1
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Chen KQ, Kawakami H, Anderson A, Corcoran D, Soni A, Nishinakamura R, Kawakami Y. Sall genes regulate hindlimb initiation in mouse embryos. Genetics 2024; 227:iyae029. [PMID: 38386912 PMCID: PMC11075541 DOI: 10.1093/genetics/iyae029] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/15/2024] [Revised: 01/15/2024] [Accepted: 02/14/2024] [Indexed: 02/24/2024] Open
Abstract
Vertebrate limbs start to develop as paired protrusions from the lateral plate mesoderm at specific locations of the body with forelimb buds developing anteriorly and hindlimb buds posteriorly. During the initiation process, limb progenitor cells maintain active proliferation to form protrusions and start to express Fgf10, which triggers molecular processes for outgrowth and patterning. Although both processes occur in both types of limbs, forelimbs (Tbx5), and hindlimbs (Isl1) utilize distinct transcriptional systems to trigger their development. Here, we report that Sall1 and Sall4, zinc finger transcription factor genes, regulate hindlimb initiation in mouse embryos. Compared to the 100% frequency loss of hindlimb buds in TCre; Isl1 conditional knockouts, Hoxb6Cre; Isl1 conditional knockout causes a hypomorphic phenotype with only approximately 5% of mutants lacking the hindlimb. Our previous study of SALL4 ChIP-seq showed SALL4 enrichment in an Isl1 enhancer, suggesting that SALL4 acts upstream of Isl1. Removing 1 allele of Sall4 from the hypomorphic Hoxb6Cre; Isl1 mutant background caused loss of hindlimbs, but removing both alleles caused an even higher frequency of loss of hindlimbs, suggesting a genetic interaction between Sall4 and Isl1. Furthermore, TCre-mediated conditional double knockouts of Sall1 and Sall4 displayed a loss of expression of hindlimb progenitor markers (Isl1, Pitx1, Tbx4) and failed to develop hindlimbs, demonstrating functional redundancy between Sall1 and Sall4. Our data provides genetic evidence that Sall1 and Sall4 act as master regulators of hindlimb initiation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Katherine Q Chen
- Department of Genetics, Cell Biology and Development, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA
| | - Hiroko Kawakami
- Department of Genetics, Cell Biology and Development, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA
- Stem Cell Institute, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA
- Developmental Biology Center, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA
| | - Aaron Anderson
- Department of Genetics, Cell Biology and Development, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA
| | - Dylan Corcoran
- Department of Genetics, Cell Biology and Development, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA
| | - Aditi Soni
- Department of Genetics, Cell Biology and Development, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA
| | - Ryuichi Nishinakamura
- Department of Kidney Development, Institute of Molecular Embryology and Genetics, Kumamoto University, Kumamoto 860-0811, Japan
| | - Yasuhiko Kawakami
- Department of Genetics, Cell Biology and Development, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA
- Stem Cell Institute, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA
- Developmental Biology Center, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA
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2
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Jankowski J, Lee HK, Liu C, Wilflingseder J, Hennighausen L. Sexually dimorphic renal expression of Klotho is directed by a kidney-specific distal enhancer responsive to HNF1b. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2024:2024.02.29.582831. [PMID: 38529500 PMCID: PMC10962737 DOI: 10.1101/2024.02.29.582831] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 03/27/2024]
Abstract
Transcription enhancers are genomic sequences regulating common and tissue-specific genes and their disruption can contribute to human disease development and progression. Klotho, a sexually dimorphic gene specifically expressed in kidney, is well-linked to kidney dysfunction and its deletion from the mouse genome leads to premature aging and death. However, the sexually dimorphic regulation of Klotho is not understood. Here, we characterize two candidate Klotho enhancers using H3K27ac epigenetic marks and transcription factor binding and investigate their functions, individually and combined, through CRISPR-Cas9 genome engineering. We discovered that only the distal (E1), but not the proximal (E2) candidate region constitutes a functional enhancer, with the double deletion not causing Klotho expression to further decrease. E1 activity is dependent on HNF1b transcription factor binding site within the enhancer. Further, E1 controls the sexual dimorphism of Klotho as evidenced by qPCR and RNA-seq. Despite the sharp reduction of Klotho mRNA, unlike germline Klotho knockouts, mutant mice presented normal phenotype, including weight, lifespan, and serum biochemistry. Lastly, only males lacking E1 display more prominent acute, but not chronic kidney injury responses, indicating a remarkable range of potential adaptation to isolated Klotho loss, especially in female E1 knockouts, retaining renoprotection despite over 80% Klotho reduction.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jakub Jankowski
- Section of Genetics and Physiology, Laboratory of Cellular and Molecular Biology, National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, US National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland, 20892, USA
| | - Hye Kyung Lee
- Section of Genetics and Physiology, Laboratory of Cellular and Molecular Biology, National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, US National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland, 20892, USA
| | - Chengyu Liu
- Transgenic Core, National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, US National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA
| | - Julia Wilflingseder
- Department of Physiology and Pathophysiology, University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna, Veterinärplatz 1, 1210 Vienna, Austria
| | - Lothar Hennighausen
- Section of Genetics and Physiology, Laboratory of Cellular and Molecular Biology, National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, US National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland, 20892, USA
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3
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Duarte P, Brattig Correia R, Nóvoa A, Mallo M. Regulatory changes associated with the head to trunk developmental transition. BMC Biol 2023; 21:170. [PMID: 37553620 PMCID: PMC10408190 DOI: 10.1186/s12915-023-01675-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/03/2023] [Accepted: 08/03/2023] [Indexed: 08/10/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Development of vertebrate embryos is characterized by early formation of the anterior tissues followed by the sequential extension of the axis at their posterior end to build the trunk and tail structures, first by the activity of the primitive streak and then of the tail bud. Embryological, molecular and genetic data indicate that head and trunk development are significantly different, suggesting that the transition into the trunk formation stage involves major changes in regulatory gene networks. RESULTS We explored those regulatory changes by generating differential interaction networks and chromatin accessibility profiles from the posterior epiblast region of mouse embryos at embryonic day (E)7.5 and E8.5. We observed changes in various cell processes, including several signaling pathways, ubiquitination machinery, ion dynamics and metabolic processes involving lipids that could contribute to the functional switch in the progenitor region of the embryo. We further explored the functional impact of changes observed in Wnt signaling associated processes, revealing a switch in the functional relevance of Wnt molecule palmitoleoylation, essential during gastrulation but becoming differentially required for the control of axial extension and progenitor differentiation processes during trunk formation. We also found substantial changes in chromatin accessibility at the two developmental stages, mostly mapping to intergenic regions and presenting differential footprinting profiles to several key transcription factors, indicating a significant switch in the regulatory elements controlling head or trunk development. Those chromatin changes are largely independent of retinoic acid, despite the key role of this factor in the transition to trunk development. We also tested the functional relevance of potential enhancers identified in the accessibility assays that reproduced the expression profiles of genes involved in the transition. Deletion of these regions by genome editing had limited effect on the expression of those genes, suggesting the existence of redundant enhancers that guarantee robust expression patterns. CONCLUSIONS This work provides a global view of the regulatory changes controlling the switch into the axial extension phase of vertebrate embryonic development. It also revealed mechanisms by which the cellular context influences the activity of regulatory factors, channeling them to implement one of several possible biological outputs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Patrícia Duarte
- Instituto Gulbenkian de Ciência, Rua da Quinta Grande 6, 2780-156, Oeiras, Portugal
| | - Rion Brattig Correia
- Instituto Gulbenkian de Ciência, Rua da Quinta Grande 6, 2780-156, Oeiras, Portugal
| | - Ana Nóvoa
- Instituto Gulbenkian de Ciência, Rua da Quinta Grande 6, 2780-156, Oeiras, Portugal
| | - Moisés Mallo
- Instituto Gulbenkian de Ciência, Rua da Quinta Grande 6, 2780-156, Oeiras, Portugal.
