Rapid High-Throughput Method for Investigating Physiological Regulation of Neutrophil Extracellular Trap Formation.

BACKGROUND: Neutrophils, the most abundant white blood cells in humans, play pivotal roles in innate immunity, rapidly migrating to sites of infection and inflammation to phagocytose, neutralize, and eliminate invading pathogens. Neutrophil Extracellular Trap (NET) formation is increasingly recognized as an essential rapid innate immune response, but when dysregulated contributes to pathogenesis of sepsis and immunothrombotic disease. OBJECTIVES: Current NETosis models are limited, routinely employing non-physiological triggers that can bypass natural NET regulatory pathways. Models utilizing isolated neutrophils and immortalized cell lines, do not reflect the complex biology underlying neutrophil activation and NETosis, that occurs in whole-blood. To our knowledge, we report the first human ex-vivo model utilizing naturally occurring molecules to induce NETosis in whole blood. This approach could be used for drug screening and, importantly, inadvertent activators of NETosis. METHODS: Here we describe a novel, high-throughput ex-vivo whole blood induced NETosis model using combinatorial pooling of native NETosis inducing factors in a more biologically relevant Synthetic-Sepsis™ model. RESULTS: We found different combinations of factors evoked distinct neutrophil responses in the rate of NET generation and/or magnitude of NETosis. Despite inter-donor variability, similar sets of pro-inflammatory molecules induced consistent responses across donors. We found at least three biological triggers, were necessary to induce NETosis in our system including either TNF-α or LT-α. CONCLUSION: These findings emphasize the importance of investigating neutrophil physiology in a biologically relevant context to enable a better understanding of disease pathology, risk factors, and therapeutic targets, potentially, providing novel strategies for disease intervention and treatment.

Monitoring plasma nucleosome concentrations to measure disease response and progression in dogs with hematopoietic malignancies.

BACKGROUND: Hematopoietic malignancies are extremely common in pet dogs and represent nearly 30% of the malignancies diagnosed in this population each year. Clinicians commonly use existing tools such as physical exam findings, radiographs, ultrasound and baseline blood work to monitor these patients for treatment response and remission. Circulating biomarkers, such as prostate specific antigen or carcinoembryonic antigen, can be useful tools for monitoring treatment response and remission status in human cancer patients. To date, there has a been a lack of useful circulating biomarkers available to veterinary oncology patients. METHODS: Circulating plasma nucleosome concentrations were evaluated at diagnosis, throughout treatment and during remission monitoring for 40 dogs with lymphoma, acute myelogenous leukemia and multiple myeloma. Additionally, C-reactive protein and thymidine kinase-1 levels were recorded. RESULTS: Plasma nucleosome concentrations were significantly higher at diagnosis and progressive disease than they were when dogs were in remission. All but two dogs had plasma nucleosome concentrations that returned to the low range during treatment. These two dogs had the shortest progression free and overall survival times. Dogs with the highest plasma nucleosome concentrations had a significantly shorter first progression free survival than dogs with lower plasma nucleosome concentrations at diagnosis. Plasma nucleosome concentrations correlated better with disease response and progression than either thymidine kinase or C reactive protein. CONCLUSIONS: Plasma nucleosome concentrations can be a useful tool for treatment monitoring and disease progression in dogs with hematopoietic malignancies.

Epigenetic regulation of transcriptional plasticity associated with developmental song learning.

Ethologists discovered over 100 years ago that some lifelong behavioural patterns were acquired exclusively during restricted developmental phases called critical periods (CPs). Developmental song learning in zebra finches is one of the most striking examples of a CP for complex learned behaviour. After post-hatch day 65, whether or not a juvenile male can memorize the song of a 'tutor' depends on his experiences in the month prior. If he experienced a tutor, he can no longer learn, but if he has been isolated from hearing a tutor the learning period is extended. We aimed to identify how tutor experience alters the brain and controls the ability to learn. Epigenetic landscapes are modulated by experience and are able to regulate the transcription of sets of genes, thereby affecting cellular function. Thus, we hypothesized that tutor experiences determine the epigenetic landscape in the auditory forebrain, a region required for tutor song memorization. Using ChIPseq, RNAseq and molecular biology, we provide evidence that naturalistic experiences associated with the ability to learn can induce epigenetic changes, and propose transcriptional plasticity as a mediator of CP learning potential.

Nucleosome Occupancy and Methylome Sequencing (NOMe-seq).

