Senescence atlas reveals an aged-like inflamed niche that blunts muscle regeneration.

Tissue regeneration requires coordination between resident stem cells and local niche cells1,2. Here we identify that senescent cells are integral components of the skeletal muscle regenerative niche that repress regeneration at all stages of life. The technical limitation of senescent-cell scarcity3 was overcome by combining single-cell transcriptomics and a senescent-cell enrichment sorting protocol. We identified and isolated different senescent cell types from damaged muscles of young and old mice. Deeper transcriptome, chromatin and pathway analyses revealed conservation of cell identity traits as well as two universal senescence hallmarks (inflammation and fibrosis) across cell type, regeneration time and ageing. Senescent cells create an aged-like inflamed niche that mirrors inflammation associated with ageing (inflammageing4) and arrests stem cell proliferation and regeneration. Reducing the burden of senescent cells, or reducing their inflammatory secretome through CD36 neutralization, accelerates regeneration in young and old mice. By contrast, transplantation of senescent cells delays regeneration. Our results provide a technique for isolating in vivo senescent cells, define a senescence blueprint for muscle, and uncover unproductive functional interactions between senescent cells and stem cells in regenerative niches that can be overcome. As senescent cells also accumulate in human muscles, our findings open potential paths for improving muscle repair throughout life.

Neural stem/precursor cells dynamically change their epigenetic landscape to differentially respond to BMP signaling for fate switching during brain development.

During neocortical development, tight regulation of neurogenesis-to-astrogenesis switching of neural precursor cells (NPCs) is critical to generate a balanced number of each neural cell type for proper brain functions. Accumulating evidence indicates that a complex array of epigenetic modifications and the availability of extracellular factors control the timing of neuronal and astrocytic differentiation. However, our understanding of NPC fate regulation is still far from complete. Bone morphogenetic proteins (BMPs) are renowned as cytokines that induce astrogenesis of gliogenic late-gestational NPCs. They also promote neurogenesis of mid-gestational NPCs, although the underlying mechanisms remain elusive. By performing multiple genome-wide analyses, we demonstrate that Smads, transcription factors that act downstream from BMP signaling, target dramatically different genomic regions in neurogenic and gliogenic NPCs. We found that histone H3K27 trimethylation and DNA methylation around Smad-binding sites change rapidly as gestation proceeds, strongly associated with the alteration of accessibility of Smads to their target binding sites. Furthermore, we identified two lineage-specific Smad-interacting partners-Sox11 for neurogenic and Sox8 for astrocytic differentiation-that further ensure Smad-regulated fate-specific gene induction. Our findings illuminate an exquisite regulation of NPC property change mediated by the interplay between cell-extrinsic cues and -intrinsic epigenetic programs during cortical development.

The Dynamics of Transcriptional Activation by Hepatic Reprogramming Factors.

Specific combinations of two transcription factors (Hnf4α plus Foxa1, Foxa2, or Foxa3) can induce direct conversion of mouse fibroblasts into hepatocyte-like cells. However, the molecular mechanisms underlying hepatic reprogramming are largely unknown. Here, we show that the Foxa protein family members and Hnf4α sequentially and cooperatively bind to chromatin to activate liver-specific gene expression. Although all Foxa proteins bind to and open regions of closed chromatin as pioneer factors, Foxa3 has the unique potential of transferring from the distal to proximal regions of the transcription start site of target genes, binding RNA polymerase II, and co-traversing target genes. These distinctive characteristics of Foxa3 are essential for inducing the hepatic fate in fibroblasts. Similar functional coupling of transcription factors to RNA polymerase II may occur in other contexts whereby transcriptional activation can induce cell differentiation.

Genomic Profiling by ALaP-Seq Reveals Transcriptional Regulation by PML Bodies through DNMT3A Exclusion.

