scholarly journals Uncoupling splicing from transcription using antisense oligonucleotides reveals a dual role for I exon donor splice sites in antibody class switching

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anne Marchalot ◽  
Mohamad Omar Ashi ◽  
Jean-Marie Lambert ◽  
Nivine Srour ◽  
Laurent Delpy ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
B Cells ◽  
Rna Polymerase Ii ◽  
Antisense Oligonucleotides ◽  
Cytidine Deaminase ◽  
Chromatin Accessibility ◽  
Antibody Isotype ◽  
Rna Pol Ii ◽  
Pol Ii ◽  
Donor Splice ◽  
Pol Ii Pausing

ABSTRACTClass switch recombination (CSR) changes antibody isotype by replacing Cμ constant exons with different constant exons located downstream on the immunoglobulin heavy (IgH) locus. During CSR, transcription through specific switch (S) regions and processing of noncoding germline transcripts (GLTs) are essential for the targeting of Activation-Induced cytidine Deaminase (AID). While CSR to IgG1 is abolished in mice lacking Iγ1 exon donor splice site (dss), many questions remain regarding the importance of I exon dss recognition in CSR. To further clarify the role of I exon dss in CSR, we first evaluated RNA polymerase II (RNA pol II) loading and chromatin accessibility in S regions after activation of mouse B cells lacking Iγ1 dss. We found that deletion of Iγ1 dss markedly reduced RNA pol II pausing and active chromatin marks in the Sγ1 region. We then challenged the post-transcriptional function of I exon dss in CSR by using antisense oligonucleotides (ASO) masking I exon dss on GLTs. Treatment of stimulated B cells with an ASO targeting Iγ1 dss, in the acceptor Sγ1 region, or Iμ dss, in the donor Sμ region, did not decrease germline transcription but strongly inhibited constitutive splicing and CSR to IgG1. Altogether, this study reveals that the recognition of I exon dss first supports RNA pol II pausing and the opening of chromatin in targeted S regions and that GLTs splicing events using constitutive I exon dss appear mandatory for the later steps of CSR, most likely by guiding AID to S regions.

scholarly journals O-GlcNAc Transferase Activity is Essential for RNA Pol II Pausing in a Human Cell-Free Transcription System

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brian A. Lewis ◽  
David Levens
Keyword(s):  
Rna Polymerase Ii ◽  
Transferase Activity ◽  
Rna Pol Ii ◽  
Free System ◽  
Pol Ii ◽  
Transcription System ◽  
A Cell ◽  
Pol Ii Pausing ◽  
Glcnac Transferase

AbstractRNA polymerase II pausing is the major regulatory point in transcription in higher eukaryotes. Despite considerable knowledge of the general transcriptional machinery that are required to recruit RNA pol II to a promoter, much less is known how a paused RNA pol II is established and its release regulated, and the entirety of the machinery is likely not known. In part, this is due to the absence of an appropriate biochemical system that functionally recapitulates RNA pol II pausing and elongation and with which the pausing machinery can be identified. We describe herein a cell-free system (CFS) derived from HeLa cells that recapitulates pausing and elongation events known to occur in vivo. We have used this system to show that O-GlcNAc transferase (OGT) activity is required to establish a paused pol II, without which RNA pol II does not pause and instead enters productive elongation. Coupled with previous observations we show that both O-GlcNAc addition and removal are functionally required for pausing and elongation, respectively. Furthermore, the CFS offers significant inroads into understanding RNA pol II pausing and its regulation.

scholarly journals A machine learning-based framework for modeling transcription elongation

2021 ◽  
Vol 118 (6) ◽  
pp. e2007450118
Author(s):  
Peiyuan Feng ◽  
An Xiao ◽  
Meng Fang ◽  
Fangping Wan ◽  
Shuya Li ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Rna Polymerase Ii ◽  
High Throughput Sequencing ◽  
Gene Expression Regulation ◽  
Transcription Elongation ◽  
Transcriptional Elongation ◽  
Sequencing Data ◽  
Pol Ii ◽  
High Throughput Sequencing Data ◽  
Pol Ii Pausing ◽  
Elongation Process