Various methodologies are available to interrogate specific components of epigenetic mechanisms such as DNA methylation or nucleosome occupancy at both the locus-specific and the genome-wide level. It has become increasingly clear, however, that comprehension of the functional interactions between epigenetic mechanisms is critical for understanding how cellular transcription programs are regulated or deregulated during normal and disease development. The Nucleosome Occupancy and Methylome sequencing (NOMe-seq) assay allows us to directly measure the relationship between DNA methylation and nucleosome occupancy by taking advantage of the methyltransferase M.CviPI, which methylates unprotected GpC dinucleotides to create a footprint of chromatin accessibility. This assay generates dual nucleosome occupancy and DNA methylation information at a single-DNA molecule resolution using as little as 200,000 cells and in as short as 15 min reaction time. DNA methylation levels and nucleosome occupancy status of genomic regions of interest can be subsequently interrogated by cloning PCR-amplified bisulfite DNA and sequencing individual clones. Alternatively, NOMe-seq can be combined with next-generation sequencing in order to generate an integrated global map of DNA methylation and nucleosome occupancy, which allows for comprehensive examination as to how these epigenetic components correlate with each other.

An Alternative Approach to ChIP-Seq Normalization Enables Detection of Genome-Wide Changes in Histone H3 Lysine 27 Trimethylation upon EZH2 Inhibition.

Chromatin immunoprecipitation and DNA sequencing (ChIP-seq) has been instrumental in inferring the roles of histone post-translational modifications in the regulation of transcription, chromatin compaction and other cellular processes that require modulation of chromatin structure. However, analysis of ChIP-seq data is challenging when the manipulation of a chromatin-modifying enzyme significantly affects global levels of histone post-translational modifications. For example, small molecule inhibition of the methyltransferase EZH2 reduces global levels of histone H3 lysine 27 trimethylation (H3K27me3). However, standard ChIP-seq normalization and analysis methods fail to detect a decrease upon EZH2 inhibitor treatment. We overcome this challenge by employing an alternative normalization approach that is based on the addition of Drosophila melanogaster chromatin and a D. melanogaster-specific antibody into standard ChIP reactions. Specifically, the use of an antibody that exclusively recognizes the D. melanogaster histone variant H2Av enables precipitation of D. melanogaster chromatin as a minor fraction of the total ChIP DNA. The D. melanogaster ChIP-seq tags are used to normalize the human ChIP-seq data from DMSO and EZH2 inhibitor-treated samples. Employing this strategy, a substantial reduction in H3K27me3 signal is now observed in ChIP-seq data from EZH2 inhibitor treated samples.

Genome-wide nucleosome occupancy and DNA methylation profiling of four human cell lines.

DNA methylation and nucleosome positioning are two key mechanisms that contribute to the epigenetic control of gene expression. During carcinogenesis, the expression of many genes is altered alongside extensive changes in the epigenome, with repressed genes often being associated with local DNA hypermethylation and gain of nucleosomes at their promoters. However the spectrum of alterations that occur at distal regulatory regions has not been extensively studied. To address this we used Nucleosome Occupancy and Methylation sequencing (NOMe-seq) to compare the genome-wide DNA methylation and nucleosome occupancy profiles between normal and cancer cell line models of the breast and prostate. Here we describe the bioinformatic pipeline and methods that we developed for the processing and analysis of the NOMe-seq data published by (Taberlay et al., 2014 [1]) and deposited in the Gene Expression Omnibus with accession GSE57498.

The role of DNA methylation in directing the functional organization of the cancer epigenome.

The holistic role of DNA methylation in the organization of the cancer epigenome is not well understood. Here we perform a comprehensive, high-resolution analysis of chromatin structure to compare the landscapes of HCT116 colon cancer cells and a DNA methylation-deficient derivative. The NOMe-seq accessibility assay unexpectedly revealed symmetrical and transcription-independent nucleosomal phasing across active, poised, and inactive genomic elements. DNA methylation abolished this phasing primarily at enhancers and CpG island (CGI) promoters, with little effect on insulators and non-CGI promoters. Abolishment of DNA methylation led to the context-specific reestablishment of the poised and active states of normal colon cells, which were marked in methylation-deficient cells by distinct H3K27 modifications and the presence of either well-phased nucleosomes or nucleosome-depleted regions, respectively. At higher-order genomic scales, we found that long, H3K9me3-marked domains had lower accessibility, consistent with a more compact chromatin structure. Taken together, our results demonstrate the nuanced and context-dependent role of DNA methylation in the functional, multiscale organization of cancer epigenomes.

