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Balder P, Jones C, Coward K, Yeste M. Sperm chromatin: Evaluation, epigenetic signatures and relevance for embryo development and assisted reproductive technology outcomes. Eur J Cell Biol 2024; 103:151429. [PMID: 38905808 DOI: 10.1016/j.ejcb.2024.151429] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/29/2024] [Revised: 06/07/2024] [Accepted: 06/07/2024] [Indexed: 06/23/2024] Open
Abstract
Sperm chromatin is distinct from somatic cell chromatin, as a result of extensive remodeling during the final stages of spermatogenesis. In this process, the majority of histones is replaced with protamines. The chromatin is consequently highly condensed and inert, which facilitates protection of the DNA. The sperm epigenomic landscape is shaped by histone retention, histone and protamine modification, DNA methylation, and RNAs. In recent years, sperm chromatin integrity and its epigenetic marks have been increasingly studied, and the constitution of sperm chromatin is steadily being uncovered. This growing body of research prompts assessment of the frequently overlooked involvement of sperm in fertility and embryonic development. Moreover, numerous endogenous and exogenous factors are known to affect sperm chromatin, which may in turn impact the reproductive success. Concerns have been raised about the effects of assisted reproductive technology (ART) on the sperm epigenome, embryonic development and offspring health. This review examines the structure and epigenetic signatures of sperm chromatin in the context of fertility and early embryonic development. Additionally, sperm chromatin evaluation and causes of aberrant integrity are outlined. Building on the knowledge discussed in the current review, future research should aim to elucidate the intricate relationship between all aspects of sperm chromatin and embryo development. This could lead to the uncovering of new targets for treating infertility, as well as the acquisition of much needed insights into the possible reciprocal association between ART and sperm chromatin integrity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pauline Balder
- Nuffield Department of Women's and Reproductive Health, Level 3, Women's Centre, John Radcliffe Hospital, University of Oxford, Oxford OX3 9DU, UK; The Ronald O. Perelman and Claudia Cohen Center for Reproductive Medicine, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY 10021, USA
| | - Celine Jones
- Nuffield Department of Women's and Reproductive Health, Level 3, Women's Centre, John Radcliffe Hospital, University of Oxford, Oxford OX3 9DU, UK
| | - Kevin Coward
- Nuffield Department of Women's and Reproductive Health, Level 3, Women's Centre, John Radcliffe Hospital, University of Oxford, Oxford OX3 9DU, UK
| | - Marc Yeste
- Biotechnology of Animal and Human Reproduction (TechnoSperm), Institute of Food and Agricultural Technology, University of Girona, Girona ES-17003, Spain; Unit of Cell Biology, Department of Biology, Faculty of Sciences, University of Girona, Girona ES-17003, Spain; Catalan Institution for Research and Advanced Studies (ICREA), Barcelona ES-08010, Spain.
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2
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Wernig-Zorc S, Schwartz U, Martínez-Rodríguez P, Inalef J, Pavicic F, Ehrenfeld P, Längst G, Maldonado R. The Long Non-Coding RNA MALAT1 Modulates NR4A1 Expression through a Downstream Regulatory Element in Specific Cancer Cell Types. Int J Mol Sci 2024; 25:5515. [PMID: 38791553 PMCID: PMC11121914 DOI: 10.3390/ijms25105515] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/16/2024] [Revised: 05/07/2024] [Accepted: 05/11/2024] [Indexed: 05/26/2024] Open
Abstract
Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) have been shown to modulate gene expression and are involved in the initiation and progression of various cancer types. Despite the wealth of studies describing transcriptome changes upon lncRNA knockdown, there is limited information describing lncRNA-mediated effects on regulatory elements (REs) modulating gene expression. In this study, we investigated how the metastasis-associated lung adenocarcinoma transcript 1 (MALAT1) lncRNA regulates primary target genes using time-resolved MALAT1 knockdown followed by parallel RNA-seq and ATAC-seq assays. The results revealed that MALAT1 primarily regulates specific protein-coding genes and a substantial decrease in the accessibility downstream of the NR4A1 gene that was associated with a decreased NR4A1 expression. Moreover, the presence of an NR4A1-downstream RE was demonstrated by CRISPR-i assays to define a functional MALAT1/NR4A1 axis. By analyzing TCGA data, we identified a positive correlation between NR4A1 expression and NR4A1-downstream RE accessibility in breast cancer but not in pancreatic cancer. Accordingly, this regulatory mechanism was experimentally validated in breast cancer cells (MCF7) but not in pancreatic duct epithelial carcinoma (PANC1) cells. Therefore, our results demonstrated that MALAT1 is involved in a molecular mechanism that fine-tunes NR4A1 expression by modulating the accessibility of a downstream RE in a cell type-specific manner.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sara Wernig-Zorc
- Regensburg Center for Biochemistry [RCB], Universität Regensburg, 93053 Regensburg, Germany; (S.W.-Z.)
