Similar Datasets
Project description:During transcription, DNA supercoiling generated by the advance of RNA polymerase II (Pol II) is resolved by DNA topoisomerases, enzymes that bind chromatin and produce transient breaks to relax DNA. Recently, this idea of mere facilitators of transcription progression is changing, as topoisomerases are being assigned new functions in regulating the expression of specific genes. In fact, mammalian type II topoisomerases, both the [Symbol] (TOP2A) and [Symbol] (TOP2B) paralogs, are enriched at promoter regions, where they have been proposed to trigger transcription through the generation of DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs). However, this is difficult to reconcile with the intrinsic catalytic properties of TOP2 and the high risk of genome instability that continuous production and repair of DSBs implies. Here, we show that TOP2A enforces promoter-proximal pausing of Pol II by removing transcription-associated negative DNA supercoiling. Interestingly, this topological balance and its disruption is essential for the transcriptional control of Immediate Early Genes (IEGs) and their typical bursting behaviour in response to stimulus. We therefore uncover a novel layer of transcriptional regulation that relies on canonical functions of TOP2A that are independent of aberrant DSB formation, providing a topological framework for the control of promoter-proximal pausing and the tight regulation of IEGs.
2021-04-14 | GSE141799 | GEO
Project description:During transcription, DNA supercoiling generated by the advance of RNA polymerase II (Pol II) is resolved by DNA topoisomerases, enzymes that bind chromatin and produce transient breaks to relax DNA. Recently, this idea of mere facilitators of transcription progression is changing, as topoisomerases are being assigned new functions in regulating the expression of specific genes. In fact, mammalian type II topoisomerases, both the [Symbol] (TOP2A) and [Symbol] (TOP2B) paralogs, are enriched at promoter regions, where they have been proposed to trigger transcription through the generation of DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs). However, this is difficult to reconcile with the intrinsic catalytic properties of TOP2 and the high risk of genome instability that continuous production and repair of DSBs implies. Here, we show that TOP2A enforces promoter-proximal pausing of Pol II by removing transcription-associated negative DNA supercoiling. Interestingly, this topological balance and its disruption is essential for the transcriptional control of Immediate Early Genes (IEGs) and their typical bursting behaviour in response to stimulus. We therefore uncover a novel layer of transcriptional regulation that relies on canonical functions of TOP2A that are independent of aberrant DSB formation, providing a topological framework for the control of promoter-proximal pausing and the tight regulation of IEGs.
2021-04-14 | GSE141798 | GEO
Project description:RNA polymerase II (RNAPII) transcription is governed by the pre-initiation complex (PIC), which contains TFIIA, TFIIB, TFIID, TFIIE, TFIIF, TFIIH, RNAPII, and Mediator. After initiation, RNAPII enzymes pause after transcribing less than 100 bases; precisely how RNAPII pausing is enforced and regulated remains unclear. To address specific mechanistic questions, we reconstituted human RNAPII promoter-proximal pausing in vitro, entirely with purified factors (no extracts). As expected, NELF and DSIF increased pausing, and P-TEFb promoted pause release. Unexpectedly, the PIC alone was sufficient to reconstitute pausing, suggesting RNAPII pausing is an inherent PIC function. In agreement, pausing was lost upon replacement of the TFIID complex with TATA-binding protein (TBP), and PRO-seq experiments revealed widespread disruption of RNAPII pausing upon acute depletion (t = 60 min) of TFIID subunits in human or Drosophila cells. These results establish a TFIID requirement for RNAPII pausing and suggest pause regulatory factors may function directly or indirectly through TFIID.
| S-EPMC7245555 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Control of RNA polymerase II promoter-proximal pausing by DNA supercoiling
| PRJNA594745 | ENA
Project description:BACKGROUND:Alternative DNA secondary structures can arise from single-stranded DNA when duplex DNA is unwound during DNA processes such as transcription, resulting in the regulation or perturbation of these processes. We identify sites of high propensity to form stable DNA secondary structure across the human genome using Mfold and ViennaRNA programs with parameters for analyzing DNA. RESULTS:The promoter-proximal regions of genes with paused transcription are significantly and energetically more favorable to form DNA secondary structure than non-paused genes or genes without RNA polymerase II (Pol II) binding. Using Pol II ChIP-seq, GRO-seq, NET-seq, and mNET-seq data, we arrive at a robust set of criteria for Pol II pausing, independent of annotation, and find that a highly stable secondary structure is likely to form about 10-50 nucleotides upstream of a Pol II pausing site. Structure probing data confirm the existence of DNA secondary structures enriched at the promoter-proximal regions of paused genes in human cells. Using an in vitro transcription assay, we demonstrate that Pol II pausing at HSPA1B, a human heat shock gene, is affected by manipulating DNA secondary structure upstream of the pausing site. CONCLUSIONS:Our results indicate alternative DNA secondary structure formation as a mechanism for how GC-rich sequences regulate RNA Pol II promoter-proximal pausing genome-wide.
| S-EPMC6042338 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Regulation of transcription is a tightly choreographed process. The establishment of RNA polymerase II promoter proximal pausing soon after transcription initiation and the release of Pol II into productive elongation are key regulatory processes that occur in early elongation. We describe the techniques and tools that have become available for the study of promoter proximal pausing and their utility for future experiments. We then provide an overview of the factors and interactions that govern a multipartite pausing process and address emerging questions surrounding the mechanism of RNA polymerase II's subsequent advancement into the gene body. Finally, we address remaining controversies and future areas of study.
| S-EPMC8184617 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Promoter-proximal pausing of RNA polymerase II (Pol II) is a major checkpoint in transcription. An unbiased search for new human proteins that could regulate paused Pol II at the HSPA1B gene identified TRIM28. In vitro analyses indicated HSF1-dependent attenuation of Pol II pausing upon TRIM28 depletion, whereas in vivo data revealed de novo expression of HSPA1B and other known genes regulated by paused Pol II upon TRIM28 knockdown. These results were supported by genome-wide ChIP-sequencing analyses of Pol II occupancy that revealed a global role for TRIM28 in regulating Pol II pausing and pause release. Furthermore, in vivo and in vitro mechanistic studies suggest that transcription-coupled phosphorylation regulates Pol II pause release by TRIM28. Collectively, our findings identify TRIM28 as a new factor that modulates Pol II pausing and transcriptional elongation at a large number of mammalian genes.
| S-EPMC4189995 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Control of RNA polymerase II promoter-proximal pausing by DNA supercoiling [RNA-seq]
| PRJNA594746 | ENA
Project description:Control of RNA polymerase II promoter-proximal pausing by DNA supercoiling [ChIP-seq]
| PRJNA594743 | ENA
Project description:The control of promoter-proximal pausing and the release of RNA polymerase II (Pol II) is a widely used mechanism for regulating gene expression in metazoans, especially for genes that respond to environmental and developmental cues. Here, we identify that Pol-II-associated factor 1 (PAF1) possesses an evolutionarily conserved function in metazoans in the regulation of promoter-proximal pausing. Reduction in PAF1 levels leads to an increased release of paused Pol II into gene bodies at thousands of genes. PAF1 depletion results in increased nascent and mature transcripts and increased levels of phosphorylation of Pol II's C-terminal domain on serine 2 (Ser2P). These changes can be explained by the recruitment of the Ser2P kinase super elongation complex (SEC) effecting increased release of paused Pol II into productive elongation, thus establishing PAF1 as a regulator of promoter-proximal pausing by Pol II.
| S-EPMC4679144 | biostudies-literature