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The human methyltransferase and transcriptional coactivator MLL4 and its paralog MLL3 are frequently mutated in cancer. MLL4 and MLL3 monomethylate histone H3K4 and contain a set of uncharacterized PHD fingers. Here, we report a novel function of the PHD2 and PHD3 (PHD2/3) fingers of MLL4 and MLL3 that bind to ASXL2, a component of the Polycomb repressive H2AK119 deubiquitinase (PR-DUB) complex. The structure of MLL4 PHD2/3 in complex with the MLL-binding helix (MBH) of ASXL2 and mutational analyses reveal the molecular mechanism which is conserved in homologous ASXL1 and ASXL3. The native interaction of the Trithorax MLL3/4 complexes with the PR-DUB complex in vivo depends solely on MBH of ASXL1/2, coupling the two histone modifying activities. ChIP-seq analysis in embryonic stem cells demonstrates that MBH of ASXL1/2 is required for the deubiquitinase BAP1 recruitment to MLL4-bound active enhancers. Our findings suggest an ASXL1/2-dependent functional link between the MLL3/4 and PR-DUB complexes., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Human mixed lineage leukemia 4 (MLL4), also known as KMT2D, regulates cell type specific transcriptional programs through enhancer activation. Along with the catalytic methyltransferase domain, MLL4 contains seven less characterized plant homeodomain (PHD) fingers. Here, we report that the sixth PHD finger of MLL4 (MLL4 PHD6 ) binds to the hydrophobic motif of ten-eleven translocation 3 (TET3), a dioxygenase that converts methylated cytosine into oxidized derivatives. The solution NMR structure of the TET3-MLL4 PHD6 complex and binding assays show that, like histone H4 tail, TET3 occupies the hydrophobic site of MLL4 PHD6 , and that this interaction is conserved in the seventh PHD finger of homologous MLL3 (MLL3 PHD7 ). Analysis of genomic localization of endogenous MLL4 and ectopically expressed TET3 in mouse embryonic stem cells reveals a high degree overlap on active enhancers and suggests a potential functional relationship of MLL4 and TET3., Competing Interests: Declaration of interests The authors declare no competing interests., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Cell type-specific enhancers are activated by coordinated actions of lineage-determining transcription factors (LDTFs) and chromatin regulators. The SWI/SNF chromatin remodeling complex BAF and the histone H3K4 methyltransferase MLL4 (KMT2D) are both implicated in enhancer activation. However, the interplay between BAF and MLL4 in enhancer activation remains unclear. Using adipogenesis as a model system, we identify BAF as the major SWI/SNF complex that colocalizes with MLL4 and LDTFs on active enhancers and is required for cell differentiation. In contrast, the promoter enriched SWI/SNF complex PBAF is dispensable for adipogenesis. By depleting BAF subunits SMARCA4 (BRG1) and SMARCB1 (SNF5) as well as MLL4 in cells, we show that BAF and MLL4 reciprocally regulate each other's binding on active enhancers before and during adipogenesis. By focusing on enhancer activation by the adipogenic pioneer transcription factor C/EBPβ without inducing cell differentiation, we provide direct evidence for an interdependent relationship between BAF and MLL4 in activating cell type-specific enhancers. Together, these findings reveal a positive feedback between BAF and MLL4 in promoting LDTF-dependent activation of cell type-specific enhancers.

Transcription factors C/EBPβ and C/EBPδ are induced within hours after initiation of adipogenesis in culture. They directly promote the expression of master adipogenic transcription factors peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor γ (PPARγ) and C/EBPα and are required for adipogenesis in vivo However, the mechanism that controls the induction of C/EBPβ and C/EBPδ remains elusive. We previously showed that histone methyltransferases MLL3/MLL4 and associated PTIP are required for the induction of PPARγ and C/EBPα during adipogenesis. Here, we show MLL3/MLL4/PTIP-associated protein PAGR1 (also known as PA1) cooperates with phosphorylated CREB and ligand-activated glucocorticoid receptor to directly control the induction of C/EBPβ and C/EBPδ in the early phase of adipogenesis. Deletion of Pagr1 in white and brown preadipocytes prevents the induction of C/EBPβ and C/EBPδ and leads to severe defects in adipogenesis. Adipogenesis defects in PAGR1-deficient cells can be rescued by the ectopic expression of C/EBPβ or PPARγ. Finally, the deletion of Pagr1 in Myf5 + precursor cells impairs brown adipose tissue and muscle development. Thus, by controlling the induction of C/EBPβ and C/EBPδ, PAGR1 plays a critical role in adipogenesis.