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4
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Armendariz DA, Sundarrajan A, Hon GC. Breaking enhancers to gain insights into developmental defects. eLife 2023; 12:e88187. [PMID: 37497775 PMCID: PMC10374278 DOI: 10.7554/elife.88187] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/29/2023] [Accepted: 07/19/2023] [Indexed: 07/28/2023] Open
Abstract
Despite ground-breaking genetic studies that have identified thousands of risk variants for developmental diseases, how these variants lead to molecular and cellular phenotypes remains a gap in knowledge. Many of these variants are non-coding and occur at enhancers, which orchestrate key regulatory programs during development. The prevailing paradigm is that non-coding variants alter the activity of enhancers, impacting gene expression programs, and ultimately contributing to disease risk. A key obstacle to progress is the systematic functional characterization of non-coding variants at scale, especially since enhancer activity is highly specific to cell type and developmental stage. Here, we review the foundational studies of enhancers in developmental disease and current genomic approaches to functionally characterize developmental enhancers and their variants at scale. In the coming decade, we anticipate systematic enhancer perturbation studies to link non-coding variants to molecular mechanisms, changes in cell state, and disease phenotypes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniel A Armendariz
- Cecil H. and Ida Green Center for Reproductive Biology Sciences, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, United States
| | - Anjana Sundarrajan
- Cecil H. and Ida Green Center for Reproductive Biology Sciences, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, United States
| | - Gary C Hon
- Cecil H. and Ida Green Center for Reproductive Biology Sciences, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, United States
- Hamon Center for Regenerative Science and Medicine, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, United States
- Lyda Hill Department of Bioinformatics, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, United States
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5
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Kocere A, Lalonde RL, Mosimann C, Burger A. Lateral thinking in syndromic congenital cardiovascular disease. Dis Model Mech 2023; 16:dmm049735. [PMID: 37125615 PMCID: PMC10184679 DOI: 10.1242/dmm.049735] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/02/2023] Open
Abstract
Syndromic birth defects are rare diseases that can present with seemingly pleiotropic comorbidities. Prime examples are rare congenital heart and cardiovascular anomalies that can be accompanied by forelimb defects, kidney disorders and more. Whether such multi-organ defects share a developmental link remains a key question with relevance to the diagnosis, therapeutic intervention and long-term care of affected patients. The heart, endothelial and blood lineages develop together from the lateral plate mesoderm (LPM), which also harbors the progenitor cells for limb connective tissue, kidneys, mesothelia and smooth muscle. This developmental plasticity of the LPM, which founds on multi-lineage progenitor cells and shared transcription factor expression across different descendant lineages, has the potential to explain the seemingly disparate syndromic defects in rare congenital diseases. Combining patient genome-sequencing data with model organism studies has already provided a wealth of insights into complex LPM-associated birth defects, such as heart-hand syndromes. Here, we summarize developmental and known disease-causing mechanisms in early LPM patterning, address how defects in these processes drive multi-organ comorbidities, and outline how several cardiovascular and hematopoietic birth defects with complex comorbidities may be LPM-associated diseases. We also discuss strategies to integrate patient sequencing, data-aggregating resources and model organism studies to mechanistically decode congenital defects, including potentially LPM-associated orphan diseases. Eventually, linking complex congenital phenotypes to a common LPM origin provides a framework to discover developmental mechanisms and to anticipate comorbidities in congenital diseases affecting the cardiovascular system and beyond.
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Affiliation(s)
- Agnese Kocere
- University of Colorado School of Medicine, Anschutz Medical Campus, Department of Pediatrics, Section of Developmental Biology, Aurora, CO 80045, USA
- Department of Molecular Life Science, University of Zurich, 8057 Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Robert L. Lalonde
- University of Colorado School of Medicine, Anschutz Medical Campus, Department of Pediatrics, Section of Developmental Biology, Aurora, CO 80045, USA
| | - Christian Mosimann
- University of Colorado School of Medicine, Anschutz Medical Campus, Department of Pediatrics, Section of Developmental Biology, Aurora, CO 80045, USA
| | - Alexa Burger
- University of Colorado School of Medicine, Anschutz Medical Campus, Department of Pediatrics, Section of Developmental Biology, Aurora, CO 80045, USA
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6
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Liu H, Lu A, Kelley KA, Forrest D. Noncoding Mutations in a Thyroid Hormone Receptor Gene That Impair Cone Photoreceptor Function. Endocrinology 2023; 164:6984996. [PMID: 36631163 PMCID: PMC10091487 DOI: 10.1210/endocr/bqad006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/19/2022] [Revised: 01/04/2023] [Accepted: 01/10/2023] [Indexed: 01/13/2023]
Abstract
The function of a hormone receptor requires mechanisms to control precisely where, when, and at what level the receptor gene is expressed. An intriguing case concerns the selective induction of thyroid hormone receptor β2 (TRβ2), encoded by Thrb, in the pituitary and also in cone photoreceptors, in which it critically regulates expression of the opsin photopigments that mediate color vision. Here, we investigate the physiological significance of a candidate enhancer for induction of TRβ2 by mutagenesis of a conserved intron region in its natural context in the endogenous Thrb gene in mice. Mutation of e-box sites for bHLH (basic-helix-loop-helix) transcription factors preferentially impairs TRβ2 expression in cones whereas mutation of nearby sequences preferentially impairs expression in pituitary. A deletion encompassing all sites impairs expression in both tissues, indicating bifunctional activity. In cones, the e-box mutations disrupt chromatin acetylation, blunt the developmental induction of TRβ2, and ultimately impair cone opsin expression and sensitivity to longer wavelengths of light. These results demonstrate the necessity of studying an enhancer in its natural chromosomal context for defining biological relevance and reveal surprisingly critical nuances of level and timing of enhancer function. Our findings illustrate the influence of noncoding sequences over thyroid hormone functions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hong Liu
- NIDDK, Laboratory of Endocrinology and Receptor Biology, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA
| | - Ailing Lu
- NIDDK, Laboratory of Endocrinology and Receptor Biology, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA
| | - Kevin A Kelley
- Department of Cell, Developmental and Regenerative Biology, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY 10029, USA
| | - Douglas Forrest
- NIDDK, Laboratory of Endocrinology and Receptor Biology, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA
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7
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Sun L, Rong X, Liu X, Yu Z, Zhang Q, Ren W, Yang G, Xu S. Evolutionary genetics of flipper forelimb and hindlimb loss from limb development-related genes in cetaceans. BMC Genomics 2022; 23:797. [DOI: 10.1186/s12864-022-09024-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/13/2022] [Accepted: 11/18/2022] [Indexed: 12/03/2022] Open
Abstract
Abstract
Background
Cetacean hindlimbs were lost and their forelimb changed into flippers characterized by webbed digits and hyperphalangy, thus allowing them to adapt to a completely aquatic environment. However, the underlying molecular mechanism behind cetacean limb development remains poorly understood.
