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Konwar C, Maini J, Saluja D. Understanding Longevity: SIN-3 and DAF-16 Revealed as Independent Players in Lifespan Regulation. J Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci 2024; 79:glae160. [PMID: 38894529 DOI: 10.1093/gerona/glae160] [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: 11/23/2023] [Indexed: 06/21/2024] Open
Abstract
Aging is the process of gradual physio-biochemical deterioration. Although aging is inevitable, healthy aging is the key to individual and communal well-being. Therefore, it is essential to understand the regulation of aging. SIN-3/Sin-3 is a unique regulatory protein that regulates aging without DNA-binding activity. It functions by establishing multiple protein interactions. To understand the functional mechanism of this transcriptional regulator, the Caenorhabditis elegans protein interactome was assessed for SIN-3 interactions. DAF-16/FOXO emerged as one of the leading contenders for SIN-3-mediated regulation of aging. This study looks at the concerted role of SIN-3 and DAF-16 proteins in lifespan regulation. Phenotypic profiling for the mutants of these genes shows the functional accord between these 2 proteins with similar functions in stress response and vital biological processes. However, there were no significant physical interactions when checked for protein-protein interaction between SIN-3 and DAF-16 proteins. C. elegans genomics and transcriptomics data also indicated the possibilities of concerted gene regulation. This genetic regulation is more likely related to SIN-3 dominance on DAF-16 function. Overall, SIN-3 and DAF-16 proteins have strong functional interactions that ensure healthy aging. The influence of SIN-3 on DAF-16-mediated stress response is one of their convergence points in longevity regulation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chandrika Konwar
- Dr. B. R. Ambedkar Center for Biomedical Research, University of Delhi, Delhi, India
- Biology and Bioengineering Division, Tianqiao and Chrissy Chen Institute of Neuroscience, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California, USA
| | - Jayant Maini
- Department of Biotechnology, School of Engineering and Technology, Manav Rachna International Institute of Research and Studies, Faridabad, Haryana, India
| | - Daman Saluja
- Dr. B. R. Ambedkar Center for Biomedical Research, University of Delhi, Delhi, India
- Delhi School of Public Health, IoE, University of Delhi, Delhi, India
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2
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Nicoletti P, Zafer S, Matok L, Irron I, Patrick M, Haklai R, Evangelista JE, Marino GB, Ma’ayan A, Sewda A, Holmes G, Britton SR, Lee WJ, Wu M, Ru Y, Arnaud E, Botto L, Brody LC, Byren JC, Caggana M, Carmichael SL, Cilliers D, Conway K, Crawford K, Cuellar A, Di Rocco F, Engel M, Fearon J, Feldkamp ML, Finnell R, Fisher S, Freudlsperger C, Garcia-Fructuoso G, Hagge R, Heuzé Y, Harshbarger RJ, Hobbs C, Howley M, Jenkins MM, Johnson D, Justice CM, Kane A, Kay D, Gosain AK, Langlois P, Legal-Mallet L, Lin AE, Mills JL, Morton JE, Noons P, Olshan A, Persing J, Phipps JM, Redett R, Reefhuis J, Rizk E, Samson TD, Shaw GM, Sicko R, Smith N, Staffenberg D, Stoler J, Sweeney E, Taub PJ, Timberlake AT, Topczewska J, Wall SA, Wilson AF, Wilson LC, Boyadjiev SA, Wilkie AO, Richtsmeier JT, Jabs EW, Romitti PA, Karasik D, Birnbaum RY, Peter I. Regulatory elements in SEM1-DLX5-DLX6 (7q21.3) locus contribute to genetic control of coronal nonsyndromic craniosynostosis and bone density-related traits. GENETICS IN MEDICINE OPEN 2024; 2:101851. [PMID: 39345948 PMCID: PMC11434253 DOI: 10.1016/j.gimo.2024.101851] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/01/2024]
Abstract
Purpose The etiopathogenesis of coronal nonsyndromic craniosynostosis (cNCS), a congenital condition defined by premature fusion of 1 or both coronal sutures, remains largely unknown. Methods We conducted the largest genome-wide association study of cNCS followed by replication, fine mapping, and functional validation of the most significant region using zebrafish animal model. Results Genome-wide association study identified 6 independent genome-wide-significant risk alleles, 4 on chromosome 7q21.3 SEM1-DLX5-DLX6 locus, and their combination conferred over 7-fold increased risk of cNCS. The top variants were replicated in an independent cohort and showed pleiotropic effects on brain and facial morphology and bone mineral density. Fine mapping of 7q21.3 identified a craniofacial transcriptional enhancer (eDlx36) within the linkage region of the top variant (rs4727341; odds ratio [95% confidence interval], 0.48[0.39-0.59]; P = 1.2E-12) that was located in SEM1 intron and enriched in 4 rare risk variants. In zebrafish, the activity of the transfected human eDlx36 enhancer was observed in the frontonasal prominence and calvaria during skull development and was reduced when the 4 rare risk variants were introduced into the sequence. Conclusion Our findings support a polygenic nature of cNCS risk and functional role of craniofacial enhancers in cNCS susceptibility with potential broader implications for bone health.
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Affiliation(s)
- Paola Nicoletti
- Department of Genetics and Genomic Sciences, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY
| | - Samreen Zafer
- Department of Genetics and Genomic Sciences, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY
| | - Lital Matok
- Azrieli Faculty of Medicine, Bar Ilan University, Safed, Israel
| | - Inbar Irron
- Department of Life Sciences, Faculty of Natural Sciences and The Center for Evolutionarily Genomics and Medicine, Ben Gurion University, Beer Sheva, Israel
| | - Meidva Patrick
- Department of Life Sciences, Faculty of Natural Sciences and The Center for Evolutionarily Genomics and Medicine, Ben Gurion University, Beer Sheva, Israel
| | - Rotem Haklai
- Department of Life Sciences, Faculty of Natural Sciences and The Center for Evolutionarily Genomics and Medicine, Ben Gurion University, Beer Sheva, Israel
| | - John Erol Evangelista
- Department of Pharmacological Sciences, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY
| | - Giacomo B. Marino
- Department of Pharmacological Sciences, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY
| | - Avi Ma’ayan
- Department of Pharmacological Sciences, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY
| | - Anshuman Sewda
- Department of Pediatrics, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, NY
| | - Greg Holmes
- Department of Genetics and Genomic Sciences, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY
| | - Sierra R. Britton
- Department of Population Health Sciences, Weill Cornell Medical College of Cornell University New York, NY
| | - Won Jun Lee
- Department of Genetics and Genomic Sciences, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY
| | - Meng Wu
- Department of Genetics and Genomic Sciences, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY
| | - Ying Ru
- Department of Genetics and Genomic Sciences, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY
| | - Eric Arnaud
- Department of Neurosurgery, Necker Enfants Malades Hospital, Assistance Publique-Hôpitaux de Paris, Paris, France
| | - Lorenzo Botto
- Department of Pediatrics, Division of Medical Genetics, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah
| | - Lawrence C. Brody
- Social and Behavioral Research Branch, National Human Genome Research Institute, Bethesda, MD
| | - Jo C. Byren
- Craniofacial Unit, Department of Plastic Surgery, Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Oxford, United Kingdom
| | - Michele Caggana
- Division of Genetics, Wadsworth Center, New York State Department of Health, Albany, NY
| | - Suzan L. Carmichael
- Department of Pediatrics, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA
| | - Deirdre Cilliers
- Oxford Centre for Genomic Medicine, Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Oxford, United Kingdom
| | - Kristin Conway
- Department of Epidemiology, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA
| | - Karen Crawford
- MRC Weatherall Institute of Molecular Medicine, John Radcliffe Hospital, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom
| | - Araceli Cuellar
- Department of Pediatrics, University of California, Davis, CA
| | - Federico Di Rocco
- Hôpital Femme Mère Enfant Hospices Civils de Lyon, Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1, Lyon, France
| | - Michael Engel
- Department of Oral and Cranio-Maxillofacial Surgery, Heidelberg University Hospital, Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Jeffrey Fearon
- The Craniofacial Center, Medical City Children’s Hospital Dallas, Dallas, TX
| | - Marcia L. Feldkamp
- Department of Pediatrics, Division of Medical Genetics, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah
| | - Richard Finnell
- Center for Precision Environmental Health, Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas
| | - Sarah Fisher
- Birth Defects Registry, New York State Department of Health, Albany, NY
| | - Christian Freudlsperger
- Department of Oral and Cranio-Maxillofacial Surgery, Heidelberg University Hospital, Heidelberg, Germany
| | | | - Rhinda Hagge
- Department of Epidemiology, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA
| | - Yann Heuzé
- Université de Bordeaux, CNRS, Ministère de la Culture, PACEA, Pessac, France
| | | | - Charlotte Hobbs
- Rady Children’s Institute for Genomic Medicine, San Diego, CA
| | - Meredith Howley
- Birth Defects Registry, New York State Department of Health, Albany, NY
| | - Mary M. Jenkins
- Division of Birth Defects and Infant Disorders, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA
| | - David Johnson
- Craniofacial Unit, Department of Plastic Surgery, Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Oxford, United Kingdom
| | - Cristina M. Justice
- Computational and Statistical Genomics Branch, National Human Genome Research Institute, Baltimore, MD
| | - Alex Kane
- Department of Plastic Surgery, UT Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX
| | - Denise Kay
- Division of Genetics, Wadsworth Center, New York State Department of Health, Albany, NY
| | - Arun Kumar Gosain
- Department of Surgery, Division of Pediatric Plastic Surgery, Children’s Hospital of Chicago, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL
| | - Peter Langlois
- Division of Epidemiology, Human Genetics and Environmental Sciences, University of Texas School of Public Health, Austin Campus, Austin, TX
| | - Laurence Legal-Mallet
- Laboratory of Molecular and Physiopathological Bases of Osteochondrodysplasia, Université de Paris Cité, Imagine Institute, INSERM U1163, Paris, France
| | - Angela E. Lin
- Medical Genetics, Mass General Hospital for Children, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA
| | - James L. Mills
- Division of Intramural Population Health Research, Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, Bethesda, MD
| | - Jenny E.V. Morton
- Birmingham Health Partners, Birmingham Women’s and Children’s Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Birmingham, United Kingdom
| | - Peter Noons
- Birmingham Craniofacial Unit, Birmingham Women’s and Children’s Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Birmingham, United Kingdom
| | - Andrew Olshan
- Department of Epidemiology, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC
| | - John Persing
- Division of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT
| | - Julie M. Phipps
- MRC Weatherall Institute of Molecular Medicine, John Radcliffe Hospital, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom
| | - Richard Redett
- Department of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD
| | - Jennita Reefhuis
- Division of Birth Defects and Infant Disorders, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA
| | - Elias Rizk
- Department of Neurosurgery, Pennsylvania State University Medical Center, Hershey, PA
| | - Thomas D. Samson
- Division of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Department of Surgery, Pennsylvania State University Medical Center, Hershey, PA
| | - Gary M. Shaw
- Department of Pediatrics, Stanford University, Stanford, CA
| | - Robert Sicko
- Division of Genetics, Wadsworth Center, New York State Department of Health, Albany, NY
| | - Nataliya Smith
- Neuroscience Institute, Pennsylvania State University, College of Medicine, Hershey Medical Center, Hershey, PA
| | - David Staffenberg
- Hansjörg Wyss Department of Plastic Surgery, NYU Langone Medical Center, Hassenfeld Children’s Hospital, New York, NY
| | - Joan Stoler
- Division of Genetics and Genomics, Boston Children’s Hospital, Boston, MA
| | - Elizabeth Sweeney
- Department of Clinical Genetics, Liverpool Women’s Hospital NHS Trust, Liverpool, United Kingdom
| | - Peter J. Taub
- Division of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY
| | - Andrew T. Timberlake
- Hansjörg Wyss Department of Plastic Surgery, NYU Langone Medical Center, Hassenfeld Children’s Hospital, New York, NY
| | - Jolanta Topczewska
- Department of Surgery, Division of Pediatric Plastic Surgery, Children’s Hospital of Chicago, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL
| | - Steven A. Wall
- Craniofacial Unit, Department of Plastic Surgery, Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Oxford, United Kingdom
| | - Alexander F. Wilson
- Computational and Statistical Genomics Branch, National Human Genome Research Institute, Baltimore, MD
| | - Louise C. Wilson
- Clinical Genetics Service, Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children NHS Foundation Trust, London, United Kingdom
| | | | - Andrew O.M. Wilkie
- MRC Weatherall Institute of Molecular Medicine, John Radcliffe Hospital, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom
| | - Joan T. Richtsmeier
- Department of Anthropology, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA
| | - Ethylin Wang Jabs
- Department of Genetics and Genomic Sciences, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY
| | - Paul A. Romitti
- Department of Epidemiology, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA
| | - David Karasik
- Azrieli Faculty of Medicine, Bar Ilan University, Safed, Israel
| | - Ramon Y. Birnbaum
- Department of Life Sciences, Faculty of Natural Sciences and The Center for Evolutionarily Genomics and Medicine, Ben Gurion University, Beer Sheva, Israel
| | - Inga Peter
- Department of Genetics and Genomic Sciences, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY
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3
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Lopez Soriano V, Dueñas Rey A, Mukherjee R, Coppieters F, Bauwens M, Willaert A, De Baere E. Multi-omics analysis in human retina uncovers ultraconserved cis-regulatory elements at rare eye disease loci. Nat Commun 2024; 15:1600. [PMID: 38383453 PMCID: PMC10881467 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-45381-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/01/2023] [Accepted: 01/19/2024] [Indexed: 02/23/2024] Open
Abstract
Cross-species genome comparisons have revealed a substantial number of ultraconserved non-coding elements (UCNEs). Several of these elements have proved to be essential tissue- and cell type-specific cis-regulators of developmental gene expression. Here, we characterize a set of UCNEs as candidate CREs (cCREs) during retinal development and evaluate the contribution of their genomic variation to rare eye diseases, for which pathogenic non-coding variants are emerging. Integration of bulk and single-cell retinal multi-omics data reveals 594 genes under potential cis-regulatory control of UCNEs, of which 45 are implicated in rare eye disease. Mining of candidate cis-regulatory UCNEs in WGS data derived from the rare eye disease cohort of Genomics England reveals 178 ultrarare variants within 84 UCNEs associated with 29 disease genes. Overall, we provide a comprehensive annotation of ultraconserved non-coding regions acting as cCREs during retinal development which can be targets of non-coding variation underlying rare eye diseases.
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Affiliation(s)
- Victor Lopez Soriano
- Department of Biomolecular Medicine, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium
- Center for Medical Genetics, Ghent University Hospital, Ghent, Belgium
| | - Alfredo Dueñas Rey
- Department of Biomolecular Medicine, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium
- Center for Medical Genetics, Ghent University Hospital, Ghent, Belgium
| | | | - Frauke Coppieters
- Department of Biomolecular Medicine, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium
- Center for Medical Genetics, Ghent University Hospital, Ghent, Belgium
- Department of Pharmaceutics, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium
| | - Miriam Bauwens
- Department of Biomolecular Medicine, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium
- Center for Medical Genetics, Ghent University Hospital, Ghent, Belgium
| | - Andy Willaert
- Department of Biomolecular Medicine, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium
- Center for Medical Genetics, Ghent University Hospital, Ghent, Belgium
| | - Elfride De Baere
- Department of Biomolecular Medicine, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium.
- Center for Medical Genetics, Ghent University Hospital, Ghent, Belgium.
