Biomedical subjects

Joanna Wysocka

Publications and source records attributed to Joanna Wysocka.

17 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2025

Genetic and chromatin regulation of Pvt1 monoallelic expression.

While most genes are equivalently expressed on both alleles, genes with random monoallelic expression (RME) stably maintain expression from only one allele, but the mechanisms and consequences of RME remain unclear. We performed allele-specific RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) on ∼100 F1 hybrid neural progenitor cell (NPC) clonal lines to reveal the extent of autosomal RME (aRME). Of the 287 aRME genes, Pvt1, an oncogenic long non-coding RNA, is an aRME with a genetic bias. In the absence of genetic differences, Pvt1 undergoes balanced aRME. Pvt1 monoallelic expression is maintained by allele-specific active and repressive histone modifications, opposed to DNA methylation. Additionally, we provide a two-step mechanism for the initiation of aRME and demonstrate that Pvt1 monoallelic expression results in a growth phenotype due to the interplay with Myc. These findings provide insight into how genetic differences can skew a stochastic process, resulting in monoallelic expression with a phenotypic consequence in early development.

Chromatin↗

PubMed2007

Methylation of lysine 4 on histone H3: intricacy of writing and reading a single epigenetic mark.

Cells employ elaborate mechanisms to introduce structural and chemical variation into chromatin. Here, we focus on one such element of variation: methylation of lysine 4 in histone H3 (H3K4). We assess a growing body of literature, including treatment of how the mark is established, the patterns of methylation, and the functional consequences of this epigenetic signature. We discuss structural aspects of the H3K4 methyl recognition by the downstream effectors and propose a distinction between sequence-specific recruitment mechanisms and stabilization on chromatin through methyl-lysine recognition. Finally, we hypothesize how the unique properties of the polyvalent chromatin fiber and associated effectors may amplify small differences in methyl-lysine recognition, simultaneously allowing for a dynamic chromatin architecture.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

PubMed2006

Molecular basis for site-specific read-out of histone H3K4me3 by the BPTF PHD finger of NURF.

Mono-, di- and trimethylated states of particular histone lysine residues are selectively found in different regions of chromatin, thereby implying specialized biological functions for these marks ranging from heterochromatin formation to X-chromosome inactivation and transcriptional regulation. A major challenge in chromatin biology has centred on efforts to define the connection between specific methylation states and distinct biological read-outs impacting on function. For example, histone H3 trimethylated at lysine 4 (H3K4me3) is associated with transcription start sites of active genes, but the molecular 'effectors' involved in specific recognition of H3K4me3 tails remain poorly understood. Here we demonstrate the molecular basis for specific recognition of H3(1-15)K4me3 (residues 1-15 of histone H3 trimethylated at K4) by a plant homeodomain (PHD) finger of human BPTF (bromodomain and PHD domain transcription factor), the largest subunit of the ATP-dependent chromatin-remodelling complex, NURF (nucleosome remodelling factor). We report on crystallographic and NMR structures of the bromodomain-proximal PHD finger of BPTF in free and H3(1-15)K4me3-bound states. H3(1-15)K4me3 interacts through anti-parallel beta-sheet formation on the surface of the PHD finger, with the long side chains of arginine 2 (R2) and K4me3 fitting snugly in adjacent pre-formed surface pockets, and bracketing an invariant tryptophan. The observed stapling role by non-adjacent R2 and K4me3 provides a molecular explanation for H3K4me3 site specificity. Binding studies establish that the BPTF PHD finger exhibits a modest preference for K4me3- over K4me2-containing H3 peptides, and discriminates against monomethylated and unmodified counterparts. Furthermore, we identified key specificity-determining residues from binding studies of H3(1-15)K4me3 with PHD finger point mutants. Our findings call attention to the PHD finger as a previously uncharacterized chromatin-binding module found in a large number of chromatin-associated proteins.

Amino Acid Motifs↗

PubMed2006

A PHD finger of NURF couples histone H3 lysine 4 trimethylation with chromatin remodelling.

