Project description:The core cell cycle machinery genes are transcriptionally regulated by the MuvB family of protein complexes in a cell cycle specific manner. During cell cycle exit in quiescence or senescence, the DREAM complex, which is the repressive form of MuvB, directs transcriptional repression of cell cycle genes; conversely during cell proliferation, the complex of MuvB with the transcription factors (TFs) B-MYB and FOXM1 activate mitotic genes during the G2 phase of the cell cycle. The mechanisms of transcriptional regulation of these complexes are still poorly characterised. Here we combine biochemical analysis and in vitro reconstitution, with structural analysis by cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM) and cross-linking mass spectrometry (XL-MS), to functionally examine these complexes. Our data suggests that MuvB is a chromatin regulator whereby a core region binds the nucleosome and remodels it, thereby exposing nucleosomal DNA. This remodelling activity is supported by B-MYB which directly binds the remodelled DNA. Given the remodelling activity on the nucleosome, we propose that the MuvB complex with B-MYB (MMB) function as a pioneer transcription factor complex. Our data rationalises prior biochemical and cellular studies and provides a molecular framework of interactions on a protein complex, which is key for cell cycle regulation.
Project description:Glucocorticoid hormone plays a major role in metabolism and many related diseases. The hormone-bound glucocorticoid receptor (GR) binds to a specific set of enhancers in different cell types, resulting in unique patterns of gene expression. GR-responsive enhancers have an accessible chromatin structure prior to hormone treatment (“pre-programmed”), whereas unresponsive enhancers specific to other cell types are inaccessible and inactive. Here we have addressed the role of chromatin structure in cell-specific GR-enhancer programming by precise mapping of nucleosome positions in mouse adenocarcinoma cells. We show that, before hormone treatment, some pre-programmed GR-enhancers are nucleosome-depleted, associated with the Brg1 chromatin remodeler and flanked by nucleosomes exchanging histones H2A.Z and H2A. However, most pre-programmed GR-enhancers are assembled into a nucleosome that exchanges H2A.Z and H2A, with little or no Brg1. After hormone treatment, nucleosomes at both types of pre-programmed GR-enhancer shift apart, coinciding with increased levels of Brg1, and continue to exchange H2A.Z and H2A. Hormone removal rapidly reverses these nucleosome shifts. In contrast, inactive GR-enhancers are nucleosomal, lack Brg1, do not exchange H2A.Z or H2A and do not respond to hormone. Thus, pre-programmed GR-enhancers are marked by a dynamic, mutable chromatin structure characterized by high levels of H2A.Z exchange. We propose that nucleosome-depleted GR-enhancers result from the binding of other transcription factors together with Brg1 to assist loading of GR after hormone treatment. At nucleosomal enhancers, GR binding may be directly facilitated by increased transient exposure of enhancer DNA associated with H2A.Z exchange.
Project description:The packaging of DNA into nucleosomes influences the accessibility of underlying regulatory information. Nucleosome occupancy and positioning are best characterized in the budding yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae, albeit in asynchronous cell populations or on individual promoters such as PHO5 and GAL1–10. Using FAIRE (formaldehyde-assisted isolation of regulatory elements) and whole-genome microarrays, we examined changes in nucleosome occupancy throughout the mitotic cell cycle in synchronized populations of S. cerevisiae. Perhaps surprisingly, nucleosome occupancy did not exhibit large, global variation between cell cycle phases. However, nucleosome occupancy at the promoters of cell cycle–regulated genes was reduced specifically at the cell cycle phase in which that gene exhibited peak expression, with the notable exception of S-phase genes. We present data that establish FAIRE as a high-throughput method for assaying nucleosome occupancy. For the first time in any system, nucleosome occupancy was mapped genome-wide throughout the cell cycle. Fluctuation of nucleosome occupancy at promoters of most cell cycle–regulated genes provides independent evidence that periodic expression of these genes is controlled mainly at the level of transcription. The promoters of G2/M genes are distinguished from other cell cycle promoters by an unusually low baseline nucleosome occupancy throughout the cell cycle. This observation, coupled with the maintenance throughout the cell cycle of the stereotypic nucleosome occupancy states between coding and non-coding loci, suggests that the largest component of variation in nucleosome occupancy is “hard wired,” perhaps at the level of DNA sequence. Keywords: FAIRE
