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Ly LC, Yang Y, Li F, Crossley M, Shi Y, Quinlan KGR. Protocols for protein-DNA binding analysis of a zinc finger transcription factor bound to its cognate promoter. STAR Protoc 2022; 3:101598. [PMID: 35928006 PMCID: PMC9344028 DOI: 10.1016/j.xpro.2022.101598] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Lana C Ly
- School of Biotechnology and Biomolecular Sciences, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia.
| | - Yang Yang
- School of Life Sciences, Division of Life Sciences and Medicine, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, Anhui 230026, China; Ministry of Education Key Laboratory for Membraneless Organelles and Cellular Dynamics, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, China
| | - Fudong Li
- Ministry of Education Key Laboratory for Membraneless Organelles and Cellular Dynamics, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, China
| | - Merlin Crossley
- School of Biotechnology and Biomolecular Sciences, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia
| | - Yunyu Shi
- School of Life Sciences, Division of Life Sciences and Medicine, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, Anhui 230026, China; Ministry of Education Key Laboratory for Membraneless Organelles and Cellular Dynamics, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, China.
| | - Kate G R Quinlan
- School of Biotechnology and Biomolecular Sciences, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia.
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Topfer SK, Feng R, Huang P, Ly LC, Martyn GE, Blobel GA, Weiss MJ, Quinlan KGR, Crossley M. Disrupting the adult globin promoter alleviates promoter competition and reactivates fetal globin gene expression. Blood 2022; 139:2107-2118. [PMID: 35090172 PMCID: PMC8990374 DOI: 10.1182/blood.2021014205] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/22/2021] [Accepted: 01/18/2022] [Indexed: 12/16/2022] Open
Abstract
The benign condition hereditary persistence of fetal hemoglobin (HPFH) is known to ameliorate symptoms of co-inherited β-hemoglobinopathies, such as sickle cell disease and β-thalassemia. The condition is sometimes associated with point mutations in the fetal globin promoters that disrupt the binding of the repressors BCL11A or ZBTB7A/LRF, which have been extensively studied. HPFH is also associated with a range of deletions within the β-globin locus that all reside downstream of the fetal HBG2 gene. These deletional forms of HPFH are poorly understood and are the focus of this study. Numerous different mechanisms have been proposed to explain how downstream deletions can boost the expression of the fetal globin genes, including the deletion of silencer elements, of genes encoding noncoding RNA, and bringing downstream enhancer elements into proximity with the fetal globin gene promoters. Here we systematically analyze the deletions associated with both HPFH and a related condition known as δβ-thalassemia and propose a unifying mechanism. In all cases where fetal globin is upregulated, the proximal adult β-globin (HBB) promoter is deleted. We use clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats-mediated gene editing to delete or disrupt elements within the promoter and find that virtually all mutations that reduce ΗΒΒ promoter activity result in elevated fetal globin expression. These results fit with previous models where the fetal and adult globin genes compete for the distal locus control region and suggest that targeting the ΗΒΒ promoter might be explored to elevate fetal globin and reduce sickle globin expression as a treatment of β-hemoglobinopathies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sarah K Topfer
- School of Biotechnology and Biomolecular Sciences, The University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW, Australia
| | - Ruopeng Feng
- Department of Hematology, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, Memphis, TN
| | - Peng Huang
- Division of Hematology, The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA; and
| | - Lana C Ly
- School of Biotechnology and Biomolecular Sciences, The University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW, Australia
| | - Gabriella E Martyn
- School of Biotechnology and Biomolecular Sciences, The University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW, Australia
| | - Gerd A Blobel
- Division of Hematology, The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA; and
- Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA
| | - Mitchell J Weiss
- Department of Hematology, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, Memphis, TN
| | - Kate G R Quinlan
- School of Biotechnology and Biomolecular Sciences, The University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW, Australia
| | - Merlin Crossley
- School of Biotechnology and Biomolecular Sciences, The University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW, Australia
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Yang Y, Ren R, Ly LC, Horton JR, Li F, Quinlan KGR, Crossley M, Shi Y, Cheng X. Structural basis for human ZBTB7A action at the fetal globin promoter. Cell Rep 2021; 36:109759. [PMID: 34592153 PMCID: PMC8553545 DOI: 10.1016/j.celrep.2021.109759] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/14/2021] [Revised: 08/09/2021] [Accepted: 09/02/2021] [Indexed: 12/02/2022] Open
Abstract
Elevated levels of fetal globin protect against β-hemoglobinopathies, such as sickle cell disease and β-thalassemia. Two zinc-finger (ZF) repressors, BCL11A and ZBTB7A/LRF, bind directly to the fetal globin promoter elements positioned at −115 and −200, respectively. Here, we describe X-ray structures of the ZBTB7A DNA-binding domain, consisting of four adjacent ZFs, in complex with the −200 sequence element, which contains two copies of four consecutive C:G base pairs. ZF1 and ZF2 recognize the 5′ C:G quadruple, and ZF4 contacts the 3′ C:G quadruple. Natural non-coding DNA mutations associated with hereditary persistence of fetal hemoglobin (HPFH) impair ZBTB7A DNA binding, with the most severe disruptions resulting from mutations in the base pairs recognized by ZF1 and ZF2. Our results firmly establish ZBTB7A/LRF as a key molecular regulator of fetal globin expression and inform genome-editing strategies that inhibit repressor binding and boost fetal globin expression to treat hemoglobinopathies. Yang et al. show that the transcription factor ZBTB7A has features that deviate from conventional one finger-three bases recognition. Among the four fingers, ZF1 and ZF2 each contact two DNA bases. ZF3 does not make base-specific contacts but serves as a spacer to position ZF4 into the right location.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yang Yang
