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Coordinated changes in DNA methylation and histone modifications regulate silencing/derepression of luteinizing hormone receptor gene transcription.

We have previously demonstrated that transcription of the luteinizing hormone receptor (LHR) gene is subject to repression by histone deacetylation at its promoter region, where a histone deacetylase (HDAC)/mSin3A complex is anchored at a proximal Sp1 site. The present studies have shown that epigenetic silencing and activation of the LHR gene is achieved through coordinated regulation at both the histone and DNA levels. The HDAC inhibitor trichostatin A (TSA) evoked robust but significantly lower activation of the LHR gene in JAR than in MCF-7 cells. This effect was localized to the 176-bp promoter region, which is highly methylated in JAR and lightly methylated in MCF-7 cells. Consequently, TSA and the DNA demethylating reagent 5-azacytidine (5-AzaC) caused marked synergistic activation of the LHR gene in JAR but not in MCF-7 cells. Multiple site-specific lysine acetylation of H3/H4 is associated with such LHR gene activation. Methylation or acetylation of H3 at K9 is present at the silenced and derepressed LHR promoter, respectively. While DNA methylation levels did not affect the histone code of the LHR gene promoter, demethylation of the promoter CpG sites was necessary for maximal stimulation of this gene. Mechanistically, the combined actions of TSA and 5-AzaC, but not either 5-AzaC or TSA alone, resulted in complete demethylation of the LHR gene promoter in JAR cells. Release of the repressive HDAC/mSin3A complex from the LHR gene promoter in both cell types required both TSA-induced changes of histone modifications and, concurrently, a demethylated promoter. Also, Dnmt1 was largely dissociated from the LHR gene promoter in the presence of TSA or TSA plus 5-AzaC, and binding of MBD2 in JAR cells was diminished upon conversion of the promoter to a demethylated state. Such changes induced a more permissive chromatin where recruitment of polymerase II and TFIIB to the promoter was significantly increased. The activated state of the LHR gene induced by TSA and 5-AzaC in JAR and MCF-7 cells was observed basally in LHR-expressing PLC cells, in which the promoter is unmethylated and associated with hyperacetylated histones. Consequently, PLC cells are unresponsive to drug treatment. These findings have elucidated a regulatory mechanism whereby concurrent dissociation of repressors and association of activators and basal transcriptional components, resulting from coordinated histone hyperacetylation and DNA demethylation, lead to derepression of the LHR gene expression.

Acetylation↗

ING2 PHD domain links histone H3 lysine 4 methylation to active gene repression.

Dynamic regulation of diverse nuclear processes is intimately linked to covalent modifications of chromatin. Much attention has focused on methylation at lysine 4 of histone H3 (H3K4), owing to its association with euchromatic genomic regions. H3K4 can be mono-, di- or tri-methylated. Trimethylated H3K4 (H3K4me3) is preferentially detected at active genes, and is proposed to promote gene expression through recognition by transcription-activating effector molecules. Here we identify a novel class of methylated H3K4 effector domains--the PHD domains of the ING (for inhibitor of growth) family of tumour suppressor proteins. The ING PHD domains are specific and highly robust binding modules for H3K4me3 and H3K4me2. ING2, a native subunit of a repressive mSin3a-HDAC1 histone deacetylase complex, binds with high affinity to the trimethylated species. In response to DNA damage, recognition of H3K4me3 by the ING2 PHD domain stabilizes the mSin3a-HDAC1 complex at the promoters of proliferation genes. This pathway constitutes a new mechanism by which H3K4me3 functions in active gene repression. Furthermore, ING2 modulates cellular responses to genotoxic insults, and these functions are critically dependent on ING2 interaction with H3K4me3. Together, our findings establish a pivotal role for trimethylation of H3K4 in gene repression and, potentially, tumour suppressor mechanisms.

Amino Acid Motifs↗

E1A-mediated repression of progesterone receptor-dependent transactivation involves inhibition of the assembly of a multisubunit coactivation complex.

