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Lebeau B, Zhao K, Jangal M, Zhao T, Guerra M, Greenwood CMT, Witcher M. Single base-pair resolution analysis of DNA binding motif with MoMotif reveals an oncogenic function of CTCF zinc-finger 1 mutation. Nucleic Acids Res 2022; 50:8441-8458. [PMID: 35947648 PMCID: PMC9410893 DOI: 10.1093/nar/gkac658] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/17/2022] [Accepted: 07/21/2022] [Indexed: 12/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Defining the impact of missense mutations on the recognition of DNA motifs is highly dependent on bioinformatic tools that define DNA binding elements. However, classical motif analysis tools remain limited in their capacity to identify subtle changes in complex binding motifs between distinct conditions. To overcome this limitation, we developed a new tool, MoMotif, that facilitates a sensitive identification, at the single base-pair resolution, of complex, or subtle, alterations to core binding motifs, discerned from ChIP-seq data. We employed MoMotif to define the previously uncharacterized recognition motif of CTCF zinc-finger 1 (ZF1), and to further define the impact of CTCF ZF1 mutation on its association with chromatin. Mutations of CTCF ZF1 are exclusive to breast cancer and are associated with metastasis and therapeutic resistance, but the underlying mechanisms are unclear. Using MoMotif, we identified an extension of the CTCF core binding motif, necessitating a functional ZF1 to bind appropriately. Using a combination of ChIP-Seq and RNA-Seq, we discover that the inability to bind this extended motif drives an altered transcriptional program associated with the oncogenic phenotypes observed clinically. Our study demonstrates that MoMotif is a powerful new tool for comparative ChIP-seq analysis and characterising DNA-protein contacts.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Maika Jangal
- Lady Davis Institute, Jewish General Hospital, Montréal, Québec H3T 1E2, Canada
| | - Tiejun Zhao
- Lady Davis Institute, Jewish General Hospital, Montréal, Québec H3T 1E2, Canada
| | - Maria Guerra
- Lady Davis Institute, Jewish General Hospital, Montréal, Québec H3T 1E2, Canada
| | - Celia M T Greenwood
- Correspondence may also be addressed to Celia Greenwood. Tel: +1 514 340 8222 (Ext 28397);
| | - Michael Witcher
- To whom correspondence should be addressed. Tel: +1 514 340 8222 (Ext 23363);
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2
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Wu Q, Liu P, Wang L. Many facades of CTCF unified by its coding for three-dimensional genome architecture. J Genet Genomics 2020; 47:407-424. [PMID: 33187878 DOI: 10.1016/j.jgg.2020.06.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/08/2020] [Revised: 04/15/2020] [Accepted: 06/01/2020] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Abstract
CCCTC-binding factor (CTCF) is a multifunctional zinc finger protein that is conserved in metazoan species. CTCF is consistently found to play an important role in many diverse biological processes. CTCF/cohesin-mediated active chromatin 'loop extrusion' architects three-dimensional (3D) genome folding. The 3D architectural role of CTCF underlies its multifarious functions, including developmental regulation of gene expression, protocadherin (Pcdh) promoter choice in the nervous system, immunoglobulin (Ig) and T-cell receptor (Tcr) V(D)J recombination in the immune system, homeobox (Hox) gene control during limb development, as well as many other aspects of biology. Here, we review the pleiotropic functions of CTCF from the perspective of its essential role in 3D genome architecture and topological promoter/enhancer selection. We envision the 3D genome as an enormous complex architecture, with tens of thousands of CTCF sites as connecting nodes and CTCF proteins as mysterious bonds that glue together genomic building parts with distinct articulation joints. In particular, we focus on the internal mechanisms by which CTCF controls higher order chromatin structures that manifest its many façades of physiological and pathological functions. We also discuss the dichotomic role of CTCF sites as intriguing 3D genome nodes for seemingly contradictory 'looping bridges' and 'topological insulators' to frame a beautiful magnificent house for a cell's nuclear home.