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4
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Kemmler CL, Moran HR, Murray BF, Scoresby A, Klem JR, Eckert RL, Lepovsky E, Bertho S, Nieuwenhuize S, Burger S, D'Agati G, Betz C, Puller AC, Felker A, Ditrychova K, Bötschi S, Affolter M, Rohner N, Lovely CB, Kwan KM, Burger A, Mosimann C. Next-generation plasmids for transgenesis in zebrafish and beyond. Development 2023; 150:dev201531. [PMID: 36975217 PMCID: PMC10263156 DOI: 10.1242/dev.201531] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/14/2022] [Accepted: 03/10/2023] [Indexed: 03/29/2023]
Abstract
Transgenesis is an essential technique for any genetic model. Tol2-based transgenesis paired with Gateway-compatible vector collections has transformed zebrafish transgenesis with an accessible modular system. Here, we establish several next-generation transgenesis tools for zebrafish and other species to expand and enhance transgenic applications. To facilitate gene regulatory element testing, we generated Gateway middle entry vectors harboring the small mouse beta-globin minimal promoter coupled to several fluorophores, CreERT2 and Gal4. To extend the color spectrum for transgenic applications, we established middle entry vectors encoding the bright, blue-fluorescent protein mCerulean and mApple as an alternative red fluorophore. We present a series of p2A peptide-based 3' vectors with different fluorophores and subcellular localizations to co-label cells expressing proteins of interest. Finally, we established Tol2 destination vectors carrying the zebrafish exorh promoter driving different fluorophores as a pineal gland-specific transgenesis marker that is active before hatching and through adulthood. exorh-based reporters and transgenesis markers also drive specific pineal gland expression in the eye-less cavefish (Astyanax). Together, our vectors provide versatile reagents for transgenesis applications in zebrafish, cavefish and other models.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cassie L. Kemmler
- University of Colorado, School of Medicine, Anschutz Medical Campus, Department of Pediatrics, Section of Developmental Biology, 12801 E 17th Avenue, Aurora, CO 80045, USA
| | - Hannah R. Moran
- University of Colorado, School of Medicine, Anschutz Medical Campus, Department of Pediatrics, Section of Developmental Biology, 12801 E 17th Avenue, Aurora, CO 80045, USA
| | - Brooke F. Murray
- Department of Human Genetics, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT 84112, USA
| | - Aaron Scoresby
- Department of Human Genetics, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT 84112, USA
| | - John R. Klem
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics, University of Louisville School of Medicine, Louisville, KY 40202, USA
| | - Rachel L. Eckert
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics, University of Louisville School of Medicine, Louisville, KY 40202, USA
| | - Elizabeth Lepovsky
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics, University of Louisville School of Medicine, Louisville, KY 40202, USA
| | - Sylvain Bertho
- Stowers Institute for Medical Research, Kansas City, MO 64110, USA
| | - Susan Nieuwenhuize
- University of Colorado, School of Medicine, Anschutz Medical Campus, Department of Pediatrics, Section of Developmental Biology, 12801 E 17th Avenue, Aurora, CO 80045, USA
- Department of Molecular Life Sciences, University of Zurich, 8057 Zürich, Switzerland
| | - Sibylle Burger
- Department of Molecular Life Sciences, University of Zurich, 8057 Zürich, Switzerland
| | - Gianluca D'Agati
- Department of Molecular Life Sciences, University of Zurich, 8057 Zürich, Switzerland
| | - Charles Betz
- Growth & Development, Biozentrum, Spitalstrasse 41, University of Basel, 4056 Basel, Switzerland
| | - Ann-Christin Puller
- Department of Molecular Life Sciences, University of Zurich, 8057 Zürich, Switzerland
| | - Anastasia Felker
- Department of Molecular Life Sciences, University of Zurich, 8057 Zürich, Switzerland
| | - Karolina Ditrychova
- Department of Molecular Life Sciences, University of Zurich, 8057 Zürich, Switzerland
| | - Seraina Bötschi
- Department of Molecular Life Sciences, University of Zurich, 8057 Zürich, Switzerland
| | - Markus Affolter
- Growth & Development, Biozentrum, Spitalstrasse 41, University of Basel, 4056 Basel, Switzerland
| | - Nicolas Rohner
- Stowers Institute for Medical Research, Kansas City, MO 64110, USA
| | - C. Ben Lovely
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics, University of Louisville School of Medicine, Louisville, KY 40202, USA
| | - Kristen M. Kwan
- Department of Human Genetics, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT 84112, USA
| | - Alexa Burger
- University of Colorado, School of Medicine, Anschutz Medical Campus, Department of Pediatrics, Section of Developmental Biology, 12801 E 17th Avenue, Aurora, CO 80045, USA
| | - Christian Mosimann
- University of Colorado, School of Medicine, Anschutz Medical Campus, Department of Pediatrics, Section of Developmental Biology, 12801 E 17th Avenue, Aurora, CO 80045, USA
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5
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Zhang R, Sun Y, Zhang Q, Lin J, Zhang Y, Chen X, Liu T, Li Q. Overexpression of miR-124-3p affects zebrafish inner ear development and hearing function via downregulation of EYA1 gene expression. Neurosci Lett 2023; 802:137172. [PMID: 36898654 DOI: 10.1016/j.neulet.2023.137172] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/01/2023] [Accepted: 03/06/2023] [Indexed: 03/10/2023]
Abstract
The EYA1 gene is essential for normal inner ear development and affects the development and function of the inner ear in a dose-dependent manner. However, the mechanisms regulating EYA1 gene expression are not well understood. Recently, miRNAs have become recognized as important regulators of gene expression. In this study, we identified miR-124-3p through a microRNA (miRNA) target prediction website and found that miR-124-3p and its target site in the EYA1 3' untranslated region (3'UTR) are conserved in most vertebrates. Both in vivo and in vitro, the interaction of miR-124-3p with the EYA1 3'UTR exerts a negative regulatory effect. Microinjection of agomiR-124-3p into zebrafish embryos resulted in a phenotype of reduced auricular area, suggesting inner ear dysplasia. In addition, injection of agomiR-124-3p or antagomiR-124-3p caused abnormal hearing function in zebrafish. In conclusion, our results suggest that miR-124-3p can affect inner ear development and hearing function in zebrafish by regulating EYA1.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ruizhi Zhang
- Translational Medical Center for Development and Disease, Shanghai Key Laboratory of Birth Defect Prevention and Control, NHC Key Laboratory of Neonatal Diseases (Fudan University), Institute of Pediatrics, Children's Hospital of Fudan University, National Children's Medical Center, Shanghai, China
| | - Yanhe Sun
- Translational Medical Center for Development and Disease, Shanghai Key Laboratory of Birth Defect Prevention and Control, NHC Key Laboratory of Neonatal Diseases (Fudan University), Institute of Pediatrics, Children's Hospital of Fudan University, National Children's Medical Center, Shanghai, China
| | - Qi Zhang
- Translational Medical Center for Development and Disease, Shanghai Key Laboratory of Birth Defect Prevention and Control, NHC Key Laboratory of Neonatal Diseases (Fudan University), Institute of Pediatrics, Children's Hospital of Fudan University, National Children's Medical Center, Shanghai, China
| | - Jia Lin
- Translational Medical Center for Development and Disease, Shanghai Key Laboratory of Birth Defect Prevention and Control, NHC Key Laboratory of Neonatal Diseases (Fudan University), Institute of Pediatrics, Children's Hospital of Fudan University, National Children's Medical Center, Shanghai, China
| | - Yinglan Zhang
- Translational Medical Center for Development and Disease, Shanghai Key Laboratory of Birth Defect Prevention and Control, NHC Key Laboratory of Neonatal Diseases (Fudan University), Institute of Pediatrics, Children's Hospital of Fudan University, National Children's Medical Center, Shanghai, China
| | - Xudong Chen
- Translational Medical Center for Development and Disease, Shanghai Key Laboratory of Birth Defect Prevention and Control, NHC Key Laboratory of Neonatal Diseases (Fudan University), Institute of Pediatrics, Children's Hospital of Fudan University, National Children's Medical Center, Shanghai, China
| | - Ting Liu
- Translational Medical Center for Development and Disease, Shanghai Key Laboratory of Birth Defect Prevention and Control, NHC Key Laboratory of Neonatal Diseases (Fudan University), Institute of Pediatrics, Children's Hospital of Fudan University, National Children's Medical Center, Shanghai, China
| | - Qiang Li
- Translational Medical Center for Development and Disease, Shanghai Key Laboratory of Birth Defect Prevention and Control, NHC Key Laboratory of Neonatal Diseases (Fudan University), Institute of Pediatrics, Children's Hospital of Fudan University, National Children's Medical Center, Shanghai, China.
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6
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Begeman IJ, Emery B, Kurth A, Kang J. Regeneration and developmental enhancers are differentially compatible with minimal promoters. Dev Biol 2022; 492:47-58. [PMID: 36167150 PMCID: PMC10211259 DOI: 10.1016/j.ydbio.2022.09.007] [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: 07/11/2022] [Revised: 09/16/2022] [Accepted: 09/19/2022] [Indexed: 12/01/2022]
Abstract
Enhancers and promoters are cis-regulatory elements that control gene expression. Enhancers are activated in a cell type-, tissue-, and condition-specific manner to stimulate promoter function and transcription. Zebrafish have emerged as a powerful animal model for examining the activities of enhancers derived from various species through transgenic enhancer assays, in which an enhancer is coupled with a minimal promoter. However, the efficiency of minimal promoters and their compatibility with multiple developmental and regeneration enhancers have not been systematically tested in zebrafish. Thus, we assessed the efficiency of six minimal promoters and comprehensively interrogated the compatibility of the promoters with developmental and regeneration enhancers. We found that the fos minimal promoter and Drosophila synthetic core promoter (DSCP) yielded high rates of leaky expression that may complicate the interpretation of enhancer assays. Notably, the adenovirus E1b promoter, the zebrafish lepb 0.8-kb (P0.8) and lepb 2-kb (P2) promoters, and a new zebrafish synthetic promoter (ZSP) that combines elements of the E1b and P0.8 promoters drove little or no ectopic expression, making them suitable for transgenic assays. We also found significant differences in compatibility among specific combinations of promoters and enhancers, indicating the importance of promoters as key regulatory elements determining the specificity of gene expression. Our study provides guidelines for transgenic enhancer assays in zebrafish to aid in the discovery of functional enhancers regulating development and regeneration.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ian J Begeman
- Department of Cell and Regenerative Biology, School of Medicine and Public Health, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, 53705, USA
| | - Benjamin Emery
- Department of Cell and Regenerative Biology, School of Medicine and Public Health, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, 53705, USA
| | - Andrew Kurth
- Department of Cell and Regenerative Biology, School of Medicine and Public Health, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, 53705, USA
| | - Junsu Kang
- Department of Cell and Regenerative Biology, School of Medicine and Public Health, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, 53705, USA; UW Carbone Cancer Center, School of Medicine and Public Health, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, 53705, USA.
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7
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The tissue-specificity associated region and motif of an emx2 downstream enhancer CNE2.04 in zebrafish. Gene Expr Patterns 2022; 45:119269. [PMID: 35970322 DOI: 10.1016/j.gep.2022.119269] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/31/2022] [Revised: 07/04/2022] [Accepted: 07/29/2022] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Expression level of EMX2 plays an important role in the development of nervous system and cancers. CNE2.04, a conserved enhancer downstream of emx2, drives fluorescent protein expression in the similar pattern of emx2. METHODS CNE2.04 truncated or motif-mutated transgenic reporter plasmids were constructed and injected into the zebrafish fertilized egg with Tol2 mRNA at the unicellular stage of zebrafish eggs. The green fluorescence expression patterns were observed at 24, 48, and 72 hpf, and the fluorescence rates of different tissues were counted at 48 hpf. RESULTS Compared to CNE2.04, CNE2.04-R400 had comparable enhancer activity, while the tissue specificity of CNE2.04-L400 was obviously changed. Motif CCCCTC mutation obviously changed the enhancer activity, while motif CCGCTC mutations also changed it. CONCLUSION Due to their correlation with tissue specificity, CNE2.04-R400 is associated with the tissue-specificity of CNE2.04, and motif CCCCTC plays an important role in the enhancer activity of CNE2.04.
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8
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Hirsch N, Dahan I, D'haene E, Avni M, Vergult S, Vidal-García M, Magini P, Graziano C, Severi G, Bonora E, Nardone AM, Brancati F, Fernández-Jaén A, Rory OJ, Hallgrímsson B, Birnbaum RY. HDAC9 structural variants disrupting TWIST1 transcriptional regulation lead to craniofacial and limb malformations. Genome Res 2022; 32:1242-1253. [PMID: 35710300 PMCID: PMC9341515 DOI: 10.1101/gr.276196.121] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/12/2021] [Accepted: 06/02/2022] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
Abstract
Structural variants (SVs) can affect protein-coding sequences as well as gene regulatory elements. However, SVs disrupting protein-coding sequences that also function as cis-regulatory elements remain largely uncharacterized. Here, we show that craniosynostosis patients with SVs containing the histone deacetylase 9 (HDAC9) protein-coding sequence are associated with disruption of TWIST1 regulatory elements that reside within the HDAC9 sequence. Based on SVs within the HDAC9-TWIST1 locus, we defined the 3'-HDAC9 sequence as a critical TWIST1 regulatory region, encompassing craniofacial TWIST1 enhancers and CTCF sites. Deletions of either Twist1 enhancers (eTw5-7Δ/Δ) or CTCF site (CTCF-5Δ/Δ) within the Hdac9 protein-coding sequence led to decreased Twist1 expression and altered anterior/posterior limb expression patterns of SHH pathway genes. This decreased Twist1 expression results in a smaller sized and asymmetric skull and polydactyly that resembles Twist1+/- mouse phenotype. Chromatin conformation analysis revealed that the Twist1 promoter interacts with Hdac9 sequences that encompass Twist1 enhancers and a CTCF site, and that interactions depended on the presence of both regulatory regions. Finally, a large inversion of the entire Hdac9 sequence (Hdac9 INV/+) in mice that does not disrupt Hdac9 expression but repositions Twist1 regulatory elements showed decreased Twist1 expression and led to a craniosynostosis-like phenotype and polydactyly. Thus, our study elucidates essential components of TWIST1 transcriptional machinery that reside within the HDAC9 sequence. It suggests that SVs encompassing protein-coding sequences could lead to a phenotype that is not attributed to its protein function but rather to a disruption of the transcriptional regulation of a nearby gene.
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Affiliation(s)
- Naama Hirsch
- Department of Life Sciences, Faculty of Natural Sciences, The Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer-Sheva, 84105, Israel
- Center of Evolutionary Genomics and Medicine, The Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer-Sheva, 84105, Israel
| | - Idit Dahan
- Department of Life Sciences, Faculty of Natural Sciences, The Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer-Sheva, 84105, Israel
- Center of Evolutionary Genomics and Medicine, The Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer-Sheva, 84105, Israel
| | - Eva D'haene
- Center for Medical Genetics, Ghent University, 9000, Ghent, Belgium
| | - Matan Avni
- Department of Life Sciences, Faculty of Natural Sciences, The Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer-Sheva, 84105, Israel
- Center of Evolutionary Genomics and Medicine, The Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer-Sheva, 84105, Israel
| | - Sarah Vergult
- Center for Medical Genetics, Ghent University, 9000, Ghent, Belgium
| | - Marta Vidal-García
- Department of Cell Biology and Anatomy, Alberta Children's Hospital Research Institute, University of Calgary, T2N 1N4, Calgary, Alberta, Canada
| | - Pamela Magini
- U.O. Genetica Medica, IRCCS Azienda Ospedaliero-Universitaria di Bologna, 40138, Bologna, Italy
| | - Claudio Graziano
- U.O. Genetica Medica, IRCCS Azienda Ospedaliero-Universitaria di Bologna, 40138, Bologna, Italy
| | - Giulia Severi
- U.O. Genetica Medica, IRCCS Azienda Ospedaliero-Universitaria di Bologna, 40138, Bologna, Italy
| | - Elena Bonora
- U.O. Genetica Medica, IRCCS Azienda Ospedaliero-Universitaria di Bologna, 40138, Bologna, Italy
- Department of Medical and Surgical Sciences, University of Bologna, 40126, Bologna, Italy
| | - Anna Maria Nardone
- Medical Genetics Unit, Policlinico Tor Vergata University Hospital, 00133, Rome, Italy
| | - Francesco Brancati
- Department of Life, Health and Environmental Sciences, University of L'Aquila, 67100, L'Aquila, Italy
- Human Functional Genomics Laboratory, San Raffaele Pisana, 00167, Rome, Italy
| | - Alberto Fernández-Jaén
- Department of Pediatrics and Neurology, Hospital Universitario Quirónsalud, School of Medicine, Universidad Europea de Madrid, 28223, Madrid, Spain
| | - Olson J Rory
- Center for Individualized Medicine, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota 55905, USA
| | - Benedikt Hallgrímsson
- Department of Cell Biology and Anatomy, Alberta Children's Hospital Research Institute, University of Calgary, T2N 1N4, Calgary, Alberta, Canada
| | - Ramon Y Birnbaum
- Department of Life Sciences, Faculty of Natural Sciences, The Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer-Sheva, 84105, Israel
- Center of Evolutionary Genomics and Medicine, The Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer-Sheva, 84105, Israel
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9
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Heller IS, Guenther CA, Meireles AM, Talbot WS, Kingsley DM. Characterization of mouse Bmp5 regulatory injury element in zebrafish wound models. Bone 2022; 155:116263. [PMID: 34826632 PMCID: PMC9007314 DOI: 10.1016/j.bone.2021.116263] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/10/2021] [Revised: 11/17/2021] [Accepted: 11/18/2021] [Indexed: 11/21/2022]
Abstract
Many key signaling molecules used to build tissues during embryonic development are re-activated at injury sites to stimulate tissue regeneration and repair. Bone morphogenetic proteins provide a classic example, but the mechanisms that lead to reactivation of BMPs following injury are still unknown. Previous studies have mapped a large "injury response element" (IRE) in the mouse Bmp5 gene that drives gene expression following bone fractures and other types of injury. Here we show that the large mouse IRE region is also activated in both zebrafish tail resection and mechanosensory hair cell injury models. Using the ability to test multiple constructs and image temporal and spatial dynamics following injury responses, we have narrowed the original size of the mouse IRE region by over 100 fold and identified a small 142 bp minimal enhancer that is rapidly induced in both mesenchymal and epithelial tissues after injury. These studies identify a small sequence that responds to evolutionarily conserved local signals in wounded tissues and suggest candidate pathways that contribute to BMP reactivation after injury.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ian S Heller
- Department of Developmental Biology, Stanford University School of Medicine, United States of America
| | - Catherine A Guenther
- Department of Developmental Biology, Stanford University School of Medicine, United States of America; Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Stanford University School of Medicine, United States of America
| | - Ana M Meireles
- Department of Developmental Biology, Stanford University School of Medicine, United States of America
| | - William S Talbot
- Department of Developmental Biology, Stanford University School of Medicine, United States of America
| | - David M Kingsley
- Department of Developmental Biology, Stanford University School of Medicine, United States of America; Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Stanford University School of Medicine, United States of America.
