RESUMO
In vivo cell fate conversions have emerged as potential regeneration-based therapeutics for injury and disease. Recent studies reported that ectopic expression or knockdown of certain factors can convert resident astrocytes into functional neurons with high efficiency, region specificity, and precise connectivity. However, using stringent lineage tracing in the mouse brain, we show that the presumed astrocyte-converted neurons are actually endogenous neurons. AAV-mediated co-expression of NEUROD1 and a reporter specifically and efficiently induces reporter-labeled neurons. However, these neurons cannot be traced retrospectively to quiescent or reactive astrocytes using lineage-mapping strategies. Instead, through a retrograde labeling approach, our results reveal that endogenous neurons are the source for these viral-reporter-labeled neurons. Similarly, despite efficient knockdown of PTBP1 in vivo, genetically traced resident astrocytes were not converted into neurons. Together, our results highlight the requirement of lineage-tracing strategies, which should be broadly applied to studies of cell fate conversions in vivo.
Assuntos
Astrócitos/citologia , Diferenciação Celular , Linhagem da Célula , Neurônios/citologia , Animais , Astrócitos/metabolismo , Fatores de Transcrição Hélice-Alça-Hélice Básicos/metabolismo , Encéfalo/patologia , Lesões Encefálicas/patologia , Linhagem Celular Tumoral , Reprogramação Celular , Dependovirus/metabolismo , Regulação para Baixo , Regulação da Expressão Gênica , Genes Reporter , Proteína Glial Fibrilar Ácida/genética , Ribonucleoproteínas Nucleares Heterogêneas/metabolismo , Proteínas de Homeodomínio/metabolismo , Humanos , Integrases/metabolismo , Camundongos Endogâmicos C57BL , Camundongos Transgênicos , Neurônios/metabolismo , Proteína de Ligação a Regiões Ricas em Polipirimidinas/metabolismo , Regiões Promotoras Genéticas/genética , Fatores de Transcrição/metabolismoRESUMO
Cerebral cortex size differs dramatically between reptiles, birds, and mammals, owing to developmental differences in neuron production. In mammals, signaling pathways regulating neurogenesis have been identified, but genetic differences behind their evolution across amniotes remain unknown. We show that direct neurogenesis from radial glia cells, with limited neuron production, dominates the avian, reptilian, and mammalian paleocortex, whereas in the evolutionarily recent mammalian neocortex, most neurogenesis is indirect via basal progenitors. Gain- and loss-of-function experiments in mouse, chick, and snake embryos and in human cerebral organoids demonstrate that high Slit/Robo and low Dll1 signaling, via Jag1 and Jag2, are necessary and sufficient to drive direct neurogenesis. Attenuating Robo signaling and enhancing Dll1 in snakes and birds recapitulates the formation of basal progenitors and promotes indirect neurogenesis. Our study identifies modulation in activity levels of conserved signaling pathways as a primary mechanism driving the expansion and increased complexity of the mammalian neocortex during amniote evolution.
