Identification of highly specific localized sequence motifs in human ribosomal protein gene promoters

Methylome-proteome integration after late-life voluntary exercise training reveals regulation and target information for improved skeletal muscle health

Exercise is a potent stimulus for combatting skeletal muscle ageing. To study the effects of exercise on muscle in a preclinical setting, we developed a combined endurance-resistance training stimulus for mice called progressive weighted wheel running (PoWeR). PoWeR improves molecular, biochemical, cellular and functional characteristics of skeletal muscle and promotes aspects of partial epigenetic reprogramming when performed late in life (22-24 months of age). In this investigation, we leveraged pan-mammalian DNA methylome arrays and tandem mass-spectrometry proteomics in skeletal muscle to provide detailed information on late-life PoWeR adaptations in female mice relative to age-matched sedentary controls (n = 7-10 per group). Differential CpG methylation at conserved promoter sites was related to transcriptional regulation genes as well as Nr4a3, Hes1 and Hox genes after PoWeR. Using a holistic method of -omics integration called binding and expression target analysis (BETA), methylome changes were associated with upregulated proteins related to global and mitochondrial translation after PoWeR (P = 0.03). Specifically, BETA implicated methylation control of ribosomal, mitoribosomal, and mitochondrial complex I protein abundance after training. DNA methylation may also influence LACTB, MIB1 and UBR4 protein induction with exercise - all are mechanistically linked to muscle health. Computational cistrome analysis predicted several transcription factors including MYC as regulators of the exercise trained methylome-proteome landscape, corroborating prior late-life PoWeR transcriptome data. Correlating the proteome to muscle mass and fatigue resistance revealed positive relationships with VPS13A and NPL levels, respectively. Our findings expose differential epigenetic and proteomic adaptations associated with translational regulation after PoWeR that could influence skeletal muscle mass and function in aged mice. KEY POINTS: Late-life combined endurance-resistance exercise training from 22-24 months of age in mice is shown to improve molecular, biochemical, cellular and in vivo functional characteristics of skeletal muscle and promote aspects of partial epigenetic reprogramming and epigenetic age mitigation. Integration of DNA CpG 36k methylation arrays using conserved sites (which also contain methylation ageing clock sites) with exploratory proteomics in skeletal muscle extends our prior work and reveals coordinated and widespread regulation of ribosomal, translation initiation, mitochondrial ribosomal (mitoribosomal) and complex I proteins after combined voluntary exercise training in a sizeable cohort of female mice (n = 7-10 per group and analysis). Multi-omics integration predicted epigenetic regulation of serine β-lactamase-like protein (LACTB - linked to tumour resistance in muscle), mind bomb 1 (MIB1 - linked to satellite cell and type 2 fibre maintenance) and ubiquitin protein ligase E3 component N-recognin 4 (UBR4 - linked to muscle protein quality control) after training. Computational cistrome analysis identified MYC as a regulator of the late-life training proteome, in agreement with prior transcriptional analyses. Vacuolar protein sorting 13 homolog A (VPS13A) was positively correlated to muscle mass, and the glycoprotein/glycolipid associated sialylation enzyme N-acetylneuraminate pyruvate lyase (NPL) was associated to in vivo muscle fatigue resistance.

Loss of the DYRK1A Protein Kinase Results in the Reduction in Ribosomal Protein Gene Expression, Ribosome Mass and Reduced Translation

Ribosomal proteins (RPs) are evolutionary conserved proteins that are essential for protein translation. RP expression must be tightly regulated to ensure the appropriate assembly of ribosomes and to respond to the growth demands of cells. The elements regulating the transcription of RP genes (RPGs) have been characterized in yeast and Drosophila, yet how cells regulate the production of RPs in mammals is less well understood. Here, we show that a subset of RPG promoters is characterized by the presence of the palindromic TCTCGCGAGA motif and marked by the recruitment of the protein kinase DYRK1A. The presence of DYRK1A at these promoters is associated with the enhanced binding of the TATA-binding protein, TBP, and it is negatively correlated with the binding of the GABP transcription factor, establishing at least two clusters of RPGs that could be coordinately regulated. However, DYRK1A silencing leads to a global reduction in RPGs mRNAs, pointing at DYRK1A activities beyond those dependent on its chromatin association. Significantly, cells in which DYRK1A is depleted have reduced RP levels, fewer ribosomes, reduced global protein synthesis and a smaller size. We therefore propose a novel role for DYRK1A in coordinating the expression of genes encoding RPs, thereby controlling cell growth in mammals.

