Project description:Histone acetyl transferases (HATs) play distinct roles in many cellular processes and are frequently misregulated in cancers. Here, we study the regulatory potential of MYST1-(MOF)-containing MSL and NSL complexes in mouse embryonic stem cells (ESCs) and neuronal progenitors. We find that both complexes influence transcription by targeting promoters and TSS-distal enhancers. In contrast to flies, the MSL complex is not exclusively enriched on the X chromosome, yet it is crucial for mammalian X chromosome regulation as it specifically regulates Tsix, the major repressor of Xist lncRNA. MSL depletion leads to decreased Tsix expression, reduced REX1 recruitment, and consequently, enhanced accumulation of Xist and variable numbers of inactivated X chromosomes during early differentiation. The NSL complex provides additional, Tsix-independent repression of Xist by maintaining pluripotency. MSL and NSL complexes therefore act synergistically by using distinct pathways to ensure a fail-safe mechanism for the repression of X inactivation in ESCs.DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.7554/eLife.02024.001.
Project description:The histone acetyltransferase (HAT) Mof is essential for mouse embryonic stem cell (mESC) pluripotency and early development. Mof is the enzymatic subunit of two different HAT complexes, MSL and NSL. The individual contribution of MSL and NSL to transcription regulation in mESCs is not well understood. Our genome-wide analysis show that i) MSL and NSL bind to specific and common sets of expressed genes, ii) NSL binds exclusively at promoters, iii) while MSL binds in gene bodies. Nsl1 regulates proliferation and cellular homeostasis of mESCs. MSL is the main HAT acetylating H4K16 in mESCs, is enriched at many mESC-specific and bivalent genes. MSL is important to keep a subset of bivalent genes silent in mESCs, while developmental genes require MSL for expression during differentiation. Thus, NSL and MSL HAT complexes differentially regulate specific sets of expressed genes in mESCs and during differentiation.