Histone methylation is an important epigenetic phenomenon that participates in a diverse array of cellular processes and has been found to be associated with cancer. Recent identification of several histone demethylas...Histone methylation is an important epigenetic phenomenon that participates in a diverse array of cellular processes and has been found to be associated with cancer. Recent identification of several histone demethylases has proved that histone methylation is a reversible process. Through a candidate approach, we have biochemically identified JMJD3 as an H3K27 demethylase. Transfection of JMJD3 into HeLa cells caused a specific reduction oftrimethyl H3K27, but had no effect on di-and monomethyl H3K27, or histone lysine methylations on H3K4 and H3K9. The enzymatic activity requires the JmjC domain and the conserved histidine that has been suggested to be important for a cofactor binding. In vitro biochemical experiments demonstrated that JMJD3 directly catalyzes the demethylation. In addition, we found that JMJD3 is upregulated in prostate cancer, and its expression is higher in metastatic prostate cancer. Thus, we identified JMJD3 as a demethylase capable of removing the trimethyl group from histone H3 lysine 27 and upregulated in prostate cancer.展开更多
Pre-exposure to a stress may alter the plant's cellular, biochemical, and/or transcriptional responses during future encounters as a "memory' from the previous stress. Genes increasing transcription in response to ...Pre-exposure to a stress may alter the plant's cellular, biochemical, and/or transcriptional responses during future encounters as a "memory' from the previous stress. Genes increasing transcription in response to a first dehydra- tion stress, but producing much higher transcript levels in a subsequent stress, represent the super-induced 'transcription memory' genes in Arabidopsis thaliana. The chromatin environment (histone H3 tri-methylations of Lys 4 and Lys 27, H3K4me3, and H3K27me3) studied at five dehydration stress memory genes revealed existence of distinct memory- response subclasses that responded differently to CLF deficiency and displayed different transcriptional activities dur- ing the watered recovery periods. Among the most important findings is the novel aspect of the H3K27me3 function observed at specific dehydration stress memory genes. In contrast to its well-known role as a chromatin repressive mechanism at developmentally regulated genes, H3K27me3 did not prevent transcription from the dehydration stress- responding genes. The high H3K27me3 levels present during transcriptionally inactive states did not interfere with the transition to active transcription and with H3K4me3 accumulation. H3K4me3 and H3K27me3 marks function indepen- dently and are not mutually exclusive at the dehydration stress-responding memory genes.展开更多
Interleukin(IL)17-producing T helper(Th17)cells play critical roles in the clearance of extracellular bacteria and fungi as well as the pathogenesis of various autoimmune diseases,such as multiple sclerosis,psoriasis,...Interleukin(IL)17-producing T helper(Th17)cells play critical roles in the clearance of extracellular bacteria and fungi as well as the pathogenesis of various autoimmune diseases,such as multiple sclerosis,psoriasis,and ulcerative colitis.Although a global transcriptional regulatory network of Th17 cell differentiation has been mapped recently,the participation of epigenetic modifications in the differentiation process has yet to be elucidated.We demonstrated here that histone H3 lysine-27(H3K27)demethylation,predominantly mediated by the H3K27 demethylase Jmjd3,crucially regulated Th17 cell differentiation.Activation of naı¨ve CD41 T cells immediately induced high expression of Jmjd3.Genetic depletion of Jmjd3 in CD41 T cells specifically impaired Th17 cell differentiation both in vitro and in vivo.Ectopic expression of Jmjd3 largely rescued the impaired differentiation of Th17 cells in vitro in Jmjd3-deficientCD41 T cells.Importantly,Jmjd3-deficient mice were resistant to the induction of experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis(EAE).Furthermore,inhibition of the H3K27 demethylase activity with the specific inhibitor GSK-J4 dramatically suppressed Th17 cell differentiation in vitro.At the molecular level,Jmjd3 directly bound to and reduced the level of H3K27 trimethylation(me3)at the genomic sites ofRorc,which encodes the masterTh17 transcription factorRorgt,and Th17 cytokine genes such as Il17,Il17f,and Il22.Therefore,our studies established acritical role of Jmjd3-mediatedH3K27demethylation inTh17 cell differentiation andsuggest that Jmjd3 can be a novel therapeutic target for suppressing autoimmune responses.展开更多
