oncology, Postbus 113, 3720 AC Bilthoven, Heidelberglaan 25, 3584CS Utrecht, Netherlands
| | - Peter N Cockerill
- Institute of Cancer and Genomic Sciences, College of Medicine and Dentistry, University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham B152TT, UK
| | - Constanze Bonifer
- Institute of Cancer and Genomic Sciences, College of Medicine and Dentistry, University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham B152TT, UK
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30
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Chandra A, Yoon S, Michieletto MF, Goldman N, Ferrari EK, Abedi M, Johnson I, Fasolino M, Pham K, Joannas L, Kee BL, Henao-Mejia J, Vahedi G. Quantitative control of Ets1 dosage by a multi-enhancer hub promotes Th1 cell differentiation and protects from allergic inflammation. Immunity 2023; 56:1451-1467.e12. [PMID: 37263273 PMCID: PMC10979463 DOI: 10.1016/j.immuni.2023.05.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/22/2022] [Revised: 05/06/2023] [Accepted: 05/08/2023] [Indexed: 06/03/2023]
Abstract
Multi-enhancer hubs are spatial clusters of enhancers present across numerous developmental programs. Here, we studied the functional relevance of these three-dimensional structures in T cell biology. Mathematical modeling identified a highly connected multi-enhancer hub at the Ets1 locus, comprising a noncoding regulatory element that was a hotspot for sequence variation associated with allergic disease in humans. Deletion of this regulatory element in mice revealed that the multi-enhancer connectivity was dispensable for T cell development but required for CD4+ T helper 1 (Th1) differentiation. These mice were protected from Th1-mediated colitis but exhibited overt allergic responses. Mechanistically, the multi-enhancer hub controlled the dosage of Ets1 that was required for CTCF recruitment and assembly of Th1-specific genome topology. Our findings establish a paradigm wherein multi-enhancer hubs control cellular competence to respond to an inductive cue through quantitative control of gene dosage and provide insight into how sequence variation within noncoding elements at the Ets1 locus predisposes individuals to allergic responses.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aditi Chandra
- Department of Genetics, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA; Institute for Immunology, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA; Epigenetics Institute, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA; Institute for Diabetes, Obesity and Metabolism, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA; Abramson Family Cancer Research Institute, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA
| | - Sora Yoon
- Department of Genetics, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA; Institute for Immunology, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA; Epigenetics Institute, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA; Institute for Diabetes, Obesity and Metabolism, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA; Abramson Family Cancer Research Institute, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA
| | - Michaël F Michieletto
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA; Division of Protective Immunity, Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA
| | - Naomi Goldman
- Department of Genetics, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA; Institute for Immunology, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA; Epigenetics Institute, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA; Institute for Diabetes, Obesity and Metabolism, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA; Abramson Family Cancer Research Institute, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA
| | - Emily K Ferrari
- Department of Genetics, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA; Institute for Immunology, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA; Epigenetics Institute, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA; Institute for Diabetes, Obesity and Metabolism, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA; Abramson Family Cancer Research Institute, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA
| | - Maryam Abedi
- Department of Genetics, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA; Institute for Immunology, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA; Epigenetics Institute, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA; Institute for Diabetes, Obesity and Metabolism, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA; Abramson Family Cancer Research Institute, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA
| | - Isabelle Johnson
- Department of Genetics, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA; Institute for Immunology, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA; Epigenetics Institute, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA; Institute for Diabetes, Obesity and Metabolism, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA; Abramson Family Cancer Research Institute, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA
| | - Maria Fasolino
- Department of Genetics, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA; Institute for Immunology, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA; Epigenetics Institute, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA; Institute for Diabetes, Obesity and Metabolism, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA; Abramson Family Cancer Research Institute, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA
| | - Kenneth Pham
- Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA
| | - Leonel Joannas
- Institute for Immunology, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA; Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA; Division of Protective Immunity, Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA
| | - Barbara L Kee
- Department of Pathology, Committees on Cancer Biology and Immunology, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL 60637, USA
| | - Jorge Henao-Mejia
- Institute for Immunology, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA; Institute for Diabetes, Obesity and Metabolism, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA; Abramson Family Cancer Research Institute, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA; Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA; Division of Protective Immunity, Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA.
| | - Golnaz Vahedi
- Department of Genetics, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA; Institute for Immunology, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA; Epigenetics Institute, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA; Institute for Diabetes, Obesity and Metabolism, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA; Abramson Family Cancer Research Institute, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA.
