Project description:Mammalian erythropoiesis yields a highly specialized cell type, the mature erythrocyte, evolved to meet the organismal needs of increased oxygen-carrying capacity. To better understand the regulation of erythropoiesis, we performed genome-wide studies of chromatin accessibility, DNA methylation, and transcriptomics using a recently developed strategy to obtain highly purified populations of primary human erythroid cells. The integration of gene expression, DNA methylation, and chromatin state dynamics reveals that stage-specific gene regulation during erythropoiesis is a stepwise and hierarchical process involving many cis-regulatory elements. Erythroid-specific, nonpromoter sites of chromatin accessibility are linked to erythroid cell phenotypic variation and inherited disease. Comparative analyses of stage-specific chromatin accessibility indicate that there is limited early chromatin priming of erythroid genes during hematopoiesis. The epigenome of terminally differentiating erythroid cells defines a distinct subset of highly specialized cells that are vastly dissimilar from other hematopoietic and nonhematopoietic cell types. These epigenomic and transcriptome data are powerful tools to study human erythropoiesis.
Project description:Mammalian erythropoiesis yields a highly specialized cell type, the mature erythrocyte, evolved to meet organismal needs of increased oxygen carrying capacity. To better understand regulation of erythropoiesis, we performed genome-wide chromatin accessibility studies, DNA methylation studies, and transcriptome analyses and correlated this with genomic organization in highly purified populations of primary human erythroid cells across the stages of erythroid development and differentiation. Gene expression patterns and chromatin state dynamics differed significantly between erythroid stages, with significant transitions between some stages indicating cell stage-specific gene regulation during erythropoiesis is a stepwise and hierarchical process involving many cis-regulatory elements. Numerous erythroid-specific, nonpromoter sites of chromatin accessibility were identified, many linked to erythroid cell phenotypic variation and inherited disease. A limited number of sites of chromatin accessibility identified in hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells were also identified in cells committed to the erythroid lineage, demonstrating limited early chromatin priming of erythroid genes during hematopoiesis. Chromatin accessibility of terminally differentiating erythroid cells defined a unique subset of highly specialized cells vastly dissimilar from other hematopoietic cell types. These epigenetic and transcriptome data are powerful tools to study human erythropoiesis
Project description:Mammalian erythropoiesis yields a highly specialized cell type, the mature erythrocyte, evolved to meet organismal needs of increased oxygen carrying capacity. To better understand regulation of erythropoiesis, we performed genome-wide chromatin accessibility studies, DNA methylation studies, and transcriptome analyses and correlated this with genomic organization in highly purified populations of primary human erythroid cells across the stages of erythroid development and differentiation. Gene expression patterns and chromatin state dynamics differed significantly between erythroid stages, with significant transitions between some stages indicating cell stage-specific gene regulation during erythropoiesis is a stepwise and hierarchical process involving many cis-regulatory elements. Numerous erythroid-specific, nonpromoter sites of chromatin accessibility were identified, many linked to erythroid cell phenotypic variation and inherited disease. A limited number of sites of chromatin accessibility identified in hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells were also identified in cells committed to the erythroid lineage, demonstrating limited early chromatin priming of erythroid genes during hematopoiesis. Chromatin accessibility of terminally differentiating erythroid cells defined a unique subset of highly specialized cells vastly dissimilar from other hematopoietic cell types. These epigenetic and transcriptome data are powerful tools to study human erythropoiesis
Project description:Mammalian erythropoiesis yields a highly specialized cell type, the mature erythrocyte, evolved to meet organismal needs of increased oxygen carrying capacity. To better understand regulation of erythropoiesis, we performed genome-wide chromatin accessibility studies, DNA methylation studies, and transcriptome analyses and correlated this with genomic organization in highly purified populations of primary human erythroid cells across the stages of erythroid development and differentiation. Gene expression patterns and chromatin state dynamics differed significantly between erythroid stages, with significant transitions between some stages indicating cell stage-specific gene regulation during erythropoiesis is a stepwise and hierarchical process involving many cis-regulatory elements. Numerous erythroid-specific, nonpromoter sites of chromatin accessibility were identified, many linked to erythroid cell phenotypic variation and inherited disease. A limited number of sites of chromatin accessibility identified in hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells were also identified in cells committed to the erythroid lineage, demonstrating limited early chromatin priming of erythroid genes during hematopoiesis. Chromatin accessibility of terminally differentiating erythroid cells defined a unique subset of highly specialized cells vastly dissimilar from other hematopoietic cell types. These epigenetic and transcriptome data are powerful tools to study human erythropoiesis