RNA polymerase II (Pol II) generally pauses at certain positions along gene bodies, thereby interrupting the transcription elongation process, which is often coupled with various important biological functions, such as precursor mRNA splicing and gene expression regulation. Characterizing the transcriptional elongation dynamics can thus help us understand many essential biological processes in eukaryotic cells. However, experimentally measuring Pol II elongation rates is generally time and resource consuming. We developed PEPMAN (polymerase II elongation pausing modeling through attention-based deep neural network), a deep learning-based model that accurately predicts Pol II pausing sites based on the native elongating transcript sequencing (NET-seq) data. Through fully taking advantage of the attention mechanism, PEPMAN is able to decipher important sequence features underlying Pol II pausing. More importantly, we demonstrated that the analyses of the PEPMAN-predicted results around various types of alternative splicing sites can provide useful clues into understanding the cotranscriptional splicing events. In addition, associating the PEPMAN prediction results with different epigenetic features can help reveal important factors related to the transcription elongation process. All these results demonstrated that PEPMAN can provide a useful and effective tool for modeling transcription elongation and understanding the related biological factors from available high-throughput sequencing data.

scholarly journals Mechanism of RNA polymerase II stalling by DNA alkylation

2017 ◽  
Vol 114 (46) ◽  
pp. 12172-12177 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stefano Malvezzi ◽  
Lucas Farnung ◽  
Claudia M. N. Aloisi ◽  
Todor Angelov ◽  
Patrick Cramer ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Rna Polymerase ◽  
Rna Polymerase Ii ◽  
Anticancer Agents ◽  
Excision Repair ◽  
Minor Groove ◽  
Dna Alkylation ◽  
Drug Induced ◽  
Rna Pol Ii ◽  
Pol Ii

Several anticancer agents that form DNA adducts in the minor groove interfere with DNA replication and transcription to induce apoptosis. Therapeutic resistance can occur, however, when cells are proficient in the removal of drug-induced damage. Acylfulvenes are a class of experimental anticancer agents with a unique repair profile suggesting their capacity to stall RNA polymerase (Pol) II and trigger transcription-coupled nucleotide excision repair. Here we show how different forms of DNA alkylation impair transcription by RNA Pol II in cells and with the isolated enzyme and unravel a mode of RNA Pol II stalling that is due to alkylation of DNA in the minor groove. We incorporated a model for acylfulvene adducts, the stable 3-deaza-3-methoxynaphtylethyl-adenosine analog (3d-Napht-A), and smaller 3-deaza-adenosine analogs, into DNA oligonucleotides to assess RNA Pol II transcription elongation in vitro. RNA Pol II was strongly blocked by a 3d-Napht-A analog but bypassed smaller analogs. Crystal structure analysis revealed that a DNA base containing 3d-Napht-A can occupy the +1 templating position and impair closing of the trigger loop in the Pol II active center and polymerase translocation into the next template position. These results show how RNA Pol II copes with minor-groove DNA alkylation and establishes a mechanism for drug resistance.

scholarly journals JMJD5 couples with CDK9 to release the paused RNA polymerase II

2020 ◽  
Vol 117 (33) ◽  
pp. 19888-19895
Author(s):  
Haolin Liu ◽  
Srinivas Ramachandran ◽  
Nova Fong ◽  
Tzu Phang ◽  
Schuyler Lee ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Rna Polymerase ◽  
Rna Polymerase Ii ◽  
Elongation Factor ◽  
Pol Ii ◽  
Transcription Start Sites ◽  
Terminal Domain ◽  
Carboxyl Terminal Domain ◽  
Pol Ii Pausing ◽  
Carboxyl Terminal ◽  
Heptad Repeats

More than 30% of genes in higher eukaryotes are regulated by RNA polymerase II (Pol II) promoter proximal pausing. Pausing is released by the positive transcription elongation factor complex (P-TEFb). However, the exact mechanism by which this occurs and whether phosphorylation of the carboxyl-terminal domain of Pol II is involved in the process remains unknown. We previously reported that JMJD5 could generate tailless nucleosomes at position +1 from transcription start sites (TSS), thus perhaps enable progression of Pol II. Here we find that knockout of JMJD5 leads to accumulation of nucleosomes at position +1. Absence of JMJD5 also results in loss of or lowered transcription of a large number of genes. Interestingly, we found that phosphorylation, by CDK9, of Ser2 within two neighboring heptad repeats in the carboxyl-terminal domain of Pol II, together with phosphorylation of Ser5 within the second repeat, HR-Ser2p (1, 2)-Ser5p (2) for short, allows Pol II to bind JMJD5 via engagement of the N-terminal domain of JMJD5. We suggest that these events bring JMJD5 near the nucleosome at position +1, thus allowing JMJD5 to clip histones on this nucleosome, a phenomenon that may contribute to release of Pol II pausing.

