Project description:Polycomb Repressive Complex 2 (PRC2) plays an essential role in development by catalysing trimethylation of histone H3 lysine 27 (H3K27me3), resulting in gene repression. PRC2 consists of two sub-complexes, PRC2.1 and PRC2.2, in which the PRC2 core associates with distinct ancillary subunits such as MTF2 and JARID2, respectively. Both MTF2, present in PRC2.1, and JARID2, present in PRC2.2, play a role in core PRC2 recruitment to target genes in mouse embryonic stem cells (mESCs). However, it remains unclear how these distinct sub-complexes cooperate to establish H3K27me3 domains. Here, we combine a range of Polycomb mutant mESCs with chemical inhibition of PRC2 catalytic activity, to systematically dissect their relative contributions to PRC2 binding to target loci. We find that PRC2.1 and PRC2.2 mediate two distinct paths for recruitment, with mutually reinforced binding. Part of the cross-talk between PRC2.1 and PRC2.2 occurs via their catalytic product H3K27me3, which is bound by the PRC2 core-subunit EED, thereby mediating a positive feedback. Strikingly, removal of either JARID2 or H3K27me3 only has a minor effect on PRC2 recruitment, whereas their combined ablation largely attenuates PRC2 recruitment. This strongly suggests an unexpected redundancy between JARID2 and EED-H3K27me3-mediated recruitment of PRC2. Furthermore, we demonstrate that all core PRC2 recruitment occurs through the combined action of MTF2-mediated recruitment of PRC2.1 to DNA and PRC1-mediated recruitment of JARID2-containing PRC2.2. Both axes of binding are supported by EED-H3K27me3 positive feedback, but to a different degree. Finally, we provide evidence that PRC1 and PRC2 mutually reinforce reciprocal binding. Together, these data disentangle the interdependent and cooperative interactions between Polycomb complexes that are important to establish Polycomb repression at target sites.
Project description:Polycomb Repressive Complex 2 (PRC2) plays an essential role in development by catalysing trimethylation of histone H3 lysine 27 (H3K27me3), resulting in gene repression. PRC2 consists of two sub-complexes, PRC2.1 and PRC2.2, in which the PRC2 core associates with distinct ancillary subunits such as MTF2 and JARID2, respectively. Both MTF2, present in PRC2.1, and JARID2, present in PRC2.2, play a role in core PRC2 recruitment to target genes in mouse embryonic stem cells (mESCs). However, it remains unclear how these distinct sub-complexes cooperate to establish H3K27me3 domains. Here, we combine a range of Polycomb mutant mESCs with chemical inhibition of PRC2 catalytic activity, to systematically dissect their relative contributions to PRC2 binding to target loci. We find that PRC2.1 and PRC2.2 mediate two distinct paths for recruitment, with mutually reinforced binding. Part of the cross-talk between PRC2.1 and PRC2.2 occurs via their catalytic product H3K27me3, which is bound by the PRC2 core-subunit EED, thereby mediating a positive feedback. Strikingly, removal of either JARID2 or H3K27me3 only has a minor effect on PRC2 recruitment, whereas their combined ablation largely attenuates PRC2 recruitment. This strongly suggests an unexpected redundancy between JARID2 and EED-H3K27me3-mediated recruitment of PRC2. Furthermore, we demonstrate that all core PRC2 recruitment occurs through the combined action of MTF2-mediated recruitment of PRC2.1 to DNA and PRC1-mediated recruitment of JARID2-containing PRC2.2. Both axes of binding are supported by EED-H3K27me3 positive feedback, but to a different degree. Finally, we provide evidence that PRC1 and PRC2 mutually reinforce reciprocal binding. Together, these data disentangle the interdependent and cooperative interactions between Polycomb complexes that are important to establish Polycomb repression at target sites.
Project description:The chromatin modifying activities inherent to polycomb repressive complexes PRC1 and PRC2 play an essential role in gene regulation, cellular differentiation, and development. However, the mechanisms by which these complexes recognize their target sites and function together to form repressive chromatin domains remain poorly understood. Recruitment of PRC1 to target sites has been proposed to occur through a hierarchical process, dependent on the prior nucleation of PRC2 and placement of H3K27me3. Here, using a de novo targeting assay in mouse embryonic stem cells we unexpectedly discover that PRC1-dependent H2AK119ub1 leads to the recruitment of PRC2 and H3K27me3 to effectively initiate a polycomb domain. Genetic ablation of catalytic subunit of the PRC1 complex (RINGA/B) and ChIP-seq analysis of PRC1 and PRC2 components confirmed genome-wide decreases in PRC2 occupancy and H3K27me3 levels at PRC target sites. This activity is restricted to variant PRC1 complexes and genetic ablation experiments reveal that targeting of the variant PCGF1/PRC1 complex by KDM2B to CpG islands is required for polycomb domain formation and normal development. Together these observations provide a surprising new PRC1-dependent logic for PRC2 occupancy and polycomb domain formation. RING1A-/-;RING1Bfl/fl ES cells were treated with 800M-BM-5M tamoxifen for 48hours and compared to untreated control cells by ChIP-seq for RING1B, SUZ12, EZH2 and H3K27me3.
