Control of RNA Stability in Immunity.

Posttranscriptional control of mRNA regulates various biological processes, including inflammatory and immune responses. RNA-binding proteins (RBPs) bind cis-regulatory elements in the 3' untranslated regions (UTRs) of mRNA and regulate mRNA turnover and translation. In particular, eight RBPs (TTP, AUF1, KSRP, TIA-1/TIAR, Roquin, Regnase, HuR, and Arid5a) have been extensively studied and are key posttranscriptional regulators of inflammation and immune responses. These RBPs sometimes collaboratively or competitively bind the same target mRNA to enhance or dampen regulatory activities. These RBPs can also bind their own 3' UTRs to negatively or positively regulate their expression. Both upstream signaling pathways and microRNA regulation shape the interactions between RBPs and target RNA. Dysregulation of RBPs results in chronic inflammation and autoimmunity. Here, we summarize the functional roles of these eight RBPs in immunity and their associated diseases.

Structural insights into the diversity and DNA cleavage mechanism of Fanzor.

Fanzor (Fz) is an ωRNA-guided endonuclease extensively found throughout the eukaryotic domain with unique gene editing potential. Here, we describe the structures of Fzs from three different organisms. We find that Fzs share a common ωRNA interaction interface, regardless of the length of the ωRNA, which varies considerably across species. The analysis also reveals Fz's mode of DNA recognition and unwinding capabilities as well as the presence of a non-canonical catalytic site. The structures demonstrate how protein conformations of Fz shift to allow the binding of double-stranded DNA to the active site within the R-loop. Mechanistically, examination of structures in different states shows that the conformation of the lid loop on the RuvC domain is controlled by the formation of the guide/DNA heteroduplex, regulating the activation of nuclease and DNA double-stranded displacement at the single cleavage site. Our findings clarify the mechanism of Fz, establishing a foundation for engineering efforts.

Rapid DNA unwinding accelerates genome editing by engineered CRISPR-Cas9.

Thermostable clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR) and CRISPR-associated (Cas9) enzymes could improve genome-editing efficiency and delivery due to extended protein lifetimes. However, initial experimentation demonstrated Geobacillus stearothermophilus Cas9 (GeoCas9) to be virtually inactive when used in cultured human cells. Laboratory-evolved variants of GeoCas9 overcome this natural limitation by acquiring mutations in the wedge (WED) domain that produce >100-fold-higher genome-editing levels. Cryoelectron microscopy (cryo-EM) structures of the wild-type and improved GeoCas9 (iGeoCas9) enzymes reveal extended contacts between the WED domain of iGeoCas9 and DNA substrates. Biochemical analysis shows that iGeoCas9 accelerates DNA unwinding to capture substrates under the magnesium-restricted conditions typical of mammalian but not bacterial cells. These findings enabled rational engineering of other Cas9 orthologs to enhance genome-editing levels, pointing to a general strategy for editing enzyme improvement. Together, these results uncover a new role for the Cas9 WED domain in DNA unwinding and demonstrate how accelerated target unwinding dramatically improves Cas9-induced genome-editing activity.

Looping the Genome with SMC Complexes.

SMC (structural maintenance of chromosomes) protein complexes are an evolutionarily conserved family of motor proteins that hold sister chromatids together and fold genomes throughout the cell cycle by DNA loop extrusion. These complexes play a key role in a variety of functions in the packaging and regulation of chromosomes, and they have been intensely studied in recent years. Despite their importance, the detailed molecular mechanism for DNA loop extrusion by SMC complexes remains unresolved. Here, we describe the roles of SMCs in chromosome biology and particularly review in vitro single-molecule studies that have recently advanced our understanding of SMC proteins. We describe the mechanistic biophysical aspects of loop extrusion that govern genome organization and its consequences.

Chromosome-level organization of the regulatory genome in the Drosophila nervous system.

