Project description:A switch from MYC expression in bone marrow progenitors to MYCL expression in terminal dendrtitic cell (DC) subsets occurs during DC development. The present study identifies the precise stage during DC development when this switch occurs, and identifies a role for IRF8 in control of this switch. IRF8 is found to be required for both MYC repression and MYCL induction during DC specification in vivo.
Project description:Type I interferons (IFN) are crucial mediators of human innate and adaptive immunity and are massively produced from plasmacytoid dendritic cells (pDC). IRF7 is a critical regulator of type I IFN production when pathogens are detected by TLR7/9 in pDC. However, hyperactivation of pDC can cause life-threatening autoimmune diseases. To avoid the deleterious effects of aberrant pDC activation, tight regulation of IRF7 is required. Nonetheless, the detailed mechanisms of how IRF7 transcription is regulated in pDC are still elusive. To this end, we identified the global gene expression changes after stimulation of human primary pDC with the TLR9 agonist CpGB. We identified that the transcription factor MYC is prominently upregulated upon CpGB engagement in pDC. Moreover, when we knocked down MYC in the pDC-like cell line GEN2.2, production of interferon-stimulated genes (ISGs) was dramatically increased and was further enhanced by CpGB. Interestingly, MYC is shown to be recruited to the IRF7 promoter region through interaction with NCOR2/HDAC3 for its repression, and HDAC3 inhibition enhanced IRF7 expression and IFNβ production. Interestingly, activation of TLR9-mediated NF-kB and MAPK and nuclear translocation of IRF7 were greatly enhanced by MYC depletion. Pharmaceutical inhibition of MYC recovered IRF7 expression, further confirming the negative role of MYC in the antiviral response by pDC. Furthermore, the inverse correlation of MYC and IRF7 was validated in psoriasis skin sample datasets. Therefore, our results identify the novel immunomodulatory role of MYC in human pDC and may add to our understanding of aberrant pDC function in autoimmune diseases.
Project description:Type I interferons (IFN) are crucial mediators of human innate and adaptive immunity and are massively produced from plasmacytoid dendritic cells (pDC). IRF7 is a critical regulator of type I IFN production when pathogens are detected by TLR7/9 in pDC. However, hyperactivation of pDC can cause life-threatening autoimmune diseases. To avoid the deleterious effects of aberrant pDC activation, tight regulation of IRF7 is required. Nonetheless, the detailed mechanisms of how IRF7 transcription is regulated in pDC are still elusive. To this end, we identified the global gene expression changes after stimulation of human primary pDC with the TLR9 agonist CpGB. We identified that the transcription factor MYC is prominently upregulated upon CpGB engagement in pDC. Moreover, when we knocked down MYC in the pDC-like cell line GEN2.2, production of interferon-stimulated genes (ISGs) was dramatically increased and was further enhanced by CpGB. Interestingly, MYC is shown to be recruited to the IRF7 promoter region through interaction with NCOR2/HDAC3 for its repression, and HDAC3 inhibition enhanced IRF7 expression and IFNβ production. Interestingly, activation of TLR9-mediated NF-kB and MAPK and nuclear translocation of IRF7 were greatly enhanced by MYC depletion. Pharmaceutical inhibition of MYC recovered IRF7 expression, further confirming the negative role of MYC in the antiviral response by pDC. Furthermore, the inverse correlation of MYC and IRF7 was validated in psoriasis skin sample datasets. Therefore, our results identify the novel immunomodulatory role of MYC in human pDC and may add to our understanding of aberrant pDC function in autoimmune diseases.
Project description:Type I interferons (IFN) are crucial mediators of human innate and adaptive immunity and are massively produced from plasmacytoid dendritic cells (pDC). IRF7 is a critical regulator of type I IFN production when pathogens are detected by TLR7/9 in pDC. However, hyperactivation of pDC can cause life-threatening autoimmune diseases. To avoid the deleterious effects of aberrant pDC activation, tight regulation of IRF7 is required. Nonetheless, the detailed mechanisms of how IRF7 transcription is regulated in pDC are still elusive. To this end, we identified the global gene expression changes after stimulation of human primary pDC with the TLR9 agonist CpGB. We identified that the transcription factor MYC is prominently upregulated upon CpGB engagement in pDC. Moreover, when we knocked down MYC in the pDC-like cell line GEN2.2, production of interferon-stimulated genes (ISGs) was dramatically increased and was further enhanced by CpGB. Interestingly, MYC is shown to be recruited to the IRF7 promoter region through interaction with NCOR2/HDAC3 for its repression, and HDAC3 inhibition enhanced IRF7 expression and IFNβ production. Interestingly, activation of TLR9-mediated NF-kB and MAPK and nuclear translocation of IRF7 were greatly enhanced by MYC depletion. Pharmaceutical inhibition of MYC recovered IRF7 expression, further confirming the negative role of MYC in the antiviral response by pDC. Furthermore, the inverse correlation of MYC and IRF7 was validated in psoriasis skin sample datasets. Therefore, our results identify the novel immunomodulatory role of MYC in human pDC and may add to our understanding of aberrant pDC function in autoimmune diseases.
