Azacitidine Blocks GATA-1-Mediated Repression of the PU.1 Gene in Human Leukemic Cells

Abstract Introduction: GATA-1 and PU.1 are two important hematopoietic transcription factors that mutually inhibit each other in progenitor cells to guide entrance into the erythroid or myeloid lineage, respectively. Expression of PU.1 is controlled by several transcription factors including PU.1 itself by binding to the distal URE enhancer (upstream regulatory element) whose deletion leads to acute myeloid leukemia (AML) (Rosenbauer F et al. 2004). Co-expression of PU.1 and GATA-1 in AML-erythroleukemia (EL) blasts prevents efficient differentiation regulated by these transcription factors. Inhibition of transcriptional activity of PU.1 protein by GATA-1 has been reported (Nerlov C et al. 2000), however it is not known whether GATA-1 can inhibit PU.1 gene in human early erythroblasts directly. We have recently found that MDS/AML erythroblasts display repressive histone modifications and DNA methylation status of PU.1 gene that respond to 5-azacitidine (AZA) leading to inhibited blast cell proliferation and stimulated myeloid differentiation (Curik N et al. 2012). We hypothesize that l eukemia blockade during early erythroid differentiation includes direct GATA-1-mediated inhibition of the PU.1 gene. Results: We herein document the GATA-1 mediated repression of the PU.1 gene in human EL cell lines (OCI-M2 and K562) together with the recruitment of DNA methyl transferase I (DNMT1) to the URE known to guide most of the PU.1 gene transcription. Repression of the PU.1 gene involves both DNA methylation at the URE and methylation/deacetylation of the histone H3 lysine-K9 residue and methylation of H3K27 at additional DNA elements and the PU.1 promoter. Inhibition of GATA-1 by siRNA as well as the AZA treatment in AML-EL led to the significant DNA-demethylation of the URE thorough the mechanism of DNMT1 depletion leading to upregulation of the PU.1 expression. Conclusions: Our data indicate that GATA-1 binds to the PU.1 gene at the URE and initiate events leading to the PU.1 gene repression in human ELs. The mechanism includes repressive epigenetic remodeling of the URE that is important for the PU.1 downregulation and leukemogenesis and that is also simultaneously sensitive to the DNA demethylation treatment with AZA. The GATA-1-mediated inhibition likely contributes to the PU.1 downregulation during progenitor cell differentiation that could be employed during leukemogenesis. Importantly, we also observed important differences between murine and human ELs and found that repression of the PU.1 gene in human ELs can become reverted by the epigenetic therapy with AZA. Our work also suggests that hypomethylating therapy using DNA methylation inhibitors in MDS/AML may become potentially effective in MDS/EL patients. We think that during early erythroid differentiation the GATA-1 binds and represses the PU.1 gene, however this is not fully completed in EL and therefore the erythroid as well as myeloid differentiation are blocked. Grants: GACR P305/12/1033, UNCE 204021, PRVOUK-P24/LF1/1. Disclosures Off Label Use: Azacitidine, DNA demethylation agens tested in vitro in AML/MDS treatment. Stopka:Celgene: Research Funding.

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Dynamic Changes Of DNA Methylation and a Functional Role For TET2 DNA Dioxygenase In Human Erythroid Differentiation

Blood ◽

10.1182/blood.v122.21.3415.3415 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 122 (21) ◽

pp. 3415-3415

Author(s):

Jie Li ◽

Papoin Julien ◽

Chao An ◽

Jingpin Hu ◽

Ari Melnick ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Dna Methylation ◽

