scholarly journals Large-scale chromatin structure of inducible genes: transcription on a condensed, linear template

2009 ◽  
Vol 185 (1) ◽  
pp. 87-100 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yan Hu ◽  
Igor Kireev ◽  
Matt Plutz ◽  
Nazanin Ashourian ◽  
Andrew S. Belmont
Keyword(s):  
Chromatin Structure ◽  
Transcriptional Activation ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Nuclear Speckles ◽  
Interphase Chromosome ◽  
Chromosome Conformation ◽  
Dynamic Events ◽  
Classical Models ◽  
Chromatin Fibers

The structure of interphase chromosomes, and in particular the changes in large-scale chromatin structure accompanying transcriptional activation, remain poorly characterized. Here we use light microscopy and in vivo immunogold labeling to directly visualize the interphase chromosome conformation of 1–2 Mbp chromatin domains formed by multi-copy BAC transgenes containing 130–220 kb of genomic DNA surrounding the DHFR, Hsp70, or MT gene loci. We demonstrate near-endogenous transcription levels in the context of large-scale chromatin fibers compacted nonuniformly well above the 30-nm chromatin fiber. An approximately 1.5–3-fold extension of these large-scale chromatin fibers accompanies transcriptional induction and active genes remain mobile. Heat shock–induced Hsp70 transgenes associate with the exterior of nuclear speckles, with Hsp70 transcripts accumulating within the speckle. Live-cell imaging reveals distinct dynamic events, with Hsp70 transgenes associating with adjacent speckles, nucleating new speckles, or moving to preexisting speckles. Our results call for reexamination of classical models of interphase chromosome organization.

scholarly journals In Vivo HP1 Targeting Causes Large-Scale Chromatin Condensation and Enhanced Histone Lysine Methylation

2005 ◽  
Vol 25 (11) ◽  
pp. 4552-4564 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pernette J. Verschure ◽  
Ineke van der Kraan ◽  
Wim de Leeuw ◽  
Johan van der Vlag ◽  
Anne E. Carpenter ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Chromatin Structure ◽  
Mammalian Cells ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Chromosome Region ◽  
Chromatin Condensation ◽  
Regulation Of Gene Expression ◽  
Lac Repressor ◽  
Homologous Proteins ◽  
Lac Operator

ABSTRACT Changes in chromatin structure are a key aspect in the epigenetic regulation of gene expression. We have used a lac operator array system to visualize by light microscopy the effect of heterochromatin protein 1 (HP1) α (HP1α) and HP1β on large-scale chromatin structure in living mammalian cells. The structure of HP1, containing a chromodomain, a chromoshadow domain, and a hinge domain, allows it to bind to a variety of proteins. In vivo targeting of an enhanced green fluorescent protein-tagged HP1-lac repressor fusion to a lac operator-containing, gene-amplified chromosome region causes local condensation of the higher-order chromatin structure, recruitment of the histone methyltransferase SETDB1, and enhanced trimethylation of histone H3 lysine 9. Polycomb group proteins of both the HPC/HPH and the EED/EZH2 complexes, which are involved in the heritable repression of gene activity, are not recruited to the amplified chromosome region by HP1α and HP1β in vivo targeting. HP1α targeting causes the recruitment of endogenous HP1β to the chromatin region and vice versa, indicating a direct interaction between the two HP1 homologous proteins. Our findings indicate that HP1α and HP1β targeting is sufficient to induce heterochromatin formation.

scholarly journals Essential role of NF-E2 in remodeling of chromatin structure and transcriptional activation of the epsilon-globin gene in vivo by 5' hypersensitive site 2 of the beta-globin locus control region.