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10
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McGarvey AC, Kopp W, Vučićević D, Mattonet K, Kempfer R, Hirsekorn A, Bilić I, Gil M, Trinks A, Merks AM, Panáková D, Pombo A, Akalin A, Junker JP, Stainier DY, Garfield D, Ohler U, Lacadie SA. Single-cell-resolved dynamics of chromatin architecture delineate cell and regulatory states in zebrafish embryos. CELL GENOMICS 2022; 2:100083. [PMID: 36777038 PMCID: PMC9903790 DOI: 10.1016/j.xgen.2021.100083] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/20/2020] [Revised: 09/24/2021] [Accepted: 12/10/2021] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
DNA accessibility of cis-regulatory elements (CREs) dictates transcriptional activity and drives cell differentiation during development. While many genes regulating embryonic development have been identified, the underlying CRE dynamics controlling their expression remain largely uncharacterized. To address this, we produced a multimodal resource and genomic regulatory map for the zebrafish community, which integrates single-cell combinatorial indexing assay for transposase-accessible chromatin with high-throughput sequencing (sci-ATAC-seq) with bulk histone PTMs and Hi-C data to achieve a genome-wide classification of the regulatory architecture determining transcriptional activity in the 24-h post-fertilization (hpf) embryo. We characterized the genome-wide chromatin architecture at bulk and single-cell resolution, applying sci-ATAC-seq on whole 24-hpf stage zebrafish embryos, generating accessibility profiles for ∼23,000 single nuclei. We developed a genome segmentation method, ScregSeg (single-cell regulatory landscape segmentation), for defining regulatory programs, and candidate CREs, specific to one or more cell types. We integrated the ScregSeg output with bulk measurements for histone post-translational modifications and 3D genome organization and identified new regulatory principles between chromatin modalities prevalent during zebrafish development. Sci-ATAC-seq profiling of npas4l/cloche mutant embryos identified novel cellular roles for this hematovascular transcriptional master regulator and suggests an intricate mechanism regulating its expression. Our work defines regulatory architecture and principles in the zebrafish embryo and establishes a resource of cell-type-specific genome-wide regulatory annotations and candidate CREs, providing a valuable open resource for genomics, developmental, molecular, and computational biology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alison C. McGarvey
- Computational Regulatory Genomics, Berlin Institute for Medical Systems Biology (BIMSB), Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine, Berlin 10115, Germany,Quantitative Developmental Biology, Berlin Institute for Medical Systems Biology, Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine, Berlin 10115, Germany
| | - Wolfgang Kopp
- Computational Regulatory Genomics, Berlin Institute for Medical Systems Biology (BIMSB), Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine, Berlin 10115, Germany,Bioinformatics and Omics Data Science Platform, Berlin Institute for Medical Systems Biology, Max Delbrück Centre for Molecular Medicine, Berlin 10115, Germany
| | - Dubravka Vučićević
- Computational Regulatory Genomics, Berlin Institute for Medical Systems Biology (BIMSB), Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine, Berlin 10115, Germany
| | - Kenny Mattonet
- Department of Developmental Genetics, Max Planck Institute for Heart and Lung Research, Bad Nauheim 61231, Germany
| | - Rieke Kempfer
- Epigenetic Regulation and Chromatin Architecture, Berlin Institute for Medical Systems Biology, Max Delbrück Centre for Molecular Medicine, Berlin, Germany,Institute for Biology, Humboldt Universität Berlin, Berlin 10115, Germany
| | - Antje Hirsekorn
- Computational Regulatory Genomics, Berlin Institute for Medical Systems Biology (BIMSB), Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine, Berlin 10115, Germany
| | - Ilija Bilić
- Computational Regulatory Genomics, Berlin Institute for Medical Systems Biology (BIMSB), Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine, Berlin 10115, Germany
| | - Marine Gil
- Computational Regulatory Genomics, Berlin Institute for Medical Systems Biology (BIMSB), Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine, Berlin 10115, Germany
| | - Alexandra Trinks
- IRI Life Sciences, Humboldt Universität Berlin, Berlin 10115, Germany
| | - Anne Margarete Merks
- Electrochemical Signaling in Development and Disease, Max Delbrück Centre for Molecular Medicine, Berlin, Germany,DZHK (German Centre for Cardiovascular Research), partner site Berlin, Berlin 13125, Germany
| | - Daniela Panáková
- Electrochemical Signaling in Development and Disease, Max Delbrück Centre for Molecular Medicine, Berlin, Germany,DZHK (German Centre for Cardiovascular Research), partner site Berlin, Berlin 13125, Germany
| | - Ana Pombo
- Epigenetic Regulation and Chromatin Architecture, Berlin Institute for Medical Systems Biology, Max Delbrück Centre for Molecular Medicine, Berlin, Germany,Institute for Biology, Humboldt Universität Berlin, Berlin 10115, Germany
| | - Altuna Akalin
- Bioinformatics and Omics Data Science Platform, Berlin Institute for Medical Systems Biology, Max Delbrück Centre for Molecular Medicine, Berlin 10115, Germany
| | - Jan Philipp Junker
- Quantitative Developmental Biology, Berlin Institute for Medical Systems Biology, Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine, Berlin 10115, Germany
| | - Didier Y.R. Stainier
- Department of Developmental Genetics, Max Planck Institute for Heart and Lung Research, Bad Nauheim 61231, Germany
| | - David Garfield
- IRI Life Sciences, Humboldt Universität Berlin, Berlin 10115, Germany
| | - Uwe Ohler
- Computational Regulatory Genomics, Berlin Institute for Medical Systems Biology (BIMSB), Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine, Berlin 10115, Germany,Institute for Biology, Humboldt Universität Berlin, Berlin 10115, Germany,Corresponding author
| | - Scott Allen Lacadie
- Computational Regulatory Genomics, Berlin Institute for Medical Systems Biology (BIMSB), Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine, Berlin 10115, Germany,Berlin Institute of Health, Berlin 10178, Germany,Corresponding author
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11
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Fei A, Wu W, Tan L, Tang C, Xu Z, Huo X, Bao H, Kong Y, Johnson M, Hartmann G, Talay M, Yang C, Riegler C, Herrera KJ, Engert F, Xie XS, Barnea G, Liberles SD, Yang H, Li Q. Coordination of two enhancers drives expression of olfactory trace amine-associated receptors. Nat Commun 2021; 12:3798. [PMID: 34145235 PMCID: PMC8213717 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-021-23823-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/20/2020] [Accepted: 05/18/2021] [Indexed: 02/05/2023] Open
Abstract
Olfactory sensory neurons (OSNs) are functionally defined by their expression of a unique odorant receptor (OR). Mechanisms underlying singular OR expression are well studied, and involve a massive cross-chromosomal enhancer interaction network. Trace amine-associated receptors (TAARs) form a distinct family of olfactory receptors, and here we find that mechanisms regulating Taar gene choice display many unique features. The epigenetic signature of Taar genes in TAAR OSNs is different from that in OR OSNs. We further identify that two TAAR enhancers conserved across placental mammals are absolutely required for expression of the entire Taar gene repertoire. Deletion of either enhancer dramatically decreases the expression probabilities of different Taar genes, while deletion of both enhancers completely eliminates the TAAR OSN populations. In addition, both of the enhancers are sufficient to drive transgene expression in the partially overlapped TAAR OSNs. We also show that the TAAR enhancers operate in cis to regulate Taar gene expression. Our findings reveal a coordinated control of Taar gene choice in OSNs by two remote enhancers, and provide an excellent model to study molecular mechanisms underlying formation of an olfactory subsystem.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aimei Fei
- Center for Brain Science of Shanghai Children's Medical Center, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China
- Department of Anatomy and Physiology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China
| | - Wanqing Wu
- Center for Brain Science of Shanghai Children's Medical Center, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China
- Department of Anatomy and Physiology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China
| | - Longzhi Tan
- Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Cheng Tang
- Institute of Neuroscience, State Key Laboratory of Neuroscience, Key Laboratory of Primate Neurobiology, CAS Center for Excellence in Brain Science and Intelligence Technology, Shanghai Research Center for Brain Science and Brian-Inspired Intelligence, Shanghai Institutes for Biological Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, China
| | - Zhengrong Xu
- Center for Brain Science of Shanghai Children's Medical Center, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China
- Department of Anatomy and Physiology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China
| | - Xiaona Huo
- Institute of Neuroscience, State Key Laboratory of Neuroscience, Key Laboratory of Primate Neurobiology, CAS Center for Excellence in Brain Science and Intelligence Technology, Shanghai Research Center for Brain Science and Brian-Inspired Intelligence, Shanghai Institutes for Biological Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, China
| | - Hongqiang Bao
- Center for Brain Science of Shanghai Children's Medical Center, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China
- Department of Anatomy and Physiology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China
| | - Yalei Kong
- Center for Brain Science of Shanghai Children's Medical Center, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China
- Department of Anatomy and Physiology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China
| | - Mark Johnson
- Department of Neuroscience, Division of Biology and Medicine, Brown University, Providence, RI, USA
| | - Griffin Hartmann
- Department of Neuroscience, Division of Biology and Medicine, Brown University, Providence, RI, USA
| | - Mustafa Talay
- Department of Neuroscience, Division of Biology and Medicine, Brown University, Providence, RI, USA
| | - Cheng Yang
- Center for Brain Science of Shanghai Children's Medical Center, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China
- Department of Anatomy and Physiology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China
| | - Clemens Riegler
- Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology and Center for Brain Science, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Kristian J Herrera
- Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology and Center for Brain Science, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Florian Engert
- Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology and Center for Brain Science, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - X Sunney Xie
- Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Gilad Barnea
- Department of Neuroscience, Division of Biology and Medicine, Brown University, Providence, RI, USA
| | - Stephen D Liberles
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Department of Cell Biology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Hui Yang
- Institute of Neuroscience, State Key Laboratory of Neuroscience, Key Laboratory of Primate Neurobiology, CAS Center for Excellence in Brain Science and Intelligence Technology, Shanghai Research Center for Brain Science and Brian-Inspired Intelligence, Shanghai Institutes for Biological Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, China
| | - Qian Li
- Center for Brain Science of Shanghai Children's Medical Center, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China.
- Department of Anatomy and Physiology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China.
- Shanghai Research Center for Brain Science and Brain-Inspired Intelligence, Shanghai, China.
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12
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Enhancer-gene rewiring in the pathogenesis of Quebec platelet disorder. Blood 2021; 136:2679-2690. [PMID: 32663239 DOI: 10.1182/blood.2020005394] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/28/2020] [Accepted: 07/06/2020] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Quebec platelet disorder (QPD) is an autosomal dominant bleeding disorder with a unique, platelet-dependent, gain-of-function defect in fibrinolysis, without systemic fibrinolysis. The hallmark feature of QPD is a >100-fold overexpression of PLAU, specifically in megakaryocytes. This overexpression leads to a >100-fold increase in platelet stores of urokinase plasminogen activator (PLAU/uPA); subsequent plasmin-mediated degradation of diverse α-granule proteins; and platelet-dependent, accelerated fibrinolysis. The causative mutation is a 78-kb tandem duplication of PLAU. How this duplication causes megakaryocyte-specific PLAU overexpression is unknown. To investigate the mechanism that causes QPD, we used epigenomic profiling, comparative genomics, and chromatin conformation capture approaches to study PLAU regulation in cultured megakaryocytes from participants with QPD and unaffected controls. QPD duplication led to ectopic interactions between PLAU and a conserved megakaryocyte enhancer found within the same topologically associating domain (TAD). Our results support a unique disease mechanism whereby the reorganization of sub-TAD genome architecture results in a dramatic, cell-type-specific blood disorder phenotype.
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13
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Zhang Q, Li T, Zhang Y, Lin J, Chen X, Gui Y, Li Q. Comparative sequence analysis and functional validation identified a retina-specific enhancer around zic5 and zic2a. Gene Expr Patterns 2020; 39:119162. [PMID: 33359848 DOI: 10.1016/j.gep.2020.119162] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/05/2020] [Revised: 12/14/2020] [Accepted: 12/16/2020] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
Abstract
The spatiotemporal development of vertebrate retina is regulated by a variety of genes. The zinc finger transcription factors zic5 and zic2a are located close to each other in the chromosome. They have similar expression patterns, and both play important roles in the development of the retina and nervous system. Here, we used ECR browser and gfp fluorescence report experiment to identify a 290bp enhancer sequence ECR3, which is located at 3 kb upstream of zic5 and 10 kb downstream of zic2a, and it can drive the specific expression of gfp in the retina. pT2KXIGQ-ECR3 was used to construct a transgenic zebrafish line Tg(ECR3-290: gfp) which first exhibits specific green fluorescence in the whole retina area at 24hpf. Then the expression region was gradually limited to ganglion cell layer (GCL) and lasted through adulthood. This expression pattern is highly consistent with the zic5 and zic2a at retina. These results indicate that the 290bp enhancer might be an important element to regulate the expression of zic5 and zic2a genes in ganglion cells, and this transgenic line is an important tool for studying the development of retina.
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Affiliation(s)
- Qi Zhang
- Translational Medical Center for Development and Disease, Institute of Pediatrics, Shanghai Key Laboratory of Birth Defect, Children's Hospital of Fudan University, Shanghai, China
| | - Tingting Li
- Translational Medical Center for Development and Disease, Institute of Pediatrics, Shanghai Key Laboratory of Birth Defect, Children's Hospital of Fudan University, Shanghai, China
| | - Yinglan Zhang
- Translational Medical Center for Development and Disease, Institute of Pediatrics, Shanghai Key Laboratory of Birth Defect, Children's Hospital of Fudan University, Shanghai, China
| | - Jia Lin
- Translational Medical Center for Development and Disease, Institute of Pediatrics, Shanghai Key Laboratory of Birth Defect, Children's Hospital of Fudan University, Shanghai, China
| | - Xudong Chen
- Translational Medical Center for Development and Disease, Institute of Pediatrics, Shanghai Key Laboratory of Birth Defect, Children's Hospital of Fudan University, Shanghai, China
| | - Yiting Gui
- Translational Medical Center for Development and Disease, Institute of Pediatrics, Shanghai Key Laboratory of Birth Defect, Children's Hospital of Fudan University, Shanghai, China
| | - Qiang Li
- Translational Medical Center for Development and Disease, Institute of Pediatrics, Shanghai Key Laboratory of Birth Defect, Children's Hospital of Fudan University, Shanghai, China.
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14
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Zhang Y, Wang F, Wu F, Wang Y, Wang X, Gui Y, Li Q. Tnni1b-ECR183-d2, an 87 bp cardiac enhancer of zebrafish. PeerJ 2020; 8:e10289. [PMID: 33194440 PMCID: PMC7648457 DOI: 10.7717/peerj.10289] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/19/2019] [Accepted: 10/12/2020] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Several heart malformations are associated with mutations in the regulatory regions of cardiac genes. Troponin I type 1b (tnni1b) is important for the formation of the atrioventricular canal in zebrafish hearts; however, the regulation of tnni1b is poorly understand. We aimed to identify a small but functional enhancer that is distal to tnni1b. Methods Evolutionary Conserved Region (ECR) Browser was used to analyze the 219 kb zebrafish and human genomes covering the tnni1b gene as well as the 100 kb regions upstream and downstream of tnni1b. Putative transcription factor binding sites (TFBSs) were analyzed using JASPAR and PROMO, and the enhancer activity was identified using zebrafish embryos and the luciferase reporter assay. A correlation analysis between the enhancer and transcription factors (TFs) was performed via TF overexpression and TFBS mutation experiments and the electrophoretic mobility shift assay (EMSA). To analyze the conservation between zebrafish and human enhancers, human DNA fragments were functionally verified. Images were captured and analyzed by fluorescence microscopy or confocal microscopy. Results Combined with comparative analysis and functional validation, we identified a 183 bp ECR (termed tnni1b-ECR183) that was located approximately 84 kb upstream of tnni1b that had the heart-specific enhancer activity in zebrafish. TFBS analysis and the enhancer activity detection assay data showed that the 87 bp core region (termed tnni1b-ECR183-d2) was capable of driving specific GFP expression near the atrioventricular junction and increased luciferase expression in HEK293 and HL1 cell lines. The GFP pattern in zebrafish embryos was similar to the expression profiles of tnni1b. A correlation analysis showed that the enhancer activity of tnni1b-ECR183-d2 was increased when NKX2.5 (p = 0.0006) or JUN (p < 0.0001) was overexpressed and was decreased when the TFBSs of NKX2.5 (p < 0.0001) or JUN (p = 0.0018) were mutated. In addition, DNA-protein interactions were not observed between these TFs and tnni1b-ECR183-d2 in the EMSA experiment. The conservation analysis showed that tnni1b-ECR183-h179 (aligned from tnni1b-ECR183) drove GFP expression in the heart and skeletal muscles and increased the luciferase expression after NKX2.5 (p < 0.0001), JUN (p < 0.0001) or ETS1 (p < 0.0001) was overexpressed. Interestingly, the truncated fragment tnni1b-ECR183-h84 mainly drove GFP expression in the skeletal muscles of zebrafish and the enhancer activity decreased when NKX2.5 (p = 0.0028), ETS1 (p = 0.0001) or GATA4 (p < 0.0001) was overexpressed. Conclusions An 87 bp cardiac-specific enhancer located 84 kb upstream of tnni1b in zebrafish was positively correlated with NKX2.5 or JUN. The zebrafish and human enhancers in this study target different tissues. The GFP expression mediated by tnni1b-ECR183-d2 is a valuable tool for marking the domain around the atrioventricular junction.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yawen Zhang
- Translational Medical Center for Development and Disease, Shanghai Key Laboratory of Birth Defect, Institute of Pediatrics, Children's Hospital of Fudan University, Shanghai, China.,Department of Cardiology, Children's Hospital of Fudan University, Shanghai, China
| | - Feng Wang
- Translational Medical Center for Development and Disease, Shanghai Key Laboratory of Birth Defect, Institute of Pediatrics, Children's Hospital of Fudan University, Shanghai, China.,Department of Cardiology, Children's Hospital of Fudan University, Shanghai, China
| | - Fang Wu
- Translational Medical Center for Development and Disease, Shanghai Key Laboratory of Birth Defect, Institute of Pediatrics, Children's Hospital of Fudan University, Shanghai, China.,Department of Cardiology, Children's Hospital of Fudan University, Shanghai, China
| | - Youhua Wang
- Department of Cardiology, Longhua Hospital, Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shanghai, China
| | - Xu Wang
- Cancer Institute, Fudan University Shanghai Cancer Center, Shanghai, China
| | - Yonghao Gui
- Department of Cardiology, Children's Hospital of Fudan University, Shanghai, China
| | - Qiang Li
- Translational Medical Center for Development and Disease, Shanghai Key Laboratory of Birth Defect, Institute of Pediatrics, Children's Hospital of Fudan University, Shanghai, China
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15
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Bar Yaacov R, Eshel R, Farhi E, Shemuluvich F, Kaplan T, Birnbaum RY. Functional characterization of the ZEB2 regulatory landscape. Hum Mol Genet 2020; 28:1487-1497. [PMID: 30590588 PMCID: PMC6466108 DOI: 10.1093/hmg/ddy440] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/26/2018] [Revised: 12/12/2018] [Accepted: 12/14/2018] [Indexed: 01/03/2023] Open
Abstract
Zinc finger E-box–binding homeobox 2 (ZEB2) is a key developmental regulator of the central nervous system (CNS). Although the transcriptional regulation of ZEB2 is essential for CNS development, the elements that regulate ZEB2 expression have yet to be identified. Here, we identified a proximal regulatory region of ZEB2 and characterized transcriptional enhancers during neuronal development. Using chromatin immunoprecipitation sequencing for active (H3K27ac) and repressed (H3K27me3) chromatin regions in human neuronal progenitors, combined with an in vivo zebrafish enhancer assay, we functionally characterized 18 candidate enhancers in the ZEB2 locus. Eight enhancers drove expression patterns that were specific to distinct mid/hindbrain regions (ZEB2#e3 and 5), trigeminal-like ganglia (ZEB2#e6 and 7), notochord (ZEB2#e2, 4 and 12) and whole brain (ZEB2#e14). We further dissected the minimal sequences that drive enhancer-specific activity in the mid/hindbrain and notochord. Using a reporter assay in human cells, we showed an increased activity of the minimal notochord enhancer ZEB2#e2 in response to AP-1 and DLX1/2 expressions, while repressed activity of this enhancer was seen in response to ZEB2 and TFAP2 expressions. We showed that Dlx1 but not Zeb2 and Tfap2 occupies Zeb2#e2 enhancer sequence in the mouse notochord at embryonic day 11.5. Using CRISPR/Cas9 genome editing, we deleted the ZEB2#e2 region, leading to reduction of ZEB2 expression in human cells. We thus characterized distal transcriptional enhancers and trans-acting elements that govern regulation of ZEB2 expression during neuronal development. These findings pave the path toward future analysis of the role of ZEB2 regulatory elements in neurodevelopmental disorders, such as Mowat–Wilson syndrome.
