MCAF2/ATF7IP2 directs meiosis-specific H3K9 methylation
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ABSTRACT:
ORGANISM(S): Mus musculus
PROVIDER: GSE223742 | GEO | 2024/02/22
REPOSITORIES: GEO
Similar Datasets
Project description:H3K9 tri-methylation (H3K9me3) plays emerging roles in gene regulation, beyond its accumulation on pericentric constitutive heterochromatin. It remains a mystery why and how H3K9me3 undergoes dynamic regulation in male meiosis. Here, we identify a novel, critical regulator of H3K9 methylation and spermatogenic heterochromatin organization: the germline-specific protein ATF7IP2 (MCAF2). We show that, in male meiosis, ATF7IP2 amasses on autosomal and X pericentric heterochromatin, spreads through the entirety of the sex chromosomes, and accumulates on thousands of autosomal promoters and retrotransposon loci. On the sex chromosomes, which undergo meiotic sex chromosome inactivation (MSCI), the DNA damage response pathway recruits ATF7IP2 to X pericentric heterochromatin, where it facilitates the recruitment of SETDB1, a histone methyltransferase that catalyzes H3K9me3. In the absence of ATF7IP2, male germ cells are arrested in meiotic prophase. Analyses of ATF7IP2-deficient meiosis reveal the protein’s essential roles in the maintenance of MSCI, suppression of retrotransposons, and global activation of autosomal genes. We propose that ATF7IP2 is a downstream effector of the DDR pathway in meiosis that coordinates the organization of heterochromatin and gene regulation through the spatial regulation of SETDB1-mediated H3K9me3 deposition. CUT&RUN of H3K9me3 in Atf7ip2+/+ and Atf7ip2-/- pachytene spermatocytes and CUT&Tag of ATF7IP2 in C57/B6 WT pachytene spermatocytes.
2024-02-14 | GSE244083 | GEO
Project description:H3K9 tri-methylation (H3K9me3) plays emerging roles in gene regulation, beyond its accumulation on pericentric constitutive heterochromatin. It remains a mystery why and how H3K9me3 undergoes dynamic regulation in male meiosis. Here, we identify a novel, critical regulator of H3K9 methylation and spermatogenic heterochromatin organization: the germline-specific protein ATF7IP2 (MCAF2). We show that, in male meiosis, ATF7IP2 amasses on autosomal and X pericentric heterochromatin, spreads through the entirety of the sex chromosomes, and accumulates on thousands of autosomal promoters and retrotransposon loci. On the sex chromosomes, which undergo meiotic sex chromosome inactivation (MSCI), the DNA damage response pathway recruits ATF7IP2 to X pericentric heterochromatin, where it facilitates the recruitment of SETDB1, a histone methyltransferase that catalyzes H3K9me3. In the absence of ATF7IP2, male germ cells are arrested in meiotic prophase. Analyses of ATF7IP2-deficient meiosis reveal the protein’s essential roles in the maintenance of MSCI, suppression of retrotransposons, and global activation of autosomal genes. We propose that ATF7IP2 is a downstream effector of the DDR pathway in meiosis that coordinates the organization of heterochromatin and gene regulation through the spatial regulation of SETDB1-mediated H3K9me3 deposition. We performed gene expression analysis using data obtained from RNA-seq of Atf7ip2+/+ and Atf7ip2-/- pachytene spermatocytes.
2024-02-14 | GSE244087 | GEO
Project description:Meiotic sex chromosome inactivation (MSCI) is an essential process in the male germline. While genetic experiments have established that the DNA damage response (DDR) pathway directs MSCI, due to limitations to the experimental systems available, mechanisms underlying MSCI remain largely unknown. Here we establish a system to study MSCI ex vivo, based on a short-term culture method, and demonstrate that active DDR signaling is required both to initiate and maintain MSCI via a dynamic and reversible process. DDR-directed MSCI follows two layers of modifications: active DDR-dependent reversible processes and irreversible histone post-translational modifications. Further, the DDR initiates MSCI independent of the downstream repressive histone mark H3K9 trimethylation (H3K9me3), thereby demonstrating that active DDR signaling is the primary mechanism of silencing in MSCI. By unveiling the dynamic nature of MSCI, and its governance by active DDR signals, our study highlights the sex chromosomes as an active signaling hub in meiosis.
