Similar Datasets
Project description:The placenta is an organ with extraordinary phenotypic diversity in eutherian mammals. Recent evidence suggest that numerous human placental enhancers are evolved from lineage-specific insertions of endogenous retroviruses (ERVs), yet the transcription factors (TFs) underlying their regulation remain largely elusive. Here, by first focusing on MER41, a primate-specific ERV family previously linked to placenta and innate immunity, we uncover the binding motifs of multiple crucial trophoblast TFs (GATA2/3, MSX2, GRHL2) in addition to innate immuninty TFs STAT1 and IRF1. Integration of ChIP-Seq data confirms the binding of GATA2/3 and MSX2 on the majority of MER41-derived enhancers in human trophoblast stem cells (TSCs). Notably, the usb-family composition of MER41-derived enhancers that are active in human TSCs are distinct from those activated upon interferon stimulation, which is determined by the binding of trophoblast TFs. We further demonstrate that GATA2/3 and MSX2 have prevalent binding on numerous other ERV families – indicating their broad impact on ERV-derived placental enhancers. Functionally, the derepression of many syncytiotrophoblast genes after disruption of MSX2 is likely to be mediated by enhancers derived from ERVs – suggesting ERVs are also important for mediating transcriptional repression in human TSCs. Overall, this study characterized the prevalent binding of GATA2/3, MSX2 and their co-factors on ERV-derived enhancers in human TSCs and provided mechanistic insights into the importance of ERVs in human trophoblast regulatory network.
2023-01-01 | GSE209540 | GEO
Project description:The placenta is an organ with extraordinary phenotypic diversity in eutherian mammals. Recent evidence suggest that numerous human placental enhancers are evolved from lineage-specific insertions of endogenous retroviruses (ERVs), yet the transcription factors (TFs) underlying their regulation remain largely elusive. Here, by first focusing on MER41, a primate-specific ERV family previously linked to placenta and innate immunity, we uncover the binding motifs of multiple crucial trophoblast TFs (GATA2/3, MSX2, GRHL2) in addition to innate immuninty TFs STAT1 and IRF1. Integration of ChIP-Seq data confirms the binding of GATA2/3 and MSX2 on the majority of MER41-derived enhancers in human trophoblast stem cells (TSCs). Notably, the usb-family composition of MER41-derived enhancers that are active in human TSCs are distinct from those activated upon interferon stimulation, which is determined by the binding of trophoblast TFs. We further demonstrate that GATA2/3 and MSX2 have prevalent binding on numerous other ERV families – indicating their broad impact on ERV-derived placental enhancers. Functionally, the derepression of many syncytiotrophoblast genes after disruption of MSX2 is likely to be mediated by enhancers derived from ERVs – suggesting ERVs are also important for mediating transcriptional repression in human TSCs. Overall, this study characterized the prevalent binding of GATA2/3, MSX2 and their co-factors on ERV-derived enhancers in human TSCs and provided mechanistic insights into the importance of ERVs in human trophoblast regulatory network.
2023-01-01 | GSE209536 | GEO
Project description:GATA transcription factors are important regulators of tissue-specific gene expression during development. GATA2 and GATA3 have been implicated in the regulation of trophoblast-specific genes. However, the regulatory mechanisms of GATA2 expression in trophoblast cells are poorly understood. In this study, we demonstrate that Gata2 is transcriptionally induced during trophoblast giant cell-specific differentiation. Transcriptional induction is associated with displacement of GATA3-dependent nucleoprotein complexes by GATA2-dependent nucleoprotein complexes at two regulatory regions, the -3.9- and +9.5-kb regions, of the mouse Gata2 locus. Analyses with reporter genes showed that, in trophoblast cells, -3.9- and +9.5-kb regions function as transcriptional enhancers in GATA motif independent and dependent fashions, respectively. We also found that knockdown of GATA3 by RNA interference induces GATA2 in undifferentiated trophoblast cells. Interestingly, three other known GATA motif-dependent Gata2 regulatory elements, the -1.8-, -2.8-, and -77-kb regions, which are important to regulate Gata2 in hematopoietic cells are not occupied by GATA factors in trophoblast cells. These elements do not show any enhancer activity and also possess inaccessible chromatin structure in trophoblast cells indicating a context-dependent function. Our results indicate that GATA3 directly represses Gata2 in undifferentiated trophoblast cells, and a switch in chromatin occupancy between GATA3 and GATA2 (GATA3/GATA2 switch) induces transcription during trophoblast differentiation. We predict that this GATA3/GATA2 switch is an important mechanism for the transcriptional regulation of other trophoblast-specific genes.
