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Kimura Y, Ono Y, Katayama K, Imoto S. IVEA: an integrative variational Bayesian inference method for predicting enhancer-gene regulatory interactions. BIOINFORMATICS ADVANCES 2024; 4:vbae118. [PMID: 39193566 PMCID: PMC11349192 DOI: 10.1093/bioadv/vbae118] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/05/2024] [Revised: 06/26/2024] [Accepted: 08/18/2024] [Indexed: 08/29/2024]
Abstract
Motivation Enhancers play critical roles in cell-type-specific transcriptional control. Despite the identification of thousands of candidate enhancers, unravelling their regulatory relationships with their target genes remains challenging. Therefore, computational approaches are needed to accurately infer enhancer-gene regulatory relationships. Results In this study, we propose a new method, IVEA, that predicts enhancer-gene regulatory interactions by estimating promoter and enhancer activities. Its statistical model is based on the gene regulatory mechanism of transcriptional bursting, which is characterized by burst size and frequency controlled by promoters and enhancers, respectively. Using transcriptional readouts, chromatin accessibility, and chromatin contact data as inputs, promoter and enhancer activities were estimated using variational Bayesian inference, and the contribution of each enhancer-promoter pair to target gene transcription was calculated. Our analysis demonstrates that the proposed method can achieve high prediction accuracy and provide biologically relevant enhancer-gene regulatory interactions. Availability and implementation The IVEA code is available on GitHub at https://github.com/yasumasak/ivea. The publicly available datasets used in this study are described in Supplementary Table S4.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yasumasa Kimura
- DX Drug Discovery Department, Daiichi Sankyo RD Novare Co., Ltd., Edogawa-ku, Tokyo 134-8630, Japan
- Division of Health Medical Intelligence, Human Genome Center, Institute of Medical Science, The University of Tokyo, Minato-ku, Tokyo 108-8639, Japan
- Research Function Research Innovation Planning Department, Daiichi Sankyo Co., Ltd., Edogawa-ku, Tokyo 134-8630, Japan
| | - Yoshimasa Ono
- DX Drug Discovery Department, Daiichi Sankyo RD Novare Co., Ltd., Edogawa-ku, Tokyo 134-8630, Japan
| | - Kotoe Katayama
- Division of Health Medical Intelligence, Human Genome Center, Institute of Medical Science, The University of Tokyo, Minato-ku, Tokyo 108-8639, Japan
| | - Seiya Imoto
- Division of Health Medical Intelligence, Human Genome Center, Institute of Medical Science, The University of Tokyo, Minato-ku, Tokyo 108-8639, Japan
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2
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Conway JR, Gillani R, Crowdis J, Reardon B, Park J, Han S, Titchen B, Benamar M, Haq R, Van Allen EM. Somatic structural variants drive distinct modes of oncogenesis in melanoma. J Clin Invest 2024; 134:e177270. [PMID: 38758740 PMCID: PMC11213511 DOI: 10.1172/jci177270] [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: 11/07/2023] [Accepted: 05/07/2024] [Indexed: 05/19/2024] Open
Abstract
The diversity of structural variants (SVs) in melanoma and how they impact oncogenesis are incompletely known. We performed harmonized analysis of SVs across melanoma histologic and genomic subtypes, and we identified distinct global properties between subtypes. These included the frequency and size of SVs and SV classes, their relation to chromothripsis events, and the impact on cancer-related genes of SVs that alter topologically associated domain (TAD) boundaries. Following our prior identification of double-stranded break repair deficiency in a subset of triple-wild-type cutaneous melanoma, we identified MRE11 and NBN loss-of-function SVs in melanomas with this mutational signature. Experimental knockouts of MRE11 and NBN, followed by olaparib cell viability assays in melanoma cells, indicated that dysregulation of each of these genes may cause sensitivity to PARP inhibitors in cutaneous melanomas. Broadly, harmonized analysis of melanoma SVs revealed distinct global genomic properties and molecular drivers, which may have biological and therapeutic impact.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jake R. Conway
- Division of Medical Sciences, Harvard University, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
- Cancer Program, Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA
- Department of Medical Oncology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Riaz Gillani
- Cancer Program, Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA
- Department of Medical Oncology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
- Department of Pediatrics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
- Boston Children’s Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Jett Crowdis
- Cancer Program, Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA
- Department of Medical Oncology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Brendan Reardon
- Cancer Program, Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA
- Department of Medical Oncology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Jihye Park
- Cancer Program, Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA
- Department of Medical Oncology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Seunghun Han
- Division of Medical Sciences, Harvard University, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
- Cancer Program, Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA
- Department of Medical Oncology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Breanna Titchen
- Division of Medical Sciences, Harvard University, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
- Cancer Program, Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA
- Department of Medical Oncology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
| | | | - Rizwan Haq
- Center for Cancer Precision Medicine and
| | - Eliezer M. Van Allen
- Cancer Program, Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA
- Department of Medical Oncology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
- Center for Cancer Precision Medicine and
- Parker Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
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3
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Shi W, Tang J, Xiang J. Therapeutic strategies for aberrant splicing in cancer and genetic disorders. Clin Genet 2024; 105:345-354. [PMID: 38165092 DOI: 10.1111/cge.14478] [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: 09/21/2023] [Revised: 12/12/2023] [Accepted: 12/21/2023] [Indexed: 01/03/2024]
Abstract
Accurate pre-mRNA splicing is essential for proper protein translation; however, aberrant splicing is commonly observed in the context of cancer and genetic disorders. Notably, in genetic diseases, these splicing abnormalities often play a pivotal role. Substantial challenges persist in accurately identifying and classifying disease-induced aberrant splicing, as well as in development of targeted therapeutic strategies. In this review, we examine prevalent forms of aberrant splicing and explore potential therapeutic approaches aimed at addressing these splicing-related diseases. This summary contributes to a deeper understanding of the complexities about aberrant splicing and provide a foundation for the development of effective therapeutic interventions in the field of genetic disorders and cancer.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wenhua Shi
- Cancer Research Institute, School of Basic Medical Science, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan, China
- Hunan Key laboratory of Early Diagnosis and Precise Treatment of Lung Cancer, The Second Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan, China
- NHC Key Laboratory of Carcinogenesis and the Key Laboratory of Carcinogenesis and Cancer Invasion of the Chinese Ministry of Education, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan, China
| | - Jingqun Tang
- Hunan Key laboratory of Early Diagnosis and Precise Treatment of Lung Cancer, The Second Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan, China
- Department of Thoracic Surgery, The Second Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan, China
| | - Juanjuan Xiang
- Cancer Research Institute, School of Basic Medical Science, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan, China
- Hunan Key laboratory of Early Diagnosis and Precise Treatment of Lung Cancer, The Second Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan, China
- NHC Key Laboratory of Carcinogenesis and the Key Laboratory of Carcinogenesis and Cancer Invasion of the Chinese Ministry of Education, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan, China
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4
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Delihas N. Evolution of a Human-Specific De Novo Open Reading Frame and Its Linked Transcriptional Silencer. Int J Mol Sci 2024; 25:3924. [PMID: 38612733 PMCID: PMC11011693 DOI: 10.3390/ijms25073924] [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: 02/27/2024] [Revised: 03/23/2024] [Accepted: 03/26/2024] [Indexed: 04/14/2024] Open
Abstract
In the human genome, two short open reading frames (ORFs) separated by a transcriptional silencer and a small intervening sequence stem from the gene SMIM45. The two ORFs show different translational characteristics, and they also show divergent patterns of evolutionary development. The studies presented here describe the evolution of the components of SMIM45. One ORF consists of an ultra-conserved 68 amino acid (aa) sequence, whose origins can be traced beyond the evolutionary age of divergence of the elephant shark, ~462 MYA. The silencer also has ancient origins, but it has a complex and divergent pattern of evolutionary formation, as it overlaps both at the 68 aa ORF and the intervening sequence. The other ORF consists of 107 aa. It develops during primate evolution but is found to originate de novo from an ancestral non-coding genomic region with root origins within the Afrothere clade of placental mammals, whose evolutionary age of divergence is ~99 MYA. The formation of the complete 107 aa ORF during primate evolution is outlined, whereby sequence development is found to occur through biased mutations, with disruptive random mutations that also occur but lead to a dead-end. The 107 aa ORF is of particular significance, as there is evidence to suggest it is a protein that may function in human brain development. Its evolutionary formation presents a view of a human-specific ORF and its linked silencer that were predetermined in non-primate ancestral species. The genomic position of the silencer offers interesting possibilities for the regulation of transcription of the 107 aa ORF. A hypothesis is presented with respect to possible spatiotemporal expression of the 107 aa ORF in embryonic tissues.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nicholas Delihas
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Renaissance School of Medicine, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY 11794, USA
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5
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Mañes-García J, Marco-Ferreres R, Beccari L. Shaping gene expression and its evolution by chromatin architecture and enhancer activity. Curr Top Dev Biol 2024; 159:406-437. [PMID: 38729683 DOI: 10.1016/bs.ctdb.2024.01.001] [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: 05/12/2024]
Abstract
Transcriptional regulation plays a pivotal role in orchestrating the intricate genetic programs governing embryonic development. The expression of developmental genes relies on the combined activity of several cis-regulatory elements (CREs), such as enhancers and silencers, which can be located at long linear distances from the genes that they regulate and that interact with them through establishment of chromatin loops. Mutations affecting their activity or interaction with their target genes can lead to developmental disorders and are thought to have importantly contributed to the evolution of the animal body plan. The income of next-generation-sequencing approaches has allowed identifying over a million of sequences with putative regulatory potential in the human genome. Characterizing their function and establishing gene-CREs maps is essential to decode the logic governing developmental gene expression and is one of the major challenges of the post-genomic era. Chromatin 3D organization plays an essential role in determining how CREs specifically contact their target genes while avoiding deleterious off-target interactions. Our understanding of these aspects has greatly advanced with the income of chromatin conformation capture techniques and fluorescence microscopy approaches to visualize the organization of DNA elements in the nucleus. Here we will summarize relevant aspects of how the interplay between CRE activity and chromatin 3D organization regulates developmental gene expression and how it relates to pathological conditions and the evolution of animal body plan.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Leonardo Beccari
- Centro de Biología Molecular Severo Ochoa, CSIC-UAM, Madrid, Spain.
