Project description:During B cell development the precursor B cell receptor (pre-BCR) checkpoint is thought to increase immunoglobulin k light chain (Igk) locus accessibility to the V(D)J recombinase. Accordingly, pre-B cells lacking the pre-BCR signaling molecules Btk or Slp65 showed reduced germline Vk transcription. To investigate whether pre-BCR signaling modulates Vk accessibility through enhancer-mediated Igk locus topology, we performed chromosome conformation capture and sequencing analyses. These revealed that already in pro-B cells the k enhancers robustly interact with the ~3.2 Mb Vk region and its flanking sequences. Analyses in wild-type, Btk and Slp65 single and double-deficient pre-B cells demonstrated that pre-BCR signaling reduces interactions of both enhancers with Igk locus flanking sequences and increases interactions of the 3â??k enhancer with Vk genes. Remarkably, pre-BCR signaling does not significantly affect interactions between the intronic enhancer and Vk genes, which are already robust in pro-B cells. Both enhancers interact most frequently with highly used Vk genes, which are often marked by transcription factor E2a. We conclude that the k enhancers interact with the Vk region already in pro-B cells and that pre-BCR signaling induces accessibility through a functional redistribution of long-range chromatin interactions within the Vk region, whereby the two enhancers play distinct roles. We performed genome-wide expression profiling of FACS-purified B220+CD19+ pre-B cell fractions from wild-type (WT), Btk and Slp65 single and double deficient VH81x transgenic Rag1-/- mice (n=4 of each genotype). In these experiments non-VH81x transgenic Rag1-/- pro-B cells served as controls (n=3).
Project description:During B cell development the precursor B cell receptor (pre-BCR) checkpoint is thought to increase immunoglobulin k light chain (Igk) locus accessibility to the V(D)J recombinase. Accordingly, pre-B cells lacking the pre-BCR signaling molecules Btk or Slp65 showed reduced germline Vk transcription. To investigate whether pre-BCR signaling modulates Vk accessibility through enhancer-mediated Igk locus topology, we performed chromosome conformation capture and sequencing analyses. These revealed that already in pro-B cells the k enhancers robustly interact with the ~3.2 Mb Vk region and its flanking sequences. Analyses in wild-type, Btk and Slp65 single and double-deficient pre-B cells demonstrated that pre-BCR signaling reduces interactions of both enhancers with Igk locus flanking sequences and increases interactions of the 3’k enhancer with Vk genes. Remarkably, pre-BCR signaling does not significantly affect interactions between the intronic enhancer and Vk genes, which are already robust in pro-B cells. Both enhancers interact most frequently with highly used Vk genes, which are often marked by transcription factor E2a. We conclude that the k enhancers interact with the Vk region already in pro-B cells and that pre-BCR signaling induces accessibility through a functional redistribution of long-range chromatin interactions within the Vk region, whereby the two enhancers play distinct roles.
Project description:Productive rearrangement of the immunoglobulin heavy chain locus triggers a major developmental checkpoint that promotes limited clonal expansion of pre-B cells, culminating in cell cycle arrest and rearrangement of the kappa (κ) or lambda (λ) light-chain loci. B lineage cells lacking the related transcription factors IRF-4 and IRF-8 undergo a developmental arrest at the cycling pre-B cell stage and are blocked for light-chain recombination. Using Irf-4,8-/- pre-B cells we demonstrate that two pathways converge to synergistically drive light-chain rearrangement, a process that is not simply activated by cell cycle exit. One pathway is directly dependent on IRF-4, whose expression is elevated by pre-BCR signaling. IRF-4 targets the κ 3Ⲡand λ enhancers to increase locus accessibility and positions a kappa allele away from pericentromeric heterochromatin. The other pathway is triggered by attenuation of IL-7 signaling and results in activation of the κ intronic enhancer via binding of the transcription factor, E2A. Intriguingly, IRF-4 regulates the expression of CXCR4 and promotes the migration of pre-B cells in response to the chemokine CXCL12. We propose that IRF-4 coordinates the two pathways regulating light-chain recombination by positioning pre-B cells away from IL-7 expressing stromal cells. We used microarrys to identify the changes in gene expression under different levels of the cytokine IL-7 and after rescue of genetic defect. Experiment Overall Design: IRF4,8 null pre-B cells were cultures in the indicated conditions prior to RNA isolation and hybridization to Affymetrix arrays.