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31
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Sloutskin A, Itzhak D, Vogler G, Ideses D, Alter H, Shachar H, Doniger T, Frasch M, Bodmer R, Duttke SH, Juven-Gershon T. A single DPE core promoter motif contributes to in vivo transcriptional regulation and affects cardiac function. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2023:2023.06.11.544490. [PMID: 37398300 PMCID: PMC10312617 DOI: 10.1101/2023.06.11.544490] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 07/04/2023]
Abstract
Transcription is initiated at the core promoter, which confers specific functions depending on the unique combination of core promoter elements. The downstream core promoter element (DPE) is found in many genes related to heart and mesodermal development. However, the function of these core promoter elements has thus far been studied primarily in isolated, in vitro or reporter gene settings. tinman (tin) encodes a key transcription factor that regulates the formation of the dorsal musculature and heart. Pioneering a novel approach utilizing both CRISPR and nascent transcriptomics, we show that a substitution mutation of the functional tin DPE motif within the natural context of the core promoter results in a massive perturbation of Tinman's regulatory network orchestrating dorsal musculature and heart formation. Mutation of endogenous tin DPE reduced the expression of tin and distinct target genes, resulting in significantly reduced viability and an overall decrease in adult heart function. We demonstrate the feasibility and importance of characterizing DNA sequence elements in vivo in their natural context, and accentuate the critical impact a single DPE motif has during Drosophila embryogenesis and functional heart formation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anna Sloutskin
- The Mina and Everard Goodman Faculty of Life Sciences, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat Gan, Israel
| | - Dekel Itzhak
- The Mina and Everard Goodman Faculty of Life Sciences, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat Gan, Israel
| | - Georg Vogler
- Development, Aging and Regeneration Program, Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute, La Jolla, CA, USA
| | - Diana Ideses
- The Mina and Everard Goodman Faculty of Life Sciences, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat Gan, Israel
| | - Hadar Alter
- The Mina and Everard Goodman Faculty of Life Sciences, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat Gan, Israel
| | - Hadar Shachar
- The Mina and Everard Goodman Faculty of Life Sciences, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat Gan, Israel
| | - Tirza Doniger
- The Mina and Everard Goodman Faculty of Life Sciences, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat Gan, Israel
| | - Manfred Frasch
- Division of Developmental Biology, Department of Biology, Friedrich-Alexander University of Erlangen-Nürnberg, Erlangen, Germany
| | - Rolf Bodmer
- Development, Aging and Regeneration Program, Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute, La Jolla, CA, USA
| | - Sascha H Duttke
- School of Molecular Biosciences, College of Veterinary Medicine, Washington State University, Pullman, WA, USA
| | - Tamar Juven-Gershon
- The Mina and Everard Goodman Faculty of Life Sciences, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat Gan, Israel
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32
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Zaghi M, Banfi F, Massimino L, Volpin M, Bellini E, Brusco S, Merelli I, Barone C, Bruni M, Bossini L, Lamparelli LA, Pintado L, D'Aliberti D, Spinelli S, Mologni L, Colasante G, Ungaro F, Cioni JM, Azzoni E, Piazza R, Montini E, Broccoli V, Sessa A. Balanced SET levels favor the correct enhancer repertoire during cell fate acquisition. Nat Commun 2023; 14:3212. [PMID: 37270547 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-39043-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/26/2022] [Accepted: 05/23/2023] [Indexed: 06/05/2023] Open
Abstract
Within the chromatin, distal elements interact with promoters to regulate specific transcriptional programs. Histone acetylation, interfering with the net charges of the nucleosomes, is a key player in this regulation. Here, we report that the oncoprotein SET is a critical determinant for the levels of histone acetylation within enhancers. We disclose that a condition in which SET is accumulated, the severe Schinzel-Giedion Syndrome (SGS), is characterized by a failure in the usage of the distal regulatory regions typically employed during fate commitment. This is accompanied by the usage of alternative enhancers leading to a massive rewiring of the distal control of the gene transcription. This represents a (mal)adaptive mechanism that, on one side, allows to achieve a certain degree of differentiation, while on the other affects the fine and corrected maturation of the cells. Thus, we propose the differential in cis-regulation as a contributing factor to the pathological basis of SGS and possibly other the SET-related disorders in humans.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mattia Zaghi
- Stem Cell and Neurogenesis Unit, Division of Neuroscience, IRCCS San Raffaele Scientific Institute, 20132, Milan, Italy
| | - Federica Banfi
- Stem Cell and Neurogenesis Unit, Division of Neuroscience, IRCCS San Raffaele Scientific Institute, 20132, Milan, Italy
- CNR Institute of Neuroscience, 20129, Milan, Italy
| | - Luca Massimino
- Esperimental Gastroenterology Unit, Division of Immunology, IRCCS San Raffaele Scientific Institute, 20132, Milan, Italy
| | - Monica Volpin
- San Raffaele Telethon Institute for Gene Therapy (SR-Tiget); IRCCS, San Raffaele Scientific Institute, 20132, Milan, Italy
| | - Edoardo Bellini
- Stem Cell and Neurogenesis Unit, Division of Neuroscience, IRCCS San Raffaele Scientific Institute, 20132, Milan, Italy
| | - Simone Brusco
- Stem Cell and Neurogenesis Unit, Division of Neuroscience, IRCCS San Raffaele Scientific Institute, 20132, Milan, Italy
- CNR Institute of Neuroscience, 20129, Milan, Italy
| | - Ivan Merelli
- CNR Institute of Biomedical Technologies, 20090, Segrate, Italy
| | - Cristiana Barone
- School of Medicine and Surgery, University of Milano-Bicocca, 20900, Monza, Italy
| | - Michela Bruni
- RNA biology of the Neuron Unit, Division of Neuroscience, IRCCS San Raffaele Scientific Institute, 20132, Milan, Italy
| | - Linda Bossini
- Stem Cell and Neurogenesis Unit, Division of Neuroscience, IRCCS San Raffaele Scientific Institute, 20132, Milan, Italy
| | - Luigi Antonio Lamparelli
- Esperimental Gastroenterology Unit, Division of Immunology, IRCCS San Raffaele Scientific Institute, 20132, Milan, Italy
| | - Laura Pintado
- Stem Cell and Neurogenesis Unit, Division of Neuroscience, IRCCS San Raffaele Scientific Institute, 20132, Milan, Italy
| | - Deborah D'Aliberti
- School of Medicine and Surgery, University of Milano-Bicocca, 20900, Monza, Italy
| | - Silvia Spinelli
- School of Medicine and Surgery, University of Milano-Bicocca, 20900, Monza, Italy
| | - Luca Mologni
- School of Medicine and Surgery, University of Milano-Bicocca, 20900, Monza, Italy
| | - Gaia Colasante
- Stem Cell and Neurogenesis Unit, Division of Neuroscience, IRCCS San Raffaele Scientific Institute, 20132, Milan, Italy
| | - Federica Ungaro
- Esperimental Gastroenterology Unit, Division of Immunology, IRCCS San Raffaele Scientific Institute, 20132, Milan, Italy
| | - Jean-Michel Cioni
- RNA biology of the Neuron Unit, Division of Neuroscience, IRCCS San Raffaele Scientific Institute, 20132, Milan, Italy
| | - Emanuele Azzoni
- School of Medicine and Surgery, University of Milano-Bicocca, 20900, Monza, Italy
| | - Rocco Piazza
- School of Medicine and Surgery, University of Milano-Bicocca, 20900, Monza, Italy
| | - Eugenio Montini
- San Raffaele Telethon Institute for Gene Therapy (SR-Tiget); IRCCS, San Raffaele Scientific Institute, 20132, Milan, Italy
| | - Vania Broccoli
- Stem Cell and Neurogenesis Unit, Division of Neuroscience, IRCCS San Raffaele Scientific Institute, 20132, Milan, Italy
- CNR Institute of Neuroscience, 20129, Milan, Italy
| | - Alessandro Sessa
- Stem Cell and Neurogenesis Unit, Division of Neuroscience, IRCCS San Raffaele Scientific Institute, 20132, Milan, Italy.