Transcription Factors ◽

Functional Role ◽

Methylation Status ◽

Erythroid Differentiation ◽

Dna Demethylation ◽

Parent Cell ◽

Hematopoietic Stem ◽

Mature Erythrocyte ◽

Terminal Erythroid Differentiation

Abstract Erythropoiesis is a process by which multipotent hematopoietic stem cells proliferate, differentiate and eventually form mature erythrocytes. This process contains eight distinct differentiation stages including burst-forming unit-erythroid (BFU-E), colony-forming unit-erythroid (CFU-E), proerythroblast, basophilic erythroblast, polychromatic erythroblast, orthochromatic erythroblast, reticulocyte and mature erythrocyte. Unlike most cell types, an important feature of erythropoiesis is that following each of the three or four mitoses that occur during terminal erythroid differentiation, the daughter cells are distinctly different from the parent cell from which they are derived. Thus, erythropoiesis is a complex process that requires tight regulation. The most extensively studied regulators of erythroid differentiation include the EPO/EPOR system and two major transcription factors, GATA1 and KLF1. In contrast to the well-established roles of growth factors, cytokines and transcription factors in regulating erythropoiesis, the regulation of erythropoiesis by other mechanisms is much less understood. In the present study, we explore the changes in DNA methylation during human terminal erythroid differentiation and DNA methylation/demethylation in human erythropoiesis. The methylation status of DNA influences many biologic processes. It has been recently reported that global demethylation occurs during both murine and human erythropoiesis. However, the dynamics of DNA methylation changes, the underlying molecular mechanism(s), and the function of DNA demethylation in erythropoiesis are not clear. To address these issues, we performed next-generation bisulfite sequencing on highly purified human erythroblasts at distinct differentiation stages. We show that while there is a global hypomethylation as terminal erythropoiesis proceeds, stage-specific analysis revealed that a significant proportion of differential methylation includes gains of methylation. Moreover, genes that presented with DNA methylation changes could be categorized into 3 groups based on the dynamics of their methylation changes. As Ten-eleven-translocation proteins (TETs) have been implicated in DNA demethylation by converting 5-methylcytosine (5mc) to 5-hydroxymethylcytosine (5hmc), we attempted to explore the role of TETs in DNA demethylation and terminal erythroid differentiation. We show that 5hmc is progressively increased during human terminal erythroid differentiation. Importantly, knockdown of TET2 by shRNA in human CD34+ cells impaired the production of 5hmc as well as terminal erythroid differentiation. Our findings demonstrate the complexity of DNA methylation dynamics and identify a functional role for TET2 in human erythroid differentiation. These findings provide new and novel insights into the mechanistic understanding of normal and disordered erythropoiesis. As aberrant DNA methylation underlies many hematological diseases including the dyserythropoiesis of myelodysplastic syndromes, we suggest that these finding also provide novel insights into these diseases. Disclosures: No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.

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Master Transcription Factors Regulate the DNA Methylation Landscape During Hepatocyte Differentiation

10.1101/2020.12.16.423165 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Takahiro Suzuki ◽

Erina Furuhata ◽

Shiori Maeda ◽

Mami Kishima ◽

Yurina Miyajima ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Dna Methylation ◽

Transcription Factors ◽

Dna Demethylation ◽

Hepatocyte Differentiation ◽

Endoderm Differentiation ◽

Chromatin Activation ◽

Specific Manner ◽

Differentiation Stage ◽

Differentiation Gene

BackgroundHepatocytes are the dominant cell type of the human liver, with functions in metabolism, detoxification, and in producing secreted proteins. During the process of hepatocyte differentiation, gene regulation and master transcription factors have been extensively investigated, whereas little is known about how the epigenome is regulated, particularly the dynamics of DNA methylation, and the upstream factors that have critical roles.ResultsBy examining changes in the transcriptome and the methylome duringin vitrohepatocyte differentiation, we identified putative DNA methylation-regulating transcription factors, which are likely involved in DNA demethylation and maintenance of hypo-methylation in a differentiation stage-specific manner. Of these factors, we further reveal that GATA6 induces DNA demethylation together with chromatin activation at a binding-site-specific manner during endoderm differentiation.ConclusionsThese results provide an insight into the spatiotemporal regulatory mechanisms exerted on the DNA methylation landscape by transcription factors, and uncover a new role for transcription factors in early liver development.

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High throughput screening identifies SOX2 as a super pioneer factor that inhibits DNA methylation maintenance at its binding sites

Nature Communications ◽

10.1038/s41467-021-23630-x ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 12 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Ludovica Vanzan ◽

Hadrien Soldati ◽

Victor Ythier ◽

Santosh Anand ◽

Simon M. G. Braun ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Dna Methylation ◽