The limited knowledge of genomic noncoding and regulatory regions has restricted our ability to decipher the genetic mechanisms underlying complex traits in pigs. In this study, we characterized the spatiotemporal lan...The limited knowledge of genomic noncoding and regulatory regions has restricted our ability to decipher the genetic mechanisms underlying complex traits in pigs. In this study, we characterized the spatiotemporal landscape of putative enhancers and promoters and their target genes by combining H3K27ac-targeted Ch IP-Seq and RNA-Seq in fetal(prenatal days 74–75) and adult(postnatal days 132–150) tissues(brain, liver, heart, muscle and small intestine) sampled from Asian aboriginal Bama Xiang and European highly selected Large White pigs of both sexes. We identified 101,290 H3K27ac peaks, marking 18,521promoters and 82,769 enhancers, including peaks that were active across all tissues and developmental stages(which could indicate safe harbor locus for exogenous gene insertion) and tissue-and developmental stage-specific peaks(which regulate gene pathways matching tissue-and developmental stage-specific physiological functions). We found that H3K27ac and DNA methylation in the promoter region of the XIST gene may be involved in X chromosome inactivation and demonstrated the utility of the present resource for revealing the regulatory patterns of known causal genes and prioritizing candidate causal variants for complex traits in pigs. In addition, we identified an average of 1,124 super-enhancers per sample and found that they were more likely to show tissue-specific activity than ordinary peaks. We have developed a web browser to improve the accessibility of the results(http://segtp.jxau.edu.cn/pencode/?genome=sus Scr11).展开更多
Histone methylation is a context-dependent modification that regulates gene expression,and the trimethylation of histone H3 lysine 27(H3K27me3)usually induces gene silencing.Overcoming colorectal cancer(CRC)chemoresis...Histone methylation is a context-dependent modification that regulates gene expression,and the trimethylation of histone H3 lysine 27(H3K27me3)usually induces gene silencing.Overcoming colorectal cancer(CRC)chemoresistance is currently a huge challenge,but the relationship between H3K27me3 modification and chemoresistance remains largely unclear.Here,we found that H3K27me3 levels positively correlated with the metastasis-free survival of CRC patients and a low H3K27me3 level predicted a poor outcome upon chemotherapeutic drug treatment.Oxaliplatin stimulation significantly induced the expression of H3K27 lysine demethylase 6A/6B(KDM6A/6B),thus decreasing the level of H3K27me3 in CRC cells.Elevation of H3K27me3 level through KDM6A/6B depletion or GSK-J4(a KDM6A/6B inhibitor)treatment significantly enhanced oxaliplatin-induced apoptosis.Conversely,when inhibiting the expression of H3K27me3 by EPZ-6438,an inhibitor of the histone methyltransferase EZH2,the proportion of apoptotic cells remarkably decreased.In addition,the combination of GSK-J4 and oxaliplatin significantly inhibited tumor growth in an oxaliplatin-resistant patient-derived xenograft model.Importantly,we revealed that oxaliplatin treatment dramatically induced NOTCH2 expression,which was caused by downregulation of H3K27me3 level on the NOTCH2 transcription initiation site.Thus,the activated NOTCH signaling promoted the expression of stemness-related genes,which resulted in oxaliplatin resistance.Furthermore,oxaliplatin-induced NOTCH signaling could be interrupted by GSK-J4 treatment.Collectively,our findings suggest that elevating H3K27me3 level can improve drug sensitivity in CRC patients.展开更多
Plant height has a major effect on grain yield in crops such as rice (Oryza sativa), and the hormone gibberellic acid (GA) regulates many developmental processes that feed into plant height. Rice ELONGATED UPPERMO...Plant height has a major effect on grain yield in crops such as rice (Oryza sativa), and the hormone gibberellic acid (GA) regulates many developmental processes that feed into plant height. Rice ELONGATED UPPERMOST INTERNODE1 (Euil) encodes a GA-deactivating enzyme governing elongation of the uppermost internode. The expression of Euil is finely tuned, thereby maintaining homeostasis of endogenous bioactive GA and producing plants of normal plant height. Here, we identified a dominant dwarf mutant, dEuil, caused by the deletion of an RY motif-containing cis-silencing element (SE1) in the intron of Euil. Detailed genetic and molecular analysis of SE1 revealed that this intronic cis element recruits at least one trans-acting repressor complex, containing the B3 repressors OsVAL2 and OsGD1, the SAP18 corepressor, and the histone deacetylase OsHDA710, to negatively regulate the expression of Euil. This com- plex generates closed chromatin at Euil, suppressing Euil expression and modulating GA homeostasis. Loss of SE1 or dysfunction of the complex components impairs histone deacetylation and H3K27me3 methylation of Euil chromatin, thereby increasing Euil transcription and decreasing bioactive GA, producing dwarfism in rice. Together, our results reveal a novel silencing mechanism in which the intronic cis element SE1 negatively regulates Euil expression via repressor complexes that modulate histone deacetylation and/or methylation.展开更多
文摘Histone methylation is an important epigenetic phenomenon that participates in a diverse array of cellular processes and has been found to be associated with cancer. Recent identification of several histone demethylases has proved that histone methylation is a reversible process. Through a candidate approach, we have biochemically identified JMJD3 as an H3K27 demethylase. Transfection of JMJD3 into HeLa cells caused a specific reduction oftrimethyl H3K27, but had no effect on di-and monomethyl H3K27, or histone lysine methylations on H3K4 and H3K9. The enzymatic activity requires the JmjC domain and the conserved histidine that has been suggested to be important for a cofactor binding. In vitro biochemical experiments demonstrated that JMJD3 directly catalyzes the demethylation. In addition, we found that JMJD3 is upregulated in prostate cancer, and its expression is higher in metastatic prostate cancer. Thus, we identified JMJD3 as a demethylase capable of removing the trimethyl group from histone H3 lysine 27 and upregulated in prostate cancer.