KMT2D encodes a methyltransferase responsible for histone 3 lysine 4 (H3K4) mono-/di-methylation, an epigenetic mark correlated with active transcription. Here, we tested the hypothesis that KMT2D pathogenic loss-of-function variants, which causes the Kabuki syndrome type 1, could affect the mitochondrial metabolic profile. By using Seahorse technology, we showed a significant reduction of the mitochondrial oxygen consumption rate as well as a reduction of the glycolytic flux in both Kmt2d knockout MEFs and skin fibroblasts of Kabuki patients harboring heterozygous KMT2D pathogenic variants. Mass-spectrometry analysis of intermediate metabolites confirmed alterations in the glycolytic and TCA cycle pathways. The observed metabolic phenotype was accompanied by a significant increase in the production of reactive oxygen species. Measurements of the specific activities of the mitochondrial respiratory chain complexes revealed significant inhibition of CI (NADH dehydrogenase) and CIV (cytochrome c oxidase); this result was further supported by a decrease in the protein content of both complexes. Finally, we unveiled an impaired oxidation of glucose and larger reliance on long-chain fatty acids oxidation. Altogether, our findings clearly indicate a rewiring of the mitochondrial metabolic phenotype in the KMT2D-null or loss-of-function context that might contribute to the development of Kabuki disease, and represents metabolic reprogramming as a potential new therapeutic approach.

Histone methyltransferase MLL4 is centrally involved in transcriptional regulation and is often mutated in human diseases, including cancer and developmental disorders. MLL4 contains a catalytic SET domain that mono-methylates histone H3K4 and seven PHD fingers of unclear function. Here, we identify the PHD6 finger of MLL4 (MLL4-PHD6) as a selective reader of the epigenetic modification H4K16ac. The solution NMR structure of MLL4-PHD6 in complex with a H4K16ac peptide along with binding and mutational analyses reveal unique mechanistic features underlying recognition of H4K16ac. Genomic studies show that one third of MLL4 chromatin binding sites overlap with H4K16ac-enriched regions in vivo and that MLL4 occupancy in a set of genomic targets depends on the acetyltransferase activity of MOF, a H4K16ac-specific acetyltransferase. The recognition of H4K16ac is conserved in the PHD7 finger of paralogous MLL3. Together, our findings reveal a previously uncharacterized acetyllysine reader and suggest that selective targeting of H4K16ac by MLL4 provides a direct functional link between MLL4, MOF and H4K16 acetylation.

The gene encoding the lysine-specific histone methyltransferase KMT2D has emerged as one of the most frequently mutated genes in follicular lymphoma and diffuse large B cell lymphoma; however, the biological consequences of KMT2D mutations on lymphoma development are not known. Here we show that KMT2D functions as a bona fide tumor suppressor and that its genetic ablation in B cells promotes lymphoma development in mice. KMT2D deficiency also delays germinal center involution and impedes B cell differentiation and class switch recombination. Integrative genomic analyses indicate that KMT2D affects methylation of lysine 4 on histone H3 (H3K4) and expression of a set of genes, including those in the CD40, JAK-STAT, Toll-like receptor and B cell receptor signaling pathways. Notably, other KMT2D target genes include frequently mutated tumor suppressor genes such as TNFAIP3, SOCS3 and TNFRSF14. Therefore, KMT2D mutations may promote malignant outgrowth by perturbing the expression of tumor suppressor genes that control B cell-activating pathways.

