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Inhibitors of DNA methylation and histone deacetylation independently relieve AML1/ETO-mediated lysozyme repression.

The human lysozyme (LZM) gene is highly methylated in LZM-nonexpressor immature myeloid and in nonmyeloid cells and unmethylated only in LZM-expressing cells. Extended methylation analyses of the CpG-poor 5' flanking region and of the exon 4 CpG island (both containing Alu elements) of the LZM gene were now performed. Marked demethylation was noted after treatment of AML1/ETO-positive Kasumi-1 cells with the DNA methyltransferase (DNMT) inhibitor 5-aza-2'-deoxycytidine (5-azaCdR), not associated with cellular differentiation. LZM mRNA in Kasumi-1, but not in several AML1/ETO-negative myeloid cell lines, was specifically and independently up-regulated upon treatment with 5-azaCdR and, to a lesser extent, with the histone deacetylase (HDAC) inhibitor trichostatin A (TSA). Increased chromatin accessibility within the 5' LZM gene was observed concomitantly with 5-azaCdR-induced demethylation. In contrast, TSA treatment had no effect on chromatin accessibility, but, as shown by chromatin immunoprecipitation, resulted in increased acetylation of histones H3 and H4. Repression of LZM transcription is mediated by conditional AML1/ETO expression in an inducible cell line model (U-937), and is reversed by siRNA "knock-down" of AML1/ETO in Kasumi-1 cells (Dunne et al., Oncogene 25: 2006). Antagonization of LZM repression following conditional expression of AML1/ETO was achieved by TSA. In conclusion, we demonstrate complex interactions between DNA methylation and histone modifications in mediating LZM repression, which implicate AML1/ETO as one component involved in local chromatin remodeling. Interestingly, inhibitors of DNMTs and HDACs independently relieve repression of this CpG-poor gene in AML1/ETO-positive cells.

Acetylation↗

Nuclear and chromatin reorganization in the MHC-Oct3/4 locus at developmental phases of embryonic stem cell differentiation.

Epigenetic gene control is involved in mechanisms of development. Little is known about the cooperation of nuclear and chromatin events in programmed differentiation from mouse embryonic stem cells (ESC). To address this, Oct3/4-positive ESC and differentiated progenies, Sox1-positive neural precursor cells (NPC) and post-mitotic neurons (PMN), were isolated using a stage-selected culture system. We first investigated global nuclear organization at the each stage. Chromocenter preexists in ESC, disperses in NPC and becomes integrated into large heterochromatic foci in PMN, while the formation of PML bodies markedly decreases in neural differentiation. We next focused on the gene-dense MHC-Oct3/4 region. Oct3/4 gene is expressed preferentially adjacent to PML bodies in ESC and are repressed in the absence of chromocenter association in NPC and PMN. Histone deacetylation in NPC, demethylation of lysine 4 of histone H3 (H3K4), tri-methylation of H3K27, and CpG methylation in PMN are targeted for the Oct3/4 promoter within the region. Interestingly, di-methyl H3K4 mark is present in Oct3/4 promoter in NPC as well as ESC. These findings provide insights into the molecular basis of global nuclear reorganization and euchromatic gene silencing in differentiation through the spatiotemporal order of epigenetic controls.

Animals↗

CTCF mediates long-range chromatin looping and local histone modification in the beta-globin locus.

CTCF (CCCTC-binding factor) binds sites around the mouse beta-globin locus that spatially cluster in the erythroid cell nucleus. We show that both conditional deletion of CTCF and targeted disruption of a DNA-binding site destabilize these long-range interactions and cause local loss of histone acetylation and gain of histone methylation, apparently without affecting transcription at the locus. Our data demonstrate that CTCF is directly involved in chromatin architecture and regulates local balance between active and repressive chromatin marks. We postulate that throughout the genome, relative position and stability of CTCF-mediated loops determine their effect on enhancer-promoter interactions, with gene insulation as one possible outcome.

Animals↗

Higher-order structure in pericentric heterochromatin involves a distinct pattern of histone modification and an RNA component.

