In vivo dynamics of RNA polymerase II transcription

Defining a chromatin architecture that supports transcription at RNA polymerase II promoters

Mammalian RNA polymerase II preinitiation complexes assemble adjacent to a nucleosome whose proximal edge (NPE) is typically 40-50 bp downstream of the transcription start site (TSS). At active promoters, that +1 nucleosome is universally modified by trimethylation on lysine 4 of histone H3 (H3K4me3). The Pol II preinitiation complex only extends 35 bp beyond the TSS, but nucleosomal templates with an NPE at +51 are nearly inactive in vitro with promoters that lack a TATA element and thus depend on TFIID for promoter recognition. Significantly, this inhibition is relieved when the +1 nucleosome contains H3K4me3, which can interact with TFIID subunits. Here we show that H3K4me3 templates with both TATA and TATA-less promoters are active with +35 NPEs when transcription is driven by TFIID. Templates with +20 NPE are also active but at reduced levels compared to +35 and +51 NPEs, consistent with a general inhibition of promoter function when the proximal nucleosome encroaches on the preinitation complex. Remarkably, dinucleosome templates support transcription when H3K4me3 is only present in the distal nucleosome, suggesting that TFIID-H3K4me3 interaction does not require modification of the +1 nucleosome. Transcription reactions performed with an alternative protocol that retains most nuclear factors results primarily in early termination, with a minority of complexes successfully traversing the first nucleosome. In such reactions the +1 nucleosome does not substantially affect the level of termination even with an NPE of +20, indicating that a nucleosome barrier is not a major driver of early termination by Pol II.

Global control of RNA polymerase II

RNA polymerase II (Pol II) is the multi-protein complex responsible for transcribing all protein-coding messenger RNA (mRNA). Most research on gene regulation is focused on the mechanisms controlling which genes are transcribed when, or on the mechanics of transcription. How global Pol II activity is determined receives comparatively less attention. Here, we follow the life of a Pol II molecule from 'assembly of the complex' to nuclear import, enzymatic activity, and degradation. We focus on how Pol II spends its time in the nucleus, and on the two-way relationship between Pol II abundance and activity in the context of homeostasis and global transcriptional changes.

Activity-driven chromatin organization during interphase: Compaction, segregation, and entanglement suppression

In mammalian cells, the cohesin protein complex is believed to translocate along chromatin during interphase to form dynamic loops through a process called active loop extrusion. Chromosome conformation capture and imaging experiments have suggested that chromatin adopts a compact structure with limited interpenetration between chromosomes and between chromosomal sections. We developed a theory demonstrating that active loop extrusion causes the apparent fractal dimension of chromatin to cross-over between two and four at contour lengths on the order of 30 kilo-base pairs. The anomalously high fractal dimension [Formula: see text] is due to the inability of extruded loops to fully relax during active extrusion. Compaction on longer contour length scales extends within topologically associated domains (TADs), facilitating gene regulation by distal elements. Extrusion-induced compaction segregates TADs such that overlaps between TADs are reduced to less than 35% and increases the entanglement strand of chromatin by up to a factor of 50 to several Mega-base pairs. Furthermore, active loop extrusion couples cohesin motion to chromatin conformations formed by previously extruding cohesins and causes the mean square displacement of chromatin loci during lag times ([Formula: see text]) longer than tens of minutes to be proportional to [Formula: see text]. We validate our results with hybrid molecular dynamics-Monte Carlo simulations and show that our theory is consistent with experimental data. This work provides a theoretical basis for the compact organization of interphase chromatin, explaining the physical reason for TAD segregation and suppression of chromatin entanglements which contribute to efficient gene regulation.

CCAT1 lncRNA is chromatin-retained and post-transcriptionally spliced

Super-enhancers are unique gene expression regulators widely involved in cancer development. Spread over large DNA segments, they tend to be found next to oncogenes. The super-enhancer c-MYC locus forms long-range chromatin looping with nearby genes, which brings the enhancer and the genes into proximity, to promote gene activation. The colon cancer-associated transcript 1 (CCAT1) gene, which is part of the MYC locus, transcribes a lncRNA that is overexpressed in colon cancer cells through activation by MYC. Comparing different types of cancer cell lines using RNA fluorescence in situ hybridization (RNA FISH), we detected very prominent CCAT1 expression in HeLa cells, observed as several large CCAT1 nuclear foci. We found that dozens of CCAT1 transcripts accumulate on the gene locus, in addition to active transcription occurring from the gene. The accumulating transcripts are released from the chromatin during cell division. Examination of CCAT1 lncRNA expression patterns on the single-RNA level showed that unspliced CCAT1 transcripts are released from the gene into the nucleoplasm. Most of these unspliced transcripts were observed in proximity to the active gene but were not associated with nuclear speckles in which unspliced RNAs usually accumulate. At larger distances from the gene, the CCAT1 transcripts appeared spliced, implying that most CCAT1 transcripts undergo post-transcriptional splicing in the zone of the active gene. Finally, we show that unspliced CCAT1 transcripts can be detected in the cytoplasm during splicing inhibition, which suggests that there are several CCAT1 variants, spliced and unspliced, that the cell can recognize as suitable for export.

Analysis of developmental gene expression using smFISH and in silico staging of C. elegans embryos

Regulation of transcription during embryogenesis is key to development and differentiation. To study transcript expression throughout Caenorhabditis elegans embryogenesis at single-molecule resolution, we developed a high-throughput single-molecule fluorescence in situ hybridization (smFISH) method that relies on computational methods to developmentally stage embryos and quantify individual mRNA molecules in single embryos. We applied our system to sdc-2, a zygotically transcribed gene essential for hermaphrodite development and dosage compensation. We found that sdc-2 is rapidly activated during early embryogenesis by increasing both the number of mRNAs produced per transcription site and the frequency of sites engaged in transcription. Knockdown of sdc-2 and dpy-27, a subunit of the dosage compensation complex (DCC), increased the number of active transcription sites for the X chromosomal gene dpy-23 but not the autosomal gene mdh-1, suggesting that the DCC reduces the frequency of dpy-23 transcription. The temporal resolution from in silico staging of embryos showed that the deletion of a single DCC recruitment element near the dpy-23 gene causes higher dpy-23 mRNA expression after the start of dosage compensation, which could not be resolved using mRNAseq from mixed-stage embryos. In summary, we have established a computational approach to quantify temporal regulation of transcription throughout C. elegans embryogenesis and demonstrated its potential to provide new insights into developmental gene regulation.