1996 ◽  
Vol 16 (11) ◽  
pp. 6055-6064 ◽  
Author(s):  
Q H Gong ◽  
J C McDowell ◽  
A Dean
Keyword(s):  
Control Region ◽  
Chromatin Structure ◽  
Transcriptional Activation ◽  
Globin Gene ◽  
Locus Control Region ◽  
Dnase I ◽  
Beta Globin ◽  
Hypersensitive Site

Much of our understanding of the process by which enhancers activate transcription has been gained from transient-transfection studies in which the DNA is not assembled with histones and other chromatin proteins as it is in the cell nucleus. To study the activation of a mammalian gene in a natural chromatin context in vivo, we constructed a minichromosome containing the human epsilon-globin gene and portions of the beta-globin locus control region (LCR). The minichromosomes replicate and are maintained at stable copy number in human erythroid cells. Expression of the minichromosomal epsilon-globin gene requires the presence of beta-globin LCR elements in cis, as is the case for the chromosomal gene. We determined the chromatin structure of the epsilon-globin gene in both the active and inactive states. The transcriptionally inactive locus is covered by an array of positioned nucleosomes extending over 1,400 bp. In minichromosomes with a (mu)LCR or DNase I-hypersensitive site 2 (HS2) which actively transcribe the epsilon-globin gene, the nucleosome at the promoter is altered or disrupted while positioning of nucleosomes in the rest of the locus is retained. All or virtually all minichromosomes are simultaneously hypersensitive to DNase I both at the promoter and at HS2. Transcriptional activation and promoter remodeling, as well as formation of the HS2 structure itself, depended on the presence of the NF-E2 binding motif in HS2. The nucleosome at the promoter which is altered upon activation is positioned over the transcriptional elements of the epsilon-globin gene, i.e., the TATA, CCAAT, and CACCC elements, and the GATA-1 site at -165. The simple availability of erythroid transcription factors that recognize these motifs is insufficient to allow expression. As in the chromosomal globin locus, regulation also occurs at the level of chromatin structure. These observations are consistent with the idea that one role of the beta-globin LCR is to maintain promoters free of nucleosomes. The restricted structural change observed upon transcriptional activation may indicate that the LCR need only make a specific contact with the proximal gene promoter to activate transcription.

scholarly journals Serine Phosphorylation of SR Proteins Is Required for Their Recruitment to Sites of Transcription In Vivo

1998 ◽  
Vol 143 (2) ◽  
pp. 297-307 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tom Misteli ◽  
Javier F. Cáceres ◽  
Jade Q. Clement ◽  
Adrian R. Krainer ◽  
Miles F. Wilkinson ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Rna Polymerase Ii ◽  
Transcriptional Activation ◽  
Active Sites ◽  
Rna Binding ◽  
Sr Proteins ◽  
Mrna Splicing ◽  
Serine Phosphorylation ◽  
Splicing Factors ◽  
Nuclear Speckles

Expression of most RNA polymerase II transcripts requires the coordinated execution of transcription, splicing, and 3′ processing. We have previously shown that upon transcriptional activation of a gene in vivo, pre-mRNA splicing factors are recruited from nuclear speckles, in which they are concentrated, to sites of transcription (Misteli, T., J.F. Cáceres, and D.L. Spector. 1997. Nature. 387:523–527). This recruitment process appears to spatially coordinate transcription and pre-mRNA splicing within the cell nucleus. Here we have investigated the molecular basis for recruitment by analyzing the recruitment properties of mutant splicing factors. We show that multiple protein domains are required for efficient recruitment of SR proteins from nuclear speckles to nascent RNA. The two types of modular domains found in the splicing factor SF2/ ASF exert distinct functions in this process. In living cells, the RS domain functions in the dissociation of the protein from speckles, and phosphorylation of serine residues in the RS domain is a prerequisite for this event. The RNA binding domains play a role in the association of splicing factors with the target RNA. These observations identify a novel in vivo role for the RS domain of SR proteins and suggest a model in which protein phosphorylation is instrumental for the recruitment of these proteins to active sites of transcription in vivo.

scholarly journals Artificially Recruited TATA-Binding Protein Fails To Remodel Chromatin and Does Not Activate Three Promoters That Require Chromatin Remodeling