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6
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Wu K, Bu F, Wu Y, Zhang G, Wang X, He S, Liu MF, Chen R, Yuan H. Exploring noncoding variants in genetic diseases: from detection to functional insights. J Genet Genomics 2024; 51:111-132. [PMID: 38181897 DOI: 10.1016/j.jgg.2024.01.001] [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: 11/05/2023] [Revised: 12/26/2023] [Accepted: 01/01/2024] [Indexed: 01/07/2024]
Abstract
Previous studies on genetic diseases predominantly focused on protein-coding variations, overlooking the vast noncoding regions in the human genome. The development of high-throughput sequencing technologies and functional genomics tools has enabled the systematic identification of functional noncoding variants. These variants can impact gene expression, regulation, and chromatin conformation, thereby contributing to disease pathogenesis. Understanding the mechanisms that underlie the impact of noncoding variants on genetic diseases is indispensable for the development of precisely targeted therapies and the implementation of personalized medicine strategies. The intricacies of noncoding regions introduce a multitude of challenges and research opportunities. In this review, we introduce a spectrum of noncoding variants involved in genetic diseases, along with research strategies and advanced technologies for their precise identification and in-depth understanding of the complexity of the noncoding genome. We will delve into the research challenges and propose potential solutions for unraveling the genetic basis of rare and complex diseases.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ke Wu
- Institute of Rare Diseases, West China Hospital of Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan 610041, China
| | - Fengxiao Bu
- Institute of Rare Diseases, West China Hospital of Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan 610041, China
| | - Yang Wu
- Institute of Rare Diseases, West China Hospital of Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan 610041, China
| | - Gen Zhang
- Institute of Rare Diseases, West China Hospital of Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan 610041, China
| | - Xin Wang
- Key Laboratory of Systems Health Science of Zhejiang Province, School of Life Science, Hangzhou Institute for Advanced Study, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310024, China
| | - Shunmin He
- Key Laboratory of RNA Biology, Center for Big Data Research in Health, Institute of Biophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
| | - Mo-Fang Liu
- Key Laboratory of Systems Health Science of Zhejiang Province, School of Life Science, Hangzhou Institute for Advanced Study, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310024, China; State Key Laboratory of Molecular Biology, State Key Laboratory of Cell Biology, Shanghai Key Laboratory of Molecular Andrology, Shanghai Institute of Biochemistry and Cell Biology, Center for Excellence in Molecular Cell Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 200031, China.
| | - Runsheng Chen
- Key Laboratory of RNA Biology, Center for Big Data Research in Health, Institute of Biophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China.
| | - Huijun Yuan
- Institute of Rare Diseases, West China Hospital of Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan 610041, China.
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7
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Tendolkar A, Mazo-Vargas A, Livraghi L, Hanly JJ, Van Horne KC, Gilbert LE, Martin A. Cis-regulatory modes of Ultrabithorax inactivation in butterfly forewings. eLife 2024; 12:RP90846. [PMID: 38261357 PMCID: PMC10945631 DOI: 10.7554/elife.90846] [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: 01/24/2024] Open
Abstract
Hox gene clusters encode transcription factors that drive regional specialization during animal development: for example the Hox factor Ubx is expressed in the insect metathoracic (T3) wing appendages and differentiates them from T2 mesothoracic identities. Hox transcriptional regulation requires silencing activities that prevent spurious activation and regulatory crosstalks in the wrong tissues, but this has seldom been studied in insects other than Drosophila, which shows a derived Hox dislocation into two genomic clusters that disjoined Antennapedia (Antp) and Ultrabithorax (Ubx). Here, we investigated how Ubx is restricted to the hindwing in butterflies, amidst a contiguous Hox cluster. By analysing Hi-C and ATAC-seq data in the butterfly Junonia coenia, we show that a Topologically Associated Domain (TAD) maintains a hindwing-enriched profile of chromatin opening around Ubx. This TAD is bordered by a Boundary Element (BE) that separates it from a region of joined wing activity around the Antp locus. CRISPR mutational perturbation of this BE releases ectopic Ubx expression in forewings, inducing homeotic clones with hindwing identities. Further mutational interrogation of two non-coding RNA encoding regions and one putative cis-regulatory module within the Ubx TAD cause rare homeotic transformations in both directions, indicating the presence of both activating and repressing chromatin features. We also describe a series of spontaneous forewing homeotic phenotypes obtained in Heliconius butterflies, and discuss their possible mutational basis. By leveraging the extensive wing specialization found in butterflies, our initial exploration of Ubx regulation demonstrates the existence of silencing and insulating sequences that prevent its spurious expression in forewings.
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Affiliation(s)
- Amruta Tendolkar
- Department of Biological Sciences, The George Washington UniversityWashington, DCUnited States
| | - Anyi Mazo-Vargas
- Department of Biological Sciences, The George Washington UniversityWashington, DCUnited States
| | - Luca Livraghi
- Department of Biological Sciences, The George Washington UniversityWashington, DCUnited States
| | - Joseph J Hanly
- Department of Biological Sciences, The George Washington UniversityWashington, DCUnited States
- Smithsonian Tropical Research InstitutePanama CityPanama
| | - Kelsey C Van Horne
- Department of Biological Sciences, The George Washington UniversityWashington, DCUnited States
| | - Lawrence E Gilbert
- Department of Integrative Biology, University of Texas – AustinAustinUnited States
| | - Arnaud Martin
- Department of Biological Sciences, The George Washington UniversityWashington, DCUnited States
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8
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Yin Y, Soe NN, Valenzuela NM, Reed EF, Zhang Q. HLA-DPB1 genotype variants predict DP molecule cell surface expression and DP donor specific antibody binding capacity. Front Immunol 2024; 14:1328533. [PMID: 38274830 PMCID: PMC10808447 DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2023.1328533] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/26/2023] [Accepted: 12/21/2023] [Indexed: 01/27/2024] Open
Abstract
The contribution of alloresponses to mismatched HLA-DP in solid organ transplantation and hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HCT) has been well documented. Exploring the regulatory mechanisms of DPB1 alleles has become an important question to be answered. In this study, our initial investigation focused on examining the correlation between the rs9277534G/A SNP and DPB1 mRNA expression. The result showed that there was a significant increase in DPB1 mRNA expression in B lymphoblastoid cell lines (BLCLs) with the rs9277534GG genotype compared to rs9277534AA genotype. In addition, B cells with the rs9277534GG exhibited significantly higher DP protein expression than those carrying the rs9277534AA genotype in primary B cells. Furthermore, we observed a significant upregulation of DP expression in B cells following treatment with Interleukin 13 (IL-13) compared to untreated B cells carrying rs9277534GG-linked DPB1 alleles. Fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) analysis of DPB1 in BLCL demonstrated significant differences in both the cytoplasmic (p=0.0003) and nuclear (p=0.0001) localization of DP mRNA expression comparing DPB1*04:01 (rs9277534AA) and DPB1*05:01 (rs9277534GG) homozygous cells. The study of the correlation between differential DPB1 expression and long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) showed that lnc-HLA-DPB1-13:1 is strongly associated with DP expression (r=0.85), suggesting the potential involvement of lncRNA in regulating DP expression. The correlation of DP donor specific antibody (DSA) with B cell flow crossmatch (B-FCXM) results showed a better linear correlation of DP DSA against GG and AG donor cells (R2 = 0.4243, p=0.0025 and R2 = 0.6172, p=0.0003, respectively), compared to DSA against AA donor cells (R2 = 0.0649, p=0.4244). This explained why strong DP DSA with a low expression DP leads to negative B-FCXM. In conclusion, this study provides evidence supporting the involvement of lncRNA in modulating HLA-DP expression, shedding lights on the intricate regulatory mechanisms of DP, particularly under inflammatory conditions in transplantation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yuxin Yin
- UCLA Immunogenetics Center, Department of Pathology & Laboratory Medicine, Los Angeles, CA, United States
| | - Nwe Nwe Soe
- Department of Pathology, AdventHealth Tissue Typing Laboratory, Orlando, FL, United States
| | - Nicole M. Valenzuela
- UCLA Immunogenetics Center, Department of Pathology & Laboratory Medicine, Los Angeles, CA, United States
| | - Elaine F. Reed
- UCLA Immunogenetics Center, Department of Pathology & Laboratory Medicine, Los Angeles, CA, United States
| | - Qiuheng Zhang
- UCLA Immunogenetics Center, Department of Pathology & Laboratory Medicine, Los Angeles, CA, United States
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9
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Ali S, Abrar M, Hussain I, Batool F, Raza RZ, Khatoon H, Zoia M, Visel A, Shubin NH, Osterwalder M, Abbasi AA. Identification of ancestral gnathostome Gli3 enhancers with activity in mammals. Dev Growth Differ 2024; 66:75-88. [PMID: 37925606 PMCID: PMC10841732 DOI: 10.1111/dgd.12901] [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: 04/28/2023] [Revised: 09/01/2023] [Accepted: 10/23/2023] [Indexed: 11/06/2023]
Abstract