The steroid hormone progesterone acts via high-affinity nuclear receptors that interact with specific DNA sequences located near the promoter of the hormone-responsive gene. Recent studies suggested that the hormone-occupied progesterone receptor (PR) mediates gene activation by recruiting a cellular coregulatory factor, termed coactivator, to the target promoter. The identity and mechanism of action of the coactivator(s) that regulates transcriptional activity of PR are currently under investigation. Here we provide evidence that the hormone-occupied PR forms a multisubunit receptor-coactivator complex containing two previously described coactivators, CREB-binding protein (CBP) and steroid receptor coactivator 1 (SRC-1, a member of the p160 family of coactivators), in nuclear extracts of human breast tumor T47D cells. The association of CBP and SRC-1/p160 with the receptor complex is entirely hormone dependent. Both CBP and SRC-1/p160 possess intrinsic histone acetyltransferase (HAT) activity, and it has been recently proposed that these coactivators function by modulating chromatin structure at the promoter of the target gene. Interestingly, addition of purified CBP to the nuclear extracts of T47D cells markedly stimulated progesterone- and PR-dependent transcription from a nucleosome-free, progesterone response element (PRE)-linked reporter DNA template. Furthermore, depletion of SRC-1/p160 by immunoprecipitation from these transcriptional extracts also significantly impaired PR-mediated RNA synthesis from a naked PRE-linked DNA template. These results strongly implied that CBP and SRC-1/p160 facilitate receptor-mediated transcription in these cell extracts through mechanisms other than chromatin remodeling. We also observed that the adenoviral oncoprotein E1A, which interacts directly with CBP, repressed PR-mediated transactivation when added to the nuclear extracts of T47D cells. Supplementation with purified CBP overcame this inhibition, indicating that the inhibitory effect of E1A is indeed due to a blockade of CBP function. Most importantly, we noted that binding of E1A to CBP prevented the assembly of a coactivation complex containing PR, CBP, and SRC-1/p160, presumably by disrupting the interaction between CBP and SRC-1/p160. These results strongly suggested that E1A repressed receptor-mediated transcription by blocking the formation or recruitment of coactivation complexes. Collectively, our results support the hypothesis that the assembly of a multisubunit coactivation complex containing PR, CBP, and SRC-1/p160 is a critical regulatory step during hormone-dependent gene activation by PR and that the fully assembled complex has the ability to control transcription through mechanisms that are independent of the histone-modifying activities of its component coactivators.

Adenovirus E1A Proteins↗

Overlapping CRE and E box motifs in the enhancer sequences of the bovine leukemia virus 5' long terminal repeat are critical for basal and acetylation-dependent transcriptional activity of the viral promoter: implications for viral latency.

Bovine leukemia virus (BLV) infection is characterized by viral latency in a large proportion of cells containing an integrated provirus. In this study, we postulated that mechanisms directing the recruitment of deacetylases to the BLV 5' long terminal repeat (LTR) could explain the transcriptional repression of viral expression in vivo. Accordingly, we showed that BLV promoter activity was induced by several deacetylase inhibitors (such as trichostatin A [TSA]) in the context of episomal LTR constructs and in the context of an integrated BLV provirus. Moreover, treatment of BLV-infected cells with TSA increased H4 acetylation at the viral promoter, showing a close correlation between the level of histone acetylation and transcriptional activation of the BLV LTR. Among the known cis-regulatory DNA elements located in the 5' LTR, three E box motifs overlapping cyclic AMP responsive elements (CREs) in U3 were shown to be involved in transcriptional repression of BLV basal gene expression. Importantly, the combined mutations of these three E box motifs markedly reduced the inducibility of the BLV promoter by TSA. E boxes are susceptible to recognition by transcriptional repressors such as Max-Mad-mSin3 complexes that repress transcription by recruiting deacetylases. However, our in vitro binding studies failed to reveal the presence of Mad-Max proteins in the BLV LTR E box-specific complexes. Remarkably, TSA increased the occupancy of the CREs by CREB/ATF. Therefore, we postulated that the E box-specific complexes exerted their negative cooperative effect on BLV transcription by steric hindrance with the activators CREB/ATF and/or their transcriptional coactivators possessing acetyltransferase activities. Our results thus suggest that the overlapping CRE and E box elements in the BLV LTR were selected during evolution as a novel strategy for BLV to allow better silencing of viral transcription and to escape from the host immune response.

