Project description:To assess the role of a variant of unknown significance in PBX1 (p.(Arg107Gln) by generating a HEK293T-derived cell line knockdown for PBX1 (clone 22 cells) through CRISPR-Cas9. We then transfected the KD cells or the WT HEK293T cells with a plasmid encoding either WT or Arg107Gln PBX1 proteins.
Project description:Sexual development is a complex process relying on numerous genes. Disruptions in some of these genes are known to cause differences of sexual development (DSDs). Advances in genome sequencing allowed the discovery of new genes implicated in sexual development, such as PBX1. We present here a fetus with a new PBX1 NM_002585.3: c.320G>A,p.(Arg107Gln) variant, presenting with severe DSD along with renal and lung malformations. Using CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing on HEK293T cells, we generated a KD cell line for PBX1. The KD cell line showed reduced proliferation and adhesion properties compared with HEK293T cells. HEK293T and KD cells were then transfected plasmids coding either PBX1 WT or PBX1-320G>A (mutant). WT or mutant PBX1 overexpression rescued cell proliferation in both cell lines. RNA-seq analyses showed less than 30 differentially expressed genes, in ectopic mutant-PBX1-expressing cells compared with WT-PBX1. Among them, U2AF1, encoding a splicing factor subunit, is an interesting candidate. Overall, mutant PBX1 seems to have modest effects compared with WT PBX1 in our model. However, the recurrence of PBX1 Arg107 substitution in patients with closely related phenotypes calls for its impact in human diseases. Further functional studies are needed to explore its effects on cellular metabolism.
Project description:PTBP1 and PTBP2 control alternative splicing programs during neuronal development, but the cellular functions of most PTBP1/2-regulated isoforms remain unknown. We show that PTBP1 guides developmental gene expression by regulating the transcription factor Pbx1. We identify exons that are differentially spliced when mouse embryonic stem cells (ESCs) differentiate into neuronal progenitor cells (NPCs) and neurons, and transition from PTBP1 to PTBP2 expression. We define those exons controlled by PTBP1 in ESCs and NPCs by RNA-seq analysis after PTBP1 depletion and PTBP1 crosslinking-immunoprecipitation. We find that PTBP1 represses Pbx1 exon 7 and the expression of its neuronal isoform Pbx1a in ESC. Using CRISPR-Cas9 to delete regulatory elements for exon 7, we induce Pbx1a expression in ESCs, finding that this activates transcription of specific neuronal genes including known Pbx1 targets. Thus PTBP1 controls the activity of Pbx1 and suppresses its neuronal transcriptional program prior to differentiation. HB9-GFP mESC were transiently transfected with Cas9 and guide RNA sequences to generate heterozygous deletions at the Pbx1 intron 6 locus (Pbx1 I6 +/-). Wild type and (n=3) or Pbx1 I6 +/- (n=5) clones were differentiated in MN media. Samples were harvested at Day 2 of differentiation, and poly-A RNA was isolated for RNA-sequencing and gene expression analyses.
Project description:Histone variants complement and integrate histone post-translational modifications in regulating transcription. The histone variant macroH2A1 (mH2A1) is almost three times the size of its canonical H2A counterpart due to the presence of a ~25kDa evolutionarily conserved non-histone macro domain. Strikingly, mH2A1 can mediate both gene repression and activation. However, the molecular determinants conferring these alternative functions remain elusive. Here, we report that mH2A1.2 is required for the activation of the myogenic gene regulatory network and muscle cell differentiation. H3K27 acetylation at prospective enhancers is exquisitely sensitive to mH2A1.2, indicating a role of mH2A1.2 in imparting enhancer activation. Both H3K27 acetylation and recruitment of the transcription factor Pbx1 at prospective enhancers are regulated by mH2A1.2. Overall, our findings indicate a role of mH2A1.2 in marking regulatory regions for activation. To establish the role of the histone variant mH2A1.2 in skeletal muscle differentiation we employed the mouse skeletal muscle C2C12 cell line and examined the genome wide distribution mH2A1.2 in myoblast (MB) and myotube (MT) (two replicates). We intersected the distribution of mH2A1.2 with active (H3K4me3 and H3K4me1 from published dataset, and H3K27ac, two replicates) and repressive (H3K27me3, two replicates) epigenetic marks in MB and MT. To gain insite on how chromatin accessibility is remodelled when muscle cells are induced to differentiate, we performed ATAC-seq in C2C12 MB and MT (2 replicates). We then evaluated whether mH2A1.2 was involved in conferring H3K27 acetylation during skeletal muscle differentiation by performing H3K27ac ChIP-seq (two replicates) upon mH2A1.2i in MB and MT. We also prefomred the ChIP-Seq for transcription factor Pbx1 in control and mH2A1.2i cells in MT to address the potential role of mH2A in recruitment of Pbx1. RNA-seq experiments were performed in control and mH2A1.2i C2C12 cells at the stage of MB and MT (three replicates). When mH2A1.2i C2C12 MB were induced to differentiate, a global effect on transcription was observed.
