331 ABNORMAL DNA METHYLATION PATTERNS AND ALLELE-SPECIFIC EXPRESSION OF IMPRINTED GENES IN BOVINE-INDUCED PLURIPOTENT STEM CELLS

2015 ◽  
Vol 27 (1) ◽  
pp. 254 ◽  
Author(s):  
F. F. Bressan ◽  
J. Therrien ◽  
F. Filion ◽  
F. Perecin ◽  
L. C. Smith ◽  
...  

Pluripotency reacquisition of somatic cells has been achieved through nuclear transfer (NT) to oocytes and, more recently, through induction with pluripotency-related factors (iPS cells). However, the epigenetic reprogramming process that enables the derivation of both NT-derived cloned animals and iPS cells is usually incomplete, leading to unhealthy offspring and poorly reprogrammed iPS cell lines. These unfavourable outcomes result in part from abnormal genome DNA methylation that leads to aberrant gene expression patterns. For instance, differentially methylated regions (DMR) and monoalleleic expression of imprinted genes, essential for normal cellular commitment and early development, are thought to be severely disturbed by reprogramming techniques. Indeed, H19 and SNRPN, imprinted genes, were disturbed in bovine NT-derived embryos and fetuses. Herein we investigated whether the DMR and parent-of-origin expression of the imprinted genes H19 and SNRPN are also perturbed in iPS lines. To analyse the DMR methylation patterns and allelic expression of H19 and SNRPN using parental-specific polymorphisms, we derived multiple clones of bovine iPS (biPS) cells from an interspecies (Bos indicus × Bos taurus) fetal fibroblast (bFF) using transduction with a policystronic lentivirus containing mouse Oct4, Sox2 c-Myc, and Klf-4 transcription factors. The DNA methylation patterns were evaluated by bisulfite sequencing and allelic expression by designing allele-specific PCR probes. We also quantified transcript expression by RT-PCR of H19, IGF2, SNRPN, OCT4, and NANOG by normalization with 3 housekeeping genes (GAPDH, NAT1, and ACTB). The biPS lines were characterised by a high nuclear : cytoplasmic ratio, dome-shaped colonies, positive AP activity, embryoid body formation, in vitro and in vivo (teratoma) formation, and expression of pluripotency-related genes. Compared to the bFF cells, methylation analyses of H19 showed partial hypomethylation of the paternal DMR on 1 iPS cell line and partial demethylation of the CTCF-binding region in the DMR of 2 other biPS lines, indicating abnormal demethylation of 3 out of the 4 biPS lines analysed. Methylation analyses of SNRPN revealed a partial hypomethylation in the maternal DMR and partial hypermethylation of the paternal DMR in 2 iPS lines. Gene expression analyses revealed the biallelic expression of H19 and decreased global expression of both H19 and IGF2, as well as the exclusively monoallelic paternal expression and significant increase in global expression of SNRPN. Interestingly, although OCT4 was substantially overexpressed in biPS lines, we identified a hypermethylation of the CG-rich region of the OCT4 exon 1. Endogenous NANOG expression was observed in 2 biPS clones. We conclude that imprinting errors are observed in biPS clones, suggesting that these epigenetic anomalies are related to the reprogramming process and could be directly responsible for the variable phenotypes and low success rates of both cloning and iPS derivation procedures.Financial support was from NSERC, FAPESP (13/13686-8, 11/08376-4, 57877-3/2008, 08.135-2/2013), CNPq (573754/2008-0, 482163/2013-5).

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sahar V. Mozaffari ◽  
Michelle M. Stein ◽  
Kevin M. Magnaye ◽  
Dan L. Nicolae ◽  
Carole Ober

AbstractGenomic imprinting is the phenomena that leads to silencing of one copy of a gene inherited from a specific parent. Mutations in imprinted regions have been involved in diseases showing parent of origin effects. Identifying genes with evidence of parent of origin expression patterns in family studies allows the detection of more subtle imprinting. Here, we use allele specific expression in lymphoblastoid cell lines from 306 Hutterites related in a single pedigree to provide formal evidence for parent of origin effects. We take advantage of phased genotype data to assign parent of origin to RNA-seq reads in individuals with gene expression data. Our approach identified known imprinted genes, two putative novel imprinted genes, and 14 genes with asymmetrical parent of origin gene expression. We used gene expression in peripheral blood leukocytes (PBL) to validate our findings, and then confirmed imprinting control regions (ICRs) using DNA methylation levels in the PBLs.Author SummaryLarge scale gene expression studies have identified known and novel imprinted genes through allele specific expression without knowing the parental origins of each allele. Here, we take advantage of phased genotype data to assign parent of origin to RNA-seq reads in 306 individuals with gene expression data. We identified known imprinted genes as well as two novel imprinted genes in lymphoblastoid cell line gene expression. We used gene expression in PBLs to validate our findings, and DNA methylation levels in PBLs to confirm previously characterized imprinting control regions that could regulate these imprinted genes.


eLife ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 3 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniela Pignatta ◽  
Robert M Erdmann ◽  
Elias Scheer ◽  
Colette L Picard ◽  
George W Bell ◽  
...  