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Affiliation(s)
- Qiang Wu
- MOE Key Lab of Systems Biomedicine, State Key Laboratory of Oncogenes and Related Genes, Center for Comparative Biomedicine, Institute of Systems Biomedicine, School of Life Sciences and Biotechnology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University (SJTU), Shanghai, 200240, China.
| | - Peifeng Liu
- MOE Key Lab of Systems Biomedicine, State Key Laboratory of Oncogenes and Related Genes, Center for Comparative Biomedicine, Institute of Systems Biomedicine, School of Life Sciences and Biotechnology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University (SJTU), Shanghai, 200240, China
| | - Leyang Wang
- MOE Key Lab of Systems Biomedicine, State Key Laboratory of Oncogenes and Related Genes, Center for Comparative Biomedicine, Institute of Systems Biomedicine, School of Life Sciences and Biotechnology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University (SJTU), Shanghai, 200240, China
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Clarkson CT, Deeks EA, Samarista R, Mamayusupova H, Zhurkin VB, Teif VB. CTCF-dependent chromatin boundaries formed by asymmetric nucleosome arrays with decreased linker length. Nucleic Acids Res 2019; 47:11181-11196. [PMID: 31665434 PMCID: PMC6868436 DOI: 10.1093/nar/gkz908] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/11/2019] [Revised: 09/26/2019] [Accepted: 10/02/2019] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
The CCCTC-binding factor (CTCF) organises the genome in 3D through DNA loops and in 1D by setting boundaries isolating different chromatin states, but these processes are not well understood. Here we investigate chromatin boundaries in mouse embryonic stem cells, defined by the regions with decreased Nucleosome Repeat Length (NRL) for ∼20 nucleosomes near CTCF sites, affecting up to 10% of the genome. We found that the nucleosome-depleted region (NDR) near CTCF is asymmetrically located >40 nucleotides 5'-upstream from the centre of CTCF motif. The strength of CTCF binding to DNA and the presence of cohesin is correlated with the decrease of NRL near CTCF, and anti-correlated with the level of asymmetry of the nucleosome array. Individual chromatin remodellers have different contributions, with Snf2h having the strongest effect on the NRL decrease near CTCF and Chd4 playing a major role in the symmetry breaking. Upon differentiation, a subset of preserved, common CTCF sites maintains asymmetric nucleosome pattern and small NRL. The sites which lost CTCF upon differentiation are characterized by nucleosome rearrangement 3'-downstream, with unchanged NDR 5'-upstream of CTCF motifs. Boundaries of topologically associated chromatin domains frequently contain several inward-oriented CTCF motifs whose effects, described above, add up synergistically.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Emma A Deeks
- School of Life Sciences, University of Essex, Wivenhoe Park, Colchester CO4 3SQ, UK
- Biological Sciences BSc Program, University of Essex, Wivenhoe Park, Colchester CO4 3SQ, UK
| | - Ralph Samarista
- School of Life Sciences, University of Essex, Wivenhoe Park, Colchester CO4 3SQ, UK
- Wellcome Trust Vacation Student
| | - Hulkar Mamayusupova
- School of Life Sciences, University of Essex, Wivenhoe Park, Colchester CO4 3SQ, UK
| | - Victor B Zhurkin
- Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA
| | - Vladimir B Teif
- School of Life Sciences, University of Essex, Wivenhoe Park, Colchester CO4 3SQ, UK
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Madera-Salcedo IK, Sánchez-Hernández BE, Svyryd Y, Esquivel-Velázquez M, Rodríguez-Rodríguez N, Trejo-Zambrano MI, García-González HB, Hernández-Molina G, Mutchinick OM, Alcocer-Varela J, Rosetti F, Crispín JC. PPP2R2B hypermethylation causes acquired apoptosis deficiency in systemic autoimmune diseases. JCI Insight 2019; 5:126457. [PMID: 31335320 DOI: 10.1172/jci.insight.126457] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Chronic inflammation causes target organ damage in patients with systemic autoimmune diseases. The factors that allow this protracted response are poorly understood. We analyzed the transcriptional regulation of PPP2R2B (B55ß), a molecule necessary for the termination of the immune response, in patients with autoimmune diseases. Altered expression