Epigenetic evidence for distinct contributions of resident and acquired myonuclei during long-term exercise adaptation using timed in vivo myonuclear labeling

Muscle fibers are syncytial postmitotic cells that can acquire exogenous nuclei from resident muscle stem cells, called satellite cells. Myonuclei are added to muscle fibers by satellite cells during conditions such as load-induced hypertrophy. It is difficult to dissect the molecular contributions of resident versus satellite cell-derived myonuclei during adaptation due to the complexity of labeling distinct nuclear populations in multinuclear cells without label transference between nuclei. To sidestep this barrier, we used a genetic mouse model where myonuclear DNA can be specifically and stably labeled via nonconstitutive H2B-GFP at any point in the lifespan. Resident myonuclei (Mn) were GFP-tagged in vivo before 8 wk of progressive weighted wheel running (PoWeR) in adult mice (>4-mo-old). Resident + satellite cell-derived myonuclei (Mn+SC Mn) were labeled at the end of PoWeR in a separate cohort. Following myonuclear isolation, promoter DNA methylation profiles acquired with low-input reduced representation bisulfite sequencing (RRBS) were compared to deduce epigenetic contributions of satellite cell-derived myonuclei during adaptation. Resident myonuclear DNA has hypomethylated promoters in genes related to protein turnover, whereas the addition of satellite cell-derived myonuclei shifts myonuclear methylation profiles to favor transcription factor regulation and cell-cell signaling. By comparing myonucleus-specific methylation profiling to previously published single-nucleus transcriptional analysis in the absence (Mn) versus the presence of satellite cells (Mn+SC Mn) with PoWeR, we provide evidence that satellite cell-derived myonuclei may preferentially supply specific ribosomal proteins to growing myofibers and retain an epigenetic "memory" of prior stem cell identity. These data offer insights on distinct epigenetic myonuclear characteristics and contributions during adult muscle growth.

Ribosomal Protein S6: A Potential Therapeutic Target against Cancer?

Ribosomal protein S6 (RPS6) is a component of the 40S small ribosomal subunit and participates in the control of mRNA translation. Additionally, phospho (p)-RPS6 has been recognized as a surrogate marker for the activated PI3K/AKT/mTORC1 pathway, which occurs in many cancer types. However, downstream mechanisms regulated by RPS6 or p-RPS remains elusive, and the therapeutic implication of RPS6 is underappreciated despite an approximately half a century history of research on this protein. In addition, substantial evidence from RPS6 knockdown experiments suggests the potential role of RPS6 in maintaining cancer cell proliferation. This motivates us to investigate the current knowledge of RPS6 functions in cancer. In this review article, we reviewed the current information about the transcriptional regulation, upstream regulators, and extra-ribosomal roles of RPS6, with a focus on its involvement in cancer. We also discussed the therapeutic potential of RPS6 in cancer.

Ribosome Levels Selectively Regulate Translation and Lineage Commitment in Human Hematopoiesis

Blood cell formation is classically thought to occur through a hierarchical differentiation process, although recent studies have shown that lineage commitment may occur earlier in hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells (HSPCs). The relevance to human blood diseases and the underlying regulation of these refined models remain poorly understood. By studying a genetic blood disorder, Diamond-Blackfan anemia (DBA), where the majority of mutations affect ribosomal proteins and the erythroid lineage is selectively perturbed, we are able to gain mechanistic insight into how lineage commitment is programmed normally and disrupted in disease. We show that in DBA, the pool of available ribosomes is limited, while ribosome composition remains constant. Surprisingly, this global reduction in ribosome levels more profoundly alters translation of a select subset of transcripts. We show how the reduced translation of select transcripts in HSPCs can impair erythroid lineage commitment, illuminating a regulatory role for ribosome levels in cellular differentiation.