Project description:Cancer cell type-selective addiction of transcription-chromatin regulatory program provides opportunities for therapeutic interventions. Here, we uncovered an IRF8-MEF2D transcription factor (TF) regulatory circuit as an acute myeloid leukemia (AML)-biased dependency. Combining CRISPR-based genetic screens, transcriptional analysis, and chromatin profiling, we demonstrated that a chromatin regulator, ZMYND8, directly regulates IRF8 and MYC expression through occupying AML-specific enhancer regions. ZMYND8 was essential for AML proliferation both in vitro and in vivo. The ZMYND8-occupied IRF8 enhancer was further characterized using Circular Chromosome Conformation Capture and CRISPRi-based perturbation assays and was observed in primary patient cells. Importantly, mutagenesis experiments revealed that the PHD/Bromodomain/PWWP reader module is required for ZMYND8 tethering to leukemia-essential co-activator BRD4 for enhancer-mediated gene regulation. Our results rationalize ZMYND8 as a potential selective therapeutic target for modulating the IRF8/MYC transcriptional networks in AML.
Project description:The transcription factor IRF8 is a critical regulator of plasmacytoid dendritic cell (pDC) and classical dendritic cell (cDC) development in both mouse and man. Yet the downstream molecular targets that regulate DC homeostasis and development are largely unknown. A recent study using gene expression analysis of IRF8-deficient myeloid and lymphoid progenitors identified the Myc paralog Mycl1 as a potential transcriptional target of IRF8. We report here that Mycl1 is a mediator of DC homeostasis at steady state and during inflammation, and its expression is regulated by IRF8 in multiple DC lineages. We have further validated these observations with ChIP-Seq of IRF8 binding to the Mycl1 locus. Notably, IRF8 binding to Mycl1 locus is independent of an interaction with the AP1 factor, BATF3. Additionally, our genome-wide survey of IRF8 binding identified both EICE and AICE motifs. Examination of IRF8 binding in dendritic cells
Project description:Interferon regulatory factor-8 (IRF8) has been proposed to be essential for development of monocytes, plasmacytoid dendritic cells (pDCs) and type 1 conventional dendritic cells (cDC1s) and remains highly expressed in differentiated DCs. Transcription factors that are required to maintain the identity of terminally differentiated cells are designated “terminal selectors”. Using BM chimeras, conditional Irf8fl/fl mice and various promotors to target Cre recombinase to different stages of monocyte and DC development, we have identified IRF8 as a terminal selector of the cDC1 lineage controlling survival. In monocytes, IRF8 was necessary during early but not late development. Complete or late deletion of IRF8 had no effect on pDC development or survival but altered their phenotype and gene expression profile leading to increased T cell stimulatory function but decreased type 1 interferon production. Thus, IRF8 differentially controls the survival and function of terminally differentiated monocytes, cDC1s and pDCs.
Project description:Terminal differentiation of mammalian erythroid progenitors involves 4-5 cell divisions and induction of many erythroid important genes, followed by chromatin and nuclear condensation and enucleation. The protein levels of c-myc (Myc) are reduced dramatically during late stage erythroid maturation, coinciding with cell cycle arrest in G1-phase and enucleation, suggesting possible roles for c-myc in either or both of these processes. Here we demonstrate that ectopic Myc expression affects terminal erythroid maturation in a dose-dependent manner. Expression of Myc at physiological levels did not affect erythroid differentiation or cell cycle shutdown, but specifically blocked erythroid nuclear condensation and enucleation. Myc prevented deacetylation of several lysine residues in histones H3 and H4 that are normally deacetylated during erythroid maturation. When over-expressed at levels higher than the physiological range, Myc blocked erythroid differentiation and the cells continued to proliferate in cytokine-free, serum-containing culture medium with an early erythroblast morphology. These studies reveal an important dose-dependent function of Myc in regulating terminal maturation in mammalian erythroid cells. Our findings further support the emerging notion that Myc regulates chromatin structure by regulating global histone acetylation states. Five groups with three biological replicates in each.