The promyelocytic leukemia (PML) body is a phase-separated nuclear structure physically associated with chromatin, implying its crucial roles in genome functions. However, its role in transcriptional regulation is largely unknown. We developed APEX-mediated chromatin labeling and purification (ALaP) to identify the genomic regions proximal to PML bodies. We found that PML bodies associate with active regulatory regions across the genome and with ∼300 kb of the short arm of the Y chromosome (YS300) in mouse embryonic stem cells. The PML body association with YS300 is essential for the transcriptional activity of the neighboring Y-linked clustered genes. Mechanistically, PML bodies provide specific nuclear spaces that the de novo DNA methyltransferase DNMT3A cannot access, resulting in the steady maintenance of a hypo-methylated state at Y-linked gene promoters. Our study underscores a new mechanism for gene regulation in the 3D nuclear space and provides insights into the functional properties of nuclear structures for genome function.

Unusual nucleosome formation and transcriptome influence by the histone H3mm18 variant.

Histone H3mm18 is a non-allelic H3 variant expressed in skeletal muscle and brain in mice. However, its function has remained enigmatic. We found that H3mm18 is incorporated into chromatin in cells with low efficiency, as compared to H3.3. We determined the structures of the nucleosome core particle (NCP) containing H3mm18 by cryo-electron microscopy, which revealed that the entry/exit DNA regions are drastically disordered in the H3mm18 NCP. Consistently, the H3mm18 NCP is substantially unstable in vitro. The forced expression of H3mm18 in mouse myoblast C2C12 cells markedly suppressed muscle differentiation. A transcriptome analysis revealed that the forced expression of H3mm18 affected the expression of multiple genes, and suppressed a group of genes involved in muscle development. These results suggest a novel gene expression regulation system in which the chromatin landscape is altered by the formation of unusual nucleosomes with a histone variant, H3mm18, and provide important insight into understanding transcription regulation by chromatin.

Interleukin-10-producing plasmablasts exert regulatory function in autoimmune inflammation.

B cells can suppress autoimmunity by secreting interleukin-10 (IL-10). Although subpopulations of splenic B lineage cells are reported to express IL-10 in vitro, the identity of IL-10-producing B cells with regulatory function in vivo remains unknown. By using IL-10 reporter mice, we found that plasmablasts in the draining lymph nodes (dLNs), but not splenic B lineage cells, predominantly expressed IL-10 during experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE). These plasmablasts were generated only during EAE inflammation. Mice lacking plasmablasts by genetic ablation of the transcription factors Blimp1 or IRF4 in B lineage cells developed an exacerbated EAE. Furthermore, IRF4 positively regulated IL-10 production that can inhibit dendritic cell functions to generate pathogenic T cells. Our data demonstrate that plasmablasts in the dLNs serve as IL-10 producers to limit autoimmune inflammation and emphasize the importance of plasmablasts as IL-10-producing regulatory B cells.

H4K20me1 and H3K27me3 are concurrently loaded onto the inactive X chromosome but dispensable for inducing gene silencing.

During X chromosome inactivation (XCI), in female placental mammals, gene silencing is initiated by the Xist long non-coding RNA. Xist accumulation at the X leads to enrichment of specific chromatin marks, including PRC2-dependent H3K27me3 and SETD8-dependent H4K20me1. However, the dynamics of this process in relation to Xist RNA accumulation remains unknown as is the involvement of H4K20me1 in initiating gene silencing. To follow XCI dynamics in living cells, we developed a genetically encoded, H3K27me3-specific intracellular antibody or H3K27me3-mintbody. By combining live-cell imaging of H3K27me3, H4K20me1, the X chromosome and Xist RNA, with ChIP-seq analysis we uncover concurrent accumulation of both marks during XCI, albeit with distinct genomic distributions. Furthermore, using a Xist B and C repeat mutant, which still shows gene silencing on the X but not H3K27me3 deposition, we also find a complete lack of H4K20me1 enrichment. This demonstrates that H4K20me1 is dispensable for the initiation of gene silencing, although it may have a role in the chromatin compaction that characterises facultative heterochromatin.

