Cancer tolerance to chromosomal instability is driven by Stat1 inactivation in vivo
Ontology highlight
ABSTRACT: Chromosomal instability (CIN) is a known hallmark of cancer, yet it also imposes stresses that reduce cellular fitness. In order to bridge the gap in knowledge on how cancer cells adapt to CIN-imposed stresses, we performed genome-wide transposon mutagenesis screen. Samples deposited in this database were acquired from mice used in our in vivo mutagenesis screen.
Project description:The granulosa cells in the mammalian ovarian follicle respond to gonadotropin signalling and are involved in the processes of folliculogenesis and oocyte maturation. Studies on gene expression and regulation in human granulosa cells are of interest due to their potential for estimating the oocyte viability and IVF success. However, the post-transcriptional gene expression studies on miRNA level in the human ovary have been scarce. The current study determined the miRNA profile by deep sequencing of the two intrafollicular somatic cell types: mural and cumulus granulosa cells isolated from women undergoing controlled ovarian stimulation and in vitro fertilization. Paired cumulus and mural granulosa samples were analysed from 3 women participating in IVF procedure. Libraries of all 6 samples were sequenced twice, generating 2 technical replicates for each sample. Differential gene expression study was performed on the pooled results of technical replicates.
Project description:In response to heart failure (HF), the heart reacts by repressing adult genes and expressing fetal genes, thereby returning to a more fetal-like gene profile. To identify genes involved in this process, we carried out transcriptional analysis on murine hearts at different stages of development and adult mice with HF. Our screen identified 5-oxoprolinase (OPLAH), a member of the -Glutamyl cycle, that functions by scavenging 5-oxoproline. OPLAH depletion occurred as a result of cardiac injury, leading to elevated 5-oxoproline and oxidative stress, whereas OPLAH overexpression improved cardiac function after ischemic injury. In HF patients we observed elevated plasma 5-oxoproline levels, which were associated with a worse clinical outcome. Understanding and modulating fetal-like genes in the failing heart may lead to potential novel diagnostic, prognostic and therapeutic options in HF.
Project description:CARM1, a coactivator for various cancer-relevant transcription factors, is overexpressed in breast cancer. To elucidate the functions of CARM1 in tumorigenesis, we knocked out CARM1 from several breast cancer cell lines using Zinc-Finger Nuclease technology, which resulted in drastic phenotypic and biochemical changes. The CARM1 KO cell lines enabled identification of novel CARM1 substrates, notably the SWI/SNF core subunit BAF155. Methylation of BAF155 at R1064 was found to be an independent prognostic biomarker for cancer recurrence and to regulate breast cancer cell migration and metastasis. Further, CARM1-mediated BAF155 methylation affects gene expression by directing methylated BAF155 to unique chromatin regions (e.g., c-Myc pathway genes). Collectively our studies uncover a mechanism by which BAF155 acquires tumorigenic functions via arginine methylation. Examination of methylation of BAF155 (R1064) in breast cancer cells
Project description:Here we characterize the genome-wide chromatin modification by PRDM9, a histone H3 lysine 4 methyltransferase. In order to detect PRDM9 binding sites we created coisogenic strains of mice differing only in the zinc finger array of PRDM9. One strain is C57BL/6J, which carries the Prdm9Dom2 allele, the other strain was created using genomic replacement and named B6.PRDM9Cst (also called KI), and contains the Prdm9Cst allele originally found in CAST/EiJ mice. Many H3K4me3 positions are common between strains and represent other methyltransferase activity (such as promoters), sites that are unique to one mouse strain likely represent the binding position of that allele of PRDM9. Identify PRDM9-dependent H3K4me3 sites by comparing modified chromatin from mice coisogenic for Prdm9.