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Affiliation(s)
- Reut Bar Yaacov
- Department of Life Sciences, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer-Sheva, Israel.,Center of Evolutionary Genomics and Medicine, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer-Sheva, Israel
| | - Reut Eshel
- Department of Life Sciences, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer-Sheva, Israel.,Center of Evolutionary Genomics and Medicine, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer-Sheva, Israel
| | - Einan Farhi
- Department of Life Sciences, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer-Sheva, Israel.,Center of Evolutionary Genomics and Medicine, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer-Sheva, Israel
| | - Fania Shemuluvich
- Department of Life Sciences, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer-Sheva, Israel.,Center of Evolutionary Genomics and Medicine, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer-Sheva, Israel
| | - Tommy Kaplan
- School of Computer Science and Engineering, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel
| | - Ramon Y Birnbaum
- Department of Life Sciences, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer-Sheva, Israel.,Center of Evolutionary Genomics and Medicine, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer-Sheva, Israel
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16
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D'haene E, Bar-Yaacov R, Bariah I, Vantomme L, Van Loo S, Cobos FA, Verboom K, Eshel R, Alatawna R, Menten B, Birnbaum RY, Vergult S. A neuronal enhancer network upstream of MEF2C is compromised in patients with Rett-like characteristics. Hum Mol Genet 2020; 28:818-827. [PMID: 30445463 PMCID: PMC6381311 DOI: 10.1093/hmg/ddy393] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/07/2018] [Revised: 11/01/2018] [Accepted: 11/08/2018] [Indexed: 01/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Mutations in myocyte enhancer factor 2C (MEF2C), an important transcription factor in neurodevelopment, are associated with a Rett-like syndrome. Structural variants (SVs) upstream of MEF2C, which do not disrupt the gene itself, have also been found in patients with a similar phenotype, suggesting that disruption of MEF2C regulatory elements can also cause a Rett-like phenotype. To characterize those elements that regulate MEF2C during neural development and that are affected by these SVs, we used genomic tools coupled with both in vitro and in vivo functional assays. Through circularized chromosome conformation capture sequencing
(4C-seq) and the assay for transposase-accessible chromatin using sequencing
(ATAC-seq), we revealed a complex interaction network in which the MEF2C promoter physically contacts several distal enhancers that are deleted or translocated by disease-associated SVs. A total of 16 selected candidate regulatory sequences were tested for enhancer activity in vitro, with 14 found to be functional enhancers. Further analyses of their in vivo activity in zebrafish showed that each of these enhancers has a distinct activity pattern during development, with eight enhancers displaying neuronal activity. In summary, our results disentangle a complex regulatory network governing neuronal MEF2C expression that involves multiple distal enhancers. In addition, the characterized neuronal enhancers pose as novel candidates to screen for mutations in neurodevelopmental disorders, such as Rett-like syndrome.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eva D'haene
- Center for Medical Genetics, Ghent University, 9000 Ghent, Belgium
| | - Reut Bar-Yaacov
- Department of Life Sciences, Faculty of Natural Sciences, The Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beersheba, Israel.,Center of Evolutionary Genomics and Medicine, The Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beersheba, Israel
| | - Inbar Bariah
- Department of Life Sciences, Faculty of Natural Sciences, The Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beersheba, Israel.,Center of Evolutionary Genomics and Medicine, The Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beersheba, Israel
| | - Lies Vantomme
- Center for Medical Genetics, Ghent University, 9000 Ghent, Belgium
| | - Sien Van Loo
- Center for Medical Genetics, Ghent University, 9000 Ghent, Belgium
| | - Francisco Avila Cobos
- Center for Medical Genetics, Ghent University, 9000 Ghent, Belgium.,Cancer Research Institute Ghent (CRIG), 9000 Ghent, Belgium.,Bioinformatics Institute Ghent from Nucleotides to Networks (BIG N2N), Ghent, Belgium
| | - Karen Verboom
- Center for Medical Genetics, Ghent University, 9000 Ghent, Belgium.,Cancer Research Institute Ghent (CRIG), 9000 Ghent, Belgium
| | - Reut Eshel
- Department of Life Sciences, Faculty of Natural Sciences, The Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beersheba, Israel.,Center of Evolutionary Genomics and Medicine, The Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beersheba, Israel
| | - Rawan Alatawna
- Department of Life Sciences, Faculty of Natural Sciences, The Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beersheba, Israel.,Center of Evolutionary Genomics and Medicine, The Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beersheba, Israel
| | - Björn Menten
- Center for Medical Genetics, Ghent University, 9000 Ghent, Belgium
| | - Ramon Y Birnbaum
- Department of Life Sciences, Faculty of Natural Sciences, The Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beersheba, Israel.,Center of Evolutionary Genomics and Medicine, The Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beersheba, Israel
| | - Sarah Vergult
- Center for Medical Genetics, Ghent University, 9000 Ghent, Belgium
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17
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Stanney W, Ladam F, Donaldson IJ, Parsons TJ, Maehr R, Bobola N, Sagerström CG. Combinatorial action of NF-Y and TALE at embryonic enhancers defines distinct gene expression programs during zygotic genome activation in zebrafish. Dev Biol 2019; 459:161-180. [PMID: 31862379 DOI: 10.1016/j.ydbio.2019.12.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/30/2019] [Revised: 12/05/2019] [Accepted: 12/05/2019] [Indexed: 01/20/2023]
Abstract
Animal embryogenesis is initiated by maternal factors, but zygotic genome activation (ZGA) shifts regulatory control to the embryo during blastula stages. ZGA is thought to be mediated by maternally provided transcription factors (TFs), but few such TFs have been identified in vertebrates. Here we report that NF-Y and TALE TFs bind zebrafish genomic elements associated with developmental control genes already at ZGA. In particular, co-regulation by NF-Y and TALE is associated with broadly acting genes involved in transcriptional control, while regulation by either NF-Y or TALE defines genes in specific developmental processes, such that NF-Y controls a cilia gene expression program while TALE controls expression of hox genes. We also demonstrate that NF-Y and TALE-occupied genomic elements function as enhancers during embryogenesis. We conclude that combinatorial use of NF-Y and TALE at developmental enhancers permits the establishment of distinct gene expression programs at zebrafish ZGA.
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Affiliation(s)
- William Stanney
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Pharmacology, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, MA, 01605, USA
| | - Franck Ladam
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Pharmacology, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, MA, 01605, USA
| | - Ian J Donaldson
- Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health, University of Manchester, Manchester, M13 9PT, UK
| | - Teagan J Parsons
- Program in Molecular Medicine and Diabetes Center of Excellence, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, MA, 01605, USA
| | - René Maehr
- Program in Molecular Medicine and Diabetes Center of Excellence, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, MA, 01605, USA
| | - Nicoletta Bobola
- Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health, University of Manchester, Manchester, M13 9PT, UK
| | - Charles G Sagerström
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Pharmacology, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, MA, 01605, USA.
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18
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Laarman MD, Geeven G, Barnett P, Rinkel GJE, de Laat W, Ruigrok YM, Bakkers J. Chromatin Conformation Links Putative Enhancers in Intracranial Aneurysm-Associated Regions to Potential Candidate Genes. J Am Heart Assoc 2019; 8:e011201. [PMID: 30994044 PMCID: PMC6512097 DOI: 10.1161/jaha.118.011201] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
Background We previously showed that intracranial aneurysm (IA)–associated single‐nucleotide polymorphisms are enriched in promoters and putative enhancers identified in the human circle of Willis, on which IAs develop, suggesting a role for promoters and enhancers in IAs. We further investigated the role of putative enhancers in the pathogenesis of IA by identifying their potential target genes and validating their regulatory activity. Methods and Results Using our previously published circle of Willis chromatin immunoprecipitation and sequencing data, we selected 34 putative enhancers in IA‐associated regions from genome‐wide association studies. We then used a chromatin conformation capture technique to prioritize target genes and found that 15 putative enhancers interact with the promoters of 6 target genes: SOX17,CDKN2B,MTAP,CNNM2,RPEL1, and GATA6. Subsequently, we assessed the activity of these putative enhancers in vivo in zebrafish embryos and confirmed activity for 8 putative enhancers. Last, we found that all 6 target genes are expressed in the circle of Willis, on the basis of RNA sequencing data and in situ hybridization. Furthermore, in situ hybridization showed that these genes are expressed in multiple cell types in the circle of Willis. Conclusions In 4 of 6 IA‐associated genome‐wide association study regions, we identified 8 putative enhancers that are active in vivo and interact with 6 nearby genes, suggesting that these genes are regulated by the identified putative enhancers. These genes, SOX17,CDKN2B,MTAP,CNNM2,RPEL1, and GATA6, are therefore potential candidate genes involved in IA pathogenesis and should be studied using animal models in the future.
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Affiliation(s)
- Melanie D Laarman
- 1 Department of Neurology and Neurosurgery Brain Center Rudolf Magnus University Medical Center, Utrecht the Netherlands.,2 Hubrecht Institute (Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (KNAW)) University Medical Center, Utrecht the Netherlands
| | - Geert Geeven
- 2 Hubrecht Institute (Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (KNAW)) University Medical Center, Utrecht the Netherlands
| | - Phil Barnett
- 4 Department of Medical Biology Academic Medical Center University of Amsterdam the Netherlands
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- 5 Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience Amsterdam the Netherlands
| | - Gabriël J E Rinkel
- 1 Department of Neurology and Neurosurgery Brain Center Rudolf Magnus University Medical Center, Utrecht the Netherlands
| | - Wouter de Laat
- 2 Hubrecht Institute (Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (KNAW)) University Medical Center, Utrecht the Netherlands
| | - Ynte M Ruigrok
- 1 Department of Neurology and Neurosurgery Brain Center Rudolf Magnus University Medical Center, Utrecht the Netherlands
| | - Jeroen Bakkers
- 2 Hubrecht Institute (Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (KNAW)) University Medical Center, Utrecht the Netherlands.,3 Division of Heart and Lungs Department of Medical Physiology University Medical Center, Utrecht the Netherlands
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19
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Wang F, Yang Q, Wu F, Zhang Y, Sun S, Wang X, Gui Y, Li Q. Identification of a 42-bp heart-specific enhancer of the notch1b gene in zebrafish embryos. Dev Dyn 2019; 248:426-436. [PMID: 30919514 DOI: 10.1002/dvdy.31] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/03/2018] [Revised: 03/18/2019] [Accepted: 03/21/2019] [Indexed: 12/11/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND NOTCH1 plays a key role in the differentiation of ventricles, and mutations are strongly associated with both sporadic and familial bicuspid aortic valves. However, few heart-specific enhancers have been identified to date. RESULTS In this study, we investigated evolutionary conserved regions (ECRs) that might act as potential enhancers within the region approximately 150-kb upstream and downstream of the NOTCH1 gene. Functional validation revealed that one 127-bp ECR located ~85-kb downstream of the NOTCH1 gene drives green fluorescent protein expression in the zebrafish embryo heart. Transcription factor (TF) prediction and core TF distribution analyses were performed to identify the core region. Dissection of ECR3 was performed to identify the 42-bp sequence, which is sufficient for heart-specific expression. In situ hybridization experiments showed that notch1b is expressed in the heart. Overexpression experiments in cells indicated that NKX2-5 is critical for enhancer activity. Mutation of the NKX-5 binding site significantly decreased reporter gene expression. Next, compared with the commonly used myocardium-labeled zebrafish transgenic strain Tg(cmlc2: mCherry), this 42-bp enhancer-labeled stable line mediated a similar expression pattern but with a smaller core region. CONCLUSION This study identified a 42-bp heart-specific enhancer near the NOTCH1 gene and further verified its functional targeting by NKX2-5.
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Affiliation(s)
- Feng Wang
- Translational Medical Center for Development and Disease, Institute of Pediatrics, Shanghai Key Laboratory of Birth Defect, Children's Hospital of Fudan University, Shanghai, China.,Cardiovascular Center, Children's Hospital of Fudan University, Shanghai, China
| | - Qian Yang
- Translational Medical Center for Development and Disease, Institute of Pediatrics, Shanghai Key Laboratory of Birth Defect, Children's Hospital of Fudan University, Shanghai, China.,Cardiovascular Center, Children's Hospital of Fudan University, Shanghai, China
| | - Fang Wu
- Translational Medical Center for Development and Disease, Institute of Pediatrics, Shanghai Key Laboratory of Birth Defect, Children's Hospital of Fudan University, Shanghai, China.,Cardiovascular Center, Children's Hospital of Fudan University, Shanghai, China
| | - Yawen Zhang
- Cardiovascular Center, Children's Hospital of Fudan University, Shanghai, China
| | - Shuna Sun
- Cardiovascular Center, Children's Hospital of Fudan University, Shanghai, China
| | - Xu Wang
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
| | - Yonghao Gui
- Cardiovascular Center, Children's Hospital of Fudan University, Shanghai, China
| | - Qiang Li
- Translational Medical Center for Development and Disease, Institute of Pediatrics, Shanghai Key Laboratory of Birth Defect, Children's Hospital of Fudan University, Shanghai, China
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20
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Gibb N, Lazic S, Yuan X, Deshwar AR, Leslie M, Wilson MD, Scott IC. Hey2 regulates the size of the cardiac progenitor pool during vertebrate heart development. Development 2018; 145:dev.167510. [PMID: 30355727 DOI: 10.1242/dev.167510] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/08/2018] [Accepted: 10/13/2018] [Indexed: 01/04/2023]
Abstract
A key event in heart development is the timely addition of cardiac progenitor cells, defects in which can lead to congenital heart defects. However, how the balance and proportion of progenitor proliferation versus addition to the heart is regulated remains poorly understood. Here, we demonstrate that Hey2 functions to regulate the dynamics of cardiac progenitor addition to the zebrafish heart. We found that the previously noted increase in myocardial cell number found in the absence of Hey2 function was due to a pronounced expansion in the size of the cardiac progenitor pool. Expression analysis and lineage tracing of hey2-expressing cells showed that hey2 is active in cardiac progenitors. Hey2 acted to limit proliferation of cardiac progenitors, prior to heart tube formation. Use of a transplantation approach demonstrated a likely cell-autonomous (in cardiac progenitors) function for Hey2. Taken together, our data suggest a previously unappreciated role for Hey2 in controlling the proliferative capacity of cardiac progenitors, affecting the subsequent contribution of late-differentiating cardiac progenitors to the developing vertebrate heart.