5' Untranslated Regions↗

A conserved chromatin architecture marks and maintains the restricted germ cell lineage in worms and flies.

In C. elegans, mRNA production is initially repressed in the embryonic germline by a protein unique to C. elegans germ cells, PIE-1. PIE-1 is degraded upon the birth of the germ cell precursors, Z2 and Z3. We have identified a chromatin-based mechanism that succeeds PIE-1 repression in these cells. A subset of nucleosomal histone modifications, methylated lysine 4 on histone H3 (H3meK4) and acetylated lysine 8 on histone H4 (H4acetylK8), are globally lost and the DNA appears more condensed. This coincides with PIE-1 degradation and requires that germline identity is not disrupted. Drosophila pole cell chromatin also lacks H3meK4, indicating that a unique chromatin architecture is a conserved feature of embryonic germ cells. Regulation of the germline-specific chromatin architecture requires functional nanos activity in both organisms. These results indicate that genome-wide repression via a nanos-regulated, germ cell-specific chromatin organization is a conserved feature of germline maintenance during embryogenesis.

Animals↗

Loss of transcriptional activity of a transgene is accompanied by DNA methylation and histone deacetylation and is prevented by insulators.

The constitutive DNase I hypersensitive site at the 5' end of the chicken beta-globin locus marks the boundary of the active chromatin domain in erythroid cells. The DNA sequence containing this site has the properties of an insulator, as shown by its ability in stable transformation experiments to block enhancer-promoter interaction when it lies between the two, but not when it lies outside, and to protect against position effects in Drosophila. We now show that the chicken insulator can protect a stably integrated gene, which is otherwise subject to great variability of expression, from chromatin-mediated repression in cell culture. When the integrated reporter gene is surrounded by insulator elements, stably transformed cell lines display consistent enhancer-dependent expression levels, in accord with the strength of the enhancer. In the absence of insulators, long-term nonselective propagation of cells carrying the integrated reporter gene results in gradual extinction of the reporter's expression, with expression patterns from tandemly repeated inserted genes suggesting that the extinction of adjacent genes is coupled. We show that the uninsulated reporter genes, in addition to becoming transcriptionally inactive, lose several epigenetic hallmarks of active chromatin, including nuclease accessibility, DNA hypomethylation, and histone hyperacetylation during time in culture. Treatment with inhibitors of histone deacetylase or DNA methylation reverses the extinction of the uninsulated genes. Extinction is completely prevented by flanking the reporter construct with insulators. Furthermore, in contrast to the uninsulated reporter genes, chromatin over the insulated genes retains nuclease accessibility and histone hyperacetylation. However, there is no clear correlation between the presence of the insulators and the level of DNA methylation. This leads us to propose a model for the insulator's ability to protect against extinction in the transformed cell lines and to function as a chromatin boundary for the chicken beta-globin locus in normal erythroid cells.