- St. Anna Children’s Cancer Research Institute, 1090 Vienna, Austria
| | - Uwe Schwartz
- NGS Analysis Center, Biology and Pre-Clinical Medicine, Universität Regensburg, 93053 Regensburg, Germany
| | - Paulina Martínez-Rodríguez
- Programa de Doctorado en Ciencias, mención Biología Celular y Molecular Aplicada, Universidad de La Frontera, Temuco 4811230, Chile;
| | - Josefa Inalef
- Institute of Anatomy, Histology, and Pathology, Faculty of Medicine, Universidad Austral de Chile, 5090000 Valdivia, Chile (P.E.)
| | - Francisca Pavicic
- Institute of Anatomy, Histology, and Pathology, Faculty of Medicine, Universidad Austral de Chile, 5090000 Valdivia, Chile (P.E.)
| | - Pamela Ehrenfeld
- Institute of Anatomy, Histology, and Pathology, Faculty of Medicine, Universidad Austral de Chile, 5090000 Valdivia, Chile (P.E.)
- Center for Interdisciplinary Studies of the Nervous System [CISNe], Universidad Austral de Chile, 5090000 Valdivia, Chile
| | - Gernot Längst
- Regensburg Center for Biochemistry [RCB], Universität Regensburg, 93053 Regensburg, Germany; (S.W.-Z.)
| | - Rodrigo Maldonado
- Facultad de Medicina y Ciencias, Universidad San Sebastián, 5110246 Valdivia, Chile
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3
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Fukuoka M, Ichikawa Y, Osako T, Fujita T, Baba S, Takeuchi K, Tsunoda N, Ebata T, Ueno T, Ohno S, Saitoh N. The ELEANOR non-coding RNA expression contributes to cancer dormancy and predicts late recurrence of ER-positive breast cancer. Cancer Sci 2022; 113:2336-2351. [PMID: 35415910 PMCID: PMC9277265 DOI: 10.1111/cas.15373] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/15/2021] [Revised: 03/21/2022] [Accepted: 03/25/2022] [Indexed: 11/29/2022] Open
Abstract
The recurrence risk of estrogen receptor (ER)-positive breast cancer remains high for a long period of time, unlike the other types of cancer. The late recurrence reflects the ability of cancer cells to remain dormant through various events, including cancer stemness acquisition, but the detailed mechanism is unknown. ESR1 locus enhancing and activating non-coding RNAs (ELEANORS) are a cluster of nuclear non-coding RNAs originally identified in a recurrent breast cancer cell model. Although their functions as chromatin regulators in vitro are well characterized, their roles in vivo remain elusive. In this study, we evaluated the clinicopathological features of ELEANORS, using primary and corresponding metastatic breast cancer tissues. The ELEANOR expression was restricted to ER-positive cases and well-correlated with the ER and progesterone receptor expression levels, especially at the metastatic sites. ELEANORS were detected in both primary and metastatic tumors (32% and 29%, respectively), and frequently in postmenopausal cases. Interestingly, after surgery, patients with ELEANOR-positive primary tumors exhibited increased relapse rates after, but not within, 5 years. Multivariate analysis showed that ELEANORS are independent recurrence risk factor. Consistently, analyses with cell lines, mouse xenografts and patient tissues revealed that ELEANORS upregulate a breast cancer stemness gene, CD44, and maintain the cancer stem cell population, which may facilitate tumor dormancy. Our findings highlight a new role of nuclear long non-coding RNAs and their clinical potential as predictive biomarkers and therapeutic targets for late recurrence of ER-positive breast cancer.