Reconfiguration of nucleosome-depleted regions at distal regulatory elements accompanies DNA methylation of enhancers and insulators in cancer.

It is well established that cancer-associated epigenetic repression occurs concomitant with CpG island hypermethylation and loss of nucleosomes at promoters, but the role of nucleosome occupancy and epigenetic reprogramming at distal regulatory elements in cancer is still poorly understood. Here, we evaluate the scope of global epigenetic alterations at enhancers and insulator elements in prostate and breast cancer cells using simultaneous genome-wide mapping of DNA methylation and nucleosome occupancy (NOMe-seq). We find that the genomic location of nucleosome-depleted regions (NDRs) is mostly cell type specific and preferentially found at enhancers in normal cells. In cancer cells, however, we observe a global reconfiguration of NDRs at distal regulatory elements coupled with a substantial reorganization of the cancer methylome. Aberrant acquisition of nucleosomes at enhancer-associated NDRs is associated with hypermethylation and epigenetic silencing marks, and conversely, loss of nucleosomes with demethylation and epigenetic activation. Remarkably, we show that nucleosomes remain strongly organized and phased at many facultative distal regulatory elements, even in the absence of a NDR as an anchor. Finally, we find that key transcription factor (TF) binding sites also show extensive peripheral nucleosome phasing, suggesting the potential for TFs to organize NDRs genome-wide and contribute to deregulation of cancer epigenomes. Together, our findings suggest that "decommissioning" of NDRs and TFs at distal regulatory elements in cancer cells is accompanied by DNA hypermethylation susceptibility of enhancers and insulator elements, which in turn may contribute to an altered genome-wide architecture and epigenetic deregulation in malignancy.

Genome-wide nucleosome map and cytosine methylation levels of an ancient human genome.

Epigenetic information is available from contemporary organisms, but is difficult to track back in evolutionary time. Here, we show that genome-wide epigenetic information can be gathered directly from next-generation sequence reads of DNA isolated from ancient remains. Using the genome sequence data generated from hair shafts of a 4000-yr-old Paleo-Eskimo belonging to the Saqqaq culture, we generate the first ancient nucleosome map coupled with a genome-wide survey of cytosine methylation levels. The validity of both nucleosome map and methylation levels were confirmed by the recovery of the expected signals at promoter regions, exon/intron boundaries, and CTCF sites. The top-scoring nucleosome calls revealed distinct DNA positioning biases, attesting to nucleotide-level accuracy. The ancient methylation levels exhibited high conservation over time, clustering closely with modern hair tissues. Using ancient methylation information, we estimated the age at death of the Saqqaq individual and illustrate how epigenetic information can be used to infer ancient gene expression. Similar epigenetic signatures were found in other fossil material, such as 110,000- to 130,000-yr-old bones, supporting the contention that ancient epigenomic information can be reconstructed from a deep past. Our findings lay the foundation for extracting epigenomic information from ancient samples, allowing shifts in epialleles to be tracked through evolutionary time, as well as providing an original window into modern epigenomics.

Genome-wide mapping of nucleosome positioning and DNA methylation within individual DNA molecules.

DNA methylation and nucleosome positioning work together to generate chromatin structures that regulate gene expression. Nucleosomes are typically mapped using nuclease digestion requiring significant amounts of material and varying enzyme concentrations. We have developed a method (NOMe-seq) that uses a GpC methyltransferase (M.CviPI) and next generation sequencing to generate a high resolution footprint of nucleosome positioning genome-wide using less than 1 million cells while retaining endogenous DNA methylation information from the same DNA strand. Using a novel bioinformatics pipeline, we show a striking anti-correlation between nucleosome occupancy and DNA methylation at CTCF regions that is not present at promoters. We further show that the extent of nucleosome depletion at promoters is directly correlated to expression level and can accommodate multiple nucleosomes and provide genome-wide evidence that expressed non-CpG island promoters are nucleosome-depleted. Importantly, NOMe-seq obtains DNA methylation and nucleosome positioning information from the same DNA molecule, giving the first genome-wide DNA methylation and nucleosome positioning correlation at the single molecule, and thus, single cell level, that can be used to monitor disease progression and response to therapy.

DNA methylation screening identifies driver epigenetic events of cancer cell survival.

