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Abstract
Cancers and developmental disorders are associated with alterations in the 3D genome architecture in space and time (the fourth dimension). Mammalian 3D genome organization is complex and dynamic and plays an essential role in regulating gene expression and cellular function. To study the causal relationship between genome function and its spatio-temporal organization in the nucleus, new technologies for engineering and manipulating the 3D organization of the genome have been developed. In particular, CRISPR-Cas technologies allow programmable manipulation at specific genomic loci, enabling unparalleled opportunities in this emerging field of 3D genome engineering. We review advances in mammalian 3D genome engineering with a focus on recent manipulative technologies using CRISPR-Cas and related technologies.
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Jones BG, Sealy RE, Penkert RR, Surman SL, Birshtein BK, Xu B, Neale G, Maul RW, Gearhart PJ, Hurwitz JL. From Influenza Virus Infections to Lupus: Synchronous Estrogen Receptor α and RNA Polymerase II Binding Within the Immunoglobulin Heavy Chain Locus. Viral Immunol 2020; 33:307-315. [PMID: 32105583 DOI: 10.1089/vim.2019.0144] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/14/2023] Open
Abstract
Males and females respond to pathogens differently and exhibit significantly different frequencies of autoimmune disease. For example, vaccinated adult females control influenza virus better than males, but females suffer systemic lupus erythematosus at a 9:1 frequency compared to males. Numerous explanations have been offered for these sex differences, but most have involved indirect mechanisms by which estrogen, a nuclear hormone, modifies cell barriers or immunity. In search of a direct mechanism, we examined the binding of estrogen receptor α (ERα), a class I nuclear hormone receptor, to the immunoglobulin heavy chain locus. Here, we show that in purified murine B cells, ERα and RNA polymerase II (RNA Pol II) exhibit extraordinarily similar DNA binding patterns. We further demonstrate that ERα preferentially binds adenosine-cytidine (AC)-repeats in the immunoglobulin heavy chain locus when supplemental estrogen is added to purified, lipopolysaccharide-activated B cells. Based on these and previous data, we hypothesize that (i) estrogen guides the binding of ERα and its RNA Pol II partner within the locus, which in turn instructs sterile transcription and class switch recombination (CSR), (ii) ERα binding to AC-repeats modifies the DNA architecture and loops associated with CSR, and (iii) by these mechanisms, estrogen instructs antibody expression. By targeting ERα-DNA interactions in the immunoglobulin heavy chain locus, clinicians may ultimately enhance antibody responses in the context of infectious diseases and reduce antibody responses in the context of allergic or autoimmune reactions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bart G Jones
- Department of Infectious Diseases, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, Memphis, Tennessee, USA
| | - Robert E Sealy
- Department of Infectious Diseases, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, Memphis, Tennessee, USA
| | - Rhiannon R Penkert
- Department of Infectious Diseases, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, Memphis, Tennessee, USA
| | - Sherri L Surman
- Department of Infectious Diseases, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, Memphis, Tennessee, USA
| | - Barbara K Birshtein
- Department of Cell Biology, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, New York, USA
| | - Beisi Xu
- Department of Computational Biology, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, Memphis, Tennessee, USA
| | - Geoffrey Neale
- Hartwell Center for Bioinformatics and Biotechnology, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, Memphis, Tennessee, USA
| | - Robert W Maul
- National Institute on Aging, National Institutes of Health, Baltimore, Maryland, USA
| | - Patricia J Gearhart
- National Institute on Aging, National Institutes of Health, Baltimore, Maryland, USA
| | - Julia L Hurwitz
- Department of Infectious Diseases, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, Memphis, Tennessee, USA.,Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Biochemistry, University of Tennessee Health Science Center, Memphis, Tennessee, USA
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Oh JH, Kim CY, Lee JY, Kim MH. Retinoic acid and CTCF play key roles in inducing the collinear expression of the Hoxa cluster. Acta Biochim Biophys Sin (Shanghai) 2018; 50:555-559. [PMID: 29688244 DOI: 10.1093/abbs/gmy039] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/10/2017] [Indexed: 12/17/2022] Open
Abstract
