Project description:Growth arrest and DNA-damage-inducible protein 45 (Gadd45) family members have been implicated in DNA demethylation in vertebrates. However, it remained unclear how they contribute to the demethylation process. Here, we demonstrate that Gadd45a promotes active DNA demethylation through thymine DNA glycosylase (TDG) which has recently been shown to excise 5-formylcytosine (5fC) and 5-carboxylcytosine (5caC) generated in Ten-eleven-translocation (Tet) -initiated oxidative demethylation. The connection of Gadd45a with oxidative demethylation is evidenced by the enhanced activation of a methylated reporter gene in HEK293T cells expressing Gadd45a in combination with catalytically active TDG and Tet. Gadd45a interacts with TDG physically and increases the removal of 5fC and 5caC from genomic and transfected plasmid DNA by TDG. Knockout of both Gadd45a and Gadd45b from mouse ES cells leads to hypermethylation of specific genomic loci most of which are also targets of TDG and show 5fC enrichment in TDG-deficient cells. These observations indicate that the demethylation effect of Gadd45a is mediated by TDG activity. This finding thus unites Gadd45a with the recently defined Tet-initiated demethylation pathway. The dataset includes RRBS anlysis of 2 WT ES cell samples and 2 Gadd45a/b DKO ES cell samples.
Project description:Growth arrest and DNA-damage-inducible protein 45 (Gadd45) family members have been implicated in DNA demethylation in vertebrates. However, it remained unclear how they contribute to the demethylation process. Here, we demonstrate that Gadd45a promotes active DNA demethylation through thymine DNA glycosylase (TDG) which has recently been shown to excise 5-formylcytosine (5fC) and 5-carboxylcytosine (5caC) generated in Ten-eleven-translocation (Tet) -initiated oxidative demethylation. The connection of Gadd45a with oxidative demethylation is evidenced by the enhanced activation of a methylated reporter gene in HEK293T cells expressing Gadd45a in combination with catalytically active TDG and Tet. Gadd45a interacts with TDG physically and increases the removal of 5fC and 5caC from genomic and transfected plasmid DNA by TDG. Knockout of both Gadd45a and Gadd45b from mouse ES cells leads to hypermethylation of specific genomic loci most of which are also targets of TDG and show 5fC enrichment in TDG-deficient cells. These observations indicate that the demethylation effect of Gadd45a is mediated by TDG activity. This finding thus unites Gadd45a with the recently defined Tet-initiated demethylation pathway.
Project description:RUNX1 (also known as AML1) is a key transcription factor for definitive hematopoietic stem cell development and following hematopoietic cell linage specifications, in which chromatin- or epigennome-mediated regulation by RUNX1, particularly regulation of DNA methylation status, is proposed to be involved in addition to its direct gene expression regulation. However, how RUNX1 regulates DNA methylation status and its role in the hematopoiesis remain to be elucidated. Here we first demonstrated that RUNX1 induces RUNX1 binding site directed DNA demethylation across the whole genome. HaloTag-based pull-down assay revealed associations of RUNX1 with active DNA demethylation related proteins such as TET, TDG or GADD45A, suggested that the RUNX1-mediated DNA demethylation is active DNA demethylation mechanism. Additional combinatorial overexpression of TET and TDG enlarged the RUNX1-mediated DNA demethylation, supporting what RUNX1-mediated DNA demethylation is active DNA demethylation. These results strongly suggested that RUNX1-mediated DNA demethylation is achieved by recruiting those proteins involved in active DNA demethylation. Finally, we found that the RUNX1-mediated demethylation predominately targets and activates hematopoietic genes whose promoter regions are demethylated during hematopoiesis. Collectively, our insight suggested that RUNX1-mediated binding site directed DNA demethylation is a novel mechanism of hematopoietic gene activation.
Project description:TET enzymes mediate DNA demethylation by oxidizing 5-methylcytosine (5mC) in DNA to 5-hydroxymethylcytosine (5hmC), 5-formylcytosine (5fC) and 5-carboxylcytosine (5caC). Because these oxidized methylcytosines (oxi-mC) are not recognized by the maintenance methyltransferase DNMT1, DNA demethylation can occur through “passive”, replication-dependent dilution as cells divide. A distinct, replication-independent (“active”) mechanism of DNA demethylation involves excision of 5fC and 5caC by the DNA repair enzyme thymine DNA glycosylase (TDG), followed by base excision repair. Here we used inducible gene-disrupted mice to show that TET enzymes influence both replication-dependent primary T cell differentiation and replication-independent macrophage differentiation, whereas TDG has no effect. Mice with long-term (1 year) deletion of Tdg are healthy and show normal survival and hematopoiesis. In summary, TET enzymes regulate differentiation and DNA demethylation primarily through passive dilution of oxidized methylcytosines in replicating T cells, and active, replication-independent DNA demethylation mediated by TDG does not appear to be essential for immune cell activation or differentiation.
Project description:TET enzymes mediate DNA demethylation by oxidizing 5-methylcytosine (5mC) in DNA to 5-hydroxymethylcytosine (5hmC), 5-formylcytosine (5fC) and 5-carboxylcytosine (5caC). Because these oxidized methylcytosines (oxi-mC) are not recognized by the maintenance methyltransferase DNMT1, DNA demethylation can occur through “passive”, replication-dependent dilution as cells divide. A distinct, replication-independent (“active”) mechanism of DNA demethylation involves excision of 5fC and 5caC by the DNA repair enzyme thymine DNA glycosylase (TDG), followed by base excision repair. Here we used inducible gene-disrupted mice to show that TET enzymes influence both replication-dependent primary T cell differentiation and replication-independent macrophage differentiation, whereas TDG has no effect. Mice with long-term (1 year) deletion of Tdg are healthy and show normal survival and hematopoiesis. In summary, TET enzymes regulate differentiation and DNA demethylation primarily through passive dilution of oxidized methylcytosines in replicating T cells, and active, replication-independent DNA demethylation mediated by TDG does not appear to be essential for immune cell activation or differentiation.
