1
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Jadav R, Weiland F, Noordermeer SM, Carroll T, Gao Y, Wang J, Zhou H, Lamoliatte F, Toth R, Macartney T, Brown F, Hastie CJ, Alabert C, van Attikum H, Zenke F, Masson JY, Rouse J. Chemo-phosphoproteomic profiling with ATR inhibitors berzosertib and gartisertib uncovers new biomarkers and DNA damage response regulators. Mol Cell Proteomics 2024:100802. [PMID: 38880245 DOI: 10.1016/j.mcpro.2024.100802] [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: 09/15/2023] [Revised: 06/04/2024] [Accepted: 06/13/2024] [Indexed: 06/18/2024] Open
Abstract
The ATR kinase protects cells against DNA damage and replication stress and represents a promising anti-cancer drug target. The ATR inhibitors (ATRi) berzosertib and gartisertib are both in clinical trials for the treatment of advanced solid tumours as monotherapy or in combination with genotoxic agents. We carried out quantitative phospho-proteomic screening for ATR biomarkers that are highly sensitive to berzosertib and gartisertib, using an optimized mass spectrometry pipeline. Screening identified a range of novel ATR-dependent phosphorylation events, which were grouped into three broad classes: i) targets whose phosphorylation is highly sensitive to ATRi and which could be the next generation of ATR biomarkers; ii) proteins with known genome maintenance roles not previously known to be regulated by ATR; iii) novel targets whose cellular roles are unclear. Class iii targets represent candidate DNA damage response proteins and, with this in mind, proteins in this class were subjected to secondary screening for recruitment to DNA damage sites. We show that one of the proteins recruited, SCAF1, interacts with RNAPII in a phospho-dependent manner and recruitment requires PARP activity and interaction with RNAPII. We also show that SCAF1 deficiency partly rescues RAD51 loading in cells lacking the BRCA1 tumour suppressor. Taken together these data reveal potential new ATR biomarkers and new genome maintenance factors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rathan Jadav
- MRC Protein Phosphorylation and Ubiquitylation Unit and School of Life Sciences, Wellcome Trust Biocentre, University of Dundee, DD1 5EH, UK
| | - Florian Weiland
- MRC Protein Phosphorylation and Ubiquitylation Unit and School of Life Sciences, Wellcome Trust Biocentre, University of Dundee, DD1 5EH, UK
| | - Sylvie M Noordermeer
- Dept of Human Genetics, Leiden University Medical Center, Einthovenweg 20, 2333 ZC Leiden, Netherlands; Oncode institute, Utrecht, The Netherlands
| | - Thomas Carroll
- MRC Protein Phosphorylation and Ubiquitylation Unit and School of Life Sciences, Wellcome Trust Biocentre, University of Dundee, DD1 5EH, UK
| | - Yuandi Gao
- CHU de Quebec Research Center, Oncology Division, Dept. of Molecular Biology, Medical Biochemistry and Pathology, Laval University Cancer Research Center, 9 McMahon Drive, Quebec Cit, QC G1R 3S3, Canada
| | - Jianming Wang
- MRC Protein Phosphorylation and Ubiquitylation Unit and School of Life Sciences, Wellcome Trust Biocentre, University of Dundee, DD1 5EH, UK
| | - Houjiang Zhou
- MRC Protein Phosphorylation and Ubiquitylation Unit and School of Life Sciences, Wellcome Trust Biocentre, University of Dundee, DD1 5EH, UK
| | - Frederic Lamoliatte
- MRC Protein Phosphorylation and Ubiquitylation Unit and School of Life Sciences, Wellcome Trust Biocentre, University of Dundee, DD1 5EH, UK
| | - Rachel Toth
- MRC Protein Phosphorylation and Ubiquitylation Unit and School of Life Sciences, Wellcome Trust Biocentre, University of Dundee, DD1 5EH, UK
| | - Thomas Macartney
- MRC Protein Phosphorylation and Ubiquitylation Unit and School of Life Sciences, Wellcome Trust Biocentre, University of Dundee, DD1 5EH, UK
| | - Fiona Brown
- MRC Protein Phosphorylation and Ubiquitylation Unit and School of Life Sciences, Wellcome Trust Biocentre, University of Dundee, DD1 5EH, UK
| | - C James Hastie
- MRC Protein Phosphorylation and Ubiquitylation Unit and School of Life Sciences, Wellcome Trust Biocentre, University of Dundee, DD1 5EH, UK
| | - Constance Alabert
- Division of Molecular, Cell and Developmental Biology, School of Life Sciences, Wellcome Trust Biocentre, University of Dundee, DD1 5EH, UK
| | - Haico van Attikum
- CHU de Quebec Research Center, Oncology Division, Dept. of Molecular Biology, Medical Biochemistry and Pathology, Laval University Cancer Research Center, 9 McMahon Drive, Quebec Cit, QC G1R 3S3, Canada
| | - Frank Zenke
- EMD Serono, Research Unit Oncology, Billerica, MA, USA
| | - Jean-Yves Masson
- CHU de Quebec Research Center, Oncology Division, Dept. of Molecular Biology, Medical Biochemistry and Pathology, Laval University Cancer Research Center, 9 McMahon Drive, Quebec Cit, QC G1R 3S3, Canada
| | - John Rouse
- MRC Protein Phosphorylation and Ubiquitylation Unit and School of Life Sciences, Wellcome Trust Biocentre, University of Dundee, DD1 5EH, UK.
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2
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Ren L, Ma W, Wang Y. Predicting RNA polymerase II transcriptional elongation pausing and associated histone code. Brief Bioinform 2024; 25:bbae246. [PMID: 38783706 PMCID: PMC11116834 DOI: 10.1093/bib/bbae246] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/22/2024] [Revised: 04/12/2024] [Accepted: 05/07/2024] [Indexed: 05/25/2024] Open
Abstract
RNA Polymerase II (Pol II) transcriptional elongation pausing is an integral part of the dynamic regulation of gene transcription in the genome of metazoans. It plays a pivotal role in many vital biological processes and disease progression. However, experimentally measuring genome-wide Pol II pausing is technically challenging and the precise governing mechanism underlying this process is not fully understood. Here, we develop RP3 (RNA Polymerase II Pausing Prediction), a network regularized logistic regression machine learning method, to predict Pol II pausing events by integrating genome sequence, histone modification, gene expression, chromatin accessibility, and protein-protein interaction data. RP3 can accurately predict Pol II pausing in diverse cellular contexts and unveil the transcription factors that are associated with the Pol II pausing machinery. Furthermore, we utilize a forward feature selection framework to systematically identify the combination of histone modification signals associated with Pol II pausing. RP3 is freely available at https://github.com/AMSSwanglab/RP3.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lixin Ren
- School of Mathematics and Physics, University of Science and Technology Beijing, 30 Xueyuan Road, Haidian District, Beijing 100083, China
| | - Wanbiao Ma
- School of Mathematics and Physics, University of Science and Technology Beijing, 30 Xueyuan Road, Haidian District, Beijing 100083, China
| | - Yong Wang
- CEMS, NCMIS, MDIS, Academy of Mathematics and Systems Science, National Center for Mathematics and Interdisciplinary Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 55 Zhongguancun East Road, Haidian District, Beijing 100190, China
- School of Mathematical Sciences, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, 19A Yuquan Road, Shijingshan District, Beijing 100049, China
- Center for Excellence in Animal Evolution and Genetics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 32 Jiaochang Donglu, Wuhua District, Kunming 650223, China
- Key Laboratory of Systems Biology, Hangzhou Institute for Advanced Study, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 1 Xiangshan Zhi Nong, West Lake District, Hangzhou 330106, China
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3
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McShane E, Couvillion M, Ietswaart R, Prakash G, Smalec BM, Soto I, Baxter-Koenigs AR, Choquet K, Churchman LS. A kinetic dichotomy between mitochondrial and nuclear gene expression processes. Mol Cell 2024; 84:1541-1555.e11. [PMID: 38503286 DOI: 10.1016/j.molcel.2024.02.028] [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: 09/05/2023] [Revised: 12/12/2023] [Accepted: 02/27/2024] [Indexed: 03/21/2024]
Abstract
Oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS) complexes, encoded by both mitochondrial and nuclear DNA, are essential producers of cellular ATP, but how nuclear and mitochondrial gene expression steps are coordinated to achieve balanced OXPHOS subunit biogenesis remains unresolved. Here, we present a parallel quantitative analysis of the human nuclear and mitochondrial messenger RNA (mt-mRNA) life cycles, including transcript production, processing, ribosome association, and degradation. The kinetic rates of nearly every stage of gene expression differed starkly across compartments. Compared with nuclear mRNAs, mt-mRNAs were produced 1,100-fold more, degraded 7-fold faster, and accumulated to 160-fold higher levels. Quantitative modeling and depletion of mitochondrial factors LRPPRC and FASTKD5 identified critical points of mitochondrial regulatory control, revealing that the mitonuclear expression disparities intrinsically arise from the highly polycistronic nature of human mitochondrial pre-mRNA. We propose that resolving these differences requires a 100-fold slower mitochondrial translation rate, illuminating the mitoribosome as a nexus of mitonuclear co-regulation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Erik McShane
- Department of Genetics, Blavatnik Institute, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA
| | - Mary Couvillion
- Department of Genetics, Blavatnik Institute, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA
| | - Robert Ietswaart
- Department of Genetics, Blavatnik Institute, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA
| | - Gyan Prakash
- Department of Genetics, Blavatnik Institute, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA
| | - Brendan M Smalec
- Department of Genetics, Blavatnik Institute, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA
| | - Iliana Soto
- Department of Genetics, Blavatnik Institute, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA
| | - Autum R Baxter-Koenigs
- Department of Genetics, Blavatnik Institute, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA
| | - Karine Choquet
- Department of Genetics, Blavatnik Institute, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA
| | - L Stirling Churchman
- Department of Genetics, Blavatnik Institute, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA.
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4
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Woo S, Saka SK, Xuan F, Yin P. Molecular robotic agents that survey molecular landscapes for information retrieval. Nat Commun 2024; 15:3293. [PMID: 38632239 PMCID: PMC11024175 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-46978-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/23/2023] [Accepted: 03/14/2024] [Indexed: 04/19/2024] Open
Abstract
DNA-based artificial motors have allowed the recapitulation of biological functions and the creation of new features. Here, we present a molecular robotic system that surveys molecular environments and reports spatial information in an autonomous and repeated manner. A group of molecular agents, termed 'crawlers', roam around and copy information from DNA-labeled targets, generating records that reflect their trajectories. Based on a mechanism that allows random crawling, we show that our system is capable of counting the number of subunits in example molecular complexes. Our system can also detect multivalent proximities by generating concatenated records from multiple local interactions. We demonstrate this capability by distinguishing colocalization patterns of three proteins inside fixed cells under different conditions. These mechanisms for examining molecular landscapes may serve as a basis towards creating large-scale detailed molecular interaction maps inside the cell with nanoscale resolution.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sungwook Woo
- Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering, Harvard University, Boston, MA, 02115, USA.
- Department of Systems Biology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, 02115, USA.
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Pohang University of Science and Technology, Pohang, 37673, Korea.
| | - Sinem K Saka
- Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering, Harvard University, Boston, MA, 02115, USA
- Department of Systems Biology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, 02115, USA
- European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL), Heidelberg, Genome Biology Unit, 69117, Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Feng Xuan
- Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering, Harvard University, Boston, MA, 02115, USA
- Department of Systems Biology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, 02115, USA
- Spear Bio Inc., Woburn, MA, 01801, USA
| | - Peng Yin
- Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering, Harvard University, Boston, MA, 02115, USA.
- Department of Systems Biology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, 02115, USA.
