EZH2 controls mammary differentiation independently of its methyltransferase activity through controlling genomic STAT5 access
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ABSTRACT: Mammary development is characterized by the proliferation and progressive differentiation of alveolar epithelium during pregnancy, culminating in lactation. These processes are largely controlled by hormones through transcription factors. We now explore the contributions of histone methyltransferases, which establish H3K27me3 marks, in the temporally-regulated differentiation of mammary epithelium. Loss of EZH2, but not EZH1, resulted in precocious mammary differentiation, which was facilitated by STAT5 binding to specific target genes and their activation. Mammary stem cells were not compromised in the absence of EZH2. Genome-wide H3K27me3 patterns remained intact in the absence of EZH2. Mammary-specific loci were devoid of H3K27me3 marks in mammary progenitor and mature cells, suggesting no regulatory role for this repressive mark. Lastly, the combined absence of EZH1 and EZH2 inhibited the formation of alveoli. Taken together, EZH2 controls temporally-restricted differentiation of mammary epithelium through H3K27me3-independent mechanisms. mRNA-seq and ChIP-seq in MMTV-Cre (Control), E1-/- (E1KO), E1+/-;E2f/f;control (E1+/-E2KO) and Ezh2f/f;control (E2KO) mammary gland tissues or MECs (purified mammary epithelial cells). H3K27me3 and STAT5 ChIP-seqs in mammary tissues at p13; H3K4me3 ChIP-seq in MECs (mammary epithelial cells) at p13; RNA-seqs at mature virgin (with/without prolactin injection), p13 and p18 mammary tissues.
Project description:Establishment and differentiation of mammary alveoli during pregnancy are controlled by prolactin through the transcription factor STAT5. As pregnancy progresses mammary signature genes are activated in a defined temporal order, which coincides with the recruitment of STAT5 to respective regulatory sequences. This study addressed the question whether the methyltransferase and transcriptional co-activator EZH2 controls the differentiation clock of mammary epithelium. Ablation of Ezh2 from mammary stem cells resulted in precocious differentiation of alveolar epithelium during pregnancy and the activation of mammary-specific STAT5 target genes. This coincided with enhanced occupancy by STAT5, EZH1 and Pol II to these loci. Limited activation of differentiation-specific genes was also observed in mammary epithelium lacking both EZH2 and STAT5, suggesting a modulating but not mandatory role for STAT5. Notably, loss of EZH2 did not result in overt changes in genome-wide and gene-specific H3K27me3 patterns, suggesting that enhanced EZH1 recruitment can compensate for the loss of EZH2. Differentiated mammary epithelia failed to form in the combined absence of EZH1 and EZH2. Transplantation experiments failed to demonstrate a role for EZH2 in the biology of mammary stem and progenitor cells. In summary, while EZH1 and EZH2 serve redundant functions in the establishment of H3K27me3 and formation of mammary alveoli, the presence of EZH2 is required to obtain controlled temporal differentiation of mammary epithelium. mRNA-seq in WT;MMTV-Cre (Control) at p13 and p18, E1-/- (E1KO), Ezh2f/f;MMTV-Cre(E2KO), Stat5f/f;MMTV-Cre(S5KO), and Ezh2f/f;Stat5f/f;MMTV-Cre (E2S5DKO) at p13 mammary tissues. ChIP-seq for H3K27me3, STAT5, EZH1, EZH2 and PolII in mammary tissues at p13
Project description:Establishment and differentiation of mammary alveoli during pregnancy are controlled by prolactin through the transcription factor STAT5. As pregnancy progresses mammary signature genes are activated in a defined temporal order, which coincides with the recruitment of STAT5 to respective regulatory sequences. This study addressed the question whether the methyltransferase and transcriptional co-activator EZH2 controls the differentiation clock of mammary epithelium. Ablation of Ezh2 from mammary stem cells resulted in precocious differentiation of alveolar epithelium and accelerated activation of mammary signature genes. This coincided with enhanced occupancy by EZH1, Pol II and STAT5 to mammary-specific loci. Notably, loss of EZH2 did not result in overt changes in genome-wide and gene-specific H3K27me3 patterns, suggesting that enhanced EZH1 recruitment can compensate for the loss of EZH2. However, differentiated mammary epithelia failed to form in the combined absence of EZH1 and EZH2. Transplantation experiments failed to demonstrate a role for EZH2 in the biology of mammary stem and progenitor cells. In summary, while EZH1 and EZH2 serve redundant functions in the establishment of H3K27me3 and formation of mammary alveoli, the presence of EZH2 is required to obtain controlled temporal differentiation of mammary epithelium. ChIP-seq EZH1, EZH2, PolIII; WT and E2KO mammary cells
Project description:Super-enhancers comprise of dense transcription factor platforms highly enriched for active chromatin marks. A paucity of functional data led us to investigate their role in the mammary gland, an organ characterized by exceptional gene regulatory dynamics during pregnancy. ChIP-Seq for the master regulator STAT5, the glucocorticoid receptor, H3K27ac and MED1, identified 440 mammary-specific super-enhancers, half of which were associated with genes activated during pregnancy. We interrogated the Wap super-enhancer, generating mice carrying mutations in STAT5 binding sites within its three constituent enhancers. Individually, only the most distal site displayed significant enhancer activity. However, combinatorial mutations showed that the 1,000-fold gene induction relied on all enhancers. Disabling the binding sites of STAT5, NFIB and ELF5 in the proximal enhancer incapacitated the entire super-enhancer, suggesting an enhancer hierarchy. The identification of mammary-specific super-enhancers and the mechanistic exploration of the Wap locus provide insight into the complexity of cell-specific and hormone-regulated genes. ChIP-Seq for STAT5A, GR, H3K27ac, MED1, NFIB, ELF5, RNA Pol II, and H3K4me3 in wild type (WT) mammary tissues at day one of lactation (L1), and ChIP-Seq for STAT5A, GR, H3K27ac, MED1, NFIB, ELF5, and H3K4me3 in WT mammary tissues at day 13 of pregnancy (p13). ChIP-Seq for STAT5A, GR, H3K27a in Wap-delE1a, -delE1b, -delE1c, -delE2 and -delE3 mutant mammary tissues at L1, and ChIP-Seq for NFIB and ELF5 in Wap-delE1b and -delE1c mutant mammary tissues at L1. ChIP-Seq for H3K4me3 in mammary-epthelial cells at p13 and L1. DNase-seq in WT mammary tissues at L1 and DNase-seq in Wap-delE1a, -delE1c, and -delE3 mutant mammary tissues at L1.