Assuntos
Peptídeos e Proteínas de Sinalização Intercelular/metabolismo , Proteínas do Tecido Nervoso/genética , Proteínas do Tecido Nervoso/metabolismo , Neurogênese/genética , Receptores Imunológicos/genética , Receptores Imunológicos/metabolismo , Animais , Proteínas de Ligação ao Cálcio , Córtex Cerebral/metabolismo , Embrião de Galinha , Regulação da Expressão Gênica no Desenvolvimento/genética , Proteínas de Homeodomínio , Humanos , Peptídeos e Proteínas de Sinalização Intercelular/genética , Proteína Jagged-1 , Proteína Jagged-2 , Mamíferos/embriologia , Camundongos , Camundongos Endogâmicos C57BL , Neocórtex/fisiologia , Células-Tronco Neurais , Neurogênese/fisiologia , Neuroglia/fisiologia , Neurônios , Fator de Transcrição PAX6/metabolismo , Proteínas Repressoras , Transdução de Sinais , Serpentes/embriologia , Proteínas RoundaboutRESUMO
The recent discovery that genetically modified α cells can regenerate and convert into ß-like cells in vivo holds great promise for diabetes research. However, to eventually translate these findings to human, it is crucial to discover compounds with similar activities. Herein, we report the identification of GABA as an inducer of α-to-ß-like cell conversion in vivo. This conversion induces α cell replacement mechanisms through the mobilization of duct-lining precursor cells that adopt an α cell identity prior to being converted into ß-like cells, solely upon sustained GABA exposure. Importantly, these neo-generated ß-like cells are functional and can repeatedly reverse chemically induced diabetes in vivo. Similarly, the treatment of transplanted human islets with GABA results in a loss of α cells and a concomitant increase in ß-like cell counts, suggestive of α-to-ß-like cell conversion processes also in humans. This newly discovered GABA-induced α cell-mediated ß-like cell neogenesis could therefore represent an unprecedented hope toward improved therapies for diabetes.
Assuntos
Diabetes Mellitus/tratamento farmacológico , Células Secretoras de Glucagon/citologia , Células Secretoras de Insulina/citologia , Ácido gama-Aminobutírico/administração & dosagem , Animais , Fatores de Transcrição Hélice-Alça-Hélice Básicos , Diferenciação Celular/efeitos dos fármacos , Diabetes Mellitus/induzido quimicamente , Diabetes Mellitus/metabolismo , Diabetes Mellitus/patologia , Células Secretoras de Glucagon/efeitos dos fármacos , Humanos , Ilhotas Pancreáticas/citologia , Masculino , Camundongos , Proteínas do Tecido Nervoso , Ratos , Ratos Wistar , Ácido gama-Aminobutírico/farmacologiaRESUMO
Transcriptional control is a highly dynamic process that changes rapidly in response to various cellular and extracellular cues, making it difficult to define the mechanism of transcription factor function using slow genetic methods. We used a chemical-genetic approach to rapidly degrade a canonical transcriptional activator, PAX3-FOXO1, to define the mechanism by which it regulates gene expression programs. By coupling rapid protein degradation with the analysis of nascent transcription over short time courses and integrating CUT&RUN, ATAC-seq, and eRNA analysis with deep proteomic analysis, we defined PAX3-FOXO1 function at a small network of direct transcriptional targets. PAX3-FOXO1 degradation impaired RNA polymerase pause release and transcription elongation at most regulated gene targets. Moreover, the activity of PAX3-FOXO1 at enhancers controlling this core network was surprisingly selective, affecting single elements in super-enhancers. This combinatorial analysis indicated that PAX3-FOXO1 was continuously required to maintain chromatin accessibility and enhancer architecture at regulated enhancers.
Assuntos
Proteômica , Sequências Reguladoras de Ácido Nucleico , Sequência de Bases , RNA Polimerases Dirigidas por DNA , Sequenciamento de Cromatina por Imunoprecipitação , Fatores de TranscriçãoRESUMO
EBF1 and PAX5 mutations are associated with the development of B progenitor acute lymphoblastic leukemia (B-ALL) in humans. To understand the molecular networks driving leukemia in the Ebf1+/-Pax5+/- (dHet) mouse model for B-ALL, we interrogated the transcriptional profiles and chromatin status of leukemic cells, preleukemic dHet pro-B, and wild-type pro-B cells with the corresponding EBF1 and Pax5 cistromes. In dHet B-ALL cells, many EBF1 and Pax5 target genes encoding pre-BCR signaling components and transcription factors were down-regulated, whereas Myc and genes downstream from IL-7 signaling or associated with the folate pathway were up-regulated. We show that blockade of IL-7 signaling in vivo and methotrexate treatment of leukemic cells in vitro attenuate the expansion of leukemic cells. Single-cell RNA-sequencing revealed heterogeneity of leukemic cells and identified a subset of wild-type pro-B cells with reduced Ebf1 and enhanced Myc expression that show hallmarks of dHet B-ALL cells. Thus, EBF1 and Pax5 may safeguard early stage B cells from transformation to B-ALL by limiting IL-7 signaling, folate metabolism and Myc expression.