Post-translational modification of histone tails is thought to modulate higher-order chromatin structure. Combinations of modifications including acetylation, phosphorylation and methylation have been proposed to provide marks recognized by specific proteins. This is exemplified, in both mammalian cells and fission yeast, by transcriptionally silent constitutive pericentric heterochromatin. Such heterochromatin contains histones that are generally hypoacetylated and methylated by Suv39h methyltransferases at lysine 9 of histone H3 (H3-K9). Each of these modification states has been implicated in the maintenance of HP1 protein-binding at pericentric heterochromatin, in transcriptional silencing and in centromere function. In particular, H3-K9 methylation is thought to provide a marking system for the establishment and maintenance of stably repressed regions and heterochromatin subdomains. To address the question of how these two types of modifications, as well as other unidentified parameters, function to maintain pericentric heterochromatin, we used a combination of histone deacetylase inhibitors, RNAse treatments and an antibody raised against methylated branched H3-K9 peptides. Our results show that both H3-K9 acetylation and methylation can occur on independent sets of H3 molecules in pericentric heterochromatin. In addition, we identify an RNA- and histone modification-dependent structure that brings methylated H3-K9 tails together in a specific configuration required for the accumulation of HP1 proteins in these domains.

Fluorescent Antibody Technique↗

Differential histone H3 Lys-9 and Lys-27 methylation profiles on the X chromosome.

Histone H3 tail modifications are among the earliest chromatin changes in the X-chromosome inactivation process. In this study we investigated the relative profiles of two important repressive marks on the X chromosome: methylation of H3 lysine 9 (K9) and 27 (K27). We found that both H3K9 dimethylation and K27 trimethylation characterize the inactive X in somatic cells and that their relative kinetics of enrichment on the X chromosome as it undergoes inactivation are similar. However, dynamic changes of H3K9 and H3K27 methylation on the inactivating X chromosome compared to the rest of the genome are distinct, suggesting that these two modifications play complementary and perhaps nonredundant roles in the establishment and/or maintenance of X inactivation. Furthermore, we show that a hotspot of H3K9 dimethylation 5' to Xist also displays high levels of H3 tri-meK27. However, analysis of this region in G9a mutant embryonic stem cells shows that these two methyl marks are dependent on different histone methyltransferases.

Animals↗

Arabidopsis epigenetics: when RNA meets chromatin.

Recent work in plants and other eukaryotes has uncovered a major role for RNA interference in silent chromatin formation. The heritability of the silent state through multiple cell division cycles and, in some instances, through meiosis is assured by epigenetic marks. In plants, transposable elements and transgenes provide striking examples of the stable inheritance of repressed states, and are characterized by dense DNA methylation and heterochromatin histone modifications. Arabidopsis is a useful higher eukaryotes model with which to explore the crossroads between silent chromatin and RNA interference both during development and in the genome-wide control of repeat elements.

Arabidopsis↗

Distinct roles of Polycomb group gene products in transcriptionally repressed and active domains of Hoxb8.

To address the molecular mechanisms underlying Polycomb group (PcG)-mediated repression of Hox gene expression, we have focused on the binding patterns of PcG gene products to the flanking regions of the Hoxb8 gene in expressing and non-expressing tissues. In parallel, we followed the distribution of histone marks of transcriptionally active H3 acetylated on lysine 9 (H3-K9) and methylated on lysine 4 (H3-K4), and of transcriptionally inactive chromatin trimethylated on lysine 27 (H3-K27). Chromatin immunoprecipitation revealed that the association of PcG proteins, and H3-K9 acetylation and H3-K27 trimethylation around Hoxb8 were distinct in tissues expressing and not expressing the gene. We show that developmental changes of these epigenetic marks temporally coincide with the misexpression of Hox genes in PcG mutants. Functional analyses, using mutant alleles impairing the PcG class 2 component Rnf2 or the Suz12 mutation decreasing H3-K27 trimethylation, revealed that interactions between class 1 and class 2 PcG complexes, mediated by trimethylated H3-K27, play decisive roles in the maintenance of Hox gene repression outside their expression domain. Within the expression domains, class 2 PcG complexes appeared to maintain the transcriptionally active status via profound regulation of H3-K9 acetylation. The present study indicates distinct roles for class 2 PcG complexes in transcriptionally repressed and active domains of Hoxb8 gene.

Animals↗

Polycomb silencing mechanisms and the management of genomic programmes.

