H3K4me3 regulates RNA polymerase II promoter-proximal pause-release.

Trimethylation of histone H3 lysine 4 (H3K4me3) is associated with transcriptional start sites and has been proposed to regulate transcription initiation1,2. However, redundant functions of the H3K4 SET1/COMPASS methyltransferase complexes complicate the elucidation of the specific role of H3K4me3 in transcriptional regulation3,4. Here, using mouse embryonic stem cells as a model system, we show that acute ablation of shared subunits of the SET1/COMPASS complexes leads to a complete loss of all H3K4 methylation. Turnover of H3K4me3 occurs more rapidly than that of H3K4me1 and H3K4me2 and is dependent on KDM5 demethylases. Notably, acute loss of H3K4me3 does not have detectable effects on transcriptional initiation but leads to a widespread decrease in transcriptional output, an increase in RNA polymerase II (RNAPII) pausing and slower elongation. We show that H3K4me3 is required for the recruitment of the integrator complex subunit 11 (INTS11), which is essential for the eviction of paused RNAPII and transcriptional elongation. Thus, our study demonstrates a distinct role for H3K4me3 in transcriptional pause-release and elongation rather than transcriptional initiation.

Complex-dependent histone acetyltransferase activity of KAT8 determines its role in transcription and cellular homeostasis.

Acetylation of lysine 16 on histone H4 (H4K16ac) is catalyzed by histone acetyltransferase KAT8 and can prevent chromatin compaction in vitro. Although extensively studied in Drosophila, the functions of H4K16ac and two KAT8-containing protein complexes (NSL and MSL) are not well understood in mammals. Here, we demonstrate a surprising complex-dependent activity of KAT8: it catalyzes H4K5ac and H4K8ac as part of the NSL complex, whereas it catalyzes the bulk of H4K16ac as part of the MSL complex. Furthermore, we show that MSL complex proteins and H4K16ac are not required for cell proliferation and chromatin accessibility, whereas the NSL complex is essential for cell survival, as it stimulates transcription initiation at the promoters of housekeeping genes. In summary, we show that KAT8 switches catalytic activity and function depending on its associated proteins and that, when in the NSL complex, it catalyzes H4K5ac and H4K8ac required for the expression of essential genes.

Anatomic position determines oncogenic specificity in melanoma.

Oncogenic alterations to DNA are not transforming in all cellular contexts1,2. This may be due to pre-existing transcriptional programmes in the cell of origin. Here we define anatomic position as a major determinant of why cells respond to specific oncogenes. Cutaneous melanoma arises throughout the body, whereas the acral subtype arises on the palms of the hands, soles of the feet or under the nails3. We sequenced the DNA of cutaneous and acral melanomas from a large cohort of human patients and found a specific enrichment for BRAF mutations in cutaneous melanoma and enrichment for CRKL amplifications in acral melanoma. We modelled these changes in transgenic zebrafish models and found that CRKL-driven tumours formed predominantly in the fins of the fish. The fins are the evolutionary precursors to tetrapod limbs, indicating that melanocytes in these acral locations may be uniquely susceptible to CRKL. RNA profiling of these fin and limb melanocytes, when compared with body melanocytes, revealed a positional identity gene programme typified by posterior HOX13 genes. This positional gene programme synergized with CRKL to amplify insulin-like growth factor (IGF) signalling and drive tumours at acral sites. Abrogation of this CRKL-driven programme eliminated the anatomic specificity of acral melanoma. These data suggest that the anatomic position of the cell of origin endows it with a unique transcriptional state that makes it susceptible to only certain oncogenic insults.

An alternative NURF complex sustains acute myeloid leukemia by regulating the accessibility of insulator regions.

