ABSTRACT: The mechanisms that recruit the major Polycomb-group (PcG) complexes PRC1 and PRC2 to target sites in vertebrate cells are not well understood. Building on recent studies that have determined a reciprocal relationship between DNA methylation and Polycomb activity, we demonstrate that in methylation deficient ES cells CpG density, combined with antagonistic effects of H3K9me3 and H3K36me3, redirect PcG complexes to pericentric heterochromatin and gene rich domains. In this experiment we have assayed the genomic distribution of H3K9me3 and H3K36me3 marks,
Project description:By analysis of ChIP-exo of FOXA1 in LNCaP, we find that an astonishing genome-wide "well-positioned" configuration prevalently occurs between FOXA1 motif and the dyad of nucleosome. Here we performed ChIP-seq data of eight chromatin remodelers and found a higher occupancy of these remodelers on these well-positioned FOXA1 motif sites. Together, our results support a positional-nucleosome-oriented accessing model, in which FOXA1 can examine each underlying DNA nucleotide and be able to sense all potential motifs regardless if they face inward or outward to histone octamers along the DNA helix axis. We have performed ChIP-seq of eight chromatin remodeler factors.
Project description:The discovery of TET proteins, enzymes that oxidize 5-methylcytosine (5mC) in DNA, has revealed novel mechanisms for the regulation of DNA methylation. We have mapped 5-hydroxymethylcytosine (5hmC) at different stages of T cell development in the thymus and T cell differentiation in the periphery. We show that 5hmC is enriched in the gene body of highly expressed genes at all developmental stages, and that its presence correlates positively with gene expression. Further emphasizing the connection with gene expression, we find that 5hmC is enriched in active thymus-specific enhancers, and that genes encoding key transcriptional regulators display high intragenic 5hmC levels in precursor cells at those developmental stages where they exert a positive effect. Our data constitute a valuable resource that will facilitate detailed analysis of the role of 5hmC in T cell development and differentiation. Examine the distribution of the H3K27Ac in DP T cells. The presence of H3K27Ac in enhancers enable us to distinguish poised(H3Kme1 enriched, but devoid of H3K27Ac) versus active enhancers (enriched for H3K4me1 and H3K27Ac).
Project description:Eukaryotic RNA polymerase II (Pol II) has evolved an array of heptad repeats with the consensus sequence Tyr1-Ser2-Pro3-Thr4-Ser5-Pro6-Ser7 at the carboxy-terminal domain (CTD) of the large subunit (Rpb1). Differential phosphorylation of Ser2, Ser5, and Ser7 in the 5M-bM-^@M-^Y and 3M-bM-^@M-^Y regions of genes coordinates the binding of transcription and RNA processing factors to the initiating and elongating polymerase complexes. Here, we report phosphorylation of Thr4 by Polo-like-kinase-3 in mammalian cells. ChIPseq analyses indicate an increase of Thr4-P levels in the 3M-bM-^@M-^Y region of genes occurring subsequently to an increase of Ser2-P levels. A Thr4/Ala mutant of Pol II displays a lethal phenotype. This mutant reveals a global defect in RNA elongation, while initiation is largely unaffected. Since Thr4 replacement mutants are viable in yeast we conclude that this amino acid has evolved an essential function(s) in the CTD of Pol II for gene transcription in mammalian cells. In this study, we investigated the function and ChIPseq genome-wide profiling of Thr4P residue (using the 6D7 antibody) of the Pol II CTD in Raji human B cells in comparison with either total Pol II profiling (N20 antibody, santa-cruz sc-899x), Ser5P CTD (3E8) or Ser2P (3E10) profiling in WT Raji cells. In another set of experiments, we also analysed total Pol II profiling (using an HA tag at the N-terminus of RPB1 and HA antibody Abcam ab9110) when endogenous enzyme is shut down by alpha-amanitin and replaced by either a recominant Pol II with 48 consensus repeats of the CTD (con48) or a mutated version where Thr4 residues were replaced by Ala (Thr4-Ala).In total 6 experimental sets (Pol IIt, Ser5P, Ser2P, Thr4P, con48, Thr4-Ala) were generated for our analysis and for each a biological replicate was performed. Biological replicates were merged when the data showed comparable signal noise ratio. Otherwise a unique replicate, showing the best noise ratio, was chosen for further analysis although the second replicate (for Ser2P and Thr4-Ala experiments). An input control (genomic DNA extracted after reverse crosslinking of the nuclear chip extracts) was performred and used for substraction to the ChIP experiments. One specific input material was used for wt cells, one for con48 and one for Thr4-Ala. Our data were processed to generate final wig files using our in house analysis pipeline essentially as described in Koch et al, (2011) NSMB 18 (8) p956.In brief, after alignment, sequence tags are: (i) artefact removed, (ii) elongated to an in silico optimized actual size of the initial fragments , (iii) input substracted, (iv) merged if applicable, (v) scaled for all experiments to correct for variation of tag number in between experiments. Several of the raw data files were no longer available.