Previous studies have identified topologically associating domains (TADs) as basic units of genome organization. We present evidence of a previously unreported level of genome folding, where distant TAD pairs, megabases apart, interact to form meta-domains. Within meta-domains, gene promoters and structural intergenic elements present in distant TADs are specifically paired. The associated genes encode neuronal determinants, including those engaged in axonal guidance and adhesion. These long-range associations occur in a large fraction of neurons but support transcription in only a subset of neurons. Meta-domains are formed by diverse transcription factors that are able to pair over long and flexible distances. We present evidence that two such factors, GAF and CTCF, play direct roles in this process. The relative simplicity of higher-order meta-domain interactions in Drosophila, compared with those previously described in mammals, allowed the demonstration that genomes can fold into highly specialized cell-type-specific scaffolds that enable megabase-scale regulatory associations.

Site-specific R-loops induce CGG repeat contraction and fragile X gene reactivation.

Here, we describe an approach to correct the genetic defect in fragile X syndrome (FXS) via recruitment of endogenous repair mechanisms. A leading cause of autism spectrum disorders, FXS results from epigenetic silencing of FMR1 due to a congenital trinucleotide (CGG) repeat expansion. By investigating conditions favorable to FMR1 reactivation, we find MEK and BRAF inhibitors that induce a strong repeat contraction and full FMR1 reactivation in cellular models. We trace the mechanism to DNA demethylation and site-specific R-loops, which are necessary and sufficient for repeat contraction. A positive feedback cycle comprising demethylation, de novo FMR1 transcription, and R-loop formation results in the recruitment of endogenous DNA repair mechanisms that then drive excision of the long CGG repeat. Repeat contraction is specific to FMR1 and restores the production of FMRP protein. Our study therefore identifies a potential method of treating FXS in the future.

Structural mechanisms of GABAA receptor autoimmune encephalitis.

Autoantibodies targeting neuronal membrane proteins can cause encephalitis, seizures, and severe behavioral abnormalities. While antibodies for several neuronal targets have been identified, structural details on how they regulate function are unknown. Here we determined cryo-electron microscopy structures of antibodies derived from an encephalitis patient bound to the γ-aminobutyric acid type A (GABAA) receptor. These antibodies induced severe encephalitis by directly inhibiting GABAA function, resulting in nervous-system hyperexcitability. The structures reveal mechanisms of GABAA inhibition and pathology. One antibody directly competes with a neurotransmitter and locks the receptor in a resting-like state. The second antibody targets the subunit interface involved in binding benzodiazepines and antagonizes diazepam potentiation. We identify key residues in these antibodies involved in specificity and affinity and confirm structure-based hypotheses for functional effects using electrophysiology. Together these studies define mechanisms of direct functional antagonism of neurotransmission underlying autoimmune encephalitis in a human patient.

Repression and 3D-restructuring resolves regulatory conflicts in evolutionarily rearranged genomes.

Regulatory landscapes drive complex developmental gene expression, but it remains unclear how their integrity is maintained when incorporating novel genes and functions during evolution. Here, we investigated how a placental mammal-specific gene, Zfp42, emerged in an ancient vertebrate topologically associated domain (TAD) without adopting or disrupting the conserved expression of its gene, Fat1. In ESCs, physical TAD partitioning separates Zfp42 and Fat1 with distinct local enhancers that drive their independent expression. This separation is driven by chromatin activity and not CTCF/cohesin. In contrast, in embryonic limbs, inactive Zfp42 shares Fat1's intact TAD without responding to active Fat1 enhancers. However, neither Fat1 enhancer-incompatibility nor nuclear envelope-attachment account for Zfp42's unresponsiveness. Rather, Zfp42's promoter is rendered inert to enhancers by context-dependent DNA methylation. Thus, diverse mechanisms enabled the integration of independent Zfp42 regulation in the Fat1 locus. Critically, such regulatory complexity appears common in evolution as, genome wide, most TADs contain multiple independently expressed genes.

Jpx RNA regulates CTCF anchor site selection and formation of chromosome loops.