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Mattick JS, Amaral PP, Carninci P, Carpenter S, Chang HY, Chen LL, Chen R, Dean C, Dinger ME, Fitzgerald KA, Gingeras TR, Guttman M, Hirose T, Huarte M, Johnson R, Kanduri C, Kapranov P, Lawrence JB, Lee JT, Mendell JT, Mercer TR, Moore KJ, Nakagawa S, Rinn JL, Spector DL, Ulitsky I, Wan Y, Wilusz JE, Wu M. Long non-coding RNAs: definitions, functions, challenges and recommendations. Nat Rev Mol Cell Biol 2023; 24:430-447. [PMID: 36596869 PMCID: PMC10213152 DOI: 10.1038/s41580-022-00566-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 372] [Impact Index Per Article: 372.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 11/16/2022] [Indexed: 01/05/2023]
Abstract
Genes specifying long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) occupy a large fraction of the genomes of complex organisms. The term 'lncRNAs' encompasses RNA polymerase I (Pol I), Pol II and Pol III transcribed RNAs, and RNAs from processed introns. The various functions of lncRNAs and their many isoforms and interleaved relationships with other genes make lncRNA classification and annotation difficult. Most lncRNAs evolve more rapidly than protein-coding sequences, are cell type specific and regulate many aspects of cell differentiation and development and other physiological processes. Many lncRNAs associate with chromatin-modifying complexes, are transcribed from enhancers and nucleate phase separation of nuclear condensates and domains, indicating an intimate link between lncRNA expression and the spatial control of gene expression during development. lncRNAs also have important roles in the cytoplasm and beyond, including in the regulation of translation, metabolism and signalling. lncRNAs often have a modular structure and are rich in repeats, which are increasingly being shown to be relevant to their function. In this Consensus Statement, we address the definition and nomenclature of lncRNAs and their conservation, expression, phenotypic visibility, structure and functions. We also discuss research challenges and provide recommendations to advance the understanding of the roles of lncRNAs in development, cell biology and disease.
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Affiliation(s)
- John S Mattick
- School of Biotechnology and Biomolecular Sciences, UNSW, Sydney, NSW, Australia.
- UNSW RNA Institute, UNSW, Sydney, NSW, Australia.
| | - Paulo P Amaral
- INSPER Institute of Education and Research, São Paulo, Brazil
| | - Piero Carninci
- RIKEN Center for Integrative Medical Sciences, Yokohama, Japan
- Human Technopole, Milan, Italy
| | - Susan Carpenter
- Department of Molecular, Cell and Developmental Biology, University of California, Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz, CA, USA
| | - Howard Y Chang
- Center for Personal Dynamics Regulomes, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, USA
- Department of Dermatology, Stanford, CA, USA
- Department of Genetics, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, USA
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, USA
| | - Ling-Ling Chen
- CAS Center for Excellence in Molecular Cell Science, Shanghai Institute of Biochemistry and Cell Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, China
| | - Runsheng Chen
- Key Laboratory of RNA Biology, Center for Big Data Research in Health, Institute of Biophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Caroline Dean
- John Innes Centre, Norwich Research Park, Norwich, UK
| | - Marcel E Dinger
- School of Biotechnology and Biomolecular Sciences, UNSW, Sydney, NSW, Australia
- UNSW RNA Institute, UNSW, Sydney, NSW, Australia
| | - Katherine A Fitzgerald
- Division of Innate Immunity, Department of Medicine, University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School, Worcester, MA, USA
| | | | - Mitchell Guttman
- Division of Biology and Biological Engineering, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, USA
| | - Tetsuro Hirose
- Graduate School of Frontier Biosciences, Osaka University, Osaka, Japan
| | - Maite Huarte
- Department of Gene Therapy and Regulation of Gene Expression, Center for Applied Medical Research, University of Navarra, Pamplona, Spain
- Institute of Health Research of Navarra, Pamplona, Spain
| | - Rory Johnson
- School of Biology and Environmental Science, University College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland
- Conway Institute for Biomolecular and Biomedical Research, University College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland
| | - Chandrasekhar Kanduri
- Department of Medical Biochemistry and Cell Biology, Institute of Biomedicine, Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden
| | - Philipp Kapranov
- Institute of Genomics, School of Medicine, Huaqiao University, Xiamen, China
| | - Jeanne B Lawrence
- Department of Neurology, University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School, Worcester, MA, USA
| | - Jeannie T Lee
- Department of Molecular Biology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
- Department of Genetics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Joshua T Mendell
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, UT Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX, USA
- Department of Molecular Biology, UT Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX, USA
| | - Timothy R Mercer
- Australian Institute for Bioengineering and Nanotechnology, University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD, Australia
| | - Kathryn J Moore
- Department of Medicine, New York University Grossman School of Medicine, New York, NY, USA
| | - Shinichi Nakagawa
- RNA Biology Laboratory, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Hokkaido University, Sapporo, Japan
| | - John L Rinn
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, CO, USA
- BioFrontiers Institute, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, CO, USA
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, CO, USA
| | - David L Spector
- Cold Spring Harbour Laboratory, Cold Spring Harbour, NY, USA
| | - Igor Ulitsky
- Department of Biological Regulation, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel
| | - Yue Wan
- Laboratory of RNA Genomics and Structure, Genome Institute of Singapore, A*STAR, Singapore, Singapore
- Department of Biochemistry, National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore
| | - Jeremy E Wilusz
- Verna and Marrs McLean Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Therapeutic Innovation Center, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA
| | - Mian Wu
- Translational Research Institute, Henan Provincial People's Hospital, Academy of Medical Science, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, China
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34
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Platania A, Erb C, Barbieri M, Molcrette B, Grandgirard E, de Kort MAC, Meaburn K, Taylor T, Shchuka VM, Kocanova S, Oliveira GM, Mitchell JA, Soutoglou E, Lenstra TL, Molina N, Papantonis A, Bystricky K, Sexton T. Competition between transcription and loop extrusion modulates promoter and enhancer dynamics. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2023:2023.04.25.538222. [PMID: 37162887 PMCID: PMC10168261 DOI: 10.1101/2023.04.25.538222] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/11/2023]