Results
In the present study, we explored the evolution of 16 limb-related genes and their cis-regulatory elements in cetaceans and compared them with that of other mammals. TBX5, a forelimb specific expression gene, was identified to have been under accelerated evolution in the ancestral branches of cetaceans. In addition, 32 cetacean-specific changes were examined in the SHH signaling network (SHH, PTCH1, TBX5, BMPs and SMO), within which mutations could yield webbed digits or an additional phalange. These findings thus suggest that the SHH signaling network regulates cetacean flipper formation. By contrast, the regulatory activity of the SHH gene enhancer—ZRS in cetaceans—was significantly lower than in mice, which is consistent with the cessation of SHH gene expression in the hindlimb bud during cetacean embryonic development. It was suggested that the decreased SHH activity regulated by enhancer ZRS might be one of the reasons for hindlimb degeneration in cetaceans. Interestingly, a parallel / convergent site (D42G) and a rapidly evolving CNE were identified in marine mammals in FGF10 and GREM1, respectively, and shown to be essential to restrict limb bud size; this is molecular evidence explaining the convergence of flipper-forelimb and shortening or degeneration of hindlimbs in marine mammals.
Conclusions
We did evolutionary analyses of 16 limb-related genes and their cis-regulatory elements in cetaceans and compared them with those of other mammals to provide novel insights into the molecular basis of flipper forelimb and hindlimb loss in cetaceans.
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8
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Leyhr J, Waldmann L, Filipek-Górniok B, Zhang H, Allalou A, Haitina T. A novel cis-regulatory element drives early expression of Nkx3.2 in the gnathostome primary jaw joint. eLife 2022; 11:75749. [PMCID: PMC9665848 DOI: 10.7554/elife.75749] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/22/2021] [Accepted: 09/30/2022] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
The acquisition of movable jaws was a major event during vertebrate evolution. The role of NK3 homeobox 2 (Nkx3.2) transcription factor in patterning the primary jaw joint of gnathostomes (jawed vertebrates) is well known, however knowledge about its regulatory mechanism is lacking. In this study, we report a proximal enhancer element of Nkx3.2 that is deeply conserved in most gnathostomes but undetectable in the jawless hagfish and lamprey. This enhancer is active in the developing jaw joint region of the zebrafish Danio rerio, and was thus designated as jaw joint regulatory sequence 1 (JRS1). We further show that JRS1 enhancer sequences from a range of gnathostome species, including a chondrichthyan and mammals, have the same activity in the jaw joint as the native zebrafish enhancer, indicating a high degree of functional conservation despite the divergence of cartilaginous and bony fish lineages or the transition of the primary jaw joint into the middle ear of mammals. Finally, we show that deletion of JRS1 from the zebrafish genome using CRISPR/Cas9 results in a significant reduction of early gene expression of nkx3.2 and leads to a transient jaw joint deformation and partial fusion. Emergence of this Nkx3.2 enhancer in early gnathostomes may have contributed to the origin and shaping of the articulating surfaces of vertebrate jaws.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jake Leyhr
- Subdepartment of Evolution and Development, Department of Organismal Biology, Uppsala University
| | - Laura Waldmann
- Subdepartment of Evolution and Development, Department of Organismal Biology, Uppsala University
| | - Beata Filipek-Górniok
- Science for Life Laboratory Genome Engineering Zebrafish Facility, Department of Organismal Biology, Uppsala University
| | - Hanqing Zhang
- Division of Visual Information and Interaction, Department of Information Technology, Uppsala University
- Science for Life Laboratory BioImage Informatics Facility
| | - Amin Allalou
- Division of Visual Information and Interaction, Department of Information Technology, Uppsala University
- Science for Life Laboratory BioImage Informatics Facility
| | - Tatjana Haitina
- Subdepartment of Evolution and Development, Department of Organismal Biology, Uppsala University
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9
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MacKenzie A, Hay EA, McEwan AR. Context-dependant enhancers as a reservoir of functional polymorphisms and epigenetic markers linked to alcohol use disorders and comorbidities. ADDICTION NEUROSCIENCE 2022; 2:None. [PMID: 35712020 PMCID: PMC9101288 DOI: 10.1016/j.addicn.2022.100014] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/20/2021] [Revised: 02/18/2022] [Accepted: 03/22/2022] [Indexed: 10/25/2022]
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10
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Duester G. Towards a Better Vision of Retinoic Acid Signaling during Eye Development. Cells 2022; 11:cells11030322. [PMID: 35159132 PMCID: PMC8834304 DOI: 10.3390/cells11030322] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/24/2021] [Revised: 01/11/2022] [Accepted: 01/17/2022] [Indexed: 02/01/2023] Open
Abstract
Retinoic acid (RA) functions as an essential signal for development of the vertebrate eye by controlling the transcriptional regulatory activity of RA receptors (RARs). During eye development, the optic vesicles and later the retina generate RA as a metabolite of vitamin A (retinol). Retinol is first converted to retinaldehyde by retinol dehydrogenase 10 (RDH10) and then to RA by all three retinaldehyde dehydrogenases (ALDH1A1, ALDH1A2, and ALDH1A3). In early mouse embryos, RA diffuses to tissues throughout the optic placode, optic vesicle, and adjacent mesenchyme to stimulate folding of the optic vesicle to form the optic cup. RA later generated by the retina is needed for further morphogenesis of the optic cup and surrounding perioptic mesenchyme; loss of RA at this stage leads to microphthalmia and cornea plus eyelid defects. RA functions by binding to nuclear RARs at RA response elements (RAREs) that either activate or repress transcription of key genes. Binding of RA to RARs regulates recruitment of transcriptional coregulators such as nuclear receptor coactivator (NCOA) or nuclear receptor corepressor (NCOR), which in turn control binding of the generic coactivator p300 or the generic corepressor PRC2. No genes have been identified as direct targets of RA signaling during eye development, so future studies need to focus on identifying such genes and their RAREs. Studies designed to learn how RA normally controls eye development in vivo will provide basic knowledge valuable for determining how developmental eye defects occur and for improving strategies to treat eye defects.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gregg Duester
- Development, Aging, and Regeneration Program, Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute, 10901 N. Torrey Pines Road, La Jolla, CA 92037, USA
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11
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Rankin SA, Steimle JD, Yang XH, Rydeen AB, Agarwal K, Chaturvedi P, Ikegami K, Herriges MJ, Moskowitz IP, Zorn AM. Tbx5 drives Aldh1a2 expression to regulate a RA-Hedgehog-Wnt gene regulatory network coordinating cardiopulmonary development. eLife 2021; 10:69288. [PMID: 34643182 PMCID: PMC8555986 DOI: 10.7554/elife.69288] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/10/2021] [Accepted: 09/23/2021] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Abstract
The gene regulatory networks that coordinate the development of the cardiac and pulmonary systems are essential for terrestrial life but poorly understood. The T-box transcription factor Tbx5 is critical for both pulmonary specification and heart development, but how these activities are mechanistically integrated remains unclear. Here using Xenopus and mouse embryos, we establish molecular links between Tbx5 and retinoic acid (RA) signaling in the mesoderm and between RA signaling and sonic hedgehog expression in the endoderm to unveil a conserved RA-Hedgehog-Wnt signaling cascade coordinating cardiopulmonary (CP) development. We demonstrate that Tbx5 directly maintains expression of aldh1a2, the RA-synthesizing enzyme, in the foregut lateral plate mesoderm via an evolutionarily conserved intronic enhancer. Tbx5 promotes posterior second heart field identity in a positive feedback loop with RA, antagonizing a Fgf8-Cyp regulatory module to restrict FGF activity to the anterior. We find that Tbx5/Aldh1a2-dependent RA signaling directly activates shh transcription in the adjacent foregut endoderm through a conserved MACS1 enhancer. Hedgehog signaling coordinates with Tbx5 in the mesoderm to activate expression of wnt2/2b, which induces pulmonary fate in the foregut endoderm. These results provide mechanistic insight into the interrelationship between heart and lung development informing CP evolution and birth defects.