Efficient treatment of acute myeloid leukemia (AML) patients remains a challenge despite recent therapeutic advances. Here, using a CRISPRi screen targeting chromatin factors, we identified the nucleosome-remodeling factor (NURF) subunit BPTF as an essential regulator of AML cell survival. We demonstrate that BPTF forms an alternative NURF chromatin remodeling complex with SMARCA5 and BAP18, which regulates the accessibility of a large set of insulator regions in leukemic cells. This ensures efficient CTCF binding and boundary formation between topologically associated domains that is essential for maintaining the leukemic transcriptional programs. We also demonstrate that the well-studied PHD2-BROMO chromatin reader domains of BPTF, while contributing to complex recruitment to chromatin, are dispensable for leukemic cell growth. Taken together, our results uncover how the alternative NURF complex contributes to leukemia and provide a rationale for its targeting in AML.

Conserved helical motifs in the IKZF1 disordered region mediate NuRD interaction and transcriptional repression.

The transcription factor IKZF1 is essential for B cell development, and recurrently mutated in human B-ALL. IKZF1 has been ascribed both activating and repressive functions via interactions with coactivator and corepressor complexes, but the relative abundance of IKZF1-associated coregulators and their contribution to IKZF1-mediated gene regulation are not well understood. To address this, we performed an unbiased identification of IKZF1-interacting proteins in pre-B cells and found that IKZF1 interacts overwhelmingly with corepressors and heterochromatin-associated proteins. Time-resolved analysis of transcription and chromatin state identified transcriptional repression as the immediate response to IKZF1 induction. Transcriptional repression preceded transcriptional activation by several hours, manifesting as a decrease in the fraction of transcriptional bursts at the single molecule level. Repression was accompanied by a rapid loss of chromatin accessibility and reduced levels of H3K27ac particularly at enhancers. We identified highly conserved helical motifs within the intrinsically disordered region in IKZF1 that mediate its association with the NuRD corepressor complex through critical "KRK" residues that bind the NuRD subunit RBBP4, a mechanism shared with the TFs FOG1, BCL11A, and SALL4. Functional characterization reveals this region is necessary for to the efficient silencing of target genes and antiproliferative functions of IKZF1 in B-ALL.

Microbiota-derived lantibiotic restores resistance against vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus.

Intestinal commensal bacteria can inhibit dense colonization of the gut by vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus faecium (VRE), a leading cause of hospital-acquired infections1,2. A four-strained consortium of commensal bacteria that contains Blautia producta BPSCSK can reverse antibiotic-induced susceptibility to VRE infection3. Here we show that BPSCSK reduces growth of VRE by secreting a lantibiotic that is similar to the nisin-A produced by Lactococcus lactis. Although the growth of VRE is inhibited by BPSCSK and L. lactis in vitro, only BPSCSK colonizes the colon and reduces VRE density in vivo. In comparison to nisin-A, the BPSCSK lantibiotic has reduced activity against intestinal commensal bacteria. In patients at high risk of VRE infection, high abundance of the lantibiotic gene is associated with reduced density of E. faecium. In germ-free mice transplanted with patient-derived faeces, resistance to VRE colonization correlates with abundance of the lantibiotic gene. Lantibiotic-producing commensal strains of the gastrointestinal tract reduce colonization by VRE and represent potential probiotic agents to re-establish resistance to VRE.

Differential CpG methylation at Nnat in the early establishment of beta cell heterogeneity.

