ERa DNA Binding Profiles of IGF1 and ICI182,780 treated mouse uterus from manuscript: Role of ERα in Mediating Female Uterine Transcriptional Responses to IGF1
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ABSTRACT: Estrogen (E2) signaling through its nuclear receptor, estrogen receptor α (ERα) increases insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF1) in the rodent uterus, which then initiates further signals via the IGF1 receptor (IGF1R). Directly administering IGF1 results in similar biological and transcriptional uterine responses. Our studies using global ERα-null mice demonstrated a loss of uterine biological responses of the uterus to E2 or IGF1 treatment, while maintaining transcriptional responses to IGF1. To address this discrepancy in the need for uterine ERα in mediating the IGF1 transcriptional vs. growth responses, we assessed the IGF1 transcriptional responses in PgrCre+Esr1f/f (called ERαUtcKO) mice, which selectively lack ERα in progesterone receptor (PGR) expressing cells, including all uterine cells, while maintaining ERα expression in other tissues and cells that do not express Pgr. Additionally, we profiled IGF1-induced ERα binding sites in uterine chromatin using ChIP-seq. Herein, we explore the transcriptional and molecular signaling that underlies our findings to refine our understanding of uterine IGF1 signaling and identify ERα-mediated and ERα-independent uterine transcriptional responses. Defining these mechanisms in vivo in whole tissue and animal contexts provides details of nuclear receptor mediated mechanisms that impact biological systems and have potential applicability to reproductive processes of humans, livestock and wildlife.
Project description:Estrogen (E2) signaling through its nuclear receptor, estrogen receptor α (ERα) increases insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF1) in the rodent uterus, which then initiates further signals via the IGF1 receptor (IGF1R). Directly administering IGF1 results in similar biological and transcriptional uterine responses. Our studies using global ERα-null mice demonstrated a loss of uterine biological responses of the uterus to E2 or IGF1 treatment, while maintaining transcriptional responses to IGF1. To address this discrepancy in the need for uterine ERα in mediating the IGF1 transcriptional vs. growth responses, we assessed the IGF1 transcriptional responses in PgrCre+Esr1f/f (called ERαUtcKO) mice, which selectively lack ERα in progesterone receptor (PGR) expressing cells, including all uterine cells, while maintaining ERα expression in other tissues and cells that do not express Pgr. Additionally, we profiled IGF1-induced ERα binding sites in uterine chromatin using ChIP-seq. Herein, we explore the transcriptional and molecular signaling that underlies our findings to refine our understanding of uterine IGF1 signaling and identify ERα-mediated and ERα-independent uterine transcriptional responses. Defining these mechanisms in vivo in whole tissue and animal contexts provides details of nuclear receptor mediated mechanisms that impact biological systems and have potential applicability to reproductive processes of humans, livestock and wildlife.
Project description:Insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF1) is primarily synthesized in and secreted from the liver; however, estrogen (E2), through E2 receptor α (ERα), increases uterine Igf1 mRNA levels. Previous ChIP-Seq analyses of the murine uterus have revealed a potential enhancer region distal from the Igf1 transcription start site (TSS) with multiple E2-dependent ERα-binding regions. Here, we show E2-dependent super enhancer–associated characteristics and suggest contact between the distal enhancer and the Igf1 TSS. We hypothesized that this distal super-enhancer region controls E2-responsive induction of uterine Igf1 transcripts. We deleted 430 bp, encompassing one of the ERα-binding sites, thereby disrupting interactions of the enhancer with gene-regulatory factors. As a result, E2-mediated induction of mouse uterine Igf1 mRNA is completely eliminated, whereas hepatic Igf1 expression remains unaffected. This highlights the central role of a distal enhancer in the assembly of the factors necessary for E2-dependent interaction with the Igf1 TSS and induction of uterus-specific Igf1 transcription. Of note, loss of the enhancer did not affect fertility or uterine growth responses. Deletion of uterine Igf1 in a PgrCre;Igf1f/f model decreased female fertility, but did not impact the E2-induced uterine growth response. Moreover, E2-dependent activation of uterine IGF1 signaling was not impaired by disrupting the distal enhancer or by deleting the coding transcript. This indicated a role for systemic IGF1, suggested that other growth mediators drive uterine response to E2, and that uterine-derived IGF1 is essential for reproductive success. Our findings elucidate the role of a super enhancer in Igf1 regulation and uterine growth.
