DOC1-dependent recruitment of NURD reveals antagonism with SWI/SNF during epithelial-mesenchymal transition in oral cancer cells.
Ontology highlight
ABSTRACT: The Nucleosome Remodeling and Deacetylase (NURD) complex is a key regulator of cell differentiation that has also been implicated in tumorigenesis. Loss of the NURD subunit DOC1 is associated with human oral squamous cell carcinomas (OSCC). Here, we show that restoration of DOC1 expression in OSCC cells leads to a reversal of epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT). This is caused by the DOC1-dependent recruitment of NURD to repress the Twist master regulators of EMT. NURD recruitment drives extensive epigenetic reprogramming, including eviction of the SWI/SNF remodeler, formation of inaccessible chromatin, H3K27 deacetylation, recruitment of PRC2 and KDM1A, followed by H3K27 methylation and H3K4 demethylation. Strikingly, depletion of SWI/SNF mimics the effects of DOC1 re-expression. Our results suggest that SWI/SNF and NURD function antagonistically to control chromatin state. We propose that disturbance of this dynamic equilibrium may lead to defects in gene expression that drive human cancer.
Project description:SWI/SNF and NuRD are protein complexes that antagonistically regulate DNA accessibility. However, repression of their activities often leads to unanticipated changes in target gene expression (paradoxical), highlighting our incomplete understanding of their activities. Here we show that SWI/SNF and NuRD are in a tug-of-war to regulate PRC2 occupancy at lowly expressed and bivalent genes in mESCs. In contrast, at promoters of average or highly expressed genes, SWI/SNF and NuRD antagonistically modulate RNA Polymerase II release kinetics, arguably via modifying H3.3 and H2A.Z turnover rates at promoter-flanking nucleosomes, leading to paradoxical changes in gene expression. Owing to this mechanism, the relative activities of the two remodelers potentiate gene promoters towards Pol II-dependent open or PRC2-dependent closed chromatin states. Our results highlight RNA Polymerase II occupancy as the primary parameter determining the direction of gene expression changes in response to SWI/SNF and NuRD inactivation at gene promoters in mESCs.
Project description:The composition of chromatin remodeling complexes dictates how these enzymes control transcriptional programs and cellular identity. Here, we investigate the composition of SWI/SNF complexes in embryonic stem cells (ESCs). In contrast to differentiated cells, ESCs have a biased incorporation of certain paralogous SWI/SNF subunits, with low levels of Brm, BAF170 and ARID1B. Upon differentiation, the expression of these subunits increases, resulting in a higher diversity of compositionally distinct SWI/SNF enzymes. We also identify Brd7 as a novel component of the PBAF complex in both ESCs and differentiated cells. Using shRNA-mediated depletion of Brg1, we show that SWI/SNF can function as both a repressor and an activator in pluripotent cells, regulating expression of developmental modifiers and signaling components such as Nodal, ADAMTS1, Bmi-1, CRABP1 and TRH. Knock-down studies of PBAF-specific Brd7 and of a signature subunit within the BAF complex, ARID1A, show that these two sub-complexes affect SWI/SNF target genes differentially, in some cases even antagonistically. This may be due to their different biochemical properties. Finally, we examine the role of SWI/SNF in regulating its target genes during differentiation. We find that SWI/SNF affects recruitment of components of the pre-initiation complex in a promoter-specific manner, to modulate transcription positively or negatively. Taken together, our results provide insight into the function of compositionally diverse SWI/SNF enzymes that underlie their inherent gene-specific mode of action. R1 ESCs were infected in duplicates with shRNA targeting Brg1 or GLUT4 (as a control). Knockdown of Brg1 mRNA affected Brg1 protein levels efficiently. RNA was isolated 67 hours post-infection and analyzed using microarrays.