Abnormal expression of the transcriptional regulator and hedgehog (Hh) signaling pathway effector Gli3 is known to trigger congenital disease, most frequently affecting the central nervous system (CNS) and the limbs. Accurate delineation of the genomic cis-regulatory landscape controlling Gli3 transcription during embryonic development is critical for the interpretation of noncoding variants associated with congenital defects. Here, we employed a comparative genomic analysis on fish species with a slow rate of molecular evolution to identify seven previously unknown conserved noncoding elements (CNEs) in Gli3 intronic intervals (CNE15-21). Transgenic assays in zebrafish revealed that most of these elements drive activities in Gli3 expressing tissues, predominantly the fins, CNS, and the heart. Intersection of these CNEs with human disease associated SNPs identified CNE15 as a putative mammalian craniofacial enhancer, with conserved activity in vertebrates and potentially affected by mutation associated with human craniofacial morphology. Finally, comparative functional dissection of an appendage-specific CNE conserved in slowly evolving fish (elephant shark), but not in teleost (CNE14/hs1586) indicates co-option of limb specificity from other tissues prior to the divergence of amniotes and lobe-finned fish. These results uncover a novel subset of intronic Gli3 enhancers that arose in the common ancestor of gnathostomes and whose sequence components were likely gradually modified in other species during the process of evolutionary diversification.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shahid Ali
- National Center for Bioinformatics, Program of Comparative and Evolutionary Genomics, Faculty of Biological Sciences, Quaid-i-Azam University, 45320, Islamabad Pakistan
- Department of Organismal Biology and Anatomy, The University of Chicago, Chicago, IL 60637, USA
| | - Muhammad Abrar
- National Center for Bioinformatics, Program of Comparative and Evolutionary Genomics, Faculty of Biological Sciences, Quaid-i-Azam University, 45320, Islamabad Pakistan
| | - Irfan Hussain
- National Center for Bioinformatics, Program of Comparative and Evolutionary Genomics, Faculty of Biological Sciences, Quaid-i-Azam University, 45320, Islamabad Pakistan
| | - Fatima Batool
- National Center for Bioinformatics, Program of Comparative and Evolutionary Genomics, Faculty of Biological Sciences, Quaid-i-Azam University, 45320, Islamabad Pakistan
| | - Rabail Zehra Raza
- Department of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Multidisciplinary Studies, National University of Medical Sciences Rawalpindi, Pakistan
| | - Hizran Khatoon
- National Center for Bioinformatics, Program of Comparative and Evolutionary Genomics, Faculty of Biological Sciences, Quaid-i-Azam University, 45320, Islamabad Pakistan
| | - Matteo Zoia
- Department for Biomedical Research (DBMR), University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
| | - Axel Visel
- Environmental Genomics and System Biology Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, 1 Cyclotron Road, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA
- U.S. Department of Energy Joint Genome Institute, 1 Cyclotron Road, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA
- School of Natural Sciences, University of California, Merced, Merced, CA 95343, USA
| | - Neil H. Shubin
- Department of Organismal Biology and Anatomy, The University of Chicago, Chicago, IL 60637, USA
| | - Marco Osterwalder
- Department for Biomedical Research (DBMR), University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
- Department of Cardiology, Bern University Hospital, Bern, Switzerland
| | - Amir Ali Abbasi
- National Center for Bioinformatics, Program of Comparative and Evolutionary Genomics, Faculty of Biological Sciences, Quaid-i-Azam University, 45320, Islamabad Pakistan
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10
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Loell KJ, Friedman RZ, Myers CA, Corbo JC, Cohen BA, White MA. Transcription factor interactions explain the context-dependent activity of CRX binding sites. PLoS Comput Biol 2024; 20:e1011802. [PMID: 38227575 PMCID: PMC10817189 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pcbi.1011802] [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: 03/06/2023] [Revised: 01/26/2024] [Accepted: 01/06/2024] [Indexed: 01/18/2024] Open
Abstract
The effects of transcription factor binding sites (TFBSs) on the activity of a cis-regulatory element (CRE) depend on the local sequence context. In rod photoreceptors, binding sites for the transcription factor (TF) Cone-rod homeobox (CRX) occur in both enhancers and silencers, but the sequence context that determines whether CRX binding sites contribute to activation or repression of transcription is not understood. To investigate the context-dependent activity of CRX sites, we fit neural network-based models to the activities of synthetic CREs composed of photoreceptor TFBSs. The models revealed that CRX binding sites consistently make positive, independent contributions to CRE activity, while negative homotypic interactions between sites cause CREs composed of multiple CRX sites to function as silencers. The effects of negative homotypic interactions can be overcome by the presence of other TFBSs that either interact cooperatively with CRX sites or make independent positive contributions to activity. The context-dependent activity of CRX sites is thus determined by the balance between positive heterotypic interactions, independent contributions of TFBSs, and negative homotypic interactions. Our findings explain observed patterns of activity among genomic CRX-bound enhancers and silencers, and suggest that enhancers may require diverse TFBSs to overcome negative homotypic interactions between TFBSs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kaiser J. Loell
- Department of Genetics, Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, St. Louis, Missouri, United States of America
- The Edison Family Center for Genome Sciences & Systems Biology, Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, St. Louis, Missouri, United States of America
| | - Ryan Z. Friedman
- Department of Genetics, Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, St. Louis, Missouri, United States of America
- The Edison Family Center for Genome Sciences & Systems Biology, Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, St. Louis, Missouri, United States of America
| | - Connie A. Myers
- Department of Pathology and Immunology, Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, St. Louis, Missouri, United States of America
| | - Joseph C. Corbo
- Department of Pathology and Immunology, Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, St. Louis, Missouri, United States of America
| | - Barak A. Cohen
- Department of Genetics, Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, St. Louis, Missouri, United States of America
- The Edison Family Center for Genome Sciences & Systems Biology, Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, St. Louis, Missouri, United States of America
| | - Michael A. White
- Department of Genetics, Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, St. Louis, Missouri, United States of America
- The Edison Family Center for Genome Sciences & Systems Biology, Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, St. Louis, Missouri, United States of America
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11
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Pan JH, Du PF. SilenceREIN: seeking silencers on anchors of chromatin loops by deep graph neural networks. Brief Bioinform 2023; 25:bbad494. [PMID: 38168841 PMCID: PMC10782921 DOI: 10.1093/bib/bbad494] [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: 07/30/2023] [Revised: 11/09/2023] [Accepted: 12/04/2023] [Indexed: 01/05/2024] Open
Abstract
Silencers are repressive cis-regulatory elements that play crucial roles in transcriptional regulation. Experimental methods for identifying silencers are always costly and time-consuming. Computational methods, which relies on genomic sequence features, have been introduced as alternative approaches. However, silencers do not have significant epigenomic signature. Therefore, we explore a new way to computationally identify silencers, by incorporating chromatin structural information. We propose the SilenceREIN method, which focuses on finding silencers on anchors of chromatin loops. By using graph neural networks, we extracted chromatin structural information from a regulatory element interaction network. SilenceREIN integrated the chromatin structural information with linear genomic signatures to find silencers. The predictive performance of SilenceREIN is comparable or better than other states-of-the-art methods. We performed a genome-wide scanning to systematically find silencers in human genome. Results suggest that silencers are widespread on anchors of chromatin loops. In addition, enrichment analysis of transcription factor binding motif support our prediction results. As far as we can tell, this is the first attempt to incorporate chromatin structural information in finding silencers. All datasets and source codes of SilenceREIN have been deposited in a GitHub repository (https://github.com/JianHPan/SilenceREIN).
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Affiliation(s)
- Jian-Hua Pan
- College of Intelligence and Computing, Tianjin University, Tianjin 300350, China
| | - Pu-Feng Du
- College of Intelligence and Computing, Tianjin University, Tianjin 300350, China
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12
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Mulet-Lazaro R, Delwel R. From Genotype to Phenotype: How Enhancers Control Gene Expression and Cell Identity in Hematopoiesis. Hemasphere 2023; 7:e969. [PMID: 37953829 PMCID: PMC10635615 DOI: 10.1097/hs9.0000000000000969] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/14/2023] [Accepted: 09/11/2023] [Indexed: 11/14/2023] Open
Abstract
Blood comprises a wide array of specialized cells, all of which share the same genetic information and ultimately derive from the same precursor, the hematopoietic stem cell (HSC). This diversity of phenotypes is underpinned by unique transcriptional programs gradually acquired in the process known as hematopoiesis. Spatiotemporal regulation of gene expression depends on many factors, but critical among them are enhancers-sequences of DNA that bind transcription factors and increase transcription of genes under their control. Thus, hematopoiesis involves the activation of specific enhancer repertoires in HSCs and their progeny, driving the expression of sets of genes that collectively determine morphology and function. Disruption of this tightly regulated process can have catastrophic consequences: in hematopoietic malignancies, dysregulation of transcriptional control by enhancers leads to misexpression of oncogenes that ultimately drive transformation. This review attempts to provide a basic understanding of enhancers and their role in transcriptional regulation, with a focus on normal and malignant hematopoiesis. We present examples of enhancers controlling master regulators of hematopoiesis and discuss the main mechanisms leading to enhancer dysregulation in leukemia and lymphoma.