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Affiliation(s)
- Natalie Gibb
- Program in Developmental and Stem Cell Biology, The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Ontario M5G 0A4, Canada
| | - Savo Lazic
- Program in Developmental and Stem Cell Biology, The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Ontario M5G 0A4, Canada.,Department of Molecular Genetics, University of Toronto, Ontario M5S 1A8, Canada
| | - Xuefei Yuan
- Program in Developmental and Stem Cell Biology, The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Ontario M5G 0A4, Canada.,Program in Genetics and Genome Biology, The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Ontario M5G 0A4, Canada.,Department of Molecular Genetics, University of Toronto, Ontario M5S 1A8, Canada
| | - Ashish R Deshwar
- Program in Developmental and Stem Cell Biology, The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Ontario M5G 0A4, Canada.,Department of Molecular Genetics, University of Toronto, Ontario M5S 1A8, Canada
| | - Meaghan Leslie
- Program in Developmental and Stem Cell Biology, The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Ontario M5G 0A4, Canada.,Program in Genetics and Genome Biology, The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Ontario M5G 0A4, Canada.,Department of Molecular Genetics, University of Toronto, Ontario M5S 1A8, Canada
| | - Michael D Wilson
- Program in Genetics and Genome Biology, The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Ontario M5G 0A4, Canada.,Department of Molecular Genetics, University of Toronto, Ontario M5S 1A8, Canada
| | - Ian C Scott
- Program in Developmental and Stem Cell Biology, The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Ontario M5G 0A4, Canada .,Department of Molecular Genetics, University of Toronto, Ontario M5S 1A8, Canada.,Ted Rogers Centre for Heart Research, Toronto, Ontario M5G 1M1, Canada.,Heart and Stroke Richard Lewar Centres of Excellence in Cardiovascular Research, Toronto, Ontario M5S 3H2, Canada
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21
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Hirsch N, Eshel R, Bar Yaacov R, Shahar T, Shmulevich F, Dahan I, Levaot N, Kaplan T, Lupiáñez DG, Birnbaum RY. Unraveling the transcriptional regulation of TWIST1 in limb development. PLoS Genet 2018; 14:e1007738. [PMID: 30372441 PMCID: PMC6233932 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pgen.1007738] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/06/2018] [Revised: 11/13/2018] [Accepted: 10/03/2018] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
The transcription factor TWIST1 plays a vital role in mesoderm development, particularly in limb and craniofacial formation. Accordingly, haploinsufficiency of TWIST1 can cause limb and craniofacial malformations as part of Saethre-Chotzen syndrome. However, the molecular basis of TWIST1 transcriptional regulation during development has yet to be elucidated. Here, we characterized active enhancers in the TWIST1-HDAC9 locus that drive transcription in the developing limb and branchial arches. Using available p300 and H3K27ac ChIP-seq data, we identified 12 enhancer candidates, located both within and outside the coding sequences of the neighboring gene, Histone deacetyase 9 (HDAC9). Using zebrafish and mouse enhancer assays, we showed that eight of these candidates have limb/fin and branchial arch enhancer activity that resemble Twist1 expression. Using 4C-seq, we showed that the Twist1 promoter region interacts with three enhancers (eTw-5, 6, 7) in the limb bud and branchial arch of mouse embryos at day 11.5. Furthermore, we found that two transcription factors, LMX1B and TFAP2, bind these enhancers and modulate their enhancer activity. Finally, using CRISPR/Cas9 genome editing, we showed that homozygous deletion of eTw5-7 enhancers reduced Twist1 expression in the limb bud and caused pre-axial polydactyly, a phenotype observed in Twist1+/- mice. Taken together, our findings reveal that each enhancer has a discrete activity pattern, and together comprise a spatiotemporal regulatory network of Twist1 transcription in the developing limbs/fins and branchial arches. Our study suggests that mutations in TWIST1 enhancers could lead to reduced TWIST1 expression, resulting in phenotypic outcome as seen with TWIST1 coding mutations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Naama Hirsch
- Department of Life Sciences, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer-Sheva, Israel
- Center for Evolutionary Genomics and Medicine, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer-Sheva, Israel
| | - Reut Eshel
- Department of Life Sciences, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer-Sheva, Israel
- Center for Evolutionary Genomics and Medicine, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer-Sheva, Israel
| | - Reut Bar Yaacov
- Department of Life Sciences, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer-Sheva, Israel
- Center for Evolutionary Genomics and Medicine, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer-Sheva, Israel
| | - Tal Shahar
- Department of Life Sciences, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer-Sheva, Israel
- Center for Evolutionary Genomics and Medicine, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer-Sheva, Israel
| | - Fania Shmulevich
- Department of Life Sciences, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer-Sheva, Israel
- Center for Evolutionary Genomics and Medicine, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer-Sheva, Israel
| | - Idit Dahan
- Department of Life Sciences, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer-Sheva, Israel
- Center for Evolutionary Genomics and Medicine, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer-Sheva, Israel
| | - Noam Levaot
- Department of Physiology and Cell Biology, Faculty of Health Sciences, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer-Sheva, Israel
| | - Tommy Kaplan
- School of Computer Science and Engineering, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel
| | - Darío G. Lupiáñez
- Max Planck Institute for Molecular Genetics, Berlin, Germany
- Institute for Medical and Human Genetics, Charité-Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Berlin, Germany
- Berlin-Brandenburg Center for Regenerative Therapies, Charité-Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | - Ramon Y. Birnbaum
- Department of Life Sciences, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer-Sheva, Israel
- Center for Evolutionary Genomics and Medicine, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer-Sheva, Israel
- * E-mail:
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22
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Yang S, Oksenberg N, Takayama S, Heo SJ, Poliakov A, Ahituv N, Dubchak I, Boffelli D. Functionally conserved enhancers with divergent sequences in distant vertebrates. BMC Genomics 2015; 16:882. [PMID: 26519295 PMCID: PMC4628251 DOI: 10.1186/s12864-015-2070-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/04/2015] [Accepted: 10/13/2015] [Indexed: 02/08/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND To examine the contributions of sequence and function conservation in the evolution of enhancers, we systematically identified enhancers whose sequences are not conserved among distant groups of vertebrate species, but have homologous function and are likely to be derived from a common ancestral sequence. Our approach combined comparative genomics and epigenomics to identify potential enhancer sequences in the genomes of three groups of distantly related vertebrate species. RESULTS We searched for sequences that were conserved within groups of closely related species but not between groups of more distant species, and were associated with an epigenetic mark of enhancer activity. To facilitate inferring orthology between non-conserved sequences, we limited our search to introns whose orthology could be unambiguously established by mapping the bracketing exons. We show that a subset of these non-conserved but syntenic sequences from the mouse and zebrafish genomes have homologous functions in a zebrafish transgenic enhancer assay. The conserved expression patterns driven by these enhancers are probably associated with short transcription factor-binding motifs present in the divergent sequences. CONCLUSIONS We have identified numerous potential enhancers with divergent sequences but a conserved function. These results indicate that selection on function, rather than sequence, may be a common mode of enhancer evolution; evidence for selection at the sequence level is not a necessary criterion to define a gene regulatory element.
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Affiliation(s)
- Song Yang
- Genomics Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA, 94720, USA.
| | - Nir Oksenberg
- Department of Bioengineering and Therapeutic Sciences, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, 94158, USA.
- Institute for Human Genetics, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, 94158, USA.
| | - Sachiko Takayama
- Children's Hospital Oakland Research Institute, Oakland, CA, 94609, USA.
| | - Seok-Jin Heo
- Children's Hospital Oakland Research Institute, Oakland, CA, 94609, USA.
| | - Alexander Poliakov
- US Department of Energy Joint Genome Institute, 2800 Mitchell Drive, Walnut Creek, CA, 94598, USA.
| | - Nadav Ahituv
- Department of Bioengineering and Therapeutic Sciences, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, 94158, USA.
- Institute for Human Genetics, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, 94158, USA.
| | - Inna Dubchak
- Genomics Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA, 94720, USA.
- US Department of Energy Joint Genome Institute, 2800 Mitchell Drive, Walnut Creek, CA, 94598, USA.
| | - Dario Boffelli
- Children's Hospital Oakland Research Institute, Oakland, CA, 94609, USA.
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23
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Liu C, Song G, Mao L, Long Y, Li Q, Cui Z. Generation of an Enhancer-Trapping Vector for Insertional Mutagenesis in Zebrafish. PLoS One 2015; 10:e0139612. [PMID: 26436547 PMCID: PMC4593583 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0139612] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/07/2015] [Accepted: 09/14/2015] [Indexed: 01/01/2023] Open
Abstract
Enhancer trapping (ET) is a powerful approach to establish tissue- or cell-specific reporters and identify expression patterns of uncharacterized genes. Although a number of enhancer-trapping vectors have been developed and a large library of fish lines with distinct tissue- or cell-specific expression of reporter genes have been generated, the specificity and efficiency of trapping vectors need to be improved because of the bias interaction of minimal promoters with genomic enhancers. Accordingly, we generated an enhancer-trapping vector pTME that contains a minimal mouse metallothionein gene (mMTI) promoter upstream of EGFP reporter. In the first round of screening, twelve zebrafish lines that carry a single copy of ET cassettes were characterized to have tissue- or cell-specific EGFP expression. One of the highly conserved noncoding elements near an insertion site of trapping cassettes was characterized as an enhancer that can specifically regulate the expression of EGFP in cells of the central nervous system. In addition, the pTME vector contains a mutation-cassette that is able to effectively block the transcription of an endogenous gene in an ET line with ubiquitous EGFP expression. Thus, the pTME vector can be used as an alternative tool for both enhancer trapping and mutagenesis across a target genome.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chunyan Liu
- The Key Laboratory of Aquatic Biodiversity and Conservation of Chinese Academy of Sciences; Institute of Hydrobiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan 430072, Hubei, China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
| | - Guili Song
- The Key Laboratory of Aquatic Biodiversity and Conservation of Chinese Academy of Sciences; Institute of Hydrobiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan 430072, Hubei, China
| | - Lin Mao
- The Key Laboratory of Aquatic Biodiversity and Conservation of Chinese Academy of Sciences; Institute of Hydrobiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan 430072, Hubei, China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
| | - Yong Long
- The Key Laboratory of Aquatic Biodiversity and Conservation of Chinese Academy of Sciences; Institute of Hydrobiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan 430072, Hubei, China
| | - Qing Li
- The Key Laboratory of Aquatic Biodiversity and Conservation of Chinese Academy of Sciences; Institute of Hydrobiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan 430072, Hubei, China
- * E-mail: (ZC); (QL)
| | - Zongbin Cui
- The Key Laboratory of Aquatic Biodiversity and Conservation of Chinese Academy of Sciences; Institute of Hydrobiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan 430072, Hubei, China
- * E-mail: (ZC); (QL)
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24
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Yanovsky-Dagan S, Avitzour M, Altarescu G, Renbaum P, Eldar-Geva T, Schonberger O, Mitrani-Rosenbaum S, Levy-Lahad E, Birnbaum RY, Gepstein L, Epsztejn-Litman S, Eiges R. Uncovering the Role of Hypermethylation by CTG Expansion in Myotonic Dystrophy Type 1 Using Mutant Human Embryonic Stem Cells. Stem Cell Reports 2015; 5:221-31. [PMID: 26190529 PMCID: PMC4618658 DOI: 10.1016/j.stemcr.2015.06.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 37] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/31/2015] [Revised: 06/15/2015] [Accepted: 06/15/2015] [Indexed: 12/28/2022] Open
Abstract
CTG repeat expansion in DMPK, the cause of myotonic dystrophy type 1 (DM1), frequently results in hypermethylation and reduced SIX5 expression. The contribution of hypermethylation to disease pathogenesis and the precise mechanism by which SIX5 expression is reduced are unknown. Using 14 different DM1-affected human embryonic stem cell (hESC) lines, we characterized a differentially methylated region (DMR) near the CTGs. This DMR undergoes hypermethylation as a function of expansion size in a way that is specific to undifferentiated cells and is associated with reduced SIX5 expression. Using functional assays, we provide evidence for regulatory activity of the DMR, which is lost by hypermethylation and may contribute to DM1 pathogenesis by causing SIX5 haplo-insufficiency. This study highlights the power of hESCs in disease modeling and describes a DMR that functions both as an exon coding sequence and as a regulatory element whose activity is epigenetically hampered by a heritable mutation. We identify a disease-associated, differentially methylated region in DM1 hESCs CTG expansion size correlates with the degree of methylation specifically in DM1 hESCs DMPK hypermethylation hampers the activity of a regulatory element for SIX5 DM1 hESCs provide an opportunity to study diseased cardiomyocytes in vitro
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Affiliation(s)
- Shira Yanovsky-Dagan
- Stem Cell Research Laboratory, Medical Genetics Institute, Shaare Zedek Medical Center affiliated with the Hebrew University School of Medicine, Jerusalem 91031, Israel
| | - Michal Avitzour
- Stem Cell Research Laboratory, Medical Genetics Institute, Shaare Zedek Medical Center affiliated with the Hebrew University School of Medicine, Jerusalem 91031, Israel
| | - Gheona Altarescu
- Zohar PGD Lab, Medical Genetics Institute, Shaare Zedek Medical Center affiliated with the Hebrew University School of Medicine, Jerusalem 91031, Israel
| | - Paul Renbaum
- Zohar PGD Lab, Medical Genetics Institute, Shaare Zedek Medical Center affiliated with the Hebrew University School of Medicine, Jerusalem 91031, Israel
| | - Talia Eldar-Geva
- IVF Unit, Shaare Zedek Medical Center affiliated with the Hebrew University School of Medicine, Jerusalem 91031, Israel
| | - Oshrat Schonberger
- IVF Unit, Shaare Zedek Medical Center affiliated with the Hebrew University School of Medicine, Jerusalem 91031, Israel
| | - Stella Mitrani-Rosenbaum
- Goldyne Savad Institute for Gene Therapy, Hadassah Hebrew University Medical Center, Jerusalem 91240, Israel
| | - Ephrat Levy-Lahad
- Zohar PGD Lab, Medical Genetics Institute, Shaare Zedek Medical Center affiliated with the Hebrew University School of Medicine, Jerusalem 91031, Israel
| | - Ramon Y Birnbaum
- Department of Life Sciences, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer Sheva 84105, Israel
| | - Lior Gepstein
- Sohnis Family Research Laboratory for Cardiac Electrophysiology and Regenerative Medicine, Bruce Rappaport Faculty of Medicine, Technion-Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa 31096, Israel
| | - Silvina Epsztejn-Litman
- Stem Cell Research Laboratory, Medical Genetics Institute, Shaare Zedek Medical Center affiliated with the Hebrew University School of Medicine, Jerusalem 91031, Israel
| | - Rachel Eiges
- Stem Cell Research Laboratory, Medical Genetics Institute, Shaare Zedek Medical Center affiliated with the Hebrew University School of Medicine, Jerusalem 91031, Israel.
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25
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Grice J, Noyvert B, Doglio L, Elgar G. A Simple Predictive Enhancer Syntax for Hindbrain Patterning Is Conserved in Vertebrate Genomes. PLoS One 2015; 10:e0130413. [PMID: 26131856 PMCID: PMC4489388 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0130413] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/02/2015] [Accepted: 05/19/2015] [Indexed: 12/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Determining the function of regulatory elements is fundamental for our understanding of development, disease and evolution. However, the sequence features that mediate these functions are often unclear and the prediction of tissue-specific expression patterns from sequence alone is non-trivial. Previous functional studies have demonstrated a link between PBX-HOX and MEIS/PREP binding interactions and hindbrain enhancer activity, but the defining grammar of these sites, if any exists, has remained elusive. Results Here, we identify a shared sequence signature (syntax) within a heterogeneous set of conserved vertebrate hindbrain enhancers composed of spatially co-occurring PBX-HOX and MEIS/PREP transcription factor binding motifs. We use this syntax to accurately predict hindbrain enhancers in 89% of cases (67/75 predicted elements) from a set of conserved non-coding elements (CNEs). Furthermore, mutagenesis of the sites abolishes activity or generates ectopic expression, demonstrating their requirement for segmentally restricted enhancer activity in the hindbrain. We refine and use our syntax to predict over 3,000 hindbrain enhancers across the human genome. These sequences tend to be located near developmental transcription factors and are enriched in known hindbrain activating elements, demonstrating the predictive power of this simple model. Conclusion Our findings support the theory that hundreds of CNEs, and perhaps thousands of regions across the human genome, function to coordinate gene expression in the developing hindbrain. We speculate that deeply conserved sequences of this kind contributed to the co-option of new genes into the hindbrain gene regulatory network during early vertebrate evolution by linking patterns of hox expression to downstream genes involved in segmentation and patterning, and evolutionarily newer instances may have continued to contribute to lineage-specific elaboration of the hindbrain.
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Affiliation(s)
- Joseph Grice
- The Francis Crick Institute Mill Hill Laboratory, The Ridgeway, Mill Hill, London, NW7 1AA, United Kingdom
| | - Boris Noyvert
- The Francis Crick Institute Mill Hill Laboratory, The Ridgeway, Mill Hill, London, NW7 1AA, United Kingdom
| | - Laura Doglio
- The Francis Crick Institute Mill Hill Laboratory, The Ridgeway, Mill Hill, London, NW7 1AA, United Kingdom
| | - Greg Elgar
- The Francis Crick Institute Mill Hill Laboratory, The Ridgeway, Mill Hill, London, NW7 1AA, United Kingdom
- * E-mail:
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26
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Sharma S, Londono D, Eckalbar WL, Gao X, Zhang D, Mauldin K, Kou I, Takahashi A, Matsumoto M, Kamiya N, Murphy KK, Cornelia R, Herring JA, Burns D, Ahituv N, Ikegawa S, Gordon D, Wise CA. A PAX1 enhancer locus is associated with susceptibility to idiopathic scoliosis in females. Nat Commun 2015; 6:6452. [PMID: 25784220 PMCID: PMC4365504 DOI: 10.1038/ncomms7452] [Citation(s) in RCA: 101] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/04/2014] [Accepted: 01/30/2015] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Idiopathic scoliosis (IS) is a common paediatric musculoskeletal disease that displays a strong female bias. By performing a genome-wide association study (GWAS) of 3,102 individuals, we identify significant associations with 20p11.22 SNPs for females (P=6.89 × 10−9) but not males (P=0.71). This association with IS is also found in independent female cohorts from the United States of America and Japan (overall P=2.15 × 10−10, OR=1.30 (rs6137473)). Unexpectedly, the 20p11.22 IS risk alleles were previously associated with protection from early-onset alopecia, another sexually dimorphic condition. The 174-kb associated locus is distal to PAX1, which encodes paired box 1, a transcription factor involved in spine development. We identify a sequence in the associated locus with enhancer activity in zebrafish somitic muscle and spinal cord, an activity that is abolished by IS-associated SNPs. We thus identify a sexually dimorphic IS susceptibility locus, and propose the first functionally defined candidate mutations in an enhancer that may regulate expression in specific spinal cells. Girls are tenfold more likely than boys to require surgical treatment for idiopathic scoliosis, a common paediatric skeletal disorder. Here, Sharma et al. identify the first sexually dimorphic idiopathic scoliosis risk locus, and demonstrate that it may play a role in the regulation of spinal cells.