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Affiliation(s)
- Scott A Rankin
- Center for Stem Cell and Organoid Medicine (CuSTOM), Division of Developmental Biology, Perinatal Institute, Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, United States
| | - Jeffrey D Steimle
- Department of Pediatrics, University of Chicago, Chicago, United States.,Department of Pathology, University of Chicago, Chicago, United States.,Department of Human Genetics, University of Chicago, Chicago, United States
| | - Xinan H Yang
- Department of Pediatrics, University of Chicago, Chicago, United States.,Department of Pathology, University of Chicago, Chicago, United States.,Department of Human Genetics, University of Chicago, Chicago, United States
| | - Ariel B Rydeen
- Department of Pediatrics, University of Chicago, Chicago, United States.,Department of Pathology, University of Chicago, Chicago, United States.,Department of Human Genetics, University of Chicago, Chicago, United States
| | - Kunal Agarwal
- Center for Stem Cell and Organoid Medicine (CuSTOM), Division of Developmental Biology, Perinatal Institute, Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, United States
| | - Praneet Chaturvedi
- Center for Stem Cell and Organoid Medicine (CuSTOM), Division of Developmental Biology, Perinatal Institute, Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, United States
| | - Kohta Ikegami
- Department of Pediatrics, University of Chicago, Chicago, United States
| | | | - Ivan P Moskowitz
- Department of Pediatrics, University of Chicago, Chicago, United States.,Department of Pathology, University of Chicago, Chicago, United States.,Department of Human Genetics, University of Chicago, Chicago, United States
| | - Aaron M Zorn
- Center for Stem Cell and Organoid Medicine (CuSTOM), Division of Developmental Biology, Perinatal Institute, Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, United States.,University of Cincinnati, College of Medicine, Department of Pediatrics, Chicago, United States
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12
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Royle SR, Tabin CJ, Young JJ. Limb positioning and initiation: An evolutionary context of pattern and formation. Dev Dyn 2021; 250:1264-1279. [PMID: 33522040 PMCID: PMC10623539 DOI: 10.1002/dvdy.308] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/19/2020] [Revised: 01/23/2021] [Accepted: 01/25/2021] [Indexed: 12/22/2022] Open
Abstract
Before limbs or fins, can be patterned and grow they must be initiated. Initiation of the limb first involves designating a portion of lateral plate mesoderm along the flank as the site of the future limb. Following specification, a myriad of cellular and molecular events interact to generate a bud that will grow and form the limb. The past three decades has provided a wealth of understanding on how those events generate the limb bud and how variations in them result in different limb forms. Comparatively, much less attention has been given to the earliest steps of limb formation and what impacts altering the position and initiation of the limb have had on evolution. Here, we first review the processes and pathways involved in these two phases of limb initiation, as determined from amniote model systems. We then broaden our scope to examine how variation in the limb initiation module has contributed to biological diversity in amniotes. Finally, we review what is known about limb initiation in fish and amphibians, and consider what mechanisms are conserved across vertebrates.
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Affiliation(s)
- Samantha R Royle
- Department of Genetics, Blavatnik Institute, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
- Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Clifford J Tabin
- Department of Genetics, Blavatnik Institute, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
| | - John J Young
- Department of Biology, Simmons University, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
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13
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Functional in vivo characterization of sox10 enhancers in neural crest and melanoma development. Commun Biol 2021; 4:695. [PMID: 34099848 PMCID: PMC8184803 DOI: 10.1038/s42003-021-02211-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/04/2020] [Accepted: 05/11/2021] [Indexed: 02/05/2023] Open
Abstract
The role of a neural crest developmental transcriptional program, which critically involves Sox10 upregulation, is a key conserved aspect of melanoma initiation in both humans and zebrafish, yet transcriptional regulation of sox10 expression is incompletely understood. Here we used ATAC-Seq analysis of multiple zebrafish melanoma tumors to identify recurrently open chromatin domains as putative melanoma-specific sox10 enhancers. Screening in vivo with EGFP reporter constructs revealed 9 of 11 putative sox10 enhancers with embryonic activity in zebrafish. Focusing on the most active enhancer region in melanoma, we identified a region 23 kilobases upstream of sox10, termed peak5, that drives EGFP reporter expression in a subset of neural crest cells, Kolmer-Agduhr neurons, and early melanoma patches and tumors with high specificity. A ~200 base pair region, conserved in Cyprinidae, within peak5 is required for transgenic reporter activity in neural crest and melanoma. This region contains dimeric SoxE/Sox10 dimeric binding sites essential for peak5 neural crest and melanoma activity. We show that deletion of the endogenous peak5 conserved genomic locus decreases embryonic sox10 expression and disrupts adult stripe patterning in our melanoma model background. Our work demonstrates the power of linking developmental and cancer models to better understand neural crest identity in melanoma.
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Abstract
Shadow enhancers are seemingly redundant transcriptional cis-regulatory elements that regulate the same gene and drive overlapping expression patterns. Recent studies have shown that shadow enhancers are remarkably abundant and control most developmental gene expression in both invertebrates and vertebrates, including mammals. Shadow enhancers might provide an important mechanism for buffering gene expression against mutations in non-coding regulatory regions of genes implicated in human disease. Technological advances in genome editing and live imaging have shed light on how shadow enhancers establish precise gene expression patterns and confer phenotypic robustness. Shadow enhancers can interact in complex ways and may also help to drive the formation of transcriptional hubs within the nucleus. Despite their apparent redundancy, the prevalence and evolutionary conservation of shadow enhancers underscore their key role in emerging metazoan gene regulatory networks.
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Tissières V, Geier F, Kessler B, Wolf E, Zeller R, Lopez-Rios J. Gene Regulatory and Expression Differences between Mouse and Pig Limb Buds Provide Insights into the Evolutionary Emergence of Artiodactyl Traits. Cell Rep 2021; 31:107490. [PMID: 32268095 PMCID: PMC7166081 DOI: 10.1016/j.celrep.2020.03.054] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/17/2019] [Revised: 08/19/2019] [Accepted: 03/16/2020] [Indexed: 10/28/2022] Open
Abstract
Digit loss/reductions are evolutionary adaptations in cursorial mammals such as pigs. To gain mechanistic insight into these processes, we performed a comparative molecular analysis of limb development in mouse and pig embryos, which revealed a loss of anterior-posterior polarity during distal progression of pig limb bud development. These alterations in pig limb buds are paralleled by changes in the mesenchymal response to Sonic hedgehog (SHH) signaling, which is altered upstream of the reduction and loss of Fgf8 expression in the ectoderm that overlaps the reduced and vestigial digit rudiments of the pig handplate, respectively. Furthermore, genome-wide open chromatin profiling using equivalent developmental stages of mouse and pig limb buds reveals the functional divergence of about one-third of the regulatory genome. This study uncovers widespread alterations in the regulatory landscapes of genes essential for limb development that likely contributed to the morphological diversion of artiodactyl limbs from the pentadactyl archetype of tetrapods.
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Affiliation(s)
- Virginie Tissières
- Centro Andaluz de Biología del Desarrollo (CABD), CSIC-Universidad Pablo de Olavide-Junta de Andalucía, 41013 Seville, Spain
| | - Florian Geier
- Bioinformatics Core Facility, Department of Biomedicine, University of Basel and University Hospital, 4053 Basel, Switzerland; Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics, 4058 Basel, Switzerland
| | - Barbara Kessler
- Chair for Molecular Animal Breeding and Biotechnology, Gene Center and Department of Veterinary Sciences, LMU Munich, Munich, Germany
| | - Eckhard Wolf
- Chair for Molecular Animal Breeding and Biotechnology, Gene Center and Department of Veterinary Sciences, LMU Munich, Munich, Germany
| | - Rolf Zeller
- Developmental Genetics, Department of Biomedicine, University of Basel, 4058 Basel, Switzerland
| | - Javier Lopez-Rios
- Centro Andaluz de Biología del Desarrollo (CABD), CSIC-Universidad Pablo de Olavide-Junta de Andalucía, 41013 Seville, Spain.