Assuntos
Ácido Fólico/metabolismo , Interleucina-7/fisiologia , Fator de Transcrição PAX5/metabolismo , Leucemia-Linfoma Linfoblástico de Células Precursoras/fisiopatologia , Proteínas Proto-Oncogênicas c-myc/genética , Transdução de Sinais/genética , Transativadores/metabolismo , Animais , Carbono/metabolismo , Sobrevivência Celular/genética , Transformação Celular Neoplásica/genética , Modelos Animais de Doenças , Regulação Neoplásica da Expressão Gênica/genética , Redes Reguladoras de Genes/genética , Camundongos , Fator de Transcrição PAX5/genética , Leucemia-Linfoma Linfoblástico de Células Precursoras/genética , Células Precursoras de Linfócitos B/patologia , Ligação Proteica , Análise de Célula Única , Transativadores/genéticaRESUMO
While extended loop extrusion across the entire Igh locus controls VH -DJH recombination, local regulatory sequences, such as the PAIR elements, may also activate VH gene recombination in pro-B-cells. Here, we show that PAIR-associated VH 8 genes contain a conserved putative regulatory element (V8E) in their downstream sequences. To investigate the function of PAIR4 and its V8.7E, we deleted 890 kb containing all 14 PAIRs in the Igh 5' region, which reduced distal VH gene recombination over a 100-kb distance on either side of the deletion. Reconstitution by insertion of PAIR4-V8.7E strongly activated distal VH gene recombination. PAIR4 alone resulted in lower induction of recombination, indicating that PAIR4 and V8.7E function as one regulatory unit. The pro-B-cell-specific activity of PAIR4 depends on CTCF, as mutation of its CTCF-binding site led to sustained PAIR4 activity in pre-B and immature B-cells and to PAIR4 activation in T-cells. Notably, insertion of V8.8E was sufficient to activate VH gene recombination. Hence, enhancers of the PAIR4-V8.7E module and V8.8E element activate distal VH gene recombination and thus contribute to the diversification of the BCR repertoire in the context of loop extrusion.
Assuntos
Células Precursoras de Linfócitos B , Sequências Reguladoras de Ácido Nucleico , Sequências Reguladoras de Ácido Nucleico/genética , Sítios de Ligação , Recombinação GenéticaRESUMO
Tunicates are the sister group to the vertebrates, yet most species have a life cycle split between swimming larva and sedentary adult phases. During metamorphosis, larval neurons are replaced by adult-specific ones. The regulatory mechanisms underlying this replacement remain largely unknown. Using tissue-specific CRISPR/Cas9-mediated mutagenesis in the tunicate Ciona, we show that orthologs of conserved hindbrain and branchiomeric neuron regulatory factors Pax2/5/8 and Phox2 are required to specify the 'neck', a cellular compartment set aside in the larva to give rise to cranial motor neuron-like neurons post-metamorphosis. Using bulk and single-cell RNA-sequencing analyses, we characterize the transcriptome of the neck downstream of Pax2/5/8. We present evidence that neck-derived adult ciliomotor neurons begin to differentiate in the larva and persist through metamorphosis, contrary to the assumption that the adult nervous system is formed after settlement and the death of larval neurons during metamorphosis. Finally, we show that FGF signaling during the larval phase alters the patterning of the neck and its derivatives. Suppression of FGF converts neck cells into larval neurons that fail to survive metamorphosis, whereas prolonged FGF signaling promotes an adult neural stem cell-like fate.