Mutations in the gene encoding the KMT2D (or MLL2) methyltransferase are highly recurrent and occur early during tumorigenesis in diffuse large B cell lymphoma (DLBCL) and follicular lymphoma (FL). However, the functional consequences of these mutations and their role in lymphomagenesis are unknown. Here we show that FL- and DLBCL-associated KMT2D mutations impair KMT2D enzymatic activity, leading to diminished global H3K4 methylation in germinal-center (GC) B cells and DLBCL cells. Conditional deletion of Kmt2d early during B cell development, but not after initiation of the GC reaction, results in an increase in GC B cells and enhances B cell proliferation in mice. Moreover, genetic ablation of Kmt2d in mice overexpressing Bcl2 increases the incidence of GC-derived lymphomas resembling human tumors. These findings suggest that KMT2D acts as a tumor suppressor gene whose early loss facilitates lymphomagenesis by remodeling the epigenetic landscape of the cancer precursor cells. Eradication of KMT2D-deficient cells may thus represent a rational therapeutic approach for targeting early tumorigenic events.

The acetyltransferase Gcn5 is critical for embryogenesis and shows partial functional redundancy with its homolog PCAF. However, the tissue- and cell lineage-specific functions of Gcn5 and PCAF are still not well defined. Here we probe the functions of Gcn5 and PCAF in adipogenesis. We found that the double knockout (DKO) of Gcn5/PCAF inhibits expression of the master adipogenic transcription factor gene PPARγ, thereby preventing adipocyte differentiation. The adipogenesis defects in Gcn5/PCAF DKO cells are rescued by ectopic expression of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor γ (PPARγ), suggesting Gcn5/PCAF act upstream of PPARγ to facilitate adipogenesis. The requirement of Gcn5/PCAF for PPARγ expression was unexpectedly bypassed by prolonged treatment with an adipogenic inducer, 3-isobutyl-1-methylxanthine (IBMX). However, neither PPARγ ectopic expression nor prolonged IBMX treatment rescued defects in Prdm16 expression in DKO cells, indicating that Gcn5/PCAF are essential for normal Prdm16 expression. Gcn5/PCAF regulate PPARγ and Prdm16 expression at different steps in the transcription process, facilitating RNA polymerase II recruitment to Prdm16 and elongation of PPARγ transcripts. Overall, our study reveals that Gcn5/PCAF facilitate adipogenesis through regulation of PPARγ expression and regulate brown adipogenesis by influencing Prdm16 expression., (Copyright © 2014, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.)

Enhancers play a central role in cell-type-specific gene expression and are marked by H3K4me1/2. Active enhancers are further marked by H3K27ac. However, the methyltransferases responsible for H3K4me1/2 on enhancers remain elusive. Furthermore, how these enzymes function on enhancers to regulate cell-type-specific gene expression is unclear. In this study, we identify MLL4 (KMT2D) as a major mammalian H3K4 mono- and di-methyltransferase with partial functional redundancy with MLL3 (KMT2C). Using adipogenesis and myogenesis as model systems, we show that MLL4 exhibits cell-type- and differentiation-stage-specific genomic binding and is predominantly localized on enhancers. MLL4 co-localizes with lineage-determining transcription factors (TFs) on active enhancers during differentiation. Deletion of Mll4 markedly decreases H3K4me1/2, H3K27ac, Mediator and Polymerase II levels on enhancers and leads to severe defects in cell-type-specific gene expression and cell differentiation. Together, these findings identify MLL4 as a major mammalian H3K4 mono- and di-methyltransferase essential for enhancer activation during cell differentiation. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.7554/eLife.01503.001.