of B55ß conditioned resistance to cytokine withdrawal-induced death (CWID) in patients with autoimmune diseases. The impaired upregulation of B55ß was caused by inflammation-driven hypermethylation of specific cytosines located within a regulatory element of PPP2R2B preventing CTCF binding. This phenotype could be induced in healthy T cells by exposure to TNF-α. Our results reveal a gene whose expression is affected by an acquired defect, through an epigenetic mechanism, in the setting of systemic autoimmunity. Because failure to remove activated T cells through CWID could contribute to autoimmune pathology, this mechanism illustrates a vicious cycle through which autoimmune inflammation contributes to its own perpetuation.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Beatriz E Sánchez-Hernández
- Department of Genetics, Instituto Nacional de Ciencias Médicas y Nutrición Salvador Zubirán, Mexico City, Mexico
| | - Yevgeniya Svyryd
- Department of Genetics, Instituto Nacional de Ciencias Médicas y Nutrición Salvador Zubirán, Mexico City, Mexico
| | | | | | | | | | | | - Osvaldo M Mutchinick
- Department of Genetics, Instituto Nacional de Ciencias Médicas y Nutrición Salvador Zubirán, Mexico City, Mexico
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Genome-wide mapping of genetic determinants influencing DNA methylation and gene expression in human hippocampus. Nat Commun 2017; 8:1511. [PMID: 29142228 PMCID: PMC5688097 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-017-01818-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 50] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/17/2017] [Accepted: 10/16/2017] [Indexed: 12/11/2022] Open
Abstract
Emerging evidence emphasizes the strong impact of regulatory genomic elements in neurodevelopmental processes and the complex pathways of brain disorders. The present genome-wide quantitative trait loci analyses explore the cis-regulatory effects of single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) on DNA methylation (meQTL) and gene expression (eQTL) in 110 human hippocampal biopsies. We identify cis-meQTLs at 14,118 CpG methylation sites and cis-eQTLs for 302 3'-mRNA transcripts of 288 genes. Hippocampal cis-meQTL-CpGs are enriched in flanking regions of active promoters, CpG island shores, binding sites of the transcription factor CTCF and brain eQTLs. Cis-acting SNPs of hippocampal meQTLs and eQTLs significantly overlap schizophrenia-associated SNPs. Correlations of CpG methylation and RNA expression are found for 34 genes. Our comprehensive maps of cis-acting hippocampal meQTLs and eQTLs provide a link between disease-associated SNPs and the regulatory genome that will improve the functional interpretation of non-coding genetic variants in the molecular genetic dissection of brain disorders.
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CCCTC-Binding Factor Translates Interleukin 2- and α-Ketoglutarate-Sensitive Metabolic Changes in T Cells into Context-Dependent Gene Programs. Immunity 2017; 47:251-267.e7. [PMID: 28813658 DOI: 10.1016/j.immuni.2017.07.015] [Citation(s) in RCA: 72] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/13/2016] [Revised: 03/21/2017] [Accepted: 07/20/2017] [Indexed: 01/11/2023]
Abstract
Despite considerable research connecting cellular metabolism with differentiation decisions, the underlying mechanisms that translate metabolite-sensitive activities into unique gene programs are still unclear. We found that aspects of the interleukin-2 (IL-2)-sensitive effector gene program in CD4+ and CD8+ T cells in type 1 conditions (Th1) were regulated by glutamine and alpha-ketoglutarate (αKG)-induced events, in part through changes in DNA and histone methylation states. We further identified a mechanism by which IL-2- and αKG-sensitive metabolic changes regulated the association of CCCTC-binding factor (CTCF) with select genomic sites. αKG-sensitive CTCF sites were often associated with loci containing IL-2- and αKG-sensitive genome organization patterns and gene expression in T cells. IL-2- and αKG-sensitive CTCF sites in T cells were also associated with genes from developmental pathways that had αKG-sensitive expression in embryonic stem cells. The data collectively support a mechanism wherein CTCF serves to translate αKG-sensitive metabolic changes into context-dependent differentiation gene programs.