Transcription Factors ◽

Binding Sites ◽

High Throughput Screening ◽

Methylation Status ◽

Chromatin Accessibility ◽

Dna Demethylation ◽

Active Dna Demethylation ◽

Nucleosomal Dna ◽

Select Group

AbstractBinding of mammalian transcription factors (TFs) to regulatory regions is hindered by chromatin compaction and DNA methylation of their binding sites. Nevertheless, pioneer transcription factors (PFs), a distinct class of TFs, have the ability to access nucleosomal DNA, leading to nucleosome remodelling and enhanced chromatin accessibility. Whether PFs can bind to methylated sites and induce DNA demethylation is largely unknown. Using a highly parallelized approach to investigate PF ability to bind methylated DNA and induce DNA demethylation, we show that the interdependence between DNA methylation and TF binding is more complex than previously thought, even within a select group of TFs displaying pioneering activity; while some PFs do not affect the methylation status of their binding sites, we identified PFs that can protect DNA from methylation and others that can induce DNA demethylation at methylated binding sites. We call the latter super pioneer transcription factors (SPFs), as they are seemingly able to overcome several types of repressive epigenetic marks. Finally, while most SPFs induce TET-dependent active DNA demethylation, SOX2 binding leads to passive demethylation, an activity enhanced by the co-binding of OCT4. This finding suggests that SPFs could interfere with epigenetic memory during DNA replication.

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Leukemia-Associated Cohesin Mutants Dominantly Enforce Stem Cell Programs and Impair Human Hematopoietic Progenitor Differentiation

Blood ◽

10.1182/blood.v126.23.841.841 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 126 (23) ◽

pp. 841-841

Author(s):

Claire Mazumdar ◽

Ying Shen ◽

Seethu Xavy ◽

Feifei Zhao ◽

Andreas Reinisch ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Stem Cell ◽

Transcription Factors ◽

Erythroid Differentiation ◽

Chromatin Accessibility ◽

Myeloid Differentiation ◽

Cohesin Complex ◽

Hematopoietic Progenitor ◽

Differentiation Block

Abstract Recurrent mutations in the components of the cohesin complex (RAD21, SMC1A, SMC3, and STAG2) have been identified in human AML and other myeloid malignancies, and have been shown to occur as pre-leukemic mutations in HSC. Cohesin functions to hold chromatin strands within a ring-like structure composed of the four core components, and although its best-established role is to maintain the polarity of sister chromatids during mitosis, cohesin is also involved in double-stranded DNA damage repair and regulation of transcription. As little is known about their contributions to leukemogenesis, we sought to investigate the effects of cohesin mutants on human hematopoiesis, particularly hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells (HSPC). Introduction of mutant cohesin into AML cell lines and primary human HSPC resulted in a differentiation block with an increased frequency of CD34+ progenitor cells. A similar phenotype was observed with knockdown of core component RAD21 both in vitro and in vivo, indicating that mutant cohesin can act either through haploinsufficiency or dominant-negative mechanisms. Mutant cohesin increased the serial replating ability of HSPC in vitro and showed enrichment for HSC and leukemia stem cell gene expression programs, indicating an effect to enforce stem cell functions. Furthermore, we observed a skewing toward the myeloid lineage in cohesin mutant colonies cultured in methylcellulose, which was recapitulated by a strong myeloid skewing of human engrafted cells in vivo. Thus, mutant cohesin enforces stem cell programs and impairs human hematopoietic progenitor differentiation. Since cohesin complex mutations were identified in pre-leukemic HSC in many of the cases we investigated, we hypothesized that they may impart their phenotype in a cell context-dependent manner. To investigate this hypothesis, six human HSPC subpopulations (HSC, MPP, LMPP, CMP, GMP, and MEP) were isolated from cord blood, and these cells were transduced with cohesin WT, cohesin mutant, RAD21 shRNA, or control lentivirus. Transduced cells were then cultured in either myeloid differentiation or erythroid differentiation-promoting conditions. Strikingly, a strong myeloid differentiation block was only observed with cohesin mutant-transduced HSC and MPP, but not GMP. Similarly, a strong erythroid differentiation block was also observed in HSC and MPP, but not MEP. These results indicate that the effect of mutant cohesin is context dependent and restricted to the most immature HSPC. We next sought to elucidate the mechanism by which cohesin mutants exert their effects on human HSPC. Since the cohesin complex functions to establish and maintain DNA accessibility, and knockdown of cohesin can led to a decrease in chromatin accessibility at transcription factor (TF) clustered regions (Yan et al., 2013), we hypothesized that cohesin mutants impart their phenotypic effects through modulation of chromatin accessibility. To investigate this hypothesis, we used a newly developed method known as ATAC-Seq (Buenrostro et al., 2013) to assess genome-wide accessibility in cohesin WT and mutant HSPC. As expected, we found that cohesin mutants exhibited globally reduced chromatin accessibility at transcriptional regulatory elements. However, we detected increased chromatin accessibility at motifs for transcription factors known to be highly expressed in and critical regulators of HSPC including ERG, GATA2 and RUNX1. Further footprinting analysis, a proxy for ChIP-Seq experiments, showed a strong enrichment of binding of these factors in the mutant cells compared to WT cells. Based on these results, we developed a model in which the functional effects of mutant cohesin on human HSPC are mediated by transcription factors exhibiting increased chromatin accessibility such as ERG, GATA2 and RUNX1. From this model, we hypothesized that knockdown of these transcription factors would prevent the enforcement of stem cell programs and increase in CD34-expressing cells observed with cohesin mutants. As predicted, knockdown of ERG, GATA2, or RUNX1, but not GATA1 or PU.1, in the presence of cohesin mutants completely prevented the increase in CD34-expressing cells. These results strongly support our proposed model that mutant cohesin impairs hematopoietic differentiation and enforces stem cell programs through the modulation of ERG, GATA2, and RUNX1 chromatin accessibility, expression, and activity. Disclosures Majeti: Forty Seven, Inc.: Consultancy, Equity Ownership, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees.