Assuntos
Larva , Metamorfose Biológica , Animais , Larva/crescimento & desenvolvimento , Neurônios/metabolismo , Neurônios/citologia , Fatores de Crescimento de Fibroblastos/metabolismo , Fatores de Crescimento de Fibroblastos/genética , Regulação da Expressão Gênica no Desenvolvimento , Neurônios Motores/metabolismo , Neurônios Motores/citologia , Transdução de Sinais/genética , Ciona intestinalis/genética , Sobrevivência Celular , Transcriptoma/genética , Fatores de Transcrição/metabolismo , Fatores de Transcrição/genética , Sistemas CRISPR-Cas/genéticaRESUMO
Reptilian skin coloration is spectacular and diverse, yet little is known about the ontogenetic processes that govern its establishment and the molecular signaling pathways that determine it. Here, we focus on the development of the banded pattern of leopard gecko hatchlings and the transition to black spots in the adult. With our histological analyses, we show that iridophores are present in the white and yellow bands of the hatchling and they gradually perish in the adult skin. Furthermore, we demonstrate that melanophores can autonomously form spots in the absence of the other chromatophores both on the regenerated skin of the tail and on the dorsal skin of the Mack Super Snow (MSS) leopard geckos. This color morph is characterized by uniform black coloration in hatchlings and black spots in adulthood; we establish that their skin is devoid of xanthophores and iridophores at both stages. Our genetic analyses identified a 13-nucleotide deletion in the PAX7 transcription factor of MSS geckos, affecting its protein coding sequence. With our single-cell transcriptomics analysis of embryonic skin, we confirm that PAX7 is expressed in iridophores and xanthophores, suggesting that it plays a key role in the differentiation of both chromatophores. Our in situ hybridizations on whole-mount embryos document the dynamics of the skin pattern formation and how it is impacted in the PAX7 mutants. We hypothesize that the melanophores-iridophores interactions give rise to the banded pattern of the hatchlings and black spot formation is an intrinsic capacity of melanophores in the postembryonic skin.
Assuntos
Cromatóforos , Lagartos , Pigmentação da Pele , Animais , Lagartos/genética , Lagartos/metabolismo , Lagartos/fisiologia , Cromatóforos/metabolismo , Pigmentação da Pele/genética , Pigmentação da Pele/fisiologia , Pele/metabolismo , Melanóforos/metabolismo , Regulação da Expressão Gênica no DesenvolvimentoRESUMO
Humoral immunity depends on the germinal center (GC) reaction where B cells are tightly controlled for class-switch recombination and somatic hypermutation and finally generated into plasma and memory B cells. However, how protein SUMOylation regulates the process of the GC reaction remains largely unknown. Here, we show that the expression of SUMO-specific protease 1 (SENP1) is up-regulated in GC B cells. Selective ablation of SENP1 in GC B cells results in impaired GC dark and light zone organization and reduced IgG1-switched GC B cells, leading to diminished production of class-switched antibodies with high-affinity in response to a TD antigen challenge. Mechanistically, SENP1 directly binds to Paired box protein 5 (PAX5) to mediate PAX5 deSUMOylation, sustaining PAX5 protein stability to promote the transcription of activation-induced cytidine deaminase. In summary, our study uncovers SUMOylation as an important posttranslational mechanism regulating GC B cell response.