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Affiliation(s)
- Swarkar Sharma
- Sarah M. and Charles E. Seay Center for Musculoskeletal Research, Research Department, Texas Scottish Rite Hospital for Children, Dallas, Texas 75219, USA
| | - Douglas Londono
- Department of Genetics and Human Genetics Institute, Rutgers University, Piscataway, New Jersey 08854, USA
| | - Walter L Eckalbar
- Department of Bioengineering and Therapeutic Sciences, Institute for Human Genetics, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, California 94143, USA
| | - Xiaochong Gao
- Sarah M. and Charles E. Seay Center for Musculoskeletal Research, Research Department, Texas Scottish Rite Hospital for Children, Dallas, Texas 75219, USA
| | - Dongping Zhang
- Sarah M. and Charles E. Seay Center for Musculoskeletal Research, Research Department, Texas Scottish Rite Hospital for Children, Dallas, Texas 75219, USA
| | - Kristen Mauldin
- Sarah M. and Charles E. Seay Center for Musculoskeletal Research, Research Department, Texas Scottish Rite Hospital for Children, Dallas, Texas 75219, USA
| | - Ikuyo Kou
- Laboratory of Bone and Joint Diseases, Center for Integrative Medical Sciences, RIKEN, Tokyo 108-8639, Japan
| | - Atsushi Takahashi
- Laboratory for Statistical Analysis, Center for Integrative Medical Sciences, RIKEN, Yokohama 230-0045, Japan
| | - Morio Matsumoto
- Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, School of Medicine, Keio University, Tokyo 108-8345, Japan
| | - Nobuhiro Kamiya
- Sarah M. and Charles E. Seay Center for Musculoskeletal Research, Research Department, Texas Scottish Rite Hospital for Children, Dallas, Texas 75219, USA
| | - Karl K Murphy
- Department of Bioengineering and Therapeutic Sciences, Institute for Human Genetics, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, California 94143, USA
| | - Reuel Cornelia
- Sarah M. and Charles E. Seay Center for Musculoskeletal Research, Research Department, Texas Scottish Rite Hospital for Children, Dallas, Texas 75219, USA
| | | | | | - John A Herring
- 1] Department of Orthopaedics, Texas Scottish Rite Hospital for Children, Dallas, Texas 75219, USA [2] Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas, Dallas, Texas 75390, USA
| | - Dennis Burns
- Department of Pathology, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas, Dallas, Texas 75390, USA
| | - Nadav Ahituv
- Department of Bioengineering and Therapeutic Sciences, Institute for Human Genetics, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, California 94143, USA
| | - Shiro Ikegawa
- Laboratory of Bone and Joint Diseases, Center for Integrative Medical Sciences, RIKEN, Tokyo 108-8639, Japan
| | - Derek Gordon
- Department of Genetics and Human Genetics Institute, Rutgers University, Piscataway, New Jersey 08854, USA
| | - Carol A Wise
- 1] Sarah M. and Charles E. Seay Center for Musculoskeletal Research, Research Department, Texas Scottish Rite Hospital for Children, Dallas, Texas 75219, USA [2] Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas, Dallas, Texas 75390, USA [3] McDermott Center for Human Growth and Development, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas, Dallas, Texas 75390, USA [4] McDermott Center for Human Growth and Development, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas, Dallas, Texas 75390, USA
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27
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Markenscoff-Papadimitriou E, Allen WE, Colquitt BM, Goh T, Murphy KK, Monahan K, Mosley CP, Ahituv N, Lomvardas S. Enhancer interaction networks as a means for singular olfactory receptor expression. Cell 2014; 159:543-57. [PMID: 25417106 PMCID: PMC4243057 DOI: 10.1016/j.cell.2014.09.033] [Citation(s) in RCA: 136] [Impact Index Per Article: 13.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/20/2014] [Revised: 07/07/2014] [Accepted: 09/10/2014] [Indexed: 12/20/2022]
Abstract
The transcriptional activation of one out of ?2800 olfactory receptor (OR) alleles is a poorly understood process. Here, we identify a plethora of putative OR enhancers and study their in vivo activity in olfactory neurons. Distinguished by an unusual epigenetic signature, candidate OR enhancers are characterized by extensive interchromosomal interactions associated with OR transcription and share a similar pattern of transcription factor footprints. In particular, we establish the role of the transcription factor Bptf as a facilitator of both enhancer interactions and OR transcription. Our observations agree with the model whereby OR transcription occurs in the context of multiple interacting enhancers. Disruption of these interchromosomal interactions results in weak and multigenic OR expression, suggesting that the rare coincidence of numerous enhancers over a stochastically chosen OR may account for the singularity and robustness in OR transcription.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - William E Allen
- Neuroscience Graduate Program, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA 94305, USA
| | - Bradley M Colquitt
- Neuroscience Graduate Program, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA 94158, USA
| | - Tracie Goh
- Department of Anatomy, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA 94158, USA
| | - Karl K Murphy
- Department of Bioengineering and Therapeutic Sciences, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA 94158, USA; Institute for Human Genetics, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA 94158, USA
| | - Kevin Monahan
- Department of Anatomy, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA 94158, USA
| | - Colleen P Mosley
- Department of Anatomy, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA 94158, USA
| | - Nadav Ahituv
- Department of Bioengineering and Therapeutic Sciences, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA 94158, USA; Institute for Human Genetics, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA 94158, USA
| | - Stavros Lomvardas
- Neuroscience Graduate Program, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA 94158, USA; Department of Anatomy, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA 94158, USA.
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28
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Oksenberg N, Haliburton GDE, Eckalbar WL, Oren I, Nishizaki S, Murphy K, Pollard KS, Birnbaum RY, Ahituv N. Genome-wide distribution of Auts2 binding localizes with active neurodevelopmental genes. Transl Psychiatry 2014; 4:e431. [PMID: 25180570 PMCID: PMC4199417 DOI: 10.1038/tp.2014.78] [Citation(s) in RCA: 42] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/04/2014] [Revised: 07/14/2014] [Accepted: 07/26/2014] [Indexed: 12/16/2022] Open
Abstract
The autism susceptibility candidate 2 gene (AUTS2) has been associated with multiple neurological diseases including autism spectrum disorders (ASDs). Previous studies showed that AUTS2 has an important neurodevelopmental function and is a suspected master regulator of genes implicated in ASD-related pathways. However, the regulatory role and targets of Auts2 are not well known. Here, by using ChIP-seq (chromatin immunoprecipitation followed by deep sequencing) and RNA-seq on mouse embryonic day 16.5 forebrains, we elucidated the gene regulatory networks of Auts2. We find that the majority of promoters bound by Auts2 belong to genes highly expressed in the developing forebrain, suggesting that Auts2 is involved in transcriptional activation. Auts2 non-promoter-bound regions significantly overlap developing brain-associated enhancer marks and are located near genes involved in neurodevelopment. Auts2-marked sequences are enriched for binding site motifs of neurodevelopmental transcription factors, including Pitx3 and TCF3. In addition, we characterized two functional brain enhancers marked by Auts2 near NRXN1 and ATP2B2, both ASD-implicated genes. Our results implicate Auts2 as an active regulator of important neurodevelopmental genes and pathways and identify novel genomic regions that could be associated with ASD and other neurodevelopmental diseases.
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Affiliation(s)
- N Oksenberg
- Department of Bioengineering and Therapeutic
Sciences, University of California San Francisco,
San Francisco, CA, USA,Institute for Human Genetics, University of
California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - G D E Haliburton
- Institute for Human Genetics, University of
California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA,Gladstone Institutes, San
Francisco, CA, USA
| | - W L Eckalbar
- Department of Bioengineering and Therapeutic
Sciences, University of California San Francisco,
San Francisco, CA, USA,Institute for Human Genetics, University of
California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - I Oren
- Department of Life Sciences, Ben Gurion University of
the Negev, Beer Sheva, Israel
| | - S Nishizaki
- Department of Bioengineering and Therapeutic
Sciences, University of California San Francisco,
San Francisco, CA, USA,Institute for Human Genetics, University of
California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - K Murphy
- Department of Bioengineering and Therapeutic
Sciences, University of California San Francisco,
San Francisco, CA, USA,Institute for Human Genetics, University of
California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - K S Pollard
- Institute for Human Genetics, University of
California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA,Gladstone Institutes, San
Francisco, CA, USA,Division of Biostatistics, University of California
San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - R Y Birnbaum
- Department of Bioengineering and Therapeutic
Sciences, University of California San Francisco,
San Francisco, CA, USA,Institute for Human Genetics, University of
California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA,Department of Life Sciences, Ben Gurion University of
the Negev, Beer Sheva, Israel,Department of Bioengineering and Therapeutic Sciences, University of
California San Francisco, 1550 4th Street, Rock Hall, RH584C, San Francisco,
CA
94158, USA. E-mails: or
| | - N Ahituv
- Department of Bioengineering and Therapeutic
Sciences, University of California San Francisco,
San Francisco, CA, USA,Institute for Human Genetics, University of
California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA,Department of Bioengineering and Therapeutic Sciences, University of
California San Francisco, 1550 4th Street, Rock Hall, RH584C, San Francisco,
CA
94158, USA. E-mails: or
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29
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Integrating diverse datasets improves developmental enhancer prediction. PLoS Comput Biol 2014; 10:e1003677. [PMID: 24967590 PMCID: PMC4072507 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pcbi.1003677] [Citation(s) in RCA: 105] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/15/2013] [Accepted: 05/06/2014] [Indexed: 01/02/2023] Open
Abstract
Gene-regulatory enhancers have been identified using various approaches, including evolutionary conservation, regulatory protein binding, chromatin modifications, and DNA sequence motifs. To integrate these different approaches, we developed EnhancerFinder, a two-step method for distinguishing developmental enhancers from the genomic background and then predicting their tissue specificity. EnhancerFinder uses a multiple kernel learning approach to integrate DNA sequence motifs, evolutionary patterns, and diverse functional genomics datasets from a variety of cell types. In contrast with prediction approaches that define enhancers based on histone marks or p300 sites from a single cell line, we trained EnhancerFinder on hundreds of experimentally verified human developmental enhancers from the VISTA Enhancer Browser. We comprehensively evaluated EnhancerFinder using cross validation and found that our integrative method improves the identification of enhancers over approaches that consider a single type of data, such as sequence motifs, evolutionary conservation, or the binding of enhancer-associated proteins. We find that VISTA enhancers active in embryonic heart are easier to identify than enhancers active in several other embryonic tissues, likely due to their uniquely high GC content. We applied EnhancerFinder to the entire human genome and predicted 84,301 developmental enhancers and their tissue specificity. These predictions provide specific functional annotations for large amounts of human non-coding DNA, and are significantly enriched near genes with annotated roles in their predicted tissues and lead SNPs from genome-wide association studies. We demonstrate the utility of EnhancerFinder predictions through in vivo validation of novel embryonic gene regulatory enhancers from three developmental transcription factor loci. Our genome-wide developmental enhancer predictions are freely available as a UCSC Genome Browser track, which we hope will enable researchers to further investigate questions in developmental biology. The human genome contains an immense amount of non-protein-coding DNA with unknown function. Some of this DNA regulates when, where, and at what levels genes are active during development. Enhancers, one type of regulatory element, are short stretches of DNA that can act as “switches” to turn a gene on or off at specific times in specific cells or tissues. Understanding where in the genome enhancers are located can provide insight into the genetic basis of development and disease. Enhancers are hard to identify, but clues about their locations are found in different types of data including DNA sequence, evolutionary history, and where proteins bind to DNA. Here, we introduce a new tool, called EnhancerFinder, which combines these data to predict the location and activity of enhancers during embryonic development. We trained EnhancerFinder on a large set of functionally validated human enhancers, and it proved to be very accurate. We used EnhancerFinder to predict tens of thousands of enhancers in the human genome and validated several of the predictions near three important developmental genes in mouse or zebrafish. EnhancerFinder's predictions will be useful in understanding functional regions hidden in the vast amounts of human non-coding DNA.
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30
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Evans DS, Calton MA, Kim MJ, Kwok PY, Miljkovic I, Harris T, Koster A, Liu Y, Tranah GJ, Ahituv N, Hsueh WC, Vaisse C. Genetic association study of adiposity and melanocortin-4 receptor (MC4R) common variants: replication and functional characterization of non-coding regions. PLoS One 2014; 9:e96805. [PMID: 24820477 PMCID: PMC4018404 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0096805] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/24/2013] [Accepted: 04/11/2014] [Indexed: 11/29/2022] Open
Abstract
Common genetic variants 3' of MC4R within two large linkage disequilibrium (LD) blocks spanning 288 kb have been associated with common and rare forms of obesity. This large association region has not been refined and the relevant DNA segments within the association region have not been identified. In this study, we investigated whether common variants in the MC4R gene region were associated with adiposity-related traits in a biracial population-based study. Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the MC4R region were genotyped with a custom array and a genome-wide array and associations between SNPs and five adiposity-related traits were determined using race-stratified linear regression. Previously reported associations between lower BMI and the minor alleles of rs2229616/Val103Ile and rs52820871/Ile251Leu were replicated in white female participants. Among white participants, rs11152221 in a proximal 3' LD block (closer to MC4R) was significantly associated with multiple adiposity traits, but SNPs in a distal 3' LD block (farther from MC4R) were not. In a case-control study of severe obesity, rs11152221 was significantly associated. The association results directed our follow-up studies to the proximal LD block downstream of MC4R. By considering nucleotide conservation, the significance of association, and proximity to the MC4R gene, we identified a candidate MC4R regulatory region. This candidate region was sequenced in 20 individuals from a study of severe obesity in an attempt to identify additional variants, and the candidate region was tested for enhancer activity using in vivo enhancer assays in zebrafish and mice. Novel variants were not identified by sequencing and the candidate region did not drive reporter gene expression in zebrafish or mice. The identification of a putative insulator in this region could help to explain the challenges faced in this study and others to link SNPs associated with adiposity to altered MC4R expression.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniel S. Evans
- California Pacific Medical Center Research Institute, San Francisco, California, United States of America
| | - Melissa A. Calton
- Diabetes Center and Department of Medicine, University of California, San Francisco, California, United States of America
| | - Mee J. Kim
- Department of Bioengineering and Therapeutic Sciences and Institute for Human Genetics, University of California, San Francisco, California, United States of America
| | - Pui-Yan Kwok
- Cardiovascular Research Institute, Institute for Human Genetics, and Department of Dermatology, University of California, San Francisco, California, United States of America
| | - Iva Miljkovic
- Department of Epidemiology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States of America
| | - Tamara Harris
- National Institute on Aging, Bethesda, Maryland, United States of America
| | - Annemarie Koster
- National Institute on Aging, Bethesda, Maryland, United States of America
| | - Yongmei Liu
- Department of Epidemiology and Prevention, Division of Public Health Sciences, Wake Forest University, Winston-Salem, North Carolina, United States of America
| | - Gregory J. Tranah
- California Pacific Medical Center Research Institute, San Francisco, California, United States of America
| | - Nadav Ahituv
- Department of Bioengineering and Therapeutic Sciences and Institute for Human Genetics, University of California, San Francisco, California, United States of America
| | - Wen-Chi Hsueh
- Diabetes Center and Department of Medicine, University of California, San Francisco, California, United States of America
| | - Christian Vaisse
- Diabetes Center and Department of Medicine, University of California, San Francisco, California, United States of America
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31
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Kim MJ, Oksenberg N, Hoffmann TJ, Vaisse C, Ahituv N. Functional characterization of SIM1-associated enhancers. Hum Mol Genet 2014; 23:1700-8. [PMID: 24203700 PMCID: PMC3943516 DOI: 10.1093/hmg/ddt559] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/12/2013] [Revised: 10/15/2013] [Accepted: 10/31/2013] [Indexed: 12/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Haploinsufficiency of the single-minded homology 1 (SIM1) gene in humans and mice leads to severe obesity, suggesting that altered expression of SIM1, by way of regulatory elements such as enhancers, could predispose individuals to obesity. Here, we identified transcriptional enhancers that could regulate SIM1, using comparative genomics coupled with zebrafish and mouse transgenic enhancer assays. Owing to the dual role of Sim1 in hypothalamic development and in adult energy homeostasis, the enhancer activity of these sequences was annotated from embryonic to adult age. Of the seventeen tested sequences, two SIM1 candidate enhancers (SCE2 and SCE8) were found to have brain-enhancer activity in zebrafish. Both SCE2 and SCE8 also exhibited embryonic brain-enhancer expression in mice, and time course analysis of SCE2 activity showed overlapping expression with Sim1 from embryonic to adult age, notably in the hypothalamus in adult mice. Using a deletion series, we identified the critical region in SCE2 that is needed for enhancer activity in the developing brain. Sequencing this region in obese and lean cohorts revealed a higher prevalence of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) that were unique to obese individuals, with one variant reducing developmental-enhancer activity in zebrafish. In summary, we have characterized two brain enhancers in the SIM1 locus and identified a set of obesity-specific SNPs within one of them, which may predispose individuals to obesity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mee J. Kim
- Department of Bioengineering and Therapeutic Sciences
- Institute for Human Genetics
| | - Nir Oksenberg
- Department of Bioengineering and Therapeutic Sciences
- Institute for Human Genetics
| | - Thomas J. Hoffmann
- Institute for Human Genetics
- Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics and
| | - Christian Vaisse
- Institute for Human Genetics
- Diabetes Center, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Nadav Ahituv
- Department of Bioengineering and Therapeutic Sciences
- Institute for Human Genetics
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32
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Chromatin connectivity maps reveal dynamic promoter-enhancer long-range associations. Nature 2013; 504:306-310. [PMID: 24213634 DOI: 10.1038/nature12716] [Citation(s) in RCA: 331] [Impact Index Per Article: 30.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/24/2012] [Accepted: 09/24/2013] [Indexed: 12/22/2022]
Abstract
In multicellular organisms, transcription regulation is one of the central mechanisms modelling lineage differentiation and cell-fate determination. Transcription requires dynamic chromatin configurations between promoters and their corresponding distal regulatory elements. It is believed that their communication occurs within large discrete foci of aggregated RNA polymerases termed transcription factories in three-dimensional nuclear space. However, the dynamic nature of chromatin connectivity has not been characterized at the genome-wide level. Here, through a chromatin interaction analysis with paired-end tagging approach using an antibody that primarily recognizes the pre-initiation complexes of RNA polymerase II, we explore the transcriptional interactomes of three mouse cells of progressive lineage commitment, including pluripotent embryonic stem cells, neural stem cells and neurosphere stem/progenitor cells. Our global chromatin connectivity maps reveal approximately 40,000 long-range interactions, suggest precise enhancer-promoter associations and delineate cell-type-specific chromatin structures. Analysis of the complex regulatory repertoire shows that there are extensive colocalizations among promoters and distal-acting enhancers. Most of the enhancers associate with promoters located beyond their nearest active genes, indicating that the linear juxtaposition is not the only guiding principle driving enhancer target selection. Although promoter-enhancer interactions exhibit high cell-type specificity, promoters involved in interactions are found to be generally common and mostly active among different cells. Chromatin connectivity networks reveal that the pivotal genes of reprogramming functions are transcribed within physical proximity to each other in embryonic stem cells, linking chromatin architecture to coordinated gene expression. Our study sets the stage for the full-scale dissection of spatial and temporal genome structures and their roles in orchestrating development.
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Ferg M, Armant O, Yang L, Dickmeis T, Rastegar S, Strähle U. Gene transcription in the zebrafish embryo: regulators and networks. Brief Funct Genomics 2013; 13:131-43. [PMID: 24152666 DOI: 10.1093/bfgp/elt044] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/08/2023] Open
Abstract
The precise spatial and temporal control of gene expression is a key process in the development, maintenance and regeneration of the vertebrate body. A substantial proportion of vertebrate genomes encode genes that control the transcription of the genetic information into mRNA. The zebrafish is particularly well suited to investigate gene regulatory networks underlying the control of gene expression during development due to the external development of its transparent embryos and the increasingly sophisticated tools for genetic manipulation available for this model system. We review here recent data on the analysis of cis-regulatory modules, transcriptional regulators and their integration into gene regulatory networks in the zebrafish, using the developing spinal cord as example.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marco Ferg
- Institute of Toxicology and Genetics, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), Postfach 3640, 76021 Karlsruhe, Germany.