- Hefei National Laboratory for Physical Sciences at Microscale, School of Life Sciences, Division of Life Sciences and Medicine, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, Anhui 230026, China; Ministry of Education Key Laboratory for Membraneless Organelles and Cellular Dynamics, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, China
| | - Ren Ren
- Department of Epigenetics and Molecular Carcinogenesis, University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX 77030, USA
| | - Lana C Ly
- School of Biotechnology and Biomolecular Sciences, University of New South Wales, Sydney 2052, Australia
| | - John R Horton
- Department of Epigenetics and Molecular Carcinogenesis, University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX 77030, USA
| | - Fudong Li
- Ministry of Education Key Laboratory for Membraneless Organelles and Cellular Dynamics, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, China
| | - Kate G R Quinlan
- School of Biotechnology and Biomolecular Sciences, University of New South Wales, Sydney 2052, Australia
| | - Merlin Crossley
- School of Biotechnology and Biomolecular Sciences, University of New South Wales, Sydney 2052, Australia.
| | - Yunyu Shi
- Hefei National Laboratory for Physical Sciences at Microscale, School of Life Sciences, Division of Life Sciences and Medicine, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, Anhui 230026, China; Ministry of Education Key Laboratory for Membraneless Organelles and Cellular Dynamics, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, China.
| | - Xiaodong Cheng
- Department of Epigenetics and Molecular Carcinogenesis, University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX 77030, USA.
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Lan X, Ren R, Feng R, Ly LC, Lan Y, Zhang Z, Aboreden N, Qin K, Horton JR, Grevet JD, Mayuranathan T, Abdulmalik O, Keller CA, Giardine B, Hardison RC, Crossley M, Weiss MJ, Cheng X, Shi J, Blobel GA. ZNF410 Uniquely Activates the NuRD Component CHD4 to Silence Fetal Hemoglobin Expression. Mol Cell 2020; 81:239-254.e8. [PMID: 33301730 DOI: 10.1016/j.molcel.2020.11.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/17/2020] [Revised: 10/26/2020] [Accepted: 11/02/2020] [Indexed: 01/08/2023]
Abstract
Metazoan transcription factors typically regulate large numbers of genes. Here we identify via a CRISPR-Cas9 genetic screen ZNF410, a pentadactyl DNA-binding protein that in human erythroid cells directly activates only a single gene, the NuRD component CHD4. Specificity is conveyed by two highly evolutionarily conserved clusters of ZNF410 binding sites near the CHD4 gene with no counterparts elsewhere in the genome. Loss of ZNF410 in adult-type human erythroid cell culture systems and xenotransplantation settings diminishes CHD4 levels and derepresses the fetal hemoglobin genes. While previously known to be silenced by CHD4, the fetal globin genes are exposed here as among the most sensitive to reduced CHD4 levels.. In vitro DNA binding assays and crystallographic studies reveal the ZNF410-DNA binding mode. ZNF410 is a remarkably selective transcriptional activator in erythroid cells, and its perturbation might offer new opportunities for treatment of hemoglobinopathies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xianjiang Lan
- Division of Hematology, The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA
| | - Ren Ren
- Department of Epigenetics and Molecular Carcinogenesis, University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX 77030, USA
| | - Ruopeng Feng
- Department of Hematology, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, Memphis, TN 38105, USA
| | - Lana C Ly
- School of Biotechnology and Biomolecular Sciences, University of New South Wales (UNSW) Sydney, Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia
| | - Yemin Lan
- Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA
| | - Zhe Zhang
- Department of Biomedical and Health Informatics, The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA
| | - Nicholas Aboreden
- Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA
| | - Kunhua Qin
- Division of Hematology, The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA
| | - John R Horton
- Department of Epigenetics and Molecular Carcinogenesis, University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX 77030, USA
| | - Jeremy D Grevet
- Department of Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA 02114, USA
| | | | - Osheiza Abdulmalik
- Division of Hematology, The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA
| | - Cheryl A Keller
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802, USA
| | - Belinda Giardine
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802, USA
| | - Ross C Hardison
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802, USA
| | - Merlin Crossley
- School of Biotechnology and Biomolecular Sciences, University of New South Wales (UNSW) Sydney, Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia
| | - Mitchell J Weiss
- Department of Hematology, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, Memphis, TN 38105, USA
| | - Xiaodong Cheng
- Department of Epigenetics and Molecular Carcinogenesis, University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX 77030, USA
| | - Junwei Shi
- Department of Cancer Biology, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA.
| | - Gerd A Blobel
- Division of Hematology, The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA; Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA.
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