Lysine methylation of histones is recognized as an important component of an epigenetic indexing system demarcating transcriptionally active and inactive chromatin domains. Trimethylation of histone H3 lysine 4 (H3K4me3) marks transcription start sites of virtually all active genes. Recently, we reported that the WD40-repeat protein WDR5 is important for global levels of H3K4me3 and control of HOX gene expression. Here we show that a plant homeodomain (PHD) finger of nucleosome remodelling factor (NURF), an ISWI-containing ATP-dependent chromatin-remodelling complex, mediates a direct preferential association with H3K4me3 tails. Depletion of H3K4me3 causes partial release of the NURF subunit, BPTF (bromodomain and PHD finger transcription factor), from chromatin and defective recruitment of the associated ATPase, SNF2L (also known as ISWI and SMARCA1), to the HOXC8 promoter. Loss of BPTF in Xenopus embryos mimics WDR5 loss-of-function phenotypes, and compromises spatial control of Hox gene expression. These results strongly suggest that WDR5 and NURF function in a common biological pathway in vivo, and that NURF-mediated ATP-dependent chromatin remodelling is directly coupled to H3K4 trimethylation to maintain Hox gene expression patterns during development. We also identify a previously unknown function for the PHD finger as a highly specialized methyl-lysine-binding domain.

Adenosine Triphosphatases↗

PubMed2006

Histone arginine methylation and its dynamic regulation.

Methylation of histones by protein arginine methyltransferases (PRMTs) is increasingly being found to play an important and dynamic role in gene regulation. In mammals, PRMT1- and CARM1-catalyzed histone asymmetric dimethyl-arginine is involved in gene activation while PRMT5-catalyzed histone symmetric dimethyl-arginine is associated with gene repression. Insight into mechanisms by which histone arginine methylation can be dynamically regulated comes from recent reports demonstrating that conversion of histone methylarginine residues to citrulline by peptidylarginine deiminase 4 (PADI4) leads to transcriptional repression. While the downstream cellular effects of histone arginine methylation remain poorly understood, recent findings indicate that protein arginine methylation, in general, is required for mammalian development and is also likely important for cellular proliferation and differentiation. Given the surge of interest in histone arginine methylation, this review article will focus on recent progress in this area.

Adenosine Triphosphate↗

PubMed2006

Identifying novel proteins recognizing histone modifications using peptide pull-down assay.

Post-translational modifications of histones have been correlated with virtually all chromatin-templated processes, including gene expression regulation, DNA replication, mitosis and meiosis, and DNA repair. In order to better understand the mechanistic basis by which histone modifications participate in the control of cellular processes, it is essential to identify and characterize downstream effector proteins, or "readers", that are responsible for recognizing different marks and translating them into specific biological outcomes. Ideally, identification of potential histone-binding effectors should occur in an unbiased fashion. Although in the recent years much progress has been made in identifying readers of histone modifications, in particular methylation, recognition of the majority of known histone marks is still poorly understood. Here I describe a simple and unbiased biochemical pull-down assay that allows for the identification of novel histone effector proteins and utilizes biotinylated histone peptides modified at various residues. I provide detailed protocols and suggestions for troubleshooting.

Biotinylation↗

PubMed2005

Taking LSD 1 to a new high.

Histone modifications mediate changes in gene expression by altering the underlying chromatin structure or by serving as a binding platform to recruit other proteins. One such modification, histone methylation, was thought to be irreversible until last year when Shi and co-workers broke new ground with their discovery of a lysine-specific histone demethylase (LSD 1). They showed that LSD 1, a nuclear amine oxidase homolog, is a bona fide histone H3 lysine 4 demethylase (Shi et al., 2004). Now, a new study from published in a recent issue of Molecular Cell, together with two studies recently published by and in Nature, reveal that LSD 1's specificity and activity is in fact regulated by associated protein cofactors.

Chromatin↗

PubMed2005

WDR5 associates with histone H3 methylated at K4 and is essential for H3 K4 methylation and vertebrate development.

Histone H3 lysine 4 (K4) methylation has been linked to the transcriptional activation in a variety of eukaryotic species. Here we show that a common component of MLL1, MLL2, and hSet1 H3 K4 methyltransferase complexes, the WD40-repeat protein WDR5, directly associates with histone H3 di- and trimethylated at K4 and with H3-K4-dimethylated nucleosomes. WDR5 is required for binding of the methyltransferase complex to the K4-dimethylated H3 tail as well as for global H3 K4 trimethylation and HOX gene activation in human cells. WDR5 is essential for vertebrate development, in that WDR5-depleted X. laevis tadpoles exhibit a variety of developmental defects and abnormal spatial Hox gene expression. Our results are the first demonstration that a WD40-repeat protein acts as a module for recognition of a specific histone modification and suggest a mechanism for reading and writing an epigenetic mark for gene activation.

Animals↗

PubMed2005

Physical association and coordinate function of the H3 K4 methyltransferase MLL1 and the H4 K16 acetyltransferase MOF.

