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Shin B, Chang SJ, MacNabb BW, Rothenberg EV. Transcriptional network dynamics in early T cell development. J Exp Med 2024; 221:e20230893. [PMID: 39167073 PMCID: PMC11338287 DOI: 10.1084/jem.20230893] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/31/2024] [Revised: 06/07/2024] [Accepted: 07/10/2024] [Indexed: 08/23/2024] Open
Abstract
The rate at which cells enter the T cell pathway depends not only on the immigration of hematopoietic precursors into the strong Notch signaling environment of the thymus but also on the kinetics with which each individual precursor cell reaches T-lineage commitment once it arrives. Notch triggers a complex, multistep gene regulatory network in the cells in which the steps are stereotyped but the transition speeds between steps are variable. Progenitor-associated transcription factors delay T-lineage differentiation even while Notch-induced transcription factors within the same cells push differentiation forward. Progress depends on regulator cross-repression, on breaching chromatin barriers, and on shifting, competitive collaborations between stage-specific and stably expressed transcription factors, as reviewed here.
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Affiliation(s)
- Boyoung Shin
- Division of Biology and Biological Engineering California Institute of Technology , Pasadena, CA, USA
| | - Samantha J Chang
- Division of Biology and Biological Engineering California Institute of Technology , Pasadena, CA, USA
| | - Brendan W MacNabb
- Division of Biology and Biological Engineering California Institute of Technology , Pasadena, CA, USA
| | - Ellen V Rothenberg
- Division of Biology and Biological Engineering California Institute of Technology , Pasadena, CA, USA
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Stewart RA, Ding Z, Jeon US, Goodman LB, Tran JJ, Zientko JP, Sabu M, Cadigan KM. Wnt target gene activation requires β-catenin separation into biomolecular condensates. PLoS Biol 2024; 22:e3002368. [PMID: 39316611 PMCID: PMC11460698 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pbio.3002368] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/25/2023] [Revised: 10/08/2024] [Accepted: 08/30/2024] [Indexed: 09/26/2024] Open
Abstract
The Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway plays numerous essential roles in animal development and tissue/stem cell maintenance. The activation of genes regulated by Wnt/β-catenin signaling requires the nuclear accumulation of β-catenin, a transcriptional co-activator. β-catenin is recruited to many Wnt-regulated enhancers through direct binding to T-cell factor/lymphoid enhancer factor (TCF/LEF) family transcription factors. β-catenin has previously been reported to form phase-separated biomolecular condensates (BMCs), which was implicated as a component of β-catenin's mechanism of action. This function required aromatic amino acid residues in the intrinsically disordered regions (IDRs) at the N- and C-termini of the protein. In this report, we further explore a role for β-catenin BMCs in Wnt target gene regulation. We find that β-catenin BMCs are miscible with LEF1 BMCs in vitro and in cultured cells. We characterized a panel of β-catenin mutants with different combinations of aromatic residue mutations in human cell culture and Drosophila melanogaster. Our data support a model in which aromatic residues across both IDRs contribute to BMC formation and signaling activity. Although different Wnt targets have different sensitivities to loss of β-catenin's aromatic residues, the activation of every target examined was compromised by aromatic substitution. These mutants are not defective in nuclear import or co-immunoprecipitation with several β-catenin binding partners. In addition, residues in the N-terminal IDR with no previously known role in signaling are clearly required for the activation of various Wnt readouts. Consistent with this, deletion of the N-terminal IDR results in a loss of signaling activity, which can be rescued by the addition of heterologous IDRs enriched in aromatic residues. Overall, our work supports a model in which the ability of β-catenin to form biomolecular condensates in the nucleus is tightly linked to its function as a transcriptional co-regulator.
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Affiliation(s)
- Richard A. Stewart
- Department of Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States of America
| | - Zhihao Ding
- Department of Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States of America
| | - Ung Seop Jeon
- Department of Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States of America
| | - Lauren B. Goodman
- Department of Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States of America
| | - Jeannine J. Tran
- Department of Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States of America
| | - John P. Zientko
- Department of Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States of America
| | - Malavika Sabu
- Department of Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States of America
| | - Ken M. Cadigan
- Department of Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States of America
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Banerjee S, Sanyal S, Hodawadekar S, Naiyer S, Bano N, Banerjee A, Rhoades J, Dong D, Allman D, Atchison ML. Unusual lineage plasticity revealed by YY1 knockout in pro-B cells. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2024:2024.03.22.586298. [PMID: 38586061 PMCID: PMC10996465 DOI: 10.1101/2024.03.22.586298] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 04/09/2024]
Abstract
During B cell development, cells progress through multiple developmental stages with the pro-B cell stage defining commitment to the B cell lineage. YY1 is a ubiquitous transcription factor that is capable of both activation and repression functions. We find here that knockout of YY1 at the pro-B cell stage eliminates B lineage commitment. YY1 knockout pro-B cells can generate T lineage cells in vitro using the OP9- DL4 feeder system, as well as in vivo after injection into sub-lethally irradiated Rag1 -/- mice. These T lineage-like cells lose their B lineage transcript profile and gain a T cell lineage profile. Single cell-RNA-seq experiments showed that as YY1 knockout pro-B cells transition into T lineage cells, various cell clusters adopt transcript profiles representing a multiplicity of hematopoietic lineages indicating unusual lineage plasticity. Given the ubiquitous nature of YY1 and its dual activation and repression functions, YY1 likely regulates commitment in multiple cell lineages.