Project description:Estrogens stimulate hypertrophy and hyperplasia in the uterus and exert their activity through estrogen receptor α (ERα). A uterine epithelial ERα conditional knockout mouse model (Wnt7aCre+;Esr1f/f or cKO) demonstrated that ERα in the epithelial cells was dispensable for an early uterine proliferative response to 17β-estradiol (E2), but required for subsequent uterine biological responses. We compared the gene expression profile in the uterus after E2 treatment in the cKO samples with WT samples. We found that approximately 25% of the genes differentially expressed at 2 h were epithelial ERα independent, as they were preserved in the cKO, indicating they are mediated from the stroma and sufficient to promote initial proliferative responses. However, more than 90% of the differentially expressed transcripts at 24 h were absent in the cKO, indicating the majority of later transcriptional regulation required epithelial ERα and suggesting the loss of regulation of these later transcripts results in the blunted growth response 3 days after treatment. These transcription profiles correlate with our previous biological responses, in which the initial proliferative response is independent of epithelial ERα but dependent on stromal ERα, yet epithelial ERα is essential for subsequent tissue responsiveness. These analyses are now allowing for in vivo determination of the cell specific actions of ERα in the female reproductive tract.
Project description:At birth, all female mice, including those that either lack estrogen receptor α (ERα-knockout) or that express mutated forms of ERα (AF2ERKI), have a hypoplastic uterus. However, uterine growth and development that normally accompanies pubertal maturation does not occur in ERα-knockout or AF2ERKI mice, indicating ERα mediated estrogen signaling is essential for this process. Mice that lack Cyp19 (aromatase, ArKO mice), an enzyme critical for estrogen (E2) synthesis, are unable to make E2, and lack pubertal uterine development. A single injection of E2 into ovariectomized adult (10 weeks old) females normally results in uterine epithelial cell proliferation, however, we observe that, although ERα is present in the ArKO uterine cells, no proliferative response is seen. We assessed the impact of exposing ArKO mice to E2 during pubertal and post-pubertal windows and observed that E2 exposed ArKO mice acquired growth responsiveness. Analysis of differential gene expression between unexposed ArKO samples and samples from animals exhibiting the ability to mount an E2-induced uterine growth response (WT or E2 exposed ArKO) revealed activation of EZH2 and HAND2 signaling and inhibition of GLI1 responses. EZH2 and HAND2 are known inhibit uterine growth, and GLI1 is involved in IHH signaling, which is a positive mediator of uterine response. Finally, we show that exposure of ArKO females to dietary phytoestrogens results in their acquisition of uterine growth competence. Altogether our findings suggest that pubertal levels of endogenous and exogenous estrogens impact biological function of uterine cells later in life via ERα-dependent mechanisms. We compared uterine RNA from ovariectomized adult aromatase knockout mice (ARKO) mice that were untreated to WT mice and to ARKO that were administered estradiol benzoate (EB) to induce uterine epithelial cell growth competence
Project description:To advance understanding of mechanisms leading to biological and transcriptional endpoints related to estrogen action in the mouse uterus, we have mapped ERα and RNA polymerase II binding sites using chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP) followed by sequencing of enriched chromatin fragments (ChIP-seq). In the absence of hormone, 5184 ERα binding sites were apparent in the vehicle treated ovariectomized uterine chromatin, while 17240 were seen one hour after estrogen (E2) treatment, indicating that some sites are occupied by unliganded ERα, and that ERα binding is increased by E2. Approximately 15% of the uterine ERα binding sites were adjacent to (<10 KB) annotated transcription start sites and many sites are found within genes or are found more than 100 KB distal from mapped genes; however, the density (sites per bp) of ERα binding sites is significantly greater adjacent to promoters. An increase in quantity of sites but no significant positional differences were seen between vehicle and E2 treated samples in the overall locations of ERα binding sites either distal from, adjacent to or within genes. Analysis of the PolII data revealed the presence of poised promoter proximal PolII on some highly upregulated genes. Additionally, co-recruitment of PolII and ERα to some distal enhancer regions was observed. A de novo motif analysis of sequences in the ERα bound chromatin confirmed that estrogen response elements (EREs) were significantly enriched. Interestingly, in areas of ERα binding without predicted ERE motifs, homeodomain transcription factor (Hox) binding motifs were significantly enriched. The integration of the ERα and PolII binding sites from our uterine ChIP-seq data with transcriptional responses revealed in our uterine microarrays has the potential to greatly enhance our understanding of mechanisms governing estrogen response in uterine and other estrogen target tissues.