Abstract
The spatiotemporal configuration of genes with distal regulatory elements, and the impact of chromatin mobility on transcription, remain unclear. Loop extrusion is an attractive model for bringing genetic elements together, but how this functionally interacts with transcription is also largely unknown. We combine live tracking of genomic loci and nascent transcripts with molecular dynamics simulations to assess the 4D arrangement of the Sox2 gene and its enhancer, in response to a battery of perturbations. We find that alterations in chromatin mobility, not promoter-enhancer distance, is more informative about transcriptional status. Active elements display more constrained mobility, consistent with confinement within specialized nuclear sites, and alterations in enhancer mobility distinguish poised from transcribing alleles. Strikingly, we find that whereas loop extrusion and transcription factor-mediated clustering contribute to promoter-enhancer proximity, they have antagonistic effects on chromatin dynamics. This provides an experimental framework for the underappreciated role of chromatin dynamics in genome regulation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Angeliki Platania
- Department of Functional Genomics and Cancer, Institute of Genetics and Molecular and Cellular Biology (IGBMC), UMR7104, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, U1258, Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale, University of Strasbourg, 6704 Illkirch, France
| | - Cathie Erb
- Department of Functional Genomics and Cancer, Institute of Genetics and Molecular and Cellular Biology (IGBMC), UMR7104, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, U1258, Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale, University of Strasbourg, 6704 Illkirch, France
| | - Mariano Barbieri
- Translational Epigenetics Group, Institute of Pathology, University Medical Centre Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Bastien Molcrette
- Department of Functional Genomics and Cancer, Institute of Genetics and Molecular and Cellular Biology (IGBMC), UMR7104, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, U1258, Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale, University of Strasbourg, 6704 Illkirch, France
| | - Erwan Grandgirard
- Department of Functional Genomics and Cancer, Institute of Genetics and Molecular and Cellular Biology (IGBMC), UMR7104, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, U1258, Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale, University of Strasbourg, 6704 Illkirch, France
| | - Marit AC de Kort
- Division of Gene Regulation, the Netherlands Cancer Institute, Oncode Institute, 1066CX Amsterdam, the Netherlands
| | - Karen Meaburn
- Genome Damage and Stability Centre, Sussex University, School of Life Sciences, University of Sussex, Brighton, UK
| | - Tiegh Taylor
- Department of Cell and Systems Biology, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario M55 3G5, Canada
| | - Virlana M Shchuka
- Department of Cell and Systems Biology, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario M55 3G5, Canada
| | - Silvia Kocanova
- Molecular Cellular and Developmental Biology unit (MCD), Centre de Biologie Integrative (CBI) University of Toulouse Paul Sabatier, CNRS, 31062 Toulouse, France
| | - Guilherme Monteiro Oliveira
- Department of Functional Genomics and Cancer, Institute of Genetics and Molecular and Cellular Biology (IGBMC), UMR7104, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, U1258, Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale, University of Strasbourg, 6704 Illkirch, France
| | - Jennifer A Mitchell
- Department of Cell and Systems Biology, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario M55 3G5, Canada
| | - Evi Soutoglou
- Genome Damage and Stability Centre, Sussex University, School of Life Sciences, University of Sussex, Brighton, UK
| | - Tineke L Lenstra
- Division of Gene Regulation, the Netherlands Cancer Institute, Oncode Institute, 1066CX Amsterdam, the Netherlands
| | - Nacho Molina
- Department of Functional Genomics and Cancer, Institute of Genetics and Molecular and Cellular Biology (IGBMC), UMR7104, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, U1258, Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale, University of Strasbourg, 6704 Illkirch, France
| | - Argyris Papantonis
- Translational Epigenetics Group, Institute of Pathology, University Medical Centre Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Kerstin Bystricky
- Molecular Cellular and Developmental Biology unit (MCD), Centre de Biologie Integrative (CBI) University of Toulouse Paul Sabatier, CNRS, 31062 Toulouse, France
- Institut Universitaire de France (IUF)
| | - Tom Sexton
- Department of Functional Genomics and Cancer, Institute of Genetics and Molecular and Cellular Biology (IGBMC), UMR7104, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, U1258, Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale, University of Strasbourg, 6704 Illkirch, France
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Uyehara CM, Apostolou E. 3D enhancer-promoter interactions and multi-connected hubs: Organizational principles and functional roles. Cell Rep 2023; 42:112068. [PMID: 37059094 PMCID: PMC10556201 DOI: 10.1016/j.celrep.2023.112068] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 25.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/09/2022] [Revised: 11/25/2022] [Accepted: 01/20/2023] [Indexed: 04/16/2023] Open
Abstract
The spatiotemporal control of gene expression is dependent on the activity of cis-acting regulatory sequences, called enhancers, which regulate target genes over variable genomic distances and, often, by skipping intermediate promoters, suggesting mechanisms that control enhancer-promoter communication. Recent genomics and imaging technologies have revealed highly complex enhancer-promoter interaction networks, whereas advanced functional studies have started interrogating the forces behind the physical and functional communication among multiple enhancers and promoters. In this review, we first summarize our current understanding of the factors involved in enhancer-promoter communication, with a particular focus on recent papers that have revealed new layers of complexities to old questions. In the second part of the review, we focus on a subset of highly connected enhancer-promoter "hubs" and discuss their potential functions in signal integration and gene regulation, as well as the putative factors that might determine their dynamics and assembly.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christopher M Uyehara
- Sanford I. Weill Department of Medicine, Sandra and Edward Meyer Cancer Center, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY 10021, USA
| | - Effie Apostolou
- Sanford I. Weill Department of Medicine, Sandra and Edward Meyer Cancer Center, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY 10021, USA.
