Reinforcement of transcriptional silencing by a positive feedback between DNA methylation and non-coding transcription.
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ABSTRACT:
SUBMITTER: Rothi MH
PROVIDER: S-EPMC8464056 | biostudies-literature |
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature
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Project description:Non-coding transcription is an important determinant of heterochromatin formation. In Arabidopsis thaliana a specialized RNA polymerase V (Pol V) transcribes pervasively and produces long non-coding RNA. This facilitates locus-specific establishment of RNA-directed DNA methylation (RdDM). Subsequent maintenance of RdDM is associated with elevated levels of Pol V transcription, which is consistent with a mutual reinforcement of DNA methylation and non-coding transcription. However, the impact of DNA methylation on Pol V transcription remained unresolved. We found that loss of DNA methylation leads to a strong reduction of Pol V transcription. This occurs when DNA methylation is lost in all sequence contexts, which may happen not only in mutants defective in RdDM but also in mutants lacking maintenance DNA methyltransferases. Our results support a model where RdDM is maintained by a mutual reinforcement of DNA methylation and Pol V transcription with a strong crosstalk with other silencing pathways.
2021-08-27 | GSE168869 | GEO
Project description:Reinforcement of transcriptional silencing by a positive feedback between DNA methylation and non-coding transcription
| PRJNA714396 | ENA
Project description:Ribonucleic acid-mediated transcriptional gene silencing (known as RNA-directed DNA methylation, or RdDM, in Arabidopsis thaliana) is important for influencing gene expression and the inhibition of transposons by the deposition of repressive chromatin marks such as histone modifications and DNA methylation. A key event in de novo methylation of DNA by RdDM is the production of long non-coding RNA (lncRNA) by RNA polymerase V (Pol V). Little is known about the events that connect Pol V transcription to the establishment of repressive chromatin modifications. Using RNA immunoprecipitation, we elucidated the order of events downstream of lncRNA production and discovered interdependency between lncRNA-associated proteins. We found that the effector protein ARGONAUTE4 (AGO4) binds lncRNA independent of the RNA-binding protein INVOLVED IN DE NOVO2 (IDN2). In contrast, IDN2 binds lncRNA in an AGO4-dependent manner. We further found that the de novo DNA methyltransferase DOMAINS REARRANGED METHYLTRANSFERASE2 (DRM2) also associates with lncRNA produced by Pol V and that this event depends on AGO4 and IDN2. We propose a model where the silencing proteins AGO4, IDN2 and DRM2 bind to lncRNA in a stepwise manner, resulting in DNA methylation of RdDM target loci.
| S-EPMC4321213 | biostudies-literature
Project description:BackgroundDisruption of DNA methylation (DNAm) is one of the key signatures of cancer, however, detailed mechanisms that alter the DNA methylome in cancer remain to be elucidated.MethodsHere we present a novel integrative analysis framework, called MeLncTRN (Methylation mediated LncRNA Transcriptional Regulatory Network), that integrates genome-wide transcriptome, DNA methylome and copy number variation profiles, to systematically identify the epigenetically-driven lncRNA-gene regulation circuits across 18 cancer types.FindingWe show that a significant fraction of the aberrant DNAm and gene expression landscape in cancer is associated with long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs). We reveal distinct types of regulation between lncRNA modulators and target genes that are operative in either only specific cancers or across cancers. Functional studies identified a common theme of cancer hallmarks that lncRNA modulators may participate in. The coupled lncRNA gene interactions via DNAm also serve as markers for classifications of cancer subtypes with different prognoses.InterpretationOur study reveals a vital layer of DNAm and associated expression regulation for many cancer-related genes and we also provide a valuable database resource for interrogating epigenetically mediated lncRNA-gene interactions in cancer.FundingNational Natural Science Foundation of China [91959106, 31871255].