A sequence-specific core promoter-binding transcription factor recruits TRF2 to coordinately transcribe ribosomal protein genes

Ribosomal protein (RP) genes must be coordinately expressed for proper assembly of the ribosome yet the mechanisms that control expression of RP genes in metazoans are poorly understood. Recently, TATA-binding protein-related factor 2 (TRF2) rather than the TATA-binding protein (TBP) was found to function in transcription of RP genes in Drosophila. Unlike TBP, TRF2 lacks sequence-specific DNA binding activity, so the mechanism by which TRF2 is recruited to promoters is unclear. We show that the transcription factor M1BP, which associates with the core promoter region, activates transcription of RP genes. Moreover, M1BP directly interacts with TRF2 to recruit it to the RP gene promoter. High resolution ChIP-exo was used to analyze in vivo the association of M1BP, TRF2 and TFIID subunit, TAF1. Despite recent work suggesting that TFIID does not associate with RP genes in Drosophila, we find that TAF1 is present at RP gene promoters and that its interaction might also be directed by M1BP. Although M1BP associates with thousands of genes, its colocalization with TRF2 is largely restricted to RP genes, suggesting that this combination is key to coordinately regulating transcription of the majority of RP genes in Drosophila.

Genome-wide identification and characterization of transcription start sites and promoters in the tunicate Ciona intestinalis

The tunicate Ciona intestinalis, an invertebrate chordate, has recently emerged as a powerful model organism for gene regulation analysis. However, few studies have been conducted to identify and characterize its transcription start sites (TSSs) and promoters at the genome-wide level. Here, using TSS-seq, we identified TSSs at the genome-wide scale and characterized promoters in C. intestinalis. Specifically, we identified TSS clusters (TSCs), high-density regions of TSS-seq tags, each of which appears to originate from an identical promoter. TSCs were found not only at known TSSs but also in other regions, suggesting the existence of many unknown transcription units in the genome. We also identified candidate promoters of 79 ribosomal protein (RP) genes, each of which had the major TSS in a polypyrimidine tract and showed a sharp TSS distribution like human RP gene promoters. Ciona RP gene promoters, however, did not appear to have typical TATA boxes, unlike human RP gene promoters. In Ciona non-RP promoters, two pyrimidine-purine dinucleotides, CA and TA, were frequently used as TSSs. Despite the absence of CpG islands, Ciona TATA-less promoters showed low expression specificity like CpG-associated human TATA-less promoters. By using TSS-seq, we also predicted trans-spliced gene TSSs and found that their downstream regions had higher G+T content than those of non-trans-spliced gene TSSs. Furthermore, we identified many putative alternative promoters, some of which were regulated in a tissue-specific manner. Our results provide valuable information about TSSs and promoter characteristics in C. intestinalis and will be helpful in future analysis of transcriptional regulation in chordates.

Functional and Structural Characterization of FAU Gene/Protein from Marine Sponge Suberites domuncula

Finkel-Biskis-Reilly murine sarcoma virus (FBR-MuSV) ubiquitously expressed (FAU) gene is down-regulated in human prostate, breast and ovarian cancers. Moreover, its dysregulation is associated with poor prognosis in breast cancer. Sponges (Porifera) are animals without tissues which branched off first from the common ancestor of all metazoans. A large majority of genes implicated in human cancers have their homologues in the sponge genome. Our study suggests that FAU gene from the sponge Suberites domuncula reflects characteristics of the FAU gene from the metazoan ancestor, which have changed only slightly during the course of animal evolution. We found pro-apoptotic activity of sponge FAU protein. The same as its human homologue, sponge FAU increases apoptosis in human HEK293T cells. This indicates that the biological functions of FAU, usually associated with "higher" metazoans, particularly in cancer etiology, possess a biochemical background established early in metazoan evolution. The ancestor of all animals possibly possessed FAU protein with the structure and function similar to evolutionarily more recent versions of the protein, even before the appearance of true tissues and the origin of tumors and metastasis. It provides an opportunity to use pre-bilaterian animals as a simpler model for studying complex interactions in human cancerogenesis.