AT7519, a Potent Multi-Targeted CDK Inhibitor, Is Active in CLL Patient Samples Independent of Stage

Blood ◽  
2008 ◽  
Vol 112 (11) ◽  
pp. 3161-3161
Author(s):  
Vicky Lock ◽  
Laurence Cooke ◽  
Murray Yule ◽  
Neil T Thompson ◽  
K. Della Croce ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cell Cycle ◽  
Cell Death ◽  
B Cell ◽  
Rna Polymerase Ii ◽  
Parp Cleavage ◽  
Regulation Of Transcription ◽  
Cytotoxic Effects ◽  
Rna Pol Ii ◽  
Pol Ii ◽  
Cyclin Dependent Kinases

Abstract Cyclin Dependent Kinases (CDKs) play a central role in the eukaryotic cell cycle. The activation of these kinases is modulated by the expression and binding of their regulatory cyclin partners. Their key role in cell cycle progression, coupled to evidence that pathways leading to their activation are deregulated in a number of human cancers makes them attractive therapeutic targets. More recently the role of CDKs 7, 8 and 9 in the regulation of transcription has been explored. CDK9 has been shown to play a role in the regulation of transcription via phosphorylation of RNA polymerase II (RNA pol II). The outcome of transcriptional inhibition via CDK9 exhibits significant variation between cell lines. B-Cell lymphoproliferative disorders, including CLL, rely on the expression of transcripts with a short half-life such as Mcl-1, Bcl-2 and XIAP for survival. In vitro studies have demonstrated that compounds with transcriptional inhibitory effects are effective pro-apoptotic agents in models of this disease. AT7519 is a potent inhibitor of cyclin dependent kinases 1, 2 and 9 and is currently in early phase clinical development. These studies profile the mechanism of action of AT7519 on CLL cells isolated from patients. Primary cell samples were isolated from a total of 15 patients with CLL with various stages of disease (8 Stage 0, 0/I or II and 7 Stage IV) and who were either treatment naïve or had received a variety of prior therapies. Patient samples were characterised for cytogenetic abnormalities (11q, 17p and 13q deletion or trisomy 12) as well IgVH mutation and ZAP70 expression. AT7519 was shown to induce apoptosis (by MTS, morphology and PARP cleavage) in these samples at concentrations of 100–700nM. AT7519 appears equally effective at inhibiting the survival of CLL cells harbouring a variety of mutations including those representative of patients that fall within poorer prognosis treatment groups. The amount of AT7519 required to induce cell death in 50% of the CLL cell population increased as exposure time was decreased but significant cell death was obtained at doses approximating to 1uM following 4–6h of treatment. These doses are equivalent to exposures achieved in ongoing AT7519 clinical studies indicating that cytotoxic doses can be achieved in patients on well tolerated schedules. The mechanism of AT7519 cytotoxic effects was investigated by western blotting for a variety of cell cycle and apoptotic markers following incubation with compound. Short term treatments (4–6h) resulted in inhibition of phosphorylation of the transcriptional marker RNA pol II and the downregulation of the anti-apoptotic protein Mcl-1. Additional antiapoptotic proteins including XIAP and Bcl-2 remained unchanged. The reduction in Mcl-1 protein levels was associated with an increase in the apoptotic marker cleaved PARP. No inhibition of cell cycle markers such as phospho-retinoblastoma protein was observed in the same samples suggesting that the cytotoxic effects of AT7519 in CLL patient samples is due to its transcriptional activity alone. Together the data suggest AT7519 offers a promising treatment strategy for patients with advanced B-cell leukemia and lymphoma.

scholarly journals RNA polymerase II pausing modulates hematopoietic stem cell emergence in zebrafish