Nuclear RNA homeostasis promotes systems-level coordination of cell fate and senescence

Understanding cellular coordination remains a challenge despite knowledge of individual pathways. The RNA exosome, targeting a wide range of RNA substrates, is often downregulated in cellular senescence. Utilizing an auxin-inducible system, we observed that RNA exosome depletion in embryonic stem cells significantly affects the transcriptome and proteome, causing pluripotency loss and pre-senescence onset. Mechanistically, exosome depletion triggers acute nuclear RNA aggregation, disrupting nuclear RNA-protein equilibrium. This disturbance limits nuclear protein availability and hinders polymerase initiation and engagement, reducing gene transcription. Concurrently, it promptly disrupts nucleolar transcription, ribosomal processes, and nuclear exporting, resulting in a translational shutdown. Prolonged exosome depletion induces nuclear structural changes resembling senescent cells, including aberrant chromatin compaction, chromocenter disassembly, and intensified heterochromatic foci. These effects suggest that the dynamic turnover of nuclear RNA orchestrates crosstalk between essential processes to optimize cellular function. Disruptions in nuclear RNA homeostasis result in systemic functional decline, altering the cell state and promoting senescence.

Control of cell state transitions by post-transcriptional regulation

Cell state transitions are prevalent in biology, playing a fundamental role in development, homeostasis and repair. Dysregulation of cell state transitions can lead to or occur in a wide range of diseases. In this letter, I explore and highlight the role of post-transcriptional regulatory mechanisms in determining the dynamics of cell state transitions. I propose that regulation of protein levels after transcription provides an under-appreciated regulatory route to obtain fast and sharp transitions between distinct cell states. This article is part of a discussion meeting issue 'Causes and consequences of stochastic processes in development and disease'.

Implication of polymerase recycling for nascent transcript quantification by live cell imaging

Transcription enables the production of RNA from a DNA template. Due to the highly dynamic nature of transcription, live-cell imaging methods play a crucial role in measuring the kinetics of this process. For instance, transcriptional bursts have been visualized using fluorescent phage-coat proteins that associate tightly with messenger RNA (mRNA) stem loops formed on nascent transcripts. To convert the signal emanating from a transcription site into meaningful estimates of transcription dynamics, the influence of various parameters on the measured signal must be evaluated. Here, the effect of gene length on the intensity of the transcription site focus was analyzed. Intuitively, a longer gene can support a larger number of transcribing polymerases, thus leading to an increase in the measured signal. However, measurements of transcription induced by hyper-osmotic stress responsive promoters display independence from gene length. A mathematical model of the stress-induced transcription process suggests that the formation of gene loops that favor the recycling of polymerase from the terminator to the promoter can explain the observed behavior. One experimentally validated prediction from this model is that the amount of mRNA produced from a short gene should be higher than for a long one as the density of active polymerase on the short gene will be increased by polymerase recycling. Our data suggest that this recycling contributes significantly to the expression output from a gene and that polymerase recycling is modulated by the promoter identity and the cellular state.

Real-time single-molecule imaging of transcriptional regulatory networks in living cells

Gene regulatory networks drive the specific transcriptional programmes responsible for the diversification of cell types during the development of multicellular organisms. Although our knowledge of the genes involved in these dynamic networks has expanded rapidly, our understanding of how transcription is spatiotemporally regulated at the molecular level over a wide range of timescales in the small volume of the nucleus remains limited. Over the past few decades, advances in the field of single-molecule fluorescence imaging have enabled real-time behaviours of individual transcriptional components to be measured in living cells and organisms. These efforts are now shedding light on the dynamic mechanisms of transcription, revealing not only the temporal rules but also the spatial coordination of underlying molecular interactions during various biological events.

Transcription factor exchange enables prolonged transcriptional bursts

Single-molecule imaging inside living cells has revealed that transcription factors (TFs) bind to DNA transiently, but a long-standing question is how this transient binding is related to transcription activation. Here, we devised a microscopy method to simultaneously measure transient TF binding at a single locus and the effect of these binding events on transcription. We show that DNA binding of the yeast TF Gal4 activates transcription of a target gene within a few seconds, with at least ∼20% efficiency and with a high initiation rate of ∼1 RNA/s. Gal4 DNA dissociation decreases transcription rapidly. Moreover, at a gene with multiple binding sites, individual Gal4 molecules only rarely stay bound throughout the entire burst but instead frequently exchange during a burst to increase the transcriptional burst duration. Our results suggest a mechanism for enhancer regulation in more complex eukaryotes, where TF cooperativity and exchange enable robust and responsive transcription regulation.

Cellular heterogeneity in TNF/TNFR1 signalling: live cell imaging of cell fate decisions in single cells

Cellular responses to TNF are inherently heterogeneous within an isogenic cell population and across different cell types. TNF promotes cell survival by activating pro-inflammatory NF-κB and MAPK signalling pathways but may also trigger apoptosis and necroptosis. Following TNF stimulation, the fate of individual cells is governed by the balance of pro-survival and pro-apoptotic signalling pathways. To elucidate the molecular mechanisms driving heterogenous responses to TNF, quantifying TNF/TNFR1 signalling at the single-cell level is crucial. Fluorescence live-cell imaging techniques offer real-time, dynamic insights into molecular processes in single cells, allowing for detection of rapid and transient changes, as well as identification of subpopulations, that are likely to be missed with traditional endpoint assays. Whilst fluorescence live-cell imaging has been employed extensively to investigate TNF-induced inflammation and TNF-induced cell death, it has been underutilised in studying the role of TNF/TNFR1 signalling pathway crosstalk in guiding cell-fate decisions in single cells. Here, we outline the various opportunities for pathway crosstalk during TNF/TNFR1 signalling and how these interactions may govern heterogenous responses to TNF. We also advocate for the use of live-cell imaging techniques to elucidate the molecular processes driving cell-to-cell variability in single cells. Understanding and overcoming cellular heterogeneity in response to TNF and modulators of the TNF/TNFR1 signalling pathway could lead to the development of targeted therapies for various diseases associated with aberrant TNF/TNFR1 signalling, such as rheumatoid arthritis, metabolic syndrome, and cancer.

The role of O-GlcNAcylation in RNA polymerase II transcription

Eukaryotic RNA polymerase II (RNAPII) is responsible for the transcription of the protein-coding genes in the cell. Enormous progress has been made in discovering the protein activities that are required for transcription to occur, but the effects of post-translational modifications (PTMs) on RNAPII transcriptional regulation are much less understood. Most of our understanding relates to the cyclin-dependent kinases (CDKs), which appear to act relatively early in transcription. However, it is becoming apparent that other PTMs play a crucial role in the transcriptional cycle, and it is doubtful that any sort of complete understanding of this regulation is attainable without understanding the spectra of PTMs that occur on the transcriptional machinery. Among these is O-GlcNAcylation. Recent experiments have shown that the O-GlcNAc PTM likely has a prominent role in transcription. This review will cover the role of the O-GlcNAcylation in RNAPII transcription during initiation, pausing, and elongation, which will hopefully be of interest to both O-GlcNAc and RNAPII transcription researchers.

