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The packaging of the genetic material into chromatin imposes the remodeling of this barrier to allow efficient transcription. RNA polymerase II activity is coupled with several histone modification complexes that enforce remodeling. How RNA polymerase III (Pol III) counteracts the inhibitory effect of chromatin is unknown. We report here a mechanism where RNA Polymerase II (Pol II) transcription is required to prime and maintain nucleosome depletion at Pol III loci and contributes to efficient Pol III recruitment upon re-initiation of growth from stationary phase in Fission yeast. The Pcr1 transcription factor participates in the recruitment of Pol II, which affects local histone occupancy through the associated SAGA complex and a Pol II phospho-S2 CTD / Mst2 pathway. These data expand the central role of Pol II in gene expression beyond mRNA synthesis. Transcription of RNA polymerase II is coupled with remodeling of chromatin. This study reports that transcription of RNA polymerase II is also required to prime and maintain nucleosome depletion at RNA polymerase III loci. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Normal human diploid fibroblasts (HDFs) exposed to a single H(2)O(2) subcytotoxic stress display features of premature senescence, termed stress-induced premature senescence (SIPS). In this work, our aim was to study SIPS in Werner syndrome (WS) fibroblasts, derived from a patient with WS, a disease resembling accelerated aging. The subcytotoxic dose for WS fibroblasts was found to be inferior to that of normal HDFs, indicating WS fibroblasts are more sensitive to hydrogen peroxide than normal HDFs. SA β-gal activity has been shown to occur both in vitro and in vivo, and we studied the proportion of WS cells positive for SA β-gal. Intriguingly, the percentage of positive cells did not increase with the dose of H(2)O(2) used. Contrary to other HDFs, the DNA-binding activity of p53 in WS fibroblasts did not increase in SIPS. We found, based on our results, that WS fibroblasts feature an altered stress response and do not reach SIPS from H(2)O(2). We suggest that the proportion of cells that in normal HDFs would enter SIPS instead die in WS fibroblasts. Last, we propose that aging derives from a loss of integrity of the chromatin structure, which occurs faster in WS patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We compared the DNA-binding activity of transcription factors and gene expression patterns in BJ human diploid fibroblasts (HDFs) expressing or not telomerase (hTERT) in stress-induced premature senescence (SIPS). Senescent BJ cells were also studied. Hydrogen peroxide (H2O2)-induced SIPS modulated gene expression in both BJ and hTERT-BJ1 cells. Increased p21WAF-1 mRNA level was amongst the common gene expression changes in BJ and hTERT-BJ1 cells induced by SIPS. Telomerase expression markedly changed gene expression in non-stressful conditions. Expression patterns of senescent BJ cells partially overlapped those of BJ and hTERT-BJ1 cells in SIPS. The basal levels of DNA-binding activity of NF-κB and phosphorylated ATF-2 were different in BJ and hTERT-BJ1 cells. Both cell lines displayed a higher DNA-binding activity of p53 and HIF-1 72 h after H2O2 exposure. Our results indicate that similar mechanisms involving p21WAF-1 and probably p53 are at work in BJ and hTERT-BJ1 HDFs under H2O2-induced SIPS, suggesting that generalized DNA damage rather than telomere length/telomerase plays a crucial role in H2O2-induced SIPS. We propose that H2O2-induced SIPS involves a rearrangement of proliferative and apoptotic pathways. The marked changes in gene expression induced by telomerase suggest that apart from immortalization of HDFs, telomerase also alters the normal cellular functions but does not protect against SIPS. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Antisense transcription can regulate sense gene expression. However, previous annotations of antisense transcription units have been based on detection of mature antisense long noncoding (aslnc)RNAs by RNA-seq and/or microarrays, only giving a partial view of the antisense transcription landscape and incomplete molecular bases for antisense-mediated regulation. Here, we used native elongating transcript sequencing to map genome-wide nascent antisense transcription in fission yeast. Strikingly, antisense transcription was detected for most protein-coding genes, correlating with low sense transcription, especially when overlapping the mRNA start site. RNA profiling revealed that the resulting aslncRNAs mainly correspond to cryptic Xrn1/Exo2-sensitive transcripts (XUTs). ChIP-seq analyses showed that antisense (as)XUT's expression is associated with specific histone modification patterns. Finally, we showed that asXUTs are controlled by the histone chaperone Spt6 and respond to meiosis induction, in both cases anti-correlating with levels of the paired-sense mRNAs, supporting physiological significance to antisense-mediated gene attenuation. Our work highlights that antisense transcription is much more extended than anticipated and might constitute an additional nonpromoter determinant of gene regulation complexity., (© 2018 Wery et al.; Published by Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press for the RNA Society.)

Normal human diploid fibroblasts (HDFs) exposed to a single H(2)O(2) subcytotoxic stress display features of premature senescence, termed stress-induced premature senescence (SIPS). In this work, our aim was to study SIPS in Werner syndrome (WS) fibroblasts, derived from a patient with WS, a disease resembling accelerated aging. The subcytotoxic dose for WS fibroblasts was found to be inferior to that of normal HDFs, indicating WS fibroblasts are more sensitive to hydrogen peroxide than normal HDFs. SA beta-gal activity has been shown to occur both in vitro and in vivo, and we studied the proportion of WS cells positive for SA beta-gal. Intriguingly, the percentage of positive cells did not increase with the dose of H(2)O(2) used. Contrary to other HDFs, the DNA-binding activity of p53 in WS fibroblasts did not increase in SIPS. We found, based on our results, that WS fibroblasts feature an altered stress response and do not reach SIPS from H(2)O(2). We suggest that the proportion of cells that in normal HDFs would enter SIPS instead die in WS fibroblasts. Last, we propose that aging derives from a loss of integrity of the chromatin structure, which occurs faster in WS patients.