A stable complex containing MLL1 and MOF has been immunoaffinity purified from a human cell line that stably expresses an epitope-tagged WDR5 subunit. Stable interactions between MLL1 and MOF were confirmed by reciprocal immunoprecipitation, cosedimentation, and cotransfection analyses, and interaction sites were mapped to MLL1 C-terminal and MOF zinc finger domains. The purified complex has a robust MLL1-mediated histone methyltransferase activity that can effect mono-, di-, and trimethylation of H3 K4 and a MOF-mediated histone acetyltransferase activity that is specific for H4 K16. Importantly, both activities are required for optimal transcription activation on a chromatin template in vitro and on an endogenous MLL1 target gene, Hox a9, in vivo. These results indicate an activator-based mechanism for joint MLL1 and MOF recruitment and targeted methylation and acetylation and provide a molecular explanation for the closely correlated distribution of H3 K4 methylation and H4 K16 acetylation on active genes.

Acetyltransferases↗

PubMed2004

Human PAD4 regulates histone arginine methylation levels via demethylimination.

Methylation of arginine (Arg) and lysine residues in histones has been correlated with epigenetic forms of gene regulation. Although histone methyltransferases are known, enzymes that demethylate histones have not been identified. Here, we demonstrate that human peptidylarginine deiminase 4 (PAD4) regulates histone Arg methylation by converting methyl-Arg to citrulline and releasing methylamine. PAD4 targets multiple sites in histones H3 and H4, including those sites methylated by coactivators CARM1 (H3 Arg17) and PRMT1 (H4 Arg3). A decrease of histone Arg methylation, with a concomitant increase of citrullination, requires PAD4 activity in human HL-60 granulocytes. Moreover, PAD4 activity is linked with the transcriptional regulation of estrogen-responsive genes in MCF-7 cells. These data suggest that PAD4 mediates gene expression by regulating Arg methylation and citrullination in histones.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

PubMed2004

Synchronous anal and penile cancers.

Malignancies of the anogenital region have similar etiology, including viral infections, sexual habits, social and educational factors. Condylomata acuminata represent precancerous lesions. In the available literature, we found no cases of synchronous cancers of anus and penis reported. We report a case of synchronous cancer of the penile foreskin and cancer of the anus in a 36 year-old man. The microscopic diagnosis of the anal lesion was squamous cell cancer, basaloid type. The penile lesion was squamous cell cancer, keratinizing type. Both cancers presented with the in situ component. Immunohistochemical staining (MIB-1) and histological features (koilocytosis, acanthosis and dyskeratosis) indirectly confirmed the past viral infection. Numerous etiological similarities in anogenital cancers entail careful clinical inspection in patients with a malignant lesion in this region and suggest searching for possible other concomitant cancers or precancerous lesions.

Adult↗

PubMed2004

Leukemia proto-oncoprotein MLL forms a SET1-like histone methyltransferase complex with menin to regulate Hox gene expression.

MLL (for mixed-lineage leukemia) is a proto-oncogene that is mutated in a variety of human leukemias. Its product, a homolog of Drosophila melanogaster trithorax, displays intrinsic histone methyltransferase activity and functions genetically to maintain embryonic Hox gene expression. Here we report the biochemical purification of MLL and demonstrate that it associates with a cohort of proteins shared with the yeast and human SET1 histone methyltransferase complexes, including a homolog of Ash2, another Trx-G group protein. Two other members of the novel MLL complex identified here are host cell factor 1 (HCF-1), a transcriptional coregulator, and the related HCF-2, both of which specifically interact with a conserved binding motif in the MLL(N) (p300) subunit of MLL and provide a potential mechanism for regulating its antagonistic transcriptional properties. Menin, a product of the MEN1 tumor suppressor gene, is also a component of the 1-MDa MLL complex. Abrogation of menin expression phenocopies loss of MLL and reveals a critical role for menin in the maintenance of Hox gene expression. Oncogenic mutant forms of MLL retain an ability to interact with menin but not other identified complex components. These studies link the menin tumor suppressor protein with the MLL histone methyltransferase machinery, with implications for Hox gene expression in development and leukemia pathogenesis.

Cell Line, Tumor↗

PubMed2003

Human Sin3 deacetylase and trithorax-related Set1/Ash2 histone H3-K4 methyltransferase are tethered together selectively by the cell-proliferation factor HCF-1.

