Project description:Haplotype-dependent allele-specific methylation (hap-ASM) can impact disease susceptibility, but maps of this phenomenon using stringent criteria in disease-relevant tissues remain sparse. Here we apply array-based and Methyl-seq approaches to multiple human tissues and cell types, including brain, purified neurons and glia, T lymphocytes, and placenta, and identify 795 hap-ASM differentially methylated regions (DMRs) and 3,082 strong methylation quantitative trait loci (mQTLs), most not previously reported. More than half of these DMRs have cell type-restricted ASM, and among them are 188 hap-ASM DMRs and 933 mQTLs located near GWAS signals for immune and neurological disorders. Targeted bis-seq confirmed hap-ASM in 12/13 loci tested, including CCDC155, CD69, FRMD1, IRF1, KBTBD11, and S100A*-ILF2, associated with immune phenotypes, MYT1L, PTPRN2,CMTM8 and CELF2, associated with neurological disorders, NGFR and HLA-DRB6, associated with both immunological and brain disorders, and ZFP57, a trans-acting regulator of genomic imprinting. Polymorphic CTCF and transcription factor (TF) binding sites are over-represented among hap-ASM DMRs and mQTLs, and analysis of the human data, supplemented by cross-species comparisons to Macaca mulattamacaques, indicates that CTCF and TF binding likelihood predicts the strength and direction of the allelic methylation asymmetry. These results show that hap-ASM is highly tissue-specific; an important trans-acting regulator of genomic imprinting is regulated by this phenomenon; variation in CTCF and TF binding sites is an underlying mechanism in primary tissues, and maps of hap-ASM and mQTLs reveal regulatory sequences underlying supera- and sub-threshold GWAS peaks in immunological and neurological disorders.
Project description:Centromeres are maintained epigenetically by the presence of CENP-A, an evolutionarily-conserved histone H3 variant, which directs kinetochore assembly and hence, centromere function. To identify factors that promote assembly of CENP-A chromatin, we affinity selected solubilised fission yeast CENP-ACnp1 chromatin. All subunits of the Ino80 complex were enriched, including the auxiliary subunit Hap2. In addition to a role in maintenance of CENP-ACnp1 chromatin integrity at endogenous centromeres, Hap2 is required for de novo assembly of CENP-ACnp1 chromatin on naïve centromere DNA and promotes H3 turnover on centromere regions and other loci prone to CENP-ACnp1 deposition. Prior to CENP-ACnp1 chromatin assembly, Hap2 is required for transcription from centromere DNA. These analyses suggest that Hap2-Ino80 destabilises H3 nucleosomes on centromere DNA through transcription-mediated histone H3 turnover, driving the replacement of resident H3 nucleosomes with CENP-ACnp1 nucleosomes. These inherent properties define centromere DNA by directing a program that mediates CENP-ACnp1 assembly on appropriate sequences.
Project description:Activating Transcription Factor 4 (ATF4) is a transcription factor induced by the integrated stress response (ISR). This experiment is a genome-wide profiling of ATF4-dependent RNA expression in human HAP-1 cells. HAP-1 is a near-haploid human cell line that was derived from KBM-7 cells isolated from a patient with Chronic Myelogenous Leukemia. We analyzed WT and ATF4 KO cells. We induced ATF4 expression by mimicking amino acid starvation with the drug histidinol. RNA expression profiles were generated for WT and ATF4 KO HAP1 cells. ATF4 genes were mutated using Cas9 genome editing technology. Amino acid starvation was mimicked by treating WT and ATF4 KO cells with 2 mM histidinol for 24 hours, which increases ATF4 expression.
Project description:Over-expression of human angiotensin-II receptor type1 (hAT1R) may cause pathological outcomes due to overactivation of renin-angiotensin system. Transgenic (TG) mice containing Hap-I (hypertensive genotype) of human hAT1R gene are more prone to develop metabolic syndrome disorders as compared to TG mice with Hap-II (normotensive genotype). This gene variant associated risk of hypertension together with Western diet and aging may lead to renal disorders. However, mechanisms underlying this process are not well examined. For this purpose, we studied the renal gene expression alterations in aged TG mice containing either Hap-I or Hap-II of hAT1R gene. Aged mice (20-24 months of age) were maintained on a regular diet or high fat diet with 2% NaCl (Western diet, WD) for 16 weeks. On a regular diet, aged Hap-I mice presented higher (~9 mmHg) systolic blood pressure with respect to age-matched Hap-II animals. Following administration of Western diet, blood pressure increased in both groups of mice, but to a larger extent in Hap-I animals (~15 mmHg in comparison to ~7 mmHg in Hap-II). Aged Hap-I mice on Western diet showed increased renal fibrosis. RNA-seq data from renal tissue of Hap-I aged mice revealed that WD significantly altered the expression of >400 genes (p-adj. <0.05). Bioinformatics analysis (Qiagen IPA software) identified major alterations in main canonical pathways involved in renal function and oxidative damage. These changes in turn resulted in kidney failure, renal tubular injury, and renal proliferation. In addition, post WD treatment, RNA seq. analysis from Hap-I and Hap-II kidneys also reveals haplotype specific regulation of genes associated with blood pressure regulation and kidney disorders. Overall, these results indicate that Western diet promotes hypertension and fibrosis in the kidneys of aged mice. These alterations are paralleled by perturbation of renal transcriptional profile. Overall, these studies will assist in the identification of novel mechanisms and molecules involved in hypertension and associated kidney pathophysiology.