Mechanisms and Functions of the RNA Polymerase II General Transcription Machinery during the Transcription Cycle

Central to the development and survival of all organisms is the regulation of gene expression, which begins with the process of transcription catalyzed by RNA polymerases. During transcription of protein-coding genes, the general transcription factors (GTFs) work alongside RNA polymerase II (Pol II) to assemble the preinitiation complex at the transcription start site, open the promoter DNA, initiate synthesis of the nascent messenger RNA, transition to productive elongation, and ultimately terminate transcription. Through these different stages of transcription, Pol II is dynamically phosphorylated at the C-terminal tail of its largest subunit, serving as a control mechanism for Pol II elongation and a signaling/binding platform for co-transcriptional factors. The large number of core protein factors participating in the fundamental steps of transcription add dense layers of regulation that contribute to the complexity of temporal and spatial control of gene expression within any given cell type. The Pol II transcription system is highly conserved across different levels of eukaryotes; however, most of the information here will focus on the human Pol II system. This review walks through various stages of transcription, from preinitiation complex assembly to termination, highlighting the functions and mechanisms of the core machinery that participates in each stage.

RNA polymerase collisions and their role in transcription

RNA polymerases are the central enzymes of gene expression and function frequently in either a head-on or co-directional manner on the busy DNA track. Whether and how these collisions between RNA polymerases contribute to transcriptional regulation is mysterious. Increasing evidence from biochemical and single-molecule studies suggests that RNA polymerase collisions function as an important regulator to fine-tune transcription, rather than creating deleterious "traffic jams". This review summarizes the recent progress on elucidating the consequences of RNA polymerase collisions during transcription and highlights the significance of cooperation and coordination between RNA polymerases.

Intrinsic protein disorder is insufficient to drive subnuclear clustering in embryonic transcription factors

Modern microscopy has revealed that core nuclear functions, including transcription, replication, and heterochromatin formation, occur in spatially restricted clusters. Previous work from our lab has shown that subnuclear high-concentration clusters of transcription factors may play a role in regulating RNA synthesis in the early Drosophila embryo. A nearly ubiquitous feature of eukaryotic transcription factors is that they contain intrinsically disordered regions (IDRs) that often arise from low complexity amino acid sequences within the protein. It has been proposed that IDRs within transcription factors drive co-localization of transcriptional machinery and target genes into high-concentration clusters within nuclei. Here, we test that hypothesis directly, by conducting a broad survey of the subnuclear localization of IDRs derived from transcription factors. Using a novel algorithm to identify IDRs in the Drosophila proteome, we generated a library of IDRs from transcription factors expressed in the early Drosophila embryo. We used this library to perform a high-throughput imaging screen in Drosophila Schneider-2 (S2) cells. We found that while subnuclear clustering does not occur when the majority of IDRs are expressed alone, it is frequently seen in full-length transcription factors. These results are consistent in live Drosophila embryos, suggesting that IDRs are insufficient to drive the subnuclear clustering behavior of transcription factors. Furthermore, the clustering of transcription factors in living embryos was unaffected by the deletion of IDR sequences. Our results demonstrate that IDRs are unlikely to be the primary molecular drivers of the clustering observed during transcription, suggesting a more complex and nuanced role for these disordered protein sequences.

Activity-driven chromatin organization during interphase: compaction, segregation, and entanglement suppression

In mammalian cells, the cohesin protein complex is believed to translocate along chromatin during interphase to form dynamic loops through a process called active loop extrusion. Chromosome conformation capture and imaging experiments have suggested that chromatin adopts a compact structure with limited interpenetration between chromosomes and between chromosomal sections. We developed a theory demonstrating that active loop extrusion causes the apparent fractal dimension of chromatin to cross over between two and four at contour lengths on the order of 30 kilo-base pairs (kbp). The anomalously high fractal dimension D = 4 is due to the inability of extruded loops to fully relax during active extrusion. Compaction on longer contour length scales extends within topologically associated domains (TADs), facilitating gene regulation by distal elements. Extrusion-induced compaction segregates TADs such that overlaps between TADs are reduced to less than 35% and increases the entanglement strand of chromatin by up to a factor of 50 to several Mega-base pairs. Furthermore, active loop extrusion couples cohesin motion to chromatin conformations formed by previously extruding cohesins and causes the mean square displacement of chromatin loci during lag times ( Δ t ) longer than tens of minutes to be proportional to Δ t 1 / 3 . We validate our results with hybrid molecular dynamics - Monte Carlo simulations and show that our theory is consistent with experimental data. This work provides a theoretical basis for the compact organization of interphase chromatin, explaining the physical reason for TAD segregation and suppression of chromatin entanglements which contribute to efficient gene regulation.

In Situ Hybridization of circRNAs in Cells and Tissues through BaseScope™ Strategy

Imaging-based approaches are powerful strategies that nowadays have been largely used to gain insight into the function of different types of macromolecules. As for RNA, it is becoming clear how important is its intracellular localization for the control of proper cell differentiation and development and how its perturbation can be linked to several pathological states. This aspect is even more important if one thinks of highly polarized cells such as neurons.In this chapter, we describe in detail an innovative RNA-FISH approach for the detection of circular RNAs (circRNAs), a recently discovered class of noncoding RNAs, which display different subcellular localizations and whose functions still largely remain to be elucidated. The detection of these molecules represents a great challenge, above all because they share most of their sequence with the corresponding linear counterparts, from which they differ only for the back-splicing junction (BSJ) originating from the circularization reaction. This implies the use of RNA-FISH probes capable of specifically binding the BSJ and avoiding the detection of the linear counterpart. This requirement imposes the design of probes on a very small region, which implies the risk of obtaining a low and undetectable signal. The BaseScope™ Assay RNA-FISH technology overpasses this problem since it is based on branched-DNA probes. With this approach it is possible to target a specific region of the RNA, even small such as a splicing junction, and at the same time to obtain a strong and well detectable signal. All this is possible thanks to subsequent series of probes that, starting from the first hybridization to the BSJ, build a branched tree of probes that greatly amplifies the signal. Here we provide a detailed step-by-step protocol of BaseScope™ RNA-FISH on circRNAs coupled with immunofluorescence, both in cells and tissues, and we address difficulties which may arise when using this methodology that depend on cell type, specific permeabilization, image acquisition, and post-acquisition analyses.