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5
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Feng Q, Krick K, Chu J, Burge CB. Splicing quality control mediated by DHX15 and its G-patch activator SUGP1. Cell Rep 2023; 42:113223. [PMID: 37805921 PMCID: PMC10842378 DOI: 10.1016/j.celrep.2023.113223] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/14/2022] [Revised: 07/27/2023] [Accepted: 09/20/2023] [Indexed: 10/10/2023] Open
Abstract
Pre-mRNA splicing is surveilled at different stages by quality control (QC) mechanisms. The leukemia-associated DExH-box family helicase hDHX15/scPrp43 is known to disassemble spliceosomes after splicing. Here, using rapid protein depletion and analysis of nascent and mature RNA to enrich for direct effects, we identify a widespread splicing QC function for DHX15 in human cells, consistent with recent in vitro studies. We find that suboptimal introns with weak splice sites, multiple branch points, and cryptic introns are repressed by DHX15, suggesting a general role in promoting splicing fidelity. We identify SUGP1 as a G-patch factor that activates DHX15's splicing QC function. This interaction is dependent on both DHX15's ATPase activity and on SUGP1's U2AF ligand motif (ULM) domain. Together, our results support a model in which DHX15 plays a major role in splicing QC when recruited and activated by SUGP1.
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Affiliation(s)
- Qing Feng
- Department of Biology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA.
| | - Keegan Krick
- Department of Biology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA
| | - Jennifer Chu
- Department of Biology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA
| | - Christopher B Burge
- Department of Biology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA.
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6
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Martell DJ, Merens HE, Caulier A, Fiorini C, Ulirsch JC, Ietswaart R, Choquet K, Graziadei G, Brancaleoni V, Cappellini MD, Scott C, Roberts N, Proven M, Roy NBA, Babbs C, Higgs DR, Sankaran VG, Churchman LS. RNA polymerase II pausing temporally coordinates cell cycle progression and erythroid differentiation. Dev Cell 2023; 58:2112-2127.e4. [PMID: 37586368 PMCID: PMC10615711 DOI: 10.1016/j.devcel.2023.07.018] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/14/2023] [Revised: 05/23/2023] [Accepted: 07/25/2023] [Indexed: 08/18/2023]
Abstract
Controlled release of promoter-proximal paused RNA polymerase II (RNA Pol II) is crucial for gene regulation. However, studying RNA Pol II pausing is challenging, as pause-release factors are almost all essential. In this study, we identified heterozygous loss-of-function mutations in SUPT5H, which encodes SPT5, in individuals with β-thalassemia. During erythropoiesis in healthy human cells, cell cycle genes were highly paused as cells transition from progenitors to precursors. When the pathogenic mutations were recapitulated by SUPT5H editing, RNA Pol II pause release was globally disrupted, and as cells began transitioning from progenitors to precursors, differentiation was delayed, accompanied by a transient lag in erythroid-specific gene expression and cell cycle kinetics. Despite this delay, cells terminally differentiate, and cell cycle phase distributions normalize. Therefore, hindering pause release perturbs proliferation and differentiation dynamics at a key transition during erythropoiesis, identifying a role for RNA Pol II pausing in temporally coordinating the cell cycle and erythroid differentiation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Danya J Martell
- Department of Genetics, Harvard University, Boston, MA, USA; Division of Hematology/Oncology, Boston Children's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA; Department of Pediatric Oncology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA; Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Hope E Merens
- Department of Genetics, Harvard University, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Alexis Caulier
- Division of Hematology/Oncology, Boston Children's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA; Department of Pediatric Oncology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA; Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Claudia Fiorini
- Division of Hematology/Oncology, Boston Children's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA; Department of Pediatric Oncology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA; Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Jacob C Ulirsch
- Division of Hematology/Oncology, Boston Children's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA; Department of Pediatric Oncology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA; Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | | | - Karine Choquet
- Department of Genetics, Harvard University, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Giovanna Graziadei
- Department of Clinical Sciences and Community, University of Milan, IRCCS Ca'Granda Foundation Maggiore Policlinico Hospital, Milan, Italy
| | - Valentina Brancaleoni
- Department of Clinical Sciences and Community, University of Milan, IRCCS Ca'Granda Foundation Maggiore Policlinico Hospital, Milan, Italy
| | - Maria Domenica Cappellini
- Department of Clinical Sciences and Community, University of Milan, IRCCS Ca'Granda Foundation Maggiore Policlinico Hospital, Milan, Italy
| | - Caroline Scott
- MRC Weatherall Institute of Molecular Medicine, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
| | - Nigel Roberts
- MRC Molecular Haematology Unit, MRC Weatherall Institute of Molecular Medicine, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
| | - Melanie Proven
- Oxford Genetics Laboratories, Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Oxford, UK
| | - Noémi B A Roy
- MRC Weatherall Institute of Molecular Medicine, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK; NIHR Oxford Biomedical Research Centre and BRC/NHS Translational Molecular Diagnostics Centre, John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford, UK; Department of Haematology, Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Oxford, UK
| | - Christian Babbs
- MRC Weatherall Institute of Molecular Medicine, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
| | - Douglas R Higgs
- MRC Weatherall Institute of Molecular Medicine, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
| | - Vijay G Sankaran
- Division of Hematology/Oncology, Boston Children's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA; Department of Pediatric Oncology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA; Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA, USA.
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7
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McShane E, Couvillion M, Ietswaart R, Prakash G, Smalec BM, Soto I, Baxter-Koenigs AR, Choquet K, Churchman LS. A kinetic dichotomy between mitochondrial and nuclear gene expression drives OXPHOS biogenesis. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2023:2023.02.09.527880. [PMID: 36824735 PMCID: PMC9948965 DOI: 10.1101/2023.02.09.527880] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/12/2023]
Abstract
Oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS) complexes, encoded by both mitochondrial and nuclear DNA, are essential producers of cellular ATP, but how nuclear and mitochondrial gene expression steps are coordinated to achieve balanced OXPHOS biogenesis remains unresolved. Here, we present a parallel quantitative analysis of the human nuclear and mitochondrial messenger RNA (mt-mRNA) life cycles, including transcript production, processing, ribosome association, and degradation. The kinetic rates of nearly every stage of gene expression differed starkly across compartments. Compared to nuclear mRNAs, mt-mRNAs were produced 700-fold higher, degraded 5-fold faster, and accumulated to 170-fold higher levels. Quantitative modeling and depletion of mitochondrial factors, LRPPRC and FASTKD5, identified critical points of mitochondrial regulatory control, revealing that the mitonuclear expression disparities intrinsically arise from the highly polycistronic nature of human mitochondrial pre-mRNA. We propose that resolving these differences requires a 100-fold slower mitochondrial translation rate, illuminating the mitoribosome as a nexus of mitonuclear co-regulation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Erik McShane
- Department of Genetics, Blavatnik Institute, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA
| | - Mary Couvillion
- Department of Genetics, Blavatnik Institute, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA
| | - Robert Ietswaart
- Department of Genetics, Blavatnik Institute, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA
| | - Gyan Prakash
- Department of Genetics, Blavatnik Institute, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA
| | - Brendan M. Smalec
- Department of Genetics, Blavatnik Institute, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA
| | - Iliana Soto
- Department of Genetics, Blavatnik Institute, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA
| | | | - Karine Choquet
- Department of Genetics, Blavatnik Institute, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA
- Current affiliation: Department of Biochemistry and Functional Genomics, Université de Sherbrooke, Sherbrooke, Québec, Canada
| | - L. Stirling Churchman
- Department of Genetics, Blavatnik Institute, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA
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8
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Bressin A, Jasnovidova O, Arnold M, Altendorfer E, Trajkovski F, Kratz TA, Handzlik JE, Hnisz D, Mayer A. High-sensitive nascent transcript sequencing reveals BRD4-specific control of widespread enhancer and target gene transcription. Nat Commun 2023; 14:4971. [PMID: 37591883 PMCID: PMC10435483 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-40633-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/03/2023] [Accepted: 08/02/2023] [Indexed: 08/19/2023] Open
Abstract
Gene transcription by RNA polymerase II (Pol II) is under control of promoters and distal regulatory elements known as enhancers. Enhancers are themselves transcribed by Pol II correlating with their activity. How enhancer transcription is regulated and coordinated with transcription at target genes has remained unclear. Here, we developed a high-sensitive native elongating transcript sequencing approach, called HiS-NET-seq, to provide an extended high-resolution view on transcription, especially at lowly transcribed regions such as enhancers. HiS-NET-seq uncovers new transcribed enhancers in human cells. A multi-omics analysis shows that genome-wide enhancer transcription depends on the BET family protein BRD4. Specifically, BRD4 co-localizes to enhancer and promoter-proximal gene regions, and is required for elongation activation at enhancers and their genes. BRD4 keeps a set of enhancers and genes in proximity through long-range contacts. From these studies BRD4 emerges as a general regulator of enhancer transcription that may link transcription at enhancers and genes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Annkatrin Bressin
- Otto-Warburg-Laboratory, Max Planck Institute for Molecular Genetics, 14195, Berlin, Germany
- Department of Mathematics and Computer Science, Freie Universität Berlin, 14195, Berlin, Germany
| | - Olga Jasnovidova
- Otto-Warburg-Laboratory, Max Planck Institute for Molecular Genetics, 14195, Berlin, Germany
| | - Mirjam Arnold
- Otto-Warburg-Laboratory, Max Planck Institute for Molecular Genetics, 14195, Berlin, Germany
- Department of Biology, Chemistry, and Pharmacy, Freie Universität Berlin, 14195, Berlin, Germany
| | - Elisabeth Altendorfer
- Otto-Warburg-Laboratory, Max Planck Institute for Molecular Genetics, 14195, Berlin, Germany
| | - Filip Trajkovski
- Otto-Warburg-Laboratory, Max Planck Institute for Molecular Genetics, 14195, Berlin, Germany
- Department of Biology, Chemistry, and Pharmacy, Freie Universität Berlin, 14195, Berlin, Germany
| | - Thomas A Kratz
- Otto-Warburg-Laboratory, Max Planck Institute for Molecular Genetics, 14195, Berlin, Germany
- Department of Biology, Chemistry, and Pharmacy, Freie Universität Berlin, 14195, Berlin, Germany
| | - Joanna E Handzlik
- Otto-Warburg-Laboratory, Max Planck Institute for Molecular Genetics, 14195, Berlin, Germany
| | - Denes Hnisz
- Department of Genome Regulation, Max Planck Institute for Molecular Genetics, 14195, Berlin, Germany
| | - Andreas Mayer
- Otto-Warburg-Laboratory, Max Planck Institute for Molecular Genetics, 14195, Berlin, Germany.