Polycomb group complexes, which are known to regulate homeotic genes, have now been found to control hundreds of other genes in mammals and insects. First believed to progressively assemble and package chromatin, they are now thought to be localized, but induce a methylation mark on histone H3 over a broad chromatin domain. Recent progress has changed our view of how these complexes are recruited, and how they affect chromatin and repress gene activity. Polycomb complexes function as global enforcers of epigenetically repressed states, balanced by an antagonistic state that is mediated by Trithorax. These epigenetic states must be reprogrammed when cells become committed to differentiation.

Animals↗

BCL11A-dependent recruitment of SIRT1 to a promoter template in mammalian cells results in histone deacetylation and transcriptional repression.

The B cell leukemia 11A protein (BCL11A/Evi9/CTIP1) has been implicated in hematopoietic cell development and malignancies. BCL11A is a transcriptional repressor that binds directly to a GC-rich motif and is also recruited to a promoter template via interaction with the orphan nuclear receptor, chicken ovalbumin upstream promoter transcription factor II. In both cases, BCL11A-mediated transcriptional repression is only minimally reversed by trichostatin A, suggesting the possible lack of involvement of class I or II histone deacetylases. Nonetheless, chromatin immunoprecipitation assays revealed that expression of BCL11A in mammalian cells resulted in deacetylation of histones H3 and/or H4 that were associated with the promoter region of a reporter gene. BCL11A-mediated transcriptional repression, as well as deacetylation of histone H3/H4 in BCL11A-transfected cells, was partially reversed by nicotinamide, an inhibitor of class III histone deacetylases such as SIRT1. SIRT1 was found to interact directly with BCL11A and was recruited to the promoter template in a BCL11A-dependent manner leading to transcriptional repression. These findings define a role for SIRT1 in transcriptional repression mediated by BCL11A in mammalian cells.

Amino Acid Motifs↗

Short-chain fatty acids and thyroid hormone interact in regulating enterocyte gene transcription.

BACKGROUND: Enterocyte differentiation is known to be regulated by a variety of extracellular compounds, among which are triiodothyronine (T3) and the short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs). Because several SCFAs are known to induce histone hyperacetylation, and T3 action has been recently linked to chromatin structure, we sought to investigate the interplay between SCFAs and T3 in regard to the enterocyte differentiation marker, intestinal alkaline phosphatase (IAP). METHODS: Caco-2 cells were transiently transfected with a reporter construct containing 2.4 kb of the human IAP gene 5' flanking region (IAP2.4CAT). Cotransfections were carried out with and without thyroid hormone receptor-1 (TR beta-1) or histone deacetylase-1 (HDAC-1) expression plasmids. Cells were treated with 5 mmol/L SCFAs (propionic, butyric, valeric, or caproic acids as propionate, butyrate, valerate, or caproate, respectively), with and without 10 nmol/L T3. Reporter gene activity was measured and the level of histone acetylation assessed by means of acid-urea-triton (AUT) gel assays. RESULTS: TR beta-1 cotransfection caused a marked decrease in IAP reporter gene activity, which is consistent with the well-known phenomenon of ligand independent repression (LIR), whereas T3 treatment reversed the LIR and caused further reporter gene activation. Treatment with SCFAs similarly resulted in a complete blockage of LIR, and, in fact, turned the TR beta-1 into a transcriptional activator, even in the absence of T3. Concomitant treatment with T3 and butyric acid produced an additive effect on IAP transactivation. In contrast, cotransfection with HDAC-1 attenuated the effects of SCFAs on IAP gene activation. AUT gel studies demonstrated histone hyperacetylation in response to SCFA treatment. CONCLUSION: One or more DNA cis-elements in the human IAP gene mediate ligand independent repression by the TR beta-1, an effect that can be entirely reversed by those SCFAs that induce histone hyperacetylation. In addition T3 and SCFAs can act in concert to induce IAP gene transcription, demonstrating an important link between triiodothyronine and histone hyperacetylation in regard to enterocyte-specific gene expression.

Alkaline Phosphatase↗

Genome-wide analysis of polymerase III-transcribed Alu elements suggests cell-type-specific enhancer function.