Acetylation↗

Set2-catalyzed methylation of histone H3 represses basal expression of GAL4 in Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

Recent work has shown that histone methylation is an important regulator of transcription. While much is known about the roles of histone methyltransferases (HMTs) in the establishment of heterochromatin, little is known of their roles in the regulation of actively transcribed genes. We describe an in vivo role of the Saccharomyces cerevisiae HMT, Set2. We identified SET2 as a gene necessary for repression of GAL4 basal expression and show that the evolutionarily conserved SACI, SACII, and SET domains of Set2 are necessary for this repression. We confirm that Set2 catalyzes methylation of lysine 36 on the N-terminal tail of histone H3. Conversion of lysine 36 to an unmethylatable arginine causes a decrease in the repression of GAL4 transcription, as does a Delta set2 mutation. We further show that lysine 36 of histone H3 at GAL4 is methylated and that this methylation is dependent upon the presence of SET2.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

Ets-2 repressor factor recruits histone deacetylase to silence human cytomegalovirus immediate-early gene expression in non-permissive cells.

Previous work from this laboratory has shown that expression of human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) immediate-early (IE) genes from the major immediate-early promoter (MIEP) is likely to be regulated by chromatin remodelling around the promoter affecting the acetylation state of core histone tails. The HCMV MIEP contains sequences that bind cellular transcription factors responsible for its negative regulation in undifferentiated, non-permissive cells. Ets-2 repressor factor (ERF) is one such factor that binds to such sequences and represses IE gene expression. Although it is not known how cellular transcription factors such as ERF mediate transcriptional repression of the MIEP, it is likely to involve differentiation-specific co-factors. In this study, the mechanism by which ERF represses HCMV IE gene expression was analysed. ERF physically interacts with the histone deacetylase, HDAC1, both in vitro and in vivo and this physical interaction between ERF and HDAC1 mediates repression of the MIEP. This suggests that silencing of viral IE gene expression, associated with histone deacetylation events around the MIEP, is mediated by differentiation-dependent cellular factors such as ERF, which specifically recruit chromatin remodellers to the MIEP in non-permissive cells.

Cell Culture Techniques↗

Structure and Methyl-lysine Binding Selectivity of the HUSH Complex Subunit MPP8.

The Human Silencing Hub (HUSH) guards the genome from the pathogenic effects of retroelement expression. Composed of MPP8, TASOR, and Periphilin-1, HUSH recognizes actively transcribed retrotransposed sequences by the presence of long (>1.5-kb) nascent transcripts without introns. HUSH recruits effectors that alter chromatin structure, degrade transcripts, and deposit transcriptionally repressive epigenetic marks. Here, we report the crystal structure of the C-terminal domain (CTD) of MPP8 necessary for HUSH activity. The MPP8 CTD consists of five ankyrin repeats followed by a domain with structural homology to the PINIT domains of Siz/PIAS-family SUMO E3 ligases. AlphaFold3 modeling of the MPP8-TASOR complex predicts that a SPOC domain and a domain with a novel fold in TASOR form extended interaction interfaces with the MPP8 CTD. Point mutations at these interfaces resulted in loss of HUSH-dependent transcriptional repression in a cell-based reporter assay, validating the AlphaFold3 model. The MPP8 chromodomain, known to bind the repressive mark H3K9me3, bound with similar or higher affinity to sequences in the H3K9 methyltransferase subunits SETDB1, ATF7IP, G9a, and GLP. Hence, MPP8 promotes heterochromatinization by recruiting H3K9 methyltransferases. Our work identifies novel structural elements in MPP8 required for HUSH complex assembly and silencing, thereby fulfilling vital functions in controlling retrotransposons.

Humans↗

ChIP-seq profiling identifies diapause-regulated H3K27me3 targets in the fat body of Culex pipiens.