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16
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Haigh JL, Adhikari A, Copping NA, Stradleigh T, Wade AA, Catta-Preta R, Su-Feher L, Zdilar I, Morse S, Fenton TA, Nguyen A, Quintero D, Agezew S, Sramek M, Kreun EJ, Carter J, Gompers A, Lambert JT, Canales CP, Pennacchio LA, Visel A, Dickel DE, Silverman JL, Nord AS. Deletion of a non-canonical regulatory sequence causes loss of Scn1a expression and epileptic phenotypes in mice. Genome Med 2021; 13:69. [PMID: 33910599 PMCID: PMC8080386 DOI: 10.1186/s13073-021-00884-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/23/2020] [Accepted: 04/06/2021] [Indexed: 12/16/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Genes with multiple co-active promoters appear common in brain, yet little is known about functional requirements for these potentially redundant genomic regulatory elements. SCN1A, which encodes the NaV1.1 sodium channel alpha subunit, is one such gene with two co-active promoters. Mutations in SCN1A are associated with epilepsy, including Dravet syndrome (DS). The majority of DS patients harbor coding mutations causing SCN1A haploinsufficiency; however, putative causal non-coding promoter mutations have been identified. METHODS To determine the functional role of one of these potentially redundant Scn1a promoters, we focused on the non-coding Scn1a 1b regulatory region, previously described as a non-canonical alternative transcriptional start site. We generated a transgenic mouse line with deletion of the extended evolutionarily conserved 1b non-coding interval and characterized changes in gene and protein expression, and assessed seizure activity and alterations in behavior. RESULTS Mice harboring a deletion of the 1b non-coding interval exhibited surprisingly severe reductions of Scn1a and NaV1.1 expression throughout the brain. This was accompanied by electroencephalographic and thermal-evoked seizures, and behavioral deficits. CONCLUSIONS This work contributes to functional dissection of the regulatory wiring of a major epilepsy risk gene, SCN1A. We identified the 1b region as a critical disease-relevant regulatory element and provide evidence that non-canonical and seemingly redundant promoters can have essential function.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jessica L Haigh
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of California, Davis, Davis, CA, USA
- Department of Neurobiology, Physiology and Behavior, University of California, Davis, Davis, CA, USA
| | - Anna Adhikari
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of California, Davis, Davis, CA, USA
- MIND Institute and Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, UC Davis School of Medicine, Sacramento, CA, USA
| | - Nycole A Copping
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of California, Davis, Davis, CA, USA
- MIND Institute and Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, UC Davis School of Medicine, Sacramento, CA, USA
| | - Tyler Stradleigh
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of California, Davis, Davis, CA, USA
- Department of Neurobiology, Physiology and Behavior, University of California, Davis, Davis, CA, USA
| | - A Ayanna Wade
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of California, Davis, Davis, CA, USA
- Department of Neurobiology, Physiology and Behavior, University of California, Davis, Davis, CA, USA
| | - Rinaldo Catta-Preta
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of California, Davis, Davis, CA, USA
- Department of Neurobiology, Physiology and Behavior, University of California, Davis, Davis, CA, USA
| | - Linda Su-Feher
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of California, Davis, Davis, CA, USA
- Department of Neurobiology, Physiology and Behavior, University of California, Davis, Davis, CA, USA
| | - Iva Zdilar
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of California, Davis, Davis, CA, USA
- Department of Neurobiology, Physiology and Behavior, University of California, Davis, Davis, CA, USA
| | - Sarah Morse
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of California, Davis, Davis, CA, USA
- Department of Neurobiology, Physiology and Behavior, University of California, Davis, Davis, CA, USA
| | - Timothy A Fenton
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of California, Davis, Davis, CA, USA
- MIND Institute and Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, UC Davis School of Medicine, Sacramento, CA, USA
| | - Anh Nguyen
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of California, Davis, Davis, CA, USA
- Department of Neurobiology, Physiology and Behavior, University of California, Davis, Davis, CA, USA
| | - Diana Quintero
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of California, Davis, Davis, CA, USA
- Department of Neurobiology, Physiology and Behavior, University of California, Davis, Davis, CA, USA
| | - Samrawit Agezew
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of California, Davis, Davis, CA, USA
- Department of Neurobiology, Physiology and Behavior, University of California, Davis, Davis, CA, USA
| | - Michael Sramek
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of California, Davis, Davis, CA, USA
- Department of Neurobiology, Physiology and Behavior, University of California, Davis, Davis, CA, USA
| | - Ellie J Kreun
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of California, Davis, Davis, CA, USA
- Department of Neurobiology, Physiology and Behavior, University of California, Davis, Davis, CA, USA
| | - Jasmine Carter
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of California, Davis, Davis, CA, USA
- Department of Neurobiology, Physiology and Behavior, University of California, Davis, Davis, CA, USA
| | - Andrea Gompers
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of California, Davis, Davis, CA, USA
- Department of Neurobiology, Physiology and Behavior, University of California, Davis, Davis, CA, USA
| | - Jason T Lambert
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of California, Davis, Davis, CA, USA
- Department of Neurobiology, Physiology and Behavior, University of California, Davis, Davis, CA, USA
| | - Cesar P Canales
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of California, Davis, Davis, CA, USA
- Department of Neurobiology, Physiology and Behavior, University of California, Davis, Davis, CA, USA
| | - Len A Pennacchio
- Environmental Genomics and Systems Biology Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA, USA
- U.S. Department of Energy Joint Genome Institute, Walnut Creek, CA, USA
- Comparative Biochemistry Program, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, USA
| | - Axel Visel
- Environmental Genomics and Systems Biology Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA, USA
- U.S. Department of Energy Joint Genome Institute, Walnut Creek, CA, USA
- Comparative Biochemistry Program, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, USA
- School of Natural Sciences, University of California, Merced, CA, USA
| | - Diane E Dickel
- Environmental Genomics and Systems Biology Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA, USA
- U.S. Department of Energy Joint Genome Institute, Walnut Creek, CA, USA
- Comparative Biochemistry Program, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, USA
| | - Jill L Silverman
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of California, Davis, Davis, CA, USA.
- MIND Institute and Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, UC Davis School of Medicine, Sacramento, CA, USA.
| | - Alex S Nord
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of California, Davis, Davis, CA, USA.
- Department of Neurobiology, Physiology and Behavior, University of California, Davis, Davis, CA, USA.
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17
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Role of Retinoic Acid Signaling, FGF Signaling and Meis Genes in Control of Limb Development. Biomolecules 2021; 11:biom11010080. [PMID: 33435477 PMCID: PMC7827967 DOI: 10.3390/biom11010080] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/26/2020] [Revised: 12/31/2020] [Accepted: 01/06/2021] [Indexed: 12/22/2022] Open
Abstract
The function of retinoic acid (RA) during limb development is still debated, as loss and gain of function studies led to opposite conclusions. With regard to limb initiation, genetic studies demonstrated that activation of FGF10 signaling is required for the emergence of limb buds from the trunk, with Tbx5 and RA signaling acting upstream in the forelimb field, whereas Tbx4 and Pitx1 act upstream in the hindlimb field. Early studies in chick embryos suggested that RA as well as Meis1 and Meis2 (Meis1/2) are required for subsequent proximodistal patterning of both forelimbs and hindlimbs, with RA diffusing from the trunk, functioning to activate Meis1/2 specifically in the proximal limb bud mesoderm. However, genetic loss of RA signaling does not result in loss of limb Meis1/2 expression and limb patterning is normal, although Meis1/2 expression is reduced in trunk somitic mesoderm. More recent studies demonstrated that global genetic loss of Meis1/2 results in a somite defect and failure of limb bud initiation. Other new studies reported that conditional genetic loss of Meis1/2 in the limb results in proximodistal patterning defects, and distal FGF8 signaling represses Meis1/2 to constrain its expression to the proximal limb. In this review, we hypothesize that RA and Meis1/2 both function in the trunk to initiate forelimb bud initiation, but that limb Meis1/2 expression is activated proximally by a factor other than RA and repressed distally by FGF8 to generate proximodistal patterning.