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Affiliation(s)
- Roger Mulet-Lazaro
- Department of Hematology, Erasmus MC Cancer Institute, Rotterdam, the Netherlands
- Oncode Institute, Utrecht, the Netherlands
| | - Ruud Delwel
- Department of Hematology, Erasmus MC Cancer Institute, Rotterdam, the Netherlands
- Oncode Institute, Utrecht, the Netherlands
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13
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Zhang T, Li L, Sun H, Xu D, Wang G. DeepICSH: a complex deep learning framework for identifying cell-specific silencers and their strength from the human genome. Brief Bioinform 2023; 24:bbad316. [PMID: 37643374 DOI: 10.1093/bib/bbad316] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/01/2023] [Revised: 07/25/2023] [Accepted: 08/11/2023] [Indexed: 08/31/2023] Open
Abstract
Silencers are noncoding DNA sequence fragments located on the genome that suppress gene expression. The variation of silencers in specific cells is closely related to gene expression and cancer development. Computational approaches that exclusively rely on DNA sequence information for silencer identification fail to account for the cell specificity of silencers, resulting in diminished accuracy. Despite the discovery of several transcription factors and epigenetic modifications associated with silencers on the genome, there is still no definitive biological signal or combination thereof to fully characterize silencers, posing challenges in selecting suitable biological signals for their identification. Therefore, we propose a sophisticated deep learning framework called DeepICSH, which is based on multiple biological data sources. Specifically, DeepICSH leverages a deep convolutional neural network to automatically capture biologically relevant signal combinations strongly associated with silencers, originating from a diverse array of biological signals. Furthermore, the utilization of attention mechanisms facilitates the scoring and visualization of these signal combinations, whereas the employment of skip connections facilitates the fusion of multilevel sequence features and signal combinations, thereby empowering the accurate identification of silencers within specific cells. Extensive experiments on HepG2 and K562 cell line data sets demonstrate that DeepICSH outperforms state-of-the-art methods in silencer identification. Notably, we introduce for the first time a deep learning framework based on multi-omics data for classifying strong and weak silencers, achieving favorable performance. In conclusion, DeepICSH shows great promise for advancing the study and analysis of silencers in complex diseases. The source code is available at https://github.com/lyli1013/DeepICSH.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tianjiao Zhang
- College of Computer and Control Engineering, Northeast Forestry University, Harbin 150040, China
| | - Liangyu Li
- College of Computer and Control Engineering, Northeast Forestry University, Harbin 150040, China
| | - Hailong Sun
- College of Computer and Control Engineering, Northeast Forestry University, Harbin 150040, China
| | - Dali Xu
- College of Computer and Control Engineering, Northeast Forestry University, Harbin 150040, China
| | - Guohua Wang
- College of Computer and Control Engineering, Northeast Forestry University, Harbin 150040, China
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14
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Riesle AJ, Gao M, Rosenblatt M, Hermes J, Hass H, Gebhard A, Veil M, Grüning B, Timmer J, Onichtchouk D. Activator-blocker model of transcriptional regulation by pioneer-like factors. Nat Commun 2023; 14:5677. [PMID: 37709752 PMCID: PMC10502082 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-41507-z] [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: 02/10/2023] [Accepted: 09/06/2023] [Indexed: 09/16/2023] Open
Abstract
Zygotic genome activation (ZGA) in the development of flies, fish, frogs and mammals depends on pioneer-like transcription factors (TFs). Those TFs create open chromatin regions, promote histone acetylation on enhancers, and activate transcription. Here, we use the panel of single, double and triple mutants for zebrafish genome activators Pou5f3, Sox19b and Nanog, multi-omics and mathematical modeling to investigate the combinatorial mechanisms of genome activation. We show that Pou5f3 and Nanog act differently on synergistic and antagonistic enhancer types. Pou5f3 and Nanog both bind as pioneer-like TFs on synergistic enhancers, promote histone acetylation and activate transcription. Antagonistic enhancers are activated by binding of one of these factors. The other TF binds as non-pioneer-like TF, competes with the activator and blocks all its effects, partially or completely. This activator-blocker mechanism mutually restricts widespread transcriptional activation by Pou5f3 and Nanog and prevents premature expression of late developmental regulators in the early embryo.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aileen Julia Riesle
- Department of Developmental Biology, Albert-Ludwigs-University of Freiburg, 79104, Freiburg, Germany
- Epigenetics and Neurobiology Unit, European Molecular Biology Laboratory, EMBL Rome, Adriano Buzzati-Traverso Campus, Via Ramarini 32, 00015, Monterotondo, RM, Italy
| | - Meijiang Gao
- Department of Developmental Biology, Albert-Ludwigs-University of Freiburg, 79104, Freiburg, Germany
- Signalling Research centers BIOSS and CIBSS, 79104, Freiburg, Germany
| | - Marcus Rosenblatt
- Institute of Physics, Albert-Ludwigs-University of Freiburg, 79104, Freiburg, Germany
- Freiburg Center for Data Analysis and Modelling (FDM), 79104, Freiburg, Germany
| | - Jacques Hermes
- Institute of Physics, Albert-Ludwigs-University of Freiburg, 79104, Freiburg, Germany
- Freiburg Center for Data Analysis and Modelling (FDM), 79104, Freiburg, Germany
| | - Helge Hass
- Institute of Physics, Albert-Ludwigs-University of Freiburg, 79104, Freiburg, Germany
- Freiburg Center for Data Analysis and Modelling (FDM), 79104, Freiburg, Germany
| | - Anna Gebhard
- Department of Developmental Biology, Albert-Ludwigs-University of Freiburg, 79104, Freiburg, Germany
| | - Marina Veil
- Department of Developmental Biology, Albert-Ludwigs-University of Freiburg, 79104, Freiburg, Germany
| | - Björn Grüning
- Department of Computer Science, University of Freiburg, 79110, Freiburg, Germany
- Center for Biological Systems Analysis (ZBSA), University of Freiburg, 79104, Freiburg, Germany
| | - Jens Timmer
- Signalling Research centers BIOSS and CIBSS, 79104, Freiburg, Germany.
- Institute of Physics, Albert-Ludwigs-University of Freiburg, 79104, Freiburg, Germany.
- Freiburg Center for Data Analysis and Modelling (FDM), 79104, Freiburg, Germany.
| | - Daria Onichtchouk
- Department of Developmental Biology, Albert-Ludwigs-University of Freiburg, 79104, Freiburg, Germany.
- Signalling Research centers BIOSS and CIBSS, 79104, Freiburg, Germany.
- Institute of Developmental Biology RAS, 119991, Moscow, Russia.
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15
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Bejjani F, Evanno E, Mahfoud S, Tolza C, Zibara K, Piechaczyk M, Jariel-Encontre I. Multiple Fra-1-bound enhancers showing different molecular and functional features can cooperate to repress gene transcription. Cell Biosci 2023; 13:129. [PMID: 37464380 DOI: 10.1186/s13578-023-01077-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/09/2022] [Accepted: 06/26/2023] [Indexed: 07/20/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND How transcription factors (TFs) down-regulate gene expression remains ill-understood, especially when they bind to multiple enhancers contacting the same gene promoter. In particular, it is not known whether they exert similar or significantly different molecular effects at these enhancers. RESULTS To address this issue, we used a particularly well-suited study model consisting of the down-regulation of the TGFB2 gene by the TF Fra-1 in Fra-1-overexpressing cancer cells, as Fra-1 binds to multiple enhancers interacting with the TGFB2 promoter. We show that Fra-1 does not repress TGFB2 transcription via reducing RNA Pol II recruitment at the gene promoter but by decreasing the formation of its transcription-initiating form. This is associated with complex long-range chromatin interactions implicating multiple molecularly and functionally heterogeneous Fra-1-bound transcriptional enhancers distal to the TGFB2 transcriptional start site. In particular, the latter display differential requirements upon the presence and the activity of the lysine acetyltransferase p300/CBP. Furthermore, the final transcriptional output of the TGFB2 gene seems to depend on a balance between the positive and negative effects of Fra-1 at these enhancers. CONCLUSION Our work unveils complex molecular mechanisms underlying the repressive actions of Fra-1 on TGFB2 gene expression. This has consequences for our general understanding of the functioning of the ubiquitous transcriptional complex AP-1, of which Fra-1 is the most documented component for prooncogenic activities. In addition, it raises the general question of the heterogeneity of the molecular functions of TFs binding to different enhancers regulating the same gene.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fabienne Bejjani
- IGMM, Univ Montpellier, CNRS, Montpellier, France
- DSST, ER045, PRASE, Lebanese University, Beirut, Lebanon
| | | | - Samantha Mahfoud
- IGMM, Univ Montpellier, CNRS, Montpellier, France
- DSST, ER045, PRASE, Lebanese University, Beirut, Lebanon
| | - Claire Tolza
- IGMM, Univ Montpellier, CNRS, Montpellier, France
| | - Kazem Zibara
- DSST, ER045, PRASE, Lebanese University, Beirut, Lebanon
- Biology Department, Faculty of Sciences-I, Lebanese University, Beirut, Lebanon
| | | | - Isabelle Jariel-Encontre
- IGMM, Univ Montpellier, CNRS, Montpellier, France.
- Institut de Recherche en Cancérologie de Montpellier, IRCM, INSERM U1194, ICM, Université de Montpellier, Montpellier, France.
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16
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Yang A, Poholek AC. To loop or not to loop? CNS-28 is the answer. Immunity 2023; 56:895-897. [PMID: 37163987 DOI: 10.1016/j.immuni.2023.04.009] [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: 04/10/2023] [Revised: 04/11/2023] [Accepted: 04/12/2023] [Indexed: 05/12/2023]
Abstract
Regulation of interferon-γ is critical to constrain inflammation and mount effective responses to infection and anti-tumor immunity. In this issue of Immunity, Cui et al. identify a distal silencer element that disrupts promoter-enhancer looping, regulating IFN-γ expression and preventing inappropriate inflammation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aaron Yang
- Division of Pediatric Rheumatology, Department of Pediatrics, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Department of Immunology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Amanda C Poholek
- Division of Pediatric Rheumatology, Department of Pediatrics, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Department of Immunology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.
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17
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Méndez-González ID, Williams TM, Rebeiz M. Changes in locus wide repression underlie the evolution of Drosophila abdominal pigmentation. PLoS Genet 2023; 19:e1010722. [PMID: 37134121 PMCID: PMC10184908 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pgen.1010722] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/16/2022] [Revised: 05/15/2023] [Accepted: 03/28/2023] [Indexed: 05/04/2023] Open
Abstract
Changes in gene regulation represent an important path to generate developmental differences affecting anatomical traits. Interspecific divergence in gene expression often results from changes in transcription-stimulating enhancer elements. While gene repression is crucial for precise spatiotemporal expression patterns, the relative contribution of repressive transcriptional silencers to regulatory evolution remains to be addressed. Here, we show that the Drosophila pigmentation gene ebony has mainly evolved through changes in the spatial domains of silencers patterning its abdominal expression. By precisely editing the endogenous ebony locus of D. melanogaster, we demonstrate the requirement of two redundant abdominal enhancers and three silencers that repress the redundant enhancers in a patterned manner. We observe a role for changes in these silencers in every case of ebony evolution observed to date. Our findings suggest that negative regulation by silencers likely has an under-appreciated role in gene regulatory evolution.