| S-EPMC8245911 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Tissue specific patterns of methylated cytosine residues vary with age, can be altered by environmental factors, and are often abnormal in human disease yet the cellular consequences of DNA methylation are incompletely understood. Although the bodies of highly expressed genes are often extensively methylated in plants, the relationship between intragenic methylation and expression is less clear in mammalian cells. We performed genome-wide analyses of DNA methylation and gene expression to determine how the pattern of intragenic methylation correlates with transcription and to assess the relationship between methylation of exonic and intronic portions of the gene body. We found that dense exonic methylation is far more common than previously recognized or expected statistically, yet first exons are relatively spared compared to more downstream exons and introns. Dense methylation surrounding the transcription start site (TSS) is uncoupled from methylation within more downstream regions suggesting that there are at least two classes of intragenic methylation. Whereas methylation surrounding the TSS is tightly linked to transcriptional silencing, methylation of more downstream regions is unassociated with the magnitude of gene expression. Notably, we found that DNA methylation downstream of the TSS, in the region of the first exon, is much more tightly linked to transcriptional silencing than is methylation in the upstream promoter region. These data provide direct evidence that DNA methylation is interpreted dissimilarly in different regions of the gene body and suggest that first exon methylation blocks transcript initiation, or vice versa. Our data also show that once initiated, downstream methylation is not a significant impediment to polymerase extension. Thus, the consequences of most intragenic DNA methylation must extend beyond the modulation of transcription magnitude.Sequencing data and gene expression microarray data have been submitted to the GEO online database (accession number SRA012081.1). Supporting information including expanded methods and ten additional figures in support of the manuscript is provided.
| S-EPMC3022582 | biostudies-literature
Project description:The cytosolic NADP+-dependent isocitrate dehydrogenase IDH1 is frequently mutated in human cancers. Recent studies have shown that IDH1 mutant primary glioblastomas (GBM) and acute myeloid leukemias (AML) display robust association with CpG island methylator phenotype (CIMP). Such observations bring into question whether IDH1 mutations directly contribute to the development of CIMP or if the hypermethylation phenotype precedes acquisition of IDH1 mutations. To reveal the effects of IDH1 mutations on DNA methylation and gene expression, we introduced the most frequently observed IDH1 mutation, R132H, into a human cancer cell line through gene targeting. We profiled changes in methylation at over 27,000 CpG dinucleotides spanning 14,475 unique gene regions and characterized genome-wide gene expression alterations resulting from IDH1R132H knockin. We observed consistent changes in both DNA methylation and gene expression when comparing two independent IDH1R132H knockin clones to their wild-type parent, and report hypermethylation of over 2,000 loci, the majority of which contained preexisting methylation in IDH1WT parental cells. These loci exhibit the same trend in primary TCGA glioblastoma tumors with mutant IDH1 as compared to those with wild-type IDH1 and have significant overlap with genes hypermethylated in glioma-CIMP+ tumors. Furthermore, we identify specific DNA methylation and gene expression alterations which correlate with IDH1 mutations in our cell-line model as well as primary glioblastomas, including hypermethylation and transcriptional silencing of RBP1. The presented data provide insight on epigenetic alterations induced by IDH1 mutations and support a contributory role for IDH1 mutants in regulation of DNA methylation and gene expression in human cancer cells. Comparison of IDH1 R132H and wild-type HCT116 cells
| S-ECPF-GEOD-31126 | biostudies-other
Project description:BackgroundThe search for molecular biomarkers of early-onset colorectal cancer (CRC) is an important but still quite challenging and unsolved task. Detection of CpG methylation in human DNA obtained from blood or stool has been proposed as a promising approach to a noninvasive early diagnosis of CRC. Thousands of abnormally methylated CpG positions in CRC genomes are often located in non-coding parts of genes. Novel bioinformatic methods are thus urgently needed for multi-omics data analysis to reveal causative biomarkers with a potential driver role in early stages of cancer.MethodsWe have developed a method for finding potential causal relationships between epigenetic changes (DNA methylations) in gene regulatory regions that affect transcription factor binding sites (TFBS) and gene expression changes. This method also considers the topology of the involved signal transduction pathways and searches for positive feedback loops that may cause the carcinogenic aberrations in gene expression. We call this method "Walking pathways", since it searches for potential rewiring mechanisms in cancer pathways due to dynamic changes in the DNA methylation status of important gene regulatory regions ("epigenomic walking").ResultsIn this paper, we analysed an extensive collection of full genome gene-expression data (RNA-seq) and DNA methylation data of genomic CpG islands (using Illumina methylation arrays) generated from a sample of tumor and normal gut epithelial tissues of 300 patients with colorectal cancer (at different stages of the disease) (data generated in the EU-supported SysCol project). Identification of potential epigenetic biomarkers of DNA methylation was performed using the fully automatic multi-omics analysis web service "My Genome Enhancer" (MGE) (my-genome-enhancer.com). MGE uses the database on gene regulation TRANSFAC®, the signal transduction pathways database TRANSPATH®, and software that employs AI (artificial intelligence) methods for the analysis of cancer-specific enhancers.ConclusionsThe identified biomarkers underwent experimental testing on an independent set of blood samples from patients with colorectal cancer. As a result, using advanced methods of statistics and machine learning, a minimum set of 6 biomarkers was selected, which together achieve the best cancer detection potential. The markers include hypermethylated positions in regulatory regions of the following genes: CALCA, ENO1, MYC, PDX1, TCF7, ZNF43.