Blood ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 128 (13) ◽  
pp. 1701-1710 ◽  
Author(s):  
Qiwen Yang ◽  
Xiuli Liu ◽  
Ting Zhou ◽  
Jennifer Cook ◽  
Kim Nguyen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Stem Cell ◽  
Rna Polymerase ◽  
Rna Polymerase Ii ◽  
Hematopoietic Stem Cell ◽  
Zebrafish Embryos ◽  
Hematopoietic Stem ◽  
Pol Ii ◽  
Key Points ◽  
Ifn Γ ◽  
Pol Ii Pausing

Key Points Pol II pausing is required for HSC emergence in zebrafish embryos. TGFβ and IFN-γ signaling are oppositely regulated by Pol II pausing to regulate HSC emergence.

scholarly journals TET enzymes augment AID expression via 5hmC modifications at the Aicda superenhancer

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chan-Wang J. Lio ◽  
Vipul Shukla ◽  
Daniela Samaniego-Castruita ◽  
Edahi González-Avalos ◽  
Abhijit Chakraborty ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
B Cells ◽  
Cell Activation ◽  
Leucine Zipper ◽  
Cytidine Deaminase ◽  
Chromatin Accessibility ◽  
Dna Demethylation ◽  
Bzip Transcription Factor ◽  
Epigenetic Mark ◽  
Enhancer Activity ◽  
Tet Enzymes

AbstractTET enzymes are dioxygenases that promote DNA demethylation by oxidizing the methyl group of 5-methylcytosine (5mC) to 5-hydroxymethylcytosine (5hmC). Here we report a close correspondence between 5hmC-marked regions, chromatin accessibility and enhancer activity in B cells, and a strong enrichment for consensus binding motifs for basic region-leucine zipper (bZIP) transcription factors at TET-responsive genomic regions. Functionally, Tet2 and Tet3 regulate class switch recombination (CSR) in murine B cells by enhancing expression of Aicda, encoding the cytidine deaminase AID essential for CSR. TET enzymes deposit 5hmC, demethylate and maintain chromatin accessibility at two TET-responsive elements, TetE1 and TetE2, located within a superenhancer in the Aicda locus. Transcriptional profiling identified BATF as the bZIP transcription factor involved in TET-dependent Aicda expression. 5hmC is not deposited at TetE1 in activated Batf-deficient B cells, indicating that BATF recruits TET proteins to the Aicda enhancer. Our data emphasize the importance of TET enzymes for bolstering AID expression, and highlight 5hmC as an epigenetic mark that captures enhancer dynamics during cell activation.

scholarly journals Increased processing of SINE B2 non coding RNAs unveils a novel type of transcriptome de-regulation underlying amyloid beta neuro-pathology

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yubo Cheng ◽  
Babita Gollen ◽  
Luke Saville ◽  
Christopher Isaac ◽  
Jogender Mehla ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Stress Response ◽  
Rna Polymerase Ii ◽  
Amyloid Beta ◽  
Transcriptional Activation ◽  
Rna Processing ◽  
Rna Pol Ii ◽  
Pol Ii ◽  
Amyloid Toxicity ◽  
B2 Rna ◽  
Non Coding Rnas

ABSTRACTMore than 97% of the mammalian genome is non-protein coding, and repetitive elements account for more than 50% of noncoding space. However, the functional importance of many non-coding RNAs generated by these elements and their connection with pathologic processes remains elusive. We have previously shown that B2 RNAs, a class of non-coding RNAs that belong to the B2 family of SINE repeats, mediate the transcriptional activation of stress response genes (SRGs) upon application of a stimulus. Notably, B2 RNAs bind RNA Polymerase II (RNA Pol II) and suppress SRG transcription during pro-stimulation state. Upon application of a stimulus, B2 RNAs are processed into fragments and degraded, which in turn releases RNA Pol II from suppression and upregulates SRGs. Here, we demonstrate a novel role for B2 RNAs in transcriptome response to amyloid beta toxicity and pathology in the mouse hippocampus. In healthy hippocampi, activation of SRGs is followed by a transient upregulation of pro-apoptotic factors, such as p53 and miRNA-34c, which target SRGs creating a negative feedback loop that facilitates transition to the pro-stimulation state. Using an integrative RNA genomics approach, we show that in mouse hippocampi of an amyloid precursor protein knock-in mouse model and in an in vitro cell culture model of amyloid beta toxicity, this regulatory loop is dysfunctional due to increased levels of B2 RNA processing, constitutively elevated SRG expression and high p53 levels. Evidence indicates that Hsf1, a master regulator of stress response, mediates B2 RNA processing in cells, and is upregulated during amyloid toxicity accelerating the processing of SINE RNAs and SRG hyper-activation. Our study reveals that in mouse, SINE RNAs constitute a novel pathway deregulated in amyloid beta pathology, with potential implications for similar cases in the human brain, such as Alzheimer’s disease (AD). This data attributes a role to SINE RNA processing in a pathological process as well as a new function to Hsf1 that is independent of its transcription factor activity.