Chromatin-wide profiling of DYRK1A reveals a role as a gene-specific RNA polymerase II CTD kinase

DYRK1A is a dosage-sensitive protein kinase that fulfills key roles during development and in tissue homeostasis, and its dysregulation results in human pathologies. DYRK1A is present in both the nucleus and cytoplasm of mammalian cells, although its nuclear function remains unclear. Genome-wide analysis of DYRK1A-associated loci reveals that the kinase is recruited preferentially to promoters of genes actively transcribed by RNA polymerase II (RNAPII), which are functionally associated with translation, RNA processing, and cell cycle. DYRK1A-bound promoter sequences are highly enriched in a conserved palindromic motif, which is necessary to drive DYRK1A-dependent transcriptional activation. DYRK1A phosphorylates the C-terminal domain (CTD) of RNAPII at Ser2 and Ser5. Depletion of DYRK1A results in reduced association of RNAPII at the target promoters as well as hypophosphorylation of the RNAPII CTD along the target gene bodies. These results are consistent with DYRK1A being a transcriptional regulator by acting as a CTD kinase.

Chromatin and DNA sequences in defining promoters for transcription initiation

One of the key events in eukaryotic gene regulation and consequent transcription is the assembly of general transcription factors and RNA polymerase II into a functional pre-initiation complex at core promoters. An emerging view of complexity arising from a variety of promoter associated DNA motifs, their binding factors and recent discoveries in characterising promoter associated chromatin properties brings an old question back into the limelight: how is a promoter defined? In addition to position-dependent DNA sequence motifs, accumulating evidence suggests that several parallel acting mechanisms are involved in orchestrating a pattern marked by the state of chromatin and general transcription factor binding in preparation for defining transcription start sites. In this review we attempt to summarise these promoter features and discuss the available evidence pointing at their interactions in defining transcription initiation in developmental contexts. This article is part of a Special Issue entitled: Chromatin and epigenetic regulation of animal development.

Regulation of fibrillin-1 gene expression by Sp1

Mutations in the fibrillin-1 gene (FBN1) cause Marfan Syndrome (MFS), a hereditary disorder of connective tissue. The transcription of FBN1 has been reported to be driven by a short ultraconserved region (SUPR) in the 5' untranslated exon A of FBN1, but the nature of other factors involved in FBN1 gene regulation has not been clarified. In this study, we characterized the transcription factors involved in FBN1 gene regulation. The results show that Sp1 protein binds to two putative binding sites in the promoter of FBN1. Overexpression of Sp1 resulted in a significant increase in both promoter activity and FBN1 mRNA level in HEK 293 cells, whereas inhibition or knockdown of Sp1 decreased FBN1 gene expression. In addition, we found that Poly [ADP-ribose] polymerase 1 (PARP1) binds to the palindromic sequence TCTCGCGAGA in the ultraconserved region of the FBN1 promoter and that the regulation of FBN1 expression by PARP1 is dependent on Sp1. These results indicate that both Sp1 and PARP1 contribute to FBN1 gene expression. These observations add to our understanding of the transcriptional regulation of FBN1 gene expression.

DLocalMotif: a discriminative approach for discovering local motifs in protein sequences

MOTIVATION

Local motifs are patterns of DNA or protein sequences that occur within a sequence interval relative to a biologically defined anchor or landmark. Current protein motif discovery methods do not adequately consider such constraints to identify biologically significant motifs that are only weakly over-represented but spatially confined. Using negatives, i.e. sequences known to not contain a local motif, can further increase the specificity of their discovery.

RESULTS

This article introduces the method DLocalMotif that makes use of positional information and negative data for local motif discovery in protein sequences. DLocalMotif combines three scoring functions, measuring degrees of motif over-representation, entropy and spatial confinement, specifically designed to discriminatively exploit the availability of negative data. The method is shown to outperform current methods that use only a subset of these motif characteristics. We apply the method to several biological datasets. The analysis of peroxisomal targeting signals uncovers several novel motifs that occur immediately upstream of the dominant peroxisomal targeting signal-1 signal. The analysis of proline-tyrosine nuclear localization signals uncovers multiple novel motifs that overlap with C2H2 zinc finger domains. We also evaluate the method on classical nuclear localization signals and endoplasmic reticulum retention signals and find that DLocalMotif successfully recovers biologically relevant sequence properties.

AVAILABILITY

http://bioinf.scmb.uq.edu.au/dlocalmotif/

A tandem sequence motif acts as a distance-dependent enhancer in a set of genes involved in translation by binding the proteins NonO and SFPQ

BACKGROUND

Bioinformatic analyses of expression control sequences in promoters of co-expressed or functionally related genes enable the discovery of common regulatory sequence motifs that might be involved in co-ordinated gene expression. By studying promoter sequences of the human ribosomal protein genes we recently identified a novel highly specific Localized Tandem Sequence Motif (LTSM). In this work we sought to identify additional genes and LTSM-binding proteins to elucidate potential regulatory mechanisms.