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Booker BM, Murphy KK, Ahituv N. Functional analysis of limb enhancers in the developing fin. Dev Genes Evol 2013; 223:395-9. [PMID: 24068387 DOI: 10.1007/s00427-013-0453-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/20/2013] [Accepted: 09/02/2013] [Indexed: 01/29/2023]
Abstract
Despite diverging ∼365 million years ago, tetrapod limbs and pectoral fins express similar genes that could be regulated by shared regulatory elements. In this study, we set out to analyze the ability of enhancers to maintain tissue specificity in these two divergent structures. We tested 22 human sequences that were previously reported as mouse limb enhancers for their enhancer activity in zebrafish (Danio rerio). Using a zebrafish enhancer assay, we found that 10/22 (45 %) were positive for pectoral fin activity. Analysis of the various criteria that correlated with positive fin activity found that both spatial limb activity and evolutionary conservation are not good predictors of fin enhancer activity. These results suggest that zebrafish enhancer assays may be limited in detecting human limb enhancers, and this limitation does not improve by the use of limb spatial expression or evolutionary conservation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Betty M Booker
- Department of Bioengineering and Therapeutic Sciences, University of California, San Francisco, CA, USA
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Wenger AM, Clarke SL, Notwell JH, Chung T, Tuteja G, Guturu H, Schaar BT, Bejerano G. The enhancer landscape during early neocortical development reveals patterns of dense regulation and co-option. PLoS Genet 2013; 9:e1003728. [PMID: 24009522 PMCID: PMC3757057 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pgen.1003728] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/10/2013] [Accepted: 07/03/2013] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Genetic studies have identified a core set of transcription factors and target genes that control the development of the neocortex, the region of the human brain responsible for higher cognition. The specific regulatory interactions between these factors, many key upstream and downstream genes, and the enhancers that mediate all these interactions remain mostly uncharacterized. We perform p300 ChIP-seq to identify over 6,600 candidate enhancers active in the dorsal cerebral wall of embryonic day 14.5 (E14.5) mice. Over 95% of the peaks we measure are conserved to human. Eight of ten (80%) candidates tested using mouse transgenesis drive activity in restricted laminar patterns within the neocortex. GREAT based computational analysis reveals highly significant correlation with genes expressed at E14.5 in key areas for neocortex development, and allows the grouping of enhancers by known biological functions and pathways for further studies. We find that multiple genes are flanked by dozens of candidate enhancers each, including well-known key neocortical genes as well as suspected and novel genes. Nearly a quarter of our candidate enhancers are conserved well beyond mammals. Human and zebrafish regions orthologous to our candidate enhancers are shown to most often function in other aspects of central nervous system development. Finally, we find strong evidence that specific interspersed repeat families have contributed potentially key developmental enhancers via co-option. Our analysis expands the methodologies available for extracting the richness of information found in genome-wide functional maps.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aaron M. Wenger
- Department of Computer Science, Stanford University, Stanford, California, United States of America
| | - Shoa L. Clarke
- Department of Genetics, Stanford University, Stanford, California, United States of America
| | - James H. Notwell
- Department of Computer Science, Stanford University, Stanford, California, United States of America
| | - Tisha Chung
- Department of Developmental Biology, Stanford University, Stanford, California, United States of America
| | - Geetu Tuteja
- Department of Developmental Biology, Stanford University, Stanford, California, United States of America
| | - Harendra Guturu
- Department of Electrical Engineering, Stanford University, Stanford, California, United States of America
| | - Bruce T. Schaar
- Department of Developmental Biology, Stanford University, Stanford, California, United States of America
| | - Gill Bejerano
- Department of Computer Science, Stanford University, Stanford, California, United States of America
- Department of Developmental Biology, Stanford University, Stanford, California, United States of America
- * E-mail:
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Glenn TD, Talbot WS. Analysis of Gpr126 function defines distinct mechanisms controlling the initiation and maturation of myelin. Development 2013; 140:3167-75. [PMID: 23804499 PMCID: PMC3931731 DOI: 10.1242/dev.093401] [Citation(s) in RCA: 70] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 05/14/2013] [Indexed: 01/29/2023]
Abstract
In peripheral nerves, Schwann cells form the myelin sheath, which allows the efficient propagation of action potentials along axons. The transcription factor Krox20 regulates the initiation of myelination in Schwann cells and is also required to maintain mature myelin. The adhesion G protein-coupled receptor (GPCR) Gpr126 is essential for Schwann cells to initiate myelination, but previous studies have not addressed the role of Gpr126 signaling in myelin maturation and maintenance. Through analysis of Gpr126 in zebrafish, we define two distinct mechanisms controlling the initiation and maturation of myelin. We show that gpr126 mutant Schwann cells elaborate mature myelin sheaths and maintain krox20 expression for months, provided that the early signaling defect is bypassed by transient elevation of cAMP. At the onset of myelination, Gpr126 and protein kinase A (PKA) function as a switch that allows Schwann cells to initiate krox20 expression and myelination. After myelination is initiated, krox20 expression is maintained and myelin maturation proceeds independently of Gpr126 signaling. Transgenic analysis indicates that the Krox20 cis-regulatory myelinating Schwann cell element (MSE) becomes active at the onset of myelination and that this activity is dependent on Gpr126 signaling. Activity of the MSE declines after initiation, suggesting that other elements are responsible for maintaining krox20 expression in mature nerves. We also show that elevated cAMP does not initiate myelination in the absence of functional Neuregulin 1 (Nrg1) signaling. These results indicate that the mechanisms regulating the initiation of myelination are distinct from those mediating the maturation and maintenance of myelin.
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Affiliation(s)
- Thomas D. Glenn
- Department of Developmental Biology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA 94305, USA
| | - William S. Talbot
- Department of Developmental Biology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA 94305, USA
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Smith RP, Riesenfeld SJ, Holloway AK, Li Q, Murphy KK, Feliciano NM, Orecchia L, Oksenberg N, Pollard KS, Ahituv N. A compact, in vivo screen of all 6-mers reveals drivers of tissue-specific expression and guides synthetic regulatory element design. Genome Biol 2013; 14:R72. [PMID: 23867016 PMCID: PMC4054837 DOI: 10.1186/gb-2013-14-7-r72] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/17/2013] [Revised: 03/08/2013] [Accepted: 07/18/2013] [Indexed: 11/28/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Large-scale annotation efforts have improved our ability to coarsely predict regulatory elements throughout vertebrate genomes. However, it is unclear how complex spatiotemporal patterns of gene expression driven by these elements emerge from the activity of short, transcription factor binding sequences. RESULTS We describe a comprehensive promoter extension assay in which the regulatory potential of all 6 base-pair (bp) sequences was tested in the context of a minimal promoter. To enable this large-scale screen, we developed algorithms that use a reverse-complement aware decomposition of the de Bruijn graph to design a library of DNA oligomers incorporating every 6-bp sequence exactly once. Our library multiplexes all 4,096 unique 6-mers into 184 double-stranded 15-bp oligomers, which is sufficiently compact for in vivo testing. We injected each multiplexed construct into zebrafish embryos and scored GFP expression in 15 tissues at two developmental time points. Twenty-seven constructs produced consistent expression patterns, with the majority doing so in only one tissue. Functional sequences are enriched near biologically relevant genes, match motifs for developmental transcription factors, and are required for enhancer activity. By concatenating tissue-specific functional sequences, we generated completely synthetic enhancers for the notochord, epidermis, spinal cord, forebrain and otic lateral line, and show that short regulatory sequences do not always function modularly. CONCLUSIONS This work introduces a unique in vivo catalog of short, functional regulatory sequences and demonstrates several important principles of regulatory element organization. Furthermore, we provide resources for designing compact, reverse-complement aware k-mer libraries.
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Affiliation(s)
- Robin P Smith
- Department of Bioengineering and Therapeutic Sciences, University of California San Francisco, 1550 4th St, San Francisco, CA 94158, USA
- Institute for Human Genetics, University of California San Francisco, 1550 4th St, San Francisco, CA 94158, USA
| | - Samantha J Riesenfeld
- Gladstone Institutes, University of California San Francisco, 1650 Owens St, San Francisco, CA 94158, USA
| | - Alisha K Holloway
- Gladstone Institutes, University of California San Francisco, 1650 Owens St, San Francisco, CA 94158, USA
| | - Qiang Li
- Department of Bioengineering and Therapeutic Sciences, University of California San Francisco, 1550 4th St, San Francisco, CA 94158, USA
- Institute for Human Genetics, University of California San Francisco, 1550 4th St, San Francisco, CA 94158, USA
- Current address: Institute for Pediatrics, Translational Research Center for Development and Disease, Children's Hospital of Fudan University, Shanghai, 201102, China
| | - Karl K Murphy
- Department of Bioengineering and Therapeutic Sciences, University of California San Francisco, 1550 4th St, San Francisco, CA 94158, USA
- Institute for Human Genetics, University of California San Francisco, 1550 4th St, San Francisco, CA 94158, USA
| | - Natalie M Feliciano
- Department of Bioengineering and Therapeutic Sciences, University of California San Francisco, 1550 4th St, San Francisco, CA 94158, USA
- Institute for Human Genetics, University of California San Francisco, 1550 4th St, San Francisco, CA 94158, USA
| | - Lorenzo Orecchia
- Division of Biostatistics, University of California San Francisco, 1650 Owens St, CA 94158, USA
| | - Nir Oksenberg
- Department of Bioengineering and Therapeutic Sciences, University of California San Francisco, 1550 4th St, San Francisco, CA 94158, USA
- Institute for Human Genetics, University of California San Francisco, 1550 4th St, San Francisco, CA 94158, USA
| | - Katherine S Pollard
- Institute for Human Genetics, University of California San Francisco, 1550 4th St, San Francisco, CA 94158, USA
- Gladstone Institutes, University of California San Francisco, 1650 Owens St, San Francisco, CA 94158, USA
- Department of Mathematics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 77 Massachusetts Ave, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
| | - Nadav Ahituv
- Department of Bioengineering and Therapeutic Sciences, University of California San Francisco, 1550 4th St, San Francisco, CA 94158, USA
- Institute for Human Genetics, University of California San Francisco, 1550 4th St, San Francisco, CA 94158, USA
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Nelson AC, Wardle FC. Conserved non-coding elements and cis regulation: actions speak louder than words. Development 2013; 140:1385-95. [PMID: 23482485 DOI: 10.1242/dev.084459] [Citation(s) in RCA: 49] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/09/2023]
Abstract
It is a truth (almost) universally acknowledged that conserved non-coding genomic sequences function in the cis regulation of neighbouring genes. But is this a misconception? The literature is strewn with examples of conserved non-coding sequences being able to drive reporter expression, but the extent to which such sequences are actually used endogenously in vivo is only now being rigorously explored using unbiased genome-scale approaches. Here, we review the emerging picture, examining the extent to which conserved non-coding sequences equivalently regulate gene expression in different species, or at different developmental stages, and how genomics approaches are revealing the relationship between sequence conservation and functional use of cis-regulatory elements.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrew C Nelson
- Randall Division of Cell and Molecular Biophysics, New Hunt's House, King's College London, Guy's Campus, London SE1 1UL, UK.
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Symmons O, Spitz F. From remote enhancers to gene regulation: charting the genome's regulatory landscapes. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2013; 368:20120358. [PMID: 23650632 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2012.0358] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
Vertebrate genes are characterized by the presence of cis-regulatory elements located at great distances from the genes they control. Alterations of these elements have been implicated in human diseases and evolution, yet little is known about how these elements interact with their surrounding sequences. A recent survey of the mouse genome with a regulatory sensor showed that the regulatory activities of these elements are not organized in a gene-centric manner, but instead are broadly distributed along chromosomes, forming large regulatory landscapes with distinct tissue-specific activities. A large genome-wide collection of expression data from this regulatory sensor revealed some basic principles of this complex genome regulatory architecture, including a substantial interplay between enhancers and other types of activities to modulate gene expression. We discuss the implications of these findings for our understanding of non-coding transcription, and of the possible consequences of structural genomic variations in disease and evolution.
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Affiliation(s)
- Orsolya Symmons
- Developmental Biology Unit, European Molecular Biology Laboratory, Meyerhofstrasse 1, 69117 Heidelberg, Germany
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40
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Abstract
The ability to regulate gene activity in a spatiotemporally controllable manner is vital for biological discovery that will impact disease diagnosis and treatment. While conditional gene silencing is possible in other genetic model organisms, this technology is largely unavailable in zebrafish, an important vertebrate model organism for functional gene discovery. Here, using short hairpin RNAs (shRNAs) designed in the microRNA-30 backbone, which have been shown to mimic natural microRNA primary transcripts and be more effective than simple shRNAs, we report stable RNA interference-mediated gene silencing in zebrafish employing the yeast Gal4-UAS system. Using this approach, we reveal at single-cell resolution the role of atypical protein kinase Cλ (aPKCλ) in regulating neural progenitor/stem cell division. We also show effective silencing of the one-eyed-pinhead and no-tail/brachyury genes. Furthermore, we demonstrate stable integration and germ-line transmission of the UAS-miR-shRNAs for aPKCλ, the expressivity of which is controllable by the strength and expression of Gal4. This technology shall significantly advance the utility of zebrafish for understanding fundamental vertebrate biology and for the identification and evaluation of important therapeutic targets.
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41
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Su MY, Steiner LA, Bogardus H, Mishra T, Schulz VP, Hardison RC, Gallagher PG. Identification of biologically relevant enhancers in human erythroid cells. J Biol Chem 2013; 288:8433-8444. [PMID: 23341446 DOI: 10.1074/jbc.m112.413260] [Citation(s) in RCA: 43] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/15/2023] Open
Abstract
Identification of cell type-specific enhancers is important for understanding the regulation of programs controlling cellular development and differentiation. Enhancers are typically marked by the co-transcriptional activator protein p300 or by groups of cell-expressed transcription factors. We hypothesized that a unique set of enhancers regulates gene expression in human erythroid cells, a highly specialized cell type evolved to provide adequate amounts of oxygen throughout the body. Using chromatin immunoprecipitation followed by massively parallel sequencing, genome-wide maps of candidate enhancers were constructed for p300 and four transcription factors, GATA1, NF-E2, KLF1, and SCL, using primary human erythroid cells. These data were combined with gene expression analyses, and candidate enhancers were identified. Consistent with their predicted function as candidate enhancers, there was statistically significant enrichment of p300 and combinations of co-localizing erythroid transcription factors within 1-50 kb of the transcriptional start site (TSS) of genes highly expressed in erythroid cells. Candidate enhancers were also enriched near genes with known erythroid cell function or phenotype. Candidate enhancers exhibited moderate conservation with mouse and minimal conservation with nonplacental vertebrates. Candidate enhancers were mapped to a set of erythroid-associated, biologically relevant, SNPs from the genome-wide association studies (GWAS) catalogue of NHGRI, National Institutes of Health. Fourteen candidate enhancers, representing 10 genetic loci, mapped to sites associated with biologically relevant erythroid traits. Fragments from these loci directed statistically significant expression in reporter gene assays. Identification of enhancers in human erythroid cells will allow a better understanding of erythroid cell development, differentiation, structure, and function and provide insights into inherited and acquired hematologic disease.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mack Y Su
- Department of Pediatrics, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut 06520
| | - Laurie A Steiner
- Department of Pediatrics, University of Rochester, Rochester, New York 14642
| | - Hannah Bogardus
- Department of Pediatrics, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut 06520
| | - Tejaswini Mishra
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Center for Comparative Genomics and Bioinformatics, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania 16802
| | - Vincent P Schulz
- Department of Pediatrics, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut 06520
| | - Ross C Hardison
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Center for Comparative Genomics and Bioinformatics, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania 16802
| | - Patrick G Gallagher
- Department of Pediatrics, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut 06520; Departments of Pathology and Genetics, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut 06520.