DNA-sequence and epigenomic determinants of local rates of transcription elongation

Across all branches of life, transcription elongation is a crucial, regulated phase in gene expression. Many recent studies in eukaryotes have focused on the regulation of promoter-proximal pausing of RNA Polymerase II (Pol II), but rates of productive elongation also vary substantially throughout the gene body, both within and across genes. Here, we introduce a probabilistic model for systematically evaluating potential determinants of the local elongation rate based on nascent RNA sequencing (NRS) data. Our model is derived from a unified model for both the kinetics of Pol II movement along the DNA template and the generation of NRS read counts at steady state. It allows for a continuously variable elongation rate along the gene body, with the rate at each nucleotide defined by a generalized linear relationship with nearby genomic and epigenomic features. High-dimensional feature vectors are accommodated through a sparse-regression extension. We show with simulations that the model allows accurate detection of associated features and accurate prediction of local elongation rates. In an analysis of public PRO-seq and epigenomic data, we identify several features that are strongly associated with reductions in the local elongation rate, including DNA methylation, splice sites, RNA stem-loops, CTCF binding sites, and several histone marks, including H3K36me3 and H4K20me1. By contrast, low-complexity sequences and H3K79me2 marks are associated with increases in elongation rate. In an analysis of DNA k -mers, we find that cytosine nucleotides are strongly associated with reductions in local elongation rate, particularly when preceded by guanines and followed by adenines or thymines. Increases in elongation rate are associated with thymines and A+T-rich k -mers. These associations are generally shared across cell types, and by considering them our model is effective at predicting features of held-out PRO-seq data. Overall, our analysis is the first to permit genome-wide predictions of relative nucleotide-specific elongation rates based on complex sets of genomic and epigenomic covariates. We have made predictions available for the K562, CD14+, MCF-7, and HeLa-S3 cell types in a UCSC Genome Browser track.

Model-based characterization of the equilibrium dynamics of transcription initiation and promoter-proximal pausing in human cells

In metazoans, both transcription initiation and the escape of RNA polymerase (RNAP) from promoter-proximal pausing are key rate-limiting steps in gene expression. These processes play out at physically proximal sites on the DNA template and appear to influence one another through steric interactions. Here, we examine the dynamics of these processes using a combination of statistical modeling, simulation, and analysis of real nascent RNA sequencing data. We develop a simple probabilistic model that jointly describes the kinetics of transcription initiation, pause-escape, and elongation, and the generation of nascent RNA sequencing read counts under steady-state conditions. We then extend this initial model to allow for variability across cells in promoter-proximal pause site locations and steric hindrance of transcription initiation from paused RNAPs. In an extensive series of simulations, we show that this model enables accurate estimation of initiation and pause-escape rates. Furthermore, we show by simulation and analysis of real data that pause-escape is often strongly rate-limiting and that steric hindrance can dramatically reduce initiation rates. Our modeling framework is applicable to a variety of inference problems, and our software for estimation and simulation is freely available.

Regulation of the dynamic RNA Pol II elongation rate in Drosophila embryos

An increasing number of studies have shown the key role that RNA polymerase II (RNA Pol II) elongation plays in gene regulation. We systematically examine how various enhancers, promoters, and gene body composition influence the RNA Pol II elongation rate through a single-cell-resolution live imaging assay. By using reporter constructs containing 5' MS2 and 3' PP7 repeating stem loops, we quantify the rate of RNA Pol II elongation in live Drosophila embryos. We find that promoters and exonic gene lengths have no effect on elongation rate, while enhancers and the presence of long introns may significantly change how quickly RNA Pol II moves across a gene. Furthermore, we observe in multiple constructs that the RNA Pol II elongation rate accelerates after the transcriptional onset of nuclear cycle 14 in Drosophila embryos. Our study provides a single-cell view of various mechanisms that affect the dynamic RNA Pol II elongation rate, ultimately affecting the rate of mRNA production.

Following the Birth, Life, and Death of mRNAs in Single Cells

Recent advances in single-molecule imaging of mRNAs in fixed and living cells have enabled the lives of mRNAs to be studied with unprecedented spatial and temporal detail. These approaches have moved beyond simply being able to observe specific events and have begun to allow an understanding of how regulation is coupled between steps in the mRNA life cycle. Additionally, these methodologies are now being applied in multicellular systems and animals to provide more nuanced insights into the physiological regulation of RNA metabolism.

Transcription Factor Dynamics: One Molecule at a Time

Cells must tightly regulate their gene expression programs and yet rapidly respond to acute biochemical and biophysical cues within their environment. This information is transmitted to the nucleus through various signaling cascades, culminating in the activation or repression of target genes. Transcription factors (TFs) are key mediators of these signals, binding to specific regulatory elements within chromatin. While live-cell imaging has conclusively proven that TF-chromatin interactions are highly dynamic, how such transient interactions can have long-term impacts on developmental trajectories and disease progression is still largely unclear. In this review, we summarize our current understanding of the dynamic nature of TF functions, starting with a historical overview of early live-cell experiments. We highlight key factors that govern TF dynamics and how TF dynamics, in turn, affect downstream transcriptional bursting. Finally, we conclude with open challenges and emerging technologies that will further our understanding of transcriptional regulation.

Transcription inhibition suppresses nuclear blebbing and rupture independently of nuclear rigidity

Chromatin plays an essential role in the nuclear mechanical response and determining nuclear shape, which maintain nuclear compartmentalization and function. However, major genomic functions, such as transcription activity, might also impact cell nuclear shape via blebbing and rupture through their effects on chromatin structure and dynamics. To test this idea, we inhibited transcription with several RNA polymerase II inhibitors in wild-type cells and perturbed cells that presented increased nuclear blebbing. Transcription inhibition suppressed nuclear blebbing for several cell types, nuclear perturbations and transcription inhibitors. Furthermore, transcription inhibition suppressed nuclear bleb formation, bleb stabilization and bleb-based nuclear ruptures. Interestingly, transcription inhibition did not alter the histone H3 lysine 9 (H3K9) modification state, nuclear rigidity, and actin compression and contraction, which typically control nuclear blebbing. Polymer simulations suggested that RNA polymerase II motor activity within chromatin could drive chromatin motions that deform the nuclear periphery. Our data provide evidence that transcription inhibition suppresses nuclear blebbing and rupture, in a manner separate and distinct from chromatin rigidity.

Coinhibition of topoisomerase 1 and BRD4-mediated pause release selectively kills pancreatic cancer via readthrough transcription

Pancreatic carcinoma lacks effective therapeutic strategies resulting in poor prognosis. Transcriptional dysregulation due to alterations in KRAS and MYC affects initiation, development, and survival of this tumor type. Using patient-derived xenografts of KRAS- and MYC-driven pancreatic carcinoma, we show that coinhibition of topoisomerase 1 (TOP1) and bromodomain-containing protein 4 (BRD4) synergistically induces tumor regression by targeting promoter pause release. Comparing the nascent transcriptome with the recruitment of elongation and termination factors, we found that coinhibition of TOP1 and BRD4 disrupts recruitment of transcription termination factors. Thus, RNA polymerases transcribe downstream of genes for hundreds of kilobases leading to readthrough transcription. This occurs during replication, perturbing replisome progression and inducing DNA damage. The synergistic effect of TOP1 + BRD4 inhibition is specific to cancer cells leaving normal cells unaffected, highlighting the tumor's vulnerability to transcriptional defects. This preclinical study provides a mechanistic understanding of the benefit of combining TOP1 and BRD4 inhibitors to treat pancreatic carcinomas addicted to oncogenic drivers of transcription and replication.