RESULTS

Genome-wide analyses allowed finding a considerable number of additional LTSM-positive genes, the products of which are involved in translation, among them, translation initiation and elongation factors, and 5S rRNA. Electromobility shift assays then showed specific signals demonstrating the binding of protein complexes to LTSM in ribosomal protein gene promoters. Pull-down assays with LTSM-containing oligonucleotides and subsequent mass spectrometric analysis identified the related multifunctional nucleotide binding proteins NonO and SFPQ in the binding complex. Functional characterization then revealed that LTSM enhances the transcriptional activity of the promoters in dependency of the distance from the transcription start site.

CONCLUSIONS

Our data demonstrate the power of bioinformatic analyses for the identification of biologically relevant sequence motifs. LTSM and the here found LTSM-binding proteins NonO and SFPQ were discovered through a synergistic combination of bioinformatic and biochemical methods and are regulators of the expression of a set of genes of the translational apparatus in a distance-dependent manner.

Over-represented localized sequence motifs in ribosomal protein gene promoters of basal metazoans

Equimolecular presence of ribosomal proteins (RPs) in the cell is needed for ribosome assembly and is achieved by synchronized expression of ribosomal protein genes (RPGs) with promoters of similar strengths. Over-represented motifs of RPG promoter regions are identified as targets for specific transcription factors. Unlike RPs, those motifs are not conserved between mammals, drosophila, and yeast. We analyzed RPGs proximal promoter regions of three basal metazoans with sequenced genomes: sponge, cnidarian, and placozoan and found common features, such as 5'-terminal oligopyrimidine tracts and TATA-boxes. Furthermore, we identified over-represented motifs, some of which displayed the highest similarity to motifs abundant in human RPG promoters and not present in Drosophila or yeast. Our results indicate that humans over-represented motifs, as well as corresponding domains of transcription factors, were established very early in metazoan evolution. The fast evolving nature of RPGs regulatory network leads to formation of other, lineage specific, over-represented motifs.

The TCT motif, a key component of an RNA polymerase II transcription system for the translational machinery

The TCT motif (polypyrimidine initiator) encompasses the transcription start site of nearly all ribosomal protein genes in Drosophila and mammals. The TCT motif is required for transcription of ribosomal protein gene promoters. The TCT element resembles the Inr (initiator), but is not recognized by TFIID and cannot function in lieu of an Inr. However, a single T-to-A substitution converts the TCT element into a functionally active Inr. Thus, the TCT motif is a novel transcriptional element that is distinct from the Inr. These findings reveal a specialized TCT-based transcription system that is directed toward the synthesis of ribosomal proteins.

Functional mapping of the promoter region of the GNB2L1 human gene coding for RACK1 scaffold protein

