DREAM interrupted: severing LIN-35-MuvB association in Caenorhabditis elegans impairs DREAM function but not its chromatin localization.

The mammalian pocket protein family, which includes the Retinoblastoma protein (pRb) and Rb-like pocket proteins p107 and p130, regulates entry into and exit from the cell cycle by repressing cell cycle gene expression. Although pRb plays a dominant role in mammalian systems, p107 and p130 are the ancestral pocket proteins. The Rb-like pocket proteins interact with the highly conserved 5-subunit MuvB complex and an E2F-DP transcription factor heterodimer, forming the DREAM (for Dp, Rb-like, E2F, and MuvB) complex. DREAM complex assembly on chromatin culminates in repression of target genes mediated by the MuvB subcomplex. Here, we examined how the Rb-like pocket protein contributes to DREAM formation and function by disrupting the interaction between the sole Caenorhabditis elegans pocket protein LIN-35 and the MuvB subunit LIN-52 using CRISPR/Cas9 targeted mutagenesis. A triple alanine substitution of LIN-52's LxCxE motif severed LIN-35-MuvB association and caused classical DREAM mutant phenotypes, including synthetic multiple vulvae, high-temperature arrest, and ectopic expression of germline genes in the soma. However, RNA-sequencing revealed limited upregulation of DREAM target genes when LIN-35-MuvB association was severed, as compared with gene upregulation following LIN-35 loss. Based on chromatin immunoprecipitation, disrupting LIN-35-MuvB association did not affect the chromatin localization of E2F-DP, LIN-35, or MuvB components. In a previous study, we showed that in worms lacking LIN-35, E2F-DP, and MuvB chromatin occupancy was reduced genome-wide. With LIN-35 present but unable to associate with MuvB, our study suggests that the E2F-DP-LIN-35 interaction promotes E2F-DP's chromatin localization, which we hypothesize supports MuvB chromatin occupancy indirectly through DNA. Altogether, this study highlights how the pocket protein's association with MuvB supports DREAM function but is not required for DREAM's chromatin occupancy.

A long lost key opens an ancient lock: Drosophila Myb causes a synthetic multivulval phenotype in nematodes.

The five-protein MuvB core complex is highly conserved in animals. This nuclear complex interacts with RB-family tumor suppressor proteins and E2F-DP transcription factors to form DREAM complexes that repress genes that regulate cell cycle progression and cell fate. The MuvB core complex also interacts with Myb family oncoproteins to form the Myb-MuvB complexes that activate many of the same genes. We show that animal-type Myb genes are present in Bilateria, Cnidaria and Placozoa, the latter including the simplest known animal species. However, bilaterian nematode worms lost their animal-type Myb genes hundreds of millions of years ago. Nevertheless, amino acids in the LIN9 and LIN52 proteins that directly interact with the MuvB-binding domains of human B-Myb and Drosophila Myb are conserved in Caenorhabditiselegans Here, we show that, despite greater than 500 million years since their last common ancestor, the Drosophila melanogaster Myb protein can bind to the nematode LIN9-LIN52 proteins in vitro and can cause a synthetic multivulval (synMuv) phenotype in vivo This phenotype is similar to that caused by loss-of-function mutations in C. elegans synMuvB-class genes including those that encode homologs of the MuvB core, RB, E2F and DP. Furthermore, amino acid substitutions in the MuvB-binding domain of Drosophila Myb that disrupt its functions in vitro and in vivo also disrupt these activities in C. elegans We speculate that nematodes and other animals may contain another protein that can bind to LIN9 and LIN52 in order to activate transcription of genes repressed by DREAM complexes.

Loss of the Caenorhabditis elegans pocket protein LIN-35 reveals MuvB's innate function as the repressor of DREAM target genes.

The DREAM (Dp/Retinoblastoma(Rb)-like/E2F/MuvB) transcriptional repressor complex acts as a gatekeeper of the mammalian cell cycle by establishing and maintaining cellular quiescence. How DREAM's three functional components, the E2F-DP heterodimer, the Rb-like pocket protein, and the MuvB subcomplex, form and function at target gene promoters remains unknown. The current model invokes that the pocket protein links E2F-DP and MuvB and is essential for gene repression. We tested this model by assessing how the conserved yet less redundant DREAM system in Caenorhabditis elegans is affected by absence of the sole C. elegans pocket protein LIN-35. Using a LIN-35 protein null mutant, we analyzed the assembly of E2F-DP and MuvB at promoters that are bound by DREAM and the level of expression of those "DREAM target genes" in embryos. We report that LIN-35 indeed mediates the association of E2F-DP and MuvB, a function that stabilizes DREAM subunit occupancy at target genes. In the absence of LIN-35, the occupancy of E2F-DP and MuvB at most DREAM target genes decreases dramatically and many of those genes become upregulated. The retention of E2F-DP and MuvB at some target gene promoters in lin-35 null embryos allowed us to test their contribution to DREAM target gene repression. Depletion of MuvB, but not E2F-DP, in the sensitized lin-35 null background caused further upregulation of DREAM target genes. We conclude that the pocket protein functions primarily to support MuvB-mediated repression of DREAM targets and that transcriptional repression is the innate function of the evolutionarily conserved MuvB complex. Our findings provide important insights into how mammalian DREAM assembly and disassembly may regulate gene expression and the cell cycle.