Live-cell imaging uncovers the relationship between histone acetylation, transcription initiation, and nucleosome mobility

Histone acetylation and RNA polymerase II phosphorylation are associated with transcriptionally active chromatin, but their spatiotemporal relationship in live cells remains poorly understood. To address this problem, we combine Fab-based labeling of endogenous protein modifications with single-molecule tracking to quantify the dynamics of chromatin enriched with histone H3 lysine-27 acetylation (H3K27ac) and RNA polymerase II serine-5 phosphorylation (RNAP2-Ser5ph). Our analysis reveals that chromatin enriched with these two modifications is generally separate. In these separated sites, we show that the two modifications are inversely correlated with one another on the minutes time scale and that single nucleosomes within each region display distinct and opposing dynamics on the subsecond time scale. While nucleosomes diffuse ~15% faster in chromatin enriched with H3K27ac, they diffuse ~15% slower in chromatin enriched with RNAP2-Ser5ph. These results argue that high levels of H3K27ac and RNAP2-Ser5ph are not often present together at the same place and time, but rather each marks distinct transcriptionally poised or active sites, respectively.

What's past is prologue: FRAP keeps delivering 50 years later

Fluorescence recovery after photobleaching (FRAP) has emerged as one of the most widely utilized techniques to quantify binding and diffusion kinetics of biomolecules in biophysics. Since its inception in the mid-1970s, FRAP has been used to address an enormous array of questions including the characteristic features of lipid rafts, how cells regulate the viscosity of their cytoplasm, and the dynamics of biomolecules inside condensates formed by liquid-liquid phase separation. In this perspective, I briefly summarize the history of the field and discuss why FRAP has proven to be so incredibly versatile and popular. Next, I provide an overview of the extensive body of knowledge that has emerged on best practices for quantitative FRAP data analysis, followed by some recent examples of biological lessons learned using this powerful approach. Finally, I touch on new directions and opportunities for biophysicists to contribute to the continued development of this still-relevant research tool.

Engineered transcription-associated Cas9 targeting in eukaryotic cells

DNA targeting Class 2 CRISPR-Cas effector nucleases, including the well-studied Cas9 proteins, evolved protospacer-adjacent motif (PAM) and guide RNA interactions that sequentially license their binding and cleavage activities at protospacer target sites. Both interactions are nucleic acid sequence specific but function constitutively; thus, they provide intrinsic spatial control over DNA targeting activities but naturally lack temporal control. Here we show that engineered Cas9 fusion proteins which bind to nascent RNAs near a protospacer can facilitate spatiotemporal coupling between transcription and DNA targeting at that protospacer: Transcription-associated Cas9 Targeting (TraCT). Engineered TraCT is enabled when suboptimal PAM interactions limit basal activity in vivo and when one or more nascent RNA substrates are still tethered to the actively transcribing target DNA in cis. We further show that this phenomenon can be exploited for selective editing at one of two identical targets in distinct gene loci, or, in diploid allelic loci that are differentially transcribed. Our work demonstrates that temporal control over Cas9's targeting activity at specific DNA sites may be engineered without modifying Cas9's core domains and guide RNA components or their expression levels. More broadly, it establishes RNA binding in cis as a mechanism that can conditionally stimulate CRISPR-Cas DNA targeting in eukaryotes.

Combined SPT and FCS methods reveal a mechanism of RNAP II oversampling in cell nuclei

Gene expression orchestration is a key question in fundamental and applied research. Different models for transcription regulation were proposed, yet the dynamic regulation of RNA polymerase II (RNAP II) activity remains a matter of debate. To improve our knowledge of this topic, we investigated RNAP II motility in eukaryotic cells by combining single particle tracking (SPT) and fluorescence correlation spectroscopy (FCS) techniques, to take advantage of their different sensitivities in order to analyze together slow and fast molecular movements. Thanks to calibrated samples, we developed a benchmark for quantitative analysis of molecular dynamics, to eliminate the main potential instrumental biases. We applied this workflow to study the diffusion of RPB1, the catalytic subunit of RNAP II. By a cross-analysis of FCS and SPT, we could highlight different RPB1 motility states and identifyed a stationary state, a slow diffusion state, and two different modes of subdiffusion. Interestingly, our analysis also unveiled the oversampling by RPB1 of nuclear subdomains. Based on these data, we propose a novel model of spatio-temporal transcription regulation. Altogether, our results highlight the importance of combining microscopy approaches at different time scales to get a full insight into the real complexity of molecular kinetics in cells.

Stepwise modifications of transcriptional hubs link pioneer factor activity to a burst of transcription

Binding of transcription factors (TFs) promotes the subsequent recruitment of coactivators and preinitiation complexes to initiate eukaryotic transcription, but this time course is usually not visualized. It is commonly assumed that recruited factors eventually co-reside in a higher-order structure, allowing distantly bound TFs to activate transcription at core promoters. We use live imaging of endogenously tagged proteins, including the pioneer TF Zelda, the coactivator dBrd4, and RNA polymerase II (RNAPII), to define a cascade of events upstream of transcriptional initiation in early Drosophila embryos. These factors are sequentially and transiently recruited to discrete clusters during activation of non-histone genes. Zelda and the acetyltransferase dCBP nucleate dBrd4 clusters, which then trigger pre-transcriptional clustering of RNAPII. Subsequent transcriptional elongation disperses clusters of dBrd4 and RNAPII. Our results suggest that activation of transcription by eukaryotic TFs involves a succession of distinct biomolecular condensates that culminates in a self-limiting burst of transcription.

RNA polymerase II depletion from the inactive X chromosome territory is not mediated by physical compartmentalization

Subnuclear compartmentalization has been proposed to play an important role in gene regulation by segregating active and inactive parts of the genome in distinct physical and biochemical environments. During X chromosome inactivation (XCI), the noncoding Xist RNA coats the X chromosome, triggers gene silencing and forms a dense body of heterochromatin from which the transcription machinery appears to be excluded. Phase separation has been proposed to be involved in XCI, and might explain the exclusion of the transcription machinery by preventing its diffusion into the Xist-coated territory. Here, using quantitative fluorescence microscopy and single-particle tracking, we show that RNA polymerase II (RNAPII) freely accesses the Xist territory during the initiation of XCI. Instead, the apparent depletion of RNAPII is due to the loss of its chromatin stably bound fraction. These findings indicate that initial exclusion of RNAPII from the inactive X reflects the absence of actively transcribing RNAPII, rather than a consequence of putative physical compartmentalization of the inactive X heterochromatin domain.

