Deletion of conserved protein phosphatases reverses defects associated with mitochondrial DNA damage in Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

Mitochondrial biogenesis is regulated by signaling pathways sensitive to extracellular conditions and to the internal environment of the cell. Therefore, treatments for disease caused by mutation of mtDNA may emerge from studies of how signal transduction pathways command mitochondrial function. We have examined the role of phosphatases under the control of the conserved α4/Tap42 protein in cells lacking a mitochondrial genome. We found that deletion of protein phosphatase 2A (PP2A) or of protein phosphatase 6 (PP6) protects cells from the reduced proliferation, mitochondrial protein import defects, lower mitochondrial electrochemical potential, and nuclear transcriptional response associated with mtDNA damage. Moreover, PP2A or PP6 deletion allows viability of a sensitized yeast strain after mtDNA loss. Interestingly, the Saccharomyces cerevisiae ortholog of the mammalian AMP-activated protein kinase was required for the full benefits of PP6 deletion and also for proliferation of otherwise wild-type cells lacking mtDNA. Our work highlights the important role that nutrient-responsive signaling pathways can play in determining the response to mitochondrial dysfunction.

Genome-wide screening identifies Trim33 as an essential regulator of dendritic cell differentiation.

The development of dendritic cells (DCs), including antigen-presenting conventional DCs (cDCs) and cytokine-producing plasmacytoid DCs (pDCs), is controlled by the growth factor Flt3 ligand (Flt3L) and its receptor Flt3. We genetically dissected Flt3L-driven DC differentiation using CRISPR-Cas9-based screening. Genome-wide screening identified multiple regulators of DC differentiation including subunits of TSC and GATOR1 complexes, which restricted progenitor growth but enabled DC differentiation by inhibiting mTOR signaling. An orthogonal screen identified the transcriptional repressor Trim33 (TIF-1γ) as a regulator of DC differentiation. Conditional targeting in vivo revealed an essential role of Trim33 in the development of all DCs, but not of monocytes or granulocytes. In particular, deletion of Trim33 caused rapid loss of DC progenitors, pDCs, and the cross-presenting cDC1 subset. Trim33-deficient Flt3+ progenitors up-regulated pro-inflammatory and macrophage-specific genes but failed to induce the DC differentiation program. Collectively, these data elucidate mechanisms that control Flt3L-driven differentiation of the entire DC lineage and identify Trim33 as its essential regulator.

Essential transcription factors for induced neuron differentiation.

Neurogenins are proneural transcription factors required to specify neuronal identity. Their overexpression in human pluripotent stem cells rapidly produces cortical-like neurons with spiking activity and, because of this, they have been widely adopted for human neuron disease models. However, we do not fully understand the key downstream regulatory effectors responsible for driving neural differentiation. Here, using inducible expression of NEUROG1 and NEUROG2, we identify transcription factors (TFs) required for directed neuronal differentiation by combining expression and chromatin accessibility analyses with a pooled in vitro CRISPR-Cas9 screen targeting all ~1900 TFs in the human genome. The loss of one of these essential TFs (ZBTB18) yields few MAP2-positive neurons. Differentiated ZBTB18-null cells have radically altered gene expression, leading to cytoskeletal defects and stunted neurites and spines. In addition to identifying key downstream TFs for neuronal differentiation, our work develops an integrative multi-omics and TFome-wide perturbation platform to rapidly characterize essential TFs for the differentiation of any human cell type.

Capybara: A computational tool to measure cell identity and fate transitions.

Measuring cell identity in development, disease, and reprogramming is challenging as cell types and states are in continual transition. Here, we present Capybara, a computational tool to classify discrete cell identity and intermediate "hybrid" cell states, supporting a metric to quantify cell fate transition dynamics. We validate hybrid cells using experimental lineage tracing data to demonstrate the multi-lineage potential of these intermediate cell states. We apply Capybara to diagnose shortcomings in several cell engineering protocols, identifying hybrid states in cardiac reprogramming and off-target identities in motor neuron programming, which we alleviate by adding exogenous signaling factors. Further, we establish a putative in vivo correlate for induced endoderm progenitors. Together, these results showcase the utility of Capybara to dissect cell identity and fate transitions, prioritizing interventions to enhance the efficiency and fidelity of stem cell engineering.

The BTB transcription factors ZBTB11 and ZFP131 maintain pluripotency by repressing pro-differentiation genes.

In pluripotent cells, a delicate activation-repression balance maintains pro-differentiation genes ready for rapid activation. The identity of transcription factors (TFs) that specifically repress pro-differentiation genes remains obscure. By targeting ∼1,700 TFs with CRISPR loss-of-function screen, we found that ZBTB11 and ZFP131 are required for embryonic stem cell (ESC) pluripotency. ESCs without ZBTB11 or ZFP131 lose colony morphology, reduce proliferation rate, and upregulate transcription of genes associated with three germ layers. ZBTB11 and ZFP131 bind proximally to pro-differentiation genes. ZBTB11 or ZFP131 loss leads to an increase in H3K4me3, negative elongation factor (NELF) complex release, and concomitant transcription at associated genes. Together, our results suggest that ZBTB11 and ZFP131 maintain pluripotency by preventing premature expression of pro-differentiation genes and present a generalizable framework to maintain cellular potency.

Proneural factors Ascl1 and Neurog2 contribute to neuronal subtype identities by establishing distinct chromatin landscapes.