Project description:The chromatin state in developing body parts provides a zip code to cellular populations that direct their cell fates. We used antibodies for H3K4me3, H3K27me3 and Pol2, to identify the chromatin state signature of the Pitx2-null mouse forelimb during mid-gestation, at embryonic day 12. The families of genes marked included those related to transcription, transcriptional regulation, and embryonic organ development. Transcription factors specific for muscle development were characterized by bivalent chromatin, as E12 is a transition time point from embryonic to fetal myogenesis. The identified chromatin state of muscle specific genes was in strong correlation with their observed expression profile. Examination of the histone marks H3K4me3, H3k27me3, and Pol2 in whole E12.5 forelimb tissues from Pitx2 null mice using the Illumina HiSeq 2000
Project description:The established hierarchical model explaining co-occupancy of Polycomb repressor complexes 1 and 2 (PRC 1 and 2) at target loci proposes that the chromodomain of the polycomb protein, a core PRC1 subunit, recognises the H3K27me3 histone modification catalysed by PRC2. We used chromatin immunoprecipitation to analyse PRC1 occupancy at target loci in Eed-/- mouse embryonic stem cells (ESCs) that lack H3K27me3. Occupancy of the core PRC1 proteins Ring1B and Mel18 was strongly reduced, consistent with the hierarchical model. However, levels of H2A ubiquitylation (H2AK119u1), the histone modification catalysed by PRC1, were similar to wild-type cells, suggesting PRC1 recruitment is independent of H3K27me3. ChIP-sequencing analysis of Ring1B occupancy genome wide substantiated this conclusion, demonstrating significant Ring1B levels at polycomb target loci in Eed-/- ESCs. Thus PRC1 and PRC2 are recruited independently to sites that they co-occupy. We conclude that the primary function of H3K27me3 is to increase the residency of PRC1 at target loci and thereby to contribute to the stability of PRC1 mediated silencing. Examination of Ring1B binding in WT, Eed ko and Input of ESCs Examination of CBX7 in WT and Eed ko of ESCs
Project description:BLaER1 is a human B cell precursor leukemia cell line derived from the RCH-ACV cells. These cells are stably infected with a construct that overexpresses the transcription factor C/EBPa fused with the estrogen receptor hormone binding domain (ER) and GFP. Upon induction with beta-estradiol, C/EBP is internalized into the nucleus, promoting massive transcriptional changes and inducing the transdifferentiation of these pre-B cells into functional macrophages. This process, that lasts 7 days, can be monitored by the detection of specific B cell and macrophage surface markers by flow cytometry. With the goal of understanding the interplay between chromatin and transcription, we have obtained the epigenetic profile of 9 histone modifications (H3K4me1, H3K4me2, H3K4me3, H3K9ac, H3K27ac, H3K36me3, H4K20me2, H3K9me3 and H3K27me3) by ChIP-Seq in twelve time points along the transdifferentiation process, in two biological replicates.
Project description:In skeletal myogenesis, the transcription factor MyoD activates distinct transcriptional programs in progenitors compared to terminally differentiated cells. Using ChIP-seq and gene expression analyses, we show that in primary myoblasts, Snail-HDAC1/2 repressive complex bind and exclude MyoD from its targets. Notably, Snail binds E-box motifs that are G/C-rich in their central dinucleotides, and such sites are almost exclusively associated with genes expressed during differentiation. By contrast, Snail does not bind the A/T-rich E-boxes associated with MyoD targets in myoblasts. Thus, Snai1-HDAC1/2 prevents MyoD occupancy on differentiation-specific regulatory elements and the change from Snail- to MyoD-binding often results in enhancer switching during differentiation. Furthermore, we show that a regulatory network involving Myogenic Regulatory Factors (MRFs), Snail/2, miR-30a and miR-206 acts as a molecular switch that controls entry into myogenic differentiation. Together, these results reveal a regulatory paradigm that directs distinct gene expression programs in progenitors versus terminally differentiated cells. Genome wide binding sites of various transcription factors and chromatin modifiers in muscle cells
Project description:HNF1A and UTX are putative tumor suppressors in pancreatic cancer. In this study, we have combined mouse genetics, transcriptomics and genome binding studies to link HNF1A and UTX in a molecular mechanism that suppresses pancreatic cancer. In this session, we have profiled UTX, HNF1A, H3K27me3 and H3K27ac in normal and UTX- or HNF1A-deficient mouse pancreas by ChIP-seq experiments. We show that HNF1A recruits UTX to its genomic targets in pancreatic acinar cells, which results in remodeling of the chromatin landscape and activation of a broad transcriptional program of differentiated acinar cells, which in turn indirectly suppresses tumor suppressor pathways.
Project description:Turnover and exchange of nucleosomal histones and their variants, a process long believed to be static in post-replicative cells, remains largely unexplored in brain. Here, we describe a novel mechanistic role for HIRA (histone cell cycle regulator) and proteasomal degradation associated histone dynamics in the regulation of activity-dependent transcription, synaptic connectivity and behavior. We uncover a dramatic developmental profile of nucleosome occupancy across the lifespan of both rodents and humans, with the histone variant H3.3 accumulating to near saturating levels throughout the neuronal genome by mid-adolescence. Despite such accumulation, H3.3 containing nucleosomes remain highly dynamic–in a modification independent manner–to control neuronal- and glial- specific gene expression patterns throughout life. Manipulating H3.3 dynamics in both embryonic and adult neurons confirmed its essential role in neuronal plasticity and cognition. Our findings establish histone turnover as a critical, and previously undocumented, regulator of cell-type specific transcription and plasticity in mammalian brain. All ChIP-seq samples were generated to test the impact of neuronal activity/adult physiological plasticity on histone turnover in the central nervous system. This was tested in cultured neurons and astrocytes, FACS purified neurons or FACS purified Glia.