文摘Pre-exposure to a stress may alter the plant's cellular, biochemical, and/or transcriptional responses during future encounters as a "memory' from the previous stress. Genes increasing transcription in response to a first dehydra- tion stress, but producing much higher transcript levels in a subsequent stress, represent the super-induced 'transcription memory' genes in Arabidopsis thaliana. The chromatin environment (histone H3 tri-methylations of Lys 4 and Lys 27, H3K4me3, and H3K27me3) studied at five dehydration stress memory genes revealed existence of distinct memory- response subclasses that responded differently to CLF deficiency and displayed different transcriptional activities dur- ing the watered recovery periods. Among the most important findings is the novel aspect of the H3K27me3 function observed at specific dehydration stress memory genes. In contrast to its well-known role as a chromatin repressive mechanism at developmentally regulated genes, H3K27me3 did not prevent transcription from the dehydration stress- responding genes. The high H3K27me3 levels present during transcriptionally inactive states did not interfere with the transition to active transcription and with H3K4me3 accumulation. H3K4me3 and H3K27me3 marks function indepen- dently and are not mutually exclusive at the dehydration stress-responding memory genes.
基金supported by grants from the National Basic Research Program(2014CB541904,2011CB946102,and 2014CB943600)the National Natural Science Foundation of China(31370881,90919017,and 30972695)+1 种基金the Knowledge Innovation Project of Chinese Academy of Sciences(KSCX1-YW-22)the CAS-CSIRO Cooperative Research Program(GJHZ1409).
文摘Interleukin(IL)17-producing T helper(Th17)cells play critical roles in the clearance of extracellular bacteria and fungi as well as the pathogenesis of various autoimmune diseases,such as multiple sclerosis,psoriasis,and ulcerative colitis.Although a global transcriptional regulatory network of Th17 cell differentiation has been mapped recently,the participation of epigenetic modifications in the differentiation process has yet to be elucidated.We demonstrated here that histone H3 lysine-27(H3K27)demethylation,predominantly mediated by the H3K27 demethylase Jmjd3,crucially regulated Th17 cell differentiation.Activation of naı¨ve CD41 T cells immediately induced high expression of Jmjd3.Genetic depletion of Jmjd3 in CD41 T cells specifically impaired Th17 cell differentiation both in vitro and in vivo.Ectopic expression of Jmjd3 largely rescued the impaired differentiation of Th17 cells in vitro in Jmjd3-deficientCD41 T cells.Importantly,Jmjd3-deficient mice were resistant to the induction of experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis(EAE).Furthermore,inhibition of the H3K27 demethylase activity with the specific inhibitor GSK-J4 dramatically suppressed Th17 cell differentiation in vitro.At the molecular level,Jmjd3 directly bound to and reduced the level of H3K27 trimethylation(me3)at the genomic sites ofRorc,which encodes the masterTh17 transcription factorRorgt,and Th17 cytokine genes such as Il17,Il17f,and Il22.Therefore,our studies established acritical role of Jmjd3-mediatedH3K27demethylation inTh17 cell differentiation andsuggest that Jmjd3 can be a novel therapeutic target for suppressing autoimmune responses.
