scholarly journals C/EBPβ Induces Chromatin Opening at a Cell-Type-Specific Enhancer

2008 ◽  
Vol 28 (6) ◽  
pp. 2102-2112 ◽  
Author(s):  
Annette Plachetka ◽  
Olesya Chayka ◽  
Carola Wilczek ◽  
Svitlana Melnik ◽  
Constanze Bonifer ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT We have used the chicken mim-1 gene as a model to study the mechanisms by which transcription factors gain initial access to their target sites in compacted chromatin. The expression of mim-1 is restricted to the myelomonocytic lineage of the hematopoietic system where it is regulated synergistically by the Myb and CCAAT/enhancer binding protein (C/EBP) factors. Myb and C/EBPβ cooperate at two distinct cis elements of mim-1, the promoter and a cell-type-specific enhancer, both of which are associated with DNase I hypersensitive sites in myelomonocytic cells but not in mim-1-nonexpressing cells. Previous work has shown that ectopic expression of Myb and C/EBPβ activates the endogenous mim-1 gene in a nonhematopoietic cell type (fibroblasts), where the gene is normally completely silent. Here, we investigated the molecular details of this finding and show that the activation of mim-1 occurs by two independent mechanisms. In the absence of Myb, C/EBPβ triggers the initial steps of chromatin opening at the mim-1 enhancer without inducing transcription of the gene. mim-1 transcription occurs only in the presence of Myb and is associated with chromatin opening at the promoter. Our work identifies a novel function for C/EBPβ in the initial steps of a localized chromatin opening at a specific, physiologically relevant target region.

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shahan Mamoor

C-reactive protein, or CRP, is an acute phase protein (1, 2) synthesized and released from the liver (3). CRP is transcriptionally induced during systemic inflammatory responses (1, 2). CRP expression in the thymus has previously been reported but in the context of promiscuous gene expression of self-antigen during negative selection (4, 5) or after ectopic expression (6). Here, by comparing the transcriptomes of mTEC and cTEC from the thymuses of mice at 1, 3 and 6 months using a published dataset (7), we found that CRP was among the genes whose expression changed most significantly between cTEC and mTEC at 3 months of murine life. CRP was expressed at significantly higher amounts in mTEC compared to cTEC. Thus, CRP, a molecule typically thought of as expressed by the liver and induced during systemic inflammatory responses, is expressed in a cell-type specific manner during mammalian development in the thymus.


2017 ◽  
Vol 114 (39) ◽  
pp. E8264-E8273 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yoshihiro Omori ◽  
Shun Kubo ◽  
Tetsuo Kon ◽  
Mayu Furuhashi ◽  
Hirotaka Narita ◽  
...  

Precise transcriptional regulation controlled by a transcription factor network is known to be crucial for establishing correct neuronal cell identities and functions in the CNS. In the retina, the expression of various cone and rod photoreceptor cell genes is regulated by multiple transcription factors; however, the role of epigenetic regulation in photoreceptor cell gene expression has been poorly understood. Here, we found that Samd7, a rod-enriched sterile alpha domain (SAM) domain protein, is essential for silencing nonrod gene expression through H3K27me3 regulation in rod photoreceptor cells. Samd7-null mutant mice showed ectopic expression of nonrod genes including S-opsin in rod photoreceptor cells and rod photoreceptor cell dysfunction. Samd7 physically interacts with Polyhomeotic homologs (Phc proteins), components of the Polycomb repressive complex 1 (PRC1), and colocalizes with Phc2 and Ring1B in Polycomb bodies. ChIP assays showed a significant decrease of H3K27me3 in the genes up-regulated in the Samd7-deficient retina, showing that Samd7 deficiency causes the derepression of nonrod gene expression in rod photoreceptor cells. The current study suggests that Samd7 is a cell type-specific PRC1 component epigenetically defining rod photoreceptor cell identity.


2013 ◽  
Vol 113 (suppl_1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ben Van Handel ◽  
Tonis Org ◽  
Amelie Montel-Hagen ◽  
Haruko Nakano ◽  
Atsushi Nakano ◽  
...  