Project description:The ground state of pluripotency is defined as a basal proliferative state free of epigenetic restriction, represented by mouse embryonic stem cells (ESCs) cultured with two kinase inhibitors (so-called “2i”). Through comparison with serum-grown ESCs, we identify epigenetic features characterizing 2i ESCs by proteome profiling of chromatin including post-translational histone modifications. The most prominent difference is H3K27me3 and its enzymatic writer complex PRC2 that are highly abundant on eu- and heterochromatin in 2i ESCs, with H3K27me3 redistributing outside canonical PRC2 targets in a CpG-dependent fashion. Using PRC2-deficient 2i ESCs, we identify epigenetic crosstalk with H3K27me3, including significant increases in H4 acetylation and DNA methylation. This suggests that the unique H3K27me3 configuration protects 2i ESCs from preparation to lineage priming. Interestingly, removal of DNA methylation in PRC2-deficient 2i ESCs lacking H3K27me3 using 5-azacytidine hardly affected ESC viability and transcriptome, showing that ESCs are independent of both major repressive epigenetic marks.
Project description:In this study, we report that EZHIP and H3 K27M preferentially interact with an allosterically activated form of PRC2 in vivo. The formation of H3 K27M- and EZHIP-PRC2 complexes occurs at CpG islands containing H3K27me3 and impedes PRC2 and H3K27me3 spreading. Moreover, we find that H3 K27M inhibits PRC2 in trans and can reduce H3K27me3 levels independent of chromatin incorporation. While EZHIP is not found outside of placental mammals, we find that expression of human EZHIP reduces H3K27me3 in Drosophila melanogaster through a conserved molecular mechanism. ATAC-seq chromatin accessibility profiling in drosophila S2 cells
Project description:In multicellular organisms, tri-methylation of lysine 27 of histone H3 (H3K27me3) was shown to be deposited by Polycomb Repressive Complex 2 (PRC2) to establish and maintain silencing, critical for cell fate and developmentally regulated processes. PRC2 complex is absent in both yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae and S. pombe which initially suggested that PRC2 arose with the emergence of multicellularity. However, its discovery in several microalgae questions its role in this important class of organisms. Here, we show using mutants of the homologue of catalytic unit of PRC2, enhancer of zeste E(z) in the model diatom P. tricornutum (Pt), which presents different morphotypes (fusiform, triradiate, oval and cruciform) that Pt E(z) is responsible of di and tri-methylation of lysine 27. Indeed, H3K27me3 depletion causes the distortion of the morphology providing evidence for a role of H3K27me3 in cell differentiation in unicellular species. H3K27me3 genome wide profiling in fusiform and triradiate further revealed genes important for cell identity. These results suggest a role of PRC2 and its associated mark in cell fate in unicellular species and their ancestral function in a broad evolutionary context.
Project description:The core Polycomb Repressor Complex 2 (PRC2) is composed of Ezh1/2, Suz12, Eed and is responsible for mediating both H3K27me2 and H3K27me3. However, the mechanisms by which PRC2 demarcates these two repressive modifications in the genome are unknown. In a functional screen, we identified the H3K36 dimethyltransferase Nsd1 as a modulator of PRC2-mediated di- and trimethylation of H3K27. ChIP-Seq analysis following the depletion of Nsd1 revealed a global reduction in H3K36me2 and an increase in H3K27me3 at sites previously marked by H3K27me2. We show that the H3K36me2 at H3K27me2 marks co-occupy regions and provide evidence that the presence of H3K36me2 functions to restrict the spatial distribution of Polycomb mediated H3K27me3 domains.
Project description:The core Polycomb Repressor Complex 2 (PRC2) is composed of Ezh1/2, Suz12, Eed and is responsible for mediating both H3K27me2 and H3K27me3. However, the mechanisms by which PRC2 demarcates these two repressive modifications in the genome are unknown. In a functional screen, we identified the H3K36 dimethyltransferase Nsd1 as a modulator of PRC2-mediated di- and trimethylation of H3K27. ChIP-Seq analysis following the depletion of Nsd1 revealed a global reduction in H3K36me2 and an increase in H3K27me3 at sites previously marked by H3K27me2. We show that the H3K36me2 at H3K27me2 marks co-occupy regions and provide evidence that the presence of H3K36me2 functions to restrict the spatial distribution of Polycomb mediated H3K27me3 domains.
Project description:The epigentic mechnism establised by PRC2 silece the target genes by H3K27me3. H3K27me3 ChIP-seq was performed in the core PRC2 components knockded down cells.