Cancer cells typically exhibit aberrant DNA methylation patterns that can drive malignant transformation. Whether cancer cells are dependent on these abnormal epigenetic modifications remains elusive. We used experimental and bioinformatic approaches to unveil genomic regions that require DNA methylation for survival of cancer cells. First, we surveyed the residual DNA methylation profiles in cancer cells with highly impaired DNA methyltransferases. Then, we clustered these profiles according to their DNA methylation status in primary normal and tumor tissues. Finally, we used gene expression meta-analysis to identify regions that are dependent on DNA methylation-mediated gene silencing. We further showed experimentally that these genes must be silenced by DNA methylation for cancer cell survival, suggesting these are key epigenetic events associated with tumorigenesis.

Polycomb-repressed genes have permissive enhancers that initiate reprogramming.

Key regulatory genes, suppressed by Polycomb and H3K27me3, become active during normal differentiation and induced reprogramming. Using the well-characterized enhancer/promoter pair of MYOD1 as a model, we have identified a critical role for enhancers in reprogramming. We observed an unexpected nucleosome-depleted region (NDR) at the H3K4me1-enriched enhancer at which transcriptional regulators initially bind, leading to subsequent changes in the chromatin at the cognate promoter. Exogenous Myod1 activates its own transcription by binding first at the enhancer, leading to an NDR and transcription-permissive chromatin at the associated MYOD1 promoter. Exogenous OCT4 also binds first to the permissive MYOD1 enhancer but has a different effect on the cognate promoter, where the monovalent H3K27me3 marks are converted to the bivalent state characteristic of stem cells. Genome-wide, a high percentage of Polycomb targets are associated with putative enhancers in permissive states, suggesting that they may provide a widespread avenue for the initiation of cell-fate reprogramming.

OCT4 establishes and maintains nucleosome-depleted regions that provide additional layers of epigenetic regulation of its target genes.

Recent epigenome-wide mapping studies describe nucleosome-depleted regions (NDRs) at transcription start sites and enhancers. However, these static maps do not address causality or the roles of NDRs in gene control, and their relationship to transcription factors and DNA methylation is not well understood. Using a high-resolution single-molecule mapping approach to simultaneously investigate endogenous DNA methylation and nucleosome occupancies on individual DNA molecules, we show that the unmethylated OCT4 distal enhancer has an NDR, whereas NANOG has a clear NDR at its proximal promoter. These NDRs are maintained by binding of OCT4 and are required for OCT4 and NANOG expression. Differentiation causes a rapid loss of both NDRs accompanied by nucleosome occupancy, which precedes de novo DNA methylation. NDRs can be restored by forced expression of OCT4 in somatic cells but only when there is no cytosine methylation. These data show the central role of the NDRs, established by OCT4, in ensuring the autoregulatory loop of pluripotency and, furthermore, that de novo methylation follows the loss of NDRs and stabilizes the suppressed state.

Epigenetic modifications as therapeutic targets.

Epigenetic modifications work in concert with genetic mechanisms to regulate transcriptional activity in normal tissues and are often dysregulated in disease. Although they are somatically heritable, modifications of DNA and histones are also reversible, making them good targets for therapeutic intervention. Epigenetic changes often precede disease pathology, making them valuable diagnostic indicators for disease risk or prognostic indicators for disease progression. Several inhibitors of histone deacetylation or DNA methylation are approved for hematological malignancies by the US Food and Drug Administration and have been in clinical use for several years. More recently, histone methylation and microRNA expression have gained attention as potential therapeutic targets. The presence of multiple epigenetic aberrations within malignant tissue and the abilities of cells to develop resistance suggest that epigenetic therapies are most beneficial when combined with other anticancer strategies, such as signal transduction inhibitors or cytotoxic treatments. A key challenge for future epigenetic therapies will be to develop inhibitors with specificity to particular regions of chromosomes, thereby potentially reducing side effects.

H2A.Z maintenance during mitosis reveals nucleosome shifting on mitotically silenced genes.

Profound chromatin changes occur during mitosis to allow for gene silencing and chromosome segregation followed by reactivation of memorized transcription states in daughter cells. Using genome-wide sequencing, we found H2A.Z-containing +1 nucleosomes of active genes shift upstream to occupy TSSs during mitosis, significantly reducing nucleosome-depleted regions. Single-molecule analysis confirmed nucleosome shifting and demonstrated that mitotic shifting is specific to active genes that are silenced during mitosis and, thus, is not seen on promoters, which are silenced by methylation or mitotically expressed genes. Using the GRP78 promoter as a model, we found H3K4 trimethylation is also maintained while other indicators of active chromatin are lost and expression is decreased. These key changes provide a potential mechanism for rapid silencing and reactivation of genes during the cell cycle.