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Affiliation(s)
- Megumi Fukuoka
- Division of Cancer Biology, The Cancer Institute of JFCR, Tokyo, 135-8550, Japan.,Division of Surgical Oncology, Nagoya University Graduate School of Medicine, Japan
| | - Yuichi Ichikawa
- Division of Cancer Biology, The Cancer Institute of JFCR, Tokyo, 135-8550, Japan
| | - Tomo Osako
- Division of Pathology, The Cancer Institute of JFCR.,Department of Pathology, The Cancer Institute Hospital of JFCR
| | - Tomoko Fujita
- Division of Cancer Biology, The Cancer Institute of JFCR, Tokyo, 135-8550, Japan
| | - Satoko Baba
- Division of Pathology, The Cancer Institute of JFCR.,Department of Pathology, The Cancer Institute Hospital of JFCR.,Pathology Project for Molecular Targets, Cancer Institute
| | - Kengo Takeuchi
- Division of Pathology, The Cancer Institute of JFCR.,Department of Pathology, The Cancer Institute Hospital of JFCR.,Pathology Project for Molecular Targets, Cancer Institute
| | - Nobuyuki Tsunoda
- Division of Surgical Oncology, Nagoya University Graduate School of Medicine, Japan
| | - Tomoki Ebata
- Division of Surgical Oncology, Nagoya University Graduate School of Medicine, Japan
| | - Takayuki Ueno
- Breast Oncology Center, The Cancer Institute Hospital of JFCR
| | - Shinji Ohno
- Breast Oncology Center, The Cancer Institute Hospital of JFCR
| | - Noriko Saitoh
- Division of Cancer Biology, The Cancer Institute of JFCR, Tokyo, 135-8550, Japan
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4
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Cheuquemán C, Maldonado R. Non-coding RNAs and chromatin: key epigenetic factors from spermatogenesis to transgenerational inheritance. Biol Res 2021; 54:41. [PMID: 34930477 PMCID: PMC8686607 DOI: 10.1186/s40659-021-00364-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/14/2021] [Accepted: 12/07/2021] [Indexed: 02/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Cellular fate and gene expression patterns are modulated by different epigenetic factors including non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs) and chromatin organization. Both factors are dynamic throughout male germ cell differentiation on the seminiferous tubule, despite the transcriptional inactivation in the last stages of spermatogenesis. Sperm maturation during the caput-to-cauda transit on the epididymis involves changes in chromatin organization and the soma-to-germ line transference of ncRNAs that are essential to obtain a functional sperm for fertilization and embryo development. Here, the male environment (diseases, drugs, mental stress) is crucial to modulate these epigenetic factors throughout sperm maturation, affecting the corresponding offspring. Paternal transgenerational inheritance has been directly related to sperm epigenetic changes, most of them associated with variations in the ncRNA content and chromatin marks. Our aim is to give an overview about how epigenetics, focused on ncRNAs and chromatin, is pivotal to understand spermatogenesis and sperm maturation, and how the male environment impacts the sperm epigenome modulating the offspring gene expression pattern.
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Affiliation(s)
- Carolina Cheuquemán
- Núcleo de Ciencias Biológicas, Dirección de Núcleos Transversales, Facultad de estudios Interdisciplinarios, Universidad Mayor, Temuco, Chile
| | - Rodrigo Maldonado
- Institute of Anatomy, Histology and Pathology, Faculty of Medicine, Universidad Austral de Chile, Valdivia, Chile.