Project description:Although epigenetic mechanisms, such as specific histone modifications, control common and cell-specific genetic programs, a role for histone modifying enzymes in liver metabolism and disease has not been investigated. This report demonstrates that the combined loss of the histone methyltransferases EZH1 and EZH2 in mouse hepatocytes led to the disruption of H3K27me3 homeostasis by age three months, simple fatty liver by age six months and fatal fibrosis by age 15 months. Global and gene-specific reduction of H3K27me3 marks paralleled a concomitant increase of H3K4me3 marks at genes associated with chronic liver disease. Advanced disease was accompanied by widespread infiltration of immune cells, an increase of activated hepatic stellate cells and collagen deposition. Expression of genes from the cytochrome P450 family that control drug metabolism was already deregulated by age two months and mice were fatally hypersensitive to carbon tetrachloride (CCl4). These genetic experiments, for the first time, illustrate that the simple loss of EZH1/EZH2, which results in the disruption of epigenetic modifications, is sufficient for the progression of fatal liver disease. RNA-seq and ChIP-seq were performed in liver tissues.
Project description:In this study we identifies miR-21 to by under cytokine control through the transcription factor STAT5 and while miR-21 is differentially expressed during mammary gland development, miR-21 is dispensable for mammary development and lactation. We refer to wild-type mice (+/+) as WT and to mice lacking the mir-21 (-/-) as KO mice.
Project description:Cytokines control the expression of common and cell-specific genes through the transcription factor STAT5. In mammary tissue specifically, expression of approximately 570 genes is induced during pregnancy by prolactin through STAT5, which binds to putative regulatory sequences. We have now asked whether mammary-specific induction of these genes can be linked to the presence of additional transcription factors, which would act in concert with STAT5. RNA-seq analysis at parturition identified 370 genes that were under NFIB control. Notably, 75% of these genes, encoding proteins linked to the differentiation of mammary epithelium, were also regulated by STAT5. This study demonstrates that the STAT5-NFIB module is an essential part of genes that define differentiation and function of the mammary gland. Expression profiling by high throughput sequencing in wild-type (WT) and Nfib-null (KO) mammary gland tissues
Project description:To dissect regulatory processes of cell proliferation and differentiation we generated mouse strains carrying any combination of the four Stat5 alleles, thus expressing STAT5 from 0 to 100%. RNA-Seq analyses revealed that different STAT5 levels activate specific genetic programs linked to cell proliferation and differentiation. We refer to wild-type mice and Stat5abfl/fl mice as AABB mice; Stat5abfl/fl;MMTV-Cre (with Stat5ab-deficient mammary epithelial cells) as Null mice; Stat5a-/- mice as BB mice; Stat5b-/- mice as AA mice; Stat5ab+/null mice as AB mice.
Project description:Gene expression profiling has uncovered the transcription factor Sox4 with up-regulated activity during TGFβ-induced EMT in normal and cancerous breast epithelial cells. Sox4 is indispensable for EMT and cell survival in vitro and for primary tumor growth and metastasis in vivo. Among several EMT-relevant genes, Sox4 directly regulates the expression of Ezh2, encoding the Polycomb group histone methyltransferase that trimethylates histone 3 lysine 27 (H3K27me3) for gene repression. Ablation of Ezh2 expression prevents EMT, while forced expression of Ezh2 restores EMT in Sox4-deficient cells. Ezh2-mediated H3K27me3 marks associate with key EMT genes, representing an epigenetic EMT signature that predicts patient survival. Our results identify Sox4 as a master regulator of EMT by governing the expression of the epigenetic modifier Ezh2. Our Dataset comprises of 12 ChIP-seq samples using chromatin from NMuMG cells which was immunoprecipitated using H3K27me3-specific antibody during TGFβ-induced EMT (2ng/ml) at 6 different stages (day 0, 1, 4, 7, 10, 20).
Project description:We use RNA-sequencing to generate gene expression profiles of fetal mammary cells with unique sorting strategies. These analyses reveal that sorting fetal mammary cells with Sox10 and EpCAM sorting markers provides a stroma-free fMaSC-enriched cell population. The gene expression profiling of these cells offers a resources to probe the molecular mechanisms that specify this unique cell state. Examination of 2 different sorting strategies for fetal mammary cells
Project description:We use RNA-sequencing to generate gene expression profiles of fetal mammary cells that have been induced to overexpress Sox10. These data highlight multiple important molecular mechanisms that are altered in response to this perturbation, and offer a resource to probe the basis of the stem/progenitor and EMT-like functions that are mediated by Sox10 in mammary cells. Expression profiling of fetal mammary cells that express ectopic levels of Sox10