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36
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Schaeffer M, Nollmann M. Contributions of 3D chromatin structure to cell-type-specific gene regulation. Curr Opin Genet Dev 2023; 79:102032. [PMID: 36893484 DOI: 10.1016/j.gde.2023.102032] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/30/2022] [Revised: 02/05/2023] [Accepted: 02/06/2023] [Indexed: 03/09/2023]
Abstract
Eukaryotic genomes are organized in 3D in a multiscale manner, and different mechanisms acting at each of these scales can contribute to transcriptional regulation. However, the large single-cell variability in 3D chromatin structures represents a challenge to understand how transcription may be differentially regulated between cell types in a robust and efficient manner. Here, we describe the different mechanisms by which 3D chromatin structure was shown to contribute to cell-type-specific transcriptional regulation. Excitingly, several novel methodologies able to measure 3D chromatin conformation and transcription in single cells in their native tissue context, or to detect the dynamics of cis-regulatory interactions, are starting to allow quantitative dissection of chromatin structure noise and relate it to how transcription may be regulated between different cell types and cell states.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marie Schaeffer
- Centre de Biologie Structurale, Univ Montpellier, CNRS UMR 5048, INSERM U1054, Montpellier, France
| | - Marcelo Nollmann
- Centre de Biologie Structurale, Univ Montpellier, CNRS UMR 5048, INSERM U1054, Montpellier, France.
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37
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A de novo transcription-dependent TAD boundary underpins critical multiway interactions during antibody class switch recombination. Mol Cell 2023; 83:681-697.e7. [PMID: 36736317 DOI: 10.1016/j.molcel.2023.01.014] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/30/2022] [Revised: 11/04/2022] [Accepted: 01/09/2023] [Indexed: 02/05/2023]
Abstract
Interactions between transcription and cohesin-mediated loop extrusion can influence 3D chromatin architecture. However, their relevance in biology is unclear. Here, we report a direct role for such interactions in the mechanism of antibody class switch recombination (CSR) at the murine immunoglobulin heavy chain locus (Igh). Using Tri-C to measure higher-order multiway interactions on single alleles, we find that the juxtaposition (synapsis) of transcriptionally active donor and acceptor Igh switch (S) sequences, an essential step in CSR, occurs via the interaction of loop extrusion complexes with a de novo topologically associating domain (TAD) boundary formed via transcriptional activity across S regions. Surprisingly, synapsis occurs predominantly in proximity to the 3' CTCF-binding element (3'CBE) rather than the Igh super-enhancer, suggesting a two-step mechanism whereby transcription of S regions is not topologically coupled to synapsis, as has been previously proposed. Altogether, these insights advance our understanding of how 3D chromatin architecture regulates CSR.
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38
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Mattick JS. RNA out of the mist. Trends Genet 2023; 39:187-207. [PMID: 36528415 DOI: 10.1016/j.tig.2022.11.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/26/2022] [Revised: 11/08/2022] [Accepted: 11/27/2022] [Indexed: 12/23/2022]
Abstract
RNA has long been regarded primarily as the intermediate between genes and proteins. It was a surprise then to discover that eukaryotic genes are mosaics of mRNA sequences interrupted by large tracts of transcribed but untranslated sequences, and that multicellular organisms also express many long 'intergenic' and antisense noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs). The identification of small RNAs that regulate mRNA translation and half-life did not disturb the prevailing view that animals and plant genomes are full of evolutionary debris and that their development is mainly supervised by transcription factors. Gathering evidence to the contrary involved addressing the low conservation, expression, and genetic visibility of lncRNAs, demonstrating their cell-specific roles in cell and developmental biology, and their association with chromatin-modifying complexes and phase-separated domains. The emerging picture is that most lncRNAs are the products of genetic loci termed 'enhancers', which marshal generic effector proteins to their sites of action to control cell fate decisions during development.
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Affiliation(s)
- John S Mattick
- School of Biotechnology and Biomolecular Sciences, UNSW, Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia; UNSW RNA Institute, UNSW, Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia.
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39
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Kang HS, Grimm SA, Jothi R, Santisteban P, Jetten AM. GLIS3 regulates transcription of thyroid hormone biosynthetic genes in coordination with other thyroid transcription factors. Cell Biosci 2023; 13:32. [PMID: 36793061 PMCID: PMC9930322 DOI: 10.1186/s13578-023-00979-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/08/2022] [Accepted: 02/02/2023] [Indexed: 02/17/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Loss of the transcription factor GLI-Similar 3 (GLIS3) function causes congenital hypothyroidism (CH) in both humans and mice due to decreased expression of several thyroid hormone (TH) biosynthetic genes in thyroid follicular cells. Whether and to what extent, GLIS3 regulates thyroid gene transcription in coordination with other thyroid transcriptional factors (TFs), such as PAX8, NKX2.1 and FOXE1, is poorly understood. METHODS PAX8, NKX2.1, and FOXE1 ChIP-Seq analysis with mouse thyroid glands and rat thyrocyte PCCl3 cells was performed and compared to that of GLIS3 to analyze the co-regulation of gene transcription in thyroid follicular cells by these TFs. RESULTS Analysis of the PAX8, NKX2.1, and FOXE1 cistromes identified extensive overlaps between these TF binding loci and those of GLIS3 indicating that GLIS3 shares many of the same regulatory regions with PAX8, NKX2.1, and FOXE1, particularly in genes associated with TH biosynthesis, induced by thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH), and suppressed in Glis3KO thyroid glands, including Slc5a5 (Nis), Slc26a4, Cdh16, and Adm2. ChIP-QPCR analysis showed that loss of GLIS3 did not significantly affect PAX8 or NKX2.1 binding and did not cause major alterations in H3K4me3 and H3K27me3 epigenetic signals. CONCLUSIONS Our study indicates that GLIS3 regulates transcription of TH biosynthetic and TSH-inducible genes in thyroid follicular cells in coordination with PAX8, NKX2.1, and FOXE1 by binding within the same regulatory hub. GLIS3 does not cause major changes in chromatin structure at these common regulatory regions. GLIS3 may induce transcriptional activation by enhancing the interaction of these regulatory regions with other enhancers and/or RNA Polymerase II (Pol II) complexes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hong Soon Kang
- grid.280664.e0000 0001 2110 5790Immunity, Inflammation and Disease Laboratory, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, National Institutes of Health, Research Triangle Park, Durham, NC 27709 USA
| | - Sara A. Grimm
- grid.280664.e0000 0001 2110 5790Integrative Bioinformatics, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, National Institutes of Health, Research Triangle Park, Durham, NC 27709 USA
| | - Raja Jothi
- grid.280664.e0000 0001 2110 5790Epigenetics & Stem Cell Biology Laboratory, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, National Institutes of Health, Research Triangle Park, Durham, NC 27709 USA
| | - Pilar Santisteban
- grid.5515.40000000119578126Instituto de Investigaciones Biomédicas “Alberto Sols”, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC), Universidad Autónoma de Madrid (UAM), Madrid, Spain
| | - Anton M. Jetten
- grid.280664.e0000 0001 2110 5790Immunity, Inflammation and Disease Laboratory, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, National Institutes of Health, Research Triangle Park, Durham, NC 27709 USA
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40
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Mechanisms of Interaction between Enhancers and Promoters in Three Drosophila Model Systems. Int J Mol Sci 2023; 24:ijms24032855. [PMID: 36769179 PMCID: PMC9917889 DOI: 10.3390/ijms24032855] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/29/2022] [Revised: 01/26/2023] [Accepted: 01/30/2023] [Indexed: 02/05/2023] Open
Abstract
In higher eukaryotes, the regulation of developmental gene expression is determined by enhancers, which are often located at a large distance from the promoters they regulate. Therefore, the architecture of chromosomes and the mechanisms that determine the functional interaction between enhancers and promoters are of decisive importance in the development of organisms. Mammals and the model animal Drosophila have homologous key architectural proteins and similar mechanisms in the organization of chromosome architecture. This review describes the current progress in understanding the mechanisms of the formation and regulation of long-range interactions between enhancers and promoters at three well-studied key regulatory loci in Drosophila.