Drosophila transcription factor NF-Y suppresses transcription of the lipase 4 gene, a key gene for lipid storage.

The CCAAT motif-binding factor NF-Y consists of three different subunits, NF-YA, NF-YB, and NF-YC. Although it is suggested that NF-Y activity is essential for normal tissue homeostasis, survival, and metabolic function, its precise role in lipid metabolism is not clarified yet. In Drosophila, eye disc specific knockdown of Drosophila NF-YA (dNF-YA) induced aberrant morphology of the compound eye, the rough eye phenotype in adults and mutation of the lipase 4 (lip4) gene suppressed the rough eye phenotype. RNA-seq analyses with dNF-YA knockdown third instar larvae identified the lip4 gene as one of the genes that are up-regulated by the dNF-YA knockdown. We identified three dNF-Y-binding consensuses in the 5'flanking region of the lip4 gene, and a chromatin immunoprecipitation assay with the specific anti-dNF-YA IgG demonstrated dNF-Y binding to this genomic region. The luciferase transient expression assay with cultured Drosophila S2 cells and the lip4 promoter-luciferase fusion genes with and without mutations in the dNF-Y-binding consensuses showed that each of the three dNF-Y consensus sequences negatively regulated lip4 gene promoter activity. Consistent with these results, qRT-PCR analysis with the dNF-YA knockdown third instar larvae revealed that endogenous lip4 mRNA levels were increased by the knockdown of dNF-YA in vivo. The specific knockdown of dNF-YA in the fat body with the collagen-GAL4 driver resulted in smaller oil droplets in the fat body cells. Collectively, these results suggest that dNF-Y is involved in lipid storage through its negative regulation of lip4 gene transcription.

Chromatin loading of MCM hexamers is associated with di-/tri-methylation of histone H4K20 toward S phase entry.

DNA replication is a key step in initiating cell proliferation. Loading hexameric complexes of minichromosome maintenance (MCM) helicase onto DNA replication origins during the G1 phase is essential for initiating DNA replication. Here, we examined MCM hexamer states during the cell cycle in human hTERT-RPE1 cells using multicolor immunofluorescence-based, single-cell plot analysis, and biochemical size fractionation. Experiments involving cell-cycle arrest at the G1 phase and release from the arrest revealed that a double MCM hexamer was formed via a single hexamer during G1 progression. A single MCM hexamer was recruited to chromatin in the early G1 phase. Another single hexamer was recruited to form a double hexamer in the late G1 phase. We further examined relationship between the MCM hexamer states and the methylation levels at lysine 20 of histone H4 (H4K20) and found that the double MCM hexamer state was correlated with di/trimethyl-H4K20 (H4K20me2/3). Inhibiting the conversion from monomethyl-H4K20 (H4K20me1) to H4K20me2/3 retained the cells in the single MCM hexamer state. Non-proliferative cells, including confluent cells or Cdk4/6 inhibitor-treated cells, also remained halted in the single MCM hexamer state. We propose that the single MCM hexamer state is a halting step in the determination of cell cycle progression.

Dmrt factors determine the positional information of cerebral cortical progenitors via differential suppression of homeobox genes.

The spatiotemporal identity of neural progenitors and the regional control of neurogenesis are essential for the development of cerebral cortical architecture. Here, we report that mammalian DM domain factors (Dmrt) determine the identity of cerebral cortical progenitors. Among the Dmrt family genes expressed in the developing dorsal telencephalon, Dmrt3 and Dmrta2 show a medialhigh/laterallow expression gradient. Their simultaneous loss confers a ventral identity to dorsal progenitors, resulting in the ectopic expression of Gsx2 and massive production of GABAergic olfactory bulb interneurons in the dorsal telencephalon. Furthermore, double-mutant progenitors in the medial region exhibit upregulated Pax6 and more lateral characteristics. These ventral and lateral shifts in progenitor identity depend on Dmrt gene dosage. We also found that Dmrt factors bind to Gsx2 and Pax6 enhancers to suppress their expression. Our findings thus reveal that the graded expression of Dmrt factors provide positional information for progenitors by differentially repressing downstream genes in the developing cerebral cortex.

