Project description:In mammals, the 5’-methylcytosine (5mC) modification in the genomic DNA contributes to the dynamic control of gene expression. 5mC erasure is required for the activation of developmental programs and occurs either by passive dilution through DNA replication, or by enzymatic oxidation of the methyl mark to 5-hydroxymethylcytosine (5hmC), followed by passive dilution or further oxidation and active removal. For most biological systems, the relative contribution of active and passive processes of 5mC and 5hmC erasure to the regulation of cell physiology remains poorly defined. Using primary human T lymphocytes as a model of activation-driven cell proliferation and differentiation, we found that DNA demethylation-dependent processes were central in the efficient acquisition of cytokine gene expression by T lymphocytes. As for the underlying mechanism, T cells appeared to rely primarily on the conversion of 5mC into 5hmC, followed by passive, replication-dependent dilution of the 5hmC mark, although active 5hmC removal also occurred during the early stages of activation of naïve, but not memory T lymphocytes. Our data are consistent with a model in which 5hmC is required in quiescent naive T lymphocytes for the establishment and maintenance of regulatory regions poised for rapid response to physiological stimuli. However, cell cycle progression is the primary mechanism to relieve epigenetic constraints in memory T cells.
Project description:The 5-carbon position on cytosine nucleotides preceding guanines in genomic DNA (CpG) are common targets for DNA methylation (5mC). Genomic locations enriched for 5mC contribute to the regulation of chromatin structure and gene expression. While largely stable, massive waves of DNA demethylation are observed in key developmental windows in mammals. Additionally, DNA methylation is therapeutically targeted in cancer via DNA methyltransferase inhibition, in part to reverse abnormal silencing of tumor suppressor genes. DNA methylation removal can occur through both active and passive mechanisms. Ten-eleven translocation enzymes (TETs) oxidize 5mC in a stepwise manner to 5-hydroxymethylcytosine (5hmC), 5-formylcytosine (5fC), and 5-carboxylcytosine (5caC). These oxidized cytosine forms have reported function in gene regulation and also serve as intermediates in an active 5mC removal process that involves the base excision repair pathway. 5mC can also be removed passively through sequential cell divisions in the absence of DNA methylation maintenance. Distinguishing active versus passive 5mC removal on a genome-wide scale remains a challenge. In this chapter, we describe approaches that couple TET-assisted bisulfite (TAB) and oxidative bisulfite (OxBS) conversion to the Illumina MethylationEPIC BeadChIP (EPIC array) and show how these technologies can be used to distinguish active versus passive DNA demethylation. We also describe integrative bioinformatics pipelines to facilitate this analysis.
Project description:The TET family of dioxygenases catalyze conversion of 5-methylcytosine (5mC) to 5-hydroxymethylcytosine (5hmC), but their involvement in establishing normal 5mC patterns during mammalian development and their contributions to aberrant control of 5mC during cellular transformation remains largely unknown. We depleted TET1, TET2, and TET3 by siRNA in a pluripotent embryonic carcinoma cell model and examined the impact on genome-wide 5mC and 5hmC patterns. TET1 depletion yielded widespread reduction of 5hmC, while depletion of TET2 and TET3 reduced 5hmC at a subset of TET1 targets suggesting functional co-dependence. TET2 or TET3-depletion also caused increased 5hmC, suggesting they play a major role in 5hmC removal. All TETs prevent hypermethylation throughout the genome, a finding dramatically illustrated in CpG island shores, where TET depletion resulted in prolific hypermethylation. Surprisingly, TETs also promote methylation, as hypomethylation was associated with 5hmC reduction. TET function was highly specific to chromatin environment: 5hmC maintenance by all TETs occurred at polycomb-marked chromatin and genes expressed at moderate levels; 5hmC removal by TET2 is associated with highly transcribed genes enriched for H3K4me3 and H3K36me3. Importantly, genes prone to hypermethylation in cancer become depleted of 5hmC with TET deficiency, suggesting the TETs normally promote 5hmC at these loci, and all three TETs are required for 5hmC enrichment at enhancers, a condition necessary for expression of adjacent genes. These results provide novel insight into the division of labor among TET proteins and reveal an important connection of TET activity with chromatin landscape and gene expression. Affymetrix gene expression Human ST1.0 microarray of NCCIT human embryonic carcinoma cells (4 samples in duplicate).
