Project description:During B cell development the precursor B cell receptor (pre-BCR) checkpoint is thought to increase immunoglobulin k light chain (Igk) locus accessibility to the V(D)J recombinase. Accordingly, pre-B cells lacking the pre-BCR signaling molecules Btk or Slp65 showed reduced germline Vk transcription. To investigate whether pre-BCR signaling modulates Vk accessibility through enhancer-mediated Igk locus topology, we performed chromosome conformation capture and sequencing analyses. These revealed that already in pro-B cells the k enhancers robustly interact with the ~3.2 Mb Vk region and its flanking sequences. Analyses in wild-type, Btk and Slp65 single and double-deficient pre-B cells demonstrated that pre-BCR signaling reduces interactions of both enhancers with Igk locus flanking sequences and increases interactions of the 3â??k enhancer with Vk genes. Remarkably, pre-BCR signaling does not significantly affect interactions between the intronic enhancer and Vk genes, which are already robust in pro-B cells. Both enhancers interact most frequently with highly used Vk genes, which are often marked by transcription factor E2a. We conclude that the k enhancers interact with the Vk region already in pro-B cells and that pre-BCR signaling induces accessibility through a functional redistribution of long-range chromatin interactions within the Vk region, whereby the two enhancers play distinct roles. We performed genome-wide expression profiling of FACS-purified B220+CD19+ pre-B cell fractions from wild-type (WT), Btk and Slp65 single and double deficient VH81x transgenic Rag1-/- mice (n=4 of each genotype). In these experiments non-VH81x transgenic Rag1-/- pro-B cells served as controls (n=3).
Project description:During B cell development the precursor B cell receptor (pre-BCR) checkpoint is thought to increase immunoglobulin k light chain (Igk) locus accessibility to the V(D)J recombinase. Accordingly, pre-B cells lacking the pre-BCR signaling molecules Btk or Slp65 showed reduced germline Vk transcription. To investigate whether pre-BCR signaling modulates Vk accessibility through enhancer-mediated Igk locus topology, we performed chromosome conformation capture and sequencing analyses. These revealed that already in pro-B cells the k enhancers robustly interact with the ~3.2 Mb Vk region and its flanking sequences. Analyses in wild-type, Btk and Slp65 single and double-deficient pre-B cells demonstrated that pre-BCR signaling reduces interactions of both enhancers with Igk locus flanking sequences and increases interactions of the 3’k enhancer with Vk genes. Remarkably, pre-BCR signaling does not significantly affect interactions between the intronic enhancer and Vk genes, which are already robust in pro-B cells. Both enhancers interact most frequently with highly used Vk genes, which are often marked by transcription factor E2a. We conclude that the k enhancers interact with the Vk region already in pro-B cells and that pre-BCR signaling induces accessibility through a functional redistribution of long-range chromatin interactions within the Vk region, whereby the two enhancers play distinct roles.
Project description:B lymphopoiesis requires that immunoglobulin genes be accessible to RAG1-RAG2 recombinase. However, the RAG proteins bind widely to open chromatin, which suggests that additional mechanisms must restrict RAG-mediated DNA cleavage. Here we show that developmental downregulation of interleukin 7 (IL-7)-receptor signaling in small pre-B cells induced expression of the bromodomain-family member BRWD1, which was recruited to a specific epigenetic landscape at Igk dictated by pre–BCR-dependent Erk activation. BRWD1 enhanced RAG recruitment, increased gene accessibility and positioned nucleosomes 5? to each J? recombination signal sequence. BRWD1 thus targets recombination to Igk and places recombination within the context of signaling cascades that control B cell development. Our findings represent a paradigm in which,at any particular antigen-receptor locus, specialized mechanisms enforce lineage- and stage-specific recombination. ChIP-seq for 1 transcription factor and 2 histone modifications in flow purified mouse small pre-B cells. ATAC-seq and RNA-seq in WT and Brwd-Mut mouse flow purified small pre-B cells.
Project description:CD20 is a clinically validated target for Non-Hodgkin’s lymphomas and autoimmune diseases. Interactions of CD20 with the B cell receptor (BCR) and components of the BCR signaling cascade have been reported. In this study we show that antibodies against CD20 or activation of the BCR by specific antibodies induce very similar expression patterns of up- or down-regulated genes in NHL cell lines indicating that CD20 may play a role in BCR signaling and vice versa. We used microarray data to show that antibodies against CD20 or activation of the BCR by specific antibodies induce very similar expression patterns of up- or down-regulated genes in NHL cell lines indicating that CD20 may play a role in BCR signaling and vice versa. Four different cell lines were treated with various antibodies for 4h (3 replicates per treatment), all in all 96 arrays were analysed for 32 samples. Changes were calculated relative to control/reference experiments. Expression patterns of each treatment were compared to determine overlaps.
Project description:CD20 is a clinically validated target for Non-Hodgkin’s lymphomas and autoimmune diseases. Interactions of CD20 with the B cell receptor (BCR) and components of the BCR signaling cascade have been reported. In this study we show that antibodies against CD20 or activation of the BCR by specific antibodies induce very similar expression patterns of up- or down-regulated genes in NHL cell lines indicating that CD20 may play a role in BCR signaling and vice versa. We used microarray data to show that antibodies against CD20 or activation of the BCR by specific antibodies induce very similar expression patterns of up- or down-regulated genes in NHL cell lines indicating that CD20 may play a role in BCR signaling and vice versa.
Project description:To elucidate the mechanism of BCL6-mediated pre-B cell survival signaling, we investigated the gene expression pattern in BCR-ABL1-transformed BCL6+/+ and BCL6-/- B cell precursors. Pharmacological inhibition of BCR-ABL1 was performed with the BCR-ABL1 kinase inhibitor STI571 (Imatinib).
Project description:B lymphopoiesis requires that immunoglobulin genes be accessible to RAG1-RAG2 recombinase. However, the RAG proteins bind widely to open chromatin, which suggests that additional mechanisms must restrict RAG-mediated DNA cleavage. Here we show that developmental downregulation of interleukin 7 (IL-7)-receptor signaling in small pre-B cells induced expression of the bromodomain-family member BRWD1, which was recruited to a specific epigenetic landscape at Igk dictated by pre–BCR-dependent Erk activation. BRWD1 enhanced RAG recruitment, increased gene accessibility and positioned nucleosomes 5′ to each Jκ recombination signal sequence. BRWD1 thus targets recombination to Igk and places recombination within the context of signaling cascades that control B cell development. Our findings represent a paradigm in which,at any particular antigen-receptor locus, specialized mechanisms enforce lineage- and stage-specific recombination.
Project description:To elucidate the mechanism of Dusp6-mediated pre-B cell survival signaling, we investigated the gene expression pattern in BCR-ABL1-transformed Dusp6+/+ and Dusp6-/- B cell precursors. BCR-ABL1 transformed B cell precursors of Dusp6 wildtype and Dusp6 knockout mice were subjected to RNA isolation