| S-EPMC2643515 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Multiple placental pathologies are associated with failures in trophoblast differentiation, yet the underlying transcriptional regulation is poorly understood. Here, we discovered msh homeobox 2 (MSX2) as a key transcriptional regulator of trophoblast identity using the human trophoblast stem cell model. Depletion of MSX2 resulted in activation of the syncytiotrophoblast transcriptional program, while forced expression of MSX2 blocked it. We demonstrated that a large proportion of the affected genes were directly bound and regulated by MSX2 and identified components of the SWItch/Sucrose nonfermentable (SWI/SNF) complex as strong MSX2 interactors and target gene cobinders. MSX2 cooperated specifically with the SWI/SNF canonical BAF (cBAF) subcomplex and cooccupied, together with H3K27ac, a number of differentiation genes. Increased H3K27ac and cBAF occupancy upon MSX2 depletion imply that MSX2 prevents premature syncytiotrophoblast differentiation. Our findings established MSX2 as a repressor of the syncytiotrophoblast lineage and demonstrated its pivotal role in cell fate decisions that govern human placental development and disease.
| S-EPMC8449346 | biostudies-literature
Project description:This SuperSeries is composed of the SubSeries listed below.
2023-02-03 | GSE209977 | GEO
Project description:Multinucleated syncytiotrophoblasts (STBs), which are in direct contact with maternal blood, constitute the maternal-fetal interface critical for nutrient allocation, hormone production and immunological modulation during pregnancy. However, the genetic and epigenetic regulatory mechanisms governing trophoblast syncytialization remain largely elusive. We delineate that endogenous retroviruses (ERVs), which have been exapted as regulatory sequences for specific functional adaptations in placenta, profoundly rewire transcriptional program of trophoblast syncytialization. Here, we first determined dynamic bivalent ERV-derived enhancers with dual occupancy of H3K9me3 and H3K27ac in human trophoblast stem cells (hTSCs), which emerge as cell specific regulators of gene expression with markedly resolved H3K9me3 during differentiation towards STBs. Of note, bivalent enhancers derived from the Simiiformes-specific MER50 transposons were linked to a cluster of STB-specific genes. Importantly, depletions of MER50 elements adjacent to several STB genes, including MFSD2A, TNFAIP2 and RAI14, significantly attenuated their expression concomitant to dysregulated syncytium formation. Together, we propose that ERV-derived enhancers, MER50 specifically, fine-tune the transcriptional program accounting for human trophoblast syncytialization, which sheds light on novel epigenetic regulatory mechanisms underlying placental development.
