Project description:Single Cell RNA sequencing using 10x Genomics 3' v2 chemistry assessing the consequence of Bax/Atoh7 loss of function on retinal ganglion cell development and retinal development
Project description:Atoh7 has been believed to be essential for establishing the retinal ganglion cell (RGC) lineage, and Pou4f2 and Isl1 are known to regulate RGC specification and differentiation. Here we report our further study of the roles of these transcription factors. Using bulk RNA-seq, we identify genes regulated by the three transcription factors, which expand our understanding of the scope of downstream events. Using scRNA-seq on wild-type and mutant retinal cells, we reveal a transitional cell state of retinal progenitor cells (RPCs) co-marked by Atoh7 and other genes for different lineages and shared by all early retinal lineages. We further discover the unexpected emergence of the RGC lineage in the absence of Atoh7. We conclude that competence of RPCs for different retinal fates is defined by lineage-specific genes co-expressed in the transitional state and that Atoh7 defines the RGC competence and collaborates with other factors to shepherd transitional RPCs to the RGC lineage.
Project description:The retinal ganglion cell (RGC) competence factor ATOH7 is dynamically expressed during retinal histogenesis. ATOH7 transcription is controlled by a promoter-adjacent primary enhancer and a remote shadow enhancer (SE). Deletion of the ATOH7 human SE causes non‑syndromic congenital retinal non-attachment (NCRNA) disease, characterized by optic nerve aplasia and total blindness. We used genome editing to model NCRNA in mice. Deletion of the murine SE reduces Atoh7 mRNA >5-fold, but does not recapitulate optic nerve loss; however, SEdel/KO (knockout) trans heterozygotes have thin optic nerves. By analyzing Atoh7 mRNA and protein levels, RGC development and survival, and chromatin landscape effects, we show how the SE ensures robust Atoh7 transcriptional output. Combining SE deletion, KO and wild-type alleles in a genotypic series, we determined the amount of Atoh7 needed to produce a normal complement of adult RGCs, and the secondary consequences of graded reductions in Atoh7 dosage. Together these data reveal the workings of an evolutionary fail-safe, a duplicate enhancer mechanism hard-wired in the machinery of vertebrate retinal ganglion cell genesis.
Project description:During retinogenesis, the proneural bHLH transcription factor Atoh7 is transiently expressed in retinal progenitor cells (RPCs) and is required for retinal ganglion cell (RGC) differentiation. In humans, a deletion in a distal non-coding regulatory region upstream of ATOH7 is associated with nonsyndromic congenital retinal nonattachment (NCRNA) disorder, characterized by optic nerve atrophy and complete blindness. Here we functionally interrogate the significance of the Atoh7 enhancer landscape to retinogenesis. We demonstrate that deletion of the enhancer structure upstream of Atoh7 in mice leads to RGC deficiency, optic nerve hypoplasia and blood vascular abnormalities, phenocopying inactivation of Atoh7 and recapitulating key features of NCRNA. We further provide evidence that the loss of the Atoh7 remote enhancer impacts ipsilaterally-projecting RGCs and disrupts proper axonal projections to the brain targets. Transcriptionally, deletion of the Atoh7 remote enhancer is associated with dysregulation of axonogenesis genes, including the derepression of the axon repulsive cue Robo3 which is normally epigenetically silenced in the developing retina. Our data provide novel insights into how Atoh7 enhancer elements function to promote RGC development and optic nerve formation and uncover a key role of Atoh7 in the transcriptional control of axon guidance molecules possibly via epigenetic mechanisms.
Project description:During retinogenesis, the proneural bHLH transcription factor Atoh7 is transiently expressed in retinal progenitor cells (RPCs) and is required for retinal ganglion cell (RGC) differentiation. In humans, a deletion in a distal non-coding regulatory region upstream of ATOH7 is associated with nonsyndromic congenital retinal nonattachment (NCRNA) disorder, characterized by optic nerve atrophy and complete blindness. Here we functionally interrogate the significance of the Atoh7 enhancer landscape to retinogenesis. We demonstrate that deletion of the enhancer structure upstream of Atoh7 in mice leads to RGC deficiency, optic nerve hypoplasia and blood vascular abnormalities, phenocopying inactivation of Atoh7 and recapitulating key features of NCRNA. We further provide evidence that the loss of the Atoh7 remote enhancer impacts ipsilaterally-projecting RGCs and disrupts proper axonal projections to the brain targets. Transcriptionally, deletion of the Atoh7 remote enhancer is associated with dysregulation of axonogenesis genes, including the derepression of the axon repulsive cue Robo3 which is normally epigenetically silenced in the developing retina. Our data provide novel insights into how Atoh7 enhancer elements function to promote RGC development and optic nerve formation and uncover a key role of Atoh7 in the transcriptional control of axon guidance molecules possibly via epigenetic mechanisms.
Project description:During retinogenesis, the proneural bHLH transcription factor Atoh7 is transiently expressed in retinal progenitor cells (RPCs) and is required for retinal ganglion cell (RGC) differentiation. In humans, a deletion in a distal non-coding regulatory region upstream of ATOH7 is associated with nonsyndromic congenital retinal nonattachment (NCRNA) disorder, characterized by optic nerve atrophy and complete blindness. Here we functionally interrogate the significance of the Atoh7 enhancer landscape to retinogenesis. We demonstrate that deletion of the enhancer structure upstream of Atoh7 in mice leads to RGC deficiency, optic nerve hypoplasia and blood vascular abnormalities, phenocopying inactivation of Atoh7 and recapitulating key features of NCRNA. We further provide evidence that the loss of the Atoh7 remote enhancer impacts ipsilaterally-projecting RGCs and disrupts proper axonal projections to the brain targets. Transcriptionally, deletion of the Atoh7 remote enhancer is associated with dysregulation of axonogenesis genes, including the derepression of the axon repulsive cue Robo3 which is normally epigenetically silenced in the developing retina. Our data provide novel insights into how Atoh7 enhancer elements function to promote RGC development and optic nerve formation and uncover a key role of Atoh7 in the transcriptional control of axon guidance molecules possibly via epigenetic mechanisms.