Project description:The chromatin modifying enzymes that drive the erythroid-specific transcription program are incompletely understood. Setd8 is the sole histone methyltransferase in mammals capable of generating mono-methylated histone H4 lysine 20 (H4K20me1) and is expressed at significantly higher levels in erythroid cells than any other cell- or tissue- type, suggesting that Setd8 has an erythroid-specific function. To test this hypothesis, stable knockdown of Setd8 was established in extensively self-renewing erythroblasts (ESREs), a well-characterized, non-transformed, model of erythroid maturation. Setd8 knockdown impaired erythroid maturation, characterized by a delay in hemoglobin accumulation, larger cell area, persistent kit expression, incomplete nuclear condensation, and lower rates of enucleation than control cells. Setd8 knockdown did not alter ESRE proliferation or viability, or result in accumulation of DNA damage. Global gene expression analyses following Setd8 knockdown suggests that in erythroid cells, Setd8 functions primarily as a repressor and demonstrated high levels of Gata2 expression. Setd8 occupies critical regulatory elements in the Gata2 locus, and knockdown of Setd8 resulted in loss of H4K20me1 and gain of H4 acetylation at the Gata2 1S promoter. Taken together, these results imply that Setd8 is an important regulator of erythroid maturation that works in part through repression of Gata2. RNA-seq was performed of Setd8 knockdown and control cells, both while the cells were proliferating, and after 6 hours of maturation.
Project description:Cellular senescence is an ireversible growth arrest with alterd metabolic potentials including DNA, RNA and protein dynamics. We found that loss of the SETD8/PR-Set7 methyltransferase, which catalyzes mono-methylation of histone H4 at lysine 20 (H4K20me1), induces senescence in human fibroblasts. To investigate the role of SETD8 in cellular senescence, we performed a microarray-based transcriptomic analysis in SETD8-knockdown cells. Our results demonstrate that SETD8 links the epigenomic gene regulation to senescence-associated metabolic remodeling.
Project description:The chromatin modifying enzymes that drive the erythroid-specific transcription program are incompletely understood. Setd8 is the sole histone methyltransferase in mammals capable of generating mono-methylated histone H4 lysine 20 (H4K20me1) and is expressed at significantly higher levels in erythroid cells than any other cell- or tissue- type, suggesting that Setd8 has an erythroid-specific function. To test this hypothesis, stable knockdown of Setd8 was established in extensively self-renewing erythroblasts (ESREs), a well-characterized, non-transformed, model of erythroid maturation. Setd8 knockdown impaired erythroid maturation, characterized by a delay in hemoglobin accumulation, larger cell area, persistent kit expression, incomplete nuclear condensation, and lower rates of enucleation than control cells. Setd8 knockdown did not alter ESRE proliferation or viability, or result in accumulation of DNA damage. Global gene expression analyses following Setd8 knockdown suggests that in erythroid cells, Setd8 functions primarily as a repressor and demonstrated high levels of Gata2 expression. Setd8 occupies critical regulatory elements in the Gata2 locus, and knockdown of Setd8 resulted in loss of H4K20me1 and gain of H4 acetylation at the Gata2 1S promoter. Taken together, these results imply that Setd8 is an important regulator of erythroid maturation that works in part through repression of Gata2.
Project description:SETD8 is the sole methyltransferase capable of mono-methylating histone H4, lysine 20. SETD8 is highly expressed in erythroid cells and erythroid deletion of Setd8 is embryonic lethal by embryonic day 11.5 (E11.5) due to profound anemia, suggesting it has an erythroid-specific function. To gain insights into the function of SETD8 during erythroid differentiation, we performed ATAC-seq on sorted populations of E10.5 Setd8 null and control erythroblasts. Accessibility profiles were integrated with expression changes and a mark of heterochromatin (H3K27me3) performed in wild type E10.5 erythroblasts to further understand the role of SETD8 in erythropoiesis. Data integration identified regions of greater chromatin accessibility in Setd8 null cells that co-located with H3K27me3 in wild type E10.5 erythroblasts suggesting that these regions, and their associated genes, are repressed during normal erythropoiesis. Pathway analysis of genes identified through data integration revealed stemness-related pathways. Among those genes were multiple transcriptional regulators active in multipotent progenitors but repressed during erythroid differentiation including Hhex, Hlx, and Gata2. Consistent with a role for SETD8 in erythroid specification, SETD8 expression is upregulated upon erythroid commitment, and Setd8 disruption impairs erythroid colony forming ability. Taken together, our results suggest that Setd8 is important for the establishment of appropriate patterns of gene expression during erythroid differentiation.
