Project description:T cell development is accompanied by epigenetic changes that ensure the silencing of stem cell-related, and the activation of lymphocyte-specific programs. How transcription factors influence these changes remains unclear. We show that the Ikaros transcription factor interacts with the Polycomb Repressive Complex 2 (PRC2) in CD4-CD8- thymocytes, and allows its binding to >200 developmentally-regulated genes, many of which are expressed in hematopoietic stem cells. Loss of Ikaros in CD4-CD8- cells leads to diminished histone H3 Lys27 (H3K27) trimethylation and ectopic expression of these genes. Ikaros binding triggers PRC2 recruitment and H3K27 trimethylation. Furthermore, Ikaros interacts with PRC2 independently of the Nucleosome Remodeling and Deacetylation complex. Our results identify Ikaros as a fundamental regulator of PRC2 function in developing T cells. Genome-wide comparison of different histone modifications, Ikaros, Suz12 and NuRD binding in different stages of T cell development in WT and Ikaros mutant mice. Profiling of H3K27me3 in DN1, DN2, DN3, DN4 and DP thymocytes and hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells (LSK cells) of WT and Ikaros mutant mice. Profiling of H3K4me3 and H3ac in WT and Ikaros mutant DP thymocytes. Global analysis of Ikaros binding in WT DN3, DN4 and DP cells, Suz12 binding in WT and Ikaros mutant DN3 cells, and Mta2 and Mi2beta binding in WT DN3 cells. Genome-wide profiling of Ikaros binding and H3K27me3 upon Ikaros activation in Ikaros-deficient leukemic T cells.
Project description:DN3, DN4 and DP cells were sorted from 3-4 week old WT and mice and subjected to transcriptome analysis Cells from 3 mice were pooled for sorting.
Project description:In order to understand the molecular mechanisms of DN thymocyte development, it may be also of use to clarify how these developmental processes are regulated in terms of their entire gene expression, to which cell differentiation is ultimately ascribed. In the current study, we approached this issue by investigating gene expression profiles in discrete subsets of DN thymocytes under development, in which DN2, DN3, and DN4 thymocytes were sorted and subjected to expression profiling analysis with high-density oligonucleotide microarrays. Experiment Overall Design: The DN2, DN3, and DN4 populations were FACS-sorted from DN thymocytes harvested from four C57BL/6 mice and analyzed by Affymetrix® Mouse Genome 430 2.0 Array® for gene expression. Four independent experiments were performed using 16 mice.
Project description:Mitochondria and endoplasmic reticulum contacts (MERCs) regulate multiple cellular processes including cell survival and differentiation. Based on the observations that MERCs were specifically enriched in the CD4-CD8- double negative (DN) stage, we studied their role in early thymocyte development. We found that T-cell-specific knockout of Hspa9, which encodes GRP75, a chaperone mediates MERC formation by assembling the IP3R-GRP75-VDAC complex, impaired DN3 thymocyte viability and resulted in thymocyte developmental arrest at the DN3-DN4 transition. Mechanistically, GRP75 deficiency induced mitochondrial stress, releasing mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) into the cytosol and triggering the type I interferon (IFN-I) response. IFN-I pathway contributed to both the impairment of cell survival and DN3-DN4 transition blockage, while increased lipid peroxidation (LPO) played a major role downstream of IFN-I. Thus, our study reveals the essential role of GRP75-dependent MERCs in early thymocyte development and uncovers the governing facts of cellular survival and differentiation in the DN stage.
Project description:We performed microarray analysis of gene expression in WT and Ets1-/- CD4+ CD8+ DP thymocytes. Overall, we find that Ets1-/- thymocytes display gene expression signatures closer to previous stages of thymocyte development (e.g. DN3-4) than WT DP cells, suggesting that while these cells do become DP thymocytes in the absence of Ets1, that the latter is required for the upregulation of later T-cell genes and that its presence is required for the downregulation of genes corresponding to earlier and alternative stages of development.
Project description:Cell fate decisions depend on the interplay between chromatin regulators and transcription factors. Here we show that activity of the Mi-2u Nucleosome Remodeling and Deacetylase (NuRD) complex is controlled by the Ikaros family of lymphoid-lineage determining proteins. Ikaros, an integral component of the NuRD complex in lymphocytes, tethers this complex to active lymphoid differentiation genes, but keeps it in a functionally-poised state. Loss in Ikaros DNA binding activity causes a local increase in Mi-2u chromatin remodeling, histone deacetylation and suppression of lymphoid gene expression. The NuRD complex also redistributes to transcriptionally-poised non-Ikaros gene targets, involved in proliferation and metabolism, inducing their re-activation. Thus release of NuRD from Ikaros regulation blocks lymphocyte maturation and mediates progression to a leukemic state by engaging functionally-opposing epigenetic mechanisms and genetic networks. We used microarrays to detail the global programme of gene expression of mouse DP thymocyte after Ikaros inactivation with dominant negative of Ik at different stage. 8 samples (mouse DP thymocytes from wt, and different stage after Ikaros inactivation) are analyzed Mouse Microarray Expression platforms, Affymetrix Mouse 430 2.0. Examination of different histone modifications and binding sites for Ikaros, Mi2beta in wild type DP thymocytes, and Ikaros knockout thymocytes.
Project description:The (pro)renin receptor (PRR) was originally thought to be important in regulating blood pressure via the renin-angiotensin system (RAS), however it is emerging that PRR is instead generally essential for cellular development via its involvement in Wnt signalling. Here, we have specifically deleted PRR from T cells, which require Wnt for their development. T cell-specific PRR-knockout (cKO) mice (ATP6AP2flox/y;Lck-CRE) had a significant decrease in thymic cellularity, corresponding with a 100-fold decrease in the number of CD4+ and CD8+ thymocytes, and a large increase in double negative (DN) precursors. Further characterisation of DN T cell progenitors revealed that deletion of PRR impaired T cell development at multiple stages; including transition from DN3(CD25+CD44-) - DN4(CD25-CD44-), DN4-CD4+ CD8+ double positive (DP), DP-intermediate single positive (CD3-CD8+ ISP) cells. We performed gene expression analysis on sorted DN3 T cells, which indicated that PRR cKO T cells have perturbations in key cellular pathways essential at the DN3 stage, such as RNA processing and translation. Our study identifies a new role for PRR in multiple facets of T cell development, and gives further support to the notion that PRR is generally essential for cellular development.