The mRNA mobileome: challenges and opportunities for deciphering signals from the noise

Organismal communication entails encoding a message that is sent over space or time to a recipient cell, where that message is decoded to activate a downstream response. Defining what qualifies as a functional signal is essential for understanding intercellular communication. In this review, we delve into what is known and unknown in the field of long-distance messenger RNA (mRNA) movement and draw inspiration from the field of information theory to provide a perspective on what defines a functional signaling molecule. Although numerous studies support the long-distance movement of hundreds to thousands of mRNAs through the plant vascular system, only a small handful of these transcripts have been associated with signaling functions. Deciphering whether mobile mRNAs generally serve a role in plant communication has been challenging, due to our current lack of understanding regarding the factors that influence mRNA mobility. Further insight into unsolved questions regarding the nature of mobile mRNAs could provide an understanding of the signaling potential of these macromolecules.

Transcriptional activators in the early Drosophila embryo perform different kinetic roles

Combinatorial regulation of gene expression by transcription factors (TFs) may in part arise from kinetic synergy-wherein TFs regulate different steps in the transcription cycle. Kinetic synergy requires that TFs play distinguishable kinetic roles. Here, we used live imaging to determine the kinetic roles of three TFs that activate transcription in the Drosophila embryo-Zelda, Bicoid, and Stat92E-by introducing their binding sites into the even-skipped stripe 2 enhancer. These TFs influence different sets of kinetic parameters, and their influence can change over time. All three TFs increased the fraction of transcriptionally active nuclei; Zelda also shortened the first-passage time into transcription and regulated the interval between transcription events. Stat92E also increased the lifetimes of active transcription. Different TFs can therefore play distinct kinetic roles in activating the transcription. This has consequences for understanding the composition and flexibility of regulatory DNA sequences and the biochemical function of TFs. A record of this paper's transparent peer review process is included in the supplemental information.

Parallel recovery of chromatin accessibility and gene expression dynamics from frozen human regulatory T cells

Epigenetic features such as DNA accessibility dictate transcriptional regulation in a cell type- and cell state- specific manner, and mapping this in health vs. disease in clinically relevant material is opening the door to new mechanistic insights and new targets for therapy. Assay for Transposase Accessible Chromatin Sequencing (ATAC-seq) allows chromatin accessibility profiling from low cell input, making it tractable on rare cell populations, such as regulatory T (Treg) cells. However, little is known about the compatibility of the assay with cryopreserved rare cell populations. Here we demonstrate the robustness of an ATAC-seq protocol comparing primary Treg cells recovered from fresh or cryopreserved PBMC samples, in the steady state and in response to stimulation. We extend this method to explore the feasibility of conducting simultaneous quantitation of chromatin accessibility and transcriptome from a single aliquot of 50,000 cryopreserved Treg cells. Profiling of chromatin accessibility and gene expression in parallel within the same pool of cells controls for cellular heterogeneity and is particularly beneficial when constrained by limited input material. Overall, we observed a high correlation of accessibility patterns and transcription factor dynamics between fresh and cryopreserved samples. Furthermore, highly similar transcriptomic profiles were obtained from whole cells and from the supernatants recovered from ATAC-seq reactions. We highlight the feasibility of applying these techniques to profile the epigenomic landscape of cells recovered from cryopreservation biorepositories.

Transcription shapes 3D chromatin organization by interacting with loop extrusion

Cohesin folds mammalian interphase chromosomes by extruding the chromatin fiber into numerous loops. "Loop extrusion" can be impeded by chromatin-bound factors, such as CTCF, which generates characteristic and functional chromatin organization patterns. It has been proposed that transcription relocalizes or interferes with cohesin and that active promoters are cohesin loading sites. However, the effects of transcription on cohesin have not been reconciled with observations of active extrusion by cohesin. To determine how transcription modulates extrusion, we studied mouse cells in which we could alter cohesin abundance, dynamics, and localization by genetic "knockouts" of the cohesin regulators CTCF and Wapl. Through Hi-C experiments, we discovered intricate, cohesin-dependent contact patterns near active genes. Chromatin organization around active genes exhibited hallmarks of interactions between transcribing RNA polymerases (RNAPs) and extruding cohesins. These observations could be reproduced by polymer simulations in which RNAPs were moving barriers to extrusion that obstructed, slowed, and pushed cohesins. The simulations predicted that preferential loading of cohesin at promoters is inconsistent with our experimental data. Additional ChIP-seq experiments showed that the putative cohesin loader Nipbl is not predominantly enriched at promoters. Therefore, we propose that cohesin is not preferentially loaded at promoters and that the barrier function of RNAP accounts for cohesin accumulation at active promoters. Altogether, we find that RNAP is an extrusion barrier that is not stationary, but rather, translocates and relocalizes cohesin. Loop extrusion and transcription might interact to dynamically generate and maintain gene interactions with regulatory elements and shape functional genomic organization.

MDC1 maintains active elongation complexes of RNA polymerase II

The role of MDC1 in the DNA damage response has been extensively studied; however, its impact on other cellular processes is not well understood. Here, we describe the role of MDC1 in transcription as a regulator of RNA polymerase II (RNAPII). Depletion of MDC1 causes a genome-wide reduction in the abundance of actively engaged RNAPII elongation complexes throughout the gene body of protein-encoding genes under unperturbed conditions. Decreased engaged RNAPII subsequently alters the assembly of the spliceosome complex on chromatin, leading to changes in pre-mRNA splicing. Mechanistically, the S/TQ domain of MDC1 modulates RNAPII-mediated transcription. Upon genotoxic stress, MDC1 promotes the abundance of engaged RNAPII complexes at DNA breaks, thereby stimulating nascent transcription at the damaged sites. Of clinical relevance, cancer cells lacking MDC1 display hypersensitivity to RNAPII inhibitors. Overall, we unveil a role of MDC1 in RNAPII-mediated transcription with potential implications for cancer treatment.

Direct imaging of intracellular RNA, DNA, and liquid-liquid phase separated membraneless organelles with Raman microspectroscopy

Methodologies for direct intracellular imaging of RNA and DNA are necessary for the advancement of bioimaging. Here we show direct label-free imaging of RNA and DNA in single cells by isolating their accurate Raman spectra. Raman images of DNA from interphase cells show intact nucleus, while those from mitotic cells reveal condensed chromosome. The condensed chromosome images are accurate enough to assign the stage of mitotic cell division (e.g., metaphase). Raman spectral features indicate B-DNA double helical conformational form in all the cell lines investigated here. The Raman images of RNAs, on the other hand, reveal liquid-liquid phase separated (LLPS) membraneless organelles in interphase cells, which disappears during mitosis. Further, the Raman spectrum of proteins from the intracellular LLPS organelles indicates slight enrichment of amyloid-like secondary structural features. Vibrational imaging of intracellular DNA and RNA simultaneously would open myriad of opportunities for examining functional biochemical aspects of cells and organelles.