2022-10-05 | GSE211519 | GEO
Project description:Meiotic synapsis and recombination ensure correct homologous segregation and genetic diversity. Asynapsed homologues are transcriptionally inactivated by meiotic silencing, which serves a surveillance function and in males drives meiotic sex chromosome inactivation. Silencing depends on the DNA damage response (DDR) network, but how DDR proteins engage repressive chromatin marks is unknown. We identify the histone H3-lysine-9 methyltransferase SETDB1 as the bridge linking the DDR to silencing in male mice. At the onset of silencing, X-chromosome H3K9 trimethylation (H3K9me3) enrichment is downstream of DDR factors. Without Setdb1, the X chromosome accrues DDR proteins but not H3K9me3. Consequently, sex chromosome remodelling and silencing fails, causing germ cell apoptosis. Our data implicate TRIM28 in linking the DDR to SETDB1, and uncover additional factors with putative meiotic XY-silencing functions. Furthermore, we show that SETDB1 imposes timely expression of meiotic and post-meiotic genes. Setdb1 thus unites the DDR network, asynapsis and meiotic chromosome silencing.
2018-11-01 | GSE107671 | GEO
Project description:Methylation of histone H3 at lysine 9 (H3K9) is a hallmark of heterochromatin that plays crucial roles in chromatin-dependent gene silencing and maintenance of genome stability by repressing repetitive DNA elements and recruiting downstream factors essential for faithful chromosome segregation. Fundamental principles of these processes have been elucidated in the fission yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe (S. pombe), in which Clr4, the homologue of mammalian SUV39H, is the sole H3K9 methyltransferase. Although H3K9 methylation has been intensely studied in mitotic cells, occurrence and regulation during sexual differentiation remain largely unknown. Whether distinct H3 methylation states are relevant for gametogenesis is also not known. Here, using diploid S. pombe cells, we map H3K9 methylation genome-wide during the meiotic program and show that constitutive heterochromatin temporarily loses H3K9me2 and becomes H3K9me3 when cells exit mitosis and commit to the meiotic life cycle. Cells lacking the ability to tri-methylate H3K9 exhibit severe meiotic chromosome segregation defects, which does not occur in mitotic cells. Artificially increasing the affinity of the fission yeast heterochromatin protein 1 (HP1) homologue Swi6 towards H3K9me2 rescues chromosome segregation in the absence of H3K9me3. Thus, the H3K9me2 to H3K9me3 switch during early meiosis serves to retain Swi6 at centromeres, which is necessary for cohesin recruitment and kinetochore assembly. Finally, we show that the H3K9 methylation switch is regulated by differential phosphorylation of Clr4 by the cyclin-dependent kinase (CDK) Cdk1. Our results reveal how a highly conserved master regulator of the cell cycle regulates the specificity of the H3K9 methyltransferase and thereby controls the ratio of H3K9me2 to H3K9me3 to prevent unwanted gene silencing and to ensure faithful meiotic chromosome segregation. High degree of conservation of the proteins involved in our study and CDK-dependent phosphorylation of the mammalian SUV39H1 homologue suggest broad conservation of the mechanisms described here.
2022-10-17 | GSE182250 | GEO
Project description:Histones modulate gene expression by chromatin compaction, regulating numerous processes such as differentiation. However, the mechanisms underlying histone degradation remain elusive. When compared with their differentiated counterparts, immortal human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) have a unique chromatin architecture and low levels of trimethylated histone H3 at lysine 9 (H3K9me3), a heterochromatin-associated modification. Here we assess a link between the intrinsic epigenetic landscape and ubiquitin-proteasome system of hESCs. We find that hESCs exhibit high expression of UBE2K, a ubiquitin-conjugating enzyme. Loss of UBE2K increases the levels of H3K9 trimethyltransferase SETDB1, resulting in H3K9 trimethylation and repression of neurogenic genes during differentiation. Concomitantly, loss of UBE2K impairs the ability of hESCs to differentiate into neural progenitors with neurogenic properties. Besides H3K9 trimethylation, we find that UBE2K binds histone H3 to induce its polyubiquitination and degradation by the proteasome. Notably, ubc-20, the worm orthologue of UBE2K, also regulates both histone H3 levels and H3K9 trimethylation in C. elegans germline. Thus, our results indicate that UBE2K crosses evolutionary boundaries to promote histone H3 degradation and reduce H3K9me3 repressive marks in immortal cells.
2020-06-01 | PXD018621 | Pride
Project description:Histones modulate gene expression by chromatin compaction, regulating numerous processes such as differentiation. However, the mechanisms underlying histone degradation remain elusive. When compared with their differentiated counterparts, immortal human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) have a unique chromatin architecture and low levels of trimethylated histone H3 at lysine 9 (H3K9me3), a heterochromatin-associated modification. Here we assess a link between the intrinsic epigenetic landscape and ubiquitin-proteasome system of hESCs. We find that hESCs exhibit high expression of UBE2K, a ubiquitin-conjugating enzyme. Loss of UBE2K increases the levels of H3K9 trimethyltransferase SETDB1, resulting in H3K9 trimethylation and repression of neurogenic genes during differentiation. Concomitantly, loss of UBE2K impairs the ability of hESCs to differentiate into neural progenitors with neurogenic properties. Besides H3K9 trimethylation, we find that UBE2K binds histone H3 to induce its polyubiquitination and degradation by the proteasome. Notably, ubc-20, the worm orthologue of UBE2K, also regulates both histone H3 levels and H3K9 trimethylation in C. elegans germline. Thus, our results indicate that UBE2K crosses evolutionary boundaries to promote histone H3 degradation and reduce H3K9me3 repressive marks in immortal cells.