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Affiliation(s)
- Iván D Méndez-González
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States of America
| | - Thomas M Williams
- Department of Biology, University of Dayton, Dayton, Ohio, United States of America
| | - Mark Rebeiz
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States of America
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18
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Antón-García P, Haghighi EB, Rose K, Vladimirov G, Boerries M, Hecht A. TGFβ1-Induced EMT in the MCF10A Mammary Epithelial Cell Line Model Is Executed Independently of SNAIL1 and ZEB1 but Relies on JUNB-Coordinated Transcriptional Regulation. Cancers (Basel) 2023; 15:558. [PMID: 36672507 PMCID: PMC9856774 DOI: 10.3390/cancers15020558] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/04/2022] [Revised: 01/11/2023] [Accepted: 01/11/2023] [Indexed: 01/18/2023] Open
Abstract
Epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) fosters cancer cell invasion and metastasis, the main cause of cancer-related mortality. Growing evidence that SNAIL and ZEB transcription factors, typically portrayed as master regulators of EMT, may be dispensable for this process, led us to re-investigate its mechanistic underpinnings. For this, we used an unbiased computational approach that integrated time-resolved analyses of chromatin structure and differential gene expression, to predict transcriptional regulators of TGFβ1-inducible EMT in the MCF10A mammary epithelial cell line model. Bioinformatic analyses indicated comparatively minor contributions of SNAIL proteins and ZEB1 to TGFβ1-induced EMT, whereas the AP-1 subunit JUNB was anticipated to have a much larger impact. CRISPR/Cas9-mediated loss-of-function studies confirmed that TGFβ1-induced EMT proceeded independently of SNAIL proteins and ZEB1. In contrast, JUNB was necessary and sufficient for EMT in MCF10A cells, but not in A549 lung cancer cells, indicating cell-type-specificity of JUNB EMT-regulatory capacity. Nonetheless, the JUNB-dependence of EMT-associated transcriptional reprogramming in MCF10A cells allowed to define a gene expression signature which was regulated by TGFβ1 in diverse cellular backgrounds, showed positively correlated expression with TGFβ signaling in multiple cancer transcriptomes, and was predictive of patient survival in several cancer types. Altogether, our findings provide novel mechanistic insights into the context-dependent control of TGFβ1-driven EMT and thereby may lead to improved diagnostic and therapeutic options.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pablo Antón-García
- Institute of Molecular Medicine and Cell Research, Faculty of Medicine, University of Freiburg, 79104 Freiburg, Germany
- Faculty of Biology, University of Freiburg, 79104 Freiburg, Germany
| | - Elham Bavafaye Haghighi
- Institute of Medical Bioinformatics and Systems Medicine, Medical Center–University of Freiburg, Faculty of Medicine, University of Freiburg, 79106 Freiburg, Germany
| | - Katja Rose
- Institute of Molecular Medicine and Cell Research, Faculty of Medicine, University of Freiburg, 79104 Freiburg, Germany
| | - Georg Vladimirov
- Institute of Molecular Medicine and Cell Research, Faculty of Medicine, University of Freiburg, 79104 Freiburg, Germany
| | - Melanie Boerries
- Institute of Medical Bioinformatics and Systems Medicine, Medical Center–University of Freiburg, Faculty of Medicine, University of Freiburg, 79106 Freiburg, Germany
- German Cancer Consortium (DKTK), Partner Site Freiburg, German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), 69120 Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Andreas Hecht
- Institute of Molecular Medicine and Cell Research, Faculty of Medicine, University of Freiburg, 79104 Freiburg, Germany
- Faculty of Biology, University of Freiburg, 79104 Freiburg, Germany
- BIOSS Centre for Biological Signalling Studies, University of Freiburg, 79104 Freiburg, Germany
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19
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Аpplication of massive parallel reporter analysis in biotechnology and medicine. КЛИНИЧЕСКАЯ ПРАКТИКА 2023. [DOI: 10.17816/clinpract115063] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/11/2023] Open
Abstract
The development and functioning of an organism relies on tissue-specific gene programs. Genome regulatory elements play a key role in the regulation of such programs, and disruptions in their function can lead to the development of various pathologies, including cancers, malformations and autoimmune diseases. The emergence of high-throughput genomic studies has led to massively parallel reporter analysis (MPRA) methods, which allow the functional verification and identification of regulatory elements on a genome-wide scale. Initially MPRA was used as a tool to investigate fundamental aspects of epigenetics, but the approach also has great potential for clinical and practical biotechnology. Currently, MPRA is used for validation of clinically significant mutations, identification of tissue-specific regulatory elements, search for the most promising loci for transgene integration, and is an indispensable tool for creating highly efficient expression systems, the range of application of which extends from approaches for protein development and design of next-generation therapeutic antibody superproducers to gene therapy. In this review, the main principles and areas of practical application of high-throughput reporter assays will be discussed.
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20
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Huang Z, Efthymiadou A, Liang N, Fan R, Treuter E. Antagonistic action of GPS2 and KDM1A at enhancers governs alternative macrophage activation by interleukin 4. Nucleic Acids Res 2023; 51:1067-1086. [PMID: 36610795 PMCID: PMC9943668 DOI: 10.1093/nar/gkac1230] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/24/2022] [Revised: 11/24/2022] [Accepted: 01/02/2023] [Indexed: 01/09/2023] Open
Abstract
The Th2 cytokine interleukin 4 (IL4) promotes macrophage differentiation into alternative subtypes and plays important roles in physiology, in metabolic and inflammatory diseases, in cancer and in tissue regeneration. While the regulatory transcription factor networks governing IL4 signaling are already well-characterized, it is currently less understood which transcriptional coregulators are involved and how they operate mechanistically. In this study, we discover that G protein pathway suppressor 2 (GPS2), a core subunit of the HDAC3 corepressor complex assembled by SMRT and NCOR, represses IL4-dependent enhancer activation in mouse macrophages. Our genome-wide and gene-specific characterization revealed that, instead of directly repressing STAT6, chromatin-bound GPS2 cooperates with SMRT and NCOR to antagonize enhancer activation by lysine demethylase 1A (KDM1A, LSD1). Mechanistically, corepressor depletion increased KDM1A recruitment to enhancers linked to IL4-induced genes, accompanied by demethylation of the repressive histone marks H3K9me2/3 without affecting H3K4me1/2, the classic KDM1A substrates for demethylation in other cellular contexts. This in turn caused enhancer and gene activation already in the absence of IL4/STAT6 and sensitized the STAT6-dependent IL4 responsiveness of macrophages. Thus, our work identified with the antagonistic action of a GPS2-containing corepressor complex and the lysine demethylase KDM1A a hitherto unknown epigenetic corepressor-coactivator switching mechanism that governs alternative macrophage activation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhiqiang Huang
- Department of Biosciences and Nutrition, Karolinska Institutet, 14183 Huddinge, Sweden
| | - Astradeni Efthymiadou
- Department of Biosciences and Nutrition, Karolinska Institutet, 14183 Huddinge, Sweden
| | - Ning Liang
- Department of Biosciences and Nutrition, Karolinska Institutet, 14183 Huddinge, Sweden
| | - Rongrong Fan
- Correspondence may also be addressed to Rongrong Fan. Tel: +46 8 524 81161;
| | - Eckardt Treuter
- To whom correspondence should be addressed. Tel: +46 8 524 81060;
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21
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Preissl S, Gaulton KJ, Ren B. Characterizing cis-regulatory elements using single-cell epigenomics. Nat Rev Genet 2023; 24:21-43. [PMID: 35840754 PMCID: PMC9771884 DOI: 10.1038/s41576-022-00509-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 65] [Impact Index Per Article: 65.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 05/24/2022] [Indexed: 12/24/2022]
Abstract
Cell type-specific gene expression patterns and dynamics during development or in disease are controlled by cis-regulatory elements (CREs), such as promoters and enhancers. Distinct classes of CREs can be characterized by their epigenomic features, including DNA methylation, chromatin accessibility, combinations of histone modifications and conformation of local chromatin. Tremendous progress has been made in cataloguing CREs in the human genome using bulk transcriptomic and epigenomic methods. However, single-cell epigenomic and multi-omic technologies have the potential to provide deeper insight into cell type-specific gene regulatory programmes as well as into how they change during development, in response to environmental cues and through disease pathogenesis. Here, we highlight recent advances in single-cell epigenomic methods and analytical tools and discuss their readiness for human tissue profiling.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sebastian Preissl
- Center for Epigenomics, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA.
- Institute of Experimental and Clinical Pharmacology and Toxicology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany.
| | - Kyle J Gaulton
- Department of Paediatrics, Paediatric Diabetes Research Center, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA.
| | - Bing Ren
- Center for Epigenomics, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA.
- Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine, University of California San Diego, School of Medicine, La Jolla, CA, USA.
- Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research, La Jolla, CA, USA.