Spatially coherent diffusion of human RNA Pol II depends on transcriptional state rather than chromatin motion

Gene transcription by RNA polymerase II (RNAPol II) is a tightly regulated process in the genomic, temporal, and spatial context. Recently, we have shown that chromatin exhibits spatially coherently moving regions over the entire nucleus, which is enhanced by transcription. Yet, it remains unclear how the mobility of RNA Pol II molecules is affected by transcription regulation and whether this response depends on the coordinated chromatin movement. We applied our Dense Flow reConstruction and Correlation method to analyze nucleus-wide coherent movements of RNA Pol II in living human cancer cells. We observe a spatially coherent movement of RNA Pol II molecules over ≈1 μm, which depends on transcriptional activity. Inducing transcription in quiescent cells decreased the coherent motion of RNA Pol II. We then quantify the spatial correlation length of RNA Pol II in the context of DNA motion. RNA Pol II and chromatin spatially coherent motions respond oppositely to transcriptional activities. Our study holds the potential of studying the chromatin environment in different nuclear processes.

RNA export through the nuclear pore complex is directional

The changes occurring in mRNA organization during nucleo-cytoplasmic transport and export, are not well understood. Moreover, directionality of mRNA passage through the nuclear pore complex (NPC) has not been examined within individual NPCs. Here we find that an mRNP is compact during nucleoplasmic travels compared to a more open structure after transcription and at the nuclear periphery. Compaction levels of nuclear transcripts can be modulated by varying levels of SR proteins and by changing genome organization. Nuclear mRNPs are mostly rod-shaped with distant 5'/3'-ends, although for some, the ends are in proximity. The latter is more abundant in the cytoplasm and can be modified by translation inhibition. mRNAs and lncRNAs exiting the NPC exhibit predominant 5'-first export. In some cases, several adjacent NPCs are engaged in export of the same mRNA suggesting 'gene gating'. Altogether, we show that the mRNP is a flexible structure during travels, with 5'-directionality during export.

Stochastic dynamics of Type-I interferon responses

Interferon (IFN) activates the transcription of several hundred of IFN stimulated genes (ISGs) that constitute a highly effective antiviral defense program. Cell-to-cell variability in the induction of ISGs is well documented, but its source and effects are not completely understood. The molecular mechanisms behind this heterogeneity have been related to randomness in molecular events taking place during the JAK-STAT signaling pathway. Here, we study the sources of variability in the induction of the IFN-alpha response by using MxA and IFIT1 activation as read-out. To this end, we integrate time-resolved flow cytometry data and stochastic modeling of the JAK-STAT signaling pathway. The complexity of the IFN response was matched by fitting probability distributions to time-course flow cytometry snapshots. Both, experimental data and simulations confirmed that the MxA and IFIT1 induction circuits generate graded responses rather than all-or-none responses. Subsequently, we quantify the size of the intrinsic variability at different steps in the pathway. We found that stochastic effects are transiently strong during the ligand-receptor activation steps and the formation of the ISGF3 complex, but negligible for the final induction of the studied ISGs. We conclude that the JAK-STAT signaling pathway is a robust biological circuit that efficiently transmits information under stochastic environments.

We investigate the impact of intrinsic and extrinsic noise on the reliability of interferon signaling. Information must be transduced robustly despite existing biochemical variability and at the same time the system has to allow for cellular variability to tune it against changing environments. Getting insights into stochasticity in signaling networks is crucial to understand cellular dynamics and decision-making processes. To this end, we developed a detailed stochastic computational model based on single cell data. We are able to show that reliability is achieved despite high noise at the receptor level.

Xrn2 substrate mapping identifies torpedo loading sites and extensive premature termination of RNA pol II transcription

The exonuclease torpedo Xrn2 loads onto nascent RNA 5'-PO₄ ends and chases down pol II to promote termination downstream from polyA sites. We report that Xrn2 is recruited to preinitiation complexes and "travels" to 3' ends of genes. Mapping of 5'-PO₄ ends in nascent RNA identified Xrn2 loading sites stabilized by an active site mutant, Xrn2(D235A). Xrn2 loading sites are approximately two to 20 bases downstream from where CPSF73 cleaves at polyA sites and histone 3' ends. We propose that processing of all mRNA 3' ends comprises cleavage and limited 5'-3' trimming by CPSF73, followed by handoff to Xrn2. A similar handoff occurs at tRNA 3' ends, where cotranscriptional RNase Z cleavage generates novel Xrn2 substrates. Exonuclease-dead Xrn2 increased transcription in 3' flanking regions by inhibiting polyA site-dependent termination. Surprisingly, the mutant Xrn2 also rescued transcription in promoter-proximal regions to the same extent as in 3' flanking regions. eNET-seq revealed Xrn2-mediated degradation of sense and antisense nascent RNA within a few bases of the TSS, where 5'-PO₄ ends may be generated by decapping or endonucleolytic cleavage. These results suggest that a major fraction of pol II complexes terminates prematurely close to the start site under normal conditions by an Xrn2-mediated torpedo mechanism.

The transcriptional coactivator RUVBL2 regulates Pol II clustering with diverse transcription factors

RNA polymerase II (Pol II) apparatuses are compartmentalized into transcriptional clusters. Whether protein factors control these clusters remains unknown. In this study, we find that the ATPase-associated with diverse cellular activities (AAA + ) ATPase RUVBL2 co-occupies promoters with Pol II and various transcription factors. RUVBL2 interacts with unphosphorylated Pol II in chromatin to promote RPB1 carboxy-terminal domain (CTD) clustering and transcription initiation. Rapid depletion of RUVBL2 leads to a decrease in the number of Pol II clusters and inhibits nascent RNA synthesis, and tethering RUVBL2 to an active promoter enhances Pol II clustering at the promoter. We also identify target genes that are directly linked to the RUVBL2-Pol II axis. Many of these genes are hallmarks of cancers and encode proteins with diverse cellular functions. Our results demonstrate an emerging activity for RUVBL2 in regulating Pol II cluster formation in the nucleus.

RNA polymerase II (Pol II) transcription factories play a central role in gene expression and 3D chromatin organization. Here, the authors demonstrate that RUVBL2 directly regulates Pol II clustering at active gene promoters.