Project description:The establishment and maintenance of cell type-specific transcriptional programs require an ensemble of broadly expressed chromatin remodeling and modifying enzymes. Many questions remain unanswered regarding the contributions of these enzymes to specialized genetic networks that control critical processes such as lineage commitment and cellular differentiation. We have been addressing this problem in the context of erythrocyte development driven by the transcription factor GATA-1 and its coregulator Friend of GATA-1 (FOG-1). As certain GATA-1 target genes have little to no FOG-1 requirement for expression, presumably additional coregulators can mediate GATA-1 function. Using a genetic complementation assay and RNA interference in GATA-1-null cells, we demonstrate a vital link between GATA-1 and the histone H4 lysine 20 methyltransferase PR-Set7/SetD8 (SetD8). GATA-1 selectively induced H4 monomethylated lysine 20 at repressed, but not activated, loci, and endogenous SetD8 mediated GATA-1-dependent repression of a cohort of its target genes. GATA-1 utilized different combinations of SetD8, FOG-1, and the FOG-1-interacting Nucleosome Remodeling and Deacetylase (NuRD) complex component Mi2b to repress distinct target genes. Implicating SetD8 as a context-dependent GATA-1 corepressor expands the repertoire of coregulators mediating establishment/maintenance of the erythroid cell genetic network and provides a biological framework for dissecting the cell type-specific functions of this important coregulator. We propose a coregulator matrix model in which distinct combinations of chromatin regulators are required at different GATA-1 target genes, and the unique attributes of the target loci mandate these combinations. 3 SetD8 knockdown samples were compared to 3 control samples
Project description:In eukaryotic cells, environmental and developmental signals alter chromatin structure and modulate gene expression. Heterochromatin constitutes the transcriptionally inactive state of the genome and in plants and mammals is generally characterized by DNA methylation and histone modifications such as histone H3 lysine 9 (H3K9) methylation. In Arabidopsis thaliana DNA methylation and H3K9 methylation are usually colocated and set up a mutually self reinforcing and stable state. Here, in contrast, we found that SUVR5, a plant Su(var)3-9 homolog with a SET histone methyltransferase domain, mediates H3K9me2 deposition and regulates gene expression in a DNA-methylation-independent manner. SUVR5 binds DNA through its zinc fingers and represses the expression of a subset of stimulus response genes. This represents a novel mechanism for plants to regulate their chromatin and transcriptional state, which may allow for the adaptability and modulation necessary to rapidly respond to extracellular cues. one experiment and one control.
Project description:The Wnt/b-catenin signaling inhibits adipogenesis. Genome-wide profiling studies have revealed the enrichment of histone H3K27 methyltransferase PRC2 on Wnt genes. However, the functional significance of such a direct link between the two types of developmental regulators in mammalian cells, and the role of PRC2 in adipogenesis, remain unclear. Here we show PRC2 and its H3K27 methyltransferase activity are required for adipogenesis. PRC2 directly represses Wnt1, 6, 10a and 10b genes in preadipocytes and during adipogenesis. Deletion of the enzymatic Ezh2 subunit of PRC2 eliminates H3K27me3 on Wnt promoters and de-represses Wnt expression, which leads to activation of Wnt/b-catenin signaling and inhibition of adipogenesis. Ectopic expression of the wild type Ezh2, but not the enzymatically inactive F667I mutant, prevents the loss of H3K27me3 and the defects in adipogenesis in Ezh2-/- preadipocytes. The adipogenesis defects in Ezh2-/- cells can be rescued by expression of adipogenic transcription factors PPARa, C/EBPb, or inhibitors of Wnt/b-catenin signaling. Interestingly, Ezh2-/- cells show marked increase of H3K27 acetylation globally as well as on Wnt promoters. These results indicate that H3K27 methyltransferase PRC2 directly represses Wnt genes to facilitate adipogenesis, and suggest that acetylation and trimethylation on H3K27 play opposing roles in regulating Wnt expression. To identify additional PRC2-regulated genes in preadipocytes, we performed microarray analysis in Ezh2flox/flox preadipocytes infected with retroviruses expressing Cre or vector alone.