Dynamics of MBD2 deposition across methylated DNA regions during malignant transformation of human mammary epithelial cells.

DNA methylation is thought to induce transcriptional silencing through the combination of two mechanisms: the repulsion of transcriptional activators unable to bind their target sites when methylated, and the recruitment of transcriptional repressors with specific affinity for methylated DNA. The Methyl CpG Binding Domain proteins MeCP2, MBD1 and MBD2 belong to the latter category. Here, we present MBD2 ChIPseq data obtained from the endogenous MBD2 in an isogenic cellular model of oncogenic transformation of human mammary cells. In immortalized (HMEC-hTERT) or transformed (HMLER) cells, MBD2 was found in a large proportion of methylated regions and associated with transcriptional silencing. A redistribution of MBD2 on methylated DNA occurred during oncogenic transformation, frequently independently of local DNA methylation changes. Genes downregulated during HMEC-hTERT transformation preferentially gained MBD2 on their promoter. Furthermore, depletion of MBD2 induced an upregulation of MBD2-bound genes methylated at their promoter regions, in HMLER cells. Among the 3,160 genes downregulated in transformed cells, 380 genes were methylated at their promoter regions in both cell lines, specifically associated by MBD2 in HMLER cells, and upregulated upon MBD2 depletion in HMLER. The transcriptional MBD2-dependent downregulation occurring during oncogenic transformation was also observed in two additional models of mammary cell transformation. Thus, the dynamics of MBD2 deposition across methylated DNA regions was associated with the oncogenic transformation of human mammary cells.

Impact of G-quadruplex structures and intronic polymorphisms rs17878362 and rs1642785 on basal and ionizing radiation-induced expression of alternative p53 transcripts.

G-quadruplex (G4) structures in intron 3 of the p53 pre-mRNA modulate intron 2 splicing, altering the balance between the fully spliced p53 transcript (FSp53, encoding full-length p53) and an incompletely spliced transcript retaining intron 2 (p53I2 encoding the N-terminally truncated Δ40p53 isoform). The nucleotides forming G4s overlap the polymorphism rs17878362 (A1 wild-type allele, A2 16-base pair insertion) which is in linkage disequilibrium with rs1642785 in intron 2 (c.74+38 G>C). Biophysical and biochemical analyses show rs17878362 A2 alleles form similar G4 structures as A1 alleles although their position is shifted with respect to the intron 2 splice acceptor site. In addition basal FSp53 and p53I2 levels showed allele specific differences in both p53-null cells transfected with reporter constructs or lymphoblastoid cell lines. The highest FSp53 and p53I2 levels were associated with combined rs1642785-GG/rs17878362-A1A1 alleles, whereas the presence of rs1642785-C with either rs17878362 allele was associated with lower p53 pre-mRNA, total TP53, FSp53 and p53I2 levels, due to the lower stability of transcripts containing rs1642785-C. Treatment of lymphoblastoid cell with the G4 binding ligands 360A or PhenDC3 or with ionizing radiation increased FSp53 levels only in cells with rs17878362 A1 alleles, suggesting that under this G4 configuration full splicing is favoured. These results demonstrate the complex effects of intronic TP53 polymorphisms on G4 formation and identify a new role for rs1642785 on mRNA splicing and stability, and thus on the differential expression of isoform-specific transcripts of the TP53 gene.

Age at cancer onset in germline TP53 mutation carriers: association with polymorphisms in predicted G-quadruplex structures.

Germline TP53 mutations predispose to multiple cancers defining Li-Fraumeni/Li-Fraumeni-like syndrome (LFS/LFL), a disease with large individual disparities in cancer profiles and age of onset. G-quadruplexes (G4s) are secondary structural motifs occurring in guanine tracks, with regulatory effects on DNA and RNA. We analyzed 85 polymorphisms within or near five predicted G4s in TP53 in search of modifiers of penetrance of LFS/LFL in Brazilian cancer families with (n = 35) or without (n = 110) TP53 mutations. Statistical analyses stratified on family structure showed that cancer tended to occur ~15 years later in mutation carriers who also carried the variant alleles of two polymorphisms within predicted G4-forming regions, rs17878362 (TP53 PIN3, 16 bp duplication in intron 3; P = 0.082) and rs17880560 (6 bp duplication in 3' flanking region; P = 0.067). Haplotype analysis showed that this inverse association was driven by the polymorphic status of the remaining wild-type (WT) haplotype in mutation carriers: in carriers with a WT haplotype containing at least one variant allele of rs17878362 or rs17880560, cancer occurred ~15 years later than in carriers with other WT haplotypes (P = 0.019). No effect on age of cancer onset was observed in subjects without a TP53 mutation. The G4 in intron 3 has been shown to regulate alternative p53 messenger RNA splicing, whereas the biological roles of predicted G4s in the 3' flanking region remain to be elucidated. In conclusion, this study demonstrates that G4 polymorphisms in haplotypes of the WT TP53 allele have an impact on LFS/LFL penetrance in germline TP53 mutation carriers.