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Androgenic-Induced Transposable Elements Dependent Sequence Variation in Barley

International Journal of Molecular Sciences ◽

10.3390/ijms22136783 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 22 (13) ◽

pp. 6783

Author(s):

Renata Orłowska ◽

Katarzyna A. Pachota ◽

Wioletta M. Dynkowska ◽

Agnieszka Niedziela ◽

Piotr T. Bednarek

Keyword(s):

Dna Methylation ◽

Transposable Elements ◽

Dna Sequence ◽

Sequence Variation ◽

Nuclear Dna ◽

Point Mutations ◽

Mobile Elements ◽

Dna Demethylation ◽

Plant Genome

A plant genome usually encompasses different families of transposable elements (TEs) that may constitute up to 85% of nuclear DNA. Under stressful conditions, some of them may activate, leading to sequence variation. In vitro plant regeneration may induce either phenotypic or genetic and epigenetic changes. While DNA methylation alternations might be related, i.e., to the Yang cycle problems, DNA pattern changes, especially DNA demethylation, may activate TEs that could result in point mutations in DNA sequence changes. Thus, TEs have the highest input into sequence variation (SV). A set of barley regenerants were derived via in vitro anther culture. High Performance Liquid Chromatography (RP-HPLC), used to study the global DNA methylation of donor plants and their regenerants, showed that the level of DNA methylation increased in regenerants by 1.45% compared to the donors. The Methyl-Sensitive Transposon Display (MSTD) based on methylation-sensitive Amplified Fragment Length Polymorphism (metAFLP) approach demonstrated that, depending on the selected elements belonging to the TEs family analyzed, varying levels of sequence variation were evaluated. DNA sequence contexts may have a different impact on SV generated by distinct mobile elements belonged to various TE families. Based on the presented study, some of the selected mobile elements contribute differently to TE-related SV. The surrounding context of the TEs DNA sequence is possibly important here, and the study explained some part of SV related to those contexts.

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Whole-genome fingerprint of the DNA methylome during chemically induced differentiation of the human AML cell line HL-60/S4

10.1101/608695 ◽

2019 ◽

Author(s):

Enoch Boasiako Antwi ◽

Ada Olins ◽

Vladimir B Teif ◽

Matthias Bieg ◽

Tobias Bauer ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Cell Differentiation ◽