Imprinted gene expression occurs during seed development in plants and is associated with differential DNA methylation of parental alleles, particularly at proximal transposable elements (TEs). Imprinting variability could contribute to observed parent-of-origin effects on seed development. We investigated intraspecific variation in imprinting, coupled with analysis of DNA methylation and small RNAs, among three Arabidopsis strains with diverse seed phenotypes. The majority of imprinted genes were parentally biased in the same manner among all strains. However, we identified several examples of allele-specific imprinting correlated with intraspecific epigenetic variation at a TE. We successfully predicted imprinting in additional strains based on methylation variability. We conclude that there is standing variation in imprinting even in recently diverged genotypes due to intraspecific epiallelic variation. Our data demonstrate that epiallelic variation and genomic imprinting intersect to produce novel gene expression patterns in seeds.


2014 ◽  
Vol 34 (suppl_1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jessilyn Dunn ◽  
Haiwei Qiu ◽  
Soyeon Kim ◽  
Daudi Jjingo ◽  
Ryan Hoffman ◽  
...  

Atherosclerosis preferentially occurs in arterial regions of disturbed blood flow (d-flow), which alters gene expression, endothelial function, and atherosclerosis. Here, we show that d-flow regulates genome-wide DNA methylation patterns in a DNA methyltransferase (DNMT)-dependent manner. We found that d-flow induced expression of DNMT1, but not DNMT3a or DNMT3b, in mouse arterial endothelium in vivo and in cultured endothelial cells by oscillatory shear (OS) compared to unidirectional laminar shear in vitro. The DNMT inhibitor 5-Aza-2’deoxycytidine (5Aza) or DNMT1 siRNA significantly reduced OS-induced endothelial inflammation. Moreover, 5Aza reduced lesion formation in two atherosclerosis models using ApoE-/- mice (western diet for 3 months and the partial carotid ligation model with western diet for 3 weeks). To identify the 5Aza mechanisms, we conducted two genome-wide studies: reduced representation bisulfite sequencing (RRBS) and transcript microarray using endothelial-enriched gDNA and RNA, respectively, obtained from the partially-ligated left common carotid artery (LCA exposed to d-flow) and the right contralateral control (RCA exposed to s-flow) of mice treated with 5Aza or vehicle. D-flow induced DNA hypermethylation in 421 gene promoters, which was significantly prevented by 5Aza in 335 genes. Systems biological analyses using the RRBS and the transcriptome data revealed 11 mechanosensitive genes whose promoters were hypermethylated by d-flow but rescued by 5Aza treatment. Of those, five genes contain hypermethylated cAMP-response-elements in their promoters, including the transcription factors HoxA5 and Klf3. Their methylation status could serve as a mechanosensitive master switch in endothelial gene expression. Our results demonstrate that d-flow controls epigenomic DNA methylation patterns in a DNMT-dependent manner, which in turn alters endothelial gene expression and induces atherosclerosis.


2018 ◽  
Vol 4 (11) ◽  
pp. eaau6986 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lu Wang ◽  
Patrick A. Ozark ◽  
Edwin R. Smith ◽  
Zibo Zhao ◽  
Stacy A. Marshall ◽  
...  

The tet methylcytosine dioxygenase 2 (TET2) enzyme catalyzes the conversion of the modified DNA base 5-methylcytosine to 5-hydroxymethylcytosine. TET2 is frequently mutated or dysregulated in multiple human cancers, and loss of TET2 is associated with changes in DNA methylation patterns. Here, using newly developed TET2-specific antibodies and the estrogen response as a model system for studying the regulation of gene expression, we demonstrate that endogenous TET2 occupies active enhancers and facilitates the proper recruitment of estrogen receptor α (ERα). Knockout of TET2 by CRISPR-CAS9 leads to a global increase of DNA methylation at enhancers, resulting in attenuation of the estrogen response. We further identified a positive feedback loop between TET2 and ERα, which further requires MLL3 COMPASS at these enhancers. Together, this study reveals an epigenetic axis coordinating a transcriptional program through enhancer activation via DNA demethylation.