Project description:The ovarian hormones estrogen and progesterone orchestrate the transcriptional programs required to direct functions of the uterus for initiation and maintenance of pregnancy. Estrogen, acting via estrogen receptor alpha (ERα), regulates gene expression by activating and repressing distinct genes involved in signaling pathways that regulate cellular and physiological responses including cell division, water influx, and immune cell recruitment. Historically, these transcriptional responses have been postulated to reflect a biphasic physiological response. In this study, we explored the transcriptional responses of the ovariectomized mouse uterus to 17β-estradiol (E2) by RNA-seq to obtain global expression profiles of protein coding transcripts (mRNAs) and long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) following 0.5, 1, 2 and 6 hours of treatment. The E2-regulated mRNA and lncRNA expression profiles in the mouse uterus indicate an association between lncRNAs and mRNAs that regulate E2-driven pathways and reproductive phenotypes in the mouse. The transient E2-regulated transcriptome is reflected in the time-dependent shifting of biological processes regulated in the uterus in response to E2. Moreover, high expression of some conserved lncRNAs that are E2-regulated in the mouse uterus are predictive of low overall survival in endometrial carcinoma patients (e.g., H19, KCNQ1OT1, MIR17HG, and FTX). Collectively, this study (1) describes a genomic approach for identifying E2-regulated lncRNAs that may serve critical function in the uterus and (2) provides new insights into our understanding of the regulation of hormone-regulated transcriptional responses with implications in pregnancy and endometrial pathologies.
Project description:Progesterone (P4) is essential to prepare the endometrium for a successful pregnancy. While P4 resistance is a major cause of infertility that leads to endometrial disorders, such as endometriosis, the underlying epigenetic imbalance responsible for P4 resistance in the endometrium remains unclear. We demonstrated that CXXC finger protein 1 (CFP1), a major mediator of histone H3 lysine 4 trimethylation (H3K4m3), is an indispensable factor in the maintenance of epigenetic landscapes of P4-progesterone receptor (PGR) signaling networks in the uterus. Cfp1flox/flox;Pgr-Cre (Cfp1d/d) mice suffered from impaired P4 responses, leading to abnormal uterine cell proliferation and complete failure of embryo implantation and decidualization, albeit regular estrous cycle with normal hormone profiles. mRNA and chromatin immunoprecipitation sequencing analyses showed that CFP1 binding enriches promoter regions to regulate uterine mRNA landscapes not only in H3K4me3-dependent but also in H3K4me3-independent manners. Especially, CFP1 directly regulates subsets of important P4 response genes, including Gata2, Sox17, and Ihh, which mediate the activation of the smoothened signaling pathway in the uterus. P4 cannot interfere with E2 actions on uterine epithelial proliferation in Cfp1d/d mice, which was restored by supplementing a smoothened agonist (SAG). Furthermore, ectopic lesions of Cfp1d/d uterus in an endometriosis model showed P4 resistance, which was rescued by SAG. In human endometriosis, CFP1, GATA2, SOX17, and IHH, were significantly downregulated, and a positive correlation was found in the expression levels between CFP1 and these P4 targets regardless of PGR levels. Collectively, we suggest that CFP1 is an epigenetic modulator of P4-PGR signaling networks to promote uterine receptivity for embryo implantation and suppress endometriosis with P4 resistance. CFP1 is a key epigenetic factor that intervenes in the P4–epigenome–transcriptome networks for uterine function under physiologic and pathophysiologic conditions.