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9
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Perez-Pepe M, Desotell AW, Li H, Li W, Han B, Lin Q, Klein DE, Liu Y, Goodarzi H, Alarcón CR. 7SK methylation by METTL3 promotes transcriptional activity. SCIENCE ADVANCES 2023; 9:eade7500. [PMID: 37163588 PMCID: PMC10171809 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.ade7500] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/30/2022] [Accepted: 04/07/2023] [Indexed: 05/12/2023]
Abstract
A fundamental feature of cell signaling is the conversion of extracellular signals into adaptive transcriptional responses. The role of RNA modifications in this process is poorly understood. The small nuclear RNA 7SK prevents transcriptional elongation by sequestering the cyclin dependent kinase 9/cyclin T1 (CDK9/CCNT1) positive transcription elongation factor (P-TEFb) complex. We found that epidermal growth factor signaling induces phosphorylation of the enzyme methyltransferase 3 (METTL3), leading to METTL3-mediated methylation of 7SK. 7SK methylation enhanced its binding to heterogeneous nuclear ribonucleoproteins, causing the release of the HEXIM1 P-TEFb complex subunit1 (HEXIM1)/P-TEFb complex and inducing transcriptional elongation. Our findings establish the mechanism underlying 7SK activation and uncover a previously unknown function for the m6A modification in converting growth factor signaling events into a regulatory transcriptional response via an RNA methylation-dependent switch.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marcelo Perez-Pepe
- Department of Pharmacology, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT 06520, USA
- Yale Cancer Biology Institute, Yale University, West Haven, CT 06516, USA
| | - Anthony W. Desotell
- Department of Pharmacology, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT 06520, USA
- Yale Cancer Biology Institute, Yale University, West Haven, CT 06516, USA
| | - Hengyi Li
- Department of Pharmacology, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT 06520, USA
- Yale Cancer Biology Institute, Yale University, West Haven, CT 06516, USA
| | - Wenxue Li
- Department of Pharmacology, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT 06520, USA
- Yale Cancer Biology Institute, Yale University, West Haven, CT 06516, USA
| | - Bing Han
- Department of Pharmacology, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT 06520, USA
- Yale Cancer Biology Institute, Yale University, West Haven, CT 06516, USA
| | - Qishan Lin
- RNA Epitranscriptomics and Proteomics Resource, University at Albany, Albany, NY 12222, USA
| | - Daryl E. Klein
- Department of Pharmacology, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT 06520, USA
- Yale Cancer Biology Institute, Yale University, West Haven, CT 06516, USA
| | - Yansheng Liu
- Department of Pharmacology, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT 06520, USA
- Yale Cancer Biology Institute, Yale University, West Haven, CT 06516, USA
| | - Hani Goodarzi
- Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA 94158, USA
| | - Claudio R. Alarcón
- Department of Pharmacology, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT 06520, USA
- Yale Cancer Biology Institute, Yale University, West Haven, CT 06516, USA
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10
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Martell DJ, Merens HE, Fiorini C, Caulier A, Ulirsch JC, Ietswaart R, Choquet K, Graziadei G, Brancaleoni V, Cappellini MD, Scott C, Roberts N, Proven M, Roy NB, Babbs C, Higgs DR, Sankaran VG, Churchman LS. RNA Polymerase II pausing temporally coordinates cell cycle progression and erythroid differentiation. MEDRXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR HEALTH SCIENCES 2023:2023.03.03.23286760. [PMID: 36945604 PMCID: PMC10029049 DOI: 10.1101/2023.03.03.23286760] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/18/2023]
Abstract
The controlled release of promoter-proximal paused RNA polymerase II (Pol II) into productive elongation is a major step in gene regulation. However, functional analysis of Pol II pausing is difficult because factors that regulate pause release are almost all essential. In this study, we identified heterozygous loss-of-function mutations in SUPT5H , which encodes SPT5, in individuals with β-thalassemia unlinked to HBB mutations. During erythropoiesis in healthy human cells, cell cycle genes were highly paused at the transition from progenitors to precursors. When the pathogenic mutations were recapitulated by SUPT5H editing, Pol II pause release was globally disrupted, and the transition from progenitors to precursors was delayed, marked by a transient lag in erythroid-specific gene expression and cell cycle kinetics. Despite this delay, cells terminally differentiate, and cell cycle phase distributions normalize. Therefore, hindering pause release perturbs proliferation and differentiation dynamics at a key transition during erythropoiesis, revealing a role for Pol II pausing in the temporal coordination between the cell cycle and differentiation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Danya J Martell
- Harvard University, Department of Genetics, Boston, MA
- Division of Hematology/Oncology, Boston Children's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA
- Department of Pediatric Oncology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA
- Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA
| | - Hope E Merens
- Harvard University, Department of Genetics, Boston, MA
| | - Claudia Fiorini
- Division of Hematology/Oncology, Boston Children's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA
- Department of Pediatric Oncology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA
- Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA
| | - Alexis Caulier
- Division of Hematology/Oncology, Boston Children's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA
- Department of Pediatric Oncology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA
- Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA
| | - Jacob C Ulirsch
- Division of Hematology/Oncology, Boston Children's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA
- Department of Pediatric Oncology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA
- Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA
| | | | | | - Giovanna Graziadei
- Department of Clinical Sciences and Community, University of Milan, IRCCS Ca'Granda Foundation Maggiore Policlinico Hospital, Milan, Italy
| | - Valentina Brancaleoni
- Department of Clinical Sciences and Community, University of Milan, IRCCS Ca'Granda Foundation Maggiore Policlinico Hospital, Milan, Italy
| | - Maria Domenica Cappellini
- Department of Clinical Sciences and Community, University of Milan, IRCCS Ca'Granda Foundation Maggiore Policlinico Hospital, Milan, Italy
| | - Caroline Scott
- MRC Weatherall Institute of Molecular Medicine, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom
| | - Nigel Roberts
- MRC Molecular Haematology Unit, MRC Weatherall Institute of Molecular Medicine, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
| | - Melanie Proven
- Oxford Genetics Laboratories, Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Oxford, UK
| | - Noémi Ba Roy
- MRC Weatherall Institute of Molecular Medicine, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom
- NIHR Oxford Biomedical Research Centre and BRC/NHS Translational Molecular Diagnostics Centre, John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford, UK
- Department of Haematology, Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Oxford, UK
| | - Christian Babbs
- MRC Weatherall Institute of Molecular Medicine, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom
| | - Douglas R Higgs
- MRC Weatherall Institute of Molecular Medicine, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom
| | - Vijay G Sankaran
- Division of Hematology/Oncology, Boston Children's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA
- Department of Pediatric Oncology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA
- Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA
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11
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Bozukova M, Nikopoulou C, Kleinenkuhnen N, Grbavac D, Goetsch K, Tessarz P. Aging is associated with increased chromatin accessibility and reduced polymerase pausing in liver. Mol Syst Biol 2022; 18:e11002. [PMID: 36082605 PMCID: PMC9459415 DOI: 10.15252/msb.202211002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/25/2022] [Revised: 08/09/2022] [Accepted: 08/15/2022] [Indexed: 11/29/2022] Open
Abstract
Regulation of gene expression is linked to the organization of the genome. With age, chromatin alterations occur on all levels of genome organization, accompanied by changes in the gene expression profile. However, little is known about the changes in the level of transcriptional regulation. Here, we used a multi‐omics approach and integrated ATAC‐, RNA‐ and NET‐seq to identify age‐related changes in the chromatin landscape of murine liver and to investigate how these are linked to transcriptional regulation. We provide the first systematic inventory of the connection between aging, chromatin accessibility, and transcriptional regulation in a whole tissue. Aging in murine liver is characterized by an increase in chromatin accessibility at promoter regions, but not in an increase in transcriptional output. Instead, aging is accompanied by a decrease in promoter‐proximal pausing of RNA polymerase II (Pol II), while initiation of transcription is not decreased as assessed by RNA polymerase mapping using CUT&RUN. Based on the data reported, we propose that these age‐related changes in transcriptional regulation are due to a reduced stability of the pausing complex.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mihaela Bozukova
- Max Planck Research Group 'Chromatin and Ageing', Max Planck Institute for Biology of Ageing, Cologne, Germany
| | - Chrysa Nikopoulou
- Max Planck Research Group 'Chromatin and Ageing', Max Planck Institute for Biology of Ageing, Cologne, Germany
| | - Niklas Kleinenkuhnen
- Max Planck Research Group 'Chromatin and Ageing', Max Planck Institute for Biology of Ageing, Cologne, Germany.,Faculty of Medicine, Institute of Medical Statistics and Computational Biology, University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany
| | - Dora Grbavac
- Max Planck Research Group 'Chromatin and Ageing', Max Planck Institute for Biology of Ageing, Cologne, Germany
| | - Katrin Goetsch
- Max Planck Research Group 'Chromatin and Ageing', Max Planck Institute for Biology of Ageing, Cologne, Germany
| | - Peter Tessarz
- Max Planck Research Group 'Chromatin and Ageing', Max Planck Institute for Biology of Ageing, Cologne, Germany.,Cellular Stress Responses in Aging-Associated Diseases (CECAD), University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany
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12
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Thieffry A, López-Márquez D, Bornholdt J, Malekroudi MG, Bressendorff S, Barghetti A, Sandelin A, Brodersen P. PAMP-triggered genetic reprogramming involves widespread alternative transcription initiation and an immediate transcription factor wave. THE PLANT CELL 2022; 34:2615-2637. [PMID: 35404429 PMCID: PMC9252474 DOI: 10.1093/plcell/koac108] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/03/2022] [Accepted: 04/07/2022] [Indexed: 05/13/2023]
Abstract
Immune responses triggered by pathogen-associated molecular patterns (PAMPs) are key to pathogen defense, but drivers and stabilizers of the growth-to-defense genetic reprogramming remain incompletely understood in plants. Here, we report a time-course study of the establishment of PAMP-triggered immunity (PTI) using cap analysis of gene expression. We show that around 15% of all transcription start sites (TSSs) rapidly induced during PTI define alternative transcription initiation events. From these, we identify clear examples of regulatory TSS change via alternative inclusion of target peptides or domains in encoded proteins, or of upstream open reading frames in mRNA leader sequences. We also find that 60% of PAMP response genes respond earlier than previously thought. In particular, a cluster of rapidly and transiently PAMP-induced genes is enriched in transcription factors (TFs) whose functions, previously associated with biological processes as diverse as abiotic stress adaptation and stem cell activity, appear to converge on growth restriction. Furthermore, examples of known potentiators of PTI, in one case under direct mitogen-activated protein kinase control, support the notion that the rapidly induced TFs could constitute direct links to PTI signaling pathways and drive gene expression changes underlying establishment of the immune state.
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Affiliation(s)
- Axel Thieffry
- Department of Biology, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen N, DK-2200, Denmark
- Biotech Research and Innovation Centre, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen N, DK-2200, Denmark
| | - Diego López-Márquez
- Department of Biology, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen N, DK-2200, Denmark
| | - Jette Bornholdt
- Department of Biology, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen N, DK-2200, Denmark
- Biotech Research and Innovation Centre, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen N, DK-2200, Denmark
| | | | - Simon Bressendorff
- Department of Biology, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen N, DK-2200, Denmark
| | - Andrea Barghetti
- Department of Biology, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen N, DK-2200, Denmark
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13
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Palozola KC, Donahue G, Zaret KS. EU-RNA-seq for in vivo labeling and high throughput sequencing of nascent transcripts. STAR Protoc 2021; 2:100651. [PMID: 34485932 PMCID: PMC8403648 DOI: 10.1016/j.xpro.2021.100651] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
The protocol allows for labeling nascent RNA without isolating nuclei. The cell-permeable uridine analog, 5-ethynyluridine (EU), is added to media to allow in vivo labeling of nascent transcripts. Cells are lysed, total RNA is collected, and biotin is conjugated to EU-labeled RNAs. Custom biotin RNAs are added and biotinylated RNAs are isolated for generation of cDNA libraries. The sequencing data are normalized to controls for quantitative assessment of the nascent transcriptome. The protocol takes 4 days, not including sequencing and analysis. For complete details on the use and execution of this protocol, please refer to Palozola et al. (2017). Labeling nascent RNAs with EU does not require nuclear isolation EU-RNA-Seq maps nascent transcripts across a large dynamic range Control biotin RNAs are customizable Custom biotin RNAs allow for global normalization following sequencing
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Affiliation(s)
- Katherine C Palozola
- Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, 19104, USA
| | - Greg Donahue
- Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, 19104, USA
| | - Kenneth S Zaret
- Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, 19104, USA
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14
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Rachinger N, Fischer S, Böhme I, Linck-Paulus L, Kuphal S, Kappelmann-Fenzl M, Bosserhoff AK. Loss of Gene Information: Discrepancies between RNA Sequencing, cDNA Microarray, and qRT-PCR. Int J Mol Sci 2021; 22:ijms22179349. [PMID: 34502254 PMCID: PMC8430810 DOI: 10.3390/ijms22179349] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/03/2021] [Revised: 08/26/2021] [Accepted: 08/27/2021] [Indexed: 01/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Molecular analyses of normal and diseased cells give insight into changes in gene expression and help in understanding the background of pathophysiological processes. Years after cDNA microarrays were established in research, RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) became a key method of quantitatively measuring the transcriptome. In this study, we compared the detection of genes by each of the transcriptome analysis methods: cDNA array, quantitative RT-PCR, and RNA-seq. As expected, we found differences in the gene expression profiles of the aforementioned techniques. Here, we present selected genes that exemplarily demonstrate the observed differences and calculations to reveal that a strong RNA secondary structure, as well as sample preparation, can affect RNA-seq. In summary, this study addresses an important issue with a strong impact on gene expression analysis in general. Therefore, we suggest that these findings need to be considered when dealing with data from transcriptome analyses.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nicole Rachinger
- Institute of Biochemistry, Friedrich-Alexander University Erlangen-Nürnberg (FAU), Fahrstraße 17, 91054 Erlangen, Germany; (N.R.); (I.B.); (L.L.-P.); (S.K.)
| | - Stefan Fischer
- Faculty of Computer Science, Deggendorf Institute of Technology, Dieter-Görlitz-Platz 1, 94469 Deggendorf, Germany; (S.F.); (M.K.-F.)
| | - Ines Böhme
- Institute of Biochemistry, Friedrich-Alexander University Erlangen-Nürnberg (FAU), Fahrstraße 17, 91054 Erlangen, Germany; (N.R.); (I.B.); (L.L.-P.); (S.K.)
| | - Lisa Linck-Paulus
- Institute of Biochemistry, Friedrich-Alexander University Erlangen-Nürnberg (FAU), Fahrstraße 17, 91054 Erlangen, Germany; (N.R.); (I.B.); (L.L.-P.); (S.K.)
| | - Silke Kuphal
- Institute of Biochemistry, Friedrich-Alexander University Erlangen-Nürnberg (FAU), Fahrstraße 17, 91054 Erlangen, Germany; (N.R.); (I.B.); (L.L.-P.); (S.K.)
| | - Melanie Kappelmann-Fenzl
- Faculty of Computer Science, Deggendorf Institute of Technology, Dieter-Görlitz-Platz 1, 94469 Deggendorf, Germany; (S.F.); (M.K.-F.)
| | - Anja K. Bosserhoff
- Institute of Biochemistry, Friedrich-Alexander University Erlangen-Nürnberg (FAU), Fahrstraße 17, 91054 Erlangen, Germany; (N.R.); (I.B.); (L.L.-P.); (S.K.)
