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A genome-wide screening in pluripotent cells identifies Mtf1 as a suppressor of mutant huntingtin toxicity

ABSTRACT: Huntington’s disease (HD) is an inherited and incurable neurodegenerative disorder caused by CAG repeat expansions in the huntingtin (HTT) gene. The resulting mutant HTT protein alters cellular physiology at multiple levels, inducing toxicity and cell death. The mechanisms directly causing toxicity are partially understood, thus precluding the development of effective therapeutic strategies. Here we identified novel suppressors of mutant HTT toxicity by performing a genome-wide screen in pluripotent stem cells, followed by hit validation both in zebrafish and mouse HD models. The candidate suppressors identified were strongly enriched for HD-associated processes. We focused on Metal regulatory transcription factor 1 (Mtf1), a transcription factor controlling metal homeostasis in the cell. Forced expression of Mtf1 counteracts cell death, oxidative stress and transcriptional alterations caused by mutant HTT in pluripotent cells. In zebrafish, Mtf1 reduces malformations and apoptosis induced by mutant HTT, while Mtf1 delivery by Adeno-Associated viral (AAV) vectors ablated motor defects observed in an HD mouse model. Our data reveal that delivery of Mtf1 might act as a novel therapeutic strategy against HD and potentially other neurodegenerative disorders.

ORGANISM(S): Mus musculus

PROVIDER: GSE166567 | GEO | 2023/05/30

REPOSITORIES: GEO

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Project description:MTF1 is a highly conserved metal-binding transcription factor in eukaryotes. MTF1 binds to DNA sequence motifs, termed metal response elements (MREs) to induce the expression of genes involved in metal and oxidative stress homeostasis. MTF1 is responsive to both metal excess and deprivation, and can also protect cells from oxidative and hypoxic stresses. Disruption of metal homeostasis leads to the development of several pathological states. Despite its roles in these processes , MTF1 has been shown to be required for developmental processes such as embryonic liver formation. In this study, we used multiple strategies to understand the mechanism by which MTF1 functions in skeletal muscle differentiation and to determine the role cellular copper (Cu) status plays in this process. We provide the functional relationships between MTF1, Cu, myogenic gene promoters, and MyoD, an specific component of the myogenic transcriptional machinery in differentiating primary myoblasts derived from mouse satellite cells. We found that MTF1 is induced and translocated to the nucleus upon initiation of myogenesis. Consistent with previous studies from our laboratory , addition of non-toxic concentrations of Cu promote myogenesis and enhanced MTF1 expression. CRISPR/Cas9-mediated depletion of MTF1 demonstrated that MTF1 is essential for proper development of skeletal muscle, as partial Mtf1 knockdown leads to apoptosis to differentiating myoblasts. MTF1 was also found to bind Cu at a carboxy-terminal tetra-cysteine cluster, which may contribute to the mobilization of Cu to the nucleus during myogenesis. ChIP-seq and ChIP-qPCR analyses showed that MTF1 binds at the promoter regions of myogenic genes as part of a complex with MyoD, the master transcriptional regulator of the myogenic lineage. These results have the potential to initiate a new area of research in MTF1 function and in the regulation of myogenesis. Furthermore, these studies set the basis to understand the role of Cu at the transcriptional level, affects growth and development and will contribute to the largely unexplored are of muscular phenotypes observed in human pathologies associated to Cu misbalance, such as Menkes’ and Wilson’s diseases.

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A genome-wide screening in pluripotent cells identifies Mtf1 as a suppressor of mutant huntingtin toxicity

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