Cell Line ◽

Differential Expression ◽

Differential Methylation ◽

Cpg Methylation ◽

Leukemic Cells ◽

Ctcf Binding ◽

Myeloid Differentiation ◽

Whole Genome

AbstractBackgroundMyeloid differentiation gives rise to a plethora of immune cells in the human body. This differentiation leaves strong signatures in the epigenome through each differentiated state of genetically identical cells. The leukemic HL-60/S4 promyelocytic cell can be easily differentiated from its undifferentiated promyelocyte state into neutrophil-and macrophage-like cell states, making it an excellent system for studying myeloid differentiation. In this study, we present the underlying genome and epigenome architecture of HL-60/S4 through its undifferentiated and differentiated cell states.ResultsWe performed whole genome bisulphite sequencing of HL-60/S4 cells and their differentiated counterparts. With the support of karyotyping, we show that HL-60/S4 maintains a stable genome throughout differentiation. Analysis of differential CpG methylation reveals that most methylation changes occur in the macrophage-like state. Differential methylation of promoters was associated with immune related terms. Key immune genes, CEBPA, GFI1, MAFB and GATA1 showed differential expression and methylation. However, we observed strongest enrichment of methylation changes in enhancers and CTCF binding sites, implying that methylation plays a major role in large scale transcriptional reprogramming and chromatin reorganisation during differentiation. Correlation of differential expression and distal methylation with support from chromatin capture experiments allowed us to identify putative proximal and long-range enhancers for a number of immune cell differentiation genes, including CEBPA and CCNF. Integrating expression data, we present a model of HL-60/S4 differentiation in relation to the wider scope of myeloid differentiation.ConclusionsFor the first time, we elucidate the genome and CpG methylation landscape of HL-60/S4 during differentiation. We identify all differentially methylated regions and positions. We link these to immune function and to important factors in myeloid differentiation. We demonstrate that methylation plays a more significant role in modulating transcription via enhancer reprogramming, rather than by promoter regulation. We identify novel regulatory regions of key components in myeloid differentiation that are regulated by differential methylation. This study contributes another layer of “omics” characterisation of the HL-60/S4 cell line, making it an excellent model system for studying rapid in vitro cell differentiation.Summary statementEpigenomics plays a major role in cell identity and differentiation. We present the DNA methylation landscape of leukemic cells during in-vitro differentiation, to add another ‘omics layer to better understand the mechanisms behind differentiation.

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Title Page Title: The role of DNA methylation in the accumulation of iridoid glycosides in Rehmannia glutinosa

10.21203/rs.3.rs-403607/v1 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Tianyu Dong ◽

Xiaoyan Wei ◽

Qianting Qi ◽

Peilei Chen ◽

Yanqing Zhou ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Gene Expression ◽

Dna Methylation ◽

Secondary Metabolites ◽

Iridoid Glycosides ◽

Methylation Status ◽

Plant Secondary Metabolites ◽

Dna Demethylation ◽

Terpene Biosynthesis ◽

The Relationship

Abstract Background: Epigenetic regulation plays a significant role in the accumulation of plant secondary metabolites. The terpenoids are the most abundant in the secondary metabolites of plants, iridoid glycosides belong to monoterpenoids which is one of the main medicinal components of R.glutinosa. At present, study on iridoid glycosides mainly focuses on its pharmacology, accumulation and distribution, while the mechanism of its biosynthesis and the relationship between DNA methylation and plant terpene biosynthesis are seldom reports. Results: The research showed that the expression of DXS, DXR, 10HGO, G10H, GPPS and accumulation of iridoid glycosides increased at first and then decreased with the maturity of R.glutinosa, and under different concentrations of 5-azaC, the expression of DXS, DXR, 10HGO, G10H, GPPS and the accumulation of total iridoid glycosides were promoted, the promotion effect of low concentration (15μM-50μM) was more significant, the content of genomic DNA 5mC decreased significantly, the DNA methylation status of R.glutinosa genomes was also changed. DNA demethylation promoted gene expression and increased the accumulation of iridoid glycosides, but excessive demethylation inhibited gene expression and decreased the accumulation of iridoid glycosides. Conclusion: The analysis of DNA methylation, gene expression, and accumulation of iridoid glycoside provides insights into accumulation of terpenoids in R.glutinosa and lays a foundation for future studies on the effects of epigenetics on the synthesis of secondary metabolites.

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Functional Investigation of the Argonaute Proteins in Human Hematopoietic Stem and Progenitor Cells

Blood ◽

10.1182/blood-2020-142963 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 136 (Supplement 1) ◽

pp. 32-32

Author(s):

Gordon G. L. Wong ◽

Gabriela Krivdova ◽

Olga I. Gan ◽

Jessica L. McLeod ◽

John E. Dick ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Progenitor Cells ◽