Project description:The composition of chromatin remodeling complexes dictates how these enzymes control transcriptional programs and cellular identity. Here, we investigate the composition of SWI/SNF complexes in embryonic stem cells (ESCs). In contrast to differentiated cells, ESCs have a biased incorporation of certain paralogous SWI/SNF subunits, with low levels of Brm, BAF170 and ARID1B. Upon differentiation, the expression of these subunits increases, resulting in a higher diversity of compositionally distinct SWI/SNF enzymes. We also identify Brd7 as a novel component of the PBAF complex in both ESCs and differentiated cells. Using shRNA-mediated depletion of Brg1, we show that SWI/SNF can function as both a repressor and an activator in pluripotent cells, regulating expression of developmental modifiers and signaling components such as Nodal, ADAMTS1, Bmi-1, CRABP1 and TRH. Knock-down studies of PBAF-specific Brd7 and of a signature subunit within the BAF complex, ARID1A, show that these two sub-complexes affect SWI/SNF target genes differentially, in some cases even antagonistically. This may be due to their different biochemical properties. Finally, we examine the role of SWI/SNF in regulating its target genes during differentiation. We find that SWI/SNF affects recruitment of components of the pre-initiation complex in a promoter-specific manner, to modulate transcription positively or negatively. Taken together, our results provide insight into the function of compositionally diverse SWI/SNF enzymes that underlie their inherent gene-specific mode of action.
Project description:Tissue-specific transcription factors initiate differentiation toward a specialized cell type by inducing transcription-permissive chromatin modifications at target gene promoters, through the recruitment of the SWI/SNF chromatin-remodeling complex (1, 2). The molecular mechanism that regulates the chromatin re-distribution of SWI/SNF in response to differentiation signals is currently unknown. Here we show that the muscle determination factor MyoD and the SWI/SNF structural sub-unit, BAF60c (SMARCD3), form a complex on the regulatory elements of MyoD-target genes in undifferentiated myoblasts, prior to the activation of gene expression. MyoD-BAF60c complex is devoid of the ATP-dependent enzymatic sub-units Brg1 and Brm, is required for stable MyoD binding to Ebox sequences, and marks the chromatin for signal-dependent recruitment of the SWI/SNF core complex to muscle loci. BAF60c phosphorylation on a conserved threonine by differentiation-activated p38 signalling promotes the incorporation of MyoD-BAF60c into a Brg1-based SWI/SNF complex, which is competent to remodel the chromatin and activates transcription of MyoD-target genes. Our data support an unprecedented two-step model, by which pre-assembled BAF60c-MyoD complex directs the SWI/SNF complex chromatin re-distribution to muscle loci in response to differentiation cues. Differentiation of C2C12 cells individually interfered for BRG1, BAF60B, BAF60C
Project description:The SWI/SNF ATP-dependent chromatin remodeler is a master regulator of the epigenome; controlling pluripotency, cell fate determination and differentiation. There is a sparsity of information on the autoregulation of SWI/SNF, the domains involved and their mode of action. We find a DNA or RNA binding module conserved from yeast to humans located in the C-terminus of the catalytic subunit of SWI/SNF called the AT-hook that positively regulates the chromatin remodeling activity of yeast and mouse SWI/SNF. The AT-hook in yeast SWI/SNF interacts with the SnAC and ATPase domains, which after binding to nucleosome switches to contacting the N-terminus of histone H3. Deletion of the AT-hooks in yeast SWI/SNF and mouse esBAF complexes reduces the remodeling activity of SWI/SNF without affecting complex integrity or its recruitment to nucleosomes. In addition, deletion of the AT-hook impairs the ATPase and nucleosome mobilizing activities of yeast SWI/SNF without disrupting the interactions of the ATPase domain with nucleosomal DNA. The AT-hook is also important in vivo for SWI/SNF-dependent response to amino acid starvation in yeast and for cell lineage priming in mouse embryonic stem cells. In summary, the AT-hook is shown to be an evolutionarily conserved autoregulatory domain of SWI/SNF that positively regulates SWI/SNF both in vitro and in vivo.