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22
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Pang B, van Weerd JH, Hamoen FL, Snyder MP. Identification of non-coding silencer elements and their regulation of gene expression. Nat Rev Mol Cell Biol 2022; 24:383-395. [DOI: 10.1038/s41580-022-00549-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 09/29/2022] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
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23
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Orozco G, Schoenfelder S, Walker N, Eyre S, Fraser P. 3D genome organization links non-coding disease-associated variants to genes. Front Cell Dev Biol 2022; 10:995388. [PMID: 36340032 PMCID: PMC9631826 DOI: 10.3389/fcell.2022.995388] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/15/2022] [Accepted: 09/27/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Genome sequencing has revealed over 300 million genetic variations in human populations. Over 90% of variants are single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), the remainder include short deletions or insertions, and small numbers of structural variants. Hundreds of thousands of these variants have been associated with specific phenotypic traits and diseases through genome wide association studies which link significant differences in variant frequencies with specific phenotypes among large groups of individuals. Only 5% of disease-associated SNPs are located in gene coding sequences, with the potential to disrupt gene expression or alter of the function of encoded proteins. The remaining 95% of disease-associated SNPs are located in non-coding DNA sequences which make up 98% of the genome. The role of non-coding, disease-associated SNPs, many of which are located at considerable distances from any gene, was at first a mystery until the discovery that gene promoters regularly interact with distal regulatory elements to control gene expression. Disease-associated SNPs are enriched at the millions of gene regulatory elements that are dispersed throughout the non-coding sequences of the genome, suggesting they function as gene regulation variants. Assigning specific regulatory elements to the genes they control is not straightforward since they can be millions of base pairs apart. In this review we describe how understanding 3D genome organization can identify specific interactions between gene promoters and distal regulatory elements and how 3D genomics can link disease-associated SNPs to their target genes. Understanding which gene or genes contribute to a specific disease is the first step in designing rational therapeutic interventions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gisela Orozco
- Centre for Genetics and Genomics Versus Arthritis, Division of Musculoskeletal and Dermatological Sciences, School of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health, The University of Manchester, Manchester Academic Health Science Centre, Manchester, United Kingdom
- NIHR Manchester Biomedical Research Centre, Manchester University Foundation Trust, Manchester, United Kingdom
| | - Stefan Schoenfelder
- Enhanc3D Genomics Ltd., Cambridge, United Kingdom
- Epigenetics Programme, The Babraham Institute, Babraham Research Campus, CB22 3AT Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom
| | | | - Stephan Eyre
- Centre for Genetics and Genomics Versus Arthritis, Division of Musculoskeletal and Dermatological Sciences, School of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health, The University of Manchester, Manchester Academic Health Science Centre, Manchester, United Kingdom
- NIHR Manchester Biomedical Research Centre, Manchester University Foundation Trust, Manchester, United Kingdom
| | - Peter Fraser
- Enhanc3D Genomics Ltd., Cambridge, United Kingdom
- Department of Biological Science, Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL, United States
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24
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Claxton M, Pulix M, Seah MKY, Bernardo R, Zhou P, Aljuraysi S, Liloglou T, Arnaud P, Kelsey G, Messerschmidt DM, Plagge A. Variable allelic expression of imprinted genes at the Peg13, Trappc9, Ago2 cluster in single neural cells. Front Cell Dev Biol 2022; 10:1022422. [PMID: 36313557 PMCID: PMC9596773 DOI: 10.3389/fcell.2022.1022422] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/18/2022] [Accepted: 09/20/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Genomic imprinting is an epigenetic process through which genes are expressed in a parent-of-origin specific manner resulting in mono-allelic or strongly biased expression of one allele. For some genes, imprinted expression may be tissue-specific and reliant on CTCF-influenced enhancer-promoter interactions. The Peg13 imprinting cluster is associated with neurodevelopmental disorders and comprises canonical imprinted genes, which are conserved between mouse and human, as well as brain-specific imprinted genes in mouse. The latter consist of Trappc9, Chrac1 and Ago2, which have a maternal allelic expression bias of ∼75% in brain. Findings of such allelic expression biases on the tissue level raise the question of how they are reflected in individual cells and whether there is variability and mosaicism in allelic expression between individual cells of the tissue. Here we show that Trappc9 and Ago2 are not imprinted in hippocampus-derived neural stem cells (neurospheres), while Peg13 retains its strong bias of paternal allele expression. Upon analysis of single neural stem cells and in vitro differentiated neurons, we find not uniform, but variable states of allelic expression, especially for Trappc9 and Ago2. These ranged from mono-allelic paternal to equal bi-allelic to mono-allelic maternal, including biased bi-allelic transcriptional states. Even Peg13 expression deviated from its expected paternal allele bias in a small number of cells. Although the cell populations consisted of a mosaic of cells with different allelic expression states, as a whole they reflected bulk tissue data. Furthermore, in an attempt to identify potential brain-specific regulatory elements across the Trappc9 locus, we demonstrate tissue-specific and general silencer activities, which might contribute to the regulation of its imprinted expression bias.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael Claxton
- Department of Molecular Physiology and Cell Signaling, Institute of Systems, Molecular and Integrative Biology, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, United Kingdom
- Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology (IMCB), Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), Singapore, Singapore
| | - Michela Pulix
- Department of Molecular Physiology and Cell Signaling, Institute of Systems, Molecular and Integrative Biology, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, United Kingdom
| | - Michelle K. Y. Seah
- Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology (IMCB), Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), Singapore, Singapore
| | - Ralph Bernardo
- Department of Molecular Physiology and Cell Signaling, Institute of Systems, Molecular and Integrative Biology, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, United Kingdom
| | - Peng Zhou
- Department of Molecular Physiology and Cell Signaling, Institute of Systems, Molecular and Integrative Biology, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, United Kingdom
| | - Sultan Aljuraysi
- Department of Molecular Physiology and Cell Signaling, Institute of Systems, Molecular and Integrative Biology, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, United Kingdom
- Department of Physiology, College of Medicine, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
| | - Triantafillos Liloglou
- Faculty of Health, Social Care and Medicine, Edge Hill University, Ormskirk, Lancashire, United Kingdom
| | - Philippe Arnaud
- Université Clermont Auvergne, CNRS, Inserm, GReD, Clermont-Ferrand, France
| | - Gavin Kelsey
- Epigenetics Programme, The Babraham Institute, Cambridge, United Kingdom
- Centre for Trophoblast Research, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom
- Wellcome-MRC Institute of Metabolic Science-Metabolic Research Laboratories, Cambridge, United Kingdom
| | - Daniel M. Messerschmidt
- Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology (IMCB), Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), Singapore, Singapore
- Institute of Cellular and Molecular Medicine, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Antonius Plagge
- Department of Molecular Physiology and Cell Signaling, Institute of Systems, Molecular and Integrative Biology, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, United Kingdom
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25
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Guo Y, Wang GG. Modulation of the high-order chromatin structure by Polycomb complexes. Front Cell Dev Biol 2022; 10:1021658. [PMID: 36274840 PMCID: PMC9579376 DOI: 10.3389/fcell.2022.1021658] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/17/2022] [Accepted: 09/20/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
The multi-subunit Polycomb Repressive Complex (PRC) 1 and 2 act, either independently or synergistically, to maintain and enforce a repressive state of the target chromatin, thereby regulating the processes of cell lineage specification and organismal development. In recent years, deep sequencing-based and imaging-based technologies, especially those tailored for mapping three-dimensional (3D) chromatin organization and structure, have allowed a better understanding of the PRC complex-mediated long-range chromatin contacts and DNA looping. In this review, we review current advances as for how Polycomb complexes function to modulate and help define the high-order chromatin structure and topology, highlighting the multi-faceted roles of Polycomb proteins in gene and genome regulation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yiran Guo
- Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine, Chapel Hill, NC, United States
- Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine, Chapel Hill, NC, United States
- Curriculum in Genetics and Molecular Biology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, United States
- *Correspondence: Yiran Guo, ; Gang Greg Wang,
| | - Gang Greg Wang
- Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine, Chapel Hill, NC, United States
- Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine, Chapel Hill, NC, United States
- Curriculum in Genetics and Molecular Biology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, United States
- Department of Pharmacology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine, Chapel Hill, NC, United States
- *Correspondence: Yiran Guo, ; Gang Greg Wang,
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26
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Keränen SVE, Villahoz-Baleta A, Bruno AE, Halfon MS. REDfly: An Integrated Knowledgebase for Insect Regulatory Genomics. INSECTS 2022; 13:618. [PMID: 35886794 PMCID: PMC9323752 DOI: 10.3390/insects13070618] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/16/2022] [Revised: 07/01/2022] [Accepted: 07/06/2022] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
We provide here an updated description of the REDfly (Regulatory Element Database for Fly) database of transcriptional regulatory elements, a unique resource that provides regulatory annotation for the genome of Drosophila and other insects. The genomic sequences regulating insect gene expression-transcriptional cis-regulatory modules (CRMs, e.g., "enhancers") and transcription factor binding sites (TFBSs)-are not currently curated by any other major database resources. However, knowledge of such sequences is important, as CRMs play critical roles with respect to disease as well as normal development, phenotypic variation, and evolution. Characterized CRMs also provide useful tools for both basic and applied research, including developing methods for insect control. REDfly, which is the most detailed existing platform for metazoan regulatory-element annotation, includes over 40,000 experimentally verified CRMs and TFBSs along with their DNA sequences, their associated genes, and the expression patterns they direct. Here, we briefly describe REDfly's contents and data model, with an emphasis on the new features implemented since 2020. We then provide an illustrated walk-through of several common REDfly search use cases.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Angel Villahoz-Baleta
- Center for Computational Research, State University of New York at Buffalo, Buffalo, NY 14203, USA; (A.V.-B.); (A.E.B.)
- New York State Center of Excellence in Bioinformatics and Life Sciences, State University of New York at Buffalo, Buffalo, NY 14203, USA
| | - Andrew E. Bruno
- Center for Computational Research, State University of New York at Buffalo, Buffalo, NY 14203, USA; (A.V.-B.); (A.E.B.)
- New York State Center of Excellence in Bioinformatics and Life Sciences, State University of New York at Buffalo, Buffalo, NY 14203, USA
| | - Marc S. Halfon
- New York State Center of Excellence in Bioinformatics and Life Sciences, State University of New York at Buffalo, Buffalo, NY 14203, USA
- Department of Biochemistry, State University of New York at Buffalo, Buffalo, NY 14203, USA
- Department of Biomedical Informatics, State University of New York at Buffalo, Buffalo, NY 14203, USA
- Department of Biological Sciences, State University of New York at Buffalo, Buffalo, NY 14203, USA
- Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology and Program in Cancer Genetics, Roswell Park Cancer Institute, Buffalo, NY 14263, USA
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27
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Interplay between regulatory elements and chromatin topology in cellular lineage determination. Trends Genet 2022; 38:1048-1061. [DOI: 10.1016/j.tig.2022.05.011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/25/2022] [Revised: 05/02/2022] [Accepted: 05/12/2022] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
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28
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Huang Z, Wang C, Treuter E, Fan R. An optimized 4C-seq protocol based on cistrome and epigenome data in the mouse RAW264.7 macrophage cell line. STAR Protoc 2022; 3:101338. [PMID: 35496794 PMCID: PMC9043770 DOI: 10.1016/j.xpro.2022.101338] [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] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
Chromosome conformation capture combined with high-throughput sequencing (4C-seq) is a powerful tool to map genomic DNA regions that communicate with a specific locus of interest such as functional single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNPs)-containing regions. This protocol describes detailed steps to perform 4C-seq in mouse macrophage RAW264.7 cells, starting from the primer design based on cistrome and epigenome data, sample processing, and to the bioinformatics analysis. For complete details on the use and execution of this protocol, please refer to Huang et al. (2021). 4C-seq in mouse RAW264.7 macrophage cells Applicable to any region with a proven or suspected regulatory role in transcription Integrated cistrome and epigenome data to refine the primer design of 4C-seq protocol
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29
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Mulero Hernández J, Fernández-Breis JT. Analysis of the landscape of human enhancer sequences in biological databases. Comput Struct Biotechnol J 2022; 20:2728-2744. [PMID: 35685360 PMCID: PMC9168495 DOI: 10.1016/j.csbj.2022.05.045] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/28/2022] [Revised: 05/20/2022] [Accepted: 05/21/2022] [Indexed: 12/01/2022] Open
Abstract
The process of gene regulation extends as a network in which both genetic sequences and proteins are involved. The levels of regulation and the mechanisms involved are multiple. Transcription is the main control mechanism for most genes, being the downstream steps responsible for refining the transcription patterns. In turn, gene transcription is mainly controlled by regulatory events that occur at promoters and enhancers. Several studies are focused on analyzing the contribution of enhancers in the development of diseases and their possible use as therapeutic targets. The study of regulatory elements has advanced rapidly in recent years with the development and use of next generation sequencing techniques. All this information has generated a large volume of information that has been transferred to a growing number of public repositories that store this information. In this article, we analyze the content of those public repositories that contain information about human enhancers with the aim of detecting whether the knowledge generated by scientific research is contained in those databases in a way that could be computationally exploited. The analysis will be based on three main aspects identified in the literature: types of enhancers, type of evidence about the enhancers, and methods for detecting enhancer-promoter interactions. Our results show that no single database facilitates the optimal exploitation of enhancer data, most types of enhancers are not represented in the databases and there is need for a standardized model for enhancers. We have identified major gaps and challenges for the computational exploitation of enhancer data.