Assuntos
Linfócitos B , Cisteína Endopeptidases , Centro Germinativo , Fator de Transcrição PAX5 , Sumoilação , Centro Germinativo/imunologia , Centro Germinativo/metabolismo , Fator de Transcrição PAX5/metabolismo , Fator de Transcrição PAX5/genética , Animais , Linfócitos B/imunologia , Linfócitos B/metabolismo , Cisteína Endopeptidases/metabolismo , Cisteína Endopeptidases/genética , Camundongos , Switching de Imunoglobulina , Humanos , Citidina Desaminase/metabolismo , Citidina Desaminase/genética , Imunidade Humoral , Camundongos Endogâmicos C57BLRESUMO
Fate decisions in the embryo are controlled by a plethora of microenvironmental interactions in a three-dimensional niche. To investigate whether aspects of this microenvironmental complexity can be engineered to direct myogenic human-induced pluripotent stem cell (hiPSC) differentiation, we here screened murine cell types present in the developmental or adult stem cell niche in heterotypic suspension embryoids. We identified embryonic endothelial cells and fibroblasts as highly permissive for myogenic specification of hiPSCs. After two weeks of sequential Wnt and FGF pathway induction, these three-component embryoids are enriched in Pax7-positive embryonic-like myogenic progenitors that can be isolated by flow cytometry. Myogenic differentiation of hiPSCs in heterotypic embryoids relies on a specialized structural microenvironment and depends on MAPK, PI3K/AKT, and Notch signaling. After transplantation in a mouse model of Duchenne muscular dystrophy, embryonic-like myogenic progenitors repopulate the stem cell niche, reactivate after repeated injury, and, compared to adult human myoblasts, display enhanced fusion and lead to increased muscle function. Altogether, we provide a two-week protocol for efficient and scalable suspension-based 3D derivation of Pax7-positive myogenic progenitors from hiPSCs.
Assuntos
Células-Tronco Pluripotentes Induzidas , Animais , Diferenciação Celular , Células Endoteliais , Humanos , Células-Tronco Pluripotentes Induzidas/metabolismo , Camundongos , Desenvolvimento Muscular , Fosfatidilinositol 3-Quinases/metabolismo , Nicho de Células-TroncoRESUMO
While PAX5 is an important tumor suppressor gene in B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (B-ALL), it is also involved in oncogenic translocations coding for diverse PAX5 fusion proteins. PAX5-JAK2 encodes a protein consisting of the PAX5 DNA-binding region fused to the constitutively active JAK2 kinase domain. Here, we studied the oncogenic function of the PAX5-JAK2 fusion protein in a mouse model expressing it from the endogenous Pax5 locus, resulting in inactivation of one of the two Pax5 alleles. Pax5Jak2/+ mice rapidly developed an aggressive B-ALL in the absence of another cooperating exogenous gene mutation. The DNA-binding function and kinase activity of Pax5-Jak2 as well as IL-7 signaling contributed to leukemia development. Interestingly, all Pax5Jak2/+ tumors lost the remaining wild-type Pax5 allele, allowing efficient DNA-binding of Pax5-Jak2. While we could not find evidence for a nuclear role of Pax5-Jak2 as an epigenetic regulator, high levels of active phosphorylated STAT5 and increased expression of STAT5 target genes were seen in Pax5Jak2/+ B-ALL tumors, implying that nuclear Pax5-Jak2 phosphorylates STAT5. Together, these data reveal Pax5-Jak2 as an important nuclear driver of leukemogenesis by maintaining phosphorylated STAT5 levels in the nucleus.
Assuntos
Janus Quinase 2 , Leucemia de Células B , Fator de Transcrição PAX5 , Fator de Transcrição STAT5 , Animais , Janus Quinase 2/genética , Leucemia de Células B/genética , Camundongos , Mutação , Fator de Transcrição PAX5/genética , Fator de Transcrição STAT5/genética , Translocação GenéticaRESUMO
Pancreatic ε-cells producing ghrelin are one type of endocrine cell found in islets, which have been shown to influence other intra-islet cells, especially in regulating the function of ß cells. However, the role of such cells during ß-cell regeneration is currently unknown. Here, using a zebrafish nitroreductase (NTR)-mediated ß-cell ablation model, we reveal that ghrelin-positive ε-cells in the pancreas act as contributors to neogenic ß-cells after extreme ß-cell loss. Further studies show that the overexpression of ghrelin or the expansion of ε-cells potentiates ß-cell regeneration. Lineage tracing confirms that a proportion of embryonic ε-cells can transdifferentiate to ß-cells, and that the deletion of Pax4 enhances this transdifferentiation of ε-cells to ß-cells. Mechanistically, Pax4 binds to the ghrelin regulatory region and represses its transcription. Thus, deletion of Pax4 derepresses ghrelin expression and causes producing more ghrelin-positive cells, enhancing the transdifferentiation of ε-cells to ß-cells and consequently potentiating ß-cell regeneration. Our findings reveal a previously unreported role for ε-cells during zebrafish ß-cell regeneration, indicating that Pax4 regulates ghrelin transcription and mediates the conversion of embryonic ε-cells to ß-cells after extreme ß-cell loss.