Culex pipiens, a principal vector of significant arboviruses, survives winter through diapause, a hormonally controlled inactive phase that enhances endurance under severe cold circumstances. Recent data suggests that epigenetic processes, namely histone post-translational modifications (hPTMs), play a crucial role in regulating seasonal dormancy. Prior studies from our laboratory indicated a decrease in the methylation of Histone 3 (H3K27me3) in diapausing fat body tissue, associated with elevated expression of the histone demethylase UTX. Nonetheless, the precise genomic areas impacted by these chromatin alterations remained unidentified. We used chromatin immunoprecipitation coupled with high-throughput sequencing (ChIP-seq) to delineate the genome-wide distribution of H3K27me3 across fat body chromatin in diapausing (D) and non-diapausing (ND) female Cx. pipiens. Notably, the higher signal at transcription start sites (TSSs) reflects localized redistribution rather than a global decrease, as diapausing fat bodies retain less H3K27me3 overall but concentrate it at promoters. To investigate the functional significance of these chromatin alterations, we confirmed a number of target loci via ChIP-qPCR and assessed gene expression with qRT-PCR. We identified many critical genes that were markedly increased in diapausing mosquitoes, exhibiting an inverse relation to H3K27me3 enrichment. Our data demonstrates different H3K27me3 chromatin landscapes between diapausing and non-diapausing Cx. pipiens, corroborating a hypothesis of selective, locus-specific repression in the non-diapause state and its targeted removal during diapause to permit activation of dormancy-associated genes. These results suggest that chromatin remodeling is a core driver of the diapause switch.

Animals↗

New role for hPar-1 kinases EMK and C-TAK1 in regulating localization and activity of class IIa histone deacetylases.

Class IIa histone deacetylases (HDACs) are found both in the cytoplasm and in the nucleus where they repress genes involved in several major developmental programs. In response to specific signals, the repressive activity of class IIa HDACs is neutralized through their phosphorylation on multiple N-terminal serine residues and 14-3-3-mediated nuclear exclusion. Here, we demonstrate that class IIa HDACs are subjected to signal-independent nuclear export that relies on their constitutive phosphorylation. We identify EMK and C-TAK1, two members of the microtubule affinity-regulating kinase (MARK)/Par-1 family, as regulators of this process. We further show that EMK and C-TAK1 phosphorylate class IIa HDACs on one of their multiple 14-3-3 binding sites and alter their subcellular localization and repressive function. Using HDAC7 as a paradigm, we extend these findings by demonstrating that signal-independent phosphorylation of the most N-terminal serine residue by the MARK/Par-1 kinases, i.e., Ser155, is a prerequisite for the phosphorylation of the nearby 14-3-3 site, Ser181. We propose that this multisite hierarchical phosphorylation by a variety of kinases allows for sophisticated regulation of class IIa HDACs function.

14-3-3 Proteins↗

Preventive effects of phosphorylated ascorbate on ultraviolet-B induced apoptotic cell death and DNA strand cleavage through enrichment of intracellular vitamin C in skin epidermal keratinocytes.

Mortality of mouse keratinocytes Pam212 that were irradiated with ultraviolet-B (UVB) was shown to be repressed by pre-irradiated administration with L-ascorbic acid (Asc) or more markedly with Asc-2-O-phosphate (Asc2P), but not with dehydroascorbic acid (DehAsc) or Asc-2-O-alpha-glucoside (Asc2G), although not repressed by post-irradiated administration. The cytoprotection by Asc2P was restricted against UVB below 5-20 mJ/cm2, and exhibited markedly by administration for a period over 2 h, which may be caused by intracellular Asc that was accumulated via dephosphorylation of Asc2P and was increased, 6-24 h after, to levels above twice as abundant as those of Asc-administration. Pre-irradiated Asc2P-administration slightly repressed a DNA ladder-like electrophoretic pattern for UVB-irradiated keratinocytes, containing the histone-bound DNA fragments as shown by ELISA assay, and appreciably repressed the DNA-3'OH cleavage terminals as shown by terminal deoxyribonucleotidyl transferase-mediated dUTP nick end labeling (TUNEL) stain. Thus, prevention of UVB-induced cell death by Asc2P was shown to occur concurrently with inhibition of DNA cleavages and enrichment of intracellular Asc.

Animals↗

Transcriptional activation and chromatin remodeling of the HIV-1 promoter in response to histone acetylation.