AIMS/HYPOTHESIS: Beta cells within the pancreatic islet represent a heterogenous population wherein individual sub-groups of cells make distinct contributions to the overall control of insulin secretion. These include a subpopulation of highly connected 'hub' cells, important for the propagation of intercellular Ca2+ waves. Functional subpopulations have also been demonstrated in human beta cells, with an altered subtype distribution apparent in type 2 diabetes. At present, the molecular mechanisms through which beta cell hierarchy is established are poorly understood. Changes at the level of the epigenome provide one such possibility, which we explore here by focusing on the imprinted gene Nnat (encoding neuronatin [NNAT]), which is required for normal insulin synthesis and secretion. METHODS: Single-cell RNA-seq datasets were examined using Seurat 4.0 and ClusterProfiler running under R. Transgenic mice expressing enhanced GFP under the control of the Nnat enhancer/promoter regions were generated for FACS of beta cells and downstream analysis of CpG methylation by bisulphite sequencing and RNA-seq, respectively. Animals deleted for the de novo methyltransferase DNA methyltransferase 3 alpha (DNMT3A) from the pancreatic progenitor stage were used to explore control of promoter methylation. Proteomics was performed using affinity purification mass spectrometry and Ca2+ dynamics explored by rapid confocal imaging of Cal-520 AM and Cal-590 AM. Insulin secretion was measured using homogeneous time-resolved fluorescence imaging. RESULTS: Nnat mRNA was differentially expressed in a discrete beta cell population in a developmental stage- and DNA methylation (DNMT3A)-dependent manner. Thus, pseudo-time analysis of embryonic datasets demonstrated the early establishment of Nnat-positive and -negative subpopulations during embryogenesis. NNAT expression is also restricted to a subset of beta cells across the human islet that is maintained throughout adult life. NNAT+ beta cells also displayed a discrete transcriptome at adult stages, representing a subpopulation specialised for insulin production, and were diminished in db/db mice. 'Hub' cells were less abundant in the NNAT+ population, consistent with epigenetic control of this functional specialisation. CONCLUSIONS/INTERPRETATION: These findings demonstrate that differential DNA methylation at Nnat represents a novel means through which beta cell heterogeneity is established during development. We therefore hypothesise that changes in methylation at this locus may contribute to a loss of beta cell hierarchy and connectivity, potentially contributing to defective insulin secretion in some forms of diabetes. DATA AVAILABILITY: The mass spectrometry proteomics data have been deposited to the ProteomeXchange Consortium via the PRIDE partner repository with the dataset identifier PXD048465.

Middle-Down Proteomic Analyses with Ion Mobility Separations of Endogenous Isomeric Proteoforms.

Biological functions of many proteins are governed by post-translational modifications (PTMs). In particular, the rich PTM complement in histones controls the gene expression and chromatin structure with major health implications via a combinatoric language. Deciphering that "histone code" is the great challenge for proteomics given an astounding number of possible proteoforms, including isomers with different PTM positions. These must be disentangled on the top- or middle-down level to preserve the key PTM connectivity, which condensed-phase separations failed to achieve. We reported the capability of ion mobility spectrometry (IMS) methods to resolve such isomers for model histone tails. Here, we advance to biological samples, showing middle-down analyses of histones from mouse embryonic stem cells via online chromatography to fractionate proteoforms with distinct PTM sets, differential or field asymmetric waveform IMS (FAIMS) to resolve the isomers, and Orbitrap mass spectrometry with electron transfer dissociation to identify the resolved species.

Quantitative Proteome and Phosphoproteome Analyses of Streptomyces coelicolor Reveal Proteins and Phosphoproteins Modulating Differentiation and Secondary Metabolism.

Streptomycetes are multicellular bacteria with complex developmental cycles. They are of biotechnological importance as they produce most bioactive compounds used in biomedicine, e.g. antibiotic, antitumoral and immunosupressor compounds. Streptomyces genomes encode many Ser/Thr/Tyr kinases, making this genus an outstanding model for the study of bacterial protein phosphorylation events. We used mass spectrometry based quantitative proteomics and phosphoproteomics to characterize bacterial differentiation and activation of secondary metabolism of Streptomyces coelicolor We identified and quantified 3461 proteins corresponding to 44.3% of the S. coelicolor proteome across three developmental stages: vegetative hypha (first mycelium); secondary metabolite producing hyphae (second mycelium); and sporulating hyphae. A total of 1350 proteins exhibited more than 2-fold expression changes during the bacterial differentiation process. These proteins include 136 regulators (transcriptional regulators, transducers, Ser/Thr/Tyr kinases, signaling proteins), as well as 542 putative proteins with no clear homology to known proteins which are likely to play a role in differentiation and secondary metabolism. Phosphoproteomics revealed 85 unique protein phosphorylation sites, 58 of them differentially phosphorylated during differentiation. Computational analysis suggested that these regulated protein phosphorylation events are implicated in important cellular processes, including cell division, differentiation, regulation of secondary metabolism, transcription, protein synthesis, protein folding and stress responses. We discovered a novel regulated phosphorylation site in the key bacterial cell division protein FtsZ (pSer319) that modulates sporulation and regulates actinorhodin antibiotic production. We conclude that manipulation of distinct protein phosphorylation events may improve secondary metabolite production in industrial streptomycetes, including the activation of cryptic pathways during the screening for new secondary metabolites from streptomycetes.