2020-06-01 | PXD018625 | Pride
Project description:In most eukaryotes, meiotic crossovers are essential for error-free chromosome segregation but are specifically repressed near centromeres to prevent missegregation. Recognized for >85 years, the molecular mechanism of this repression has remained unknown. Meiotic chromosomes contain two distinct cohesin complexes: pericentric complex (for segregation) and chromosomal arm complex (for crossing-over). We show that the pericentric-specific complex also actively represses pericentric meiotic double-strand break (DSB) formation and, consequently, crossovers. The fission yeast pericentric regions contain heterochromatin, removal of which can result in derepression in double-strand break formation and recombination during meiosis. We uncover the mechanism by which fission yeast heterochromatin protein Swi6 (mammalian HP1-homolog) prevents recruitment of activators of meiotic DSB formation such as Rec10. Localizing these missing activators to wild-type pericentromeres bypasses repression and generates abundant crossovers but reduces gamete viability.The molecular mechanism elucidated here likely extends to other species including humans, where pericentric crossovers can result in disorders such as Down syndrome. These mechanistic insights provide new clues to understand the roles played by multiple cohesin complexes, especially in human infertility and birth defects.
2018-06-14 | GSE115726 | GEO
Project description:Oocytes develop the competence for meiosis and early embryogenesis during their growth. Setdb1 is a histone H3 lysine 9 (H3K9) methyltransferase required for post-implantation development and has been implicated in the transcriptional silencing of genes and endogenous retroviral elements (ERVs). To address its role in oogenesis and pre-implantation development, we conditionally deleted Setdb1 in growing oocytes. Loss of Setdb1 expression greatly impaired meiosis. It delayed meiotic resumption, altered the dynamics of chromatin condensation, and impaired kinetochore-spindle interactions, bipolar spindle organization, and chromosome segregation in more mature oocytes. The observed phenotypes related to changes in abundance of specific transcripts in mutant oocytes. Setdb1 maternally deficient embryos arrested during pre-implantation development and showed comparable defects during cell cycle progression and in chromosome segregation. Finally, transcriptional profiling data indicate that Setdb1 down-regulates rather than silences expression of ERVK and ERVL-MaLR retrotransposons and associated chimearic transcripts during oogenesis. Our results identify Setdb1 as a novel meiotic and embryonic competence factor in meiosis and mitosis, safeguarding genome integrity at the onset of life. We performed expression profiling on pools of 16 denuded GV-oocytes isolated per mouse. We used oocytes from 4 Setdb1 f/+; Zp3-cre mice and 2 Setdb1 f/- mice as controls and oocytes from 4 Setdb1 f/-; Zp3-cre mice as mutant.
2016-06-27 | E-GEOD-82002 | biostudies-arrayexpress
Project description:We present evidence implicating the BAF (BRG1/BRM Associated Factor) chromatin remodeler in meiotic sex chromosome inactivation (MSCI). By immunofluorescence (IF), the putative BAF DNA binding subunit, ARID1A (AT-rich Interaction Domain 1a), appeared enriched on the male sex chromosomes during diplonema of meiosis I. The germ cell-specific depletion of ARID1A resulted in a pachynema arrest and failure to repress sex-linked genes indicating a defective MSCI. Consistent with this defect, mutant sex chromosomes displayed an abnormal presence of elongating RNA polymerase II coupled with an overall increase in chromatin accessibility detectable by ATAC-seq. By investigating potential mechanisms underlying these anomalies, we identified a role for ARID1A in promoting the preferential enrichment of the histone variant, H3.3, on the sex chromosomes, a known hallmark of MSCI. Without ARID1A, the sex chromosomes appeared depleted of H3.3 at levels resembling autosomes. Higher resolution analyses by CUT&RUN revealed dramatic shifts in sex-linked H3.3 associations from discrete intergenic sites and broader gene-body domains to promoters in response to the loss of ARID1A. Several sex-linked sites displayed ectopic H3.3 occupancy that does not co-localize with DMC1 (DNA Meiotic Recombinase 1). This observation suggests a requirement for ARID1A in DMC1 localization to the asynapsed sex chromatids. We conclude that ARID1A-directed H3.3 localization influences sex chromosome gene regulation and DNA repair during meiosis I.
2024-02-19 | GSE225609 | GEO