Project description:TET enzymes mediate DNA demethylation by oxidizing 5-methylcytosine (5mC) in DNA to 5-hydroxymethylcytosine (5hmC), 5-formylcytosine (5fC) and 5-carboxylcytosine (5caC). Because these oxidized methylcytosines (oxi-mC) are not recognized by the maintenance methyltransferase DNMT1, DNA demethylation can occur through “passive”, replication-dependent dilution as cells divide. A distinct, replication-independent (“active”) mechanism of DNA demethylation involves excision of 5fC and 5caC by the DNA repair enzyme thymine DNA glycosylase (TDG), followed by base excision repair. Here we used inducible gene-disrupted mice to show that TET enzymes influence both replication-dependent primary T cell differentiation and replication-independent macrophage differentiation, whereas TDG has no effect. Mice with long-term (1 year) deletion of Tdg are healthy and show normal survival and hematopoiesis. In summary, TET enzymes regulate differentiation and DNA demethylation primarily through passive dilution of oxidized methylcytosines in replicating T cells, and active, replication-independent DNA demethylation mediated by TDG does not appear to be essential for immune cell activation or differentiation.
Project description:TET proteins oxidize 5-methylcytosine (5mC) to 5-hydroxymethylcytosine (5hmC), 5-formylcytosine (5fC), and 5-carboxylcytosine (5caC). 5fC and 5caC are excised by mammalian DNA glycosylase TDG, implicating 5mC oxidation in DNA demethylation. Here we show that the genomic locations of 5fC can be determined by coupling chemical reduction with biotin tagging. Genome-wide mapping of 5fC in mouse embryonic stem cells (mESCs) reveals that 5fC preferentially occurs at poised enhancers among other gene regulatory elements. Application to Tdg null mESCs further suggests that 5fC production coordinates with p300 in remodeling epigenetic states of enhancers. This process, which is not influenced by 5hmC, appears to be associated with further oxidation of 5hmC and commitment to demethylation through 5fC. Finally, we resolved 5fC at base-resolution by hydroxylamine-based protection from bisulfite-mediated deamination, thereby confirming sites of 5fC accumulation. Our results reveal roles of active 5mC/5hmC oxidation and TDG-mediated demethylation in epigenetic tuning at regulatory elements. We report here a chemical labeling method that effectively differentiates 5fC from 5mC, 5hmC, and 5caC in genomic DNA. First, we quantitatively protect endogenous 5hmC with a regular glucose using b-glucosytransferase-catalyzed 5hmC glucosylation. Then, we selectively reduce 5fC with NaBH4 to 5hmC, and chemically label the resulting 5hmC (from 5fC) with an azide-modified glucose. Biotin can be installed subsequently for specific enrichment of 5fC. Our method thereby provides an effective tool of general utility for the genomic localization of 5fC. Here we provide genome-wide profiles of 5hmC, 5fC, and p300 in Tdg fl/fl and Tdg-/- mESCs as well as a 5fC control (Non-NaBH4) and polyA RNA-Seq expression data. Genome-wide profiles of 5hmC and 5fC in mESCs differentiated to embryoid bodies are also included. We also report the development and application of a single-base resolution method for the detection of 5fC in genomic DNA by hydroylamine mediated protection of 5fC from deamination during bisulfite treatment, or 5fC Chemical Assisted Bisulfite Sequencing (fCAB-Seq). We applied this method in parallel with conventional ChIP-Methyl-Seq to H3K4me1 ChIP enriched DNA from Tdg fl/fl and Tdg-/- mice.
Project description:Ten-eleven translocation (Tet) family of DNA dioxygenases converts 5-methylcytosine (5mC) into 5-hydroxymethylcytosine (5hmC), 5-formylcytosine (5fC), and 5- carboxylcytosine (5caC) through iterative oxidation reactions. While 5mC and 5hmC are relatively abundant, 5fC and 5caC are at very low levels in the mammalian genome. Thymine DNA glycosylase (TDG) and base excision repair (BER) pathways can actively remove 5fC/5caC to regenerate unmethylated cytosine, but it is unclear to what extent and at which part of the genome such active demethylation processes take place. Here, we have performed high-throughput sequencing analysis of 5mC/5hmC/5fC/5caC- enriched DNA using modification-specific antibodies and generated genome-wide distribution maps of these cytosine modifications in wild-type and Tdg-deficient mouse embryonic stem cells (ESCs). We observe that the steady state 5fC and 5caC are preferentially detected at repetitive sequences in wild-type mouse ESCs. Depletion of TDG causes marked accumulation of 5fC and 5caC at a large number of distal gene regulatory elements and transcriptionally repressed/poised gene promoters, suggesting that Tet/TDG-dependent dynamic cycling of 5mC oxidation states may be involved in regulating the function of these regions. Thus, comprehensive mapping of 5mC oxidation and BER pathway activity in the mammalian genome provides a promising approach for better understanding of biological roles of DNA methylation and demethylation dynamics in development and diseases. In this dataset, we include the DIP-seq data of 5mC, 5hmC, 5fC and 5caC in both control and Tdg knockdown mouse embryonic stem cells.