Differential Ion Mobility Separations/Mass Spectrometry with High Resolution in Both Dimensions.

Strong orthogonality to mass spectrometry makes differential ion mobility spectrometry (FAIMS) a powerful tool for isomer separations. However, high FAIMS resolution has been achieved overall only with buffers rich in He or H2. That obstructed coupling to Fourier transform mass spectrometers operating under ultrahigh vacuum, but exceptional m/ z resolution and accuracy of FTMS are indispensable for frontline biological and environmental applications. By raising the waveform amplitude to 6 kV, we enabled high FAIMS resolution using solely N2 and thus straightforward integration with any MS platform: here Orbitrap XL with the electron transfer dissociation (ETD) option. The initial evaluation for complete histone tails (50 residues) with diverse post-translational modifications on alternative sites demonstrates a broad capability to separate and confidently identify the PTM localization variants in the middle-down range.

High-Resolution Differential Ion Mobility Separations/Orbitrap Mass Spectrometry without Buffer Gas Limitations.

Strong orthogonality between differential ion mobility spectrometry (FAIMS) and mass spectrometry (MS) makes their hybrid a powerful approach to separate isomers and isobars. Harnessing that power depends on high resolution in both dimensions. The ultimate mass resolution and accuracy are delivered by Fourier Transform MS increasingly realized in Orbitrap MS, whereas FAIMS resolution is generally maximized by buffers rich in He or H2 that elevate ion mobility and lead to prominent non-Blanc effects. However, turbomolecular pumps have lower efficiency for light gas molecules and their flow from the FAIMS stage complicates maintaining the ultrahigh vacuum (UHV) needed for Orbitrap operation. Here we address this challenge via two hardware modifications: (i) a differential pumping step between FAIMS and MS stages and (ii) reconfiguration of vacuum lines to isolate pumping of the high vacuum (HV) region. Either greatly ameliorates the pressure increases upon He or H2 aspiration. This development enables free optimization of FAIMS carrier gas without concerns about MS performance, maximizing the utility and flexibility of FAIMS/MS platforms.

NANOG-dependent function of TET1 and TET2 in establishment of pluripotency.

Molecular control of the pluripotent state is thought to reside in a core circuitry of master transcription factors including the homeodomain-containing protein NANOG, which has an essential role in establishing ground state pluripotency during somatic cell reprogramming. Whereas the genomic occupancy of NANOG has been extensively investigated, comparatively little is known about NANOG-associated proteins and their contribution to the NANOG-mediated reprogramming process. Using enhanced purification techniques and a stringent computational algorithm, we identify 27 high-confidence protein interaction partners of NANOG in mouse embryonic stem cells. These consist of 19 previously unknown partners of NANOG that have not been reported before, including the ten-eleven translocation (TET) family methylcytosine hydroxylase TET1. We confirm physical association of NANOG with TET1, and demonstrate that TET1, in synergy with NANOG, enhances the efficiency of reprogramming. We also find physical association and reprogramming synergy of TET2 with NANOG, and demonstrate that knockdown of TET2 abolishes the reprogramming synergy of NANOG with a catalytically deficient mutant of TET1. These results indicate that the physical interaction between NANOG and TET1/TET2 proteins facilitates reprogramming in a manner that is dependent on the catalytic activity of TET1/TET2. TET1 and NANOG co-occupy genomic loci of genes associated with both maintenance of pluripotency and lineage commitment in embryonic stem cells, and TET1 binding is reduced upon NANOG depletion. Co-expression of NANOG and TET1 increases 5-hydroxymethylcytosine levels at the top-ranked common target loci Esrrb and Oct4 (also called Pou5f1), resulting in priming of their expression before reprogramming to naive pluripotency. We propose that TET1 is recruited by NANOG to enhance the expression of a subset of key reprogramming target genes. These results provide an insight into the reprogramming mechanism of NANOG and uncover a new role for 5-methylcytosine hydroxylases in the establishment of naive pluripotency.