Project description:BRAHMA (BRM) is a conserved SWI/SNF-type chromatin remodeling ATPase implicated in many key nuclear events. Histone H3 Lysine 27 (H3K27) demethylases specifically remove the repressive histone mark, trimethylation of H3K27 (H3K27me3). Both proteins are thought to play active roles in regulating gene activities at the chromatin level, but their genome-wide coordination remains to be determined. In Arabidopsis thaliana, RELATIVE OF EARLY FLOWERING 6 (REF6, also known as JMJ12) is the first identified plant H3K27 demethylase. Here, genome-wide analyses revealed that REF6 targets to thousands of genes across the Arabidopsis genome and co-localizes with BRM at more than 1,000 genes, many of which are genes involved in response to various stimuli, especially plant hormones. Loss of REF6 activity results in decreased BRM occupancy at hundreds of BRM-REF6 co-targets, indicating that REF6 is required for the recruitment of BRM to chromatin. Further, REF6 targets to genomic loci that contains the CTCTGTTT motif in vivo
Project description:The NuRD complex is generally thought to repress transcription at both hyper- and hypomethylated regions in the genome. In addition, the complex is involved in the DNA damage response. Here, we show that ZMYND8 bridges NuRD to a number of putative DNA-binding zinc finger proteins. The ZMYND8 MYND domain directly interacts with PPPL? motifs in the NuRD subunit GATAD2A. Furthermore, GATAD2A and GATAD2B exclusively form homodimers and they thus define mutually exclusive NuRD subcomplexes. ZMYND8 and MBD3 share a large number of genome-wide binding sites, mostly active promoters and enhancers. Depletion of ZMYND8 does not affect NuRD occupancy genome-wide and expression of NuRD/ZMYND8 target genes in steady-state asynchronous cells. However, ZMYND8 facilitates immediate recruitment of GATAD2A/NuRD to induced sites of DNA damage. These results thus show that a specific substoichiometric interaction with a NuRD subunit paralogue provides unique functionality to a distinct NuRD subcomplex.
Project description:The NuRD complex is generally thought to repress transcription at both hyper- and hypomethylated regions in the genome. In addition, the complex is involved in the DNA damage response. Here, we show that ZMYND8 bridges NuRD to a number of putative DNA-binding zinc finger proteins. The ZMYND8 MYND domain directly interacts with PPPL? motifs in the NuRD subunit GATAD2A. Furthermore, GATAD2A and GATAD2B exclusively form homodimers and they thus define mutually exclusive NuRD subcomplexes. ZMYND8 and MBD3 share a large number of genome-wide binding sites, mostly active promoters and enhancers. Depletion of ZMYND8 does not affect NuRD occupancy genome-wide and expression of NuRD/ZMYND8 target genes in steady-state asynchronous cells. However, ZMYND8 facilitates immediate recruitment of GATAD2A/NuRD to induced sites of DNA damage. These results thus show that a specific substoichiometric interaction with a NuRD subunit paralogue provides unique functionality to a distinct NuRD subcomplex.
Project description:The 12-subunit Swi/Snf chromatin remodeling complex is conserved from yeast to humans. It functions to alter nucleosome positions by either sliding nucleosomes on DNA or evicting histones. Interestingly, 20% of all human cancers carry mutations in subunits of the Swi/Snf complex. Many of these mutations cause protein instability and loss, resulting in partial Swi/Snf complexes. Although several studies have shown that histone acetylation and activator-dependent recruitment of Swi/Snf regulate its function, it is less well understood how subunits regulate stability and function of the complex. Using functional proteomic and genomic approaches, we have assembled the network architecture of yeast Swi/Snf. In addition, we find that subunits of the Swi/Snf complex regulate occupancy of the catalytic subunit Snf2, thereby modulating gene transcription. Our findings have direct bearing on how cancer-causing mutations in orthologous subunits of human Swi/Snf may lead to aberrant regulation of gene expression by this complex.