Structural basis for LIN54 recognition of CHR elements in cell cycle-regulated promoters.

The MuvB complex recruits transcription factors to activate or repress genes with cell cycle-dependent expression patterns. MuvB contains the DNA-binding protein LIN54, which directs the complex to promoter cell cycle genes homology region (CHR) elements. Here we characterize the DNA-binding properties of LIN54 and describe the structural basis for recognition of a CHR sequence. We biochemically define the CHR consensus as TTYRAA and determine that two tandem cysteine rich regions are required for high-affinity DNA association. A crystal structure of the LIN54 DNA-binding domain in complex with a CHR sequence reveals that sequence specificity is conferred by two tyrosine residues, which insert into the minor groove of the DNA duplex. We demonstrate that this unique tyrosine-mediated DNA binding is necessary for MuvB recruitment to target promoters. Our results suggest a model in which MuvB binds near transcription start sites and plays a role in positioning downstream nucleosomes.

VDR/RXR and TCF4/ß-catenin cistromes in colonic cells of colorectal tumor origin: impact on c-FOS and c-MYC gene expression.

Many of the transcriptional and growth regulating activities of 1α,25-dihydroxyvitamin D(3) [1,25-(OH)(2)D(3)] in the intestine and colon are recapitulated in the human colorectal cancer cell LS180. We therefore used this line together with chromatin immunoprecipitation-seq and gene expression analyses to identify the vitamin D receptor (VDR)/retinoid X receptor (RXR) and transcription factor 7-like 2 (TCF7L2/TCF4)/ß-catenin cistromes and the genes that they regulate. VDR and RXR colocalized to predominantly promoter distal, vitamin D response element-containing sites in a largely ligand-dependent manner. These regulatory sites control the expression of both known as well as novel 1,25-(OH)(2)D(3) target genes. TCF4 and ß-catenin cistromes partially overlapped, contained TCF/lymphoid enhancer-binding factor consensus elements, and were only modestly influenced by 1,25-(OH)(2)D(3). However, the two heterodimer complexes colocalized at sites near a limited set of genes that included c-FOS and c-MYC; the expression of both genes was modulated by 1,25-(OH)(2)D(3). At the c-FOS gene, both VDR/RXR and TCF4/ß-catenin bound to a single distal enhancer located 24 kb upstream of the transcriptional start site. At the c-MYC locus, however, binding was noted at a cluster of sites between -139 and -165 kb and at a site located -335 kb upstream. Examined as isolated enhancer fragments, these regions exhibited basal and 1,25-(OH)(2)D(3)-inducible activities that were interlinked to both VDR and ß-catenin activation. These data reveal additional complexity in the regulation of target genes by 1,25-(OH)(2)D(3) and support a direct action of both VDR and the TCF4/ß-catenin regulatory complex at c-FOS and c-MYC.

A downstream intergenic cluster of regulatory enhancers contributes to the induction of CYP24A1 expression by 1alpha,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3.

CYP24A1 expression is up-regulated by 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D(3) (1,25(OH)(2)D(3)) via a vitamin D receptor (VDR)/retinoid X receptor (RXR) heterodimer that binds to two vitamin D response elements (VDREs) located near the proximal promoter. Interestingly, although 1,25(OH)(2)D(3) induced VDR/RXR binding to the VDRE-containing proximal promoter, the VDR/RXR heterodimer also localized to a cluster of at least four potential enhancers located in intergenic regions 50-69 kb downstream of the human CYP24A1 gene and 35-45 kb downstream of the mouse Cyp24a1 gene as revealed by ChIP-chip and ChIP-seq analyses. To address whether this downstream region and potential VDREs located within mediated CYP24A1 induction, we constructed recombinant wild-type and mutant bacterial artificial chromosome clones that spanned mouse and human loci and contained luciferase reporters inserted into their 3'-untranslated regions. The activity of these clones in stably transfected cells revealed that both the proximal and the putative downstream elements contributed to CYP24A1 up-regulation by 1,25(OH)(2)D(3). Further analysis using transfected enhancer fragments led to the identification of contributing regulatory elements in several of these downstream regions. Additional studies of coregulator recruitment using ChIP-chip analysis revealed both similarities and differences between the region located proximal to and those located downstream of the promoter. Recruitment of these coregulators was likely responsible for the increase in RNA polymerase II and histone H4 acetylation, which was also observed in response to 1,25(OH)(2)D(3) at the enhancer sites across the locus. We conclude that a more complex mechanism is responsible for the striking CYP24A1 up-regulation induced by the vitamin D hormone in target cells.