Maximizing Sequence Coverage in Top-Down Proteomics By Automated Multimodal Gas-Phase Protein Fragmentation.

Intact protein sequencing by tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS), known as top-down protein sequencing, relies on efficient gas-phase fragmentation at multiple experimental conditions to achieve extensive amino acid sequence coverage. We developed the "topdownr" R-package for automated construction of multimodal (i.e., involving CID, HCD, ETD, ETciD, EThcD, and UVPD) MS/MS fragmentation methods on an orbitrap instrument platform and systematic analysis of the resultant spectra. We used topdownr to generate and analyze thousands of MS/MS spectra for five intact proteins of 10-30 kDa. We achieved 90-100% coverage for the proteins tested and derived guiding principles for efficient sequencing of intact proteins. The data analysis workflow and statistical models of topdownr software and multimodal MS/MS experiments provide a framework for optimizing MS/MS sequencing for any intact protein. Refined topdownr software will be suited for comprehensive characterization of protein pharmaceuticals and eventually also for de novo sequencing and detailed characterization of intact proteins.

Linear and Differential Ion Mobility Separations of Middle-Down Proteoforms.

Comprehensive characterization of proteomes comprising the same proteins with distinct post-translational modifications (PTMs) is a staggering challenge. Many such proteoforms are isomers (localization variants) that require separation followed by top-down or middle-down mass spectrometric analyses, but condensed-phase separations are ineffective in those size ranges. The variants for "middle-down" peptides were resolved by differential ion mobility spectrometry (FAIMS), relying on the mobility increment at high electric fields, but not previously by linear IMS on the basis of absolute mobility. We now use complete histone tails with diverse PTMs on alternative sites to demonstrate that high-resolution linear IMS, here trapped IMS (TIMS), broadly resolves the variants of ∼50 residues in full or into binary mixtures quantifiable by tandem MS, largely thanks to orthogonal separations across charge states. Separations using traveling-wave (TWIMS) and/or involving various time scales and electrospray ionization source conditions are similar (with lower resolution for TWIMS), showing the transferability of results across linear IMS instruments. The linear IMS and FAIMS dimensions are substantially orthogonal, suggesting FAIMS/IMS/MS as a powerful platform for proteoform analyses.

Characterization of Complete Histone Tail Proteoforms Using Differential Ion Mobility Spectrometry.

Histone proteins are subject to dynamic post-translational modifications (PTMs) that cooperatively modulate the chromatin structure and function. Nearly all functional PTMs are found on the N-terminal histone domains (tails) of ∼50 residues protruding from the nucleosome core. Using high-definition differential ion mobility spectrometry (FAIMS) with electron transfer dissociation, we demonstrate rapid baseline gas-phase separation and identification of tails involving monomethylation, trimethylation, acetylation, or phosphorylation in biologically relevant positions. These are by far the largest variant peptides resolved by any method, some with PTM contributing just 0.25% to the mass. This opens the door to similar separations for intact proteins and in top-down proteomics.

Label-free protein quantification for plant Golgi protein localization and abundance.