Cell-autonomous and redundant roles of Hey1 and HeyL in muscle stem cells: HeyL requires Hes1 to bind diverse DNA sites.

The undifferentiated state of muscle stem (satellite) cells (MuSCs) is maintained by the canonical Notch pathway. Although three bHLH transcriptional factors, Hey1, HeyL and Hes1, are considered to be potential effectors of the Notch pathway exerting anti-myogenic effects, neither HeyL nor Hes1 inhibits myogenic differentiation of myogenic cell lines. Furthermore, whether these factors work redundantly or cooperatively is unknown. Here, we showed cell-autonomous functions of Hey1 and HeyL in MuSCs using conditional and genetic null mice. Analysis of cultured MuSCs revealed anti-myogenic activity of both HeyL and Hes1. We found that HeyL forms heterodimeric complexes with Hes1 in living cells. Moreover, our ChIP-seq experiments demonstrated that, compared with HeyL alone, the HeyL-Hes1 heterodimer binds with high affinity to specific sites in the chromatin, including the binding sites of Hey1. Finally, analyses of myogenin promoter activity showed that HeyL and Hes1 act synergistically to suppress myogenic differentiation. Collectively, these results suggest that HeyL and Hey1 function redundantly in MuSCs, and that HeyL requires Hes1 for effective DNA binding and biological activity.

Transcriptome analysis of gene expression changes upon enzymatic dissociation in skeletal myoblasts.

Single-cell RNA-sequencing analysis is one of the most effective tools for understanding specific cellular states. The use of single cells or pooled cells in RNA-seq analysis requires the isolation of cells from a tissue or culture. Although trypsin or more recently cold-active protease (CAP) has been used for cell dissociation, the extent to which the gene expression changes are suppressed has not been clarified. To this end, we conducted detailed profiling of the enzyme-dependent gene expression changes in mouse skeletal muscle progenitor cells, focusing on the enzyme treatment time, amount and temperature. We found that the genes whose expression was changed by the enzyme treatment could be classified in a time-dependent manner and that there were genes whose expression was changed independently of the enzyme treatment time, amount and temperature. This study will be useful as reference data for genes that should be excluded or considered for RNA-seq analysis using enzyme isolation methods.

Modeling population size independent tissue epigenomes by ChIL-seq with single thin sections.

Recent advances in genome-wide technologies have enabled analyses using small cell numbers of even single cells. However, obtaining tissue epigenomes with cell-type resolution from large organs and tissues still remains challenging, especially when the available material is limited. Here, we present a ChIL-based approach for analyzing the diverse cellular dynamics at the tissue level using high-depth epigenomic data. "ChIL for tissues" allows the analysis of a single tissue section and can reproducibly generate epigenomic profiles from several tissue types, based on the distribution of target epigenomic states, tissue morphology, and number of cells. The proposed method enabled the independent evaluation of changes in cell populations and gene activation in cells from regenerating skeletal muscle tissues, using a statistical model of RNA polymerase II distribution on gene loci. Thus, the integrative analyses performed using ChIL can elucidate in vivo cell-type dynamics of tissues.

Discriminative feature of cells characterizes cell populations of interest by a small subset of genes.