- Correspondence:
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15
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A BRD4-mediated elongation control point primes transcribing RNA polymerase II for 3'-processing and termination. Mol Cell 2021; 81:3589-3603.e13. [PMID: 34324863 DOI: 10.1016/j.molcel.2021.06.026] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/24/2020] [Revised: 04/14/2021] [Accepted: 06/22/2021] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
Abstract
Transcription elongation has emerged as a regulatory hub in gene expression of metazoans. A major control point occurs during early elongation before RNA polymerase II (Pol II) is released into productive elongation. Prior research has linked BRD4 with transcription elongation. Here, we use rapid BET protein and BRD4-selective degradation along with quantitative genome-wide approaches to investigate direct functions of BRD4 in Pol II transcription regulation. Notably, as an immediate consequence of acute BRD4 loss, promoter-proximal pause release is impaired, and transcriptionally engaged Pol II past this checkpoint undergoes readthrough transcription. An integrated proteome-wide analysis uncovers elongation and 3'-RNA processing factors as core BRD4 interactors. BRD4 ablation disrupts the recruitment of general 3'-RNA processing factors at the 5'-control region, which correlates with RNA cleavage and termination defects. These studies, performed in human cells, reveal a BRD4-mediated checkpoint and begin to establish a molecular link between 5'-elongation control and 3'-RNA processing.
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16
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Schäfer RA, Voß B. RNAnue: efficient data analysis for RNA-RNA interactomics. Nucleic Acids Res 2021; 49:5493-5501. [PMID: 34019662 PMCID: PMC8191800 DOI: 10.1093/nar/gkab340] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/13/2020] [Revised: 03/25/2021] [Accepted: 04/25/2021] [Indexed: 01/30/2023] Open
Abstract
RNA–RNA inter- and intramolecular interactions are fundamental for numerous biological processes. While there are reasonable approaches to map RNA secondary structures genome-wide, understanding how different RNAs interact to carry out their regulatory functions requires mapping of intermolecular base pairs. Recently, different strategies to detect RNA–RNA duplexes in living cells, so called direct duplex detection (DDD) methods, have been developed. Common to all is the Psoralen-mediated in vivo RNA crosslinking followed by RNA Proximity Ligation to join the two interacting RNA strands. Sequencing of the RNA via classical RNA-seq and subsequent specialised bioinformatic analyses the result in the prediction of inter- and intramolecular RNA–RNA interactions. Existing approaches adapt standard RNA-seq analysis pipelines, but often neglect inherent features of RNA–RNA interactions that are useful for filtering and statistical assessment. Here we present RNAnue, a general pipeline for the inference of RNA–RNA interactions from DDD experiments that takes into account hybridisation potential and statistical significance to improve prediction accuracy. We applied RNAnue to data from different DDD studies and compared our results to those of the original methods. This showed that RNAnue performs better in terms of quantity and quality of predictions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Richard A Schäfer
- University of Stuttgart, Computational Biology, Institute of Biochemical Engineering, Allmandring 31, 70569 Stuttgart, Germany
| | - Björn Voß
- University of Stuttgart, Computational Biology, Institute of Biochemical Engineering, Allmandring 31, 70569 Stuttgart, Germany
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17
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A heat shock-responsive lncRNA Heat acts as a HSF1-directed transcriptional brake via m 6A modification. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2021; 118:2102175118. [PMID: 34131081 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2102175118] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/05/2023] Open
Abstract
Long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) are key regulators of gene expression in diverse cellular contexts and biological processes. Given the surprising range of shapes and sizes, how distinct lncRNAs achieve functional specificity remains incompletely understood. Here, we identified a heat shock-inducible lncRNA, Heat, in mouse cells that acts as a transcriptional brake to restrain stress gene expression. Functional characterization reveals that Heat directly binds to heat shock transcription factor 1 (HSF1), thereby targeting stress genes in a trans-acting manner. Intriguingly, Heat is heavily methylated in the form of m6A. Although dispensable for HSF1 binding, Heat methylation is required for silencing stress genes to attenuate heat shock response. Consistently, m6A depletion results in prolonged activation of stress genes. Furthermore, Heat mediates these effects via the nuclear m6A reader YTHDC1, forming a transcriptional silencing complex for stress genes. Our study reveals a crucial role of nuclear epitranscriptome in the transcriptional regulation of heat shock response.
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18
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Gajos M, Jasnovidova O, van Bömmel A, Freier S, Vingron M, Mayer A. Conserved DNA sequence features underlie pervasive RNA polymerase pausing. Nucleic Acids Res 2021; 49:4402-4420. [PMID: 33788942 PMCID: PMC8096220 DOI: 10.1093/nar/gkab208] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/11/2020] [Revised: 03/05/2021] [Accepted: 03/15/2021] [Indexed: 12/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Pausing of transcribing RNA polymerase is regulated and creates opportunities to control gene expression. Research in metazoans has so far mainly focused on RNA polymerase II (Pol II) promoter-proximal pausing leaving the pervasive nature of pausing and its regulatory potential in mammalian cells unclear. Here, we developed a pause detecting algorithm (PDA) for nucleotide-resolution occupancy data and a new native elongating transcript sequencing approach, termed nested NET-seq, that strongly reduces artifactual peaks commonly misinterpreted as pausing sites. Leveraging PDA and nested NET-seq reveal widespread genome-wide Pol II pausing at single-nucleotide resolution in human cells. Notably, the majority of Pol II pauses occur outside of promoter-proximal gene regions primarily along the gene-body of transcribed genes. Sequence analysis combined with machine learning modeling reveals DNA sequence properties underlying widespread transcriptional pausing including a new pause motif. Interestingly, key sequence determinants of RNA polymerase pausing are conserved between human cells and bacteria. These studies indicate pervasive sequence-induced transcriptional pausing in human cells and the knowledge of exact pause locations implies potential functional roles in gene expression.
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Affiliation(s)
- Martyna Gajos
- Otto-Warburg-Laboratory, Max Planck Institute for Molecular Genetics, Berlin 14195, Germany.,Department of Mathematics and Computer Science, Freie Universität Berlin, Berlin 14195, Germany
| | - Olga Jasnovidova
- Otto-Warburg-Laboratory, Max Planck Institute for Molecular Genetics, Berlin 14195, Germany
| | - Alena van Bömmel
- Department of Mathematics and Computer Science, Freie Universität Berlin, Berlin 14195, Germany.,Department of Computational Molecular Biology, Max Planck Institute for Molecular Genetics, Berlin 14195, Germany
| | - Susanne Freier
- Otto-Warburg-Laboratory, Max Planck Institute for Molecular Genetics, Berlin 14195, Germany
| | - Martin Vingron
- Department of Computational Molecular Biology, Max Planck Institute for Molecular Genetics, Berlin 14195, Germany
| | - Andreas Mayer
- Otto-Warburg-Laboratory, Max Planck Institute for Molecular Genetics, Berlin 14195, Germany
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19
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Expression of the miR-302/367 microRNA cluster is regulated by a conserved long non-coding host-gene. Sci Rep 2021; 11:11115. [PMID: 34045480 PMCID: PMC8159989 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-89080-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/23/2020] [Accepted: 04/20/2021] [Indexed: 12/28/2022] Open
Abstract
MicroRNAs are important regulators of cellular functions. MiR-302/367 is a polycistronic miRNA cluster that can induce and maintain pluripotency. Here we investigate the transcriptional control and the processing of the miR-302 host-gene in mice. Our results indicate that the mmu-miR-302 host-gene is alternatively spliced, polyadenylated and exported from the nucleus. The regulatory sequences extend at least 2 kb upstream of the transcription start site and contain several conserved binding sites for both transcriptional activators and repressors. The gene structure and regulatory elements are highly conserved between mouse and human. So far, regulating miR-302 expression is the only known function of the miR-302 host-gene. Even though we here only provide one example, regulation of microRNA transcription might be a so far little recognized function of long non-coding RNA genes.
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20
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Mylonas C, Lee C, Auld AL, Cisse II, Boyer LA. A dual role for H2A.Z.1 in modulating the dynamics of RNA polymerase II initiation and elongation. Nat Struct Mol Biol 2021; 28:435-442. [PMID: 33972784 DOI: 10.1038/s41594-021-00589-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/27/2021] [Accepted: 04/06/2021] [Indexed: 02/03/2023]
Abstract
RNA polymerase II (RNAPII) pausing immediately downstream of the transcription start site is a critical rate-limiting step for the expression of most metazoan genes. During pause release, RNAPII encounters a highly conserved +1 H2A.Z nucleosome, yet how this histone variant contributes to transcription is poorly understood. Here, using an inducible protein degron system combined with genomic approaches and live cell super-resolution microscopy, we show that H2A.Z.1 modulates RNAPII dynamics across most genes in murine embryonic stem cells. Our quantitative analysis shows that H2A.Z.1 slows the rate of RNAPII pause release and consequently impacts negative elongation factor dynamics as well as nascent transcription. Consequently, H2A.Z.1 also impacts re-loading of the pre-initiation complex components TFIIB and TBP. Altogether, this work provides a critical mechanistic link between H2A.Z.1 and the proper induction of mammalian gene expression programs through the regulation of RNAPII dynamics and pause release.
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Affiliation(s)
- Constantine Mylonas
- Department of Biology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Choongman Lee
- Department of Physics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Alexander L Auld
- Department of Biology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Ibrahim I Cisse
- Department of Biology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA.,Department of Physics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Laurie A Boyer
- Department of Biology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA. .,Department of Biological Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA.
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21
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Variability in mRNA translation: a random matrix theory approach. Sci Rep 2021; 11:5300. [PMID: 33674667 PMCID: PMC7970873 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-84738-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/16/2020] [Accepted: 02/19/2021] [Indexed: 01/31/2023] Open
Abstract
The rate of mRNA translation depends on the initiation, elongation, and termination rates of ribosomes along the mRNA. These rates depend on many "local" factors like the abundance of free ribosomes and tRNA molecules in the vicinity of the mRNA molecule. All these factors are stochastic and their experimental measurements are also noisy. An important question is how protein production in the cell is affected by this considerable variability. We develop a new theoretical framework for addressing this question by modeling the rates as identically and independently distributed random variables and using tools from random matrix theory to analyze the steady-state production rate. The analysis reveals a principle of universality: the average protein production rate depends only on the of the set of possible values that the random variable may attain. This explains how total protein production can be stabilized despite the overwhelming stochasticticity underlying cellular processes.
