Project description:Here we determine the target gene sets controlled by PRMT1 or CSNK1a1 in maintaining the undifferentiated state of primary human keratinocytes.
Project description:Here we determine the genome-wide binding sites of PRMT1 in primary human keratinocytes. We also investigated the impact of casein kinase inhibitor D4476 on PRMT1 genomic binding.
Project description:In this study we identified an essential role of the SEC, a crucial regulator of Pol II dynamics, in repressing differentiation for epidermal progenitor maintenance. This repression of differentiation is specifically mediated by the scaffold protein AFF1, but not AFF4. Mechanistically, we find that AFF1-SEC associates with the HEXIM1-containing inactive-PTEFb to directly repress a group of rapid-response genes, which feature robust Pol II pausing near their promoters in the progenitor state. De-repression of these genes occurs within 3 hours of SEC-PTEFb disruption by the peptidomimetic inhibitors. These rapid-response genes include the transcription factor ATF3. Increased ATF3 level is sufficient to promote the expression of key differentiation activators, such as PRDM1, OVOL1, GRHL3 and ZNF750. Furthermore, we find that the dissociation of inactivate P-TEFb from SEC mediates the earliest events of PKC signaling, in triggering epidermal differentiation.
Project description:Transcriptional deregulation plays a major role in acute myeloid leukemia, identification of epigenetic modifying enzymes essential for the maintenance of oncogenic transcription programs holds the key to better understanding the biology and designing effective therapeutic strategies for the disease. Here we provide experimental evidence showing the functional involvement and therapeutic potentials of targeting PRMT1 with H4R3 methyltransferase activity in various MLL and non-MLL leukemias. PRMT1 is necessary but not sufficient for leukemic transformation, which requires co-recruitment of KDM4C with H3K9 demethylase activity by chimeric transcription factors to mediate epigenetic reprogramming. Inhibition of KDM4C/PRMT1 suppresses transcription and transformation ability of MLL fusions and MOZ-TIF2, revealing a novel and targetable epigenetic circuitry mediated by PRMT1 and KDM4C in acute leukemia.
Project description:The regulatory circuits that coordinate epidermal differentiation during development are still not fully understood. Here we report that the transcriptional regulator ID1 is enriched in basal epidermal progenitor cells and find ID1 expression to be diminished upon differentiation. In utero silencing of Id1 impairs progenitor cell proliferation, leads to precocious delamination of targeted progenitor cells and enables differentiated keratinocytes to retain progenitor markers and characteristics. Transcriptional profiling suggests ID1 acts by mediating adhesion to the basement membrane while inhibiting spinous layer differentiation. Co-immunoprecipitation reveals ID1 binding to transcriptional regulators of the class I bHLH family. We localize bHLH Tcf3, Tcf4 and Tcf12 to epidermal progenitor cells during epidermal stratification and established TCF3 as a downstream effector of ID1-mediated epidermal proliferation. Finally, we identify crosstalk between CEBPA, a known mediator of epidermal differentiation, and Id1 and demonstrate that CEBPA antagonizes BMP-induced activation of Id1. Our work establishes ID1 as a key coordinator of epidermal development, acting to balance progenitor proliferation with differentiation and unveils how functional crosstalk between CEBPA and Id1 orchestrates epidermal lineage progression.
Project description:The presence of FLT3-ITD mutations in patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is associated with poor clinical outcome. FLT3 tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs), although effective in kinase ablation, do not eliminate FLT3-ITD+ leukemia stem cells (LSCs) which are potential sources of disease relapse, prompting us to ask whether FLT3-ITD protein regulates the AML LSCs survival through a kinase-independent mechanism. Here, we show that expression of PRMT1, the primary type I arginine methyltransferase, significantly increases in LSC-enriched CD34+CD38- populations relative to normal counterparts. Genetic PRMT1 depletion blocked AML CD34+ cell survival, and had more potent effects in AML cells from patients harboring FLT3-ITD. Our genome wide analysis of gene expression and PRMT1 conditional KO mouse study confirmed that PRMT1 preferentially cooperates with FLT3-ITD contributing to AML cell maintenance. Mechanistically, PRMT1 catalyzed FLT3-ITD protein methylation at arginines 972/973, and PRMT1 promoted leukemia cell growth in a FLT3 methylation-dependent manner. Moreover, effects of FLT3-ITD methylation in AML cells were in part due to crosstalk with FLT3-ITD phosphorylation at tyrosine 969 (Y969). Importantly, FLT3 methylation persisted in FLT3-ITD+ AML cells following TKI (AC220) treatment, indicating that methylation occurs independently of kinase activity. Finally, in both patient-derived xenograft (PDX) and murine AML models, combined administration of AC220 with a type I PRMT inhibitor (MS023) enhanced elimination of FLT3-ITD+ AML relative to AC220 treatment alone. Our study demonstrates that PRMT1-mediated FLT3 methylation promotes LSC activity and suggests that combining PRMT1 inhibition with FLT3 TKI treatment could be a promising approach to selectively target FLT3-ITD+ LSCs.