Alu elements are one of the most successful families of transposons in the human genome. A portion of Alu elements is transcribed by RNA Pol III, whereas the remaining ones are part of Pol II transcripts. Because Alu elements are highly repetitive, it has been difficult to identify the Pol III-transcribed elements and quantify their expression levels. In this study, we generated high-resolution, long-genomic-span RAMPAGE data in 155 biosamples all with matching RNA-seq data and built an atlas of 17,249 Pol III-transcribed Alu elements. We further performed an integrative analysis on the ChIP-seq data of 10 histone marks and hundreds of transcription factors, whole-genome bisulfite sequencing data, ChIA-PET data, and functional data in several biosamples, and our results revealed that although the human-specific Alu elements are transcriptionally repressed, the older, expressed Alu elements may be exapted by the human host to function as cell-type-specific enhancers for their nearby protein-coding genes.

Alu Elements↗

Expression of transcriptional repressor protein mSin3A but not mSin3B is induced during neuronal apoptosis.

mSin3 proteins have an important role in transcriptional repression mediated by histone deacetylation. Our purpose was to find out whether apoptosis affects the expression of mSin3 proteins in neuroblastoma 2a cells. We observed that neuronal apoptosis, induced by serum withdrawal or by treatment with etoposide, okadaic acid or trichostatin A, induced a prominent increase in mSin3A protein expression but did not affect the level of mSin3B protein. Trichostatin A, an inhibitor of histone deacetylases, induced the most prominent upregulation of mSin3A protein. Metabolic labeling and immunoprecipitation of mSin3A showed a marked increase in the synthesis of mSin3A protein in agreement with the immunoblotting results. Interestingly, the expression of mSin3A preceded the activation of caspase-3 and the execution phase of neuronal apoptosis. These results suggest that the expression of mSin3A proteins may provide a regulation mechanism to enhance transcriptional repression or silencing of genes during neuronal apoptosis, as well as during degenerative diseases.

Animals↗

The putative oncogene GASC1 demethylates tri- and dimethylated lysine 9 on histone H3.

Methylation of lysine and arginine residues on histone tails affects chromatin structure and gene transcription. Tri- and dimethylation of lysine 9 on histone H3 (H3K9me3/me2) is required for the binding of the repressive protein HP1 and is associated with heterochromatin formation and transcriptional repression in a variety of species. H3K9me3 has long been regarded as a 'permanent' epigenetic mark. In a search for proteins and complexes interacting with H3K9me3, we identified the protein GASC1 (gene amplified in squamous cell carcinoma 1), which belongs to the JMJD2 (jumonji domain containing 2) subfamily of the jumonji family, and is also known as JMJD2C. Here we show that three members of this subfamily of proteins demethylate H3K9me3/me2 in vitro through a hydroxylation reaction requiring iron and alpha-ketoglutarate as cofactors. Furthermore, we demonstrate that ectopic expression of GASC1 or other JMJD2 members markedly decreases H3K9me3/me2 levels, increases H3K9me1 levels, delocalizes HP1 and reduces heterochromatin in vivo. Previously, GASC1 was found to be amplified in several cell lines derived from oesophageal squamous carcinomas, and in agreement with a contribution of GASC1 to tumour development, inhibition of GASC1 expression decreases cell proliferation. Thus, in addition to identifying GASC1 as a histone trimethyl demethylase, we suggest a model for how this enzyme might be involved in cancer development, and propose it as a target for anti-cancer therapy.

Cell Proliferation↗

Epigenome programming by Polycomb and Trithorax proteins.

Polycomb group (PcG) and Trithorax group (TrxG) proteins work, respectively, to maintain repressed or active transcription states of developmentally regulated genes through cell division. Data accumulated in the recent years have increased our understanding of the mechanisms by which PcG and TrxG proteins regulate gene expression. The discovery that histone methylation can serve as a specific mark for PcG and TrxG complexes has provided new insight into the mechanistic function of this cell-memory system.

Animals↗

Silenced tumor suppressor genes reactivated by DNA demethylation do not return to a fully euchromatic chromatin state.

Histone H3 lysine 9 (H3K9) and lysine 27 (H3K27) trimethylation are properties of stably silenced heterochromatin whereas H3K9 dimethylation (H3K9me2) is important for euchromatic gene repression. In colorectal cancer cells, all of these marks, as well as the key enzymes which establish them, surround the hMLH1 promoter when it is DNA hypermethylated and aberrantly silenced, but are absent when the gene is unmethylated and fully expressed in a euchromatic state. When the aberrantly silenced gene is DNA demethylated and reexpressed following 5-aza-2'-deoxycytidine treatment, H3K9me1 and H3K9me2 are the only silencing marks that are lost. A series of other silenced and DNA hypermethylated gene promoters behave identically even when the genes are chronically DNA demethylated and reexpressed after genetic knockout of DNA methyltransferases. Our data indicate that when transcription of DNA hypermethylated genes is activated in cancer cells, their promoters remain in an environment with certain heterochromatic characteristics. This finding has important implications for the translational goal of reactivating aberrantly silenced cancer genes as a therapeutic maneuver.