基金supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (31790413, 31760657)。
文摘The limited knowledge of genomic noncoding and regulatory regions has restricted our ability to decipher the genetic mechanisms underlying complex traits in pigs. In this study, we characterized the spatiotemporal landscape of putative enhancers and promoters and their target genes by combining H3K27ac-targeted Ch IP-Seq and RNA-Seq in fetal(prenatal days 74–75) and adult(postnatal days 132–150) tissues(brain, liver, heart, muscle and small intestine) sampled from Asian aboriginal Bama Xiang and European highly selected Large White pigs of both sexes. We identified 101,290 H3K27ac peaks, marking 18,521promoters and 82,769 enhancers, including peaks that were active across all tissues and developmental stages(which could indicate safe harbor locus for exogenous gene insertion) and tissue-and developmental stage-specific peaks(which regulate gene pathways matching tissue-and developmental stage-specific physiological functions). We found that H3K27ac and DNA methylation in the promoter region of the XIST gene may be involved in X chromosome inactivation and demonstrated the utility of the present resource for revealing the regulatory patterns of known causal genes and prioritizing candidate causal variants for complex traits in pigs. In addition, we identified an average of 1,124 super-enhancers per sample and found that they were more likely to show tissue-specific activity than ordinary peaks. We have developed a web browser to improve the accessibility of the results(http://segtp.jxau.edu.cn/pencode/?genome=sus Scr11).
基金This work was supported by the National Program on Key Research(2018YFA0107500 and 2016YFC1302400)the National Natural Science Foundation of China(91742113 and 31570902)Natural Science Foundation of Shanghai(14ZR14-26300,18ZR1424400,18ZR1446400,and 18431902700).
文摘Histone methylation is a context-dependent modification that regulates gene expression,and the trimethylation of histone H3 lysine 27(H3K27me3)usually induces gene silencing.Overcoming colorectal cancer(CRC)chemoresistance is currently a huge challenge,but the relationship between H3K27me3 modification and chemoresistance remains largely unclear.Here,we found that H3K27me3 levels positively correlated with the metastasis-free survival of CRC patients and a low H3K27me3 level predicted a poor outcome upon chemotherapeutic drug treatment.Oxaliplatin stimulation significantly induced the expression of H3K27 lysine demethylase 6A/6B(KDM6A/6B),thus decreasing the level of H3K27me3 in CRC cells.Elevation of H3K27me3 level through KDM6A/6B depletion or GSK-J4(a KDM6A/6B inhibitor)treatment significantly enhanced oxaliplatin-induced apoptosis.Conversely,when inhibiting the expression of H3K27me3 by EPZ-6438,an inhibitor of the histone methyltransferase EZH2,the proportion of apoptotic cells remarkably decreased.In addition,the combination of GSK-J4 and oxaliplatin significantly inhibited tumor growth in an oxaliplatin-resistant patient-derived xenograft model.Importantly,we revealed that oxaliplatin treatment dramatically induced NOTCH2 expression,which was caused by downregulation of H3K27me3 level on the NOTCH2 transcription initiation site.Thus,the activated NOTCH signaling promoted the expression of stemness-related genes,which resulted in oxaliplatin resistance.Furthermore,oxaliplatin-induced NOTCH signaling could be interrupted by GSK-J4 treatment.Collectively,our findings suggest that elevating H3K27me3 level can improve drug sensitivity in CRC patients.
基金This work was supported by the National Key Research and Development Program of China (2016YFD0100804) and grants from the National Natural Science Foundation of China (31471564)to L.C.
文摘Plant height has a major effect on grain yield in crops such as rice (Oryza sativa), and the hormone gibberellic acid (GA) regulates many developmental processes that feed into plant height. Rice ELONGATED UPPERMOST INTERNODE1 (Euil) encodes a GA-deactivating enzyme governing elongation of the uppermost internode. The expression of Euil is finely tuned, thereby maintaining homeostasis of endogenous bioactive GA and producing plants of normal plant height. Here, we identified a dominant dwarf mutant, dEuil, caused by the deletion of an RY motif-containing cis-silencing element (SE1) in the intron of Euil. Detailed genetic and molecular analysis of SE1 revealed that this intronic cis element recruits at least one trans-acting repressor complex, containing the B3 repressors OsVAL2 and OsGD1, the SAP18 corepressor, and the histone deacetylase OsHDA710, to negatively regulate the expression of Euil. This com- plex generates closed chromatin at Euil, suppressing Euil expression and modulating GA homeostasis. Loss of SE1 or dysfunction of the complex components impairs histone deacetylation and H3K27me3 methylation of Euil chromatin, thereby increasing Euil transcription and decreasing bioactive GA, producing dwarfism in rice. Together, our results reveal a novel silencing mechanism in which the intronic cis element SE1 negatively regulates Euil expression via repressor complexes that modulate histone deacetylation and/or methylation.