Project description:BackgroundDNA methylation contributes to genomic integrity by suppressing repeat-associated transposition. In addition to the canonical DNA methyltransferases, several auxiliary chromatin factors are required to maintain DNA methylation at intergenic and satellite repeats. The interaction between Lsh, a chromatin helicase, and the de novo methyltransferase Dnmt3b facilitates deposition of DNA methylation at stem cell genes, which are hypomethylated in Lsh-/- embryos. We wished to determine if a similar targeting mechanism operates to maintain DNA methylation at repetitive sequences.ResultsWe mapped genome-wide DNA methylation patterns in Lsh-/- and Dnmt3b-/- somatic cells. DNA methylation is predominantly lost from specific genomic repeats in Lsh-/- cells: LTR -retrotransposons, LINE-1 repeats and mouse satellites. RNA-seq experiments demonstrate that specific IAP LTRs and satellites, but not LINE-1 elements, are aberrantly transcribed in Lsh-/- cells. LTR hypomethylation in Dnmt3b-/- cells is moderate, whereas IAP, LINE-1 and satellite elements are hypomethylated but silent. Repressed LINE-1 elements in Lsh-/- cells gain H3K4me3, but H3K9me3 levels are unaltered, indicating that DNA hypomethylation alone is not permissive for their transcriptional activation. Mis-expressed IAPs and satellites lose H3K9me3 and gain H3K4me3 in Lsh-/- cells.ConclusionsOur study emphasizes that regulation of repetitive elements by Lsh and DNA methylation is selective and context dependent. Silencing of repeats in somatic cells appears not to be critically dependent on Dnmt3b function. We propose a model where Lsh is specifically required at a precise developmental window to target de novo methylation to repeat sequences, which is subsequently maintained by Dnmt1 to enforce selective repeat silencing.
Project description:Background: Global DNA methylation contributes to genomic integrity by supressing repeat associated transposition events. Several chromatin factors are required in addition to DNA methyltransferases to maintain DNA methylation at intergenic and satellite repeats. Embryos lacking Lsh, a member of the SNF2 superfamily of chromatin helicases, are hypomethylated. The interaction of Lsh with the de novo methyltransferase, Dnmt3b, facilitates the deposition of DNA methylation at stem cell genes. We wished to determine if a similar targeting mechanism operates to maintain DNA methylation at repetitive sequences. Results: We used HELP-seq to map genome wide DNA methylation patterns in Lsh-/- and Dnmt3b-/- somatic cells. DNA methylation is predominantly lost from specific genomic repeats in Lsh-/- cells: LTR-retrotransposons, LINE-1 repeats and mouse satellites. RNA-seq experiments demonstrate that specific IAP (Intracisternal A-type particle) LTRs and satellites, but not LINE-1 elements, are aberrantly transcribed inLsh-/- cells. LTR hypomethylation in Dnmt3b-/- cells is moderate and hypomethylated repetitive elements (IAP, LINE-1 and satellite) are silent. Chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP) indicates that repressed LINE-1 elements gain H3K4me3, but H3K9me3 levels are unaltered in Lsh-/- cells, indicating that DNA hypomethylation alone is not permissive for their transcriptional activation. Mis-expressed IAPs and satellites lose H3K9me3 and gain H3K4me3 in Lsh-/- cells. Conclusions: Our study emphasizes that regulation of repetitive elements by DNA methylation is selective and context dependent. We propose a model where Lsh is specifically required at a precise developmental window to target de novo methylation to repeat sequences, which is subsequently maintained by Dnmt1 in somatic cells to enforce repeat silencing thus contributing to genomic integrity. Two pairs of RNA samples compared: WT and Lsh-/- RNA isolations from tail-tip fibroblasts; WT and Lsh-/- RNA isolations from E13.5 mouse embryos.