The DNA damage response (DDR) protein 53BP1 protects DNA ends from excessive resection in G1, and thereby favors repair by nonhomologous end-joining (NHEJ) as opposed to homologous recombination (HR). During S phase, BRCA1 antagonizes 53BP1 to promote HR. The pro-NHEJ and antirecombinase functions of 53BP1 are mediated in part by RIF1, the only known factor that requires 53BP1 phosphorylation for its recruitment to double-strand breaks (DSBs). Here, we show that a 53BP1 phosphomutant, 53BP18A, comprising alanine substitutions of the eight most N-terminal S/TQ phosphorylation sites, mimics 53BP1 deficiency by restoring genome stability in BRCA1-deficient cells yet behaves like wild-type 53BP1 with respect to immunoglobulin class switch recombination (CSR). 53BP18A recruits RIF1 but fails to recruit the DDR protein PTIP to DSBs, and disruption of PTIP phenocopies 53BP18A. We conclude that 53BP1 promotes productive CSR and suppresses mutagenic DNA repair through distinct phosphodependent interactions with RIF1 and PTIP., (Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Myeloid/lymphoid or mixed-lineage leukemia (MLL)-family genes encode histone lysine methyltransferases that play important roles in epigenetic regulation of gene transcription. MLL genes are frequently mutated in human cancers. Unlike MLL1, MLL2 (also known as ALR/MLL4) and its homolog MLL3 are not well-understood. Specifically, little is known regarding the extent of global MLL2 involvement in the regulation of gene expression and the mechanism underlying its alterations in driving tumorigenesis. Here we profile the global loci targeted by MLL2. A combinatorial analysis of the MLL2 binding profile and gene expression in MLL2 wild-type versus MLL2-null isogenic cell lines identified direct transcriptional target genes and revealed the connection of MLL2 to multiple cellular signaling pathways, including the p53 pathway, cAMP-mediated signaling, and cholestasis signaling. In particular, we demonstrate that MLL2 participates in retinoic acid receptor signaling by promoting retinoic acid-responsive gene transcription. Our results present a genome-wide integrative analysis of the MLL2 target loci and suggest potential mechanisms underlying tumorigenesis driven by MLL2 alterations.

Neuroblastoma (NB) is the most common extracranial pediatric solid tumor with an undifferentiated status and generally poor prognosis, but the basis for these characteristics remains unknown. In this study, we show that upregulation of the Polycomb protein histone methyltransferase EZH2, which limits differentiation in many tissues, is critical to maintain the undifferentiated state and poor prognostic status of NB by epigenetic repression of multiple tumor suppressor genes. We identified this role for EZH2 by examining the regulation of CASZ1, a recently identified NB tumor suppressor gene whose ectopic restoration inhibits NB cell growth and induces differentiation. Reducing EZH2 expression by RNA interference-mediated knockdown or pharmacologic inhibiton with 3-deazaneplanocin A increased CASZ1 expression, inhibited NB cell growth, and induced neurite extension. Similarly, EZH2(-/-) mouse embryonic fibroblasts (MEF) displayed 3-fold higher levels of CASZ1 mRNA compared with EZH2(+/+) MEFs. In cells with increased expression of CASZ1, treatment with histone deacetylase (HDAC) inhibitor decreased expression of EZH2 and the Polycomb Repressor complex component SUZ12. Under steady-state conditions, H3K27me3 and PRC2 components bound to the CASZ1 gene were enriched, but this enrichment was decreased after HDAC inhibitor treatment. We determined that the tumor suppressors CLU, NGFR, and RUNX3 were also directly repressed by EZH2 like CASZ1 in NB cells. Together, our findings establish that aberrant upregulation of EZH2 in NB cells silences several tumor suppressors, which contribute to the genesis and maintenance of the undifferentiated phenotype of NB tumors., (©2011 AACR.)

Methylation on histone H3 lysine 4 (H3K4) correlates with actively transcribed genes. In mammalian cells, there exist multiple Set1-like histone H3K4 methyltransferase complexes, which have overlapping but distinct subunit compositions. Developing methods to isolate each of these histone H3K4 methyltransferase complexes would help understand the molecular mechanisms by which histone H3K4 methylation regulates mammalian gene expression. In this chapter, we provide a one-step affinity purification protocol on isolation of the MLL3/MLL4 histone H3K4 methyltransferase complex using FLAG-tagged PA1, a unique subunit of the MLL3/MLL4 complex.

