Project description:DNA damage activates a complex signaling network in cells that blocks cell cycle progression, recruits factors involved in DNA repair, and/or triggers programs that control senescence or programmed cell death. Alterations in chromatin structure are known to be important for the initiation and propagation of the DNA damage response, although the molecular details are unclear. We investigated the role of chromatin structure in the DNA damage response by monitoring multiple timedependent checkpoint signaling and response events with a high-content multiplex image-based RNAi screen of chromatin modifying and interacting genes. We discovered that Brd4, a double bromodomain-containing protein, functions as an endogenous inhibitor of DNA damage signaling by binding to acetylated histones at sites of open chromatin and altering chromatin accessibility. Loss of Brd4 or disruption of acetyl-lysine binding results in an increase in both the number and size of radiation-induced !H2AX nuclear foci while overexpression of a Brd4 splice isoform completely suppresses !H2AX formation, despite equivalent double strand break formation. Brd4 knock-down cells displayed altered chromatin structure, prolonged cell cycle checkpoint arrest and enhanced survival after irradiation, while overexpression of Brd4 isoform B results in enhanced radiationinduced lethality. Brd4 is the target of the t(15;19) chromosomal translocation in a rare form of cancer, NUT Midline Carcinoma. Acetyl lysine-bromodomain interactions of the Brd4-NUT fusion protein suppresses !H2AX foci in discrete nuclear compartments, rendering cells more radiosensitive, mimicking overexpression of Brd4 isoform B. NUT Midline Carcinoma is sensitive to radiotherapy, however tumor material from this rare cancer is scarce. We therefore investigated Brd4 expression in another human cancer commonly treated with radiotherapy, glioblastoma multiforme, and found that expression of Brd4 isoform B correlated specifically with treatment response to radiotherapy. These data implicate Brd4 as an endogenous insulator of DNA damage signaling through recognition of epigenetic modifications in chromatin and suggest that expression of the Brd4 in human cancer can modulate the clinical response to DNA-damaging cancer therapy. Two replicates each of U2OS cells expressing either Brd4 shRNA or a control shRNA

Project description:DNA damage activates a complex signaling network in cells that blocks cell cycle progression, recruits factors involved in DNA repair, and/or triggers programs that control senescence or programmed cell death. Alterations in chromatin structure are known to be important for the initiation and propagation of the DNA damage response, although the molecular details are unclear. We investigated the role of chromatin structure in the DNA damage response by monitoring multiple timedependent checkpoint signaling and response events with a high-content multiplex image-based RNAi screen of chromatin modifying and interacting genes. We discovered that Brd4, a double bromodomain-containing protein, functions as an endogenous inhibitor of DNA damage signaling by binding to acetylated histones at sites of open chromatin and altering chromatin accessibility. Loss of Brd4 or disruption of acetyl-lysine binding results in an increase in both the number and size of radiation-induced !H2AX nuclear foci while overexpression of a Brd4 splice isoform completely suppresses !H2AX formation, despite equivalent double strand break formation. Brd4 knock-down cells displayed altered chromatin structure, prolonged cell cycle checkpoint arrest and enhanced survival after irradiation, while overexpression of Brd4 isoform B results in enhanced radiationinduced lethality. Brd4 is the target of the t(15;19) chromosomal translocation in a rare form of cancer, NUT Midline Carcinoma. Acetyl lysine-bromodomain interactions of the Brd4-NUT fusion protein suppresses !H2AX foci in discrete nuclear compartments, rendering cells more radiosensitive, mimicking overexpression of Brd4 isoform B. NUT Midline Carcinoma is sensitive to radiotherapy, however tumor material from this rare cancer is scarce. We therefore investigated Brd4 expression in another human cancer commonly treated with radiotherapy, glioblastoma multiforme, and found that expression of Brd4 isoform B correlated specifically with treatment response to radiotherapy. These data implicate Brd4 as an endogenous insulator of DNA damage signaling through recognition of epigenetic modifications in chromatin and suggest that expression of the Brd4 in human cancer can modulate the clinical response to DNA-damaging cancer therapy.

Project description:BackgroundGene regulatory networks control tissue homeostasis and disease progression in a cell type-specific manner. Ubiquitously expressed chromatin regulators modulate these networks, yet the mechanisms governing how tissue specificity of their function is achieved are poorly understood. BRD4 (bromodomain-containing protein 4), a member of the BET (bromo- and extraterminal domain) family of ubiquitously expressed acetyl-lysine reader proteins, plays a pivotal role as a coactivator of enhancer signaling across diverse tissue types in both health and disease and has been implicated as a pharmacological target in heart failure. However, the cell-specific role of BRD4 in adult cardiomyocytes remains unknown.MethodsWe combined conditional mouse genetics, unbiased transcriptomic and epigenomic analyses, and classic molecular biology and biochemical approaches to understand the mechanism by which BRD4 in adult cardiomyocyte homeostasis.ResultsHere, we show that cardiomyocyte-specific deletion of Brd4 in adult mice leads to acute deterioration of cardiac contractile function with mutant animals demonstrating a transcriptomic signature characterized by decreased expression of genes critical for mitochondrial energy production. Genome-wide occupancy data show that BRD4 enriches at many downregulated genes (including the master coactivators Ppargc1a, Ppargc1b, and their downstream targets) and preferentially colocalizes with GATA4 (GATA binding protein 4), a lineage-determining cardiac transcription factor not previously implicated in regulation of adult cardiac metabolism. BRD4 and GATA4 form an endogenous complex in cardiomyocytes and interact in a bromodomain-independent manner, revealing a new functional interaction partner for BRD4 that can direct its locus and tissue specificity.ConclusionsThese results highlight a novel role for a BRD4-GATA4 module in cooperative regulation of a cardiomyocyte-specific gene program governing bioenergetic homeostasis in the adult heart.

Dataset Information

Acetyl-lysine binding site of bromodomain-containing protein 4 (BRD4) interacts with diverse kinase inhibitors.

Publications

Acetyl-lysine binding site of bromodomain-containing protein 4 (BRD4) interacts with diverse kinase inhibitors.

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