Project description:Background: Global DNA methylation contributes to genomic integrity by supressing repeat associated transposition events. Several chromatin factors are required in addition to DNA methyltransferases to maintain DNA methylation at intergenic and satellite repeats. Embryos lacking Lsh, a member of the SNF2 superfamily of chromatin helicases, are hypomethylated. The interaction of Lsh with the de novo methyltransferase, Dnmt3b, facilitates the deposition of DNA methylation at stem cell genes. We wished to determine if a similar targeting mechanism operates to maintain DNA methylation at repetitive sequences. Results: We used HELP-seq to map genome wide DNA methylation patterns in Lsh-/- and Dnmt3b-/- somatic cells. DNA methylation is predominantly lost from specific genomic repeats in Lsh-/- cells: LTR-retrotransposons, LINE-1 repeats and mouse satellites. RNA-seq experiments demonstrate that specific IAP (Intracisternal A-type particle) LTRs and satellites, but not LINE-1 elements, are aberrantly transcribed inLsh-/- cells. LTR hypomethylation in Dnmt3b-/- cells is moderate and hypomethylated repetitive elements (IAP, LINE-1 and satellite) are silent. Chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP) indicates that repressed LINE-1 elements gain H3K4me3, but H3K9me3 levels are unaltered in Lsh-/- cells, indicating that DNA hypomethylation alone is not permissive for their transcriptional activation. Mis-expressed IAPs and satellites lose H3K9me3 and gain H3K4me3 in Lsh-/- cells. Conclusions: Our study emphasizes that regulation of repetitive elements by DNA methylation is selective and context dependent. We propose a model where Lsh is specifically required at a precise developmental window to target de novo methylation to repeat sequences, which is subsequently maintained by Dnmt1 in somatic cells to enforce repeat silencing thus contributing to genomic integrity. Two pairs of genomic samples compared: WT and Lsh-/- DNA isolations from tail-tip fibroblasts; WT and Dnmt3b knockout DNA isolations from mouse embryonic fibroblasts.
Project description:Background: Global DNA methylation contributes to genomic integrity by supressing repeat associated transposition events. Several chromatin factors are required in addition to DNA methyltransferases to maintain DNA methylation at intergenic and satellite repeats. Embryos lacking Lsh, a member of the SNF2 superfamily of chromatin helicases, are hypomethylated. The interaction of Lsh with the de novo methyltransferase, Dnmt3b, facilitates the deposition of DNA methylation at stem cell genes. We wished to determine if a similar targeting mechanism operates to maintain DNA methylation at repetitive sequences. Results: We used HELP-seq to map genome wide DNA methylation patterns in Lsh-/- and Dnmt3b-/- somatic cells. DNA methylation is predominantly lost from specific genomic repeats in Lsh-/- cells: LTR-retrotransposons, LINE-1 repeats and mouse satellites. RNA-seq experiments demonstrate that specific IAP (Intracisternal A-type particle) LTRs and satellites, but not LINE-1 elements, are aberrantly transcribed inLsh-/- cells. LTR hypomethylation in Dnmt3b-/- cells is moderate and hypomethylated repetitive elements (IAP, LINE-1 and satellite) are silent. Chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP) indicates that repressed LINE-1 elements gain H3K4me3, but H3K9me3 levels are unaltered in Lsh-/- cells, indicating that DNA hypomethylation alone is not permissive for their transcriptional activation. Mis-expressed IAPs and satellites lose H3K9me3 and gain H3K4me3 in Lsh-/- cells. Conclusions: Our study emphasizes that regulation of repetitive elements by DNA methylation is selective and context dependent. We propose a model where Lsh is specifically required at a precise developmental window to target de novo methylation to repeat sequences, which is subsequently maintained by Dnmt1 in somatic cells to enforce repeat silencing thus contributing to genomic integrity.