| S-EPMC6471696 | biostudies-literature
Project description:DNA methylation in transposons and other DNA repeats is conserved in plants as well as in animals. In Arabidopsis thaliana, an RNA-directed DNA methylation (RdDM) pathway directs de novo DNA methylation. We performed a forward genetic screen for suppressors of the DNA demethylase mutant ros1 and identified a novel Zinc-finger and OCRE domain-containing Protein 1 (ZOP1) that promotes Pol IV-dependent siRNA accumulation, DNA methylation, and transcriptional silencing. Whole-genome methods disclosed the genome-wide effects of zop1 on Pol IV-dependent siRNA accumulation and DNA methylation, suggesting that ZOP1 has both RdDM-dependent and -independent roles in transcriptional silencing. We demonstrated that ZOP1 is a pre-mRNA splicing factor that associates with several typical components of the splicing machinery as well as with Pol II. Immunofluorescence assay revealed that ZOP1 overlaps with Cajal body and is partially colocalized with NRPE1 and DRM2. Moreover, we found that the other development-defective splicing mutants tested including mac3a3b, mos4, mos12 and mos14 show defects in RdDM and transcriptional silencing. We propose that the splicing machinery rather than specific splicing factors is involved in promoting RdDM and transcriptional silencing.
| S-EPMC3630354 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Spontaneous post-transcriptional silencing of sense transgenes (S-PTGS) is established in each generation and is accompanied by DNA methylation, but the pathway of PTGS-dependent DNA methylation is unknown and so is its role. Here we show that CHH and CHG methylation coincides spatially and temporally with RDR6-dependent products derived from the central and 3' regions of the coding sequence, and requires the components of the RNA-directed DNA methylation (RdDM) pathway NRPE1, DRD1 and DRM2, but not CLSY1, NRPD1, RDR2 or DCL3, suggesting that RDR6-dependent products, namely long dsRNAs and/or siRNAs, trigger PTGS-dependent DNA methylation. Nevertheless, none of these RdDM components are required to establish S-PTGS or produce a systemic silencing signal. Moreover, preventing de novo DNA methylation in non-silenced transgenic tissues grafted onto homologous silenced tissues does not inhibit the triggering of PTGS. Overall, these data indicate that gene body DNA methylation is a consequence, not a cause, of PTGS, and rule out the hypothesis that a PTGS-associated DNA methylation signal is transmitted independent of a PTGS signal.
| S-EPMC6753489 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Argonautes (AGOs) are conserved proteins that contain an RNA-binding PAZ domain and an RNase H-like PIWI domain. In Arabidopsis, except for AGO1, AGO4 and AGO7, the roles of seven other AGOs in gene silencing are not known. We found that a mutation in AGO6 partially suppresses transcriptional gene silencing in the DNA demethylase mutant ros1-1. In ago6-1ros1-1 plants, RD29A promoter short interfering RNAs (siRNAs) are less abundant, and cytosine methylation at both transgenic and endogenous RD29A promoters is reduced, compared to that in ros1-1. Interestingly, the ago4-1 mutation has a stronger suppression of the transcriptional silencing phenotype of ros1-1 mutant. Analysis of cytosine methylation at the endogenous MEA-ISR, AtREP2 and SIMPLEHAT2 loci revealed that the CpNpG and asymmetric methylation levels are lower in either of the ago6-1 and ago4-1 single mutants than those in the wild type, and the levels are the lowest in the ago6-1ago4-1 double mutant. These results suggest that AGO6 is important for the accumulation of specific heterochromatin-related siRNAs, and for DNA methylation and transcriptional gene silencing, this function is partly redundant with AGO4.
| S-EPMC1829372 | biostudies-literature