Project description:The TET family of dioxygenases catalyze conversion of 5-methylcytosine (5mC) to 5-hydroxymethylcytosine (5hmC), but their involvement in establishing normal 5mC patterns during mammalian development and their contributions to aberrant control of 5mC during cellular transformation remains largely unknown. We depleted TET1, TET2, and TET3 by siRNA in a pluripotent embryonic carcinoma cell model and examined the impact on genome-wide 5mC and 5hmC patterns. TET1 depletion yielded widespread reduction of 5hmC, while depletion of TET2 and TET3 reduced 5hmC at a subset of TET1 targets suggesting functional co-dependence. TET2 or TET3-depletion also caused increased 5hmC, suggesting they play a major role in 5hmC removal. All TETs prevent hypermethylation throughout the genome, a finding dramatically illustrated in CpG island shores, where TET depletion resulted in prolific hypermethylation. Surprisingly, TETs also promote methylation, as hypomethylation was associated with 5hmC reduction. TET function was highly specific to chromatin environment: 5hmC maintenance by all TETs occurred at polycomb-marked chromatin and genes expressed at moderate levels; 5hmC removal by TET2 is associated with highly transcribed genes enriched for H3K4me3 and H3K36me3. Importantly, genes prone to hypermethylation in cancer become depleted of 5hmC with TET deficiency, suggesting the TETs normally promote 5hmC at these loci, and all three TETs are required for 5hmC enrichment at enhancers, a condition necessary for expression of adjacent genes. These results provide novel insight into the division of labor among TET proteins and reveal an important connection of TET activity with chromatin landscape and gene expression. Methylation and hydroxymethylation profiling by affinity-based high throughput sequencing
Project description:The TET family of dioxygenases catalyze conversion of 5-methylcytosine (5mC) to 5-hydroxymethylcytosine (5hmC), but their involvement in establishing normal 5mC patterns during mammalian development and their contributions to aberrant control of 5mC during cellular transformation remains largely unknown. We depleted TET1, TET2, and TET3 by siRNA in a pluripotent embryonic carcinoma cell model and examined the impact on genome-wide 5mC and 5hmC patterns. TET1 depletion yielded widespread reduction of 5hmC, while depletion of TET2 and TET3 reduced 5hmC at a subset of TET1 targets suggesting functional co-dependence. TET2 or TET3-depletion also caused increased 5hmC, suggesting they play a major role in 5hmC removal. All TETs prevent hypermethylation throughout the genome, a finding dramatically illustrated in CpG island shores, where TET depletion resulted in prolific hypermethylation. Surprisingly, TETs also promote methylation, as hypomethylation was associated with 5hmC reduction. TET function was highly specific to chromatin environment: 5hmC maintenance by all TETs occurred at polycomb-marked chromatin and genes expressed at moderate levels; 5hmC removal by TET2 is associated with highly transcribed genes enriched for H3K4me3 and H3K36me3. Importantly, genes prone to hypermethylation in cancer become depleted of 5hmC with TET deficiency, suggesting the TETs normally promote 5hmC at these loci, and all three TETs are required for 5hmC enrichment at enhancers, a condition necessary for expression of adjacent genes. These results provide novel insight into the division of labor among TET proteins and reveal an important connection of TET activity with chromatin landscape and gene expression.
Project description:The TET family of dioxygenases catalyze conversion of 5-methylcytosine (5mC) to 5-hydroxymethylcytosine (5hmC), but their involvement in establishing normal 5mC patterns during mammalian development and their contributions to aberrant control of 5mC during cellular transformation remains largely unknown. We depleted TET1, TET2, and TET3 by siRNA in a pluripotent embryonic carcinoma cell model and examined the impact on genome-wide 5mC and 5hmC patterns. TET1 depletion yielded widespread reduction of 5hmC, while depletion of TET2 and TET3 reduced 5hmC at a subset of TET1 targets suggesting functional co-dependence. TET2 or TET3-depletion also caused increased 5hmC, suggesting they play a major role in 5hmC removal. All TETs prevent hypermethylation throughout the genome, a finding dramatically illustrated in CpG island shores, where TET depletion resulted in prolific hypermethylation. Surprisingly, TETs also promote methylation, as hypomethylation was associated with 5hmC reduction. TET function was highly specific to chromatin environment: 5hmC maintenance by all TETs occurred at polycomb-marked chromatin and genes expressed at moderate levels; 5hmC removal by TET2 is associated with highly transcribed genes enriched for H3K4me3 and H3K36me3. Importantly, genes prone to hypermethylation in cancer become depleted of 5hmC with TET deficiency, suggesting the TETs normally promote 5hmC at these loci, and all three TETs are required for 5hmC enrichment at enhancers, a condition necessary for expression of adjacent genes. These results provide novel insight into the division of labor among TET proteins and reveal an important connection of TET activity with chromatin landscape and gene expression.
