Nup98 recruits the Wdr82-Set1A/COMPASS complex to promoters to regulate H3K4 trimethylation in hematopoietic progenitor cells

In this study, Franks et al. investigated the mechanisms underlying how Nup98 regulates gene expression. They show that in hematopoietic cells, Nup98 binds predominantly to transcription start sites to recruit the Wdr82–Set1A/COMPASS complex, which is required for deposition of the histone 3 Lys4 trimethyl (H3K4me3)-activating mark, and expression of a Nup98 fusion protein implicated in aggressive AML causes mislocalization of H3K4me3 at aberrant regions and up-regulation of associated genes due to aberrant Wdr82/Set1A activity.

Recent studies have shown that a subset of nucleoporins (Nups) can detach from the nuclear pore complex and move into the nuclear interior to regulate transcription. One such dynamic Nup, called Nup98, has been implicated in gene activation in healthy cells and has been shown to drive leukemogenesis when mutated in patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML). Here we show that in hematopoietic cells, Nup98 binds predominantly to transcription start sites to recruit the Wdr82–Set1A/COMPASS (complex of proteins associated with Set1) complex, which is required for deposition of the histone 3 Lys4 trimethyl (H3K4me3)-activating mark. Depletion of Nup98 or Wdr82 abolishes Set1A recruitment to chromatin and subsequently ablates H3K4me3 at adjacent promoters. Furthermore, expression of a Nup98 fusion protein implicated in aggressive AML causes mislocalization of H3K4me3 at abnormal regions and up-regulation of associated genes. Our findings establish a function of Nup98 in hematopoietic gene activation and provide mechanistic insight into which Nup98 leukemic fusion proteins promote AML.

Histone H3K4 methylation-dependent and -independent functions of Set1A/COMPASS in embryonic stem cell self-renewal and differentiation

Of the six members of the COMPASS (complex of proteins associated with Set1) family of histone H3 Lys4 (H3K4) methyltransferases identified in mammals, Set1A has been shown to be essential for early embryonic development and the maintenance of embryonic stem cell (ESC) self-renewal. Like its familial relatives, Set1A possesses a catalytic SET domain responsible for histone H3K4 methylation. Whether H3K4 methylation by Set1A/COMPASS is required for ESC maintenance and during differentiation has not yet been addressed. Here, we generated ESCs harboring the deletion of the SET domain of Set1A (Set1A^ΔSET); surprisingly, the Set1A SET domain is dispensable for ESC proliferation and self-renewal. The removal of the Set1A SET domain does not diminish bulk H3K4 methylation in ESCs; instead, only a subset of genomic loci exhibited reduction in H3K4me3 in Set1A^ΔSET cells, suggesting a role for Set1A independent of its catalytic domain in ESC self-renewal. However, Set1A^ΔSET ESCs are unable to undergo normal differentiation, indicating the importance of Set1A-dependent H3K4 methylation during differentiation. Our data also indicate that during differentiation, Set1A but not Mll2 functions as the H3K4 methylase on bivalent genes and is required for their expression, supporting a model for transcriptional switch between Mll2 and Set1A during the self-renewing-to-differentiation transition. Together, our study implicates a critical role for Set1A catalytic methyltransferase activity in regulating ESC differentiation but not self-renewal and suggests the existence of context-specific H3K4 methylation that regulates transcriptional outputs during ESC pluripotency.

A regulatory circuitry locking pluripotent stemness to embryonic stem cell: Interaction between threonine catabolism and histone methylation

Mouse embryonic stem cell (ESC) is a prototype of pluripotent stem cell that undergoes endless self-renewal in culture without losing the pluripotency, the ability to differentiate to all somatic lineages. The self-renewal of ESC relies on a gene expression program, epigenetic state, and cellular metabolism specific to ESC. In this review, we will present the evidence to exemplify how gene regulation, chromatin methylation, and threonine catabolism are specialized to boost ESC self-renewal. It is evident that a feedforward regulatory circuitry forms at the interfaces between the transcriptional, epigenetic and metabolic control to consolidate the pluripotency of ESC.

A synthetic lethality screen reveals ING5 as a genetic dependency of catalytically dead Set1A/COMPASS in mouse embryonic stem cells

Embryonic stem cells (ESCs) are defined by their ability to self-renew and the potential to differentiate into all tissues of the developing organism. We previously demonstrated that deleting the catalytic SET domain of the Set1A/complex of proteins associated with SET1 histone methyltransferase (Set1A/COMPASS) in mouse ESCs does not impair their viability or ability to self-renew; however, it leads to defects in differentiation. The precise mechanisms by which Set1A executes these functions remain to be elucidated. In this study, we demonstrate that mice lacking the SET domain of Set1A are embryonic lethal at a stage that is unique from null alleles. To gain insight into Set1A function in regulating pluripotency, we conducted a CRISPR/Cas9-mediated dropout screen and identified the MOZ/MORF (monocytic leukaemia zinc finger protein/monocytic leukaemia zinc finger protein-related factor) and HBO1 (HAT bound to ORC1) acetyltransferase complex member ING5 as a synthetic perturbation to Set1A. The loss of Ing5 in Set1AΔSET mouse ESCs decreases the fitness of these cells, and the simultaneous loss of ING5 and in Set1AΔSET leads to up-regulation of differentiation-associated genes. Taken together, our results point toward Set1A/COMPASS and ING5 as potential coregulators of the self-renewal and differentiation status of ESCs.

Nup98 regulation of histone methylation promotes normal gene expression and may drive leukemogenesis

Nuclear pore proteins (Nups) interact with chromosomes to regulate gene expression and chromatin structure. A new study by Franks and colleagues (pp. 2222-2234) provides new mechanistic insight into the molecular basis by which Nup98 promotes gene activation in normal hematopoietic cells and how that process is altered by translocations to cause excess expression of developmental genes in leukemia.