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18
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Knudsen TB, Pierro JD, Baker NC. Retinoid signaling in skeletal development: Scoping the system for predictive toxicology. Reprod Toxicol 2021; 99:109-130. [DOI: 10.1016/j.reprotox.2020.10.014] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/29/2020] [Revised: 10/15/2020] [Accepted: 10/27/2020] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
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19
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Sethi S, Vorontsov IE, Kulakovskiy IV, Greenaway S, Williams J, Makeev VJ, Brown SDM, Simon MM, Mallon AM. A holistic view of mouse enhancer architectures reveals analogous pleiotropic effects and correlation with human disease. BMC Genomics 2020; 21:754. [PMID: 33138777 PMCID: PMC7607678 DOI: 10.1186/s12864-020-07109-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/12/2019] [Accepted: 09/29/2020] [Indexed: 01/18/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Efforts to elucidate the function of enhancers in vivo are underway but their vast numbers alongside differing enhancer architectures make it difficult to determine their impact on gene activity. By systematically annotating multiple mouse tissues with super- and typical-enhancers, we have explored their relationship with gene function and phenotype. RESULTS Though super-enhancers drive high total- and tissue-specific expression of their associated genes, we find that typical-enhancers also contribute heavily to the tissue-specific expression landscape on account of their large numbers in the genome. Unexpectedly, we demonstrate that both enhancer types are preferentially associated with relevant 'tissue-type' phenotypes and exhibit no difference in phenotype effect size or pleiotropy. Modelling regulatory data alongside molecular data, we built a predictive model to infer gene-phenotype associations and use this model to predict potentially novel disease-associated genes. CONCLUSION Overall our findings reveal that differing enhancer architectures have a similar impact on mammalian phenotypes whilst harbouring differing cellular and expression effects. Together, our results systematically characterise enhancers with predicted phenotypic traits endorsing the role for both types of enhancers in human disease and disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Siddharth Sethi
- Mammalian Genetics Unit, MRC Harwell Institute, Oxfordshire, OX11 0RD, UK
| | - Ilya E Vorontsov
- Vavilov Institute of General Genetics, Russian Academy of Sciences, Gubkina 3, Moscow, 119991, Russia
- Institute of Protein Research, Russian Academy of Sciences, Institutskaya 4, Pushchino, Moscow Region, 142290, Russia
| | - Ivan V Kulakovskiy
- Vavilov Institute of General Genetics, Russian Academy of Sciences, Gubkina 3, Moscow, 119991, Russia
- Institute of Protein Research, Russian Academy of Sciences, Institutskaya 4, Pushchino, Moscow Region, 142290, Russia
- Engelhardt Institute of Molecular Biology, Russian Academy of Sciences, Vavilova 32, Moscow, 119991, Russia
| | - Simon Greenaway
- Mammalian Genetics Unit, MRC Harwell Institute, Oxfordshire, OX11 0RD, UK
| | - John Williams
- Mammalian Genetics Unit, MRC Harwell Institute, Oxfordshire, OX11 0RD, UK
- Institute of Translational Medicine, University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust, Birmingham, B15 2TH, UK
- Institute of Cancer and Genomic Sciences, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, B15 2TT, UK
| | - Vsevolod J Makeev
- Vavilov Institute of General Genetics, Russian Academy of Sciences, Gubkina 3, Moscow, 119991, Russia
- Institute of Protein Research, Russian Academy of Sciences, Institutskaya 4, Pushchino, Moscow Region, 142290, Russia
- Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology, 9 Institutskiy per., Dolgoprudny, Moscow Region, 141700, Russia
| | - Steve D M Brown
- Mammalian Genetics Unit, MRC Harwell Institute, Oxfordshire, OX11 0RD, UK
| | - Michelle M Simon
- Mammalian Genetics Unit, MRC Harwell Institute, Oxfordshire, OX11 0RD, UK.
| | - Ann-Marie Mallon
- Mammalian Genetics Unit, MRC Harwell Institute, Oxfordshire, OX11 0RD, UK.
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20
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Bernheim S, Meilhac SM. Mesoderm patterning by a dynamic gradient of retinoic acid signalling. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2020; 375:20190556. [PMID: 32829679 PMCID: PMC7482219 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2019.0556] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 03/11/2020] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
Retinoic acid (RA), derived from vitamin A, is a major teratogen, clinically recognized in 1983. Identification of its natural presence in the embryo and dissection of its molecular mechanism of action became possible in the animal model with the advent of molecular biology, starting with the cloning of its nuclear receptor. In normal development, the dose of RA is tightly controlled to regulate organ formation. Its production depends on enzymes, which have a dynamic expression profile during embryonic development. As a small molecule, it diffuses rapidly and acts as a morphogen. Here, we review advances in deciphering how endogenously produced RA provides positional information to cells. We compare three mesodermal tissues, the limb, the somites and the heart, and discuss how RA signalling regulates antero-posterior and left-right patterning. A common principle is the establishment of its spatio-temporal dynamics by positive and negative feedback mechanisms and by antagonistic signalling by FGF. However, the response is cell-specific, pointing to the existence of cofactors and effectors, which are as yet incompletely characterized. This article is part of a discussion meeting issue 'Contemporary morphogenesis'.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ségolène Bernheim
- Imagine-Institut Pasteur, Laboratory of Heart Morphogenesis, 75015 Paris, France
- INSERM UMR1163, 75015 Paris, France
- Université de Paris, Paris, France
| | - Sigolène M. Meilhac
- Imagine-Institut Pasteur, Laboratory of Heart Morphogenesis, 75015 Paris, France
- INSERM UMR1163, 75015 Paris, France
- Université de Paris, Paris, France
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21
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Exploring the Expression of Cardiac Regulators in a Vertebrate Extremophile: The Cichlid Fish Oreochromis (Alcolapia) alcalica. J Dev Biol 2020; 8:jdb8040022. [PMID: 33020460 PMCID: PMC7712675 DOI: 10.3390/jdb8040022] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/02/2020] [Revised: 09/25/2020] [Accepted: 09/30/2020] [Indexed: 01/05/2023] Open
Abstract
Although it is widely accepted that the cellular and molecular mechanisms of vertebrate cardiac development are evolutionarily conserved, this is on the basis of data from only a few model organisms suited to laboratory studies. Here, we investigate gene expression during cardiac development in the extremophile, non-model fish species, Oreochromis (Alcolapia) alcalica. We first characterise the early development of O. alcalica and observe extensive vascularisation across the yolk prior to hatching. We further investigate heart development by identifying and cloning O. alcalica orthologues of conserved cardiac transcription factors gata4, tbx5, and mef2c for analysis by in situ hybridisation. Expression of these three key cardiac developmental regulators also reveals other aspects of O. alcalica development, as these genes are expressed in developing blood, limb, eyes, and muscle, as well as the heart. Our data support the notion that O. alcalica is a direct-developing vertebrate that shares the highly conserved molecular regulation of the vertebrate body plan. However, the expression of gata4 in O. alcalica reveals interesting differences in the development of the circulatory system distinct from that of the well-studied zebrafish. Understanding the development of O. alcalica embryos is an important step towards providing a model for future research into the adaptation to extreme conditions; this is particularly relevant given that anthropogenic-driven climate change will likely result in more freshwater organisms being exposed to less favourable conditions.