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Agarwal H, Reisser M, Wortmann C, Gebhardt JCM. Direct Observation of Cell-Cycle-Dependent Interactions between CTCF and Chromatin. Biophys J 2017; 112:2051-2055. [PMID: 28487148 PMCID: PMC5444008 DOI: 10.1016/j.bpj.2017.04.018] [Citation(s) in RCA: 35] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/27/2017] [Revised: 03/30/2017] [Accepted: 04/14/2017] [Indexed: 10/31/2022] Open
Abstract
The three-dimensional arrangement of chromatin encodes regulatory traits important for nuclear processes such as transcription and replication. Chromatin topology is in part mediated by the architectural protein CCCTC-binding factor (CTCF) that binds to the boundaries of topologically associating domains. Whereas sites of CTCF interactions are well characterized, little is known on how long CTCF binds to chromatin and how binding evolves during the cell cycle. We monitored CTCF-chromatin interactions by live cell single molecule tracking in different phases of the cell cycle. In G1-, S-, and G2-phases, a majority of CTCF molecules was bound transiently (∼0.2 s) to chromatin, whereas minor fractions were bound dynamically (∼4 s) or stably (>15 min). During mitosis, CTCF was mostly excluded from chromatin. Our data suggest that CTCF scans DNA in search for two different subsets of specific target sites and provide information on the timescales over which topologically associating domains might be restructured. During S-phase, dynamic and stable interactions decreased considerably compared to G1-phase, but were resumed in G2-phase, indicating that specific interactions need to be dissolved for replication to proceed.
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Allele-specific DNA methylation reinforces PEAR1 enhancer activity. Blood 2016; 128:1003-12. [PMID: 27313330 DOI: 10.1182/blood-2015-11-682153] [Citation(s) in RCA: 44] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/15/2015] [Accepted: 06/13/2016] [Indexed: 01/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Genetic variation in the PEAR1 locus is linked to platelet reactivity and cardiovascular disease. The major G allele of rs12041331, an intronic cytosine guanine dinucleotide-single-nucleotide polymorphism (CpG-SNP), is associated with higher PEAR1 expression in platelets and endothelial cells than the minor A allele. The molecular mechanism underlying this difference remains elusive. We have characterized the histone modification profiles of the intronic region surrounding rs12041331 and identified H3K4Me1 enhancer-specific enrichment for the region that covers the CpG-SNP. Interestingly, methylation studies revealed that the CpG site is fully methylated in leukocytes of GG carriers. Nuclear protein extracts from megakaryocytes, endothelial cells, vs control HEK-293 cells show a 3-fold higher affinity for the methylated G allele compared with nonmethylated G or A alleles in a gel electrophoretic mobility shift assay. To understand the positive relationship between methylation and gene expression, we studied DNA methylation at 4 different loci of PEAR1 during in vitro megakaryopoiesis. During differentiation, the CpG-SNP remained fully methylated, while we observed rapid methylation increases at the CpG-island overlapping the first 5'-untranslated region exon, paralleling the increased PEAR1 expression. In the same region, A-allele carriers of rs12041331 showed significantly lower DNA methylation at CGI1 compared with GG homozygote. This CpG-island contains binding sites for the methylation-sensitive transcription factor CTCF, whose binding is known to play a role in enhancer activation and/or repression. In conclusion, we report the molecular characterization of the first platelet function-related CpG-SNP, a genetic predisposition that reinforces PEAR1 enhancer activity through allele-specific DNA methylation.
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Zhang Z. A Key to Genome Maze in 3D. GENOMICS PROTEOMICS & BIOINFORMATICS 2016; 14:4-6. [PMID: 26876717 PMCID: PMC4792839 DOI: 10.1016/j.gpb.2016.02.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/31/2016] [Accepted: 02/05/2016] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Zhihua Zhang
- CAS Key Laboratory of Genome Sciences and Information, Beijing Institute of Genomics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China.
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10
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Xu C, Corces VG. Towards a predictive model of chromatin 3D organization. Semin Cell Dev Biol 2015; 57:24-30. [PMID: 26658098 DOI: 10.1016/j.semcdb.2015.11.013] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/13/2015] [Revised: 11/24/2015] [Accepted: 11/26/2015] [Indexed: 01/19/2023]
Abstract
Architectural proteins mediate interactions between distant regions in the genome to bring together different regulatory elements while establishing a specific three-dimensional organization of the genetic material. Depletion of specific architectural proteins leads to miss regulation of gene expression and alterations in nuclear organization. The specificity of interactions mediated by architectural proteins depends on the nature, number, and orientation of their binding site at individual genomic locations. Knowledge of the mechanisms and rules governing interactions among architectural proteins may provide a code to predict the 3D organization of the genome.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chenhuan Xu
- Department of Biology, Emory University, 1510 Clifton Road NE, Atlanta, GA 30322, USA
| | - Victor G Corces
- Department of Biology, Emory University, 1510 Clifton Road NE, Atlanta, GA 30322, USA.
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