Chromosome evolution screens recapitulate tissue-specific tumor aneuploidy patterns.

Whole chromosome and arm-level copy number alterations occur at high frequencies in tumors, but their selective advantages, if any, are poorly understood. Here, utilizing unbiased whole chromosome genetic screens combined with in vitro evolution to generate arm- and subarm-level events, we iteratively selected the fittest karyotypes from aneuploidized human renal and mammary epithelial cells. Proliferation-based karyotype selection in these epithelial lines modeled tissue-specific tumor aneuploidy patterns in patient cohorts in the absence of driver mutations. Hi-C-based translocation mapping revealed that arm-level events usually emerged in multiples of two via centromeric translocations and occurred more frequently in tetraploids than diploids, contributing to the increased diversity in evolving tetraploid populations. Isogenic clonal lineages enabled elucidation of pro-tumorigenic mechanisms associated with common copy number alterations, revealing Notch signaling potentiation as a driver of 1q gain in breast cancer. We propose that intrinsic, tissue-specific proliferative effects underlie tumor copy number patterns in cancer.

Mutations in the promoter of the telomerase gene TERT contribute to tumorigenesis by a two-step mechanism.

TERT promoter mutations (TPMs) are the most common noncoding mutations in cancer. The timing and consequences of TPMs have not been fully established. Here, we show that TPMs acquired at the transition from benign nevus to malignant melanoma do not support telomere maintenance. In vitro experiments revealed that TPMs do not prevent telomere attrition, resulting in cells with critically short and unprotected telomeres. Immortalization by TPMs requires a gradual up-regulation of telomerase, coinciding with telomere fusions. These data suggest that TPMs contribute to tumorigenesis by promoting immortalization and genomic instability in two phases. In an initial phase, TPMs do not prevent bulk telomere shortening but extend cellular life span by healing the shortest telomeres. In the second phase, the critically short telomeres lead to genome instability and telomerase is further up-regulated to sustain cell proliferation.

Endogenous Telomerase Reverse Transcriptase N-Terminal Tagging Affects Human Telomerase Function at Telomeres In Vivo.

Telomerase action at telomeres is essential for the immortal phenotype of stem cells and the aberrant proliferative potential of cancer cells. Insufficient telomere maintenance can cause stem cell and tissue failure syndromes, while increased telomerase levels are associated with tumorigenesis. Both pathologies can arise from only small perturbation of telomerase function. To analyze telomerase at its low endogenous expression level, we genetically engineered human pluripotent stem cells (hPSCs) to express various N-terminal fusion proteins of the telomerase reverse transcriptase from its endogenous locus. Using this approach, we found that these modifications can perturb telomerase function in hPSCs and cancer cells, resulting in telomere length defects. Biochemical analysis suggests that this defect is multileveled, including changes in expression and activity. These findings highlight the unknown complexity of telomerase structural requirements for expression and function in vivo.

Cancer-associated TERT promoter mutations abrogate telomerase silencing.

Mutations in the human telomerase reverse transcriptase (TERT) promoter are the most frequent non-coding mutations in cancer, but their molecular mechanism in tumorigenesis has not been established. We used genome editing of human pluripotent stem cells with physiological telomerase expression to elucidate the mechanism by which these mutations contribute to human disease. Surprisingly, telomerase-expressing embryonic stem cells engineered to carry any of the three most frequent TERT promoter mutations showed only a modest increase in TERT transcription with no impact on telomerase activity. However, upon differentiation into somatic cells, which normally silence telomerase, cells with TERT promoter mutations failed to silence TERT expression, resulting in increased telomerase activity and aberrantly long telomeres. Thus, TERT promoter mutations are sufficient to overcome the proliferative barrier imposed by telomere shortening without additional tumor-selected mutations. These data establish that TERT promoter mutations can promote immortalization and tumorigenesis of incipient cancer cells.

Functional and mechanistic studies of XPC DNA-repair complex as transcriptional coactivator in embryonic stem cells.

The embryonic stem cell (ESC) state is transcriptionally controlled by OCT4, SOX2, and NANOG with cofactors, chromatin regulators, noncoding RNAs, and other effectors of signaling pathways. Uncovering components of these regulatory circuits and their interplay provides the knowledge base to deploy ESCs and induced pluripotent stem cells. We recently identified the DNA-repair complex xeroderma pigmentosum C (XPC)-RAD23B-CETN2 as a stem cell coactivator (SCC) required for OCT4/SOX2 transcriptional activation. Here we investigate the role of SCC genome-wide in murine ESCs by mapping regions bound by RAD23B and analyzing transcriptional profiles of SCC-depleted ESCs. We establish OCT4 and SOX2 as the primary transcription factors recruiting SCC to regulatory regions of pluripotency genes and identify the XPC subunit as essential for interaction with the two proteins. The present study reveals new mechanistic and functional aspects of SCC transcriptional activity, and thus underscores the diversified functions of this regulatory complex.