Erythroid Differentiation ◽

Lineage Commitment ◽

Myeloid Differentiation ◽

Hematopoietic Stem ◽

Erythroid Precursor ◽

Lineage Differentiation ◽

Erythroid Precursors

Micro RNA (miRNA)-mediated gene silencing, largely mediated by the Argonaute (AGO) family proteins, is a post-transcriptional gene expression control mechanism that has been shown to regulate hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells (HSPCs) quiescence, self-renewal, proliferation, and differentiation. Interestingly, only the function of AGO2 in hematopoiesis has been investigated. O'Carroll et al. (2007) showed that AGO2 knockout in mice bone marrow cells interferes with B220low CD43- IgM-pre-B cells and peripheral B cell differentiation and impairs Ter119high, CD71high erythroid precursors maturation. However, the functional significance of other AGO proteins in the regulation of stemness and lineage commitment remains unclear. AGO submembers, AGO1-4 in humans, are traditionally believed to act redundantly in their function. However, our previous proteomic analysis from sorted populations of the human hematopoietic hierarchy shows each sub-member is differentially expressed during HSPCs development, suggesting each sub-member may have a specialized function in hematopoiesis. Here, we conducted CRISPR-Cas9 mediated knockout of AGO1-4 in human cord blood derived long-term (LT-) and short-term hematopoietic stem cells (ST-HSCs) and investigated the impact of the loss of function of individual AGOs in vitro and in vivo in xenograft assays. From the in vitro experiment, we cultured CRISPR-edited LT- or ST-HSCs in a single cell manner on 96-well plates pre-cultured with murine MS5 stroma cells in erythro-myeloid differentiation condition. The colony-forming capacity and lineage commitment of each individual HSC is assessed on day 17 of the culture. Initial data showed that AGO1, AGO2 and AGO3 knockout decreased the colony formation efficacy of both LT- and ST-HSCs, suggesting AGO1, AGO2 and AGO3 are involved in LT- and ST-HSCs proliferation or survival. As for lineage output, AGO1 knockout increases CD56+ natural killer cell commitment in LT-HSCs and erythroid differentiation in ST-HSCs; AGO2 knockout increases erythroid differentiation in both LT- and ST-HSCs and decreases myeloid differentiation in ST-HSCs; while AGO4 knockout seems to decrease erythroid output. For the in vivo experiment, we xenotransplanted AGO1 and AGO2 knockout LT-HSCs in irradiated immunodeficient NSG mice and assessed the change in LT-HSCs engraftment level and lineage differentiation profile at 12- and 24-week time points. We found that AGO2 knockout increased CD45+ engraftment at both 12- and 24-weeks. Aligning with our in vitro data, AGO2 knockout increases GlyA+ erythroid cells at 12- and 24-weeks. The increase in GlyA+ erythroid cells is a consequence of the 2-fold increase in GlyA+ CD71+ erythroid precursor cells, recapitulating previous findings that AGO2 knockout in mice impairs CD71high erythroid precursor maturation leading to the accumulation of undifferentiated CD71+ erythroid precursors (O'Carroll et al., 2007). Accumulation of early progenitors of the erythroid lineage, including the common myeloid progenitors (CMPs) and myelo-erythroid progenitor (MEPs) were observed, as well as their progeny including CD33+ myeloid and CD41+ megakaryocytes. For the myeloid lineage, AGO2 knockout shifts myeloid differentiation toward CD66b+ granulocytes from CD14+ monocytes. For lymphoid, AGO2 knockout decreases CD19+ CD10- CD20+ mature B-lymphoid cells, which again aligns with previous AGO2 knockout mice results. On the other hand, AGO1 knockout LT-HSCs share some similar phenotype with AGO2 knockout LT-HSCs, where AGO1 knockout increases CD71+ erythroid precursors. However, AGO1 knockout in LT-HSCs also results in unique phenotypes, with a decrease in neutrophil formation and an increase in CD4+ CD8+ T progenitor cells are observed. AGO3 and AGO4 knockout experiments are in progress. In summary, our AGO2 knockout experiments recapitulate the reported results from murine studies but also illustrate a more complete role of AGO2 in hematopoietic lineage differentiation. Moreover, AGO knockout experiments of individual submembers are revealing novel insights into their role in the regulation of stemness and lineage commitment of LT-HSCs and ST-HSCs. These data point to a unique role of different AGO isoforms in lineage commitment in human HSCs and argue against redundant functioning. Disclosures Dick: Bristol-Myers Squibb/Celgene: Research Funding.

