Project description:Epigenetic priming factors establish a permissive epigenetic landscape which is not required until a later developmental or physiological time point, temporally uncoupling the presence of these factors with their phenotypic effects. One classic example of epigenetic priming is in the context of bivalent chromatin, found in pluripotent stem cells and early embryos at key developmental gene promoters marked by both activating-associated H3K4me3 and repressive-associated H3K27me3 histone modifications. It is currently unknown how these bivalent domains are targeted, or precisely how they impact on lineage commitment. Here we show that the small heterodimerising non-enzymatic DNA binding proteins Developmental Pluripotency Associated 2 (Dppa2) and 4 (Dppa4) act as epigenetic priming factors to establish bivalency at a subset of developmental genes. Dppa2/4 localise to the +1 nucleosome position of bivalent genes and while they are not required for pluripotency in embryonic stem cells (ESCs), double knockout cells fail to exit pluripotency and to differentiate efficiently, with delays in upregulating bivalently marked lineage genes. Proteomics reveal that Dppa2/4 interact on chromatin with members of the COMPASS and Polycomb complexes important for H3K4me3 and H3K27me3 deposition, respectively. Epigenetic profiling reveals a striking loss of H3K4me3, H3K27me3, and their associated enzymatic machinery at a significant subset of bivalent promoters in Dppa2/4 mutants, in addition to loss of H2A.Z and chromatin accessibility. In wild-type ESCs, these “Dppa2/4-dependent” bivalent promoters are characterised by low H3K4me3 enrichment and breadth, near-absent expression levels and initiating but not elongating RNA polymerase. Notably, Dppa2/4-dependent promoters are less evolutionarily conserved suggesting that they lack additional safeguard measures to maintain bivalency at these genes in the absence of Dppa2/4. Concomitantly with the loss of bivalency, Dppa2/4-dependent bivalent promoters gain DNA methylation and consequently are no longer able to be effectively activated upon ESC differentiation, leading to defects in cell fate acquisition. Our findings reveal a targeting principle for bivalency to developmental gene promoters poising them for future lineage specific gene activation.

Project description:The ability of cells to perceive and translate versatile cues into differential chromatin and transcriptional states is critical for many biological processes1-4. In plants, timely transition to a flowering state is crucial for successful reproduction5-7. EARLY BOLTING IN SHORT DAY (EBS) is a negative transcriptional regulator that prevents premature flowering in Arabidopsis8,9. Here, we revealed that bivalent bromo-adjacent homology (BAH)-plant homeodomain (PHD) reader modules of EBS bind H3K27me3 and H3K4me3, respectively. A subset of EBS-associated genes was co-enriched with H3K4me3, H3K27me3, and the Polycomb repressor complex 2 (PRC2). Interestingly, EBS adopts an auto-inhibition mode to mediate its binding preference switch between H3K27me3 and H3K4me3. This binding balance is critical because disruption of either EBS-H3K27me3 or EBS-H3K4me3 interaction induces EBS-mediated early floral transition. This study identifies a single bivalent chromatin reader capable of recognizing two antagonistic histone marks and reveals a distinct mechanism of interplay between active and repressive chromatin states.The ability of cells to perceive and translate versatile cues into differential chromatin and transcriptional states is critical for many biological processes1-4. In plants, timely transition to a flowering state is crucial for successful reproduction5-7. EARLY BOLTING IN SHORT DAY (EBS) is a negative transcriptional regulator that prevents premature flowering in Arabidopsis8,9. Here, we revealed that bivalent bromo-adjacent homology (BAH)-plant homeodomain (PHD) reader modules of EBS bind H3K27me3 and H3K4me3, respectively. A subset of EBS-associated genes was co-enriched with H3K4me3, H3K27me3, and the Polycomb repressor complex 2 (PRC2). Interestingly, EBS adopts an auto-inhibition mode to mediate its binding preference switch between H3K27me3 and H3K4me3. This binding balance is critical because disruption of either EBS-H3K27me3 or EBS-H3K4me3 interaction induces EBS-mediated early floral transition. This study identifies a single bivalent chromatin reader capable of recognizing two antagonistic histone marks and reveals a distinct mechanism of interplay between active and repressive chromatin states.v