After integration in the host cell genome, the HIV-1 provirus is packaged into chromatin. A specific chromatin disruption occurs in the HIV-1 promoter during transcriptional activation in response to TNF-alpha, suggesting that chromatin plays a repressive role in HIV-1 transcription and that chromatin modification(s) might result in transcriptional activation. We have treated several cell lines latently infected with HIV-1 with two new specific inhibitors of histone deacetylase, trapoxin (TPX) and trichostatin A (TSA), to cause a global hyperacetylation of cellular histones. Treatment with both drugs results in the transcriptional activation of the HIV-1 promoter and in a marked increase in virus production. Dose-response curves and kinetic analysis show a close correlation between the level of histone acetylation and HIV-1 gene expression. In contrast, both TPX and TSA have little or no effect on HIV-1 promoter activity following transient transfection of an HIV-1 promoter-reporter plasmid. Activation of HIV-1 transcription by TSA and TPX treatment occurs in the absence of NF-kappa B induction. Chromatin analysis of the HIV-1 genome shows that a single nucleosome (nuc-1) located at the transcription start and known to be disrupted following TNF-alpha treatment, is also disrupted following TPX or TSA treatment. This disruption is independent of transcription as it is resistant to alpha-amanitin. These observations further support the crucial role played by nuc-1 in the suppression of HIV-1 transcription during latency and demonstrate that transcriptional activation of HIV-1 can proceed through a chromatin modification.

Acetylation↗

Modulation of Sp1-dependent transcription by a cis-acting E2F element in dhfr promoter.

The dihydrofolate reductase (dhfr) promoter contains cis-acting elements for Sp1 and E2F. Here we examined the cooperative regulation of dhfr gene transcription by Sp1 and E2F in human osteosarcoma cells, U2OS. Trichostatin A, an inhibitor of histone deacetylases, markedly stimulated dhfr promoter activity, a response that was enhanced by the deletion of an E2F element. In contrast, deletion of the dhfr Sp1 binding sites completely abolished promoter stimulation by trichostatin A. Cotransfection assays showed that activation of dhfr transcription by expression of E2F1/DP1 requires the reiterated Sp1 elements, whereas activation by Sp1 was enhanced by the deletion of the E2F element. Expression of HDAC1 with Sp1 suppressed promoter activity and suppression was not alleviated by coexpression of E2F1/DP1. These results suggest that HDAC1 acts through Sp1 to repress dhfr promoter activity, and that the E2F element modulates the activity of Sp1 at the dhfr promoter through a cis-acting mechanism.

Base Sequence↗

MAP kinases mediate UVB-induced phosphorylation of histone H3 at serine 28.

Histone H3 phosphorylation is related closely to chromatin remodeling and chromosome condensation. H3 phosphorylation at serine 28 is coupled with mitotic chromosome condensation in diverse mammalian cell lines. However, the pathway that mediates phosphorylation of H3 at serine 28 is unknown. In the present study, ERK1, ERK2, or p38 kinase strongly phosphorylated H3 at serine 28 in vitro. JNK1 or JNK2 was able also to phosphorylate H3 at serine 28 in vitro but to a lesser degree. UVB irradiation markedly induced phosphorylation of H3 at serine 28 in JB6 Cl 41 cells. PD 98059, a MEK1 inhibitor, and SB 202190, a p38 kinase inhibitor, efficiently repressed UVB-induced H3 phosphorylation at serine 28. Expression of dominant negative mutant (DNM) ERK2 in JB6 Cl 41 cells totally blocked UVB-induced phosphorylation of H3 at serine 28. Additionally, DNM p38 kinase or DNM JNK1 partially blocked UVB-induced H3 phosphorylation at serine 28. Furthermore, UVB-induced H3 phosphorylation at serine 28 was inhibited in Jnk1(-/-) cells but not in Jnk2(-/-) cells. These results suggest that UVB-induced H3 phosphorylation at serine 28 may be mediated by mitogen-activated protein kinases.