2000 ◽  
Vol 20 (16) ◽  
pp. 5847-5857 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael P. Ryan ◽  
Grace A. Stafford ◽  
Liuning Yu ◽  
Randall H. Morse
Keyword(s):  
Binding Site ◽  
Rna Polymerase Ii ◽  
Reporter Gene ◽  
Chromatin Remodeling ◽  
Chromatin Structure ◽  
Transcriptional Activation ◽  
Binding Protein ◽  
Tata Binding Protein ◽  
Activation Domains

ABSTRACT Transcriptional activators are believed to work in part by recruiting general transcription factors, such as TATA-binding protein (TBP) and the RNA polymerase II holoenzyme. Activation domains also contribute to remodeling of chromatin in vivo. To determine whether these two activities represent distinct functions of activation domains, we have examined transcriptional activation and chromatin remodeling accompanying artificial recruitment of TBP in yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae). We measured transcription of reporter genes with defined chromatin structure by artificial recruitment of TBP and found that a reporter gene whose TATA element was relatively accessible could be activated by artificially recruited TBP, whereas two promoters, GAL10 and CHA1, that have accessible activator binding sites, but nucleosomal TATA elements, could not. A third reporter gene containing theHIS4 promoter could be activated by GAL4-TBP only when a RAP1 binding site was present, although RAP1 alone could not activate the reporter, suggesting that RAP1 was needed to open the chromatin structure to allow activation. Consistent with this interpretation, artificially recruited TBP was unable to perturb nucleosome positioning via a nucleosomal binding site, in contrast to a true activator such as GAL4, or to perturb the TATA-containing nucleosome at theCHA1 promoter. Finally, we show that activation of theGAL10 promoter by GAL4, which requires chromatin remodeling, can occur even in swi gcn5 yeast, implying that remodeling pathways independent of GCN5, the SWI-SNF complex, and TFIID can operate during transcriptional activation in vivo.

scholarly journals Lineage-Specific Epigenomic and Genomic Activation of the Oncogene HNF4A Promotes Gastrointestinal Adenocarcinomas

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jian Pan ◽  
Tiago C. Silva ◽  
Nicole Gull ◽  
Qian Yang ◽  
Jasmine Plummer ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Regulatory Networks ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
The Cancer Genome Atlas ◽  
Specific Gene ◽  
Distal Enhancer ◽  
Chromosome Conformation ◽  
Chip Sequencing ◽  
Specific Manner

AbstractBackgroundsGastrointestinal adenocarcinomas (GIACs) of the tubular GI tract including esophagus, stomach, colon and rectum comprise most GI cancers and share a spectrum of genomic features. However, the unified epigenomic changes specific to GIACs are less well-characterized.We applied mathematical algorithms to large-scale DNA methylome and transcriptome profiles to reconstruct transcription factor (TF) networks using 907 GIAC samples from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA). Complementary epigenomic technologies were performed to investigate HNF4A activation, including Circularized Chromosome Conformation Capture (4C), Chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP) sequencing, Whole Genome Bisulfite Sequencing (WGBS), and Assay for Transposase-Accessible Chromatin (ATAC) sequencing. In vitro and in vivo cellular phenotypical assays were conducted to study HNF4A functions.ResultsWe identified a list of functionally hyperactive master regulator (MR)TFs shared across different GIACs. As the top candidate, HNF4A exhibited prominent genomic and epigenomic activation in a GIAC-specific manner. We further characterized a complex interplay between HNF4A promoter and three distal enhancer elements, which was coordinated by GIAC-specific MRTFs including ELF3, GATA4, GATA6 and KLF5. HNF4A also self-regulated its own promoter and enhancers. Functionally, HNF4A promoted cancer proliferation and survival by transcriptionally activating many downstream targets including HNF1A and factors of Interleukin signaling in a lineage-specific manner.ConclusionWe use a large cohort of patient samples and an unbiased mathematical approach to highlight lineage-specific oncogenic MRTFs, which provide new insights into the GIAC-specific gene regulatory networks, and identify potential therapeutic strategies against these common cancers.