BMC Genetics ◽  
2010 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 25 ◽  
Author(s):  
Caroline Daelemans ◽  
Matthew E Ritchie ◽  
Guillaume Smits ◽  
Sayeda Abu-Amero ◽  
Ian M Sudbery ◽  
...  

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jincheng Long ◽  
James Walker ◽  
Wenjing She ◽  
Billy Aldridge ◽  
Hongbo Gao ◽  
...  

AbstractThe plant male germline undergoes DNA methylation reprogramming, which methylates genes de novo and thereby alters gene expression and facilitates meiosis. Why reprogramming is limited to the germline and how specific genes are chosen is unknown. Here, we demonstrate that genic methylation in the male germline, from meiocytes to sperm, is established by germline-specific siRNAs transcribed from transposons with imperfect sequence homology. These siRNAs are synthesized by meiocyte nurse cells (tapetum) via activity of the tapetum-specific chromatin remodeler CLASSY3. Remarkably, tapetal siRNAs govern germline methylation throughout the genome, including the inherited methylation patterns in sperm. Finally, we demonstrate that these nurse cell-derived siRNAs (niRNAs) silence germline transposons, thereby safeguarding genome integrity. Our results reveal that tapetal niRNAs are sufficient to reconstitute germline methylation patterns and drive extensive, functional methylation reprogramming analogous to piRNA-mediated reprogramming in animal germlines.


Blood ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 132 (Supplement 1) ◽  
pp. 2608-2608
Author(s):  
Claudia Gebhard ◽  
Roger Mulet-Lazaro ◽  
Lucia Schwarzfischer ◽  
Dagmar Glatz ◽  
Margit Nuetzel ◽  
...  

Abstract Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) represents a highly heterogeneous myeloid stem cell disorder classified based on various genetic defects. Besides genetic alterations, epigenetic changes are recognized as an additional mechanism contributing to leukemogenesis, but insight into the latter process remains minor. Using a combination of Methyl-CpG-Immunoprecipitation (MCIp-chip) and MALDI-TOF analysis of bisulfite-treated DNA in a cohort of 196 AML patients we previously demonstrated that (cyto)genetically defined AML subtypes, including CBFB-MYH11, AML-ETO, NPM1-mut, CEBPA-mut or IDH1/2-mut subtypes, express specific DNA-methylation profiles (Gebhard et al, Leukemia, 2018). A fraction of AML patients (5/196) displayed a unique abnormal hypermethylation profile that was completely distinct from any other AML subtype. These patients present immature leukemia (FAB M0, M1) with various chromosomal aberrations but very few mutations (e.g. no IDH1/2, KRAS, DNMT3A) that might explain the CpG island methylator phenotype (CIMP) phenotype. The CIMP patients showed high resemblance with a recently reported CEBPA methylated subgroup (Wouters et al, 2007 and Figueroa et al, 2009), which we confirmed by MCIp-chip and MALDI-TOF analysis. To explore the whole range of epigenetic alterations in the CIMP-AML patients we performed in-depth global DNA methylation and gene expression analyses (MCIp-seq and RNA-seq) in 45 AML and 12 CIMP patients from both studies. Principle component analysis and t-distributed stochastic neighbor embedding (t-SNE) revealed that CIMP patients express a unique DNA-methylation and gene-expression signature that separated them from all other AMLs. We could discriminate promoter methylation from non-promoter methylation by selecting MCIp-seq peaks within 3kb around TSS. Promoter hypermethylation was highly associated with repression of genes (PCC = -0.053, p-value = 0.00075). Hypermethylation of non-promoter regions was more strongly associated with upregulation of genes (PCC = 0.046, p-value = 4.613e-06). Interestingly, differentially methylated regions also showed a positive association with myeloid lineage CTCF binding sites (27% vs 18% expected, p-value < 2.2e-16 in a chi-square test of independence). Methylation of CTCF sites causes loss of CTCF binding, which has been reported to disrupt boundaries between so-called topologically associated domains (TADs), allowing enhancers located in a particular TAD to become accessible to genes in adjacent TADs and affect their transcription. Whether this is the case is under investigation. In this study we particularly focused on the role of hypermethylation of promoters in CIMP-AMLs. Promoters of many transcriptional regulators that are involved in the differentiation of myeloid lineages of which several are frequently mutated in AML were hypermethylated and repressed, including CEBPA, CEBPD, IRF8, GATA2, KLF4, MITF or MAFB. Notably, HMGA2, a critical regulator of myeloid progenitor expansion, exhibited the largest degree of CIMP promoter hypermethylation compared to the other AMLs, accompanied by a reduction in gene expression. Moreover, multiple members of the HOXB family and KLF1 (erythroid differentiation) were methylated and repressed as well. In addition, these patients frequently showed hypermethylation of many chromatin factors (e.g. LMNA, CHD7 or TET2). Hypermethylation of the TET2 promoter could result in a loss of maintenance DNA demethylation and therefore successive hypermethylation at CpG islands. We carried out regulome-capture-bisulfite sequencing on CIMP-AMLs compared to other AML samples and normal blood cell controls and confirmed methylation of the same transcription and chromatin factor promoters. We conclude that these leukemias represent very primitive HSCPs which are blocked in differentiation into multiple hematopoietic lineages, due to the absence of regulators of these lineages. Although the underlying cause for the extreme hypermethylation signature is still subject to ongoing studies, the consequence of promoter hypermethylation is silencing of key lineage regulators causing the differentiation arrest in these cells. We argue that these patients may particularly benefit from therapies that revert DNA methylation. Disclosures Ehninger: Cellex Gesellschaft fuer Zellgewinnung mbH: Employment, Equity Ownership; GEMoaB Monoclonals GmbH: Employment, Equity Ownership; Bayer: Research Funding. Thiede:AgenDix: Other: Ownership; Novartis: Honoraria, Research Funding.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carlos A. M. Cardoso-Junior ◽  
Boris Yagound ◽  
Isobel Ronai ◽  
Emily J. Remnant ◽  
Klaus Hartfelder ◽  
...  