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22
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Drexler HL, Choquet K, Merens HE, Tang PS, Simpson JT, Churchman LS. Revealing nascent RNA processing dynamics with nano-COP. Nat Protoc 2021; 16:1343-1375. [PMID: 33514943 PMCID: PMC8713461 DOI: 10.1038/s41596-020-00469-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/03/2020] [Accepted: 11/20/2020] [Indexed: 01/30/2023]
Abstract
During maturation, eukaryotic precursor RNAs undergo processing events including intron splicing, 3'-end cleavage, and polyadenylation. Here we describe nanopore analysis of co-transcriptional processing (nano-COP), a method for probing the timing and patterns of RNA processing. An extension of native elongating transcript sequencing, which quantifies transcription genome-wide through short-read sequencing of nascent RNA 3' ends, nano-COP uses long-read nascent RNA sequencing to observe global patterns of RNA processing. First, nascent RNA is stringently purified through a combination of 4-thiouridine metabolic labeling and cellular fractionation. In contrast to cDNA or short-read-based approaches relying on reverse transcription or amplification, the sample is sequenced directly through nanopores to reveal the native context of nascent RNA. nano-COP identifies both active transcription sites and splice isoforms of single RNA molecules during synthesis, providing insight into patterns of intron removal and the physical coupling between transcription and splicing. The nano-COP protocol yields data within 3 d.
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Affiliation(s)
- Heather L. Drexler
- Department of Genetics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Karine Choquet
- Department of Genetics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Hope E. Merens
- Department of Genetics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Paul S. Tang
- Ontario Institute for Cancer Research, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| | - Jared T. Simpson
- Ontario Institute for Cancer Research and Department of Computer Science, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
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23
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Molecular motor traffic with a slow binding site. J Theor Biol 2021; 518:110644. [PMID: 33636200 DOI: 10.1016/j.jtbi.2021.110644] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/10/2020] [Revised: 01/06/2021] [Accepted: 02/18/2021] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
Abstract
We discuss how the presence of a slow binding site in molecular motor traffic gives rise to defect-induced "traffic jams" that have properties different from those of the well-studied boundary-induced jams that originate from an imbalance between initiation and termination. To this end we analyze in detail the stationary distribution of a lattice gas model for traffic of molecular motors with a defect. In particular, we obtain analytically the exact spatial distribution of motors, the probability distribution of the random position of the molecular traffic jam and we report unexpected spatial anticorrelations between local molecular motor densities near the defect.
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24
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Bergo V, Trompouki E. New tools for 'ZEBRA-FISHING'. Brief Funct Genomics 2021:elab001. [PMID: 33605988 DOI: 10.1093/bfgp/elab001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/23/2020] [Revised: 12/14/2020] [Accepted: 01/04/2021] [Indexed: 11/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Zebrafish has been established as a classical model for developmental studies, yet in the past years, with the explosion of novel technological methods, the use of zebrafish as a model has expanded. One of the prominent fields that took advantage of zebrafish as a model organism early on is hematopoiesis, the process of blood cell generation from hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells (HSPCs). In zebrafish, HSPCs are born early during development in the aorta-gonad-mesonephros region and then translocate to the caudal hematopoietic tissue, where they expand and finally take residence in the kidney marrow. This journey is tightly regulated at multiple levels from extracellular signals to chromatin. In order to delineate the mechanistic underpinnings of this process, next-generation sequencing techniques could be an important ally. Here, we describe genome-wide approaches that have been undertaken to delineate zebrafish hematopoiesis.
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25
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Mittleman BE, Pott S, Warland S, Barr K, Cuevas C, Gilad Y. Divergence in alternative polyadenylation contributes to gene regulatory differences between humans and chimpanzees. eLife 2021; 10:e62548. [PMID: 33595436 PMCID: PMC7954529 DOI: 10.7554/elife.62548] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/28/2020] [Accepted: 02/12/2021] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
While comparative functional genomic studies have shown that inter-species differences in gene expression can be explained by corresponding inter-species differences in genetic and epigenetic regulatory mechanisms, co-transcriptional mechanisms, such as alternative polyadenylation (APA), have received little attention. We characterized APA in lymphoblastoid cell lines from six humans and six chimpanzees by identifying and estimating the usage for 44,432 polyadenylation sites (PAS) in 9518 genes. Although APA is largely conserved, 1705 genes showed significantly different PAS usage (FDR 0.05) between species. Genes with divergent APA also tend to be differentially expressed, are enriched among genes showing differences in protein translation, and can explain a subset of observed inter-species protein expression differences that do not differ at the transcript level. Finally, we found that genes with a dominant PAS, which is used more often than other PAS, are particularly enriched for differentially expressed genes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Briana E Mittleman
- Genetics, Genomics and Systems Biology, University of ChicagoChicagoUnited States
| | - Sebastian Pott
- Department of Human Genetics, University of ChicagoChicagoUnited States
| | - Shane Warland
- Section of Genetic Medicine, Department of Medicine, University of ChicagoChicagoUnited States
| | - Kenneth Barr
- Section of Genetic Medicine, Department of Medicine, University of ChicagoChicagoUnited States
| | - Claudia Cuevas
- Section of Genetic Medicine, Department of Medicine, University of ChicagoChicagoUnited States
| | - Yoav Gilad
- Department of Human Genetics, University of ChicagoChicagoUnited States
- Section of Genetic Medicine, Department of Medicine, University of ChicagoChicagoUnited States
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26
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Wang J, Rojas P, Mao J, Mustè Sadurnì M, Garnier O, Xiao S, Higgs MR, Garcia P, Saponaro M. Persistence of RNA transcription during DNA replication delays duplication of transcription start sites until G2/M. Cell Rep 2021; 34:108759. [PMID: 33596418 PMCID: PMC7900609 DOI: 10.1016/j.celrep.2021.108759] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/21/2019] [Revised: 11/09/2020] [Accepted: 01/26/2021] [Indexed: 12/22/2022] Open
Abstract
As transcription and replication use DNA as substrate, conflicts between transcription and replication can occur, leading to genome instability with direct consequences for human health. To determine how the two processes are coordinated throughout S phase, we characterize both processes together at high resolution. We find that transcription occurs during DNA replication, with transcription start sites (TSSs) not fully replicated along with surrounding regions and remaining under-replicated until late in the cell cycle. TSSs undergo completion of DNA replication specifically when cells enter mitosis, when RNA polymerase II is removed. Intriguingly, G2/M DNA synthesis occurs at high frequency in unperturbed cell culture, but it is not associated with increased DNA damage and is fundamentally separated from mitotic DNA synthesis. TSSs duplicated in G2/M are characterized by a series of specific features, including high levels of antisense transcription, making them difficult to duplicate during S phase.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jianming Wang
- Transcription Associated Genome Instability Laboratory, Institute of Cancer and Genomic Sciences, University of Birmingham, Birmingham B15 2TT, UK
| | - Patricia Rojas
- Transcription Associated Genome Instability Laboratory, Institute of Cancer and Genomic Sciences, University of Birmingham, Birmingham B15 2TT, UK
| | - Jingwen Mao
- Transcription Associated Genome Instability Laboratory, Institute of Cancer and Genomic Sciences, University of Birmingham, Birmingham B15 2TT, UK
| | - Martina Mustè Sadurnì
- Transcription Associated Genome Instability Laboratory, Institute of Cancer and Genomic Sciences, University of Birmingham, Birmingham B15 2TT, UK
| | - Olivia Garnier
- Transcription Associated Genome Instability Laboratory, Institute of Cancer and Genomic Sciences, University of Birmingham, Birmingham B15 2TT, UK
| | - Songshu Xiao
- Transcription Associated Genome Instability Laboratory, Institute of Cancer and Genomic Sciences, University of Birmingham, Birmingham B15 2TT, UK
| | - Martin R Higgs
- Lysine Methylation and DNA Damage Laboratory, Institute of Cancer and Genomic Sciences, University of Birmingham, Birmingham B15 2TT, UK
| | - Paloma Garcia
- Stem Cells and Genome Stability Laboratory, Institute of Cancer and Genomic Sciences, University of Birmingham, Birmingham B15 2TT, UK
| | - Marco Saponaro
- Transcription Associated Genome Instability Laboratory, Institute of Cancer and Genomic Sciences, University of Birmingham, Birmingham B15 2TT, UK.
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27
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A machine learning-based framework for modeling transcription elongation. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2021; 118:2007450118. [PMID: 33526657 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2007450118] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
RNA polymerase II (Pol II) generally pauses at certain positions along gene bodies, thereby interrupting the transcription elongation process, which is often coupled with various important biological functions, such as precursor mRNA splicing and gene expression regulation. Characterizing the transcriptional elongation dynamics can thus help us understand many essential biological processes in eukaryotic cells. However, experimentally measuring Pol II elongation rates is generally time and resource consuming. We developed PEPMAN (polymerase II elongation pausing modeling through attention-based deep neural network), a deep learning-based model that accurately predicts Pol II pausing sites based on the native elongating transcript sequencing (NET-seq) data. Through fully taking advantage of the attention mechanism, PEPMAN is able to decipher important sequence features underlying Pol II pausing. More importantly, we demonstrated that the analyses of the PEPMAN-predicted results around various types of alternative splicing sites can provide useful clues into understanding the cotranscriptional splicing events. In addition, associating the PEPMAN prediction results with different epigenetic features can help reveal important factors related to the transcription elongation process. All these results demonstrated that PEPMAN can provide a useful and effective tool for modeling transcription elongation and understanding the related biological factors from available high-throughput sequencing data.
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28
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Barbieri E, Hill C, Quesnel-Vallières M, Zucco AJ, Barash Y, Gardini A. Rapid and Scalable Profiling of Nascent RNA with fastGRO. Cell Rep 2020; 33:108373. [PMID: 33176136 PMCID: PMC7702699 DOI: 10.1016/j.celrep.2020.108373] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/27/2020] [Revised: 09/15/2020] [Accepted: 10/19/2020] [Indexed: 12/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Genome-wide profiling of nascent RNA has become a fundamental tool to study transcription regulation. Unlike steady-state RNA-sequencing (RNA-seq), nascent RNA profiling mirrors real-time activity of RNA polymerases and provides an accurate readout of transcriptome-wide variations. Some species of nuclear RNAs (i.e., large intergenic noncoding RNAs [lincRNAs] and eRNAs) have a short half-life and can only be accurately gauged by nascent RNA techniques. Furthermore, nascent RNA-seq detects post-cleavage RNA at termination sites and promoter-associated antisense RNAs, providing insights into RNA polymerase II (RNAPII) dynamics and processivity. Here, we present a run-on assay with 4-thio ribonucleotide (4-S-UTP) labeling, followed by reversible biotinylation and affinity purification via streptavidin. Our protocol allows streamlined sample preparation within less than 3 days. We named the technique fastGRO (fast Global Run-On). We show that fastGRO is highly reproducible and yields a more complete and extensive coverage of nascent RNA than comparable techniques can. Importantly, we demonstrate that fastGRO is scalable and can be performed with as few as 0.5 × 106 cells. Barbieri et al. developed fastGRO, a nascent RNA-sequencing technique based on nuclear run-on. Using a streamlined, under-3-days protocol, fastGRO tracks the activity of RNA polymerase for differential gene expression analysis, polymerase kinetic studies, and profiling of lowly expressed and unstable RNA species. A low-input fastGRO protocol profiles nascent RNA in as little as 0.5 × 106 cells.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elisa Barbieri
- The Wistar Institute, Gene Expression and Regulation Program, 3601 Spruce Street, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA
| | - Connor Hill
- The Wistar Institute, Gene Expression and Regulation Program, 3601 Spruce Street, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA; Cell and Molecular Biology Graduate Group, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, 3400 Civic Center Boulevard, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA
| | - Mathieu Quesnel-Vallières
- Department of Genetics, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, 3400 Civic Center Boulevard, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA
| | - Avery J Zucco
- The Wistar Institute, Gene Expression and Regulation Program, 3601 Spruce Street, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA
| | - Yoseph Barash
- Department of Genetics, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, 3400 Civic Center Boulevard, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA
| | - Alessandro Gardini
- The Wistar Institute, Gene Expression and Regulation Program, 3601 Spruce Street, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA.