The abundant and chromatin-associated protein HCF-1 is a critical player in mammalian cell proliferation as well as herpes simplex virus (HSV) transcription. We show here that separate regions of HCF-1 critical for its role in cell proliferation associate with the Sin3 histone deacetylase (HDAC) and a previously uncharacterized human trithorax-related Set1/Ash2 histone methyltransferase (HMT). The Set1/Ash2 HMT methylates histone H3 at Lys 4 (K4), but not if the neighboring K9 residue is already methylated. HCF-1 tethers the Sin3 and Set1/Ash2 transcriptional regulatory complexes together even though they are generally associated with opposite transcriptional outcomes: repression and activation of transcription, respectively. Nevertheless, this tethering is context-dependent because the transcriptional activator VP16 selectively binds HCF-1 associated with the Set1/Ash2 HMT complex in the absence of the Sin3 HDAC complex. These results suggest that HCF-1 can broadly regulate transcription, both positively and negatively, through selective modulation of chromatin structure.

Binding Sites↗

PubMed2003

The herpes simplex virus VP16-induced complex: the makings of a regulatory switch.

When herpes simplex virus (HSV) infects human cells, it is able to enter two modes of infection: lytic and latent. A key activator of lytic infection is a virion protein called VP16, which, upon infection of a permissive cell, forms a transcriptional regulatory complex with two cellular proteins - the POU-domain transcription factor Oct-1 and the cell-proliferation factor HCF-1 - to activate transcription of the first set of expressed viral genes. This regulatory complex, called the VP16-induced complex, reveals mechanisms of combinatorial control of transcription. The activities of Oct-1 and HCF-1 - two important regulators of cellular gene expression and proliferation - illuminate strategies by which HSV might coexist with its host.

Animals↗

PubMed2002

Inactivation of the retinoblastoma protein family can bypass the HCF-1 defect in tsBN67 cell proliferation and cytokinesis.

Owing to a single missense mutation in the cell proliferation factor HCF-1, the temperature-sensitive tsBN67 hamster cell line arrests proliferation at nonpermissive temperatures, primarily in a G(0)/G(1) state, and displays temperature-sensitive cytokinesis defects. The HCF-1 mutation in tsBN67 cells also causes a temperature-sensitive dissociation of HCF-1 from chromatin prior to cell proliferation arrest, suggesting that HCF-1-chromatin association is important for mammalian-cell proliferation. Here, we report that the simian virus 40 (SV40) early region, in particular, large T antigen (Tag), and the adenovirus oncoprotein E1A can rescue the tsBN67 cell proliferation defect at nonpermissive temperatures. The SV40 early region rescues the tsBN67 cell proliferation defect without restoring the HCF-1-chromatin association, indicating that these oncoproteins bypass a requirement for HCF-1 function. The SV40 early region also rescues the tsBN67 cytokinesis defect, suggesting that the roles of HCF-1 in cell proliferation and proper cytokinesis are intimately linked. The ability of SV40 Tag and adenovirus E1A to inactivate members of the pRb protein family-pRb, p107, and p130-is important for the bypass of HCF-1 function. These results suggest that HCF-1 regulates mammalian-cell proliferation and cytokinesis, at least in part, by either directly or indirectly opposing pRb family member function.

Adenovirus E1A Proteins↗

PubMedDate not supplied

[Application of polymorphism of HLA-DR locus in personal identification].

The aim of this paper was to present the results of investigation of the high polymorphic HLA-DR locus by the PCR-SSP method. Genomic DNA was isolated from whole blood, tissue samples (muscles and brains). HLA-DR alleles were typed using the DYNAL DR "low resolution" SSP kit. PCR products were separated on agarose gel with ethidium bromide and estimated in ultraviolet light. Phenotypic and genotypical rates of blood and tissues have been analysed. After electrophoresis in 228 DNA samples 39 phenotypes and 10 alleles were identified. The most frequent phenotypes of the HLA-DR locus were 5/6, 6/6 and 3/5. The high frequency of HLA-DR 6, DR 5 and DR 7 alleles have been found. No deviations from the Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium were observed. The HLA-DR locus has a relatively high information content (PIC), power of discrimination (PD) and mean exclusion chance (MEC). The molecular PCR-SSP method allows for very rapid and highly discriminatory HLA analysis. We found the PCR-SSP technique very useful in routine HLA-DR identification.

Alleles↗

PubMedDate not supplied

[Polymorphism of X-STR loci DXS7108 and DXS1196 in the Northern Polish population].

This paper describes results of a population study of two X-linked STR microsatellite markers: DXS7108 and DXS1196. 298 samples of DNA of unrelated persons (male and female) from the Northern part of Poland were analyzed. DNA was isolated using a non-enzymatic method. After amplification PCR products were separated by means of capillary electrophoresis using the ABI PRISM 310 Genetic Analyzer. The most common alleles of each locus were sequenced and used as a control ladder to type unknown samples. Testing for Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium (HWE) showed no significant deviation for these two loci. Statistical parameters (PD, HET, MEC) showed that examined systems are useful in forensic medicine.

Adult↗