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5
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Ramírez-Colmenero A, Oktaba K, Fernandez-Valverde SL. Evolution of Genome-Organizing Long Non-coding RNAs in Metazoans. Front Genet 2020; 11:589697. [PMID: 33329735 PMCID: PMC7734150 DOI: 10.3389/fgene.2020.589697] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/31/2020] [Accepted: 11/09/2020] [Indexed: 12/28/2022] Open
Abstract
Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) have important regulatory functions across eukarya. It is now clear that many of these functions are related to gene expression regulation through their capacity to recruit epigenetic modifiers and establish chromatin interactions. Several lncRNAs have been recently shown to participate in modulating chromatin within the spatial organization of the genome in the three-dimensional space of the nucleus. The identification of lncRNA candidates is challenging, as it is their functional characterization. Conservation signatures of lncRNAs are different from those of protein-coding genes, making identifying lncRNAs under selection a difficult task, and the homology between lncRNAs may not be readily apparent. Here, we review the evidence for these higher-order genome organization functions of lncRNAs in animals and the evolutionary signatures they display.
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Affiliation(s)
- América Ramírez-Colmenero
- Unidad de Genómica Avanzada (Langebio), Centro de Investigación y de Estudios Avanzados del IPN, Irapuato, México
| | - Katarzyna Oktaba
- Unidad Irapuato, Centro de Investigación y de Estudios Avanzados del IPN, Irapuato, México
| | - Selene L Fernandez-Valverde
- Unidad de Genómica Avanzada (Langebio), Centro de Investigación y de Estudios Avanzados del IPN, Irapuato, México
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6
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Feng Y, Endo M, Sugiyama H. Nucleosomes and Epigenetics from a Chemical Perspective. Chembiochem 2020; 22:595-612. [PMID: 32864867 DOI: 10.1002/cbic.202000332] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/25/2020] [Revised: 08/26/2020] [Indexed: 12/19/2022]
Abstract
Nucleosomes, which are the fundamental building blocks of chromatin, are highly dynamic, they play vital roles in the formation of higher-order chromatin structures and orchestrate gene regulation. Nucleosome structures, histone modifications, nucleosome-binding proteins, and their functions are being gradually unravelled with the development of epigenetics. With the continuous development of research approaches such as cryo-EM, FRET and next-generation sequencing for genome-wide analysis of nucleosomes, the understanding of nucleosomes is getting wider and deeper. Herein, we review recent progress in research on nucleosomes and epigenetics, from nucleosome structure to chromatin formation, with a focus on chemical aspects. Basic knowledge of the nucleosome (nucleosome structure, nucleosome position sequence, nucleosome assembly and remodeling), epigenetic modifications, chromatin structure, chemical biology methods and nucleosome, observation nucleosome by AFM, phase separation and nucleosomes are described in this review.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yihong Feng
- Department of Chemistry, Graduate School of Science, Kyoto University Kitashirakawa-Oiwakecho, Kyoto, 606-8502, Japan
| | - Masayuki Endo
- Department of Chemistry, Graduate School of Science, Kyoto University Kitashirakawa-Oiwakecho, Kyoto, 606-8502, Japan.,Institute for Integrated Cell-Material Sciences, Kyoto University Yoshida-Ushinomiyacho, Kyoto, 606-8501, Japan
| | - Hiroshi Sugiyama
- Department of Chemistry, Graduate School of Science, Kyoto University Kitashirakawa-Oiwakecho, Kyoto, 606-8502, Japan.,Institute for Integrated Cell-Material Sciences, Kyoto University Yoshida-Ushinomiyacho, Kyoto, 606-8501, Japan
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7
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Sato S, Tanaka N, Arimura Y, Kujirai T, Kurumizaka H. The N-terminal and C-terminal halves of histone H2A.Z independently function in nucleosome positioning and stability. Genes Cells 2020; 25:538-546. [PMID: 32500630 PMCID: PMC7496805 DOI: 10.1111/gtc.12791] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/06/2020] [Revised: 04/28/2020] [Accepted: 05/08/2020] [Indexed: 01/21/2023]
Abstract