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29
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Wang D, Yang J, Fan J, Chen W, Nikolic‐Paterson DJ, Li J. Omics technologies for kidney disease research. Anat Rec (Hoboken) 2020; 303:2729-2742. [PMID: 32592293 DOI: 10.1002/ar.24413] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/24/2019] [Revised: 12/31/2019] [Accepted: 02/17/2020] [Indexed: 12/24/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Dan Wang
- Department of NephrologyThe First Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat‐sen University Guangzhou China
- Key Laboratory of Nephrology, National Health Commission and Guangdong Province Guangzhou China
| | - Jiayi Yang
- Department of NephrologyThe First Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat‐sen University Guangzhou China
- Key Laboratory of Nephrology, National Health Commission and Guangdong Province Guangzhou China
| | - Jinjin Fan
- Department of NephrologyThe First Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat‐sen University Guangzhou China
- Key Laboratory of Nephrology, National Health Commission and Guangdong Province Guangzhou China
| | - Wei Chen
- Department of NephrologyThe First Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat‐sen University Guangzhou China
- Key Laboratory of Nephrology, National Health Commission and Guangdong Province Guangzhou China
| | | | - Jinhua Li
- Department of NephrologyThe First Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat‐sen University Guangzhou China
- Key Laboratory of Nephrology, National Health Commission and Guangdong Province Guangzhou China
- Shunde Women and Children Hospital, Guangdong Medical University Shunde Guangdong China
- The Second Clinical College, Guangdong Medical University Dongguan Guangdong China
- Department of Anatomy and Developmental BiologyMonash Biomedicine Discovery Institute, Monash University Clayton Victoria Australia
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30
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Mittleman BE, Pott S, Warland S, Zeng T, Mu Z, Kaur M, Gilad Y, Li Y. Alternative polyadenylation mediates genetic regulation of gene expression. eLife 2020; 9:57492. [PMID: 32584258 PMCID: PMC7338057 DOI: 10.7554/elife.57492] [Citation(s) in RCA: 34] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/20/2020] [Accepted: 06/17/2020] [Indexed: 12/22/2022] Open
Abstract
Little is known about co-transcriptional or post-transcriptional regulatory mechanisms linking noncoding variation to variation in organismal traits. To begin addressing this gap, we used 3’ Seq to study the impact of genetic variation on alternative polyadenylation (APA) in the nuclear and total mRNA fractions of 52 HapMap Yoruba human lymphoblastoid cell lines. We mapped 602 APA quantitative trait loci (apaQTLs) at 10% FDR, of which 152 were nuclear specific. Effect sizes at intronic apaQTLs are negatively correlated with eQTL effect sizes. These observations suggest genetic variants can decrease mRNA expression levels by increasing usage of intronic PAS. We also identified 24 apaQTLs associated with protein levels, but not mRNA expression. Finally, we found that 19% of apaQTLs can be associated with disease. Thus, our work demonstrates that APA links genetic variation to variation in gene expression, protein expression, and disease risk, and reveals uncharted modes of genetic regulation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Briana E Mittleman
- Genetics, Genomics, and Systems Biology, University of Chicago, Chicago, United States
| | - Sebastian Pott
- Department of Human Genetics, University of Chicago, Chicago, United States
| | - Shane Warland
- Section of Genetic Medicine, Department of Medicine, University of Chicago, Chicago, United States
| | - Tony Zeng
- Section of Genetic Medicine, Department of Medicine, University of Chicago, Chicago, United States
| | - Zepeng Mu
- Genetics, Genomics, and Systems Biology, University of Chicago, Chicago, United States
| | - Mayher Kaur
- Section of Genetic Medicine, Department of Medicine, University of Chicago, Chicago, United States
| | - Yoav Gilad
- Department of Human Genetics, University of Chicago, Chicago, United States.,Section of Genetic Medicine, Department of Medicine, University of Chicago, Chicago, United States
| | - Yang Li
- Department of Human Genetics, University of Chicago, Chicago, United States.,Section of Genetic Medicine, Department of Medicine, University of Chicago, Chicago, United States
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31
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Szabo EX, Reichert P, Lehniger MK, Ohmer M, de Francisco Amorim M, Gowik U, Schmitz-Linneweber C, Laubinger S. Metabolic Labeling of RNAs Uncovers Hidden Features and Dynamics of the Arabidopsis Transcriptome. THE PLANT CELL 2020; 32:871-887. [PMID: 32060173 PMCID: PMC7145469 DOI: 10.1105/tpc.19.00214] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/27/2019] [Revised: 01/14/2020] [Accepted: 02/11/2020] [Indexed: 05/05/2023]
Abstract
Transcriptome analysis by RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) has become an indispensable research tool in modern plant biology. Virtually all RNA-seq studies provide a snapshot of the steady state transcriptome, which contains valuable information about RNA populations at a given time but lacks information about the dynamics of RNA synthesis and degradation. Only a few specialized sequencing techniques, such as global run-on sequencing, have been used to provide information about RNA synthesis rates in plants. Here, we demonstrate that RNA labeling with the modified, nontoxic uridine analog 5-ethynyl uridine (5-EU) in Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) seedlings provides insight into plant transcriptome dynamics. Pulse labeling with 5-EU revealed nascent and unstable RNAs, RNA processing intermediates generated by splicing, and chloroplast RNAs. Pulse-chase experiments with 5-EU allowed us to determine RNA stabilities without the need for chemical transcription inhibitors such as actinomycin and cordycepin. Inhibitor-free, genome-wide analysis of polyadenylated RNA stability via 5-EU pulse-chase experiments revealed RNAs with shorter half-lives than those reported after chemical inhibition of transcription. In summary, our results indicate that the Arabidopsis nascent transcriptome contains unstable RNAs and RNA processing intermediates and suggest that polyadenylated RNAs have low stability in plants. Our technique lays the foundation for easy, affordable, nascent transcriptome analysis and inhibitor-free analysis of RNA stability in plants.
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Affiliation(s)
- Emese Xochitl Szabo
- Institute for Biology and Environmental Science, University of Oldenburg, 26129 Oldenburg, Germany
- Centre for Plant Molecular Biology, University of Tübingen, 72074 Tübingen, Germany
- Chemical Genomics Centre of the Max Planck Society, 44227 Dortmund, Germany
| | - Philipp Reichert
- Institute for Biology and Environmental Science, University of Oldenburg, 26129 Oldenburg, Germany
- Centre for Plant Molecular Biology, University of Tübingen, 72074 Tübingen, Germany
- Chemical Genomics Centre of the Max Planck Society, 44227 Dortmund, Germany
| | | | - Marilena Ohmer
- Centre for Plant Molecular Biology, University of Tübingen, 72074 Tübingen, Germany
| | | | - Udo Gowik
- Institute for Biology and Environmental Science, University of Oldenburg, 26129 Oldenburg, Germany
| | | | - Sascha Laubinger
- Institute for Biology and Environmental Science, University of Oldenburg, 26129 Oldenburg, Germany
- Centre for Plant Molecular Biology, University of Tübingen, 72074 Tübingen, Germany
- Chemical Genomics Centre of the Max Planck Society, 44227 Dortmund, Germany
- Max Planck Institute for Developmental Biology, 72076 Tübingen, Germany
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32
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Drexler HL, Choquet K, Churchman LS. Splicing Kinetics and Coordination Revealed by Direct Nascent RNA Sequencing through Nanopores. Mol Cell 2020; 77:985-998.e8. [PMID: 31839405 PMCID: PMC7060811 DOI: 10.1016/j.molcel.2019.11.017] [Citation(s) in RCA: 106] [Impact Index Per Article: 26.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/21/2019] [Revised: 09/17/2019] [Accepted: 11/18/2019] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Abstract
Understanding how splicing events are coordinated across numerous introns in metazoan RNA transcripts requires quantitative analyses of transient RNA processing events in living cells. We developed nanopore analysis of co-transcriptional processing (nano-COP), in which nascent RNAs are directly sequenced through nanopores, exposing the dynamics and patterns of RNA splicing without biases introduced by amplification. Long nano-COP reads reveal that, in human and Drosophila cells, splicing occurs after RNA polymerase II transcribes several kilobases of pre-mRNA, suggesting that metazoan splicing transpires distally from the transcription machinery. Inhibition of the branch-site recognition complex SF3B rapidly diminished global co-transcriptional splicing. We found that splicing order does not strictly follow the order of transcription and is associated with cis-acting elements, alternative splicing, and RNA-binding factors. Further, neighboring introns in human cells tend to be spliced concurrently, implying that splicing of these introns occurs cooperatively. Thus, nano-COP unveils the organizational complexity of RNA processing.
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Affiliation(s)
- Heather L Drexler
- Department of Genetics, Blavatnik Institute, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA
| | - Karine Choquet
- Department of Genetics, Blavatnik Institute, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA
| | - L Stirling Churchman
- Department of Genetics, Blavatnik Institute, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA.
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33
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Lee JS, Mendell JT. Antisense-Mediated Transcript Knockdown Triggers Premature Transcription Termination. Mol Cell 2020; 77:1044-1054.e3. [PMID: 31924448 DOI: 10.1016/j.molcel.2019.12.011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 84] [Impact Index Per Article: 21.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/09/2019] [Revised: 11/11/2019] [Accepted: 12/12/2019] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
Abstract
Antisense oligonucleotides (ASOs) that trigger RNase-H-mediated cleavage are commonly used to knock down transcripts for experimental or therapeutic purposes. In particular, ASOs are frequently used to functionally interrogate long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) and discriminate lncRNA loci that produce functional RNAs from those whose activity is attributable to the act of transcription. Transcription termination is triggered by cleavage of nascent transcripts, generally during polyadenylation, resulting in degradation of the residual RNA polymerase II (Pol II)-associated RNA by XRN2 and dissociation of elongating Pol II. Here, we show that ASOs act upon nascent transcripts and, consequently, induce premature transcription termination downstream of the cleavage site in an XRN2-dependent manner. Targeting the transcript 3' end with ASOs, however, allows transcript knockdown while preserving Pol II association with the gene body. These results demonstrate that the effects of ASOs on transcription must be considered for appropriate experimental and therapeutic use of these reagents.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jong-Sun Lee
- Department of Molecular Biology, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX 75390-9148, USA
| | - Joshua T Mendell
- Department of Molecular Biology, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX 75390-9148, USA; Harold C. Simmons Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX 75390, USA; Hamon Center for Regenerative Science and Medicine, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX 75390, USA; Howard Hughes Medical Institute, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX 75390, USA.
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34
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Dinesh RK, Barnhill B, Ilanges A, Wu L, Michelson DA, Senigl F, Alinikula J, Shabanowitz J, Hunt DF, Schatz DG. Transcription factor binding at Ig enhancers is linked to somatic hypermutation targeting. Eur J Immunol 2019; 50:380-395. [PMID: 31821534 DOI: 10.1002/eji.201948357] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/19/2019] [Revised: 10/05/2019] [Accepted: 12/02/2019] [Indexed: 01/15/2023]
Abstract
Secondary diversification of the Ig repertoire occurs through somatic hypermutation (SHM), gene conversion (GCV), and class switch recombination (CSR)-three processes that are initiated by activation-induced cytidine deaminase (AID). AID targets Ig genes at orders of magnitude higher than the rest of the genome, but the basis for this specificity is poorly understood. We have previously demonstrated that enhancers and enhancer-like sequences from Ig genes are capable of stimulating SHM of neighboring genes in a capacity distinct from their roles in increasing transcription. Here, we use an in vitro proteomics approach to identify E-box, MEF2, Ets, and Ikaros transcription factor family members as potential binders of these enhancers. ChIP assays in the hypermutating Ramos B cell line confirmed that many of these factors bound the endogenous Igλ enhancer and/or the IgH intronic enhancer (Eμ) in vivo. Further investigation using SHM reporter assays identified binding sites for E2A and MEF2B in Eμ and demonstrated an association between loss of factor binding and decreases in the SHM stimulating activity of Eμ mutants. Our results provide novel insights into trans-acting factors that dictate SHM targeting and link their activity to specific DNA binding sites within Ig enhancers.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ravi K Dinesh
- Department of Immunobiology, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA
| | - Benjamin Barnhill
- Department of Chemistry, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA, USA
| | - Anoj Ilanges
- Department of Immunobiology, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA
| | - Lizhen Wu
- Department of Immunobiology, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA
| | - Daniel A Michelson
- Department of Immunobiology, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA
| | - Filip Senigl
- Institute of Molecular Genetics, Czech Academy of Sciences, Videnska 1083, CZ-14220, Prague 4, Czech Republic
| | - Jukka Alinikula
- Institute of Biomedicine, University of Turku, Turku, Finland
| | | | - Donald F Hunt
- Department of Chemistry, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA, USA.,Department of Pathology, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA, USA
| | - David G Schatz
- Department of Immunobiology, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA
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35
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NET-CAGE characterizes the dynamics and topology of human transcribed cis-regulatory elements. Nat Genet 2019; 51:1369-1379. [PMID: 31477927 DOI: 10.1038/s41588-019-0485-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 54] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/21/2018] [Accepted: 07/16/2019] [Indexed: 01/03/2023]
Abstract
Promoters and enhancers are key cis-regulatory elements, but how they operate to generate cell type-specific transcriptomes is not fully understood. We developed a simple and robust method, native elongating transcript-cap analysis of gene expression (NET-CAGE), to sensitively detect 5' ends of nascent RNAs in diverse cells and tissues, including unstable transcripts such as enhancer-derived RNAs. We studied RNA synthesis and degradation at the transcription start site level, characterizing the impact of differential promoter usage on transcript stability. We quantified transcription from cis-regulatory elements without the influence of RNA turnover, and show that enhancer-promoter pairs are generally activated simultaneously on stimulation. By integrating NET-CAGE data with chromatin interaction maps, we show that cis-regulatory elements are topologically connected according to their cell type specificity. We identified new enhancers with high sensitivity, and delineated primary locations of transcription within super-enhancers. Our NET-CAGE dataset derived from human and mouse cells expands the FANTOM5 atlas of transcribed enhancers, with broad applicability to biomedical research.