RACK1 (Receptor for Activated C Kinase 1) is a scaffold protein for different kinases and membrane receptors. Previously, we characterized an age-dependent decline of RACK1 protein expression which could be counteracted with DHEA (dehydroepiandrosterone) [Corsini, E., et al. 2002. In vivo dehydroepiandrosterone restores age-associated defects in the protein kinase C signal transduction pathway and related functional responses. J. Immunol. 168, 1753-1758. and Corsini, E., et al. 2005. Age-related decline in RACK-1 expression in human leukocytes is correlated to plasma levels of dehydroepiandrosterone. J. Leukoc. Biol. 77, 247-256.]. Hypothesizing a direct control of RACK1 expression by DHEA we studied the not yet characterized human promoter region of its coding gene GNB2L1. The FLOE (Fluorescently Labeled Oligonucleotide Extension) was used to map the transcription start site and a novel Gateway luciferase vector (GW luc basic; Del Vecchio, I., Zuccotti, A., Canneva, F., Lenzken, S.C., Racchi, M., 2007. Development of the first Gateway firefly luciferase vector and use of reverse transcriptase in FLOE (Fluorescently Labeled Oligonucleotide Extension) reactions. Plasmid 58, 269-274.) to obtain promoter region mutants. Human SH-SY5Y, THP1 and lymphoblastoid cells were used for transient transfections and treatments with lipopolysaccharide (LPS), phorbol myristate acetate (PMA), DHEA and cortisol (the first two molecules to differently activate NF-kB, a transcription complex able to regulate the murine Gnb2l1 gene expression, whereas DHEA and cortisol since they are known to be imbalanced during the aging and possess counteracting actions on the immune function). The primer extension demonstrated the existence of two alternative start sites of transcription respectively located at about 230 and 300 nt 5' of the Genbank mRNA entry for GNB2L1. Moreover, as a result of the luciferase study we were able to demonstrate that a little region of approximately 300 nt conserved sufficient elements for reporter expression. We also reported that the DHEA modulation of GNB2L1 endogenous expression could not be recapitulated with the luciferase assays. Indeed, the promoter was significantly modulated by means of LPS and PMA treatments but not using DHEA. Differently the use of cortisol led us to demonstrate a biologically significant decrease of luciferase activity only in the presence of a binding site for nuclear receptors of glucocorticoids. Interestingly, other binding sites for transcriptional factors were identified in silico: different c-Rel (NF-kB) and some cardiomyocitic specific cis-acting elements. All this data suggest that the DHEA mediated GNB2L1 regulation is modulated by distant elements (enhancers/silencers), whereas LPS, PMA and cortisol effect can act directly on the mapped GNB2L1 promoter. In conclusion we hypothesize that the imbalance between DHEA and cortisol during aging could be important in the previously demonstrated recovery of the RACK1 expression.

Positional bias of general and tissue-specific regulatory motifs in mouse gene promoters

Background

The arrangement of regulatory motifs in gene promoters, or promoter architecture, is the result of mutation and selection processes that have operated over many millions of years. In mammals, tissue-specific transcriptional regulation is related to the presence of specific protein-interacting DNA motifs in gene promoters. However, little is known about the relative location and spacing of these motifs. To fill this gap, we have performed a systematic search for motifs that show significant bias at specific promoter locations in a large collection of housekeeping and tissue-specific genes.

Results

We observe that promoters driving housekeeping gene expression are enriched in particular motifs with strong positional bias, such as YY1, which are of little relevance in promoters driving tissue-specific expression. We also identify a large number of motifs that show positional bias in genes expressed in a highly tissue-specific manner. They include well-known tissue-specific motifs, such as HNF1 and HNF4 motifs in liver, kidney and small intestine, or RFX motifs in testis, as well as many potentially novel regulatory motifs. Based on this analysis, we provide predictions for 559 tissue-specific motifs in mouse gene promoters.

Conclusion

The study shows that motif positional bias is an important feature of mammalian proximal promoters and that it affects both general and tissue-specific motifs. Motif positional constraints define very distinct promoter architectures depending on breadth of expression and type of tissue.

A short ultraconserved sequence drives transcription from an alternate FBN1 promoter

FBN1, the gene mutated in Marfan syndrome, encodes fibrillin-1, a large glycoprotein component of the extracellular microfibrils. Human FBN1 has three untranslated upstream exons, and homologous sequences can be identified in a number of mammalian species. In this work, we have used functional assays to characterize the FBN1 upstream region. Sequences upstream of exon 1 and at least two of the upstream untranslated exons were shown to possess promoter activity in vitro. The strongest activity in luciferase assays was shown for sequences upstream of the untranslated exon A. Sequence analysis of the sequences in and upstream of exon A in humans and six other mammalian species demonstrated several highly conserved potential cis-acting sequences as well as a 66-basepair (bp) ultraconserved sequence with nearly perfect conservation in the seven species. The ultraconserved sequence contains an initiator element (Inr), a downstream promoter element (DPE), and a 10-bp palindromic element. Mutational assays showed that both the Inr and the DPE are critical for full promoter activity. A mutation of the 10-bp palindromic element completely abolished basal promoter activity. The element was shown to bind specifically to an unknown nuclear protein by electrophoretic mobility shift assay. Ultraconservation within an alternate promoter has not been previously reported. We suggest that the ultraconservation may reflect the importance of finely tuned regulation of alternate transcription of FBN1 and that the sequences involved have been under negative selective pressure for at least the last 180 million years of mammalian evolution.