Chromosome loops shift dynamically during development, homeostasis, and disease. CCCTC-binding factor (CTCF) is known to anchor loops and construct 3D genomes, but how anchor sites are selected is not yet understood. Here, we unveil Jpx RNA as a determinant of anchor selectivity. Jpx RNA targets thousands of genomic sites, preferentially binding promoters of active genes. Depleting Jpx RNA causes ectopic CTCF binding, massive shifts in chromosome looping, and downregulation of >700 Jpx target genes. Without Jpx, thousands of lost loops are replaced by de novo loops anchored by ectopic CTCF sites. Although Jpx controls CTCF binding on a genome-wide basis, it acts selectively at the subset of developmentally sensitive CTCF sites. Specifically, Jpx targets low-affinity CTCF motifs and displaces CTCF protein through competitive inhibition. We conclude that Jpx acts as a CTCF release factor and shapes the 3D genome by regulating anchor site usage.

3D Genome of macaque fetal brain reveals evolutionary innovations during primate corticogenesis.

Elucidating the regulatory mechanisms of human brain evolution is essential to understanding human cognition and mental disorders. We generated multi-omics profiles and constructed a high-resolution map of 3D genome architecture of rhesus macaque during corticogenesis. By comparing the 3D genomes of human, macaque, and mouse brains, we identified many human-specific chromatin structure changes, including 499 topologically associating domains (TADs) and 1,266 chromatin loops. The human-specific loops are significantly enriched in enhancer-enhancer interactions, and the regulated genes show human-specific expression changes in the subplate, a transient zone of the developing brain critical for neural circuit formation and plasticity. Notably, many human-specific sequence changes are located in the human-specific TAD boundaries and loop anchors, which may generate new transcription factor binding sites and chromatin structures in human. Collectively, the presented data highlight the value of comparative 3D genome analyses in dissecting the regulatory mechanisms of brain development and evolution.

Cohesin mediates DNA loop extrusion by a "swing and clamp" mechanism.

Structural maintenance of chromosomes (SMC) complexes organize genome topology in all kingdoms of life and have been proposed to perform this function by DNA loop extrusion. How this process works is unknown. Here, we have analyzed how loop extrusion is mediated by human cohesin-NIPBL complexes, which enable chromatin folding in interphase cells. We have identified DNA binding sites and large-scale conformational changes that are required for loop extrusion and have determined how these are coordinated. Our results suggest that DNA is translocated by a spontaneous 50 nm-swing of cohesin's hinge, which hands DNA over to the ATPase head of SMC3, where upon binding of ATP, DNA is clamped by NIPBL. During this process, NIPBL "jumps ship" from the hinge toward the SMC3 head and might thereby couple the spontaneous hinge swing to ATP-dependent DNA clamping. These results reveal mechanistic principles of how cohesin-NIPBL and possibly other SMC complexes mediate loop extrusion.

Structure and gating mechanism of the α7 nicotinic acetylcholine receptor.

The α7 nicotinic acetylcholine receptor plays critical roles in the central nervous system and in the cholinergic inflammatory pathway. This ligand-gated ion channel assembles as a homopentamer, is exceptionally permeable to Ca2+, and desensitizes faster than any other Cys-loop receptor. The α7 receptor has served as a prototype for the Cys-loop superfamily yet has proven refractory to structural analysis. We present cryo-EM structures of the human α7 nicotinic receptor in a lipidic environment in resting, activated, and desensitized states, illuminating the principal steps in the gating cycle. The structures also reveal elements that contribute to its function, including a C-terminal latch that is permissive for channel opening, and an anionic ring in the extracellular vestibule that contributes to its high conductance and calcium permeability. Comparisons among the α7 structures provide a foundation for mapping the gating cycle and reveal divergence in gating mechanisms in the Cys-loop receptor superfamily.

Mechanical Patterning in Animal Morphogenesis.