scholarly journals NET-prism enables RNA polymerase-dedicated transcriptional interrogation at nucleotide resolution

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Constantine Mylonas ◽  
Peter Tessarz
Keyword(s):  
Splicing Factors ◽  
Elongation Factors ◽  
Single Nucleotide ◽  
Rna Pol Ii ◽  
Pol Ii ◽  
Genome Wide ◽  
Regulatory Complexity ◽  
Pol Ii Pausing ◽  
Nucleotide Resolution ◽  
The Impact

ABSTRACTThe advent of quantitative approaches that enable interrogation of transcription at single nucleotide resolution has allowed a novel understanding of transcriptional regulation previously undefined. However, little is known, at such high resolution, how transcription factors directly influence RNA Pol II pausing and directionality. To map the impact of transcription/elongation factors on transcription dynamics genome-wide at base pair resolution, we developed an adapted NET-seq protocol called NET-prism (Native Elongating Transcription by Polymerase-Regulated Immunoprecipitants in the Mammalian genome). Application of NET-prism on elongation factors (Spt6, Ssrp1), splicing factors (Sf1), and components of the pre-initiation complex (PIC) (TFIID, and Mediator) reveals their inherent command on transcription dynamics, with regards to directionality and pausing over promoters, splice sites, and enhancers/super-enhancers. NET-prism will be broadly applicable as it exposes transcription factor/Pol II dependent topographic specificity and thus, a new degree of regulatory complexity during gene expression.

scholarly journals Stress-Induced Transcriptional Memory Accelerates Promoter-Proximal Pause-Release and Decelerates Termination over Mitotic Divisions

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anniina Vihervaara ◽  
Dig Bijay Mahat ◽  
Samu V. Himanen ◽  
Malin A.H. Blom ◽  
John T. Lis ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Heat Shock ◽  
Rna Polymerase Ii ◽  
Transcriptional Response ◽  
Regulatory Elements ◽  
List Type ◽  
Pol Ii ◽  
Daughter Cells ◽  
Heat Shocks ◽  
Transcriptional Memory ◽  
Pol Ii Pausing

SummaryHeat shock triggers an instant reprogramming of gene and enhancer transcription, but whether cells encode a memory to stress, at the level of nascent transcription, has remained unknown. Here, we measured transcriptional response to acute heat stress in unconditioned cells and in daughters of cells that had been exposed to a single or multiple heat shocks. Tracking RNA Polymerase II (Pol II) genome-wide at nucleotide-resolution revealed that cells precisely remember their transcriptional identity throughout stress, restoring Pol II distribution at gene bodies and enhancers upon recovery. However, single heat shock primed faster gene-induction in the daughter cells by increasing promoter-proximal Pol II pausing, and accelerating the pause-release. In repeatedly stressed cells, both basal and inducible transcription was refined, and pre-mRNA processing decelerated, which retained transcripts on chromatin and reduced recycling of the transcription machinery. These results mechanistically uncovered how the steps of pause-release and termination maintain transcriptional memory over mitosis.Highlights-Cell type-specific transcription precisely recovers after heat-induced reprogramming-Single heat shock primes genes for accelerated induction over mitotic divisionsviaincreased promoter-proximal Pol II pausing and faster pause-release-Multiple heat shocks refine basal and inducible transcription over mitotic divisions to support survival of the daughter cells-Decelerated termination at active genes reduces recycling of Pol II to heat-activated promoters and enhancers-HSF1 increases the rate of promoter-proximal pause-releaseviadistal and proximal regulatory elements

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