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41
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Abstract
In animals, the sequences for controlling gene expression do not concentrate just at the transcription start site of genes, but are frequently thousands to millions of base pairs distal to it. The interaction of these sequences with one another and their transcription start sites is regulated by factors that shape the three-dimensional (3D) organization of the genome within the nucleus. Over the past decade, indirect tools exploiting high-throughput DNA sequencing have helped to map this 3D organization, have identified multiple key regulators of its structure and, in the process, have substantially reshaped our view of how 3D genome architecture regulates transcription. Now, new tools for high-throughput super-resolution imaging of chromatin have directly visualized the 3D chromatin organization, settling some debates left unresolved by earlier indirect methods, challenging some earlier models of regulatory specificity and creating hypotheses about the role of chromatin structure in transcriptional regulation.
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42
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Eischer N, Arnold M, Mayer A. Emerging roles of BET proteins in transcription and co-transcriptional RNA processing. WILEY INTERDISCIPLINARY REVIEWS. RNA 2023; 14:e1734. [PMID: 35491403 DOI: 10.1002/wrna.1734] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/17/2021] [Revised: 04/06/2022] [Accepted: 04/09/2022] [Indexed: 01/31/2023]
Abstract
Transcription by RNA polymerase II (Pol II) gives rise to all nuclear protein-coding and a large set of non-coding RNAs, and is strictly regulated and coordinated with RNA processing. Bromodomain and extraterminal (BET) family proteins including BRD2, BRD3, and BRD4 have been implicated in the regulation of Pol II transcription in mammalian cells. However, only recent technological advances have allowed the analysis of direct functions of individual BET proteins with high precision in cells. These studies shed new light on the molecular mechanisms of transcription control by BET proteins challenging previous longstanding views. The most studied BET protein, BRD4, emerges as a master regulator of transcription elongation with roles also in coupling nascent transcription with RNA processing. In contrast, BRD2 is globally required for the formation of transcriptional boundaries to restrict enhancer activity to nearby genes. Although these recent findings suggest non-redundant functions of BRD4 and BRD2 in Pol II transcription, more research is needed for further clarification. Little is known about the roles of BRD3. Here, we illuminate experimental work that has initially linked BET proteins to Pol II transcription in mammalian cells, outline main methodological breakthroughs that have strongly advanced the understanding of BET protein functions, and discuss emerging roles of individual BET proteins in transcription and transcription-coupled RNA processing. Finally, we propose an updated model for the function of BRD4 in transcription and co-transcriptional RNA maturation. This article is categorized under: RNA Processing > 3' End Processing RNA Processing > Splicing Regulation/Alternative Splicing.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nicole Eischer
- Otto-Warburg-Laboratory, Max Planck Institute for Molecular Genetics, Berlin, Germany
| | - Mirjam Arnold
- Otto-Warburg-Laboratory, Max Planck Institute for Molecular Genetics, Berlin, Germany
| | - Andreas Mayer
- Otto-Warburg-Laboratory, Max Planck Institute for Molecular Genetics, Berlin, Germany
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43
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Kyrchanova OV, Bylino OV, Georgiev PG. Mechanisms of enhancer-promoter communication and chromosomal architecture in mammals and Drosophila. Front Genet 2022; 13:1081088. [PMID: 36531247 PMCID: PMC9751008 DOI: 10.3389/fgene.2022.1081088] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/26/2022] [Accepted: 11/18/2022] [Indexed: 12/03/2022] Open
Abstract
The spatial organization of chromosomes is involved in regulating the majority of intranuclear processes in higher eukaryotes, including gene expression. Drosophila was used as a model to discover many transcription factors whose homologs play a key role in regulation of gene expression in mammals. According to modern views, a cohesin complex mostly determines the architecture of mammalian chromosomes by forming chromatin loops on anchors created by the CTCF DNA-binding architectural protein. The role of the cohesin complex in chromosome architecture is poorly understood in Drosophila, and CTCF is merely one of many Drosophila architectural proteins with a proven potential to organize specific long-range interactions between regulatory elements in the genome. The review compares the mechanisms responsible for long-range interactions and chromosome architecture between mammals and Drosophila.