Developmental programs that generate the astonishing neuronal diversity of the nervous system are not completely understood and thus present a major challenge for clinical applications of guided cell differentiation strategies. Using direct neuronal programming of embryonic stem cells, we found that two main vertebrate proneural factors, Ascl1 and neurogenin 2 (Neurog2), induce different neuronal fates by binding to largely different sets of genomic sites. Their divergent binding patterns are not determined by the previous chromatin state, but are distinguished by enrichment of specific E-box sequences that reflect the binding preferences of the DNA-binding domains. The divergent Ascl1 and Neurog2 binding patterns result in distinct chromatin accessibility and enhancer activity profiles that differentially shape the binding of downstream transcription factors during neuronal differentiation. This study provides a mechanistic understanding of how transcription factors constrain terminal cell fates, and it delineates the importance of choosing the right proneural factor in neuronal reprogramming strategies.

A Multi-step Transcriptional and Chromatin State Cascade Underlies Motor Neuron Programming from Embryonic Stem Cells.

Direct cell programming via overexpression of transcription factors (TFs) aims to control cell fate with the degree of precision needed for clinical applications. However, the regulatory steps involved in successful terminal cell fate programming remain obscure. We have investigated the underlying mechanisms by looking at gene expression, chromatin states, and TF binding during the uniquely efficient Ngn2, Isl1, and Lhx3 motor neuron programming pathway. Our analysis reveals a highly dynamic process in which Ngn2 and the Isl1/Lhx3 pair initially engage distinct regulatory regions. Subsequently, Isl1/Lhx3 binding shifts from one set of targets to another, controlling regulatory region activity and gene expression as cell differentiation progresses. Binding of Isl1/Lhx3 to later motor neuron enhancers depends on the Ebf and Onecut TFs, which are induced by Ngn2 during the programming process. Thus, motor neuron programming is the product of two initially independent transcriptional modules that converge with a feedforward transcriptional logic.

Reduced Glucose Sensation Can Increase the Fitness of Saccharomyces cerevisiae Lacking Mitochondrial DNA.

Damage to the mitochondrial genome (mtDNA) can lead to diseases for which there are no clearly effective treatments. Since mitochondrial function and biogenesis are controlled by the nutrient environment of the cell, it is possible that perturbation of conserved, nutrient-sensing pathways may successfully treat mitochondrial disease. We found that restricting glucose or otherwise reducing the activity of the protein kinase A (PKA) pathway can lead to improved proliferation of Saccharomyces cerevisiae cells lacking mtDNA and that the transcriptional response to mtDNA loss is reduced in cells with diminished PKA activity. We have excluded many pathways and proteins from being individually responsible for the benefits provided to cells lacking mtDNA by PKA inhibition, and we found that robust import of mitochondrial polytopic membrane proteins may be required in order for cells without mtDNA to receive the full benefits of PKA reduction. Finally, we have discovered that the transcription of genes involved in arginine biosynthesis and aromatic amino acid catabolism is altered after mtDNA damage. Our results highlight the potential importance of nutrient detection and availability on the outcome of mitochondrial dysfunction.

Mitochondrial Dysfunction Plus High-Sugar Diet Provokes a Metabolic Crisis That Inhibits Growth.

The Drosophila mutant tko25t exhibits a deficiency of mitochondrial protein synthesis, leading to a global insufficiency of respiration and oxidative phosphorylation. This entrains an organismal phenotype of developmental delay and sensitivity to seizures induced by mechanical stress. We found that the mutant phenotype is exacerbated in a dose-dependent fashion by high dietary sugar levels. tko25t larvae were found to exhibit severe metabolic abnormalities that were further accentuated by high-sugar diet. These include elevated pyruvate and lactate, decreased ATP and NADPH. Dietary pyruvate or lactate supplementation phenocopied the effects of high sugar. Based on tissue-specific rescue, the crucial tissue in which this metabolic crisis initiates is the gut. It is accompanied by down-regulation of the apparatus of cytosolic protein synthesis and secretion at both the RNA and post-translational levels, including a novel regulation of S6 kinase at the protein level.

Activation of the pleiotropic drug resistance pathway can promote mitochondrial DNA retention by fusion-defective mitochondria in Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

Genetic and microscopic approaches using Saccharomyces cerevisiae have identified many proteins that play a role in mitochondrial dynamics, but it is possible that other proteins and pathways that play a role in mitochondrial division and fusion remain to be discovered. Mutants lacking mitochondrial fusion are characterized by rapid loss of mitochondrial DNA. We took advantage of a petite-negative mutant that is unable to survive mitochondrial DNA loss to select for mutations that allow cells with fusion-deficient mitochondria to maintain the mitochondrial genome on fermentable medium. Next-generation sequencing revealed that all identified suppressor mutations not associated with known mitochondrial division components were localized to PDR1 or PDR3, which encode transcription factors promoting drug resistance. Further studies revealed that at least one, if not all, of these suppressor mutations dominantly increases resistance to known substrates of the pleiotropic drug resistance pathway. Interestingly, hyperactivation of this pathway did not significantly affect mitochondrial shape, suggesting that mitochondrial division was not greatly affected. Our results reveal an intriguing genetic connection between pleiotropic drug resistance and mitochondrial dynamics.

Defects associated with mitochondrial DNA damage can be mitigated by increased vacuolar pH in Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

While searching for mutations that alleviate detrimental effects of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) damage, we found that disrupting vacuolar biogenesis permitted survival of a sensitized yeast background after mitochondrial genome loss. Furthermore, elevating vacuolar pH increases proliferation after mtDNA deletion and reverses the protein import defect of mitochondria lacking DNA.