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Affiliation(s)
- Juan Mulero Hernández
- Dept. Informática y Sistemas, Universidad de Murcia, CEIR Campus Mare Nostrum, IMIB-Arrixaca, Spain
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30
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Strickland BA, Ansari SA, Dantoft W, Uhlenhaut NH. How to tame your genes: mechanisms of inflammatory gene repression by glucocorticoids. FEBS Lett 2022; 596:2596-2616. [PMID: 35612756 DOI: 10.1002/1873-3468.14409] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/23/2021] [Revised: 04/24/2022] [Accepted: 05/18/2022] [Indexed: 01/08/2023]
Abstract
Glucocorticoids (GCs) are widely used therapeutic agents to treat a broad range of inflammatory conditions. Their functional effects are elicited by binding to the glucocorticoid receptor (GR), which regulates transcription of distinct gene networks in response to ligand. However, the mechanisms governing various aspects of undesired side effects versus beneficial immunomodulation upon GR activation remain complex and incompletely understood. In this review, we discuss emerging models of inflammatory gene regulation by GR, highlighting GR's regulatory specificity conferred by context-dependent changes in chromatin architecture and transcription factor or co-regulator dynamics. GR controls both gene activation and repression, with the repression mechanism being central to favorable clinical outcomes. We describe current knowledge about 3D genome organization and its role in spatiotemporal transcriptional control by GR. Looking beyond, we summarize the evidence for dynamics in gene regulation by GR through cooperative convergence of epigenetic modifications, transcription factor crosstalk, molecular condensate formation and chromatin looping. Further characterizing these genomic events will reframe our understanding of mechanisms of transcriptional repression by GR.
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Affiliation(s)
- Benjamin A Strickland
- Metabolic Programming, Technische Universitaet Muenchen (TUM), School of Life Sciences Weihenstephan, ZIEL - Institute for Food and Health, Gregor-Mendel-Str. 2, 85354, Freising, Germany
| | - Suhail A Ansari
- Institute for Diabetes and Endocrinology (IDE), Helmholtz Center Munich (HMGU) and German Center for Diabetes Research (DZD), Ingolstaedter Landstr. 1, 85764, Neuherberg, Germany
| | - Widad Dantoft
- Institute for Diabetes and Endocrinology (IDE), Helmholtz Center Munich (HMGU) and German Center for Diabetes Research (DZD), Ingolstaedter Landstr. 1, 85764, Neuherberg, Germany
| | - N Henriette Uhlenhaut
- Metabolic Programming, Technische Universitaet Muenchen (TUM), School of Life Sciences Weihenstephan, ZIEL - Institute for Food and Health, Gregor-Mendel-Str. 2, 85354, Freising, Germany.,Institute for Diabetes and Endocrinology (IDE), Helmholtz Center Munich (HMGU) and German Center for Diabetes Research (DZD), Ingolstaedter Landstr. 1, 85764, Neuherberg, Germany
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31
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Matsusaka D, Botto JF, Sanchez DH. Dual role of specific promoter tandem repeats integrating epigenetic silencing with heat response. PHYSIOLOGIA PLANTARUM 2022; 174:e13694. [PMID: 35526232 DOI: 10.1111/ppl.13694] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/05/2022] [Revised: 04/14/2022] [Accepted: 04/25/2022] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
Satellites are ubiquitous noncoding tandemly repeated sequences, yet knowledge about their biological relevance is still scarce. In plants, the few described cases point to roles in heterochromatin biology and gene regulation; however, a direct link to plant stress responses is yet to be uncovered. We present evidence that particular non-centromere tandem repeats may display a central regulatory role in the intersection between epigenetic silencing and gene expression in dynamic environments. Within the projected promoter of Arabidopsis thaliana's imprinted SDC locus, a transcriptional gene silencing targeted tandem-repeated area largely mediates epigenetic suppression and imprinting. Here, we show that this area, possibly acting as a cis-element/enhancer, appears necessary and sufficient for SDC's heat transcriptional activity in vegetative tissues. Our results indicate that these particular noncoding tandem repeats may be genic and exhibit dual roles, not only as silencers at normal temperatures but also facilitating expression upon stress. An unusual adaptive form of abiotic transcriptional control unrelated to canonical heat signaling is implied, emphasizing a potential importance of genomic satellites for plant environmental epigenetics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniel Matsusaka
- IFEVA (CONICET-UBA), Facultad de Agronomía, Universidad de Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Javier F Botto
- IFEVA (CONICET-UBA), Facultad de Agronomía, Universidad de Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Diego H Sanchez
- IFEVA (CONICET-UBA), Facultad de Agronomía, Universidad de Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires, Argentina
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32
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Martinez-Ara M, Comoglio F, van Arensbergen J, van Steensel B. Systematic analysis of intrinsic enhancer-promoter compatibility in the mouse genome. Mol Cell 2022; 82:2519-2531.e6. [PMID: 35594855 PMCID: PMC9278412 DOI: 10.1016/j.molcel.2022.04.009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 44] [Impact Index Per Article: 22.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/29/2021] [Revised: 02/17/2022] [Accepted: 04/05/2022] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Miguel Martinez-Ara
- Division of Gene Regulation and Oncode Institute, Netherlands Cancer Institute, 1066 CX Amsterdam, the Netherlands
| | - Federico Comoglio
- Division of Gene Regulation and Oncode Institute, Netherlands Cancer Institute, 1066 CX Amsterdam, the Netherlands
| | - Joris van Arensbergen
- Division of Gene Regulation and Oncode Institute, Netherlands Cancer Institute, 1066 CX Amsterdam, the Netherlands
| | - Bas van Steensel
- Division of Gene Regulation and Oncode Institute, Netherlands Cancer Institute, 1066 CX Amsterdam, the Netherlands.
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33
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Wei X, Xiang Y, Peters DT, Marius C, Sun T, Shan R, Ou J, Lin X, Yue F, Li W, Southerland KW, Diao Y. HiCAR is a robust and sensitive method to analyze open-chromatin-associated genome organization. Mol Cell 2022; 82:1225-1238.e6. [PMID: 35196517 PMCID: PMC8934281 DOI: 10.1016/j.molcel.2022.01.023] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/05/2021] [Revised: 11/08/2021] [Accepted: 01/25/2022] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Abstract
The long-range interactions of cis-regulatory elements (cREs) play a central role in gene regulation. cREs can be characterized as accessible chromatin sequences. However, it remains technically challenging to comprehensively identify their spatial interactions. Here, we report a new method HiCAR (Hi-C on accessible regulatory DNA), which utilizes Tn5 transposase and chromatin proximity ligation, for the analysis of open-chromatin-anchored interactions with low-input cells. By applying HiCAR in human embryonic stem cells and lymphoblastoid cells, we demonstrate that HiCAR identifies high-resolution chromatin contacts with an efficiency comparable with that of in situ Hi-C over all distance ranges. Interestingly, we found that the "poised" gene promoters exhibit silencer-like function to repress the expression of distal genes via promoter-promoter interactions. Lastly, we applied HiCAR to 30,000 primary human muscle stem cells and demonstrated that HiCAR is capable of analyzing chromatin accessibility and looping using low-input primary cells and clinical samples.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiaolin Wei
- Department of Cell Biology, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC 27710, USA; Duke Regeneration Center, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC 27710, USA
| | - Yu Xiang
- Department of Cell Biology, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC 27710, USA; Duke Regeneration Center, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC 27710, USA
| | - Derek T Peters
- Department of Cell Biology, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC 27710, USA; Duke Regeneration Center, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC 27710, USA
| | - Choiselle Marius
- The Cell and Molecular Biology Program, Duke University, Durham, NC 27710, USA
| | - Tongyu Sun
- Department of Cell Biology, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC 27710, USA; Duke Regeneration Center, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC 27710, USA
| | - Ruocheng Shan
- Center for Genetic Medicine Research, Center for Cancer and Immunology Research at Children's National Medical Center, Washington, DC 20010, USA
| | - Jianhong Ou
- Duke Regeneration Center, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC 27710, USA
| | - Xin Lin
- Department of Cell Biology, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC 27710, USA; Duke Regeneration Center, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC 27710, USA
| | - Feng Yue
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL 60611, USA
| | - Wei Li
- Center for Genetic Medicine Research, Center for Cancer and Immunology Research at Children's National Medical Center, Washington, DC 20010, USA
| | - Kevin W Southerland
- Department of Surgery, Division of Vascular and Endovascular Surgery, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC 27710, USA
| | - Yarui Diao
- Department of Cell Biology, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC 27710, USA; Duke Regeneration Center, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC 27710, USA; Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC 27710, USA.
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34
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Akiyama N, Sato S, Tanaka KM, Sakai T, Takahashi A. The role of the epidermis enhancer element in positive and negative transcriptional regulation of ebony in Drosophila melanogaster. G3 (BETHESDA, MD.) 2022; 12:jkac010. [PMID: 35100378 PMCID: PMC8895987 DOI: 10.1093/g3journal/jkac010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/02/2021] [Accepted: 01/06/2022] [Indexed: 11/15/2022]
Abstract
The spatiotemporal regulation of gene expression is essential to ensure robust phenotypic outcomes. Pigmentation patterns in Drosophila are determined by pigments biosynthesized in the developing epidermis and the cis-regulatory elements of the genes involved in this process are well-characterized. Here, we report that the known primary epidermal enhancer is dispensable for the transcriptional activation of ebony (involved in light-colored pigment synthesis) in the developing epidermis of Drosophila melanogaster. The evidence was obtained by introducing an approximately 1 kbp deletion at the primary epidermal enhancer by genome editing. The effect of the primary epidermal enhancer deletion on pigmentation and on the endogenous expression pattern of a mCherry-fused ebony allele was examined in the abdomen. The expression levels of the mCherry-fused ebony in the primary epidermal enhancer-deleted strains were slightly higher than that of the control strain, indicating that the sequences outside the primary epidermal enhancer have an ability to drive an expression of this gene in the epidermis. Interestingly, the primary epidermal enhancer deletion resulted in a derepression of this gene in the dorsal midline of the abdominal tergites, where dark pigmentation is present in the wild-type individuals. This indicated that the primary epidermal enhancer fragment contains a silencer. Furthermore, the endogenous expression pattern of ebony in the 2 additional strains with partially deleted primary epidermal enhancer revealed that the silencer resides within a 351-bp fragment in the 5' portion of the primary epidermal enhancer. These results demonstrated that deletion assays combined with reporter assays are highly effective in detecting the presence of positively and negatively regulating sequences within and outside the focal cis-regulatory elements.