AbstractIntragenic DNA methylation, also called gene body methylation, is an evolutionarily-conserved epigenetic mechanism in animals and plants. In social insects, gene body methylation is thought to contribute to behavioral plasticity, for example between foragers and nurse workers, by modulating gene expression. However, recent studies have suggested that the majority of DNA methylation is sequence-specific, and therefore cannot act as a flexible mediator between environmental cues and gene expression. To address this paradox, we examined whole-genome methylation patterns in the brains and ovaries of young honey bee workers that had been subjected to divergent social contexts: the presence or absence of the queen. Although these social contexts are known to bring about extreme changes in behavioral and reproductive traits through differential gene expression, we found no significant differences between the methylomes of workers from queenright and queenless colonies. In contrast, thousands of regions were differentially methylated between colonies, and these differences were not associated with differential gene expression in a subset of genes examined. Methylation patterns were highly similar between brain and ovary tissues and only differed in nine regions. These results strongly indicate that DNA methylation is not a driver of differential gene expression between tissues or behavioral morphs. Finally, despite the lack of difference in methylation patterns, queen presence affected the expression of all four DNA methyltransferase genes, suggesting that these enzymes have roles beyond DNA methylation. Therefore, the functional role of DNA methylation in social insect genomes remains an open question.


2021 ◽  
Vol 118 (5) ◽  
pp. e2005377118
Author(s):  
Weijun Jiang ◽  
Jiajia Shi ◽  
Jingjie Zhao ◽  
Qiu Wang ◽  
Dan Cong ◽  
...  

ZFP57 is a master regulator of genomic imprinting. It has both maternal and zygotic functions that are partially redundant in maintaining DNA methylation at some imprinting control regions (ICRs). In this study, we found that DNA methylation was lost at most known ICRs in Zfp57 mutant embryos. Furthermore, loss of ZFP57 caused loss of parent-of-origin–dependent monoallelic expression of the target imprinted genes. The allelic expression switch occurred in the ZFP57 target imprinted genes upon loss of differential DNA methylation at the ICRs in Zfp57 mutant embryos. Specifically, upon loss of ZFP57, the alleles of the imprinted genes located on the same chromosome with the originally methylated ICR switched their expression to mimic their counterparts on the other chromosome with unmethylated ICR. Consistent with our previous study, ZFP57 could regulate the NOTCH signaling pathway in mouse embryos by impacting allelic expression of a few regulators in the NOTCH pathway. In addition, the imprinted Dlk1 gene that has been implicated in the NOTCH pathway was significantly down-regulated in Zfp57 mutant embryos. Our allelic expression switch models apply to the examined target imprinted genes controlled by either maternally or paternally methylated ICRs. Our results support the view that ZFP57 controls imprinted expression of its target imprinted genes primarily through maintaining differential DNA methylation at the ICRs.


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