Stimulus-specific remodeling of the neuronal transcriptome through nuclear intron-retaining transcripts

The nuclear envelope has long been considered primarily a physical barrier separating nuclear and cytosolic contents. More recently, nuclear compartmentalization has been shown to have additional regulatory functions in controlling gene expression. A sizeable proportion of protein-coding mRNAs is more prevalent in the nucleus than in the cytosol, suggesting regulated mRNA trafficking to the cytosol, but the mechanisms underlying controlled nuclear mRNA retention remain unclear. Here, we provide a comprehensive map of the subcellular localization of mRNAs in mature mouse cortical neurons, and reveal that transcripts retained in the nucleus comprise the majority of stable intron-retaining mRNAs. Systematically probing the fate of nuclear transcripts upon neuronal stimulation, we found opposite effects on sub-populations of transcripts: while some are targeted for degradation, others complete splicing to generate fully mature mRNAs that are exported to the cytosol and mediate rapid increases in protein levels. Finally, different forms of stimulation mobilize distinct groups of intron-retaining transcripts, with this selectivity arising from the activation of specific signaling pathways. Overall, our findings uncover a cue-specific control of intron retention as a major regulator of acute remodeling of the neuronal transcriptome.

Thymidine rescues ATR kinase inhibitor-induced deoxyuridine contamination in genomic DNA, cell death, and interferon-α/β expression

ATR kinase is a central regulator of the DNA damage response (DDR) and cell cycle checkpoints. ATR kinase inhibitors (ATRi's) combine with radiation to generate CD8+ T cell-dependent responses in mouse models of cancer. We show that ATRi's induce cyclin-dependent kinase 1 (CDK1)-dependent origin firing across active replicons in CD8+ T cells activated ex vivo while simultaneously decreasing the activity of rate-limiting enzymes for nucleotide biosynthesis. These pleiotropic effects of ATRi induce deoxyuridine (dU) contamination in genomic DNA, R loops, RNA-DNA polymerase collisions, and interferon-α/β (IFN-α/β). Remarkably, thymidine rescues ATRi-induced dU contamination and partially rescues death and IFN-α/β expression in proliferating CD8+ T cells. Thymidine also partially rescues ATRi-induced cancer cell death. We propose that ATRi-induced dU contamination contributes to dose-limiting leukocytopenia and inflammation in the clinic and CD8+ T cell-dependent anti-tumor responses in mouse models. We conclude that ATR is essential to limit dU contamination in genomic DNA and IFN-α/β expression.

Live-cell micromanipulation of a genomic locus reveals interphase chromatin mechanics

Our understanding of the physical principles organizing the genome in the nucleus is limited by the lack of tools to directly exert and measure forces on interphase chromosomes in vivo and probe their material nature. Here, we introduce an approach to actively manipulate a genomic locus using controlled magnetic forces inside the nucleus of a living human cell. We observed viscoelastic displacements over micrometers within minutes in response to near-piconewton forces, which are consistent with a Rouse polymer model. Our results highlight the fluidity of chromatin, with a moderate contribution of the surrounding material, revealing minor roles for cross-links and topological effects and challenging the view that interphase chromatin is a gel-like material. Our technology opens avenues for future research in areas from chromosome mechanics to genome functions.

Post-Transcriptional Dynamics is Involved in Rapid Adaptation to Hypergravity in Jurkat T Cells

The transcriptome of human immune cells rapidly reacts to altered gravity in a highly dynamic way. We could show in previous experiments that transcriptional patterns show profound adaption after seconds to minutes of altered gravity. To gain further insight into these transcriptional alteration and adaption dynamics, we conducted a highly standardized RNA-Seq experiment with human Jurkat T cells exposed to 9xg hypergravity for 3 and 15 min, respectively. We investigated the frequency with which individual exons were used during transcription and discovered that differential exon usage broadly appeared after 3 min and became less pronounced after 15 min. Additionally, we observed a shift in the transcript pool from coding towards non-coding transcripts. Thus, adaption of gravity-sensitive differentially expressed genes followed a dynamic transcriptional rebound effect. The general dynamics were compatible with previous studies on the transcriptional effects of short hypergravity on human immune cells and suggest that initial up-regulatory changes mostly result from increased elongation rates. The shift correlated with a general downregulation of the affected genes. All chromosome bands carried homogenous numbers of gravity-sensitive genes but showed a specific tendency towards up- or downregulation. Altered gravity affected transcriptional regulation throughout the entire genome, whereby the direction of differential expression was strongly dependent on the structural location in the genome. A correlation analysis with potential mediators of the early transcriptional response identified a link between initially upregulated genes with certain transcription factors. Based on these findings, we have been able to further develop our model of the transcriptional response to altered gravity.

The Association of MEG3 lncRNA with Nuclear Speckles in Living Cells

Nuclear speckles are nuclear bodies containing RNA-binding proteins as well as RNAs including long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs). Maternally expressed gene 3 (MEG3) is a nuclear retained lncRNA found to associate with nuclear speckles. To understand the association dynamics of MEG3 lncRNA with nuclear speckles in living cells, we generated a fluorescently tagged MEG3 transcript that could be detected in real time. Under regular conditions, transient association of MEG3 with nuclear speckles was observed, including a nucleoplasmic fraction. Transcription or splicing inactivation conditions, known to affect nuclear speckle structure, showed prominent and increased association of MEG3 lncRNA with the nuclear speckles, specifically forming a ring-like structure around the nuclear speckles. This contrasted with metastasis-associated lung adenocarcinoma (MALAT1) lncRNA that is normally highly associated with nuclear speckles, which was released and dispersed in the nucleoplasm. Under normal conditions, MEG3 dynamically associated with the periphery of the nuclear speckles, but under transcription or splicing inhibition, MEG3 could also enter the center of the nuclear speckle. Altogether, using live-cell imaging approaches, we find that MEG3 lncRNA is a transient resident of nuclear speckles and that its association with this nuclear body is modulated by the levels of transcription and splicing activities in the cell.

Illuminating RNA biology through imaging

RNA processing plays a central role in accurately transmitting genetic information into functional RNA and protein regulators. To fully appreciate the RNA life-cycle, tools to observe RNA with high spatial and temporal resolution are critical. Here we review recent advances in RNA imaging and highlight how they will propel the field of RNA biology. We discuss current trends in RNA imaging and their potential to elucidate unanswered questions in RNA biology.

Transcription Pause and Escape in Neurodevelopmental Disorders

Transcription pause-release is an important, highly regulated step in the control of gene expression. Modulated by various factors, it enables signal integration and fine-tuning of transcriptional responses. Mutations in regulators of pause-release have been identified in a range of neurodevelopmental disorders that have several common features affecting multiple organ systems. This review summarizes current knowledge on this novel subclass of disorders, including an overview of clinical features, mechanistic details, and insight into the relevant neurodevelopmental processes.