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Developmental expression of the maternal protein XDCoH, the dimerization cofactor of the homeoprotein LFB1 (HNF1)

Development ◽

10.1242/dev.121.4.1217 ◽

1995 ◽

Vol 121 (4) ◽

pp. 1217-1226

Author(s):

E. Pogge yon Strandmann ◽

G.U. Ryffel

Keyword(s):

Transcription Factors ◽

Anterior Part ◽

Regulatory Element ◽

Cdna Probe ◽

Cell Types ◽

Developmental Expression ◽

Variant Form ◽

Cis Acting ◽

Liver And Kidney

The tissue-specific transcription factors LFB1 (HNF1) and LFB3 (vHNF1) mainly expressed in liver, kidney and intestine are homeoproteins that interact with the regulatory element HP1. The HP1 sequence constitutes one of the most important cis-acting elements in liver-specifically expressed genes, while its function in other cell types containing LFB1 and LFB3 is not fully understood. In mammals, LFB1 activity is modulated by DCoH, a cofactor that stimulates the LFB1 transactivation significantly. Using the rat cDNA probe, we cloned the corresponding Xenopus sequence XDCoH, encoding a 104 amino acid protein, that is 85% identical to the rat protein. XDCoH enhances the LFB1-dependent transactivation potential in transfection experiments and interacts in vitro directly with LFB1 and its variant form LFB3. The protein is detectable in liver and kidney extracts of adult frogs and in small amounts also in lung and stomach, organs expressing LFB1 and/or LFB3 protein as well. To investigate the possible involvement of XDCoH in Xenopus development, we analyzed its temporal and spatial expression pattern during early embryogenesis. XDCoH is a maternal factor, although LFB1 is absent in the egg. In early cleavage stages, the protein is detectable in the cytoplasm of each blastomere and enters the nuclei of the cells as early as the zygotic transcription in the Xenopus embryo starts. The amount of XDCoH increases dramatically following neurulation, when the formation of liver, pronephros and other organs takes place. Whole-mount immunostaining demonstrates that, in the developing larvae, XDCoH is localized in the nuclei of the hepatocytes, the gut cells and the pronephric cells, tissues of mesodermal and endodermal origin known to contain LFB1 and LFB3. Surprisingly it is also present in the pigmented epithelium surrounding the eye of the embryo, which is derived from the anterior part of the ectodermal neural plates and lacks LFB1. The tissue distribution of XDCoH during embryogenesis suggests that XDCoH is involved in determination and differentiation of various unrelated cell types. It seems likely that XDCoH interaction is not only essential for the function of LFB1 and LFB3 but also for certain other transcription factors.

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Site-Specific DNA Demethylation as a Potential Target for Cancer Epigenetic Therapy

Epigenetics Insights ◽

10.1177/2516865720964808 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 13 ◽

pp. 251686572096480

Author(s):

Sultan Abda Neja

Keyword(s):

Cpg Island ◽

Causal Effect ◽

Dna Methyltransferases ◽

Dna Demethylation ◽

Epigenetic Therapy ◽

In Vivo Model ◽

Transcription Activator ◽

Dna Hypermethylation ◽

Site Specific

Aberrant promoter DNA hypermethylation is a typical characteristic of cancer and it is often seen in malignancies. Recent studies showed that regulatory cis-elements found up-stream of many tumor suppressor gene promoter CpG island (CGI) attract DNA methyltransferases (DNMT) that hypermethylates and silence the genes. As epigenetic alterations are potentially reversible, they make attractive targets for therapeutic intervention. The currently used decitabine (DAC) and azacitidine (AZA) are DNMT inhibitors that follow the passive demethylation pathway. However, they lead to genome-wide demethylation of CpGs in cells, which makes difficult to use it for causal effect analysis and treatment of specific epimutations. Demethylation through specific demethylase enzymes is thus critical for epigenetic resetting of silenced genes and modified chromatins. Yet DNA-binding factors likely play a major role to guide the candidate demethylase enzymes upon its fusion. Before the advent of clustered regulatory interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR), both zinc finger proteins (ZNFs) and transcription activator-like effector protein (TALEs) were used as binding platforms for ten-eleven translocation (TET) enzymes and both systems were able to induce transcription at targeted loci in an in vitro as well as in vivo model. Consequently, the development of site-specific and active demethylation molecular trackers becomes more than hypothetical to makes a big difference in the treatment of cancer in the future. This review is thus to recap the novel albeit distinct studies on the potential use of site-specific demethylation for the development of epigenetic based cancer therapy.

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