Project description:Polycomb repressive complex 2 (PRC2-EZH2) methylates histone H3 at lysine 27 (H3K27) and is required to maintain gene repression during development. Misregulation of PRC2 is linked to a range of neoplastic malignancies, which is believed to involve methylation of H3K27. However, the full spectrum of non-histone substrates of PRC2 that might also contribute to PRC2 function is not known. We characterized the target recognition specificity of the PRC2 active site and used the resultant data to screen for uncharacterized potential targets. The RNA polymerase II (Pol II) transcription elongation factor, Elongin A (EloA), is methylated by PRC2 in vivo. Mutation of the methylated EloA residue decreased repression of a subset of PRC2 target genes as measured by both steady-state and nascent RNA levels and perturbed embryonic stem cell differentiation. We propose that PRC2 modulates transcription of a subset of low expression target genes in part via methylation of EloA.
Project description:Polycomb repressive complex 2 (PRC2-EZH2) methylates histone H3 at lysine 27 (H3K27) and is required to maintain gene repression during development. Misregulation of PRC2 is linked to a range of neoplastic malignancies, which is believed to involve methylation of H3K27. However, the full spectrum of non-histone substrates of PRC2 that might also contribute to PRC2 function is not known. We characterized the target recognition specificity of PRC2 and used the resultant data to screen for novel potential targets. The RNA polymerase II (Pol II) transcription factor, Elongin A (EloA), is methylated by PRC2 in vivo. Mutation of the methylated EloA residue decreased repression of many, but not all, PRC2 target genes as measured by both steady state and nascent RNA levels. We propose that PRC2 regulates transcription of a subset of target genes in part via methylation of EloA.
Project description:Polycomb repressive complex 2 (PRC2-EZH2) methylates histone H3 at lysine 27 (H3K27) and is required to maintain gene repression during development. Misregulation of PRC2 is linked to a range of neoplastic malignancies, which is believed to involve methylation of H3K27. However, the full spectrum of non-histone substrates of PRC2 that might also contribute to PRC2 function is not known. We characterized the target recognition specificity of PRC2 and used the resultant data to screen for novel potential targets. The RNA polymerase II (Pol II) transcription factor, Elongin A (EloA), is methylated by PRC2 in vivo. Mutation of the methylated EloA residue decreased repression of many, but not all, PRC2 target genes as measured by both steady state and nascent RNA levels. We propose that PRC2 regulates transcription of a subset of target genes in part via methylation of EloA.
Project description:Polycomb repressive complex 2 (PRC2-EZH2) methylates histone H3 at lysine 27 (H3K27). PRC2 is required to maintain gene repression during development and differentiation and misregulation of PRC2 is linked to a range of neoplastic malignancies, activities that are believed to involve H3K27 methylation. The full spectrum of non-histone substrates of PRC2, however, is not known, and it is not known which other substrates might also contribute to the biological functions of PRC2. We characterized the target recognition specificity and substrate diversity of PRC2, and identified more than one hundred potential novel nuclear targets of PRC2. The RNA polymerase II (Pol II) transcription elongation factor, Elongin A (EloA), is an in vivo target of PRC2. Mutation of the EloA residue that is methylated by PRC2 decreases repression of numerous PRC2 target genes. We propose that this functional crosstalk between PRC2 and EloA tunes the level of repression of targeted genes and contributes to the biological functions of PRC2.