Assuntos
Fatores de Transcrição , Peixe-Zebra , Animais , Grelina/metabolismo , Proteínas de Homeodomínio/metabolismo , Pâncreas , Fatores de Transcrição/metabolismo , Peixe-Zebra/genética , Peixe-Zebra/metabolismoRESUMO
The mechanism of pattern formation during limb muscle development remains poorly understood. The canonical view holds that naïve limb muscle progenitor cells (MPCs) invade a pre-established pattern of muscle connective tissue, thereby forming individual muscles. Here, we show that early murine embryonic limb MPCs highly accumulate pSMAD1/5/9, demonstrating active signaling of bone morphogenetic proteins (BMP) in these cells. Overexpression of inhibitory human SMAD6 (huSMAD6) in limb MPCs abrogated BMP signaling, impaired their migration and proliferation, and accelerated myogenic lineage progression. Fewer primary myofibers developed, causing an aberrant proximodistal muscle pattern. Patterning was not disturbed when huSMAD6 was overexpressed in differentiated muscle, implying that the proximodistal muscle pattern depends on BMP-mediated expansion of MPCs before their differentiation. We show that limb MPCs differentially express Hox genes, and Hox-expressing MPCs displayed active BMP signaling. huSMAD6 overexpression caused loss of HOXA11 in early limb MPCs. In conclusion, our data show that BMP signaling controls expansion of embryonic limb MPCs as a prerequisite for establishing the proximodistal muscle pattern, a process that involves expression of Hox genes.
Assuntos
Proteínas Morfogenéticas Ósseas , Músculo Esquelético , Animais , Humanos , Camundongos , Proteínas Morfogenéticas Ósseas/metabolismo , Diferenciação Celular/fisiologia , Genes Homeobox , Músculo Esquelético/metabolismo , Mioblastos/metabolismo , Proteína Smad6/metabolismoRESUMO
As a hallmark of senescent cells, the derepression of Long Interspersed Elements 1 (LINE1) transcription results in accumulated LINE1 cDNA, which triggers the secretion of the senescence-associated secretory phenotype (SASP) and paracrine senescence in a cGAS-STING pathway-dependent manner. However, transcription factors that govern senescence-associated LINE1 reactivation remain ill-defined. Here, we predict several transcription factors that bind to human LINE1 elements to regulate their transcription by analyzing the conserved binding motifs in the 5'-untranslated regions (UTR) of the commonly upregulated LINE1 elements in different types of senescent cells. Further analysis reveals that PAX5 directly binds to LINE1 5'-UTR and the binding is enhanced in senescent cells. The enrichment of PAX5 at the 5'-UTR promotes cellular senescence and SASP by activating LINE1. We also demonstrate that the longevity gene SIRT6 suppresses PAX5 transcription by directly binding to the PAX5 promoter, and overexpressing PAX5 abrogates the suppressive effect of SIRT6 on stress-dependent cellular senescence. Our work suggests that PAX5 could serve as a potential target for drug development aiming to suppress LINE1 activation and treat senescence-associated diseases.