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22
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Identification and Characterization of a Transcribed Distal Enhancer Involved in Cardiac Kcnh2 Regulation. Cell Rep 2020; 28:2704-2714.e5. [PMID: 31484079 DOI: 10.1016/j.celrep.2019.08.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/08/2018] [Revised: 06/05/2019] [Accepted: 07/30/2019] [Indexed: 12/26/2022] Open
Abstract
The human ether-a-go-go-related gene KCNH2 encodes the voltage-gated potassium channel underlying IKr, a current critical for the repolarization phase of the cardiac action potential. Mutations in KCNH2 that cause a reduction of the repolarizing current can result in cardiac arrhythmias associated with long-QT syndrome. Here, we investigate the regulation of KCNH2 and identify multiple active enhancers. A transcribed enhancer ∼85 kbp downstream of Kcnh2 physically contacts the promoters of two Kcnh2 isoforms in a cardiac-specific manner in vivo. Knockdown of its ncRNA transcript results in reduced expression of Kcnh2b and two neighboring mRNAs, Nos3 and Abcb8, in vitro. Genomic deletion of the enhancer, including the ncRNA transcription start site, from the mouse genome causes a modest downregulation of both Kcnh2a and Kcnh2b in the ventricles. These findings establish that the regulation of Kcnh2a and Kcnh2b is governed by a complex regulatory landscape that involves multiple partially redundantly acting enhancers.
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23
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Abstract
The vertebrate limb continues to serve as an influential model of growth, morphogenesis and pattern formation. With this Review, we aim to give an up-to-date picture of how a population of undifferentiated cells develops into the complex pattern of the limb. Focussing largely on mouse and chick studies, we concentrate on the positioning of the limbs, the formation of the limb bud, the establishment of the principal limb axes, the specification of pattern, the integration of pattern formation with growth and the determination of digit number. We also discuss the important, but little understood, topic of how gene expression is interpreted into morphology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Caitlin McQueen
- Department of Biomedical Science, University of Sheffield, Western Bank, Sheffield S10 2TN, UK
| | - Matthew Towers
- Department of Biomedical Science, University of Sheffield, Western Bank, Sheffield S10 2TN, UK
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24
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Berenguer M, Meyer KF, Yin J, Duester G. Discovery of genes required for body axis and limb formation by global identification of retinoic acid-regulated epigenetic marks. PLoS Biol 2020; 18:e3000719. [PMID: 32421711 PMCID: PMC7259794 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pbio.3000719] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/14/2020] [Revised: 05/29/2020] [Accepted: 04/29/2020] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Identification of target genes that mediate required functions downstream of transcription factors is hampered by the large number of genes whose expression changes when the factor is removed from a specific tissue and the numerous binding sites for the factor in the genome. Retinoic acid (RA) regulates transcription via RA receptors bound to RA response elements (RAREs) of which there are thousands in vertebrate genomes. Here, we combined chromatin immunoprecipitation sequencing (ChIP-seq) for epigenetic marks and RNA-seq on trunk tissue from wild-type and Aldh1a2-/- embryos lacking RA synthesis that exhibit body axis and forelimb defects. We identified a relatively small number of genes with altered expression when RA is missing that also have nearby RA-regulated deposition of histone H3 K27 acetylation (H3K27ac) (gene activation mark) or histone H3 K27 trimethylation (H3K27me3) (gene repression mark) associated with conserved RAREs, suggesting these genes function downstream of RA. RA-regulated epigenetic marks were identified near RA target genes already known to be required for body axis and limb formation, thus validating our approach; plus, many other candidate RA target genes were found. Nuclear receptor 2f1 (Nr2f1) and nuclear receptor 2f2 (Nr2f2) in addition to Meis homeobox 1 (Meis1) and Meis homeobox 2 (Meis2) gene family members were identified by our approach, and double knockouts of each family demonstrated previously unknown requirements for body axis and/or limb formation. A similar epigenetic approach can be used to determine the target genes for any transcriptional regulator for which a knockout is available.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marie Berenguer
- Development, Aging, and Regeneration Program, Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute, La Jolla, California, United States of America
| | - Karolin F. Meyer
- Development, Aging, and Regeneration Program, Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute, La Jolla, California, United States of America
| | - Jun Yin
- Bioinformatics Core Facility, Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute, La Jolla, California, United States of America
| | - Gregg Duester
- Development, Aging, and Regeneration Program, Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute, La Jolla, California, United States of America
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25
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Feneck E, Logan M. The Role of Retinoic Acid in Establishing the Early Limb Bud. Biomolecules 2020; 10:biom10020312. [PMID: 32079177 PMCID: PMC7072211 DOI: 10.3390/biom10020312] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/14/2020] [Revised: 02/12/2020] [Accepted: 02/13/2020] [Indexed: 01/09/2023] Open
Abstract
Retinoic acid (RA) was one of the first molecules in the modern era of experimental embryology to be shown capable of generating profound effects on limb development. In this review, we focus on the earliest events of limb development and specifically on the role of RA in establishing the domain of cells that will go on to form the limb itself. Although there is some consensus on the role of RA during the earliest stages of limb formation, some controversy remains on the mechanism of RA action and the requirement for RA signaling in forming the hindlimb buds.
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26
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Ginley-Hidinger M, Carleton JB, Rodriguez AC, Berrett KC, Gertz J. Sufficiency analysis of estrogen responsive enhancers using synthetic activators. Life Sci Alliance 2019; 2:2/5/e201900497. [PMID: 31570515 PMCID: PMC6769255 DOI: 10.26508/lsa.201900497] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/22/2019] [Revised: 09/17/2019] [Accepted: 09/18/2019] [Indexed: 01/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Enhancers bound by synthetic activators can recreate a transcriptional response to estrogen, drive different levels of gene expression, and work independently to regulate transcription. Multiple regulatory regions bound by the same transcription factor have been shown to simultaneously control a single gene’s expression. However, it remains unclear how these regulatory regions combine to regulate transcription. Here, we test the sufficiency of promoter-distal estrogen receptor α-binding sites (ERBSs) for activating gene expression by recruiting synthetic activators in the absence of estrogens. Targeting either dCas9-VP16(10x) or dCas9-p300(core) to ERBS induces H3K27ac and activates nearby expression in a manner similar to an estrogen induction, with dCas9-VP16(10x) acting as a stronger activator. The sufficiency of individual ERBSs is highly correlated with their necessity, indicating an inherent activation potential that is associated with the binding of RNA polymerase II and several transcription factors. By targeting ERBS combinations, we found that ERBSs work independently to control gene expression when bound by synthetic activators. The sufficiency results contrast necessity assays that show synergy between these ERBSs, suggesting that synergy occurs between ERBSs in terms of activator recruitment, whereas directly recruiting activators leads to independent effects on gene expression.