Animals↗

Involvement of histone deacetylase at two distinct steps in gene regulation during intestinal development in Xenopus laevis.

Amphibian metamorphosis is marked by dramatic thyroid hormone (T(3))-induced changes including de novo morphogenesis, tissue remodeling and organ resorption through programmed cell death. These changes involve cascades of gene regulation initiated by thyroid hormone and its receptors. Previous studies suggest that chromatin remodeling involving changes in core histone acetylation plays a fundamental role in transcriptional regulation. A basic model has been suggested where targeted histone deacetylation is involved in transcriptional repression and histone acetylation is involved in transcriptional activation. On the other hand, the developmental roles of histone acetylation remain to be elucidated. Here we demonstrate that tadpole treatment with trichostatin A, a specific potent histone deacetylase inhibitor, blocks metamorphosis. Gene expression analyses show that trichostatin A induces the release of T(3)-response gene repression without affecting T(3)-induction of direct T(3)-response genes. However, the drug blocks the regulation of late T(3)-response genes, which may be responsible for its inhibitory effects on metamorphosis. These data support a role of deacetylases in transcriptional repression by unliganded T(3) receptor during premetamorphosis and another role at a downstream step of the gene regulation cascade induced by T(3) during metamorphosis.

Animals↗

Silencing by plant Polycomb-group genes requires dispersed trimethylation of histone H3 at lysine 27.

The plant Polycomb-group (Pc-G) protein CURLY LEAF (CLF) is required to repress targets such as AGAMOUS (AG) and SHOOTMERISTEMLESS (STM). Using chromatin immunoprecipitation, we identify AG and STM as direct targets for CLF and show that they carry a characteristic epigenetic signature of dispersed histone H3 lysine 27 trimethylation (H3K27me3) and localised H3K27me2 methylation. H3K27 methylation is present throughout leaf development and consistent with this, CLF is required persistently to silence AG. However, CLF is not itself an epigenetic mark as it is lost during mitosis. We suggest a model in which Pc-G proteins are recruited to localised regions of targets and then mediate dispersed H3K27me3. Analysis of transgenes carrying AG regulatory sequences confirms that H3K27me3 can spread to novel sequences in a CLF-dependent manner and further shows that H3K27me3 methylation is not sufficient for silencing of targets. We suggest that the spread of H3K27me3 contributes to the mitotic heritability of Pc-G silencing, and that the loss of silencing caused by transposon insertions at plant Pc-G targets reflects impaired spreading.

AGAMOUS Protein, Arabidopsis↗

The orphan nuclear receptor Rev-erbalpha recruits the N-CoR/histone deacetylase 3 corepressor to regulate the circadian Bmal1 gene.

Transcriptional regulation plays a fundamental role in controlling circadian oscillation of clock gene expression. The orphan nuclear receptor Rev-erbalpha has recently been implicated as a major regulator of the circadian clock. Expression of Bmal1, the master regulator of circadian rhythm in mammals, is negatively correlated with Rev-erbalpha mRNA level, but the molecular mechanism underlying this regulation is largely unknown. Here we show that Rev-erbalpha dramatically represses the basal activity of the mouse Bmal1 gene promoter via two monomeric binding sites, both of which are required for repression and are conserved between mouse and human. Rev-erbalpha directly binds to the mouse Bmal1 promoter and recruits the endogenous nuclear receptor corepressor (N-CoR)/histone deacetylase 3 (HDAC3) complex, in association with a decrease in histone acetylation. The endogenous N-CoR/HDAC3 complex is also associated with the endogenous Bmal1 promoter in human HepG2 liver cells, where a reduction in cellular HDAC3 level markedly increases the expression of Bmal1 mRNA. These data demonstrate a new function for the N-CoR/HDAC3 complex in regulating the expression of genes involved in circadian rhythm by functioning as corepressor for Rev-erbalpha.

ARNTL Transcription Factors↗