Project description:PTBP1 and PTBP2 control alternative splicing programs during neuronal development, but the cellular functions of most PTBP1/2-regulated isoforms remain unknown. We show that PTBP1 guides developmental gene expression by regulating the transcription factor Pbx1. We identify exons that are differentially spliced when mouse embryonic stem cells (ESCs) differentiate into neuronal progenitor cells (NPCs) and neurons, and transition from PTBP1 to PTBP2 expression. We define those exons controlled by PTBP1 in ESCs and NPCs by RNA-seq analysis after PTBP1 depletion and PTBP1 crosslinking-immunoprecipitation. We find that PTBP1 represses Pbx1 exon 7 and the expression of its neuronal isoform Pbx1a in ESC. Using CRISPR-Cas9 to delete regulatory elements for exon 7, we induce Pbx1a expression in ESCs, finding that this activates transcription of specific neuronal genes including known Pbx1 targets. Thus PTBP1 controls the activity of Pbx1 and suppresses its neuronal transcriptional program prior to differentiation.
Project description:RNA-Seq after Cas9-gRNA transfection with different length gRNAs we performed PolyA Selection and RNA-Seq on cells transfected with dCas9-VPR and a gRNA of each length (20nt, 16nt, or 14nt) targeting ACTC1, MIAT, or HBG1/2
Project description:Provided data came from a detailed study on Nicotiana benthamiana 16c plants where we use Tobacco Rattle Virus (TRV) as a molecular switch to change the chromatin state of a reporter gene (P35S::GFP) from an actively transcribed to a transcriptionally silenced state. Our approach enables us to interrogate different chromatin states of the same locus with the same set of CRISPR/Cas9 genome editing reagents and systematically describe the effect of chromatin state on the frequency and type of mutations induced at various Cas9 targets in a huge set of independently edited cells.
Project description:Developmental transcription factors act in networks, but how these networks achieve cell- and tissue specificity is still poorly understood. We here explored pre-B-cell leukemia homeobox 1 (PBX1) in adult neurogenesis combining genomic, transcriptomic, and proteomic approaches. ChIP-Seq analysis uncovered PBX1 binding to a wide range of different genes. Integration of PBX1 ChIP-seq with ATAC-seq data predicted interaction partners, which were subsequently validated by mass-spectrometry. Spatial transcriptomics revealed distinct temporal expression dynamics of Pbx1 and interacting factors. Among these were class I bHLH proteins TCF3, TCF4 and TCF12. RNA-seq upon Pbx1, Tcf3 and Tcf4 knockdown identified proliferation and differentiation associated genes as shared targets. Neuronal differentiation was reduced upon depletion of either factor, suggesting functional cooperation between PBX1 and TCF3/4. Notably, while physiological PBX1-TCF interactions have not yet been described, chromosomal translocation resulting in genomic TCF3::PBX1 fusion characterizes a subtype of acute lymphoblastic leukemia. Introducing Pbx1 into Nalm6 cells, a pre B-cell line expressing TCF3 but lacking PBX1, upregulated leukemogenic genes including BLK and NOTCH3, arguing that functional PBX1-TCF cooperation likely extends to hematopoietic contexts. Our study hence uncovers a PBX1-TCF module orchestrating the balance between progenitor cell proliferation and differentiation in adult neurogenesis with implications for leukemia etiology.