Project description:Background: Global DNA methylation contributes to genomic integrity by supressing repeat associated transposition events. Several chromatin factors are required in addition to DNA methyltransferases to maintain DNA methylation at intergenic and satellite repeats. Embryos lacking Lsh, a member of the SNF2 superfamily of chromatin helicases, are hypomethylated. The interaction of Lsh with the de novo methyltransferase, Dnmt3b, facilitates the deposition of DNA methylation at stem cell genes. We wished to determine if a similar targeting mechanism operates to maintain DNA methylation at repetitive sequences. Results: We used HELP-seq to map genome wide DNA methylation patterns in Lsh-/- and Dnmt3b-/- somatic cells. DNA methylation is predominantly lost from specific genomic repeats in Lsh-/- cells: LTR-retrotransposons, LINE-1 repeats and mouse satellites. RNA-seq experiments demonstrate that specific IAP (Intracisternal A-type particle) LTRs and satellites, but not LINE-1 elements, are aberrantly transcribed inLsh-/- cells. LTR hypomethylation in Dnmt3b-/- cells is moderate and hypomethylated repetitive elements (IAP, LINE-1 and satellite) are silent. Chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP) indicates that repressed LINE-1 elements gain H3K4me3, but H3K9me3 levels are unaltered in Lsh-/- cells, indicating that DNA hypomethylation alone is not permissive for their transcriptional activation. Mis-expressed IAPs and satellites lose H3K9me3 and gain H3K4me3 in Lsh-/- cells. Conclusions: Our study emphasizes that regulation of repetitive elements by DNA methylation is selective and context dependent. We propose a model where Lsh is specifically required at a precise developmental window to target de novo methylation to repeat sequences, which is subsequently maintained by Dnmt1 in somatic cells to enforce repeat silencing thus contributing to genomic integrity.
Project description:LTR retrotransposons are repetitive DNA elements comprising ?10% of the human genome. They are silenced by hypermethylation of cytosines in CpG dinucleotides and are considered parasitic DNA serving no useful function for the host genome. However, hypermethylated LTRs contain enhancer and promoter sequences and can promote tissue-specific transcription of cis-linked genes. To resolve the apparent paradox of hypermethylated LTRs possessing transcriptional activities, we studied the ERV-9 LTR retrotransposon located at the 5' border of the transcriptionally active ?-globin gene locus in human erythroid progenitor and erythroleukemia K562 cells. We found that the ERV-9 LTR, containing 65 CpGs in 1.7 kb DNA, was hypermethylated (with > 90% methylated CpGs). Hypermethylated LTR possessed transcriptional enhancer activity, since in vivo deletion of the LTR by CRISPR-cas9 suppressed transcription of the globin genes by > 50%. ChIP-qPCR and ChIP-seq studies showed that the hypermethylated LTR enhancer spanning recurrent CCAATCG and GATA motifs associated respectively with key transcription factors (TFs) NF-Y and GATA-1 and -2 at reduced levels, compared with the unmethylated LTR in transfected LTR-reporter gene plasmids. Electrophoretic mobility shift assays with methylated LTR enhancer probe showed that the methylated probe bound both NF-Y and GATA-1 and -2 with lower affinities than the unmethylated enhancer probe. Thus, hypermethylation drastically reduced, but did not totally abolish, the binding affinities of the enhancer motifs to the key TFs to assemble the LTR-pol II transcription complex that activated transcription of cis-linked genes at reduced efficiency.
Project description:The human Immunodeficiency Centromeric Instability Facial Anomalies (ICF) 4 syndrome is a severe disease with increased mortality caused by mutation in the LSH gene. Although LSH belongs to a family of chromatin remodeling proteins, it remains unknown how LSH mediates its function on chromatin in vivo. Here, we use chemical-induced proximity to rapidly recruit LSH to an engineered locus and find that LSH specifically induces macroH2A1.2 and macroH2A2 deposition in an ATP-dependent manner. Tethering of LSH induces transcriptional repression and silencing is dependent on macroH2A deposition. Loss of LSH decreases macroH2A enrichment at repeat sequences and results in transcriptional reactivation. Likewise, reduction of macroH2A by siRNA interference mimicks transcriptional reactivation. ChIP-seq analysis confirmed that LSH is a major regulator of genome-wide macroH2A distribution. Tethering of ICF4 mutations fails to induce macroH2A deposition and ICF4 patient cells display reduced macroH2A deposition and transcriptional reactivation supporting a pathogenic role for altered marcoH2A deposition. We propose that LSH is a major chromatin modulator of the histone variant macroH2A and that its ability to insert marcoH2A into chromatin and transcriptionally silence is disturbed in the ICF4 syndrome.