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Zou D, Yin Z, Yi SG, Wang G, Guo Y, Xiao X, Li S, Zhang X, Gonzalez NM, Minze LJ, Wang L, Wong STC, Osama Gaber A, Ghobrial RM, Li XC, Chen W. CD4 + T cell immunity is dependent on an intrinsic stem-like program. Nat Immunol 2024; 25:66-76. [PMID: 38168955 PMCID: PMC11064861 DOI: 10.1038/s41590-023-01682-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/09/2023] [Accepted: 10/11/2023] [Indexed: 01/05/2024]
Abstract
CD4+ T cells are central to various immune responses, but the molecular programs that drive and maintain CD4+ T cell immunity are not entirely clear. Here we identify a stem-like program that governs the CD4+ T cell response in transplantation models. Single-cell-transcriptomic analysis revealed that naive alloantigen-specific CD4+ T cells develop into TCF1hi effector precursor (TEP) cells and TCF1-CXCR6+ effectors in transplant recipients. The TCF1-CXCR6+CD4+ effectors lose proliferation capacity and do not reject allografts upon adoptive transfer into secondary hosts. By contrast, the TCF1hiCD4+ TEP cells have dual features of self-renewal and effector differentiation potential, and allograft rejection depends on continuous replenishment of TCF1-CXCR6+ effectors from TCF1hiCD4+ TEP cells. Mechanistically, TCF1 sustains the CD4+ TEP cell population, whereas the transcription factor IRF4 and the glycolytic enzyme LDHA govern the effector differentiation potential of CD4+ TEP cells. Deletion of IRF4 or LDHA in T cells induces transplant acceptance. These findings unravel a stem-like program that controls the self-renewal capacity and effector differentiation potential of CD4+ TEP cells and have implications for T cell-related immunotherapies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dawei Zou
- Immunobiology & Transplant Science Center, Department of Surgery, Houston Methodist Research Institute, Houston Methodist Hospital, Houston, TX, USA
- Organ Transplant Center, The First Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Zheng Yin
- Systems Medicine and Bioengineering Department, Houston Methodist Neal Cancer Center, Houston, TX, USA
- Department of Radiology, Houston Methodist Hospital, Weill Cornell Medicine, Houston, TX, USA
| | - Stephanie G Yi
- Department of Surgery, J. C. Walter Jr. Transplant Center, Houston Methodist Hospital, Houston, TX, USA
- Department of Surgery, Weill Cornell Medicine, Cornell University, New York, NY, USA
| | - Guohua Wang
- Immunobiology & Transplant Science Center, Department of Surgery, Houston Methodist Research Institute, Houston Methodist Hospital, Houston, TX, USA
| | - Yang Guo
- Immunobiology & Transplant Science Center, Department of Surgery, Houston Methodist Research Institute, Houston Methodist Hospital, Houston, TX, USA
| | - Xiang Xiao
- Immunobiology & Transplant Science Center, Department of Surgery, Houston Methodist Research Institute, Houston Methodist Hospital, Houston, TX, USA
| | - Shuang Li
- Center for Neuroregeneration, Houston Methodist Research Institute, Houston, TX, USA
| | - Xiaolong Zhang
- Immunobiology & Transplant Science Center, Department of Surgery, Houston Methodist Research Institute, Houston Methodist Hospital, Houston, TX, USA
| | - Nancy M Gonzalez
- Immunobiology & Transplant Science Center, Department of Surgery, Houston Methodist Research Institute, Houston Methodist Hospital, Houston, TX, USA
| | - Laurie J Minze
- Immunobiology & Transplant Science Center, Department of Surgery, Houston Methodist Research Institute, Houston Methodist Hospital, Houston, TX, USA
| | - Lin Wang
- Systems Medicine and Bioengineering Department, Houston Methodist Neal Cancer Center, Houston, TX, USA
| | - Stephen T C Wong
- Systems Medicine and Bioengineering Department, Houston Methodist Neal Cancer Center, Houston, TX, USA
- Department of Radiology, Houston Methodist Hospital, Weill Cornell Medicine, Houston, TX, USA
| | - A Osama Gaber
- Department of Surgery, J. C. Walter Jr. Transplant Center, Houston Methodist Hospital, Houston, TX, USA
- Department of Surgery, Weill Cornell Medicine, Cornell University, New York, NY, USA
| | - Rafik M Ghobrial
- Department of Surgery, J. C. Walter Jr. Transplant Center, Houston Methodist Hospital, Houston, TX, USA
- Department of Surgery, Weill Cornell Medicine, Cornell University, New York, NY, USA
| | - Xian C Li
- Immunobiology & Transplant Science Center, Department of Surgery, Houston Methodist Research Institute, Houston Methodist Hospital, Houston, TX, USA
- Department of Surgery, Weill Cornell Medicine, Cornell University, New York, NY, USA
| | - Wenhao Chen
- Immunobiology & Transplant Science Center, Department of Surgery, Houston Methodist Research Institute, Houston Methodist Hospital, Houston, TX, USA.
- Department of Surgery, Weill Cornell Medicine, Cornell University, New York, NY, USA.
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