Organisms are composed of various cell types with specific states. To obtain a comprehensive understanding of the functions of organs and tissues, cell types have been classified and defined by identifying specific marker genes. Statistical tests are critical for identifying marker genes, which often involve evaluating differences in the mean expression levels of genes. Differentially expressed gene (DEG)-based analysis has been the most frequently used method of this kind. However, in association with increases in sample size such as in single-cell analysis, DEG-based analysis has faced difficulties associated with the inflation of P-values. Here, we propose the concept of discriminative feature of cells (DFC), an alternative to using DEG-based approaches. We implemented DFC using logistic regression with an adaptive LASSO penalty to perform binary classification for discriminating a population of interest and variable selection to obtain a small subset of defining genes. We demonstrated that DFC prioritized gene pairs with non-independent expression using artificial data and that DFC enabled characterization of the muscle satellite/progenitor cell population. The results revealed that DFC well captured cell-type-specific markers, specific gene expression patterns, and subcategories of this cell population. DFC may complement DEG-based methods for interpreting large data sets. DEG-based analysis uses lists of genes with differences in expression between groups, while DFC, which can be termed a discriminative approach, has potential applications in the task of cell characterization. Upon recent advances in the high-throughput analysis of single cells, methods of cell characterization such as scRNA-seq can be effectively subjected to the discriminative methods.

CHD8 haploinsufficiency results in autistic-like phenotypes in mice.

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) comprises a range of neurodevelopmental disorders characterized by deficits in social interaction and communication as well as by restricted and repetitive behaviours. ASD has a strong genetic component with high heritability. Exome sequencing analysis has recently identified many de novo mutations in a variety of genes in individuals with ASD, with CHD8, a gene encoding a chromatin remodeller, being most frequently affected. Whether CHD8 mutations are causative for ASD and how they might establish ASD traits have remained unknown. Here we show that mice heterozygous for Chd8 mutations manifest ASD-like behavioural characteristics including increased anxiety, repetitive behaviour, and altered social behaviour. CHD8 haploinsufficiency did not result in prominent changes in the expression of a few specific genes but instead gave rise to small but global changes in gene expression in the mouse brain, reminiscent of those in the brains of patients with ASD. Gene set enrichment analysis revealed that neurodevelopment was delayed in the mutant mouse embryos. Furthermore, reduced expression of CHD8 was associated with abnormal activation of RE-1 silencing transcription factor (REST), which suppresses the transcription of many neuronal genes. REST activation was also observed in the brains of humans with ASD, and CHD8 was found to interact physically with REST in the mouse brain. Our results are thus consistent with the notion that CHD8 haploinsufficiency is a highly penetrant risk factor for ASD, with disease pathogenesis probably resulting from a delay in neurodevelopment.

Regulation of ectopic heterochromatin-mediated epigenetic diversification by the JmjC family protein Epe1.

H3K9 methylation (H3K9me) is a conserved marker of heterochromatin, a transcriptionally silent chromatin structure. Knowledge of the mechanisms for regulating heterochromatin distribution is limited. The fission yeast JmjC domain-containing protein Epe1 localizes to heterochromatin mainly through its interaction with Swi6, a homologue of heterochromatin protein 1 (HP1), and directs JmjC-mediated H3K9me demethylation in vivo. Here, we found that loss of epe1 (epe1Δ) induced a red-white variegated phenotype in a red-pigment accumulation background that generated uniform red colonies. Analysis of isolated red and white colonies revealed that silencing of genes involved in pigment accumulation by stochastic ectopic heterochromatin formation led to white colony formation. In addition, genome-wide analysis of red- and white-isolated clones revealed that epe1Δ resulted in a heterogeneous heterochromatin distribution among clones. We found that Epe1 had an N-terminal domain distinct from its JmjC domain, which activated transcription in both fission and budding yeasts. The N-terminal transcriptional activation (NTA) domain was involved in suppression of ectopic heterochromatin-mediated red-white variegation. We introduced a single copy of Epe1 into epe1Δ clones harboring ectopic heterochromatin, and found that Epe1 could reduce H3K9me from ectopic heterochromatin but some of the heterochromatin persisted. This persistence was due to a latent H3K9me source embedded in ectopic heterochromatin. Epe1H297A, a canonical JmjC mutant, suppressed red-white variegation, but entirely failed to remove already-established ectopic heterochromatin, suggesting that Epe1 prevented stochastic de novo deposition of ectopic H3K9me in an NTA-dependent but JmjC-independent manner, while its JmjC domain mediated removal of H3K9me from established ectopic heterochromatin. Our results suggest that Epe1 not only limits the distribution of heterochromatin but also controls the balance between suppression and retention of heterochromatin-mediated epigenetic diversification.