Nucleosome positioning and stability affect gene regulation in eukaryotic chromatin. Histone H2A.Z is an evolutionally conserved histone variant that forms mobile and unstable nucleosomes in vivo and in vitro. In the present study, we reconstituted nucleosomes containing human H2A.Z.1 mutants, in which the N‐terminal or C‐terminal half of H2A.Z.1 was replaced by the corresponding canonical H2A region. We found that the N‐terminal portion of H2A.Z.1 is involved in flexible nucleosome positioning, whereas the C‐terminal portion leads to weak H2A.Z.1‐H2B association in the nucleosome. These results indicate that the N‐terminal and C‐terminal portions are independently responsible for the H2A.Z.1 nucleosome characteristics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shoko Sato
- Laboratory of Chromatin Structure and Function, Institute for Quantitative Biosciences, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Naoki Tanaka
- Laboratory of Structural Biology, Graduate School of Advanced Science and Engineering, Waseda University, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Yasuhiro Arimura
- Laboratory of Chromatin Structure and Function, Institute for Quantitative Biosciences, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan.,Laboratory of Chromosome and Cell Biology, The Rockefeller University, New York, NY, USA
| | - Tomoya Kujirai
- Laboratory of Chromatin Structure and Function, Institute for Quantitative Biosciences, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Hitoshi Kurumizaka
- Laboratory of Chromatin Structure and Function, Institute for Quantitative Biosciences, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan.,Laboratory of Structural Biology, Graduate School of Advanced Science and Engineering, Waseda University, Tokyo, Japan
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8
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Nozawa RS, Yamamoto T, Takahashi M, Tachiwana H, Maruyama R, Hirota T, Saitoh N. Nuclear microenvironment in cancer: Control through liquid-liquid phase separation. Cancer Sci 2020; 111:3155-3163. [PMID: 32594560 PMCID: PMC7469853 DOI: 10.1111/cas.14551] [Citation(s) in RCA: 39] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/24/2020] [Revised: 06/16/2020] [Accepted: 06/19/2020] [Indexed: 12/20/2022] Open
Abstract
The eukaryotic nucleus is not a homogenous single‐spaced but a highly compartmentalized organelle, partitioned by various types of membraneless structures, including nucleoli, PML bodies, paraspeckles, DNA damage foci and RNA clouds. Over the past few decades, these nuclear structures have been implicated in biological reactions such as gene regulation and DNA damage response and repair, and are thought to provide “microenvironments,” facilitating these reactions in the nucleus. Notably, an altered morphology of these nuclear structures is found in many cancers, which may relate to so‐called “nuclear atypia” in histological examinations. While the diagnostic significance of nuclear atypia has been established, its nature has remained largely enigmatic and awaits characterization. Here, we review the emerging biophysical principles that govern biomolecular condensate assembly in the nucleus, namely, liquid‐liquid phase separation (LLPS), to investigate the nature of the nuclear microenvironment. In the nucleus, LLPS is typically driven by multivalent interactions between proteins with intrinsically disordered regions, and is also facilitated by protein interaction with nucleic acids, including nuclear non–coding RNAs. Importantly, an altered LLPS leads to dysregulation of nuclear events and epigenetics, and often to tumorigenesis and tumor progression. We further note the possibility that LLPS could represent a new therapeutic target for cancer intervention.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ryu-Suke Nozawa
- Division of Experimental Pathology, The Cancer Institute of JFCR, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Tatsuro Yamamoto
- Division of Cancer Biology, The Cancer Institute of JFCR, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Motoko Takahashi
- Division of Experimental Pathology, The Cancer Institute of JFCR, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Hiroaki Tachiwana
- Division of Cancer Biology, The Cancer Institute of JFCR, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Reo Maruyama
- Project for Cancer Epigenomics, The Cancer Institute of JFCR, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Toru Hirota
- Division of Experimental Pathology, The Cancer Institute of JFCR, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Noriko Saitoh
- Division of Cancer Biology, The Cancer Institute of JFCR, Tokyo, Japan
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