Project description:Progesterone (P4) is essential to prepare the endometrium for a successful pregnancy. While P4 resistance is a major cause of infertility that leads to endometrial disorders, such as endometriosis, the underlying epigenetic imbalance responsible for P4 resistance in the endometrium remains unclear. We demonstrated that CXXC finger protein 1 (CFP1), a major mediator of histone H3 lysine 4 trimethylation (H3K4m3), is an indispensable factor in the maintenance of epigenetic landscapes of P4-progesterone receptor (PGR) signaling networks in the uterus. Cfp1flox/flox;Pgr-Cre (Cfp1d/d) mice suffered from impaired P4 responses, leading to abnormal uterine cell proliferation and complete failure of embryo implantation and decidualization, albeit regular estrous cycle with normal hormone profiles. mRNA and chromatin immunoprecipitation sequencing analyses showed that CFP1 binding enriches promoter regions to regulate uterine mRNA landscapes not only in H3K4me3-dependent but also in H3K4me3-independent manners. Especially, CFP1 directly regulates subsets of important P4 response genes, including Gata2, Sox17, and Ihh, which mediate the activation of the smoothened signaling pathway in the uterus. P4 cannot interfere with E2 actions on uterine epithelial proliferation in Cfp1d/d mice, which was restored by supplementing a smoothened agonist (SAG). Furthermore, ectopic lesions of Cfp1d/d uterus in an endometriosis model showed P4 resistance, which was rescued by SAG. In human endometriosis, CFP1, GATA2, SOX17, and IHH, were significantly downregulated, and a positive correlation was found in the expression levels between CFP1 and these P4 targets regardless of PGR levels. Collectively, we suggest that CFP1 is an epigenetic modulator of P4-PGR signaling networks to promote uterine receptivity for embryo implantation and suppress endometriosis with P4 resistance. CFP1 is a key epigenetic factor that intervenes in the P4–epigenome–transcriptome networks for uterine function under physiologic and pathophysiologic conditions.
Project description:The growth and development of the uterus in response to 17β-estradiol (E2) is genetically controlled, with marked variation observed depending on the mouse strain studied. Previous work from our laboratory using inbred mice that are high (C57BL6/J; B6) or low (C3H/HeJ; C3H) responders to E2 has led to the identification of quantitative trait loci (QTL) associated with phenotypic variation in uterine growth and eosinophil infiltration. The mechanisms underlying differential responsiveness to E2, and the genes involved, are unknown. Therefore, we used a microarray approach to show association of distinct E2-regulated transcriptional signatures with genetically controlled high and low responses to E2. Among the 6,664 E2-responsive uterine transcripts, several reside within our previously identified QTL, including the ERα-tethering factor Runx1, demonstrated to enhance E2-mediated transcript regulation. The level of RUNX1 in uterine epithelial cells was shown to be 3.5-fold greater in B6 compared to C3H. Analysis of cellular functions in sets of strain-dependent E2-responsive transcripts indicated C3H-selective enrichment of apoptosis, consistent with a 7-fold increase in the apoptosis indicator CASP3, and a 2.4-fold decrease in the apoptosis inhibitor Naip1 in C3H vs. B6 following treatment with E2. Our novel insights into the mechanisms underlying the genetic control of tissue sensitivity to estrogen have great potential to advance understanding of individualized effects in physiological and disease states.