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Affiliation(s)
- Matthew Ginley-Hidinger
- Huntsman Cancer Institute, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, USA.,Department of Bioengineering, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, USA
| | - Julia B Carleton
- Huntsman Cancer Institute, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, USA.,Department of Oncological Sciences, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, USA
| | - Adriana C Rodriguez
- Huntsman Cancer Institute, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, USA.,Department of Oncological Sciences, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, USA
| | - Kristofer C Berrett
- Huntsman Cancer Institute, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, USA.,Department of Oncological Sciences, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, USA
| | - Jason Gertz
- Huntsman Cancer Institute, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, USA .,Department of Oncological Sciences, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, USA
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27
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Mann A, Bhatia S. Zebrafish: A Powerful Model for Understanding the Functional Relevance of Noncoding Region Mutations in Human Genetic Diseases. Biomedicines 2019; 7:E71. [PMID: 31527394 PMCID: PMC6784013 DOI: 10.3390/biomedicines7030071] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/04/2019] [Revised: 08/28/2019] [Accepted: 08/29/2019] [Indexed: 02/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Determining aetiology of genetic disorders caused by damaging mutations in protein-coding genes is well established. However, understanding how mutations in the vast stretches of the noncoding genome contribute to genetic abnormalities remains a huge challenge. Cis-regulatory elements (CREs) or enhancers are an important class of noncoding elements. CREs function as the primary determinants of precise spatial and temporal regulation of their target genes during development by serving as docking sites for tissue-specific transcription factors. Although a large number of potential disease-associated CRE mutations are being identified in patients, lack of robust methods for mechanistically linking these mutations to disease phenotype is currently hampering the understanding of their roles in disease aetiology. Here, we have described the various systems available for testing the CRE potential of stretches of noncoding regions harbouring mutations implicated in human disease. We highlight advances in the field leading to the establishment of zebrafish as a powerful system for robust and cost-effective functional assays of CRE activity, enabling rapid identification of causal variants in regulatory regions and the validation of their role in disruption of appropriate gene expression.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anita Mann
- MRC Human Genetics Unit, MRC Institute of Genetics & Molecular Medicine, The University of Edinburgh, Western General Hospital, Crewe Road, Edinburgh EH4 2XU, UK.
| | - Shipra Bhatia
- MRC Human Genetics Unit, MRC Institute of Genetics & Molecular Medicine, The University of Edinburgh, Western General Hospital, Crewe Road, Edinburgh EH4 2XU, UK.
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28
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Abstract
Retinoic acid (RA), a metabolite of retinol (vitamin A), functions as a ligand for nuclear RA receptors (RARs) that regulate development of chordate animals. RA-RARs can activate or repress transcription of key developmental genes. Genetic studies in mouse and zebrafish embryos that are deficient in RA-generating enzymes or RARs have been instrumental in identifying RA functions, revealing that RA signaling regulates development of many organs and tissues, including the body axis, spinal cord, forelimbs, heart, eye and reproductive tract. An understanding of the normal functions of RA signaling during development will guide efforts for use of RA as a therapeutic agent to improve human health. Here, we provide an overview of RA signaling and highlight its key functions during development.
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Affiliation(s)
- Norbert B Ghyselinck
- Institut de Génétique et de Biologie Moléculaire et Cellulaire (IGBMC), Département de Génétique Fonctionnelle et Cancer, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS UMR7104), Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale (INSERM U1258), Université de Strasbourg (UNISTRA), 1 rue Laurent Fries, F-67404 Illkirch Cedex, France
| | - Gregg Duester
- Development, Aging, and Regeneration Program, Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute, 10901 N. Torrey Pines Road, La Jolla, CA 92037, USA
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29
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Brunner E, Yagi R, Debrunner M, Beck-Schneider D, Burger A, Escher E, Mosimann C, Hausmann G, Basler K. CRISPR-induced double-strand breaks trigger recombination between homologous chromosome arms. Life Sci Alliance 2019; 2:e201800267. [PMID: 31196871 PMCID: PMC6587125 DOI: 10.26508/lsa.201800267] [Citation(s) in RCA: 35] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/06/2018] [Revised: 05/29/2019] [Accepted: 05/29/2019] [Indexed: 12/27/2022] Open
Abstract
CRISPR-Cas9-based genome editing has transformed the life sciences, enabling virtually unlimited genetic manipulation of genomes: The RNA-guided Cas9 endonuclease cuts DNA at a specific target sequence and the resulting double-strand breaks are mended by one of the intrinsic cellular repair pathways. Imprecise double-strand repair will introduce random mutations such as indels or point mutations, whereas precise editing will restore or specifically edit the locus as mandated by an endogenous or exogenously provided template. Recent studies indicate that CRISPR-induced DNA cuts may also result in the exchange of genetic information between homologous chromosome arms. However, conclusive data of such recombination events in higher eukaryotes are lacking. Here, we show that in Drosophila, the detected Cas9-mediated editing events frequently resulted in germline-transmitted exchange of chromosome arms-often without indels. These findings demonstrate the feasibility of using the system for generating recombinants and also highlight an unforeseen risk of using CRISPR-Cas9 for therapeutic intervention.
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Affiliation(s)
- Erich Brunner
- Institute of Molecular Life Sciences, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Ryohei Yagi
- Institute of Molecular Systems Biology, Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Marc Debrunner
- Institute of Molecular Life Sciences, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | | | - Alexa Burger
- Institute of Molecular Life Sciences, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Eliane Escher
- Institute of Molecular Life Sciences, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Christian Mosimann
- Institute of Molecular Life Sciences, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - George Hausmann
- Institute of Molecular Life Sciences, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Konrad Basler
- Institute of Molecular Life Sciences, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
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30
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Kawakami H, Johnson A, Fujita Y, Swearer A, Wada N, Kawakami Y. Characterization of cis-regulatory elements for Fgf10 expression in the chick embryo. Dev Dyn 2018; 247:1253-1263. [PMID: 30325084 DOI: 10.1002/dvdy.24682] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/21/2018] [Revised: 09/28/2018] [Accepted: 10/11/2018] [Indexed: 11/11/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Fgf10 is expressed in various tissues and organs, such as the limb bud, heart, inner ear, and head mesenchyme. Previous studies identified Fgf10 enhancers for the inner ear and heart. However, Fgf10 enhancers for other tissues have not been identified. RESULTS By using primary culture chick embryo lateral plate mesoderm cells, we compared activities of deletion constructs of the Fgf10 promoter region, cloned into a promoter-less luciferase reporter vector. We identified a 0.34-kb proximal promoter that can activate luciferase expression. Then, we cloned 11 evolutionarily conserved sequences located within or outside of the Fgf10 gene into the 0.34-kb promoter-luciferase vector, and tested their activities in vitro using primary cultured cells. Two sequences showed the highest activities. By using the Tol2 system and electroporation into chick embryos, activities of the 0.34-kb promoter with and without the two sequences were tested in vivo. No activities were detected in limb buds. However, the 0.34-kb promoter exhibited activities in the dorsal midline of the brain, while Fgf10 is detected in broader region in the brain. The two noncoding sequences negatively acted on the 0.34-kb promoter in the brain. CONCLUSIONS The proximal 0.34-kb promoter has activities to drive expression in restricted areas of the brain. Developmental Dynamics 247:1253-1263, 2018. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hiroko Kawakami
- Department of Genetics, Cell Biology and Development, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota.,Stem Cell Institute, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota.,Developmental Biology Center, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota
| | - Austin Johnson
- Department of Genetics, Cell Biology and Development, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota
| | - Yu Fujita
- Department of Applied Biological Science, Tokyo University of Science, Noda, Chiba, Japan
| | - Avery Swearer
- Department of Genetics, Cell Biology and Development, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota
| | - Naoyuki Wada
- Department of Applied Biological Science, Tokyo University of Science, Noda, Chiba, Japan
| | - Yasuhiko Kawakami
- Department of Genetics, Cell Biology and Development, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota.,Stem Cell Institute, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota.,Developmental Biology Center, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota
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31
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Knocking Out Enhancers to Enhance Epigenetic Research. Trends Genet 2018; 35:89. [PMID: 30466730 DOI: 10.1016/j.tig.2018.10.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/23/2018] [Accepted: 10/15/2018] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
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