DNA methylation and histone modifications are essential for regulation of stem cell formation and differentiation in zebrafish development

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alissa D Marchione ◽  
Zanshé Thompson ◽  
Katie L Kathrein
Keyword(s):  
Stem Cell ◽  
Epigenetic Regulation ◽  
Chromatin Structure ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Genetic Manipulation ◽  
Critical Role ◽  
External Fertilization ◽  
High Fecundity ◽  
Zebrafish Development

AbstractThe complex processes necessary for embryogenesis require a gene regulatory network that is complex and systematic. Gene expression regulates development and organogenesis, but this process is altered and fine-tuned by epigenetic regulators that facilitate changes in the chromatin landscape. Epigenetic regulation of embryogenesis adjusts the chromatin structure by modifying both DNA through methylation and nucleosomes through posttranslational modifications of histone tails. The zebrafish is a well-characterized model organism that is a quintessential tool for studying developmental biology. With external fertilization, low cost and high fecundity, the zebrafish are an efficient tool for studying early developmental stages. Genetic manipulation can be performed in vivo resulting in quick identification of gene function. Large-scale genome analyses including RNA sequencing, chromatin immunoprecipitation and chromatin structure all are feasible in the zebrafish. In this review, we highlight the key events in zebrafish development where epigenetic regulation plays a critical role from the early stem cell stages through differentiation and organogenesis.

scholarly journals Temporal dynamics and developmental memory of 3D chromatin architecture at Hox gene loci

eLife ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 3 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daan Noordermeer ◽  
Marion Leleu ◽  
Patrick Schorderet ◽  
Elisabeth Joye ◽  
Fabienne Chabaud ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Transcriptional Activation ◽  
Hox Genes ◽  
Temporal Dynamics ◽  
Gene Products ◽  
Circular Chromosome ◽  
Chromosome Conformation ◽  
Hox Gene ◽  
Circular Chromosome Conformation Capture ◽  
Hox Clusters

Hox genes are essential regulators of embryonic development. Their step-wise transcriptional activation follows their genomic topology and the various states of activation are subsequently memorized into domains of progressively overlapping gene products. We have analyzed the 3D chromatin organization of Hox clusters during their early activation in vivo, using high-resolution circular chromosome conformation capture. Initially, Hox clusters are organized as single chromatin compartments containing all genes and bivalent chromatin marks. Transcriptional activation is associated with a dynamic bi-modal 3D organization, whereby the genes switch autonomously from an inactive to an active compartment. These local 3D dynamics occur within a framework of constitutive interactions within the surrounding Topological Associated Domains, indicating that this regulation process is mostly cluster intrinsic. The step-wise progression in time is fixed at various body levels and thus can account for the chromatin architectures previously described at a later stage for different anterior to posterior levels.

scholarly journals Large-Scale Genomic Reorganizations of Topological Domains (TADs) at the HoxD Locus

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pierre J. Fabre ◽  
Marion Leleu ◽  
Benjamin H. Mormann ◽  
Lucille Delisle ◽  
Daan Noordermeer ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Long Range ◽  
Transcriptional Activation ◽  
Limb Development ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Regulatory Elements ◽  
Chromatin Domain ◽  
Sequence Specificity ◽  
Chromosome Conformation ◽  
Topological Domains ◽  
Genomic Deletions

ABSTRACTBackgroundThe transcriptional activation of Hoxd genes during mammalian limb development involves dynamic interactions with the two Topologically Associating Domains (TADs) flanking the HoxD cluster. In particular, the activation of the most posterior Hoxd genes in developing digits is controlled by regulatory elements located in the centromeric TAD (C-DOM) through long-range contacts. To assess the structure-function relationships underlying such interactions, we measured compaction levels and TAD discreteness using a combination of chromosome conformation capture (4C-seq) and DNA FISH.ResultsWe challenged the robustness of the TAD architecture by using a series of genomic deletions and inversions that impact the integrity of this chromatin domain and that remodel the long-range contacts. We report multi-partite associations between Hoxd genes and up to three enhancers and show that breaking the native chromatin topology leads to the remodelling of TAD structure.ConclusionsOur results reveal that the re-composition of TADs architectures after severe genomic re-arrangements depends on a boundary-selection mechanism that uses CTCF-mediated gating of long-range contacts in combination with genomic distance and, to a certain extent, sequence specificity.