2023-02-03 | GSE209976 | GEO
Project description:Multinucleated syncytiotrophoblasts (STBs), which are in direct contact with maternal blood, constitute the maternal-fetal interface critical for nutrient allocation, hormone production and immunological modulation during pregnancy. However, the genetic and epigenetic regulatory mechanisms governing trophoblast syncytialization remain largely elusive. We delineate that endogenous retroviruses (ERVs), which have been exapted as regulatory sequences for specific functional adaptations in placenta, profoundly rewire transcriptional program of trophoblast syncytialization. Here, we first determined dynamic bivalent ERV-derived enhancers with dual occupancy of H3K9me3 and H3K27ac in human trophoblast stem cells (hTSCs), which emerge as cell specific regulators of gene expression with markedly resolved H3K9me3 during differentiation towards STBs. Of note, bivalent enhancers derived from the Simiiformes-specific MER50 transposons were linked to a cluster of STB-specific genes. Importantly, depletions of MER50 elements adjacent to several STB genes, including MFSD2A, TNFAIP2 and RAI14, significantly attenuated their expression concomitant to dysregulated syncytium formation. Together, we propose that ERV-derived enhancers, MER50 specifically, fine-tune the transcriptional program accounting for human trophoblast syncytialization, which sheds light on novel epigenetic regulatory mechanisms underlying placental development.
2023-02-03 | GSE209975 | GEO
Project description:This SuperSeries is composed of the SubSeries listed below.
2024-03-11 | GSE236796 | GEO
Project description:Human endogenous retroviruses (HERVs) and other long terminal repeat (LTR)-type retrotransposons (HERV/LTRs) have regulatory elements that possibly influence the transcription of host genes. We systematically identified and characterized these regulatory elements based on publicly available datasets of ChIP-Seq of 97 transcription factors (TFs) provided by ENCODE and Roadmap Epigenomics projects. We determined transcription factor-binding sites (TFBSs) using the ChIP-Seq datasets and identified TFBSs observed on HERV/LTR sequences (HERV-TFBSs). Overall, 794,972 HERV-TFBSs were identified. Subsequently, we identified "HERV/LTR-shared regulatory element (HSRE)," defined as a TF-binding motif in HERV-TFBSs, shared within a substantial fraction of a HERV/LTR type. HSREs could be an indication that the regulatory elements of HERV/LTRs are present before their insertions. We identified 2,201 HSREs, comprising specific associations of 354 HERV/LTRs and 84 TFs. Clustering analysis showed that HERV/LTRs can be grouped according to the TF binding patterns; HERV/LTR groups bounded to pluripotent TFs (e.g., SOX2, POU5F1, and NANOG), embryonic endoderm/mesendoderm TFs (e.g., GATA4/6, SOX17, and FOXA1/2), hematopoietic TFs (e.g., SPI1 (PU1), GATA1/2, and TAL1), and CTCF were identified. Regulatory elements of HERV/LTRs tended to locate nearby and/or interact three-dimensionally with the genes involved in immune responses, indicating that the regulatory elements play an important role in controlling the immune regulatory network. Further, we demonstrated subgroup-specific TF binding within LTR7, LTR5B, and LTR5_Hs, indicating that gains or losses of the regulatory elements occurred during genomic invasions of the HERV/LTRs. Finally, we constructed dbHERV-REs, an interactive database of HERV/LTR regulatory elements (http://herv-tfbs.com/). This study provides fundamental information in understanding the impact of HERV/LTRs on host transcription, and offers insights into the transcriptional modulation systems of HERV/LTRs and ancestral HERVs.
| S-EPMC5529029 | biostudies-literature
Project description:The commitment and differentiation of human placental progenitor cytotrophoblast (CT) cells are crucial for a successful pregnancy, but the underlying regulatory mechanism remains poorly understood. Here we identified the transcription factor (TF), Specificity protein 6 (SP6), as a human species-specific trophoblast lineage TF expressed in human placental CT cells. Using pluripotent stem cells as a model, we demonstrated that SP6 governs CT generation and the establishment of trophoblast stem cells (TSCs) and discovered msh homeobox 2 (MSX2) as the downstream effector in these events. Mechanistically, we showed that SP6 interacts with histone acetyltransferase P300 to modulate the landscape of H3K27ac at targeted regulatory elements, thereby favoring transcriptional activation and facilitating CT cell fate decisions and TSC maintenance. Our results established SP6 as a novel regulator of the human trophoblast lineage and implied its regulatory role in placental development and the pathogenies of placental diseases.
2024-03-11 | GSE236795 | GEO