Project description:By comparing HeLa cells lacking MORC2 or SETDB1 generated through CRISPR/Cas9-mediated gene disruption to wild-type HeLa cells, the goal of the experiment was to determine the effect of loss of MORC2 on the distribution of the repressive H3K9me3 histone modification.
Project description:The establishment of latent herpes simplex virus 1 (HSV-1) infection is controlled by promyelocytic leukemia nuclear bodies (PML NBs). Viral genomes are recruited to PML NBs structures and chromatinized by repressive H3.3K9me3 modified H3.3 histone variant to form viral DNA-containing PML-NBs (vDCP NBs). Exactly how this occurs is unclear. Here we identify an essential role for the HUSH complex and its SETDB1 and MORC2 effectors in the establishment and maintenance of latent herpes simplex virus 1 (HSV-1) infection. ChIP-seq analyses conducted on latently/quiescently infected primary human fibroblasts highlight the association of the H3K9me3 mark with the entire viral genome. We demonstrate the necessity of HUSH, SETDB1, and MORC2 in the establishment of repressive heterochromatin in vDCP NBs. Depletion of these components prior to viral infection results in reduced H3K9me3 levels across the entirety of latent/quiescent HSV-1 genomes, with minimal impact on the cellular genome as a whole. Once latency is established, depletion of HUSH, SETDB1, or MORC2 by shRNAs or the HIV-2ROD Vpx protein, induces the reactivation of HSV-1 in infected primary human fibroblasts as well as in human induced pluripotent stem cell-derived sensory neurons (hiPSDN). We discovered that the viral protein ICP0 induces MORC2 degradation via the proteasome machinery. This process is concurrent with ICP0 capability to initiate full HSV-1 reactivation, as well as the significant reactivation of HSV-1 upon MORC2 depletion in hiPSDN. Our data demonstrate the potent antiviral restriction activity of the HUSH/SETDB1/MORC2 complex to a non-integrated human herpesvirus, its close association with PML NBs, and introduces a new target for anti-herpesvirus therapy.
Project description:Transcriptional profiling of human mesenchymal stem cells comparing normoxic MSCs cells with hypoxic MSCs cells. Hypoxia may inhibit senescence of MSCs during expansion. Goal was to determine the effects of hypoxia on global MSCs gene expression.
Project description:We find that HTT binds ATF7IP, a regulator of the histone H3 methyltransferase SETDB1. HTT inhibits the interaction of the ATF7IP-SETDB1 complex with other heterochromatin regulators and transcriptional repressors, maintaining low levels of H3K9 trimethylation (H3K9me3) in hESCs. Conversely, loss of HTT promotes global increased H3K9me3 levels. To test whether HTT knockdown also induces enrichment of H3K9me3 marks at specific genes, we performed chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP)-sequencing assays of hESCs using an antibody to H3K9me3.
Project description:We find that HTT binds ATF7IP, a regulator of the histone H3 methyltransferase SETDB1. HTT inhibits the interaction of the ATF7IP-SETDB1 complex with other heterochromatin regulators and transcriptional repressors, maintaining low levels of H3K9 trimethylation (H3K9me3) in hESCs. Conversely, loss of HTT promotes global increased H3K9me3 levels. To test whether HTT knockdown also induces enrichment of H3K9me3 marks at specific genes, we performed chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP)-sequencing assays of hESCs using an antibody to H3K9me3.
Project description:Six methyltransferases divide labor in establishing genomic profiles of histone H3 lysine 9 methylation (H3K9me), an epigenomic modification involved in the formation of constitutive heterochromatin, gene repression and silencing of retroelements. Among them, SETDB1 is recruited to active chromatin compartments to silence the expression of endogenous retroviruses. In the context of experiments aimed at determining the role of SETDB1 in stimulus-inducible gene expression in macrophages, we unexpectedly found that upon SETDB1 depletion, loss of H3K9me3 in active compartments was associated with increased recruitment of CTCF to >1,600 DNA-binding motifs contained within SINE-B2 repeats, a previously unidentified target of SETDB1-mediated repression. CTCF is an essential regulator of chromatin folding that restrains DNA looping by cohesin, thus creating boundaries among adjacent topological domains. Increased CTCF binding to SINE-B2 repeats generated novel boundaries within topological domains containing lipopolysaccharide-inducible genes, correlating with their impaired regulation in response to stimulation. These data indicate a role of H3K9me3 in restraining genomic distribution and activity of CTCF, with impact on chromatin organization and gene regulation.