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36
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Neugebauer KM. Nascent RNA and the Coordination of Splicing with Transcription. Cold Spring Harb Perspect Biol 2019; 11:11/8/a032227. [PMID: 31371351 DOI: 10.1101/cshperspect.a032227] [Citation(s) in RCA: 45] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/02/2023]
Abstract
At each active protein-encoding gene, nascent RNA is tethered to the DNA axis by elongating RNA polymerase II (Pol II) and is continuously altered by splicing and other processing events during its synthesis. This review discusses the development of three major methods that enable us to track the conversion of precursor messenger RNA (pre-mRNA) to messenger RNA (mRNA) products in vivo: live-cell imaging, metabolic labeling of RNA, and RNA-seq of purified nascent RNA. These approaches are complementary, addressing distinct issues of transcription rates and intron lifetimes alongside spatial information regarding the gene position of Pol II at which spliceosomes act. The findings will be placed in the context of active transcription units, each of which-because of the presence of nascent RNA, Pol II, and features of the chromatin environment-will recruit a potentially gene-specific constellation of RNA binding proteins and processing machineries.
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Affiliation(s)
- Karla M Neugebauer
- Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut 06520
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37
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Rodrigues DF, Costa VM, Silvestre R, Bastos ML, Carvalho F. Methods for the analysis of transcriptome dynamics. Toxicol Res (Camb) 2019; 8:597-612. [PMID: 31588338 DOI: 10.1039/c9tx00088g] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/04/2019] [Accepted: 07/18/2019] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
The transcriptome is the complete set of transcripts in a cell or tissue and includes ribosomal RNA (rRNA), messenger RNA (mRNA), transfer RNA (tRNA), and regulatory noncoding RNA. At steady-state, the transcriptome results from a compensatory variation of the transcription and decay rate to maintain the RNA concentration constant. RNA transcription constitutes the first stage in gene expression, and thus is a major and primary mode of gene expression control. Nevertheless, regulation of RNA decay is also a key factor in gene expression control, involving either selective RNA stabilization or enhanced degradation. Transcriptome analysis allows the identification of gene expression alterations, providing new insights regarding the pathways and mechanisms involved in physiological and pathological processes. Upon perturbation of cell homeostasis, rapid changes in gene expression are required to adapt to new conditions. Thus, to better understand the regulatory mechanisms associated with gene expression alterations, it is vital to acknowledge the relative contribution of RNA synthesis and decay to the transcriptome. To the toxicology field, the study of gene expression regulation mechanisms can help identify the early and mechanistic relevant cellular events associated with a particular response. This review aims to provide a critical comparison of the available methods used to analyze the contribution of RNA transcription and decay to gene expression dynamics. Notwithstanding, an integration of the data obtained is necessary to understand the entire repercussions of gene transcription changes at a system-level. Thus, a brief overview of the methods available for the integration and analysis of the data obtained from transcriptome analysis will also be provided.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniela F Rodrigues
- UCIBIO , REQUIMTE , Laboratory of Toxicology , Faculty of Pharmacy , University of Porto , Rua Jorge Viterbo Ferreira , 228 , 4050-313 , Porto , Portugal . ;
| | - Vera M Costa
- UCIBIO , REQUIMTE , Laboratory of Toxicology , Faculty of Pharmacy , University of Porto , Rua Jorge Viterbo Ferreira , 228 , 4050-313 , Porto , Portugal . ;
| | - Ricardo Silvestre
- Life and Health Sciences Research Institute (ICVS) , School of Medicine , University of Minho , Campus de Gualtar , 4710-057 , Braga , Portugal.,ICVS/3B's-PT Government Associate Laboratory , Braga/Guimarães , Campus de Gualtar , 4710-057 , Braga , Portugal
| | - Maria L Bastos
- UCIBIO , REQUIMTE , Laboratory of Toxicology , Faculty of Pharmacy , University of Porto , Rua Jorge Viterbo Ferreira , 228 , 4050-313 , Porto , Portugal . ;
| | - Félix Carvalho
- UCIBIO , REQUIMTE , Laboratory of Toxicology , Faculty of Pharmacy , University of Porto , Rua Jorge Viterbo Ferreira , 228 , 4050-313 , Porto , Portugal . ;
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Mylonas C, Tessarz P. NET-prism enables RNA polymerase-dedicated transcriptional interrogation at nucleotide resolution. RNA Biol 2019; 16:1156-1165. [PMID: 31156037 PMCID: PMC6693550 DOI: 10.1080/15476286.2019.1621625] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/12/2023] Open
Abstract
The advent of quantitative approaches that enable interrogation of transcription at single nucleotide resolution has allowed a novel understanding of transcriptional regulation previously undefined. However, little is known, at such high resolution, how transcription factors directly influence RNA Pol II pausing and directionality. To map the impact of transcription/elongation factors on transcription dynamics genome-wide at base pair resolution, we developed an adapted NET-seq protocol called NET-prism (Native Elongating Transcription by Polymerase-Regulated Immunoprecipitants in the Mammalian genome). Application of NET-prism on elongation factors (Spt6, Ssrp1), splicing factors (Sf1), and components of the pre-initiation complex (PIC) (TFIID, and Mediator) reveals their inherent command on transcription dynamics, with regards to directionality and pausing over promoters, splice sites, and enhancers/super-enhancers. NET-prism will be broadly applicable as it exposes transcription factor/Pol II dependent topographic specificity and thus, a new degree of regulatory complexity during gene expression.
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Affiliation(s)
- Constantine Mylonas
- a Max Planck Research Group 'Chromatin and Ageing', Max Planck Institute for Biology of Ageing , Cologne , Germany
| | - Peter Tessarz
- a Max Planck Research Group 'Chromatin and Ageing', Max Planck Institute for Biology of Ageing , Cologne , Germany.,b Cologne Excellence Cluster on Cellular Stress Responses in Ageing Associated Diseases (CECAD), University of Cologne , Cologne , Germany
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39
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Wang HLV, Chekanova JA. An Overview of Methodologies in Studying lncRNAs in the High-Throughput Era: When Acronyms ATTACK! Methods Mol Biol 2019; 1933:1-30. [PMID: 30945176 PMCID: PMC6684206 DOI: 10.1007/978-1-4939-9045-0_1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Abstract
The discovery of pervasive transcription in eukaryotic genomes provided one of many surprising (and perhaps most surprising) findings of the genomic era and led to the uncovering of a large number of previously unstudied transcriptional events. This pervasive transcription leads to the production of large numbers of noncoding RNAs (ncRNAs) and thus opened the window to study these diverse, abundant transcripts of unclear relevance and unknown function. Since that discovery, recent advances in high-throughput sequencing technologies have identified a large collection of ncRNAs, from microRNAs to long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs). Subsequent discoveries have shown that many lncRNAs play important roles in various eukaryotic processes; these discoveries have profoundly altered our understanding of the regulation of eukaryotic gene expression. Although the identification of ncRNAs has become a standard experimental approach, the functional characterization of these diverse ncRNAs remains a major challenge. In this chapter, we highlight recent progress in the methods to identify lncRNAs and the techniques to study the molecular function of these lncRNAs and the application of these techniques to the study of plant lncRNAs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hsiao-Lin V Wang
- Guangxi Key Laboratory of Sugarcane Biology, Guangxi University, Nanning, Guangxi, China
- Present address: Department of Biology, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, USA
| | - Julia A Chekanova
- Guangxi Key Laboratory of Sugarcane Biology, Guangxi University, Nanning, Guangxi, China.
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40
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Zong X, Zhao J, Wang H, Lu Z, Wang F, Du H, Wang Y. Mettl3 Deficiency Sustains Long-Chain Fatty Acid Absorption through Suppressing Traf6-Dependent Inflammation Response. THE JOURNAL OF IMMUNOLOGY 2018; 202:567-578. [PMID: 30567729 DOI: 10.4049/jimmunol.1801151] [Citation(s) in RCA: 67] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/21/2018] [Accepted: 11/13/2018] [Indexed: 01/24/2023]
Abstract
A better understanding of the molecular mechanism of intestinal fatty acid absorption could lead to novel approaches to treatment and prevention of fatty acid-related metabolic diseases. Although it is confirmed that absorption of long-chain fatty acids (LCFAs) decreases during the pathological processes, the genetic basis and molecular mechanisms remain largely unknown. N 6-methyladenosine (m6A) is the most prevalent internal modification on eukaryotic mRNA. Recently, m6A has been found to play important roles in inflammation and antiviral responses. In this study, we show that deficiency of Mettl3, the core methyltransferase of m6A, exerts antimalabsorption of LCFA activity in vitro through inhibiting the inflammation response mediated by LPS. To substantiate this finding further, we found the levels of triglycerides were also sustained in cells with depleted Mettl3, which were cultured in Transwell to polarize with villus formation to simulate the situation in vivo. Mechanistically, depletion of Mettl3 decreases the m6A level of Traf6 mRNA, thereby its transcripts are entrapped in the nucleus, followed by the decreased expression of Traf6, leading to the suppression of NF-κB and MAPK signaling pathway. Thus, the inflammation response was suppressed, resulting in the sustained absorption of LCFA. Moreover, we found that ectopic expression of Traf6 largely abolishes the sustained absorption LCFA in Mettl3 depletion cells. Collectively, silencing Mettl3 could sustain LCFA absorption through blocking the TRAF6-dependent inflammation response. Our work uncovers a critical function of m6A methylation and provides insight into critical roles of Mettl3 in LCFA absorption and inflammatory disease.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xin Zong
- College of Animal Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province 310058, People's Republic of China; and
| | - Jing Zhao
- College of Animal Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province 310058, People's Republic of China; and
| | - Hong Wang
- College of Animal Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province 310058, People's Republic of China; and
| | - Zeqing Lu
- College of Animal Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province 310058, People's Republic of China; and.,Key Laboratory of Animal Nutrition and Feed Science in Eastern China, Ministry of Agriculture, Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province 310058, People's Republic of China
| | - Fengqin Wang
- College of Animal Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province 310058, People's Republic of China; and.,Key Laboratory of Animal Nutrition and Feed Science in Eastern China, Ministry of Agriculture, Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province 310058, People's Republic of China
| | - Huahua Du
- College of Animal Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province 310058, People's Republic of China; and.,Key Laboratory of Animal Nutrition and Feed Science in Eastern China, Ministry of Agriculture, Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province 310058, People's Republic of China
| | - Yizhen Wang
- College of Animal Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province 310058, People's Republic of China; and .,Key Laboratory of Animal Nutrition and Feed Science in Eastern China, Ministry of Agriculture, Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province 310058, People's Republic of China
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41
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Mylonas C, Tessarz P. Transcriptional repression by FACT is linked to regulation of chromatin accessibility at the promoter of ES cells. Life Sci Alliance 2018; 1:e201800085. [PMID: 30456357 PMCID: PMC6238418 DOI: 10.26508/lsa.201800085] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/08/2018] [Revised: 05/29/2018] [Accepted: 05/29/2018] [Indexed: 12/22/2022] Open
Abstract
Depletion of FACT in murine embryonic stem cells show mild changes on the nucleosomal landscape but widespread changes in the transcriptome, faster proliferation, and neuronal differentiation rates. The conserved and essential histone chaperone, facilitates chromatin transcription (FACT), reorganizes nucleosomes during DNA transcription, replication, and repair and ensures both efficient elongation of RNA Pol II and nucleosome integrity. In mammalian cells, FACT is a heterodimer, consisting of SSRP1 and SUPT16. Here, we show that in contrast to yeast, FACT accumulates at the transcription start site of genes reminiscent of RNA polymerase II profile. Depletion of FACT in mouse embryonic stem cells leads to deregulation of developmental and pro-proliferative genes concomitant with hyper-proliferation of mES cells. Using MNase-seq, Assay for Transposase-Accessible Chromatin sequencing, and nascent elongating transcript sequencing, we show that up-regulation of genes coincides with loss of nucleosomes upstream of the transcription start site and concomitant increase in antisense transcription, indicating that FACT impacts the promoter architecture to regulate the expression of these genes. Finally, we demonstrate a role for FACT in cell fate determination and show that FACT depletion primes embryonic stem cells for the neuronal lineage.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Peter Tessarz
- Max Planck Institute for Biology of Ageing, Cologne, Germany.,Cologne Excellence Cluster on Cellular Stress Responses in Ageing Associated Diseases, University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany
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Jordán-Pla A, Visa N. Considerations on Experimental Design and Data Analysis of Chromatin Immunoprecipitation Experiments. Methods Mol Biol 2018; 1689:9-28. [PMID: 29027161 DOI: 10.1007/978-1-4939-7380-4_2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/03/2023]
Abstract
Arguably one of the most valuable techniques to study chromatin organization, ChIP is the method of choice to map the contacts established between proteins and genomic DNA. Ever since its inception, more than 30 years ago, ChIP has been constantly evolving, improving, and expanding its capabilities and reach. Despite its widespread use by many laboratories across a wide variety of disciplines, ChIP assays can be sometimes challenging to design, and are often sensitive to variations in practical implementation.In this chapter, we provide a general overview of the ChIP method and its most common variations, with a special focus on ChIP-seq. We try to address some of the most important aspects that need to be taken into account in order to design and perform experiments that generate the most reproducible, high-quality data. Some of the main topics covered include the use of properly characterized antibodies, alternatives to chromatin preparation, the need for proper controls, and some recommendations about ChIP-seq data analysis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Antonio Jordán-Pla
- Department of Molecular Biosciences, The Wenner-Gren Institute, Stockholm University, Svante Arrhenius väg 20c, 10691, Stockholm, Sweden.