Project description:The packaging of DNA into nucleosomes influences the accessibility of underlying regulatory information. Nucleosome occupancy and positioning are best characterized in the budding yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae, albeit in asynchronous cell populations or on individual promoters such as PHO5 and GAL1–10. Using FAIRE (formaldehyde-assisted isolation of regulatory elements) and whole-genome microarrays, we examined changes in nucleosome occupancy throughout the mitotic cell cycle in synchronized populations of S. cerevisiae. Perhaps surprisingly, nucleosome occupancy did not exhibit large, global variation between cell cycle phases. However, nucleosome occupancy at the promoters of cell cycle–regulated genes was reduced specifically at the cell cycle phase in which that gene exhibited peak expression, with the notable exception of S-phase genes. We present data that establish FAIRE as a high-throughput method for assaying nucleosome occupancy. For the first time in any system, nucleosome occupancy was mapped genome-wide throughout the cell cycle. Fluctuation of nucleosome occupancy at promoters of most cell cycle–regulated genes provides independent evidence that periodic expression of these genes is controlled mainly at the level of transcription. The promoters of G2/M genes are distinguished from other cell cycle promoters by an unusually low baseline nucleosome occupancy throughout the cell cycle. This observation, coupled with the maintenance throughout the cell cycle of the stereotypic nucleosome occupancy states between coding and non-coding loci, suggests that the largest component of variation in nucleosome occupancy is “hard wired,” perhaps at the level of DNA sequence. Keywords: FAIRE
Project description:The packaging of DNA into nucleosomes influences the accessibility of underlying regulatory information. Nucleosome occupancy and positioning are best characterized in the budding yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae, albeit in asynchronous cell populations or on individual promoters such as PHO5 and GAL1–10. Using FAIRE (formaldehyde-assisted isolation of regulatory elements) and whole-genome microarrays, we examined changes in nucleosome occupancy throughout the mitotic cell cycle in synchronized populations of S. cerevisiae. Perhaps surprisingly, nucleosome occupancy did not exhibit large, global variation between cell cycle phases. However, nucleosome occupancy at the promoters of cell cycle–regulated genes was reduced specifically at the cell cycle phase in which that gene exhibited peak expression, with the notable exception of S-phase genes. We present data that establish FAIRE as a high-throughput method for assaying nucleosome occupancy. For the first time in any system, nucleosome occupancy was mapped genome-wide throughout the cell cycle. Fluctuation of nucleosome occupancy at promoters of most cell cycle–regulated genes provides independent evidence that periodic expression of these genes is controlled mainly at the level of transcription. The promoters of G2/M genes are distinguished from other cell cycle promoters by an unusually low baseline nucleosome occupancy throughout the cell cycle. This observation, coupled with the maintenance throughout the cell cycle of the stereotypic nucleosome occupancy states between coding and non-coding loci, suggests that the largest component of variation in nucleosome occupancy is “hard wired,” perhaps at the level of DNA sequence. Keywords: FAIRE
Project description:Glucocorticoids (GCs) are a crucial component of effective treatment for acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). GCs exert their functions through the glucocorticoid receptor (GR), a ligand-activated transcription factor (TF). Chromatin occupancy, chromatin-protein networks and gene programmes of GR are regulated by SUMOylation, which has therapeutic implications in other hematomalignancies. To unravel the GR-SUMO crosstalk in ALL, we induced a hypoSUMOylated state in NALM6 ALL cells with a SUMOylation inhibitor (ML-792). Genome-wide profiling of GR and SUMO binding and chromatin accessibility revealed that hypoSUMOylation augmented GR chromatin occupancy and altered chromatin openness upon dexamethasone (Dex) exposure. Association with transcriptome data indicated that on the novel binding sites GR predominantly suppressed target gene expression. Chromatin-proteomic analyses identified a substantial number of shared TFs and coregulators associated with chromatin-bound GR and SUMO. The chromatin-protein network of GR contained several TFs with corresponding binding motifs found on GR-adjacent chromatin sites, implying their simultaneous presence on chromatin. Cell cycle and proliferation analyses indicated that hypoSUMOylation potentiated Dex-induced cell cycle arrest and suppressed NALM6 cell proliferation, complementing the significant expression changes of cell cycle-related genes in our transcriptome data. Our work provides a valuable resource of GR chromatin partners and implies potential for targeting SUMOylation to increase sensitivity to GCs in ALL.