Project description:Epigenetic priming factors establish a permissive epigenetic landscape which is not required until a later developmental or physiological time point, temporally uncoupling the presence of these factors with their phenotypic effects. One classic example of epigenetic priming is in the context of bivalent chromatin, found in pluripotent stem cells and early embryos at key developmental gene promoters marked by both activating-associated H3K4me3 and repressive-associated H3K27me3 histone modifications. It is currently unknown how these bivalent domains are targeted, or precisely how they impact on lineage commitment. Here we show that the small heterodimerising non-enzymatic DNA binding proteins Developmental Pluripotency Associated 2 (Dppa2) and 4 (Dppa4) act as epigenetic priming factors to establish bivalency at a subset of developmental genes. Dppa2/4 localise to the +1 nucleosome position of bivalent genes and while they are not required for pluripotency in embryonic stem cells (ESCs), double knockout cells fail to exit pluripotency and to differentiate efficiently, with delays in upregulating bivalently marked lineage genes. Proteomics reveal that Dppa2/4 interact on chromatin with members of the COMPASS and Polycomb complexes important for H3K4me3 and H3K27me3 deposition, respectively. Epigenetic profiling reveals a striking loss of H3K4me3, H3K27me3, and their associated enzymatic machinery at a significant subset of bivalent promoters in Dppa2/4 mutants, in addition to loss of H2A.Z and chromatin accessibility. In wild-type ESCs, these “Dppa2/4-dependent” bivalent promoters are characterised by low H3K4me3 enrichment and breadth, near-absent expression levels and initiating but not elongating RNA polymerase. Notably, Dppa2/4-dependent promoters are less evolutionarily conserved suggesting that they lack additional safeguard measures to maintain bivalency at these genes in the absence of Dppa2/4. Concomitantly with the loss of bivalency, Dppa2/4-dependent bivalent promoters gain DNA methylation and consequently are no longer able to be effectively activated upon ESC differentiation, leading to defects in cell fate acquisition. Our findings reveal a targeting principle for bivalency to developmental gene promoters poising them for future lineage specific gene activation.

Project description:A cardinal property of neural stem cells (NSCs) is their ability to adopt multiple fates upon differentiation. The epigenome is widely seen as a read-out of cellular potential and a manifestation of this can be seen in embryonic stem cells (ESCs), where promoters of many lineage-specific regulators are marked by a bivalent epigenetic signature comprising trimethylation of both lysine 4 and lysine 27 of histone H3 (H3K4me3 and H3K27me3, respectively). Bivalency has subsequently emerged as a powerful epigenetic indicator of stem cell potential. Here, we have interrogated the epigenome during differentiation of ESC-derived NSCs to immature GABAergic interneurons. We show that developmental transitions are accompanied by loss of bivalency at many promoters in line with their increasing developmental restriction from pluripotent ESC through multipotent NSC to committed GABAergic interneuron. At the NSC stage, the promoters of genes encoding many transcriptional regulators required for differentiation of multiple neuronal subtypes and neural crest appear to be bivalent, consistent with the broad developmental potential of NSCs. Upon differentiation to GABAergic neurons, all non-GABAergic promoters resolve to H3K27me3 monovalency, whereas GABAergic promoters resolve to H3K4me3 monovalency or retain bivalency. Importantly, many of these epigenetic changes occur prior to any corresponding changes in gene expression. Intriguingly, another group of gene promoters gain bivalency as NSCs differentiate toward neurons, the majority of which are associated with functions connected with maturation and establishment and maintenance of connectivity. These data show that bivalency provides a dynamic epigenetic signature of developmental potential in both NSCs and in early neurons. Neural stem cells derived from mouse embryonic stem cells were differentiated into neurons and FACS purified based on RedStar fluorescence driven by the Tau promoter. Chromatin was prepared from NSCs and neurons (n=1), sonicated to roughly 300bp and immunoprecipitated with antibodies against H3K4me3, H3K27me3, total Histone H3 and total IgG, alongside a 5% input sample. K4/K27 and corresponding input samples were analysed by ChIPSeq