Emerging regulatory paradigms for control of gene expression by 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3.

1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 (1,25(OH)2D3) functions as a steroid hormone to modulate the expression of genes. Its actions are mediated by the vitamin D receptor (VDR) which binds to target genes and functions to recruit coregulatory complexes that are essential for transcriptional modulation. ChIP analysis coupled to tiled DNA microarray hybridization (ChIP-chip) or massively parallel DNA sequencing (ChIP-seq) is now providing critical new insight into how genes are regulated. In studies herein, we utilized these techniques as well as gene expression analysis to explore the actions of 1,25(OH)2D3 at the genome-wide and individual target gene levels in cells. We identify a series of overarching principles that likely define the actions of 1,25(OH)2D3 at most target genes. We discover that while VDR binding to target sites is ligand-dependent, RXR binding is ligand-independent. We also show that while VDR/RXR binding can localize to promoters, it occurs more frequently at multiple sites many kilobases from target gene promoters. We then describe a new method whereby the regulatory regions of complex genes can be evaluated using large recombineered bacterial artificial chromosomes. We conclude that these new approaches are likely to replace many of the traditional methods used to explore the regulation of transcription.

Genome-wide analysis of the VDR/RXR cistrome in osteoblast cells provides new mechanistic insight into the actions of the vitamin D hormone.

The vitamin D receptor (VDR) mediates the actions of 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 (1,25(OH)2D3) in target cells and tissues by orchestrating the expression of gene networks responsible for vitamin D-induced phenotypes. The molecular mechanisms of these regulatory systems have been studied for decades under the principle that transcriptional regulation occurs near the transcriptional start site of the gene. However, this now appears to be an outdated view of transcriptional control. In this study, we examined the genome-wide chromatin immunoprecipitation on microarray (ChIP-chip) across pre-osteoblastic cells for VDR, retinoid X receptor (RXR), RNA polymerase II, and histone H4 acetylation (H4ac). We uncovered potential regulatory mechanisms for genes important to osteoblast biology as well as skeletal formation under the control of 1,25(OH)2D3. We found that VDR, along with RXR and H4ac, binds to distal regions 43% of the time; and within gene introns and exons 44%, leaving only 13% of activation at traditional promoter regions. Here, we briefly summarize our findings for all the VDR/RXR cis-acting transcriptional elements (VDR/RXR cistrome) in pre-osteoblastic cells, MC3T3-E1, provide a few examples of this dynamic control by VDR and 1,25(OH)2D3, and demonstrate that distal transcriptional control contributes to the majority of vitamin D3-mediated transcription.

Adsorption energy, growth mode, and sticking probability of Ca on poly(methyl methacrylate) surfaces with and without electron damage.

The adsorption of Ca atoms on pristine and electron-irradiated poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) surfaces at 300 K has been studied by adsorption microcalorimetry, atomic beam/surface scattering, and low-energy He+ ion scattering spectroscopy (ISS). On pristine PMMA, the initial sticking probability of Ca is 0.5, increasing quickly with Ca coverage. Below 0.5 ML, the heat of adsorption is 730-780 kJ/mol, much higher than Ca's sublimation energy (178 kJ/mol). The Ca here is invisible to ISS, which is attributed to Ca binding to ester groups below the CH3/CH2-terminated PMMA surface. The adsorption energy increases with coverage, suggesting attractions between neighboring Ca-ester complexes. Above 0.5 ML, Ca starts to grow as three-dimensional (3D) Ca clusters on top of the surface, which dominate growth after 2 ML. It is proposed that each Ca reacts with two esters to form the Ca carboxylate of PMMA, because this reaction's heat would be close to that observed. The total amount of Ca that binds to subsurface sites is estimated from the integral heat of adsorption to involve 4-6 layers of ester groups. Exposing the PMMA surface to electrons increases Ca's initial sticking probability but lowers its adsorption energy. This is attributed to electron-induced defects acting as nucleation sites for 3D Ca islands, whose growth now competes kinetically with Ca diffusing to subsurface esters. Consequently, only two layers of subsurface esters get populated at saturation. The heat eventually reaches Ca's bulk heat of sublimation on all PMMA surfaces, where pure, bulk-like Ca thin films form.