Morphogenesis is one of the most remarkable examples of biological pattern formation. Despite substantial progress in the field, we still do not understand the organizational principles responsible for the robust convergence of the morphogenesis process across scales to form viable organisms under variable conditions. Achieving large-scale coordination requires feedback between mechanical and biochemical processes, spanning all levels of organization and relating the emerging patterns with the mechanisms driving their formation. In this review, we highlight the role of mechanics in the patterning process, emphasizing the active and synergistic manner in which mechanical processes participate in developmental patterning rather than merely following a program set by biochemical signals. We discuss the value of applying a coarse-grained approach that considers the large-scale dynamics and feedback and complements the reductionist approach focused on molecular detail. A central challenge in this approach is identifying relevant coarse-grained variables and developing effective theories that can serve as a basis for an integrated framework toward understanding this remarkable pattern-formation process.

Spatial Organization of Chromatin: Emergence of Chromatin Structure During Development.

Nuclei are central hubs for information processing in eukaryotic cells. The need to fit large genomes into small nuclei imposes severe restrictions on genome organization and the mechanisms that drive genome-wide regulatory processes. How a disordered polymer such as chromatin, which has vast heterogeneity in its DNA and histone modification profiles, folds into discernibly consistent patterns is a fundamental question in biology. Outstanding questions include how genomes are spatially and temporally organized to regulate cellular processes with high precision and whether genome organization is causally linked to transcription regulation. The advent of next-generation sequencing, super-resolution imaging, multiplexed fluorescent in situ hybridization, and single-molecule imaging in individual living cells has caused a resurgence in efforts to understand the spatiotemporal organization of the genome. In this review, we discuss structural and mechanistic properties of genome organization at different length scales and examine changes in higher-order chromatin organization during important developmental transitions.

Real-Time Genetic Compensation Defines the Dynamic Demands of Feedback Control.

Biological signaling networks use feedback control to dynamically adjust their operation in real time. Traditional static genetic methods such as gene knockouts or rescue experiments can often identify the existence of feedback interactions but are unable to determine what feedback dynamics are required. Here, we implement a new strategy, closed-loop optogenetic compensation (CLOC), to address this problem. Using a custom-built hardware and software infrastructure, CLOC monitors, in real time, the output of a pathway deleted for a feedback regulator. A minimal model uses these measurements to calculate and deliver-on the fly-an optogenetically enabled transcriptional input designed to compensate for the effects of the feedback deletion. Application of CLOC to the yeast pheromone response pathway revealed surprisingly distinct dynamic requirements for three well-studied feedback regulators. CLOC, a marriage of control theory and traditional genetics, presents a broadly applicable methodology for defining the dynamic function of biological feedback regulators.

The Cohesin Ring Uses Its Hinge to Organize DNA Using Non-topological as well as Topological Mechanisms.

As predicted by the notion that sister chromatid cohesion is mediated by entrapment of sister DNAs inside cohesin rings, there is perfect correlation between co-entrapment of circular minichromosomes and sister chromatid cohesion. In most cells where cohesin loads without conferring cohesion, it does so by entrapment of individual DNAs. However, cohesin with a hinge domain whose positively charged lumen is neutralized loads and moves along chromatin despite failing to entrap DNAs. Thus, cohesin engages chromatin in non-topological, as well as topological, manners. Since hinge mutations, but not Smc-kleisin fusions, abolish entrapment, DNAs may enter cohesin rings through hinge opening. Mutation of three highly conserved lysine residues inside the Smc1 moiety of Smc1/3 hinges abolishes all loading without affecting cohesin's recruitment to CEN loading sites or its ability to hydrolyze ATP. We suggest that loading and translocation are mediated by conformational changes in cohesin's hinge driven by cycles of ATP hydrolysis.

The Energetics and Physiological Impact of Cohesin Extrusion.