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Ito S, Das ND, Umehara T, Koseki H. Factors and Mechanisms That Influence Chromatin-Mediated Enhancer–Promoter Interactions and Transcriptional Regulation. Cancers (Basel) 2022; 14:cancers14215404. [PMID: 36358822 PMCID: PMC9659172 DOI: 10.3390/cancers14215404] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/06/2022] [Revised: 10/28/2022] [Accepted: 11/01/2022] [Indexed: 11/06/2022] Open
Abstract
Simple Summary The physical interactions between enhancers and promoters create chromatin conformations involved in gene regulation. In cancer cells, the chromatin conformations can be altered with uncontrolled deposition of histone marks resulting in varied gene expression. Although it is not entirely comprehensive how chromatin-mediated enhancer–promoter (E–P) interactions with various histone marks can affect gene expression, this proximity has been observed in multiple systems at multiple loci and is thought to be essential to control gene expression. In this review, we focus on emerging views of chromatin conformations associated with the E–P interactions and factors that establish or maintain such interactions, which may regulate gene expression. Abstract Eukaryotic gene expression is regulated through chromatin conformation, in which enhancers and promoters physically interact (E–P interactions). How such chromatin-mediated E–P interactions affect gene expression is not yet fully understood, but the roles of histone acetylation and methylation, pioneer transcription factors, and architectural proteins such as CCCTC binding factor (CTCF) and cohesin have recently attracted attention. Moreover, accumulated data suggest that E–P interactions are mechanistically involved in biophysical events, including liquid–liquid phase separation, and in biological events, including cancers. In this review, we discuss various mechanisms that regulate eukaryotic gene expression, focusing on emerging views regarding chromatin conformations that are involved in E–P interactions and factors that establish and maintain them.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shinsuke Ito
- Laboratory for Developmental Genetics, RIKEN Center for Integrative Medical Sciences, Yokohama 230-0045, Japan
- Correspondence: ; Tel.: +81-45-503-9690
| | - Nando Dulal Das
- Laboratory for Epigenetics Drug Discovery, RIKEN Center for Biosystems Dynamics Research, Yokohama 230-0045, Japan
| | - Takashi Umehara
- Laboratory for Epigenetics Drug Discovery, RIKEN Center for Biosystems Dynamics Research, Yokohama 230-0045, Japan
| | - Haruhiko Koseki
- Laboratory for Developmental Genetics, RIKEN Center for Integrative Medical Sciences, Yokohama 230-0045, Japan
- Immune Regulation, Advanced Research Departments, Graduate School of Medicine, Chiba University, Chiba 260-8677, Japan
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Nair SJ, Suter T, Wang S, Yang L, Yang F, Rosenfeld MG. Transcriptional enhancers at 40: evolution of a viral DNA element to nuclear architectural structures. Trends Genet 2022; 38:1019-1047. [PMID: 35811173 PMCID: PMC9474616 DOI: 10.1016/j.tig.2022.05.015] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/21/2022] [Revised: 05/05/2022] [Accepted: 05/31/2022] [Indexed: 02/08/2023]
Abstract
Gene regulation by transcriptional enhancers is the dominant mechanism driving cell type- and signal-specific transcriptional diversity in metazoans. However, over four decades since the original discovery, how enhancers operate in the nuclear space remains largely enigmatic. Recent multidisciplinary efforts combining real-time imaging, genome sequencing, and biophysical strategies provide insightful but conflicting models of enhancer-mediated gene control. Here, we review the discovery and progress in enhancer biology, emphasizing the recent findings that acutely activated enhancers assemble regulatory machinery as mesoscale architectural structures with distinct physical properties. These findings help formulate novel models that explain several mysterious features of the assembly of transcriptional enhancers and the mechanisms of spatial control of gene expression.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sreejith J Nair
- Department of Oncology, Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center, Georgetown University, Washington, DC 20057, USA.
| | - Tom Suter
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Department and School of Medicine, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093, USA
| | - Susan Wang
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Department and School of Medicine, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093, USA; Cellular and Molecular Medicine Graduate Program, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093, USA
| | - Lu Yang
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Department and School of Medicine, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093, USA
| | - Feng Yang
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Department and School of Medicine, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093, USA
| | - Michael G Rosenfeld
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Department and School of Medicine, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093, USA.
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Cohesin is required for long-range enhancer action at the Shh locus. Nat Struct Mol Biol 2022; 29:891-897. [PMID: 36097291 DOI: 10.1038/s41594-022-00821-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 13.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/01/2021] [Accepted: 07/20/2022] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
The regulatory landscapes of developmental genes in mammals can be complex, with enhancers spread over many hundreds of kilobases. It has been suggested that three-dimensional genome organization, particularly topologically associating domains formed by cohesin-mediated loop extrusion, is important for enhancers to act over such large genomic distances. By coupling acute protein degradation with synthetic activation by targeted transcription factor recruitment, here we show that cohesin, but not CTCF, is required for activation of the target gene Shh by distant enhancers in mouse embryonic stem cells. Cohesin is not required for activation directly at the promoter or by an enhancer located closer to the Shh gene. Our findings support the hypothesis that chromatin compaction via cohesin-mediated loop extrusion allows for genes to be activated by enhancers that are located many hundreds of kilobases away in the linear genome and suggests that cohesin is dispensable for enhancers located more proximally.
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Sawarkar R. Transcriptional lockdown during acute proteotoxic stress. Trends Biochem Sci 2022; 47:660-672. [PMID: 35487807 PMCID: PMC9041648 DOI: 10.1016/j.tibs.2022.03.020] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/15/2021] [Revised: 03/20/2022] [Accepted: 03/31/2022] [Indexed: 12/02/2022]
Abstract
Cells experiencing proteotoxic stress downregulate the expression of thousands of active genes and upregulate a few stress-response genes. The strategy of downregulating gene expression has conceptual parallels with general lockdown in the global response to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. The mechanistic details of global transcriptional downregulation of genes, termed stress-induced transcriptional attenuation (SITA), are only beginning to emerge. The reduction in RNA and protein production during stress may spare proteostasis capacity, allowing cells to divert resources to control stress-induced damage. Given the relevance of translational downregulation in a broad variety of diseases, the role of SITA in diseases caused by proteotoxicity should be investigated in future, paving the way for potential novel therapeutics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ritwick Sawarkar
- Medical Research Council (MRC), University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK.