scholarly journals Boundary sequences flanking the mouse tyrosinase locus ensure faithful pattern of gene expression

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Davide Seruggia ◽  
Almudena Fernández ◽  
Marta Cantero ◽  
Ana Fernández-Miñán ◽  
José Luis Gomez-Skarmeta ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Gene Expression ◽  
Chromatin Structure ◽  
Expression Patterns ◽  
Regulatory Elements ◽  
Regulatory Sequences ◽  
Cell Type ◽  
Chromosome Conformation ◽  
Control Of Gene Expression ◽  
Cell Type Specific

Abstract Control of gene expression is dictated by cell-type specific regulatory sequences that physically organize the structure of chromatin, including promoters, enhancers and insulators. While promoters and enhancers convey cell-type specific activating signals, insulators prevent the cross-talk of regulatory elements within adjacent loci and safeguard the specificity of action of promoters and enhancers towards their targets in a tissue specific manner. Using the mouse tyrosinase (Tyr) locus as an experimental model, a gene whose mutations are associated with albinism, we described the chromatin structure in cells at two distinct transcriptional states. Guided by chromatin structure, through the use of Chromosome Conformation Capture (3C), we identified sequences at the 5′ and 3′ boundaries of this mammalian gene that function as enhancers and insulators. By CRISPR/Cas9-mediated chromosomal deletion, we dissected the functions of these two regulatory elements in vivo in the mouse, at the endogenous chromosomal context, and proved their mechanistic role as genomic insulators, shielding the Tyr locus from the expression patterns of adjacent genes.

scholarly journals Alteration of Large-Scale Chromatin Structure by Estrogen Receptor

2002 ◽  
Vol 22 (10) ◽  
pp. 3437-3449 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anne C. Nye ◽  
Ramji R. Rajendran ◽  
David L. Stenoien ◽  
Michael A. Mancini ◽  
Benita S. Katzenellenbogen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Estrogen Receptor ◽  
Fusion Protein ◽  
Chromatin Structure ◽  
Transcriptional Activation ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Fluorescent Protein ◽  
Nuclear Hormone Receptor ◽  
Live Cells ◽  
Interaction Domain ◽  
Green Fluorescent

ABSTRACT The estrogen receptor (ER), a member of the nuclear hormone receptor superfamily important in human physiology and disease, recruits coactivators which modify local chromatin structure. Here we describe effects of ER on large-scale chromatin structure as visualized in live cells. We targeted ER to gene-amplified chromosome arms containing large numbers of lac operator sites either directly, through a lac repressor-ER fusion protein (lac rep-ER), or indirectly, by fusing lac repressor with the ER interaction domain of the coactivator steroid receptor coactivator 1. Significant decondensation of large-scale chromatin structure, comparable to that produced by the ∼150-fold-stronger viral protein 16 (VP16) transcriptional activator, was produced by ER in the absence of estradiol using both approaches. Addition of estradiol induced a partial reversal of this unfolding by green fluorescent protein-lac rep-ER but not by wild-type ER recruited by a lac repressor-SRC570-780 fusion protein. The chromatin decondensation activity did not require transcriptional activation by ER nor did it require ligand-induced coactivator interactions, and unfolding did not correlate with histone hyperacetylation. Ligand-induced coactivator interactions with helix 12 of ER were necessary for the partial refolding of chromatin in response to estradiol using the lac rep-ER tethering system. This work demonstrates that when tethered or recruited to DNA, ER possesses a novel large-scale chromatin unfolding activity.

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