During the development of an embryo, the initiation of the collinear expression of Hox genes is essential for the proper formation of the anteroposterior body axis. Retinoic acid (RA), a natural derivative of vitamin A, plays a role in vertebrate development by regulating Hox gene expression. CCCTC-binding factor (CTCF), an insulator protein that controls gene transcription, also regulates the expression of Hox genes by binding to the CTCF-binding sites (CBSs). It has been reported that upon RA signaling, retinoic acid response elements (RAREs) located in the Hox clusters become occupied. Interestingly, RAREs exist in close proximity with CBSs, and therefore when RA is bound, CTCF cannot bind. Without CTCF and its insulator activities, the repressive domain in the chromatin becomes open for gene transcription. Here, we examine the relationship between RA and CTCF during the RA-induced expression of the Hoxa cluster genes, using F9 murine embryonic teratocarcinoma cells as a model system. We treated F9 cells with RA for different time, confirmed the collinear expression of Hoxa genes, and validated CTCF-binding in F9 cells as well as in CTCF-overexpressing F9 cells, in the presence of RA. The present study suggests that RA and CTCF pose antagonistic effects on each other during vertebrate development to attain Hox gene collinearity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ji Hoon Oh
- Department of Anatomy, Embryology Laboratory, Brain Korea 21 PLUS Project for Medical Science, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul 03722, Republic of Korea
| | - Clara Yuri Kim
- Department of Anatomy, Embryology Laboratory, Brain Korea 21 PLUS Project for Medical Science, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul 03722, Republic of Korea
| | - Ji-Yeon Lee
- Department of Anatomy, Embryology Laboratory, Brain Korea 21 PLUS Project for Medical Science, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul 03722, Republic of Korea
| | - Myoung Hee Kim
- Department of Anatomy, Embryology Laboratory, Brain Korea 21 PLUS Project for Medical Science, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul 03722, Republic of Korea
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CRISPR-based strategies for studying regulatory elements and chromatin structure in mammalian gene control. Mamm Genome 2018; 29:205-228. [PMID: 29196861 PMCID: PMC9881389 DOI: 10.1007/s00335-017-9727-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/24/2017] [Accepted: 11/27/2017] [Indexed: 01/31/2023]
Abstract
The development of high-throughput methods has enabled the genome-wide identification of putative regulatory elements in a wide variety of mammalian cells at an unprecedented resolution. Extensive genomic studies have revealed the important role of regulatory elements and genetic variation therein in disease formation and risk. In most cases, there is only correlative evidence for the roles of these elements and non-coding changes within these elements in pathogenesis. With the advent of genome- and epigenome-editing tools based on the CRISPR technology, it is now possible to test the functional relevance of the regulatory elements and alterations on a genomic scale. Here, we review the various CRISPR-based strategies that have been developed to functionally validate the candidate regulatory elements in mammals as well as the non-coding genetic variants found to be associated with human disease. We also discuss how these synthetic biology tools have helped to elucidate the role of three-dimensional nuclear architecture and higher-order chromatin organization in shaping functional genome and controlling gene expression.
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Arzate-Mejía RG, Recillas-Targa F, Corces VG. Developing in 3D: the role of CTCF in cell differentiation. Development 2018; 145:145/6/dev137729. [PMID: 29567640 DOI: 10.1242/dev.137729] [Citation(s) in RCA: 91] [Impact Index Per Article: 15.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/16/2022]
Abstract
CTCF is a highly conserved zinc-finger DNA-binding protein that mediates interactions between distant sequences in the genome. As a consequence, CTCF regulates enhancer-promoter interactions and contributes to the three-dimensional organization of the genome. Recent studies indicate that CTCF is developmentally regulated, suggesting that it plays a role in cell type-specific genome organization. Here, we review these studies and discuss how CTCF functions during the development of various cell and tissue types, ranging from embryonic stem cells and gametes, to neural, muscle and cardiac cells. We propose that the lineage-specific control of CTCF levels, and its partnership with lineage-specific transcription factors, allows for the control of cell type-specific gene expression via chromatin looping.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rodrigo G Arzate-Mejía
- Departamento de Genética Molecular, Instituto de Fisiología Celular, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, 04510 Ciudad de México, México
| | - Félix Recillas-Targa
- Departamento de Genética Molecular, Instituto de Fisiología Celular, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, 04510 Ciudad de México, México
| | - Victor G Corces
- Department of Biology, Emory University, Atlanta, GA 30322, USA
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