Project description:Ketone 3-hydroxybutyrate (3OHB) has been proved to be a neuroprotective endogenous molecule in multiple neurodegenerative diseases, but the detailed mechanisms of action has not been fully uncovered. Here, we employed a quantitative proteomics approach to assess the global protein expression pattern of neuron cells which were incorporated with 3OHB. While 3OHB did not derive dramatic proteome pattern fluctuation in HT22 cells, a big portion of the proteome alteration are found to be 3OHB specific responses (including: cell metabolism, protein acetylation, cognition, neurodegeneration diseases). Combining with disease related protein-protein interaction network analysis, we successfully pinpointed a hub marker, Histone lysine 27 trimethylation (H3K27me3), which has been widely studied in multiple neurodegenerative diseases, but still hasn’t been connected to 3OHB derived neuroprotective effects yet. In addition, our data suggested that the co-occurrence of H3K4me3 and H3K27me3 which was defined as chromatin bivalency referring “poised” transcriptional state could be perturbed by 3OHB, since both H3K4me3 and H3K27me3 were showing sensitive response to 3OHB. Integrative transcriptomics and epigenomics analysis highlighted bivalent transcription factors may play critical roles in 3OHB derived disease protection and alteration of neuronal development processes. To further validate and explore the possible scenario, we performed transcriptomics profiling of 3OHB perturbation upon neural differentiation process. The gene set enrichment analysis has shown that 3OHB could impair the fate decision of neural precursor cells by repressing and promoting their differentiation and proliferation related biological processes, respectively. Another interesting phenomenon is that two of relative high abundant Histone lysine hydroxybutyrylation sites (H2AK118bhb, H2BK34bhb) also responded to 3OHB fulguration. Those two sites are happen to be the most important monoubiquitylation sites that play critical role in regulating of H3K27 methylation and H3K4 (and K79) methylation, respectively. One may speculate that H2AK118bhb and H2BK34bhb involve in or even derive chromatin bivalency alteration upon 3OHB perturbation in neural systems.Taking together, our study provides a novel scenario for deciphering the 3OHB and its mechanisms of action in neural systems both in neurodegeneration disease pathogenesis and neural development process.

Project description:A cardinal property of neural stem cells (NSCs) is their ability to adopt multiple fates upon differentiation. The epigenome is widely seen as a read-out of cellular potential and a manifestation of this can be seen in embryonic stem cells (ESCs), where promoters of many lineage-specific regulators are marked by a bivalent epigenetic signature comprising trimethylation of both lysine 4 and lysine 27 of histone H3 (H3K4me3 and H3K27me3, respectively). Bivalency has subsequently emerged as a powerful epigenetic indicator of stem cell potential. Here, we have interrogated the epigenome during differentiation of ESC-derived NSCs to immature GABAergic interneurons. We show that developmental transitions are accompanied by loss of bivalency at many promoters in line with their increasing developmental restriction from pluripotent ESC through multipotent NSC to committed GABAergic interneuron. At the NSC stage, the promoters of genes encoding many transcriptional regulators required for differentiation of multiple neuronal subtypes and neural crest appear to be bivalent, consistent with the broad developmental potential of NSCs. Upon differentiation to GABAergic neurons, all non-GABAergic promoters resolve to H3K27me3 monovalency, whereas GABAergic promoters resolve to H3K4me3 monovalency or retain bivalency. Importantly, many of these epigenetic changes occur prior to any corresponding changes in gene expression. Intriguingly, another group of gene promoters gain bivalency as NSCs differentiate toward neurons, the majority of which are associated with functions connected with maturation and establishment and maintenance of connectivity. These data show that bivalency provides a dynamic epigenetic signature of developmental potential in both NSCs and in early neurons. Illumina Expresson BeadChip arrays (MouseRef-8v2.0) were used to assess gene expression changes in neural stem cells (n=5; derived from mouse embryonic stem cells) and their differentiated neuronal progeny (n=3; FACS-purified based on Tau-RedStar expression).

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ChIP-seq analysis of hematopoetic progenitors

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