Specific association between the methyl-CpG-binding domain protein 2 and the hypermethylated region of the human telomerase reverse transcriptase promoter in cancer cells.

Human telomerase reverse transcriptase (hTERT) is expressed in most cancer cells. Paradoxically, its promoter is embedded in a hypermethylated CpG island. A short region escapes to this alteration, allowing a basal level of transcription. However, the methylation of adjacent regions may play a role in the maintenance of low hTERT expression. It is now well established that methyl-CpG binding domain proteins mediate the transcriptional silencing of hypermethylated genes. The potential involvement of these proteins in the control of hTERT expression was firstly investigated in HeLa cells. Chromatin immunoprecipitation assays showed that only methyl-CpG-binding domain protein 2 (MBD2) associated the hypermethylated hTERT promoter. In MBD2 knockdown HeLa cells, constitutively depleted in MBD2, neither methyl CpG binding protein 2 (MeCP2) nor MBD1 acted as substitutes for MBD2. MBD2 depletion by transient or constitutive RNA interference led to an upregulation of hTERT transcription that can be downregulated by expressing mouse Mbd2 protein. Our results indicate that MBD2 is specifically and directly involved in the transcriptional repression of hTERT in HeLa cells. This specific transcriptional repression was also observed in breast, liver and neuroblastoma cancer cell lines. Thus, MBD2 seems to be a general repressor of hTERT in hTERT-methylated telomerase-positive cells.

The "Methyl-CpG Binding Domain protein 2" plays a repressive role in relation to the promoter CpG content in the normal human cell line MRC5.

In cancer cells, methylation-dependent gene silencing is at least partly mediated by the "Methyl-CpG-Binding Domain protein 2" (MBD2 protein), via the recruitment of chromatin remodeling complexes. However this repressive role was poorly investigated in normal cells. To identify the genes repressed by MBD2 in these cells, we have determined the impact of MBD2 depletion on gene expression in human embryonic MRC5 fibroblasts, using RNA inference combined with microarray analysis. The up-regulation of some randomly selected genes was confirmed and a direct association between gene repression and MBD2 binding on methylated promoters associated to these genes was subsequently established. This control of gene expression appears to depend on the CpG content of promoters as MBD2 depletion was not sufficient to induce the expression of silent genes associated with High-CpG promoters, but it was required to achieve the methyl-dependent transcriptional locking of the genes associated with promoters exhibiting intermediate CpG content. Therefore, MBD2 seems to play a selective role in gene repression depending on the CpG content of the promoter regions.

Preferential binding of the methyl-CpG binding domain protein 2 at methylated transcriptional start site regions.

Methyl-CpG Binding Domain (MBD) proteins are thought to be key molecules in the interpretation of DNA methylation signals leading to gene silencing through recruitment of chromatin remodeling complexes. In cancer, the MBD-family member, MBD2, may be primarily involved in the repression of genes exhibiting methylated CpG at their 5' end. Here we ask whether MBD2 randomly associates methylated sequences, producing chance effects on transcription, or exhibits a more specific recognition of some methylated regions. Using chromatin and DNA immunoprecipitation, we analyzed MBD2 and RNA polymerase II deposition and DNA methylation in HeLa cells on arrays representing 25,500 promoter regions. This first whole-genome mapping revealed the preferential localization of MBD2 near transcription start sites (TSSs), within the region analyzed, 7.5 kb upstream through 2.45 kb downstream of 5' transcription start sites. Probe by probe analysis correlated MBD2 deposition and DNA methylation. Motif analysis did not reveal specific sequence motifs; however, CCG and CGC sequences seem to be overrepresented. Nonrandom association (multiple correspondence analysis, p < 0.0001) between silent genes, DNA methylation and MBD2 binding was observed. The association between MBD2 binding and transcriptional repression weakened as the distance between binding site and TSS increased, suggesting that MBD2 represses transcriptional initiation. This hypothesis may represent a functional explanation for the preferential binding of MBD2 at methyl-CpG in TSS regions.