Genomic stability in eukaryotic cells is maintained by the coordination of multiple cellular events including cell cycle checkpoint, DNA repair, transcription, and apoptosis after DNA damage. Pax2 transactivation domain interaction protein (PTIP), a protein that contains six BRCT domains, has been implicated in DNA damage response. In this study we showed that recruitment of PTIP to damaged chromatin depends on DNA damage signaling proteins gammaH2AX.MDC1.RNF8, which in turn facilitates sustained localization of PA1 (PTIP-associated protein 1) to sites of DNA break. Similar to PTIP, depletion of PA1 increases cellular sensitivity to ionizing radiation. Furthermore, we demonstrated that the N-terminal PA1 binding domain and the C-terminal focus-localization domain of PTIP are critical for PTIP function in DNA damage repair. Interestingly, although PTIP and PA1 associate with MLL (mixed lineage leukemia) complexes and participate in transcriptional regulation, this function of PTIP.PA1 in DNA damage response is likely to be independent of the MLL complexes. Taken together, we propose that a subset of PTIP.PA1 complex is recruited to DNA damage sites via the RNF8-dependent pathway and is required for cell survival in response to DNA damage.

PTIP, a protein with tandem BRCT domains, has been implicated in DNA damage response. However, its normal cellular functions remain unclear. Here we show that while ectopically expressed PTIP is capable of interacting with DNA damage response proteins including 53BP1, endogenous PTIP, and a novel protein PA1 are both components of a Set1-like histone methyltransferase (HMT) complex that also contains ASH2L, RBBP5, WDR5, hDPY-30, NCOA6, SET domain-containing HMTs MLL3 and MLL4, and substoichiometric amount of JmjC domain-containing putative histone demethylase UTX. PTIP complex carries robust HMT activity and specifically methylates lysine 4 (K4) on histone H3. Furthermore, PA1 binds PTIP directly and requires PTIP for interaction with the rest of the complex. Moreover, we show that hDPY-30 binds ASH2L directly. The evolutionarily conserved hDPY-30, ASH2L, RBBP5, and WDR5 likely constitute a subcomplex that is shared by all human Set1-like HMT complexes. In contrast, PTIP, PA1, and UTX specifically associate with the PTIP complex. Thus, in cells without DNA damage agent treatment, the endogenous PTIP associates with a Set1-like HMT complex of unique subunit composition. As histone H3 K4 methylation associates with active genes, our study suggests a potential role of PTIP in the regulation of gene expression.

Broodiness, one of the maternal behaviors and instincts for natural breeding in birds, is an interesting topic in reproductive biology. Broodiness in poultry is characterized by persistent nesting, usually associated with cessation of egg laying. The study of avian broodiness is essential for bird conservation breeding and commercial poultry industry. In this study, we examined the hypothalamus transcriptome of Muscovy duck in three reproductive stages, including egg-laying anaphase (LA), brooding prophase (BP) and brooding metaphase (BM). Differences in gene expression during the transition from egg-laying to broodiness were examined, and 155, 379, 292 differently expressed genes (DEGs) were obtained by pairwise comparisons of LA-vs-BP, LA-vs-BM and BP-vs-BM, respectively (fold change≥1.5, P < 0.05). Gene Ontology Term (GO) enrichment analysis suggested a possible role of oxidative stress in the hypothalamus might invoke reproductive costs that potentially change genes expression. KEGG analysis revealed glutamatergic synapse, dopaminergic synapse, serotonergic synapse and GABAergic synapse pathway were significantly enriched, and regulator genes were identified. Eight gene expression patterns were illustrated by trend analysis and further clustered into three clusters. Additional six hub genes were identified through combining trend analysis and protein-protein interaction (PPI) analysis. Our results suggested that the cyclical mechanisms of reproductive function conversion include effects of oxidative stress, biosynthesis of neurotransmitters or their receptors, and interactions between glucocorticoids and thyroid hormones and regulatory genes. These candidate genes and biological pathways may be used as targets for artificial manipulation and marker-assisted breeding in the reproductive behavior. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]