Project description:DNA methylation directed by 24-nucleotide (nt) small interfering RNAs (siRNAs) plays critical roles in gene regulation and transposon silencing in Arabidopsis. Twenty-four-nt siRNAs are known to be processed from double-stranded RNAs by Dicer-like 3 (DCL3) and loaded into the effector Argonaute 4 (AGO4). Here we report a distinct class of siRNAs independent of DCLs (sidRNAs). sidRNAs are present as ladders of ~20 to 60nt in length, often having same 5' ends but differing in 3' ends by 1-nt steps. We further show that sidRNAs are associated with AGO4 and capable of directing DNA methylation. Finally we show that sidRNA production depends on AGO4 and distributive 3'-5' exonucleases. Our findings suggest an alternative route for siRNA biogenesis: precursor transcripts are bound by AGO4 and subsequently subjected to 3'-5' exonucleolytic trimming for maturation. We propose that sidRNAs generated through this route are the initial triggers of de novo DNA methylation. Small RNAs were profiled in Arabidopsis wild type (Col-0), dcl1/2/3/4 and other mutants by Illumina high-throughput sequencing, to identify siRNAs independent of DCLs (sidRNAs) and dissect their biogenesis pathway. DNA methylation was profiled in various mutants by whole-genome bisulfite sequencing to establish a role for sidRNAs in DNA methylation
Project description:Epithelial cells possess remarkable plasticity, having the ability to become mesenchymal cells through alterations in adhesion and motility (epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition or EMT). Recent studies suggest that EMT endows differentiated epithelial cells with stem cell traits, posing the interesting question of how epithelial plasticity is properly restricted to ensure epithelial differentiation during tissue morphogenesis. Here we identify zinc-finger transcription factor Ovol2 as a key suppressor of EMT of mammary epithelial cells. Epithelia-specific deletion of Ovol2 completely arrests mammary ductal morphogenesis, and depletes epithelial stem/progenitor cell reservoirs. Further, Ovol2-deficient epithelial cells undergo EMT in vivo to become non-epithelial cell types, and that Ovol2 directly represses key EMT inducers such as Zeb1 and regulates stem/progenitor cell responsiveness to TGF-beta. We also provide evidence for a suppressive role of Ovol2 in breast cancer progression. Our findings underscore the critical importance of exquisitely regulating epithelial plasticity to balance stemness with epithelial differentiation in development and cancer. We report ChIPseq data illustrating Ovol2 genome-wide targets in mouse mammary epithelial cells, suggesting that Ovol2 regulates a plethora of genes associated with the EMT process. Immunoprecipitated samples from HC11 mouse mammary epithelial cells with antibodies against Ovol2 and control IgG respectively were used for ChIP-seq experiments.
Project description:Although localized to the mineralized matrix of bone, osteocytes are able to respond to systemic factors such as the calciotropic hormones 1,25(OH)2D3 and PTH. In the present studies, we examine the transcriptomic response to PTH in an osteocyte cell model and found that this hormone regulated an extensive panel of genes. Surprisingly, PTH uniquely modulated two cohorts of genes, one that was expressed and associated with the osteoblast to osteocyte transition and the other a cohort that was expressed only in the mature osteocyte. Interestingly, PTH’s effects were largely to oppose the expression of differentiation-related genes in the former cohort, while potentiating the expression of osteocyte-specific genes in the latter cohort. A comparison of the transcriptional effects of PTH with those obtained previously with 1,25(OH)2D3 revealed a subset of genes that was strongly overlapping. While 1,25(OH)2D3 potentiated the expression of osteocyte-specific genes similar to that seen with PTH, the overlap between the two hormones was more limited. Additional experiments identified the PKA-activated phospho-CREB (pCREB) cistrome, revealing that while many of the differentiation-related PTH regulated genes were apparent targets of a PKA-mediated signaling pathway, a reduction in pCREB binding at sites associated with osteocyte-specific PTH targets appeared to involve alternative PTH activation pathways. That pCREB binding activities positioned near important hormone-regulated gene cohorts were localized to control regions of genes was reinforced by the presence of epigenetic enhancer signatures exemplified by unique modifications at histones H3 and H4. These studies suggest that both PTH and 1,25(OH)2D3 may play important and perhaps cooperative roles in limiting osteocyte differentiation from its precursors while simultaneously exerting distinct roles in regulating mature osteocyte function. Our results provide new insight into transcription factor-associated mechanisms through which PTH and 1,25(OH)2D3 regulate a plethora of genes important to the osteoblast/osteocyte lineage. ChIP-seq was performed on MC3T3-E1 cells for Phospho-Creb following 1 hour vehicle or forskolin treatment in biological replicate. Input sample was previously published in GSE41920 (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/geo/query/acc.cgi?acc=GSM1027508).
Project description:We showed that Bmal1 mainly regulates clock gene initiation, with this functioning being highly conserved across species. compare RNA-seq and chip-seq between wildtype and mutant cells