Project description:Glucocorticoids (GCs) are a crucial component of effective treatment for acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). GCs exert their functions through the glucocorticoid receptor (GR), a ligand-activated transcription factor (TF). Chromatin occupancy, chromatin-protein networks and gene programmes of GR are regulated by SUMOylation, which has therapeutic implications in other hematomalignancies. To unravel the GR-SUMO crosstalk in ALL, we induced a hypoSUMOylated state in NALM6 ALL cells with a SUMOylation inhibitor (ML-792). Genome-wide profiling of GR and SUMO binding and chromatin accessibility revealed that hypoSUMOylation augmented GR chromatin occupancy and altered chromatin openness upon dexamethasone (Dex) exposure. Association with transcriptome data indicated that on the novel binding sites GR predominantly suppressed target gene expression. Chromatin-proteomic analyses identified a substantial number of shared TFs and coregulators associated with chromatin-bound GR and SUMO. The chromatin-protein network of GR contained several TFs with corresponding binding motifs found on GR-adjacent chromatin sites, implying their simultaneous presence on chromatin. Cell cycle and proliferation analyses indicated that hypoSUMOylation potentiated Dex-induced cell cycle arrest and suppressed NALM6 cell proliferation, complementing the significant expression changes of cell cycle-related genes in our transcriptome data. Our work provides a valuable resource of GR chromatin partners and implies potential for targeting SUMOylation to increase sensitivity to GCs in ALL.
Project description:Glucocorticoids (GCs) are a crucial component of effective treatment for acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). GCs exert their functions through the glucocorticoid receptor (GR), a ligand-activated transcription factor (TF). Chromatin occupancy, chromatin-protein networks and gene programmes of GR are regulated by SUMOylation, which has therapeutic implications in other hematomalignancies. To unravel the GR-SUMO crosstalk in ALL, we induced a hypoSUMOylated state in NALM6 ALL cells with a SUMOylation inhibitor (ML-792). Genome-wide profiling of GR and SUMO binding and chromatin accessibility revealed that hypoSUMOylation augmented GR chromatin occupancy and altered chromatin openness upon dexamethasone (Dex) exposure. Association with transcriptome data indicated that on the novel binding sites GR predominantly suppressed target gene expression. Chromatin-proteomic analyses identified a substantial number of shared TFs and coregulators associated with chromatin-bound GR and SUMO. The chromatin-protein network of GR contained several TFs with corresponding binding motifs found on GR-adjacent chromatin sites, implying their simultaneous presence on chromatin. Cell cycle and proliferation analyses indicated that hypoSUMOylation potentiated Dex-induced cell cycle arrest and suppressed NALM6 cell proliferation, complementing the significant expression changes of cell cycle-related genes in our transcriptome data. Our work provides a valuable resource of GR chromatin partners and implies potential for targeting SUMOylation to increase sensitivity to GCs in ALL.
Project description:We identified the cell cycle-regulated mRNA transcripts genome-wide in the osteosarcoma derived U2OS cell line. This resulted in 2,140 transcripts mapping to 1,871 unique cell cycle-regulated genes that show periodic oscillations across multiple synchronous cell cycles. We identified genomic loci bound by the G2/M transcription factor FOXM1 by Chromatin immunoprecipitation followed by high-throughput sequencing (ChIP-seq) and associated these with cell cycle-regulated genes. FOXM1 was bound to cell cycle-regulated genes with peak expression in both S phase and G2/M phases. ChIP-seq genomic loci were shown to be responsive to FOXM1 using a real-time luciferase assay in live cells, showing that FOXM1 strongly activates promoters of G2/M phase genes and weakly activates those induced in S phase. Analysis of ChIP-seq data from a panel of cell cycle-transcription factors (E2F1, E2F4, E2F6, and GABPA) from ENCODE and ChIP-seq data for the DREAM complex, found that a set of core cell cycle genes regulated in both U2OS and HeLa cells are bound by multiple cell cycle transcription factors. These data identify the cell cycle regulated genes in a second cancer derived cell line and provide a comprehensive picture of the transcriptional regulatory systems controlling periodic gene expression in the human cell division cycle.