Targeted inhibition of EPAS1-driven IL-31 production by a small-molecule compound.

BACKGROUND: IL-31 is a major pruritogen associated with atopic dermatitis (AD). Although a specific antibody for IL-31 receptor has been shown to alleviate pruritus in patients with AD, therapeutic approaches to inhibition of IL-31 production remain unexploited. IL-31 production by TH cells critically depends on the transcription factor EPAS1, which mediates IL31 promoter activation in collaboration with SP1. OBJECTIVE: We aimed at developing small-molecule inhibitors that selectively block IL-31 production by TH cells. METHODS: We generated the reporter cell line that inducibly expressed EPAS1 in the presence of doxycycline to mediate Il31 promoter activation, and we screened 9600 chemical compounds. The selected compounds were further examined by using TH cells from a spontaneous mouse model of AD and TH cells from patients with AD. RESULTS: We have identified 4-(2-(4-isopropylbenzylidene)hydrazineyl)benzoic acid (IPHBA) as an inhibitor of IL31 induction. Although IPHBA did not affect nonspecific T-cell proliferation, IPHBA inhibited antigen-induced IL-31 production by TH cells from both an AD mouse model and patients with AD without affecting other cytokine production and hypoxic responses. In line with this, itch responses induced by adoptive transfer of IL-31-producing TH cells were attenuated when mice were orally treated with IPHBA. Mechanistically, IPHBA inhibited the association between EPAS1 and SP1, resulting in defective recruitment of both transcription factors to the specific sites of the IL31 promoter. We also determined the structure-activity relationship of IPHBA by synthesizing and analyzing 201 analogous compounds. CONCLUSION: IPHBA could be a potential drug leading to inhibition of EPAS1-driven IL-31 production.

The role of galanin in the differentiation of mucosal mast cells in mice.

Mast cells are generally classified into two phenotypically distinct populations: mucosal-type mast cells (MMCs) and connective tissue-type mast cells (CTMCs). However, the molecular basis determining the different characteristics of the mast cell subclasses still remains unclear. Unfortunately, the number of mast cells that can be obtained from tissues is limited, which makes it difficult to study the function of each mast cell subclass. Here, we report the generation and characterization of MMCs and CTMCs derived from mouse BM mast cells (BMMCs). We found that the expression of galanin receptor 3 was elevated in MMCs when compared to the expression in CTMCs. Moreover, intraperitoneal injection of a galanin antagonist reduced MMCs and inhibited the inflammation of dextran sodium sulfate-induced colitis in mice. Therefore, these results suggest that galanin promotes MMC differentiation in vivo, and provide important insights into the molecular mechanisms underlying the differentiation of mast cell subclasses.

Fetal Leydig cells dedifferentiate and serve as adult Leydig stem cells.

Previous studies have established that fetal Leydig cells (FLCs) and adult Leydig cells (ALCs) show distinct functional characteristics. However, the lineage relationship between FLCs and ALCs has not been clarified yet. Here, we reveal that a subset of FLCs dedifferentiate at fetal stages to give rise to ALCs at the pubertal stage. Moreover, the dedifferentiated cells contribute to the peritubular myoid cell and vascular pericyte populations in the neonatal testis, and these non-steroidogenic cells serve as potential ALC stem cells. We generated FLC lineage-specific Nr5a1 (Ad4BP/SF-1) gene-disrupted mice and mice lacking the fetal Leydig enhancer (FLE) of the Nr5a1 gene. Phenotypes of these mice support the conclusion that most of the ALCs arise from dedifferentiated FLCs, and that the FLE of the Nr5a1 gene is essential for both initial FLC differentiation and pubertal ALC redifferentiation.