The proteomic composition of the Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) Golgi apparatus is currently reasonably well documented; however, little is known about the relative abundances between different proteins within this compartment. Accurate quantitative information of Golgi resident proteins is of great importance: it facilitates a better understanding of the biochemical processes that take place within this organelle, especially those of different polysaccharide synthesis pathways. Golgi resident proteins are challenging to quantify because the abundance of this organelle is relatively low within the cell. In this study, an organelle fractionation approach targeting the Golgi apparatus was combined with a label-free quantitative mass spectrometry (data-independent acquisition method using ion mobility separation known as LC-IMS-MS(E) [or HDMS(E)]) to simultaneously localize proteins to the Golgi apparatus and assess their relative quantity. In total, 102 Golgi-localized proteins were quantified. These data show that organelle fractionation in conjunction with label-free quantitative mass spectrometry is a powerful and relatively simple tool to access protein organelle localization and their relative abundances. The findings presented open a unique view on the organization of the plant Golgi apparatus, leading toward unique hypotheses centered on the biochemical processes of this organelle.

Additional precursor purification in isobaric mass tagging experiments by traveling wave ion mobility separation (TWIMS).

Despite the increasing popularity of data-independent acquisition workflows, data-dependent acquisition (DDA) is still the prevalent method of LC-MS-based proteomics. DDA is the basis of isobaric mass tagging technique, a powerful MS2 quantification strategy that allows coanalysis of up to 10 proteomics samples. A well-documented limitation of DDA, however, is precursor coselection, whereby a target peptide is coisolated with other ions for fragmentation. Here, we investigated if additional peptide purification by traveling wave ion mobility separation (TWIMS) can reduce precursor contamination using a mixture of Saccharomyces cerevisiae and HeLa proteomes. In accordance with previous reports on FAIMS-Orbitrap instruments, we find that TWIMS provides a remarkable improvement (on average 2.85 times) in the signal-to-noise ratio for sequence ions. We also report that TWIMS reduces reporter ions contamination by around one-third (to 14-15% contamination) and even further (to 6-9%) when combined with a narrowed quadrupole isolation window. We discuss challenges associated with applying TWIMS purification to isobaric mass tagging experiments, including correlation between ion m/z and drift time, which means that coselected peptides are expected to have similar mobility. We also demonstrate that labeling results in peptides having more uniform m/z and drift time distributions than observed for unlabeled peptides. Data are available via ProteomeXchange with identifier PXD001047.

Effects of traveling wave ion mobility separation on data independent acquisition in proteomics studies.

qTOF mass spectrometry and traveling wave ion mobility separation (TWIMS) hybrid instruments (q-TWIMS-TOF) have recently become commercially available. Ion mobility separation allows an additional dimension of precursor separation inside the instrument, without incurring an increase in instrument time. We comprehensively investigated the effects of TWIMS on data-independent acquisition on a Synapt G2 instrument. We observed that if fragmentation is performed post TWIMS, more accurate assignment of fragment ions to precursors is possible in data independent acquisition. This allows up to 60% higher proteome coverage and higher confidence of protein and peptide identifications. Moreover, the majority of peptides and proteins identified upon application of TWIMS span the lower intensity range of the proteome. It has also been demonstrated in several studies that employing IMS results in higher peak capacity of separation and consequently more accurate and precise quantitation of lower intensity precursor ions. We observe that employing TWIMS results in an attenuation of the detected ion current. We postulate that this effect is binary; sensitivity is reduced due to ion scattering during transfer into a high pressure "IMS zone", sensitivity is reduced due to the saturation of detector digitizer as a result of the IMS concentration effect. This latter effect limits the useful linear range of quantitation, compromising quantitation accuracy of high intensity peptides. We demonstrate that the signal loss from detector saturation and transmission loss can be deconvoluted by investigation of the peptide isotopic envelope. We discuss the origin and extent of signal loss and suggest methods to minimize these effects on q-TWIMS-TOF instrument in the light of different experimental designs and other IMS/MS platforms described previously.