Adaptor Proteins, Signal Transducing↗

Histone-H1-dependent chromatin superstructures and the suppression of gene activity.

I have identified a chromatin particle containing DNA as large as 20-40 kb that migrates as a discrete entity on agarose gels. With increasing nuclease digestion, the particle becomes cleaved in the linker regions between nucleosomes, but remains intact, probably held together by the outer histones, H1 and H5. By hybridization analysis, inactive genes are found in these particles. Active genes (and their flanking sequences) are also found in particles containing H1 and H5, but in contrast to inactive supranucleosome particles, active polynucleosome particles are not held together after cleavage of linker DNA. This suggests that H1 cross-links adjacent nucleosomes in inactive regions and that H1 is bound differently in expressed regions. The results raise the possibility that the marked degree of suppression of repressed, tissue-specific genes may be determined, in part, by their assembly into these inactive supranucleosome structures.

Animals↗

Recruitment of the SWI/SNF protein Brg1 by a multiprotein complex effects transcriptional repression in murine erythroid progenitors.

SWI/SNF complexes are involved in both activation and repression of transcription. While one of two homologous ATPases, Brg1 [Brm (Brahma)-related gene 1] or Brm, is required for their chromatin remodelling function, less is known about how these complexes are recruited to DNA. We recently established that a DNA-binding complex containing TAL1/SCL, E47, GATA-1, LMO2 and Ldb1 stimulates P4.2 (protein 4.2) transcription in erythroid progenitors via two E box-GATA elements in the gene's proximal promoter. We show here that the SWI/SNF protein Brg1 is also associated with this complex and that both the E box and GATA DNA-binding sites in these elements are required for Brg1 recruitment. Further, Brg1 occupancy of the P4.2 promoter decreased with terminal erythroid differentiation in association with increased P4.2 transcription, while enforced expression of Brg1 in murine erythroleukaemia cells reduced P4.2 gene expression. Overexpression of Brg1 was associated with increased occupancy of the P4.2 promoter by the nuclear co-repressor mSin3A and HDAC2 (histone deacetylase 2) and with reduced histone H3 and H4 acetylation. Finally, a specific HDAC inhibitor attenuated Brg1-directed repression of P4.2 promoter activity in transfected cells. These results provide insight into the mechanism by which SWI/SNF proteins are recruited to promoters and suggest that transcription of P4.2, and most likely other genes, is actively repressed until the terminal differentiation of erythroid progenitors.

Acetylation↗

Histone deacetylase inhibitor Trichostatin A reduces anti-DNA autoantibody production and represses IgH gene transcription.

Systemic lupus erythematosus is characterized by the presence of autoantibodies and hypergammaglobulinemia. To investigate the role of histone deacetylases (HDACs) in the production of autoantibody and immunoglobulin, we examined the effect of Trichostatin A (TSA), a specific inhibitor of HDACs, on anti-DNA autoantibody production and IgH gene transcription. Our results showed that inhibition of HDAC activity by TSA markedly reduced anti-DNA autoantibody production by T347 cells either by inducing apoptosis or in an apoptosis-independent manner, suggesting that TSA might be useful for treating certain autoimmune diseases. Moreover, we found that TSA strongly inhibited germline and post-switch immunoglobulin transcripts in T347 cells and in primary splenic B cells of MRL-lpr mice. Reporter gene analysis demonstrated that both Emu and 3'-IgH enhancer activities were repressed significantly by TSA-mediated HDAC inhibition. Furthermore, we observed that HDAC1 was recruited to the 3'-IgH enhancer hs1,2 as determined by chromatin immunoprecipitation assays. Over-expression of HDAC1 increased the activity of IgH enhancers, especially 3'-IgH enhancers. These findings implicate HDAC in the IgH gene transcription via activation of 3'-IgH enhancers.

Animals↗