| | - Neus Visa
- Department of Molecular Biosciences, The Wenner-Gren Institute, Stockholm University, Svante Arrhenius väg 20c, 10691, Stockholm, Sweden
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43
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Pereira A, Paro R. Pho dynamically interacts with Spt5 to facilitate transcriptional switches at the hsp70 locus. Epigenetics Chromatin 2017; 10:57. [PMID: 29208012 PMCID: PMC5718073 DOI: 10.1186/s13072-017-0166-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/09/2017] [Accepted: 11/29/2017] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Numerous target genes of the Polycomb group (PcG) are transiently activated by a stimulus and subsequently repressed. However, mechanisms by which PcG proteins regulate such target genes remain elusive. Results We employed the heat shock-responsive hsp70 locus in Drosophila to study the chromatin dynamics of PRC1 and its interplay with known regulators of the locus before, during and after heat shock. We detected mutually exclusive binding patterns for HSF and PRC1 at the hsp70 locus. We found that Pleiohomeotic (Pho), a DNA-binding PcG member, dynamically interacts with Spt5, an elongation factor. The dynamic interaction switch between Pho and Spt5 is triggered by the recruitment of HSF to chromatin. Mutation in the protein–protein interaction domain (REPO domain) of Pho interferes with the dynamics of its interaction with Spt5. The transcriptional kinetics of the heat shock response is negatively affected by a mutation in the REPO domain of Pho. Conclusions We propose that a dynamic interaction switch between PcG proteins and an elongation factor enables stress-inducible genes to efficiently switch between ON/OFF states in the presence/absence of the activating stimulus. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (10.1186/s13072-017-0166-9) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.
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Affiliation(s)
- Allwyn Pereira
- Department of Biosystems Science and Engineering, ETH Zurich, 4058, Basel, Switzerland
| | - Renato Paro
- Department of Biosystems Science and Engineering, ETH Zurich, 4058, Basel, Switzerland. .,Faculty of Sciences, University of Basel, 4056, Basel, Switzerland.
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44
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Mayer A, Churchman LS. A Detailed Protocol for Subcellular RNA Sequencing (subRNA-seq). ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2017; 120:4.29.1-4.29.18. [PMID: 28967997 DOI: 10.1002/cpmb.44] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/16/2022]
Abstract
In eukaryotic cells, RNAs at various maturation and processing levels are distributed across cellular compartments. The standard approach to determine transcript abundance and identity in vivo is RNA sequencing (RNA-seq). RNA-seq relies on RNA isolation from whole-cell lysates and thus mainly captures fully processed, stable, and more abundant cytoplasmic RNAs over nascent, unstable, and nuclear RNAs. Here, we provide a step-by-step protocol for subcellular RNA-seq (subRNA-seq). subRNA-seq allows the quantitative measurement of RNA polymerase II-generated RNAs from the chromatin, nucleoplasm, and cytoplasm of mammalian cells. This approach relies on cell fractionation prior to RNA isolation and sequencing library preparation. High-throughput sequencing of the subcellular RNAs can then be used to reveal the identity, abundance, and subcellular distribution of transcripts, thus providing insights into RNA processing and maturation. Deep sequencing of the chromatin-associated RNAs further offers the opportunity to study nascent RNAs. Subcellular RNA-seq libraries are obtained within 5 days. © 2017 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andreas Mayer
- Max Planck Institute for Molecular Genetics, Berlin, Germany
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45
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Jonkers IH, Wijmenga C. Context-specific effects of genetic variants associated with autoimmune disease. Hum Mol Genet 2017; 26:R185-R192. [PMID: 28977443 PMCID: PMC5886469 DOI: 10.1093/hmg/ddx254] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/02/2017] [Revised: 06/27/2017] [Accepted: 06/29/2017] [Indexed: 12/22/2022] Open
Abstract
Autoimmune diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis and coeliac disease are typical examples of complex genetic diseases caused by a combination of genetic and non-genetic risk factors. Insight into the genetic risk factors (single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs)) has increased since genome-wide association studies (GWAS) became possible in 2007 and, for individual diseases, SNPs can now explain some 15-50% of genetic risk. GWAS have also shown that some 50% of the genetic risk factors for individual autoimmune diseases overlap between different diseases. Thus, shared risk factors may converge to pathways that, when perturbed by genetic variation, predispose to autoimmunity in general. This raises the question of what determines disease specificity, and suggests that identical risk factors may have different effects in various autoimmune diseases. Addressing this question requires translation of genetic risk factors to causal genes and then to molecular and cellular pathways. Since >90% of the genetic risk factors are found in the non-coding part of the genome (i.e. outside the exons of protein-coding genes) and can have an impact on gene regulation, there is an urgent need to better understand the non-coding part of the genome. Here, we will outline the methods being used to unravel the gene regulatory networks perturbed in autoimmune diseases and the importance of doing this in the relevant cell types. We will highlight findings in coeliac disease, which manifests in the small intestine, to demonstrate how cell type and disease context can impact on the consequences of genetic risk factors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Iris H. Jonkers
- Department of Genetics, University Medical Centre Groningen, University of Groningen, 9700 RB Groningen, The Netherlands
| | - Cisca Wijmenga
- Department of Genetics, University Medical Centre Groningen, University of Groningen, 9700 RB Groningen, The Netherlands
- Department of Immunology, K.G. Jebsen Coeliac Disease Research Centre, University of Oslo, 0424 Oslo, Norway
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46
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Jin Y, Eser U, Struhl K, Churchman LS. The Ground State and Evolution of Promoter Region Directionality. Cell 2017; 170:889-898.e10. [PMID: 28803729 DOI: 10.1016/j.cell.2017.07.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 53] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/03/2016] [Revised: 04/06/2017] [Accepted: 07/07/2017] [Indexed: 01/22/2023]
Abstract
Eukaryotic promoter regions are frequently divergently transcribed in vivo, but it is unknown whether the resultant antisense RNAs are a mechanistic by-product of RNA polymerase II (Pol II) transcription or biologically meaningful. Here, we use a functional evolutionary approach that involves nascent transcript mapping in S. cerevisiae strains containing foreign yeast DNA. Promoter regions in foreign environments lose the directionality they have in their native species. Strikingly, fortuitous promoter regions arising in foreign DNA produce equal transcription in both directions, indicating that divergent transcription is a mechanistic feature that does not imply a function for these transcripts. Fortuitous promoter regions arising during evolution promote bidirectional transcription and over time are purged through mutation or retained to enable new functionality. Similarly, human transcription is more bidirectional at newly evolved enhancers and promoter regions. Thus, promoter regions are intrinsically bidirectional and are shaped by evolution to bias transcription toward coding versus non-coding RNAs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yi Jin
- Department of Biological Chemistry and Molecular Pharmacology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA
| | - Umut Eser
- Department of Genetics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA
| | - Kevin Struhl
- Department of Biological Chemistry and Molecular Pharmacology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA.
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47
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Pause & go: from the discovery of RNA polymerase pausing to its functional implications. Curr Opin Cell Biol 2017; 46:72-80. [PMID: 28363125 DOI: 10.1016/j.ceb.2017.03.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 90] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/07/2016] [Revised: 02/06/2017] [Accepted: 03/07/2017] [Indexed: 12/25/2022]
Abstract
The synthesis of nascent RNA is a discontinuous process in which phases of productive elongation by RNA polymerase are interrupted by frequent pauses. Transcriptional pausing was first observed decades ago, but was long considered to be a special feature of transcription at certain genes. This view was challenged when studies using genome-wide approaches revealed that RNA polymerase II pauses at promoter-proximal regions in large sets of genes in Drosophila and mammalian cells. High-resolution genomic methods uncovered that pausing is not restricted to promoters, but occurs globally throughout gene-body regions, implying the existence of key-rate limiting steps in nascent RNA synthesis downstream of transcription initiation. Here, we outline the experimental breakthroughs that led to the discovery of pervasive transcriptional pausing, discuss its emerging roles and regulation, and highlight the importance of pausing in human development and disease.
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48
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Boswell SA, Snavely A, Landry HM, Churchman LS, Gray JM, Springer M. Total RNA-seq to identify pharmacological effects on specific stages of mRNA synthesis. Nat Chem Biol 2017; 13:501-507. [PMID: 28263964 DOI: 10.1038/nchembio.2317] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/10/2016] [Accepted: 12/06/2016] [Indexed: 12/27/2022]
Abstract
Pharmacological perturbation is a powerful tool for understanding mRNA synthesis, but identification of the specific steps of this multi-step process that are targeted by small molecules remains challenging. Here we applied strand-specific total RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) to identify and distinguish specific pharmacological effects on transcription and pre-mRNA processing in human cells. We found unexpectedly that the natural product isoginkgetin, previously described as a splicing inhibitor, inhibits transcription elongation. Compared to well-characterized elongation inhibitors that target CDK9, isoginkgetin caused RNA polymerase accumulation within a broader promoter-proximal band, indicating that elongation inhibition by isoginkgetin occurs after release from promoter-proximal pause. RNA-seq distinguished isoginkgetin and CDK9 inhibitors from topoisomerase I inhibition, which alters elongation across gene bodies. We were able to detect these and other specific defects in mRNA synthesis at low sequencing depth using simple metagene-based metrics. These metrics now enable total-RNA-seq-based screening for high-throughput identification of pharmacological effects on individual stages of mRNA synthesis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sarah A Boswell
- Department of Systems Biology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.,Laboratory of Systems Pharmacology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Andrew Snavely
- Department of Genetics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Heather M Landry
- Department of Genetics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
| | | | - Jesse M Gray
- Department of Genetics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Michael Springer
- Department of Systems Biology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.,Laboratory of Systems Pharmacology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
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