Assuntos
Senescência Celular , Elementos Nucleotídeos Longos e Dispersos , Fator de Transcrição PAX5 , Humanos , Regiões 5' não Traduzidas/genética , Regulação da Expressão Gênica , Fator de Transcrição PAX5/genética , Fator de Transcrição PAX5/metabolismo , Regiões Promotoras Genéticas , Ligação Proteica , Retroelementos/genética , Fenótipo Secretor Associado à Senescência/genéticaRESUMO
Oomycetes were recently discovered as natural pathogens of Caenorhabditis elegans, and pathogen recognition alone was shown to be sufficient to activate a protective transcriptional program characterized by the expression of multiple chitinase-like (chil) genes. However, the molecular mechanisms underlying oomycete recognition in animals remain fully unknown. We performed here a forward genetic screen to uncover regulators of chil gene induction and found several independent loss-of-function alleles of old-1 and flor-1, which encode receptor tyrosine kinases belonging to the C. elegans-specific KIN-16 family. We report that OLD-1 and FLOR-1 are both necessary for mounting the immune response and act in the epidermis. FLOR-1 is a pseudokinase that acts downstream of the active kinase OLD-1 and regulates OLD-1 levels at the plasma membrane. Interestingly, the old-1 locus is adjacent to the chil genes in the C. elegans genome, thereby revealing a genetic cluster important for oomycete resistance. Furthermore, we demonstrate that old-1 expression at the anterior side of the epidermis is regulated by the VAB-3/PAX6 transcription factor, well known for its role in visual system development in other animals. Taken together, our study reveals both conserved and species-specific factors shaping the activation and spatial characteristics of the immune response to oomycete recognition.
Assuntos
Caenorhabditis elegans , Quitinases , Animais , Caenorhabditis elegans/genética , Receptores Proteína Tirosina Quinases , Membrana Celular , AlelosRESUMO
Recurrent chromosomal rearrangements found in rhabdomyosarcoma (RMS) produce the PAX3-FOXO1 fusion protein, which is an oncogenic driver and a dependency in this disease. One important function of PAX3-FOXO1 is to arrest myogenic differentiation, which is linked to the ability of RMS cells to gain an unlimited proliferation potential. Here, we developed a phenotypic screening strategy for identifying factors that collaborate with PAX3-FOXO1 to block myo-differentiation in RMS. Unlike most genes evaluated in our screen, we found that loss of any of the three subunits of the Nuclear Factor Y (NF-Y) complex leads to a myo-differentiation phenotype that resembles the effect of inactivating PAX3-FOXO1. While the transcriptomes of NF-Y- and PAX3-FOXO1-deficient RMS cells bear remarkable similarity to one another, we found that these two transcription factors occupy nonoverlapping sites along the genome: NF-Y preferentially occupies promoters, whereas PAX3-FOXO1 primarily binds to distal enhancers. By integrating multiple functional approaches, we map the PAX3 promoter as the point of intersection between these two regulators. We show that NF-Y occupies CCAAT motifs present upstream of PAX3 to function as a transcriptional activator of PAX3-FOXO1 expression in RMS. These findings reveal a critical upstream role of NF-Y in the oncogenic PAX3-FOXO1 pathway, highlighting how a broadly essential transcription factor can perform tumor-specific roles in governing cellular state.
Assuntos
Rabdomiossarcoma , Fator de Ligação a CCAAT/genética , Diferenciação Celular/genética , Aberrações Cromossômicas , Rabdomiossarcoma/genética , Fatores de TranscriçãoRESUMO
B-cell fate determination requires the action of transcription factors that operate in a regulatory network to activate B-lineage genes and repress lineage-inappropriate genes. However, the dynamics and hierarchy of events in B-cell programming remain obscure. To uncouple the dynamics of transcription factor expression from functional consequences, we generated induction systems in developmentally arrested Ebf1-/- pre-pro-B cells to allow precise experimental control of EBF1 expression in the genomic context of progenitor cells. Consistent with the described role of EBF1 as a pioneer transcription factor, we show in a time-resolved analysis that EBF1 occupancy coincides with EBF1 expression and precedes the formation of chromatin accessibility. We observed dynamic patterns of EBF1 target gene expression and sequential up-regulation of transcription factors that expand the regulatory network at the pro-B-cell stage. A continuous EBF1 function was found to be required for Cd79a promoter activity and for the maintenance of an accessible chromatin domain that is permissive for binding of other transcription factors. Notably, transient EBF1 occupancy was detected at lineage-inappropriate genes prior to their silencing in pro-B cells. Thus, persistent and transient functions of EBF1 allow for an ordered sequence of epigenetic and transcriptional events in B-cell programming.