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Affiliation(s)
- Noriyoshi Akiyama
- Department of Biological Sciences, Tokyo Metropolitan University, Hachioji 192-0397, Japan
| | - Shoma Sato
- Department of Biological Sciences, Tokyo Metropolitan University, Hachioji 192-0397, Japan
| | - Kentaro M Tanaka
- Department of Biological Sciences, Tokyo Metropolitan University, Hachioji 192-0397, Japan
| | - Takaomi Sakai
- Department of Biological Sciences, Tokyo Metropolitan University, Hachioji 192-0397, Japan
| | - Aya Takahashi
- Department of Biological Sciences, Tokyo Metropolitan University, Hachioji 192-0397, Japan
- Research Center for Genomics and Bioinformatics, Tokyo Metropolitan University, Hachioji 192-0397, Japan
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35
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Lorenz P, Steinbeck F, Krause L, Thiesen HJ. The KRAB Domain of ZNF10 Guides the Identification of Specific Amino Acids That Transform the Ancestral KRAB-A-Related Domain Present in Human PRDM9 into a Canonical Modern KRAB-A Domain. Int J Mol Sci 2022; 23:1072. [PMID: 35162997 PMCID: PMC8835667 DOI: 10.3390/ijms23031072] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/17/2021] [Revised: 01/11/2022] [Accepted: 01/13/2022] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Krüppel-associated box (KRAB) zinc finger proteins are a large class of tetrapod transcription factors that usually exert transcriptional repression through recruitment of TRIM28/KAP1. The evolutionary root of modern KRAB domains (mKRAB) can be traced back to an ancestral motif (aKRAB) that occurs even in invertebrates. Here, we first stratified three subgroups of aKRAB sequences from the animal kingdom (PRDM9, SSX and coelacanth KZNF families) and defined ancestral subdomains for KRAB-A and KRAB-B. Using human ZNF10 mKRAB-AB as blueprints for function, we then identified the necessary amino acid changes that transform the inactive aKRAB-A of human PRDM9 into an mKRAB domain capable of mediating silencing and complexing TRIM28/KAP1 in human cells when employed as a hybrid with ZNF10-B. Full gain of function required replacement of residues KR by the conserved motif MLE (positionsA32-A34), which inserted an additional residue, and exchange of A9/S for F, A20/M for L, and A27/R for V. AlphaFold2 modelling documented an evolutionary conserved L-shaped body of two α-helices in all KRAB domains. It is transformed into a characteristic spatial arrangement typical for mKRAB-AB upon the amino acid replacements and in conjunction with a third helix supplied by mKRAB-B. Side-chains pointing outward from the core KRAB 3D structure may reveal a protein-protein interaction code enabling graded binding of TRIM28 to different KRAB domains. Our data provide basic insights into structure-function relationships and emulate transitions of KRAB during evolution.
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Affiliation(s)
- Peter Lorenz
- Rostock University Medical Center, Institute of Immunology, Schillingallee 70, 18057 Rostock, Germany; (F.S.); (L.K.); (H.-J.T.)
| | - Felix Steinbeck
- Rostock University Medical Center, Institute of Immunology, Schillingallee 70, 18057 Rostock, Germany; (F.S.); (L.K.); (H.-J.T.)
| | - Ludwig Krause
- Rostock University Medical Center, Institute of Immunology, Schillingallee 70, 18057 Rostock, Germany; (F.S.); (L.K.); (H.-J.T.)
| | - Hans-Jürgen Thiesen
- Rostock University Medical Center, Institute of Immunology, Schillingallee 70, 18057 Rostock, Germany; (F.S.); (L.K.); (H.-J.T.)
- Gesellschaft für Individualisierte Medizin (IndyMed) mbH, 17, 18055 Rostock, Germany
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36
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Ridnik M, Schoenfelder S, Gonen N. Cis-Regulatory Control of Mammalian Sex Determination. Sex Dev 2021; 15:317-334. [PMID: 34710870 PMCID: PMC8743899 DOI: 10.1159/000519244] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/29/2021] [Accepted: 08/10/2021] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Sex determination is the process by which an initial bipotential gonad adopts either a testicular or ovarian cell fate. The inability to properly complete this process leads to a group of developmental disorders classified as disorders of sex development (DSD). To date, dozens of genes were shown to play roles in mammalian sex determination, and mutations in these genes can cause DSD in humans or gonadal sex reversal/dysfunction in mice. However, exome sequencing currently provides genetic diagnosis for only less than half of DSD patients. This points towards a major role for the non-coding genome during sex determination. In this review, we highlight recent advances in our understanding of non-coding, cis-acting gene regulatory elements and discuss how they may control transcriptional programmes that underpin sex determination in the context of the 3-dimensional folding of chromatin. As a paradigm, we focus on the Sox9 gene, a prominent pro-male factor and one of the most extensively studied genes in gonadal cell fate determination.
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Affiliation(s)
- Meshi Ridnik
- The Mina and Everard Goodman Faculty of Life Sciences, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat Gan, Israel
- Institute of Nanotechnology and Advanced Materials, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat Gan, Israel
| | - Stefan Schoenfelder
- Epigenetics Programme, The Babraham Institute, Babraham Research Campus, Cambridge, United Kingdom
| | - Nitzan Gonen
- The Mina and Everard Goodman Faculty of Life Sciences, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat Gan, Israel
- Institute of Nanotechnology and Advanced Materials, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat Gan, Israel
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37
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Friedman RZ, Granas DM, Myers CA, Corbo JC, Cohen BA, White MA. Information content differentiates enhancers from silencers in mouse photoreceptors. eLife 2021; 10:67403. [PMID: 34486522 PMCID: PMC8492058 DOI: 10.7554/elife.67403] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/09/2021] [Accepted: 09/03/2021] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Enhancers and silencers often depend on the same transcription factors (TFs) and are conflated in genomic assays of TF binding or chromatin state. To identify sequence features that distinguish enhancers and silencers, we assayed massively parallel reporter libraries of genomic sequences targeted by the photoreceptor TF cone-rod homeobox (CRX) in mouse retinas. Both enhancers and silencers contain more TF motifs than inactive sequences, but relative to silencers, enhancers contain motifs from a more diverse collection of TFs. We developed a measure of information content that describes the number and diversity of motifs in a sequence and found that, while both enhancers and silencers depend on CRX motifs, enhancers have higher information content. The ability of information content to distinguish enhancers and silencers targeted by the same TF illustrates how motif context determines the activity of cis-regulatory sequences. Different cell types are established by activating and repressing the activity of specific sets of genes, a process controlled by proteins called transcription factors. Transcription factors work by recognizing and binding short stretches of DNA in parts of the genome called cis-regulatory sequences. A cis-regulatory sequence that increases the activity of a gene when bound by transcription factors is called an enhancer, while a sequence that causes a decrease in gene activity is called a silencer. To establish a cell type, a particular transcription factor will act on both enhancers and silencers that control the activity of different genes. For example, the transcription factor cone-rod homeobox (CRX) is critical for specifying different types of cells in the retina, and it acts on both enhancers and silencers. In rod photoreceptors, CRX activates rod genes by binding their enhancers, while repressing cone photoreceptor genes by binding their silencers. However, CRX always recognizes and binds to the same DNA sequence, known as its binding site, making it unclear why some cis-regulatory sequences bound to CRX act as silencers, while others act as enhancers. Friedman et al. sought to understand how enhancers and silencers, both bound by CRX, can have different effects on the genes they control. Since both enhancers and silencers contain CRX binding sites, the difference between the two must lie in the sequence of the DNA surrounding these binding sites. Using retinas that have been explanted from mice and kept alive in the laboratory, Friedman et al. tested the activity of thousands of CRX-binding sequences from the mouse genome. This showed that both enhancers and silencers have more copies of CRX-binding sites than sequences of the genome that are inactive. Additionally, the results revealed that enhancers have a diverse collection of binding sites for other transcription factors, while silencers do not. Friedman et al. developed a new metric they called information content, which captures the diverse combinations of different transcription binding sites that cis-regulatory sequences can have. Using this metric, Friedman et al. showed that it is possible to distinguish enhancers from silencers based on their information content. It is critical to understand how the DNA sequences of cis-regulatory regions determine their activity, because mutations in these regions of the genome can cause disease. However, since every person has thousands of benign mutations in cis-regulatory sequences, it is a challenge to identify specific disease-causing mutations, which are relatively rare. One long-term goal of models of enhancers and silencers, such as Friedman et al.’s information content model, is to understand how mutations can affect cis-regulatory sequences, and, in some cases, lead to disease.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ryan Z Friedman
- Edison Family Center for Genome Sciences and Systems Biology, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, United States.,Department of Genetics, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, United States
| | - David M Granas
- Edison Family Center for Genome Sciences and Systems Biology, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, United States.,Department of Genetics, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, United States
| | - Connie A Myers
- Department of Pathology and Immunology, Washington University School of Medicine, St Louis, United States
| | - Joseph C Corbo
- Department of Pathology and Immunology, Washington University School of Medicine, St Louis, United States
| | - Barak A Cohen
- Edison Family Center for Genome Sciences and Systems Biology, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, United States.,Department of Genetics, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, United States
| | - Michael A White
- Edison Family Center for Genome Sciences and Systems Biology, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, United States.,Department of Genetics, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, United States
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