Cohesin extrusion is thought to play a central role in establishing the architecture of mammalian genomes. However, extrusion has not been visualized in vivo, and thus, its functional impact and energetics are unknown. Using ultra-deep Hi-C, we show that loop domains form by a process that requires cohesin ATPases. Once formed, however, loops and compartments are maintained for hours without energy input. Strikingly, without ATP, we observe the emergence of hundreds of CTCF-independent loops that link regulatory DNA. We also identify architectural "stripes," where a loop anchor interacts with entire domains at high frequency. Stripes often tether super-enhancers to cognate promoters, and in B cells, they facilitate Igh transcription and recombination. Stripe anchors represent major hotspots for topoisomerase-mediated lesions, which promote chromosomal translocations and cancer. In plasmacytomas, stripes can deregulate Igh-translocated oncogenes. We propose that higher organisms have coopted cohesin extrusion to enhance transcription and recombination, with implications for tumor development.

Human Rad52 Promotes XPG-Mediated R-loop Processing to Initiate Transcription-Associated Homologous Recombination Repair.

Given that genomic DNA exerts its function by being transcribed, it is critical for the maintenance of homeostasis that DNA damage, such as double-strand breaks (DSBs), within transcriptionally active regions undergoes accurate repair. However, it remains unclear how this is achieved. Here, we describe a mechanism for transcription-associated homologous recombination repair (TA-HRR) in human cells. The process is initiated by R-loops formed upon DSB induction. We identify Rad52, which is recruited to the DSB site in a DNA-RNA-hybrid-dependent manner, as playing pivotal roles in promoting XPG-mediated R-loop processing and initiating subsequent repair by HRR. Importantly, dysfunction of TA-HRR promotes DSB repair via non-homologous end joining, leading to a striking increase in genomic aberrations. Thus, our data suggest that the presence of R-loops around DSBs within transcriptionally active regions promotes accurate repair of DSBs via processing by Rad52 and XPG to protect genomic information in these critical regions from gene alterations.

CTCF-Binding Elements Mediate Accessibility of RAG Substrates During Chromatin Scanning.

RAG endonuclease initiates antibody heavy chain variable region exon assembly from V, D, and J segments within a chromosomal V(D)J recombination center (RC) by cleaving between paired gene segments and flanking recombination signal sequences (RSSs). The IGCR1 control region promotes DJH intermediate formation by isolating Ds, JHs, and RCs from upstream VHs in a chromatin loop anchored by CTCF-binding elements (CBEs). How VHs access the DJHRC for VH to DJH rearrangement was unknown. We report that CBEs immediately downstream of frequently rearranged VH-RSSs increase recombination potential of their associated VH far beyond that provided by RSSs alone. This CBE activity becomes particularly striking upon IGCR1 inactivation, which allows RAG, likely via loop extrusion, to linearly scan chromatin far upstream. VH-associated CBEs stabilize interactions of D-proximal VHs first encountered by the DJHRC during linear RAG scanning and thereby promote dominant rearrangement of these VHs by an unanticipated chromatin accessibility-enhancing CBE function.

Non-coding Transcription Instructs Chromatin Folding and Compartmentalization to Dictate Enhancer-Promoter Communication and T Cell Fate.

It is now established that Bcl11b specifies T cell fate. Here, we show that in developing T cells, the Bcl11b enhancer repositioned from the lamina to the nuclear interior. Our search for factors that relocalized the Bcl11b enhancer identified a non-coding RNA named ThymoD (thymocyte differentiation factor). ThymoD-deficient mice displayed a block at the onset of T cell development and developed lymphoid malignancies. We found that ThymoD transcription promoted demethylation at CTCF bound sites and activated cohesin-dependent looping to reposition the Bcl11b enhancer from the lamina to the nuclear interior and to juxtapose the Bcl11b enhancer and promoter into a single-loop domain. These large-scale changes in nuclear architecture were associated with the deposition of activating epigenetic marks across the loop domain, plausibly facilitating phase separation. These data indicate how, during developmental progression and tumor suppression, non-coding transcription orchestrates chromatin folding and compartmentalization to direct with high precision enhancer-promoter communication.