Assuntos
Linfócitos B/metabolismo , Epigênese Genética , Células-Tronco/metabolismo , Transativadores/metabolismo , Transcrição Gênica , Animais , Antígenos CD79/genética , Linhagem da Célula/genética , Células Cultivadas , Cromatina/metabolismo , DNA/metabolismo , Camundongos , Fator de Transcrição PAX5/metabolismo , Regiões Promotoras Genéticas , Proteínas Proto-Oncogênicas/metabolismo , Fatores de Transcrição/metabolismoRESUMO
Earlier studies have identified transcription factors that specify B-cell fate, but the underlying mechanisms remain to be revealed. Two new studies by Miyai and colleagues (pp. 112-126) and Li and colleagues (pp. 96-111) in this issue of Genes & Development provide new and unprecedented insights into the genetic and epigenetic mechanisms that establish B-cell identity.
Assuntos
Linfócitos B/imunologia , Transativadores , Diferenciação Celular , Ativação Linfocitária , Fatores de TranscriçãoRESUMO
The choice of fixation method significantly impacts tissue morphology and visualization of gene expression and proteins after in situ hybridization chain reaction (HCR) or immunohistochemistry (IHC), respectively. In this study, we compared the effects of paraformaldehyde (PFA) and trichloroacetic acid (TCA) fixation techniques prior to HCR and IHC on chicken embryos. Our findings underscore the importance of optimizing fixation methods for accurate visualization and subsequent interpretation of HCR and IHC results, with implications for probe and antibody validation and tissue-specific protein localization studies. We found that TCA fixation resulted in larger and more circular nuclei and neural tubes compared to PFA fixation. Additionally, TCA fixation altered the subcellular fluorescence signal intensity of various proteins, including transcription factors, cytoskeletal proteins, and cadherins. Notably, TCA fixation revealed protein signals in tissues that may be inaccessible with PFA fixation. In contrast, TCA fixation proved ineffective for mRNA visualization. These results highlight the need for optimization of fixation protocols depending on the target and model system, emphasizing the importance of methodological considerations in biological analyses.
RESUMO
Larvacean tunicates feature a spectacular innovation not seen in other animals - the trunk oikoplastic epithelium (OE). This epithelium produces a house, a large and complex extracellular structure used for filtering and concentrating food particles. Previously we identified several homeobox transcription factor genes expressed during early OE patterning. Among these are two Pax3/7 copies that we named pax37A and pax37B. The vertebrate homologs, PAX3 and PAX7 are involved in developmental processes related to neural crest and muscles. In the ascidian tunicate Ciona intestinalis, Pax3/7 plays a role in the development of cells deriving from the neural plate border, including trunk epidermal sensory neurons and tail nerve cord neurons, as well as in the neural tube closure. Here we have investigated the roles of Oikopleura dioica pax37A and pax37B in the development of the OE, by using CRISPR-Cas9 mutant lines and analyzing scRNA-seq data from wild-type animals. We found that pax37B but not pax37A is essential for the differentiation of cell fields that produce the food concentrating filter of the house: the anterior Fol, giant Fol and Nasse cells. Trajectory analysis supported a neuroepithelial-like or a preplacodal ectoderm transcriptional signature in these cells. We propose that the highly specialized secretory epithelial cells of the Fol region either maintained or evolved neuroepithelial features. This is supported by a fragmented gene regulatory network involved in their development that also operates in ascidian epidermal neurons.