Identification of precursors with the capacity to generate cardiomyocytes is critical for advancing cardiac regenerative medicine. By analyzing knockout embryos for the bHLH factor Scl, we demonstrated that endothelial cells in hematopoietic tissues and the heart possess latent cardiomyogenic capacity. Furthermore, analysis of tamoxifen-inducible Rosa26-Cre ERT2 Scl fl/fl embryos suggested that the time window during which Scl is required for cardiac repression extends later in the heart versus the yolk sac. However, the cell types in which Scl acts remained elusive. We then deleted Scl in a cell-type specific manner in early mesoderm using Mesp1-Cre and in endothelial cells using Tie2-Cre. Lineage tracing in Mesp1-Cre Rosa26-YFP embryos demonstrated that at E9.5, a large majority of hematopoietic and endothelial cells in the yolk sac and heart were labeled. Moreover, deletion of Scl in Mesp1-Cre Scl fl/fl embryos phenocopied the germline knockout, essentially abrogating hematopoiesis and promoting the emergence of CD31 + PDGFRα + cardiomyogenic precursors and ectopic expression of the cardiomyocyte genes Myl7 and Tnnt2 in yolk sac vasculature. In contrast, deletion of Scl after endothelium had been specified in Tie2-Cre Scl fl/fl embryos did not grossly affect yolk sac hematopoiesis, nor did it induce ectopic cardiomyogenesis in hemogenic tissues. However, endothelial-derived cells in the hearts of Tie2-Cre Scl fl/fl embryos evidenced profound expansion of CD31 + PDGFRα + cardiogenic precursors at E11.5 and E13.5, as well as displayed dramatic upregulation of Myl7 and Tnnt2 , showing that the requirement for Scl to repress the cardiomyogenic program extends longer in endothelial derivatives in the heart than in the yolk sac. These data demonstrate that endocardial-derived cells in the heart retain latent cardiomyogenic potential until mid-gestation and nominate Scl as a critical regulator of endocardial fate.


2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Chenglong You ◽  
Sijie Wu ◽  
Shijie C. Zheng ◽  
Tianyu Zhu ◽  
Han Jing ◽  
...  

Abstract Highly reproducible smoking-associated DNA methylation changes in whole blood have been reported by many Epigenome-Wide-Association Studies (EWAS). These epigenetic alterations could have important implications for understanding and predicting the risk of smoking-related diseases. To this end, it is important to establish if these DNA methylation changes happen in all blood cell subtypes or if they are cell-type specific. Here, we apply a cell-type deconvolution algorithm to identify cell-type specific DNA methylation signals in seven large EWAS. We find that most of the highly reproducible smoking-associated hypomethylation signatures are more prominent in the myeloid lineage. A meta-analysis further identifies a myeloid-specific smoking-associated hypermethylation signature enriched for DNase Hypersensitive Sites in acute myeloid leukemia. These results may guide the design of future smoking EWAS and have important implications for our understanding of how smoking affects immune-cell subtypes and how this may influence the risk of smoking related diseases.


2017 ◽  
Vol 55 (05) ◽  
pp. e28-e56
Author(s):  
S Macheiner ◽  
R Gerner ◽  
A Pfister ◽  
A Moschen ◽  
H Tilg

2020 ◽  
Vol 528 (13) ◽  
pp. 2218-2238 ◽  
Author(s):  
Attilio Iemolo ◽  
Patricia Montilla‐Perez ◽  
I‐Chi Lai ◽  
Yinuo Meng ◽  
Syreeta Nolan ◽  
...  

2007 ◽  
Vol 293 (1) ◽  
pp. F408-F415 ◽  
Author(s):  
Un Sil Jeon ◽  
Ki-Hwan Han ◽  
Soo-Hyun Park ◽  
Sang Do Lee ◽  
Mee Rie Sheen ◽  
...  

