Project description:A large portion of the mammalian genome is assembled into constitutive heterochromatin which is highly compact and transcriptionally silent throughout the cell cycle. On the molecular level it is characterized by DNA methylation, “repressive” histone marks (hypoacethylation, H3K9 trimethylation, H4K20 trimethylation) and the presence of heterochromatin protein 1 (HP1). Regions of constitutive heterochromatin such as telomeres, pericentromeres and centromeres play a critical role in the maintenance of the genome integrity. Using a technique called Proteomics of Isolated Chromatin Segments (PICh) we have identified SMCHD1 as a novel component of telomeres and pericentomeres. SMCHD1 was previously shown to be involved in the inactivaction of the X chromosome and imprinting, but the its exact role in these processes is not understood. Our study aims to unravel the role of SMCHD1 in the formation and/or maintenance of constitutive chromatin. Using human cancer cells as research model we are trying to discover its mechanism of action by identifying its interacting partners, characterizing its genome wide binding sites and characterizing the effect of SMCHD1 knockout on the heterochromatin function. Characterization of SMCHD1 binding sites in HCT-116 cells.
Project description:A large portion of the mammalian genome is assembled into constitutive heterochromatin which is highly compact and transcriptionally silent throughout the cell cycle. On the molecular level it is characterized by DNA methylation, “repressive” histone marks (hypoacethylation, H3K9 trimethylation, H4K20 trimethylation) and the presence of heterochromatin protein 1 (HP1). Regions of constitutive heterochromatin such as telomeres, pericentromeres and centromeres play a critical role in the maintenance of the genome integrity. Using a technique called Proteomics of Isolated Chromatin Segments (PICh) we have identified SMCHD1 as a novel component of telomeres and pericentomeres. SMCHD1 was previously shown to be involved in the inactivaction of the X chromosome and imprinting, but the its exact role in these processes is not understood. Our study aims to unravel the role of SMCHD1 in the formation and/or maintenance of constitutive chromatin. Using human cancer cells as research model we are trying to discover its mechanism of action by identifying its interacting partners, characterizing its genome wide binding sites and characterizing the effect of SMCHD1 knockout on the heterochromatin function.
Project description:Stable silencing of the inactive X chromosome (Xi) in female mammals is crucial for the development of embryos and their postnatal health. SmcHD1 is essential for stable silencing of the Xi, and its functional deficiency results in derepression of many X-inactivated genes. Although SmcHD1 has been suggested to play an important role in the formation of higher-order chromatin structure of the Xi, the underlying mechanism is largely unknown. Here, we explore the epigenetic state of the Xi in SmcHD1-deficient epiblast stem cells and mouse embryonic fibroblasts in comparison with their wild-type counterparts. The results suggest that SmcHD1 underlies the formation of H3K9me3-enriched blocks on the Xi, which, although the importance of H3K9me3 has been largely overlooked in mice, play a crucial role in the establishment of the stably silenced state. We propose that the H3K9me3 blocks formed on the Xi facilitate robust heterochromatin formation in combination with H3K27me3, and that the substantial loss of H3K9me3 caused by SmcHD1 deficiency leads to aberrant distribution of H3K27me3 on the Xi and derepression of X-inactivated genes.
Project description:SPO11-promoted DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs) formation is a crucial step for meiotic recombination, and it is indispensable to detect the broken DNA ends accurately for dissecting the molecular mechanisms behind. Here, we report a novel technique, named DEtail-seq (DNA End tailing followed by sequencing), that can directly and quantitatively capture the meiotic DSB 3’ overhang hotspots at single-nucleotide resolution.
Project description:Stable silencing of the inactive X chromosome (Xi) in female mammals is crucial for the development of embryos and their postnatal health. SmcHD1 is essential for stable silencing of the Xi, and its functional deficiency results in derepression of many X-inactivated genes. Although SmcHD1 has been suggested to play an important role in the formation of higher-order chromatin structure of the Xi, the underlying mechanism is largely unknown. Here, we explore the epigenetic state of the Xi in SmcHD1-deficient epiblast stem cells and mouse embryonic fibroblasts in comparison with their wild-type counterparts. The results suggest that SmcHD1 underlies the formation of H3K9me3-enriched blocks on the Xi, which, although the importance of H3K9me3 has been largely overlooked in mice, play a crucial role in the establishment of the stably silenced state. We propose that the H3K9me3 blocks formed on the Xi facilitate robust heterochromatin formation in combination with H3K27me3, and that the substantial loss of H3K9me3 caused by SmcHD1 deficiency leads to aberrant distribution of H3K27me3 on the Xi and derepression of X-inactivated genes.
Project description:Gene expression profiling of immortalized human mesenchymal stem cells with hTERT/E6/E7 transfected MSCs. hTERT may change gene expression in MSCs. Goal was to determine the gene expressions of immortalized MSCs.