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42
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Oksenberg N, Stevison L, Wall JD, Ahituv N. Function and regulation of AUTS2, a gene implicated in autism and human evolution. PLoS Genet 2013; 9:e1003221. [PMID: 23349641 PMCID: PMC3547868 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pgen.1003221] [Citation(s) in RCA: 128] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/29/2012] [Accepted: 11/20/2012] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Nucleotide changes in the AUTS2 locus, some of which affect only noncoding regions, are associated with autism and other neurological disorders, including attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, epilepsy, dyslexia, motor delay, language delay, visual impairment, microcephaly, and alcohol consumption. In addition, AUTS2 contains the most significantly accelerated genomic region differentiating humans from Neanderthals, which is primarily composed of noncoding variants. However, the function and regulation of this gene remain largely unknown. To characterize auts2 function, we knocked it down in zebrafish, leading to a smaller head size, neuronal reduction, and decreased mobility. To characterize AUTS2 regulatory elements, we tested sequences for enhancer activity in zebrafish and mice. We identified 23 functional zebrafish enhancers, 10 of which were active in the brain. Our mouse enhancer assays characterized three mouse brain enhancers that overlap an ASD-associated deletion and four mouse enhancers that reside in regions implicated in human evolution, two of which are active in the brain. Combined, our results show that AUTS2 is important for neurodevelopment and expose candidate enhancer sequences in which nucleotide variation could lead to neurological disease and human-specific traits.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nir Oksenberg
- Department of Bioengineering and Therapeutic Sciences, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, California, United States of America
- Institute for Human Genetics, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, California, United States of America
| | - Laurie Stevison
- Institute for Human Genetics, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, California, United States of America
| | - Jeffrey D. Wall
- Institute for Human Genetics, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, California, United States of America
- Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, California, United States of America
| | - Nadav Ahituv
- Department of Bioengineering and Therapeutic Sciences, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, California, United States of America
- Institute for Human Genetics, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, California, United States of America
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Birnbaum RY, Everman DB, Murphy KK, Gurrieri F, Schwartz CE, Ahituv N. Functional characterization of tissue-specific enhancers in the DLX5/6 locus. Hum Mol Genet 2012; 21:4930-8. [PMID: 22914741 DOI: 10.1093/hmg/dds336] [Citation(s) in RCA: 45] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/29/2023] Open
Abstract
Disruption of distaless homeobox 5 and 6 (Dlx5/6) in mice results in brain, craniofacial, genital, ear and limb defects. In humans, chromosomal aberrations in the DLX5/6 region, some of which do not encompass DLX5/6, are associated with split hand/foot malformation 1 (SHFM1) as well as intellectual disability, craniofacial anomalies and hearing loss, suggesting that the disruption of DLX5/6 regulatory elements could lead to these abnormalities. Here, we characterized enhancers in the DLX5/6 locus whose tissue-specific expression and genomic location along with previously characterized enhancers correlate with phenotypes observed in individuals with chromosomal abnormalities. By analyzing chromosomal aberrations at 7q21, we refined the minimal SHFM1 critical region and used comparative genomics to select 26 evolutionary conserved non-coding sequences in this critical region for zebrafish enhancer assays. Eight of these sequences were shown to function as brain, olfactory bulb, branchial arch, otic vesicle and fin enhancers, recapitulating dlx5a/6a expression. Using a mouse enhancer assay, several of these zebrafish enhancers showed comparable expression patterns in the branchial arch, otic vesicle, forebrain and/or limb at embryonic day 11.5. Examination of the coordinates of various chromosomal rearrangements in conjunction with the genomic location of these tissue-specific enhancers showed a correlation with the observed clinical abnormalities. Our findings suggest that chromosomal abnormalities that disrupt the function of these tissue-specific enhancers could be the cause of SHFM1 and its associated phenotypes. In addition, they highlight specific enhancers in which mutations could lead to non-syndromic hearing loss, craniofacial defects or limb malformations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ramon Y Birnbaum
- Department of Bioengineering and Therapeutic Sciences and 2Institute for Human Genetics, University of California-San Francisco, CA, USA
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Clarke SL, VanderMeer JE, Wenger AM, Schaar BT, Ahituv N, Bejerano G. Human developmental enhancers conserved between deuterostomes and protostomes. PLoS Genet 2012; 8:e1002852. [PMID: 22876195 PMCID: PMC3410860 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pgen.1002852] [Citation(s) in RCA: 41] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/13/2012] [Accepted: 06/07/2012] [Indexed: 01/10/2023] Open
Abstract
The identification of homologies, whether morphological, molecular, or genetic, is fundamental to our understanding of common biological principles. Homologies bridging the great divide between deuterostomes and protostomes have served as the basis for current models of animal evolution and development. It is now appreciated that these two clades share a common developmental toolkit consisting of conserved transcription factors and signaling pathways. These patterning genes sometimes show common expression patterns and genetic interactions, suggesting the existence of similar or even conserved regulatory apparatus. However, previous studies have found no regulatory sequence conserved between deuterostomes and protostomes. Here we describe the first such enhancers, which we call bilaterian conserved regulatory elements (Bicores). Bicores show conservation of sequence and gene synteny. Sequence conservation of Bicores reflects conserved patterns of transcription factor binding sites. We predict that Bicores act as response elements to signaling pathways, and we show that Bicores are developmental enhancers that drive expression of transcriptional repressors in the vertebrate central nervous system. Although the small number of identified Bicores suggests extensive rewiring of cis-regulation between the protostome and deuterostome clades, additional Bicores may be revealed as our understanding of cis-regulatory logic and sample of bilaterian genomes continue to grow. Flies and worms have long served as valuable model organisms for the study of human development and health. Despite the great morphological and evolutionary distance between them, humans, flies, and worms share many commonalities. Each develops from three major germ layers and is patterned along the two major spatial axes. At the molecular level, development in these widely diverged species is often controlled by the same signaling pathways activating members of the same transcription factor and target gene families, shared since the common ancestor of humans, flies, and worms. And yet, at the gene regulatory level, humans and flies or worms seem starkly different, with not a single regulatory region shared across the phyla. Here we discover the first two examples of developmental enhancers conserved between deuterostomes (ranging from human to sea urchins) and protostomes (a large clade that includes flies and worms). We show evidence that these ancient regulatory loci retain the capacity to respond to the same signaling pathways in these widely diverged organisms, and we show that they have been co-opted, along with the molecular pathways that control them, to pattern the vertebrate nervous systems. Our screen supports large scale regulatory rewiring, while offering the first intriguing outliers.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shoa L Clarke
- Department of Genetics, Stanford University, Stanford, California, United States of America
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45
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Birnbaum RY, Clowney EJ, Agamy O, Kim MJ, Zhao J, Yamanaka T, Pappalardo Z, Clarke SL, Wenger AM, Nguyen L, Gurrieri F, Everman DB, Schwartz CE, Birk OS, Bejerano G, Lomvardas S, Ahituv N. Coding exons function as tissue-specific enhancers of nearby genes. Genome Res 2012; 22:1059-68. [PMID: 22442009 PMCID: PMC3371700 DOI: 10.1101/gr.133546.111] [Citation(s) in RCA: 158] [Impact Index Per Article: 13.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/19/2011] [Accepted: 03/19/2012] [Indexed: 01/17/2023]
Abstract
Enhancers are essential gene regulatory elements whose alteration can lead to morphological differences between species, developmental abnormalities, and human disease. Current strategies to identify enhancers focus primarily on noncoding sequences and tend to exclude protein coding sequences. Here, we analyzed 25 available ChIP-seq data sets that identify enhancers in an unbiased manner (H3K4me1, H3K27ac, and EP300) for peaks that overlap exons. We find that, on average, 7% of all ChIP-seq peaks overlap coding exons (after excluding for peaks that overlap with first exons). By using mouse and zebrafish enhancer assays, we demonstrate that several of these exonic enhancer (eExons) candidates can function as enhancers of their neighboring genes and that the exonic sequence is necessary for enhancer activity. Using ChIP, 3C, and DNA FISH, we further show that one of these exonic limb enhancers, Dync1i1 exon 15, has active enhancer marks and physically interacts with Dlx5/6 promoter regions 900 kb away. In addition, its removal by chromosomal abnormalities in humans could cause split hand and foot malformation 1 (SHFM1), a disorder associated with DLX5/6. These results demonstrate that DNA sequences can have a dual function, operating as coding exons in one tissue and enhancers of nearby gene(s) in another tissue, suggesting that phenotypes resulting from coding mutations could be caused not only by protein alteration but also by disrupting the regulation of another gene.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ramon Y. Birnbaum
- Department of Bioengineering and Therapeutic Sciences
- Institute for Human Genetics
| | - E. Josephine Clowney
- Department of Anatomy
- Program in Biomedical Sciences, University of California, San Francisco, California 94143, USA
| | - Orly Agamy
- The Morris Kahn Laboratory of Human Genetics, NIBN, Ben-Gurion University, Beer-Sheva 84105, Israel
| | - Mee J. Kim
- Department of Bioengineering and Therapeutic Sciences
- Institute for Human Genetics
| | - Jingjing Zhao
- Department of Bioengineering and Therapeutic Sciences
- Institute for Human Genetics
- Key Laboratory of Advanced Control and Optimization for Chemical Processes of the Ministry of Education, East China University of Science and Technology, Shanghai 200237, China
| | - Takayuki Yamanaka
- Department of Bioengineering and Therapeutic Sciences
- Institute for Human Genetics
| | - Zachary Pappalardo
- Department of Bioengineering and Therapeutic Sciences
- Institute for Human Genetics
| | | | - Aaron M. Wenger
- Department of Computer Science, Stanford University, Stanford, California 94305-5329, USA
| | - Loan Nguyen
- Department of Bioengineering and Therapeutic Sciences
- Institute for Human Genetics
| | - Fiorella Gurrieri
- Istituto di Genetica Medica, Università Cattolica S. Cuore, Rome 00168, Italy
| | - David B. Everman
- JC Self Research Institute, Greenwood Genetic Center, Greenwood, South Carolina 29646, USA
| | - Charles E. Schwartz
- JC Self Research Institute, Greenwood Genetic Center, Greenwood, South Carolina 29646, USA
- Department of Genetics and Biochemistry, Clemson University, Clemson, South Carolina 29634, USA
| | - Ohad S. Birk
- The Morris Kahn Laboratory of Human Genetics, NIBN, Ben-Gurion University, Beer-Sheva 84105, Israel
| | - Gill Bejerano
- Department of Computer Science, Stanford University, Stanford, California 94305-5329, USA
- Department of Developmental Biology, Stanford University, Stanford, California 94305-5329, USA
| | | | - Nadav Ahituv
- Department of Bioengineering and Therapeutic Sciences
- Institute for Human Genetics
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Woznica A, Haeussler M, Starobinska E, Jemmett J, Li Y, Mount D, Davidson B. Initial deployment of the cardiogenic gene regulatory network in the basal chordate, Ciona intestinalis. Dev Biol 2012; 368:127-39. [PMID: 22595514 DOI: 10.1016/j.ydbio.2012.05.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/23/2011] [Revised: 04/26/2012] [Accepted: 05/04/2012] [Indexed: 12/31/2022]
Abstract
The complex, partially redundant gene regulatory architecture underlying vertebrate heart formation has been difficult to characterize. Here, we dissect the primary cardiac gene regulatory network in the invertebrate chordate, Ciona intestinalis. The Ciona heart progenitor lineage is first specified by Fibroblast Growth Factor/Map Kinase (FGF/MapK) activation of the transcription factor Ets1/2 (Ets). Through microarray analysis of sorted heart progenitor cells, we identified the complete set of primary genes upregulated by FGF/Ets shortly after heart progenitor emergence. Combinatorial sequence analysis of these co-regulated genes generated a hypothetical regulatory code consisting of Ets binding sites associated with a specific co-motif, ATTA. Through extensive reporter analysis, we confirmed the functional importance of the ATTA co-motif in primary heart progenitor gene regulation. We then used the Ets/ATTA combination motif to successfully predict a number of additional heart progenitor gene regulatory elements, including an intronic element driving expression of the core conserved cardiac transcription factor, GATAa. This work significantly advances our understanding of the Ciona heart gene network. Furthermore, this work has begun to elucidate the precise regulatory architecture underlying the conserved, primary role of FGF/Ets in chordate heart lineage specification.
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Affiliation(s)
- Arielle Woznica
- Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, Molecular Cardiovascular Research Program, University of Arizona, Arizona 85724, USA
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Transcriptional enhancers in protein-coding exons of vertebrate developmental genes. PLoS One 2012; 7:e35202. [PMID: 22567096 PMCID: PMC3342275 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0035202] [Citation(s) in RCA: 33] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/22/2011] [Accepted: 03/10/2012] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Many conserved noncoding sequences function as transcriptional enhancers that regulate gene expression. Here, we report that protein-coding DNA also frequently contains enhancers functioning at the transcriptional level. We tested the enhancer activity of 31 protein-coding exons, which we chose based on strong sequence conservation between zebrafish and human, and occurrence in developmental genes, using a Tol2 transposable GFP reporter assay in zebrafish. For each exon we measured GFP expression in hundreds of embryos in 10 anatomies via a novel system that implements the voice-recognition capabilities of a cellular phone. We find that 24/31 (77%) exons drive GFP expression compared to a minimal promoter control, and 14/24 are anatomy-specific (expression in four anatomies or less). GFP expression driven by these coding enhancers frequently overlaps the anatomies where the host gene is expressed (60%), suggesting self-regulation. Highly conserved coding sequences and highly conserved noncoding sequences do not significantly differ in enhancer activity (coding: 24/31 vs. noncoding: 105/147) or tissue-specificity (coding: 14/24 vs. noncoding: 50/105). Furthermore, coding and noncoding enhancers display similar levels of the enhancer-related histone modification H3K4me1 (coding: 9/24 vs noncoding: 34/81). Meanwhile, coding enhancers are over three times as likely to contain an H3K4me1 mark as other exons of the host gene. Our work suggests that developmental transcriptional enhancers do not discriminate between coding and noncoding DNA and reveals widespread dual functions in protein-coding DNA.
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Parker HJ, Piccinelli P, Sauka-Spengler T, Bronner M, Elgar G. Ancient Pbx-Hox signatures define hundreds of vertebrate developmental enhancers. BMC Genomics 2011; 12:637. [PMID: 22208168 PMCID: PMC3261376 DOI: 10.1186/1471-2164-12-637] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/07/2011] [Accepted: 12/30/2011] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Gene regulation through cis-regulatory elements plays a crucial role in development and disease. A major aim of the post-genomic era is to be able to read the function of cis-regulatory elements through scrutiny of their DNA sequence. Whilst comparative genomics approaches have identified thousands of putative regulatory elements, our knowledge of their mechanism of action is poor and very little progress has been made in systematically de-coding them. RESULTS Here, we identify ancient functional signatures within vertebrate conserved non-coding elements (CNEs) through a combination of phylogenetic footprinting and functional assay, using genomic sequence from the sea lamprey as a reference. We uncover a striking enrichment within vertebrate CNEs for conserved binding-site motifs of the Pbx-Hox hetero-dimer. We further show that these predict reporter gene expression in a segment specific manner in the hindbrain and pharyngeal arches during zebrafish development. CONCLUSIONS These findings evoke an evolutionary scenario in which many CNEs evolved early in the vertebrate lineage to co-ordinate Hox-dependent gene-regulatory interactions that pattern the vertebrate head. In a broader context, our evolutionary analyses reveal that CNEs are composed of tightly linked transcription-factor binding-sites (TFBSs), which can be systematically identified through phylogenetic footprinting approaches. By placing a large number of ancient vertebrate CNEs into a developmental context, our findings promise to have a significant impact on efforts toward de-coding gene-regulatory elements that underlie vertebrate development, and will facilitate building general models of regulatory element evolution.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hugo J Parker
- Division of Systems Biology, MRC National Institute for Medical Research, The Ridgeway, Mill Hill, London NW7 1AA, UK
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49
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Chatterjee S, Bourque G, Lufkin T. Conserved and non-conserved enhancers direct tissue specific transcription in ancient germ layer specific developmental control genes. BMC DEVELOPMENTAL BIOLOGY 2011; 11:63. [PMID: 22011226 PMCID: PMC3210094 DOI: 10.1186/1471-213x-11-63] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/31/2011] [Accepted: 10/20/2011] [Indexed: 01/29/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Identifying DNA sequences (enhancers) that direct the precise spatial and temporal expression of developmental control genes remains a significant challenge in the annotation of vertebrate genomes. Locating these sequences, which in many cases lie at a great distance from the transcription start site, has been a major obstacle in deciphering gene regulation. Coupling of comparative genomics with functional validation to locate such regulatory elements has been a successful method in locating many such regulatory elements. But most of these studies looked either at a single gene only or the whole genome without focusing on any particular process. The pressing need is to integrate the tools of comparative genomics with knowledge of developmental biology to validate enhancers for developmental transcription factors in greater detail RESULTS Our results show that near four different genes (nkx3.2, pax9, otx1b and foxa2) in zebrafish, only 20-30% of highly conserved DNA sequences can act as developmental enhancers irrespective of the tissue the gene expresses in. We find that some genes also have multiple conserved enhancers expressing in the same tissue at the same or different time points in development. We also located non-conserved enhancers for two of the genes (pax9 and otx1b). Our modified Bacterial artificial chromosome (BACs) studies for these 4 genes revealed that many of these enhancers work in a synergistic fashion, which cannot be captured by individual DNA constructs and are not conserved at the sequence level. Our detailed biochemical and transgenic analysis revealed Foxa1 binds to the otx1b non-conserved enhancer to direct its activity in forebrain and otic vesicle of zebrafish at 24 hpf. CONCLUSION Our results clearly indicate that high level of functional conservation of genes is not necessarily associated with sequence conservation of its regulatory elements. Moreover certain non conserved DNA elements might have role in gene regulation. The need is to bring together multiple approaches to bear upon individual genes to decipher all its regulatory elements.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sumantra Chatterjee
- Stem Cell and Developmental Biology, Genome Institute of Singapore, 60 Biopolis Street, 138672, Singapore
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50
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Royo JL, Hidalgo C, Roncero Y, Seda MA, Akalin A, Lenhard B, Casares F, Gómez-Skarmeta JL. Dissecting the transcriptional regulatory properties of human chromosome 16 highly conserved non-coding regions. PLoS One 2011; 6:e24824. [PMID: 21935474 PMCID: PMC3172297 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0024824] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/05/2011] [Accepted: 08/18/2011] [Indexed: 12/28/2022] Open
Abstract
Non-coding DNA conservation across species has been often used as a predictor for transcriptional enhancer activity. However, only a few systematic analyses of the function of these highly conserved non-coding regions (HCNRs) have been performed. Here we use zebrafish transgenic assays to perform a systematic study of 113 HCNRs from human chromosome 16. By comparing transient and stable transgenesis, we show that the first method is highly inefficient, leading to 40% of false positives and 20% of false negatives. When analyzed in stable transgenic lines, a great majority of HCNRs were active in the central nervous system, although some of them drove expression in other organs such as the eye and the excretory system. Finally, by testing a fraction of the HCNRs lacking enhancer activity for in vivo insulator activity, we find that 20% of them may contain enhancer-blocking function. Altogether our data indicate that HCNRs may contain different types of cis-regulatory activity, including enhancer, insulators as well as other not yet discovered functions.
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Affiliation(s)
- José Luis Royo
- Centro Andaluz de Biologia del Desarrollo, CSIC-Universidad Pablo de Olavide-Junta de Andalucía, Sevilla, Spain
| | - Carmen Hidalgo
- Centro Andaluz de Biologia del Desarrollo, CSIC-Universidad Pablo de Olavide-Junta de Andalucía, Sevilla, Spain
| | - Yolanda Roncero
- Centro Andaluz de Biologia del Desarrollo, CSIC-Universidad Pablo de Olavide-Junta de Andalucía, Sevilla, Spain
| | - María Angeles Seda
- Centro Andaluz de Biologia del Desarrollo, CSIC-Universidad Pablo de Olavide-Junta de Andalucía, Sevilla, Spain
| | - Altuna Akalin
- Computational Biology Unit, Bergen Center for Computational Science, University of Bergen, Bergen, Norway
| | - Boris Lenhard
- Computational Biology Unit, Bergen Center for Computational Science, University of Bergen, Bergen, Norway
- Sars Centre for Marine Molecular Biology, University of Bergen, Bergen, Norway
| | - Fernando Casares
- Centro Andaluz de Biologia del Desarrollo, CSIC-Universidad Pablo de Olavide-Junta de Andalucía, Sevilla, Spain
| | - José Luis Gómez-Skarmeta
- Centro Andaluz de Biologia del Desarrollo, CSIC-Universidad Pablo de Olavide-Junta de Andalucía, Sevilla, Spain
- * E-mail:
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