Methylation-sensitive single-molecule analysis of chromatin structure.

Methylation-sensitive single-molecule analysis of chromatin structure is a high-resolution method for studying nucleosome positioning. As described in this unit, this method allows for the analysis of the chromatin structure of unmethylated CpG islands or in vitro-remodeled nucleosomes by treatment with the CpG-specific DNA methyltransferase SssI (M.SssI), followed by bisulfite sequencing of individual progeny DNA molecules. Unlike nuclease-based approaches, this method allows each molecule to be viewed as an individual entity instead of an average population.

Epigenetics in cancer.

Epigenetic mechanisms are essential for normal development and maintenance of tissue-specific gene expression patterns in mammals. Disruption of epigenetic processes can lead to altered gene function and malignant cellular transformation. Global changes in the epigenetic landscape are a hallmark of cancer. The initiation and progression of cancer, traditionally seen as a genetic disease, is now realized to involve epigenetic abnormalities along with genetic alterations. Recent advancements in the rapidly evolving field of cancer epigenetics have shown extensive reprogramming of every component of the epigenetic machinery in cancer including DNA methylation, histone modifications, nucleosome positioning and non-coding RNAs, specifically microRNA expression. The reversible nature of epigenetic aberrations has led to the emergence of the promising field of epigenetic therapy, which is already making progress with the recent FDA approval of three epigenetic drugs for cancer treatment. In this review, we discuss the current understanding of alterations in the epigenetic landscape that occur in cancer compared with normal cells, the roles of these changes in cancer initiation and progression, including the cancer stem cell model, and the potential use of this knowledge in designing more effective treatment strategies.

DZNep is a global histone methylation inhibitor that reactivates developmental genes not silenced by DNA methylation.

DNA methylation, histone modifications, and nucleosomal occupancy collaborate to cause silencing of tumor-related genes in cancer. The development of drugs that target these processes is therefore important for cancer therapy. Inhibitors of DNA methylation and histone deacetylation have been approved by the Food and Drug Administration for treatment of hematologic malignancies. However, drugs that target other mechanisms still need to be developed. Recently, 3-deazaneplanocin A (DZNep) was reported to selectively inhibit trimethylation of lysine 27 on histone H3 (H3K27me3) and lysine 20 on histone H4 (H4K20me3) as well as reactivate silenced genes in cancer cells. This finding opens the door to the pharmacologic inhibition of histone methylation. We therefore wanted to further study the mechanism of action of DZNep in cancer cells. Western blot analysis shows that DZNep globally inhibits histone methylation and is not selective. Two other drugs, sinefungin and adenosine dialdehyde, have similar effects as DZNep on H3K27me3. Intriguingly, chromatin immunoprecipitation of various histone modifications and microarray analysis show that DZNep acts through a different pathway than 5-aza-2'-deoxycytidine, a DNA methyltransferase inhibitor. These observations give us interesting insight into how chromatin structure affects gene expression. We also determined the kinetics of gene activation to understand if the induced changes were somatically heritable. We found that upon removal of DZNep, gene expression is reduced to its original state. This suggests that there is a homeostatic mechanism that returns the histone modifications to their "ground state" after DZNep treatment. Our data show the strong need for further development of histone methylation inhibitors.

Human embryonic stem cell-derived motor neurons expressing SOD1 mutants exhibit typical signs of motor neuron degeneration linked to ALS.

Human embryonic stem cell (hESC)-derived neurons have the potential to model neurodegenerative disorders. Here, we demonstrate the expression of a mutant gene, superoxide dismutase 1(SOD1), linked to familial amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) in hESC-derived motor neurons. Green fluorescent protein (GFP) expression under the control of the HB9 enhancer was used to identify SOD1-transfected motor neurons that express human wild-type SOD1 or one of three different mutants (G93A, A4V and I113T) of SOD1. Neurons transfected with mutant SOD1 exhibited reduced cell survival and shortened axonal processes as compared with control-transfected cells, which could survive for 3 weeks or more. The results indicate that hESC-derived cell populations can be directed to express disease-relevant genes and to display characteristics of the disease-specific cell type. These genetically manipulated hESC-derived motor neurons can facilitate and advance the study of disease-specific cellular pathways, and serve as a model system to test new therapeutic approaches.