Project description:To elucidate the role of DNA glycosylase NEIL2 in regulation of DNA methylome, we performed genome sequencing of epigenetic marker 5mC and 5hmC in genome-wide using enyme-based library methods of TAPS and CAPS. The 5mC and 5hmC profile in CpG contect was further extracted and analysed.
Project description:Oxidative modification of 5-methylcytosine (5mC) by TET DNA dioxygenases generates 5-hydroxymethylcytosine (5hmC), the most abundant form of oxidized 5mC. Existing single-cell bisulfite sequencing methods cannot resolve 5mC and 5hmC, leaving the cell-type-specific regulatory mechanisms of TET and 5hmC largely unknown. Here we present Joint single-nucleus (hydroxy)methylcytosine sequencing (Joint-snhmC-seq), a scalable and quantitative approach that simultaneously profiles 5hmC and true 5mC in single cells by harnessing differential deaminase activity of APOBEC3A towards 5mC and chemically protected 5hmC. Joint-snhmC-seq profiling of single nuclei from the mouse brains reveals an unprecedented level of epigenetic heterogeneity of both 5hmC and true 5mC at single-cell resolution. We show that cell-type-specific profiles of 5hmC or true 5mC improve multi-modal single-cell data integration, enable accurate identification of neuronal subtypes, and uncover context-specific regulatory effects of cell-type-specific genes by TET enzymes.
Project description:Oxidative modification of 5-methylcytosine (5mC) by TET DNA dioxygenases generates 5-hydroxymethylcytosine (5hmC), the most abundant form of oxidized 5mC. Existing single-cell bisulfite sequencing methods cannot resolve 5mC and 5hmC, leaving the cell-type-specific regulatory mechanisms of TET and 5hmC largely unknown. Here we present Joint single-nucleus (hydroxy)methylcytosine sequencing (Joint-snhmC-seq), a scalable and quantitative approach that simultaneously profiles 5hmC and true 5mC in single cells by harnessing differential deaminase activity of APOBEC3A towards 5mC and chemically protected 5hmC. Joint-snhmC-seq profiling of single nuclei from the mouse brains reveals an unprecedented level of epigenetic heterogeneity of both 5hmC and true 5mC at single-cell resolution. We show that cell-type-specific profiles of 5hmC or true 5mC improve multi-modal single-cell data integration, enable accurate identification of neuronal subtypes, and uncover context-specific regulatory effects of cell-type-specific genes by TET enzymes.
Project description:Genomic DNA was prepared, fragmented, and immunoprecipitated with antibodies specific for 5mC or 5hmC prior to standard sequencing. The neurodegenerative disease known as ataxia-telangiectasia (A-T) is caused by the absence of the ATM (A-T mutated) protein. A long-standing mystery surrounding A-T is why cerebellar Purkinje cells (PCs) appear uniquely vulnerable to ATM-deficiency. Here, we present that 5-hydroxymethylcytosine (5hmC), a newly recognized epigenetic marker found at high levels in neurons, is substantially reduced in human A-T and Atm-/- mouse cerebellar PCs. TET1, an enzyme that converts 5mC to 5hmC, responds to DNA damage. Manipulation of TET1 activity directly affects neuronal cell cycle reentry and cell death after the induction of DNA damage. Quantitative, genome-wide analysis of 5hmC of samples from human cerebellum showed that in ATM-deficiency there is a remarkable genome-wide reduction of 5hmC enrichment at both proximal and distal regulatory elements. These results reveal a role of TET1-mediated 5hmC in DNA damage response, and provide insights into the basis of a PC-specific DNA demethylation alteration in ATM-deficiency. There are two groups, A-T and Control. For each group, cerebellar DNA samples were immunoprecipitated with anti-5mC (n=1) or anti-5hmC (n=3). There were also two replicates of input control for each group.