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48
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Different transcriptional responses by the CRISPRa system in distinct types of heterochromatin in Drosophila melanogaster. Sci Rep 2022; 12:11702. [PMID: 35810197 PMCID: PMC9271074 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-15944-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/03/2022] [Accepted: 07/01/2022] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
Transcription factors (TFs) activate gene expression by binding to elements close to promoters or enhancers. Some TFs can bind to heterochromatic regions to initiate gene activation, suggesting that if a TF is able to bind to any type of heterochromatin, it can activate transcription. To investigate this possibility, we used the CRISPRa system based on dCas9-VPR as an artificial TF in Drosophila. dCas9-VPR was targeted to the TAHRE telomeric element, an example of constitutive heterochromatin, and to promoters and enhancers of the HOX Ultrabithorax (Ubx) and Sex Combs Reduced (Scr) genes in the context of facultative heterochromatin. dCas9-VPR robustly activated TAHRE transcription, showing that although this element is heterochromatic, dCas9-VPR was sufficient to activate its expression. In the case of HOX gene promoters, although Polycomb complexes epigenetically silence these genes, both were ectopically activated. When the artificial TF was directed to enhancers, we found that the expression pattern was different compared to the effect on the promoters. In the case of the Scr upstream enhancer, dCas9-VPR activated the gene ectopically but with less expressivity; however, ectopic activation also occurred in different cells. In the case of the bxI enhancer located in the third intron of Ubx, the presence of dCas9-VPR is capable of increasing transcription initiation while simultaneously blocking transcription elongation, generating a lack of functional phenotype. Our results show that CRISPRa system is able to activate transcription in any type of heterochromatin; nevertheless, its effect on transcription is subject to the intrinsic characteristics of each gene or regulatory element.
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Ray-Jones H, Spivakov M. Brief encounters: The relationship between enhancer proximity and gene expression. Dev Cell 2022; 57:1439-1441. [PMID: 35728521 DOI: 10.1016/j.devcel.2022.05.020] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
Abstract
In a recent issue of Nature, Zuin et al. (2022) integrate a transcriptional enhancer into various genomic locations surrounding a reporter gene promoter in order to determine how enhancer-promoter proximity affects gene expression. Their findings suggest a non-linear relationship, which the authors explain via a quantitative biophysical model with intriguing biological implications.
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Affiliation(s)
- Helen Ray-Jones
- MRC London Institute of Medical Sciences, London W12 0NN, UK; Institute of Clinical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, Imperial College, London W12 0NN, UK
| | - Mikhail Spivakov
- MRC London Institute of Medical Sciences, London W12 0NN, UK; Institute of Clinical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, Imperial College, London W12 0NN, UK.
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Taylor T, Sikorska N, Shchuka VM, Chahar S, Ji C, Macpherson NN, Moorthy SD, de Kort MAC, Mullany S, Khader N, Gillespie ZE, Langroudi L, Tobias IC, Lenstra TL, Mitchell JA, Sexton T. Transcriptional regulation and chromatin architecture maintenance are decoupled functions at the Sox2 locus. Genes Dev 2022; 36:699-717. [PMID: 35710138 PMCID: PMC9296009 DOI: 10.1101/gad.349489.122] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/15/2022] [Accepted: 06/03/2022] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
Abstract
How distal regulatory elements control gene transcription and chromatin topology is not clearly defined, yet these processes are closely linked in lineage specification during development. Through allele-specific genome editing and chromatin interaction analyses of the Sox2 locus in mouse embryonic stem cells, we found a striking disconnection between transcriptional control and chromatin architecture. We traced nearly all Sox2 transcriptional activation to a small number of key transcription factor binding sites, whose deletions have no effect on promoter-enhancer interaction frequencies or topological domain organization. Local chromatin architecture maintenance, including at the topologically associating domain (TAD) boundary downstream from the Sox2 enhancer, is widely distributed over multiple transcription factor-bound regions and maintained in a CTCF-independent manner. Furthermore, partial disruption of promoter-enhancer interactions by ectopic chromatin loop formation has no effect on Sox2 transcription. These findings indicate that many transcription factors are involved in modulating chromatin architecture independently of CTCF.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tiegh Taylor
- Department of Cell and Systems Biology, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario M55 3G5, Canada
| | - Natalia Sikorska
- Institute of Genetics and Molecular and Cellular Biology (IGBMC), UMR7104, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, U1258, Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale, University of Strasbourg, 6704 Illkirch, France
| | - Virlana M Shchuka
- Department of Cell and Systems Biology, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario M55 3G5, Canada
| | - Sanjay Chahar
- Institute of Genetics and Molecular and Cellular Biology (IGBMC), UMR7104, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, U1258, Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale, University of Strasbourg, 6704 Illkirch, France
| | - Chenfan Ji
- Department of Cell and Systems Biology, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario M55 3G5, Canada
| | - Neil N Macpherson
- Department of Cell and Systems Biology, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario M55 3G5, Canada
| | - Sakthi D Moorthy
- Department of Cell and Systems Biology, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario M55 3G5, Canada
| | - Marit A C de Kort
- Division of Gene Regulation, the Netherlands Cancer Institute, Oncode Institute, 1066CX Amsterdam, the Netherlands
| | - Shanelle Mullany
- Department of Cell and Systems Biology, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario M55 3G5, Canada
| | - Nawrah Khader
- Department of Cell and Systems Biology, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario M55 3G5, Canada
| | - Zoe E Gillespie
- Department of Cell and Systems Biology, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario M55 3G5, Canada
| | - Lida Langroudi
- Department of Cell and Systems Biology, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario M55 3G5, Canada
| | - Ian C Tobias
- Department of Cell and Systems Biology, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario M55 3G5, Canada
| | - Tineke L Lenstra
- Division of Gene Regulation, the Netherlands Cancer Institute, Oncode Institute, 1066CX Amsterdam, the Netherlands
| | - Jennifer A Mitchell
- Department of Cell and Systems Biology, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario M55 3G5, Canada
| | - Tom Sexton
- Institute of Genetics and Molecular and Cellular Biology (IGBMC), UMR7104, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, U1258, Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale, University of Strasbourg, 6704 Illkirch, France
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