Hypokalemia causes a significant decrease in the tonicity of the renal medullary interstitium in association with reduced expression of sodium transporters in the distal tubule. We asked whether hypokalemia caused downregulation of the tonicity-responsive enhancer binding protein (TonEBP) transcriptional activator in the renal medulla due to the reduced tonicity. We found that the abundance of TonEBP decreased significantly in the outer and inner medullas of hypokalemic rats. Underlying mechanisms appeared different in the two regions because the abundance of TonEBP mRNA was lower in the outer medulla but unchanged in the inner medulla. Immunohistochemical examination of TonEBP revealed cell type-specific differences. TonEBP expression decreased dramatically in the outer and inner medullary collecting ducts, thick ascending limbs, and interstitial cells. In the descending and ascending thin limbs, TonEBP abundance decreased modestly. In the outer medulla, TonEBP shifted to the cytoplasm in the descending thin limbs. As expected, transcription of aldose reductase, a target of TonEBP, was decreased since the abundance of mRNA and protein was reduced. Downregulation of TonEBP appeared to have also contributed to reduced expression of aquaporin-2 and UT-A urea transporters in the renal medulla. In cultured cells, expression and activity of TonEBP were not affected by reduced potassium concentrations in the medium. These data support the view that medullary tonicity regulates expression and nuclear distribution of TonEBP in the renal medulla in cell type-specific manners.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Moataz Dowaidar

Autophagy is a double-edged sword in cancer, and numerous aspects should be taken into account before deciding on the most effective strategy to target the process. The fact that several clinical studies are now ongoing does not mean that the patient group that may benefit from autophagy-targeting medicines has been identified. Autophagy inhibitors that are more potent and specialized, as well as autophagy indicators, are also desperately required. The fact that these inhibitors only work against tumors that rely on autophagy for survival (RAS mutants) makes it difficult to distinguish them from tumors that continue to develop even when autophagy is absent. Furthermore, mutations such as BRAF have been shown to make tumors more susceptible to autophagy suppression, suggesting that targeting such tumours may be a viable strategy for overcoming their chemotherapy resistance. In the meantime, we are unable to identify if autophagy regulation works in vivo or whether it selectively targets a disease while inflicting injury to other healthy organs and tissues. A cell-type-specific impact appears to be observed with such therapy. As a result, it is just as important to consider the differences between tumors that originate in different organs as it is to consider the signaling pathways that are similar across them. For a therapy or cure to be effective, the proposed intervention must be tailored to the specific needs of each patient.Over the last several years, a growing amount of data has implicated autophagy in a variety of disorders, including cancer. In normal cells, this catabolic process is also required for cell survival and homeostasis. Despite the fact that medications targeting intermediates in the autophagy signaling pathway are being created and evaluated at both the preclinical and clinical levels, given the complicated function of autophagy in cancer, we still have a long way to go in terms of establishing an effective therapeutic approach. This article discusses current tactics for exploiting cancer cells' autophagy dependency, as well as obstacles in the area. We believe that the unanswered concerns raised in this work will stimulate researchers to investigate previously unknown connections between autophagy and other signaling pathways, which might lead to the development of novel, highly specialized autophagy therapies.


1993 ◽  
Vol 13 (9) ◽  
pp. 5301-5314 ◽  
Author(s):  
G S Huh ◽  
R O Hynes

We have investigated the regulation of splicing of one of the alternatively spliced exons in the rat fibronectin gene, the EIIIB exon. This 273-nucleotide exon is excluded by some cells and included to various degrees by others. We find that EIIIB is intrinsically poorly spliced and that both its exon sequences and its splice sites contribute to its poor recognition. Therefore, cells which recognize the EIIIB exon must have mechanisms for improving its splicing. Furthermore, in order for EIIB to be regulated, a balance must exist between the EIIIB splice sites and those of its flanking exons. Although the intron upstream of EIIIB does not appear to play a role in the recognition of EIIIB for splicing, the intron downstream contains sequence elements which can promote EIIIB recognition in a cell-type-specific fashion. These elements are located an unusually long distance from the exon that they regulate, more than 518 nucleotides downstream from EIIIB, and may represent a novel mode of exon regulation.


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