Project description:We provide the functional and epigenomic evidence for ERG binding to super-enhancers in HUVEC and further show that loss of ERG results in inhibition of specific endothelial super-enhancers and associated target genes.
Project description:We provide the functional and epigenomic evidence for ERG binding to super-enhancers in HUVEC and further show that loss of ERG results in inhibition of specific endothelial super-enhancers and associated target genes.
Project description:Here we have used a combination of advanced proteomics and genomics approaches to investigate the extent and mechanisms of transcription factor cross-talk at genomic hotspots. We identify ~12,000 transcription factor hotspots in the early phase of adipogenesis, and we find evidence of both simultaneous and sequential binding of transcription factors at these regions. We demonstrate for the first time that hotspots are highly enriched in large super-enhancer regions and that these drive the early adipogenic reprogramming of gene expression. Our results indicate that cooperativity between transcription factors at the level of hotspots as well as super-enhancers is very important for enhancer activity and transcriptional reprogramming. Thus, hotspots and super-enhancers constitute important regulatory hubs integrating external stimuli on chromatin. Genome-wide profiling of transcription factor and co-factor binding, epigenomic marks, and gene expression in 3T3-L1 pre-adipocytes.
Project description:Proinflammatory stimuli rapidly and globally remodel chromatin landscape, thereby enabling transcriptional responses. Yet, the mechanisms coupling chromatin regulators to the master regulatory inflammatory transcription factor NF-kB remain poorly understood. We report in human endothelial cells (ECs) that activated NF-kB binds to enhancers, provoking a rapid, global redistribution of BRD4 preferentially at super-enhancers, large enhancer domains highly bound by chromatin regulators. Newly established NF-kB super-enhancers drive nearby canonical inflammatory response genes. In both ECs and macrophages BET bromodomain inhibition prevents super-enhancer formation downstream of NF-kB activation, abrogating proinflammatory transcription. In TNFa-activated endothelium this culminates in functional suppression of leukocyte rolling, adhesion and transmigration. Sustained BET bromodomain inhibitor treatment of LDLr -/- animals suppresses atherogenesis, a disease process rooted in pathological vascular inflammation involving endothelium and macrophages. These data establish BET-bromodomains as key effectors of inflammatory response through their role in the dynamic, global reorganization of super-enhancers during NF-kB activation. Gene expression analysis of human endothelial cells in resting state, treatment with TNFalpha or TNFalpha with the BET bromodomain inhibitor JQ1
Project description:Proinflammatory stimuli rapidly and globally remodel chromatin landscape, thereby enabling transcriptional responses. Yet, the mechanisms coupling chromatin regulators to the master regulatory inflammatory transcription factor NF-kB remain poorly understood. We report in human endothelial cells (ECs) that activated NF-kB binds to enhancers, provoking a rapid, global redistribution of BRD4 preferentially at super-enhancers, large enhancer domains highly bound by chromatin regulators. Newly established NF-kB super-enhancers drive nearby canonical inflammatory response genes. In both ECs and macrophages BET bromodomain inhibition prevents super-enhancer formation downstream of NF-kB activation, abrogating proinflammatory transcription. In TNFa-activated endothelium this culminates in functional suppression of leukocyte rolling, adhesion and transmigration. Sustained BET bromodomain inhibitor treatment of LDLr -/- animals suppresses atherogenesis, a disease process rooted in pathological vascular inflammation involving endothelium and macrophages. These data establish BET-bromodomains as key effectors of inflammatory response through their role in the dynamic, global reorganization of super-enhancers during NF-kB activation. ChIP-Seq for various transcription factors, RNA Polymerase II, and histone modifications in human endothelial cells
Project description:Proinflammatory stimuli rapidly and globally remodel chromatin landscape, thereby enabling transcriptional responses. Yet, the mechanisms coupling chromatin regulators to the master regulatory inflammatory transcription factor NF-kB remain poorly understood. We report in human endothelial cells (ECs) that activated NF-kB binds to enhancers, provoking a rapid, global redistribution of BRD4 preferentially at super-enhancers, large enhancer domains highly bound by chromatin regulators. Newly established NF-kB super-enhancers drive nearby canonical inflammatory response genes. In both ECs and macrophages BET bromodomain inhibition prevents super-enhancer formation downstream of NF-kB activation, abrogating proinflammatory transcription. In TNFa-activated endothelium this culminates in functional suppression of leukocyte rolling, adhesion and transmigration. Sustained BET bromodomain inhibitor treatment of LDLr -/- animals suppresses atherogenesis, a disease process rooted in pathological vascular inflammation involving endothelium and macrophages. These data establish BET-bromodomains as key effectors of inflammatory response through their role in the dynamic, global reorganization of super-enhancers during NF-kB activation. Chem-Seq for the biotinylated small molecule JQ1 in untreated or TNFalpha treated human endothelial cells
Project description:Endothelial function is a critical safeguard against atherosclerosis. At atheroprone sites, the normally protective arterial endothelium can undergo endothelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EndMT), but the timing, contribution, and reversibility of this process during atherogenesis are poorly understood. Here we explored the impact of endothelial identity loss in atheroprogression through modulation of the ETS transcription factor ERG, a principal endothelial identity regulator. Inducible endothelial Erg deletion markedly increased plaque in hypercholesterolemic mice. Endothelial-lineage tracing and single-cell transcriptomics revealed that ERG loss induced profound dedifferentiation, followed by mesenchymal fate acquisition and migration and expansion of EndMT cells into the plaque, which interacted with pro-atherosclerotic macrophages and smooth muscle cells. Endothelial identity loss also promoted early disruption of junctional signaling and barrier, leading to enhanced lipid uptake, and foam cell accumulation in typically atheroresistant regions. Investigation of ERG in human atherosclerosis identified reduced chromatin accessibility and expression in plaques, where endothelial cell transcriptional changes paralleled murine Erg deletion. Restoration of ERG in cultured EndMT cells reversed mesenchymal and restored endothelial cell gene regulatory programs. These findings implicate ERG downregulation as a novel driver of endothelial dysfunction in atherosclerosis, reinforce the link between EndMT and atheroprogression, and highlight ERG as a mechanism to restore endothelial identity.
Project description:Precise vascular patterning is critical for normal growth and development. The ERG transcription factor drives Delta like ligand 4 (DLL4)/Notch signalling and is thought to act as pivotal regulators of endothelial cell (EC) dynamics and developmental angiogenesis. However, molecular regulation of ERG activity remains obscure. Using a series of EC specific Focal Adhesion Kinase (FAK)-knockout (KO) and point-mutant FAK-knockin mice, we show that loss of ECFAK, its kinase activity or phosphorylation at FAK-Y397, but not FAK-Y861, reduces ERG and DLL4 expression levels together with concomitant aberrations in vascular patterning. Rapid Immunoprecipitation Mass Spectrometry of Endogenous Proteins identified that endothelial nuclear-FAK interacts with the de-ubiquitinase USP9x and the ubiquitin ligase TRIM25 enzymes. Further in silico analysis corroborates that ERG interacts with USP9x and TRIM25. Moreover, ERG levels are reduced in FAKKO ECs via a ubiquitin-mediated post-translational modification programme involving USP9x and TRIM25. Re-expression of ERG in vivo and in vitro rescues the aberrant vessel sprouting defects observed in the absence of ECFAK. Our findings identify ECFAK as a regulator of retinal vascular patterning by controlling ERG protein degradation via TRIM25/USP9x.