Project description:We identified an enhancer element near IGF2 locus that is possibly involved with dopamine function and schizophrenia. A knockout mouse was generated for the enhancer element in the IGF2 locus. We then characterized the striatal synaptosomes ( i.e. biological fraction representing pre- post synaptic nerve terminal)by mass spectometry from WT and Igf2 enhancer KO mice.
Project description:B lymphopoiesis requires that immunoglobulin genes be accessible to RAG1-RAG2 recombinase. However, the RAG proteins bind widely to open chromatin, which suggests that additional mechanisms must restrict RAG-mediated DNA cleavage. Here we show that developmental downregulation of interleukin 7 (IL-7)-receptor signaling in small pre-B cells induced expression of the bromodomain-family member BRWD1, which was recruited to a specific epigenetic landscape at Igk dictated by pre–BCR-dependent Erk activation. BRWD1 enhanced RAG recruitment, increased gene accessibility and positioned nucleosomes 5? to each J? recombination signal sequence. BRWD1 thus targets recombination to Igk and places recombination within the context of signaling cascades that control B cell development. Our findings represent a paradigm in which,at any particular antigen-receptor locus, specialized mechanisms enforce lineage- and stage-specific recombination. ChIP-seq for 1 transcription factor and 2 histone modifications in flow purified mouse small pre-B cells. ATAC-seq and RNA-seq in WT and Brwd-Mut mouse flow purified small pre-B cells.
Project description:Estrogen Receptor (ESR1) drives growth in the majority of human breast cancers by binding to regulatory elements and inducing transcription events that promote tumor growth. Differences in enhancer occupancy by ESR1, contribute to the diverse expression profiles and clinical outcome observed in breast cancer patients. GATA3 is an ESR1 co-operating transcription factor mutated in breast tumors, however its genomic properties are not fully defined. In order to investigate the composition of enhancers involved in estrogen-induced transcription and the potential role of GATA3, we performed extensive ChIP-sequencing in unstimulated breast cancer cells and following estrogen treatment. We find that GATA3 is pivotal in mediating enhancer accessibility at regulatory regions involved in ESR1-mediated transcription. GATA3 silencing resulted in a global redistribution of co-factors and active histone marks prior to estrogen stimulation. These global genomic changes altered the ESR1 binding profile that subsequently occurred following estrogen, with events exhibiting both loss and gain in binding affinity, implying a GATA3 mediated re-distribution of ESR1 binding. The GATA3-mediated re-distributed ESR1 profile correlated with changes in gene expression, suggestive of its functionality. Chromatin loops at the TFF locus involving ESR1 bound enhancers occurred independently of ESR1 when GATA3 was silenced, indicating that GATA3, when present on the chromatin, may serve as a licensing factor for estrogen- ESR1 mediated interactions between cis-regulatory elements. Together these experiments suggest that GATA3 directly impacts ESR1 enhancer accessibility and may potentially explain the contribution of mutant-GATA3 in the heterogeneity of ESR1+ breast cancer. GATA and ER binding studied by chromatin immunoprecipitation in breast cancer cell lines, with and without estrogen stimulation and by knocking down GATA
Project description:CD20 is a clinically validated target for Non-Hodgkin’s lymphomas and autoimmune diseases. Interactions of CD20 with the B cell receptor (BCR) and components of the BCR signaling cascade have been reported. In this study we show that antibodies against CD20 or activation of the BCR by specific antibodies induce very similar expression patterns of up- or down-regulated genes in NHL cell lines indicating that CD20 may play a role in BCR signaling and vice versa. We used microarray data to show that antibodies against CD20 or activation of the BCR by specific antibodies induce very similar expression patterns of up- or down-regulated genes in NHL cell lines indicating that CD20 may play a role in BCR signaling and vice versa. Four different cell lines were treated with various antibodies for 4h (3 replicates per treatment), all in all 96 arrays were analysed for 32 samples. Changes were calculated relative to control/reference experiments. Expression patterns of each treatment were compared to determine overlaps.
Project description:CD20 is a clinically validated target for Non-Hodgkin’s lymphomas and autoimmune diseases. Interactions of CD20 with the B cell receptor (BCR) and components of the BCR signaling cascade have been reported. In this study we show that antibodies against CD20 or activation of the BCR by specific antibodies induce very similar expression patterns of up- or down-regulated genes in NHL cell lines indicating that CD20 may play a role in BCR signaling and vice versa. We used microarray data to show that antibodies against CD20 or activation of the BCR by specific antibodies induce very similar expression patterns of up- or down-regulated genes in NHL cell lines indicating that CD20 may play a role in BCR signaling and vice versa.