Genome editing in human pluripotent stem cells using site-specific nucleases.

Human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) and induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) (Thomson, Science 282:1145-1147, 1998; Takahashi et al. Cell 131:861-872, 2007), collectively referred to as pluripotent stem cells (hPSCs), are currently used in disease modeling to address questions specific to humans and to complement our insight gained from model organisms (Soldner et al. Cell 146:318-331, 2011; Soldner and Jaenisch, Science 338:1155-1156, 2012). Recently, genetic engineering using site-specific nucleases has been established in hPSCs (Hockemeyer et al. Nat Biotechnol 27:851-857, 2009; Hockemeyer et al., Nat Biotechnol 29:731-734, 2011; Zou et al., Cell Stem Cell 5:97-110, 2011; Yusa et al., Nature 478:391-394, 2011; DeKelver et al., Genome Res 20:1133-1142, 2010), allowing a level of genetic control previously limited to model systems. Thus, we can now perform targeted gene knockouts, generate tissue-specific cell lineage reporters, overexpress genes from a defined locus, and introduce and repair single point mutations in hPSCs. This ability to genetically engineer pluripotent stem cells will significantly facilitate the study of human disease in a defined genetic context. Here we outline protocols for efficient gene targeting in hPSCs.

Human intestinal tissue with adult stem cell properties derived from pluripotent stem cells.

Genetically engineered human pluripotent stem cells (hPSCs) have been proposed as a source for transplantation therapies and are rapidly becoming valuable tools for human disease modeling. However, many applications are limited due to the lack of robust differentiation paradigms that allow for the isolation of defined functional tissues. Here, using an endogenous LGR5-GFP reporter, we derived adult stem cells from hPSCs that gave rise to functional human intestinal tissue comprising all major cell types of the intestine. Histological and functional analyses revealed that such human organoid cultures could be derived with high purity and with a composition and morphology similar to those of cultures obtained from human biopsies. Importantly, hPSC-derived organoids responded to the canonical signaling pathways that control self-renewal and differentiation in the adult human intestinal stem cell compartment. This adult stem cell system provides a platform for studying human intestinal disease in vitro using genetically engineered hPSCs.

DSIF and NELF interact with Integrator to specify the correct post-transcriptional fate of snRNA genes.

The elongation factors DSIF and NELF are responsible for promoter-proximal RNA polymerase II (Pol II) pausing. NELF is also involved in 3' processing of replication-dependent histone genes, which produce non-polyadenylated mRNAs. Here we show that DSIF and NELF contribute to the synthesis of small nuclear RNAs (snRNAs) through their association with Integrator, the large multisubunit complex responsible for 3' processing of pre-snRNAs. In HeLa cells, Pol II, Integrator, DSIF and NELF accumulate at the 3' end of the U1 snRNA gene. Knockdown of NELF results in misprocessing of U1, U2, U4 and U5 snRNAs, while DSIF is required for proper transcription of these genes. Knocking down NELF also disrupts transcription termination and induces the production of polyadenylated U1 transcripts caused by an enhanced recruitment of cleavage stimulation factor. Our results indicate that NELF plays a key role in determining the post-transcriptional fate of Pol II-transcribed genes.

Dxo1 is a new type of eukaryotic enzyme with both decapping and 5'-3' exoribonuclease activity.

Recent studies showed that Rai1 is a crucial component of the mRNA 5'-end-capping quality-control mechanism in yeast. The yeast genome encodes a weak homolog of Rai1, Ydr370C, but little is known about this protein. Here we report the crystal structures of Ydr370C from Kluyveromyces lactis and the first biochemical and functional studies on this protein. The overall structure of Ydr370C is similar to Rai1. Ydr370C has robust decapping activity on RNAs with unmethylated caps, but it has no detectable pyrophosphohydrolase activity. Unexpectedly, Ydr370C also possesses distributive, 5'-3' exoRNase activity, and we propose the name Dxo1 for this new eukaryotic enzyme with both decapping and exonuclease activities. Studies of yeast in which both Dxo1 and Rai1 are disrupted reveal that mRNAs with incomplete caps are produced even under normal growth conditions, in sharp contrast to current understanding of the capping process.

Promoter-proximal pausing and its release: molecular mechanisms and physiological functions.

For a long time, not much attention had been paid to post-initiation steps in transcription, because it was widely believed that transcriptional control was brought about almost entirely through the regulation of transcription initiation. However, it has become clear that the process of elongation is also tightly controlled by a collection of regulatory factors called transcription elongation factors and contributes, for example, to rapid induction of immediate-early genes and to the control over the viral life cycle. Transcription elongation has attracted attention also because this process is coupled with various RNA processing events. In this review, we discuss biochemical and physiological aspects of elongation control, particularly focusing on the role of the negative elongation factor NELF.