17-610 Sigma-AldrichMagna ChIP™ A - Chromatin Immunoprecipitation Kit

Haploinsufficiency of ANKRD11 due to deletion or truncation mutations causes KBG syndrome, a rare genetic disorder characterized by intellectual disability, autism spectrum disorder, and craniofacial abnormalities. However, little is known about the neurobiological role of ANKRD11 during brain development. Here we show that ANKRD11 regulates pyramidal neuron migration and dendritic differentiation in the developing mouse cerebral cortex. Using an in utero manipulation approach, we found that Ankrd11 knockdown delayed radial migration of cortical neurons. ANKRD11-deficient neurons displayed markedly reduced dendrite growth and branching as well as abnormal dendritic spine morphology. Ankrd11 knockdown suppressed acetylation of epigenetic molecules such as p53 and Histone H3. Furthermore, the mRNA levels of Trkb, Bdnf, and neurite growth-related genes were downregulated in ANKRD11-deficient cortical neurons. The Trkb promoter region was largely devoid of acetylated Histone H3 and p53, and was instead occupied with MeCP2 and DNMT1. Overexpression of TrkB rescued abnormal dendrite growth in these cells. Our findings demonstrate a novel role for ANKRD11 in neuron differentiation during brain development and suggest an epigenetic modification as a potential key molecular feature underlying KBG syndrome.

Mutational inactivation of the SWI/SNF chromatin regulator ATRX occurs frequently in gliomas, the most common primary brain tumors. Whether and how ATRX deficiency promotes oncogenesis by epigenomic dysregulation remains unclear, despite its recent implication in both genomic instability and telomere dysfunction. Here we report that Atrx loss recapitulates characteristic disease phenotypes and molecular features in putative glioma cells of origin, inducing cellular motility although also shifting differentiation state and potential toward an astrocytic rather than neuronal histiogenic profile. Moreover, Atrx deficiency drives widespread shifts in chromatin accessibility, histone composition, and transcription in a distribution almost entirely restricted to genomic sites normally bound by the protein. Finally, direct gene targets of Atrx that mediate specific Atrx-deficient phenotypes in vitro exhibit similarly selective misexpression in ATRX-mutant human gliomas. These findings demonstrate that ATRX deficiency and its epigenomic sequelae are sufficient to induce disease-defining oncogenic phenotypes in appropriate cellular and molecular contexts.

Purpose: Although high glucocorticoid receptor (GR) expression in early-stage estrogen receptor (ER)-negative breast cancer is associated with shortened relapse-free survival (RFS), how associated GR transcriptional activity contributes to aggressive breast cancer behavior is not well understood. Using potent GR antagonists and primary tumor gene expression data, we sought to identify a tumor-relevant gene signature based on GR activity that would be more predictive than GR expression alone.Experimental Design: Global gene expression and GR ChIP-sequencing were performed to identify GR-regulated genes inhibited by two chemically distinct GR antagonists, mifepristone and CORT108297. Differentially expressed genes from MDA-MB-231 cells were cross-evaluated with significantly expressed genes in GR-high versus GR-low ER-negative primary breast cancers. The resulting subset of GR-targeted genes was analyzed in two independent ER-negative breast cancer cohorts to derive and then validate the GR activity signature (GRsig).Results: Gene expression pathway analysis of glucocorticoid-regulated genes (inhibited by GR antagonism) revealed cell survival and invasion functions. GR ChIP-seq analysis demonstrated that GR antagonists decreased GR chromatin association for a subset of genes. A GRsig that comprised n = 74 GR activation-associated genes (also reversed by GR antagonists) was derived from an adjuvant chemotherapy-treated Discovery cohort and found to predict probability of relapse in a separate Validation cohort (HR = 1.9; P = 0.012).Conclusions: The GRsig discovered herein identifies high-risk ER-negative/GR-positive breast cancers most likely to relapse despite administration of adjuvant chemotherapy. Because GR antagonism can reverse expression of these genes, we propose that addition of a GR antagonist to chemotherapy may improve outcome for these high-risk patients. Clin Cancer Res; 1-14. ©2018 AACR.

Numerous genomic imprinting loci are regulated by long non-coding RNA (lncRNA). We have previously identified a new lncRNA at the H19/IGF2 locus transcribed in H19 antisense orientation and named 91H. This RNA is conserved among mammals. In mice, 91H regulates positively IGF2 expression from a novel promoter. However, in human the function of 91H at the H19/IGF2 locus remains largely undeciphered. Here, we observed that 91H, H19 and IGF2 are overexpressed in breast tumors. By using 91H-knockdown breast cancer cells, we demonstrated that 91H exerts oncogenic properties by promoting cell growth, migration and invasion as well as tumor growth in xenografted immunodeficient mouse model. Moreover, 91H-knockdown reduces the expression of H19 and IGF2 in breast cancer cells. By chromatin-immunoprecipitation and methylation studies, we found that 91H expression prevents histone and DNA methylation on the maternal allele at the H19/IGF2 locus. These results indicate that 91H, through epigenetic modifications, is responsible of the maintenance of H19/IGF2 genomic imprinting allowing the allele-specific expression of H19 and IGF2. Taken together, overexpression of 91H in breast cancer and 91H-induced epigenetic modifications on H19/IGF2 locus suggest that 91H may play essential role in breast cancer development. Further studies are needed to investigate their role in terms of diagnosis and therapeutic.

Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is a major health problem and a leading cause of chronic liver disease in the United States and Western countries. In humans, genetic factors greatly influence individual susceptibility to NAFLD; nonetheless, the effect of inter-individual differences in the normal liver epigenome with regard to the susceptibility to NAFLD has not been determined.In the present study, we investigated the association between the DNA methylation status in the livers of A/J and WSB/EiJ mice and the severity of NAFLD-associated liver injury. We demonstrate that A/J and WSB/EiJ mice, which are characterized by significant differences in the severity of liver injury induced by a choline- and folate-deficient (CFD) diet exhibit substantial differences in cytosine DNA methylation in their normal livers. Furthermore, feeding A/J and WSB/EiJ mice a CFD diet for 12 weeks resulted in different trends and changes in hepatic cytosine DNA methylation.Our findings indicate a primary role of hepatic DNA methylation in the pathogenesis of NAFLD and suggest that individual variations in DNA methylation across the genome may be a factor determining and influencing the vulnerability to NAFLD.

Aberrant tumor microenvironment is involved closely in tumor initiation and progression, in which cancer associated fibroblasts (CAFs) play a pivotal role. Both IL-6/STAT3 signaling and TIMP-1 have been found to modulate the crosstalk between tumor cells and CAFs in tumor microenvironment, however, the underlying mechanism remains unclear. Here, we showed that IL-6/STAT3 signaling was activated aberrantly in HCC tissues and correlated with poor post-surgical outcome. The in vitro experiments confirmed that activation of IL-6/STAT3 pathway enhanced TIMP-1 expression directly via phosphorylated STATs (p-STAT3)-binding with TIMP-1 promoter in Huh7 cells. Furthermore, activation of IL-6/STAT3 pathway in HCC cells was shown to induce the transformation from normal liver fibroblasts (LFs) to CAFs via up-regulating TIMP-1 expression. Co-culture with CAFs promoted the growth of Huh7 cells both in vitro and in vivo. Finally, by co-Immunoprecipitation and immunoblotting assessments, PCAF, a well-known acetyltransferase, was revealed to acetylate cytoplasmic STAT3 protein directly and regulate TIMP-1 expression negatively in Huh7 cells. In summary, this investigation indicated that there was a positive IL-6/TIMP-1 feedback loop controlling the crosstalk between HCC cells and its neighbouring fibroblasts. The data here also identified that PCAF repressed TIMP-1 expression via acetylation of STAT3. In conclusion, this investigation demonstrated that CAFs promoted HCC growth via IL-6/STAT3/AKT pathway and TIMP-1 over-expression driven by IL-6/STAT3 pathway in HCC cells brought in more CAFs through activating LFs. Finally, PCAF could block this positive feedback by acetylating STAT3 in HCC cells.

De novo truncating mutations in ARID1B, a chromatin-remodeling gene, cause Coffin-Siris syndrome, a developmental disorder characterized by intellectual disability and speech impairment; however, how the genetic elimination leads to cognitive dysfunction remains unknown. Thus, we investigated the neural functions of ARID1B during brain development. Here, we show that ARID1B regulates dendritic differentiation in the developing mouse brain. We knocked down ARID1B expression in mouse pyramidal neurons using in utero gene delivery methodologies. ARID1B knockdown suppressed dendritic arborization of cortical and hippocampal pyramidal neurons in mice. The abnormal development of dendrites accompanied a decrease in dendritic outgrowth into layer I. Furthermore, knockdown of ARID1B resulted in aberrant dendritic spines and synaptic transmission. Finally, ARID1B deficiency led to altered expression of c-Fos and Arc, and overexpression of these factors rescued abnormal differentiation induced by ARID1B knockdown. Our results demonstrate a novel role for ARID1B in neuronal differentiation and provide new insights into the origin of cognitive dysfunction associated with developmental intellectual disability.Haploinsufficiency of ARID1B, a component of chromatin remodeling complex, causes intellectual disability. However, the role of ARID1B in brain development is unknown. Here, we demonstrate that ARID1B is required for neuronal differentiation in the developing brain, such as in dendritic arborization and synapse formation. Our findings suggest that ARID1B plays a critical role in the establishment of cognitive circuitry by regulating dendritic complexity. Thus, ARID1B deficiency may cause intellectual disability via abnormal brain wiring induced by the defective differentiation of cortical neurons.

The link between environmental estrogen exposure and defects in the female reproductive tract is well established. The phytoestrogen genistein is able to modulate uterine estrogen receptor (ER) activity, and dietary exposure is associated with uterine pathologies. Regulation of stress and immune functions by the glucocorticoid receptor (GR) is also an integral part of maintaining reproductive tract function; disruption of GR signaling by genistein may also have a role in the adverse effects of genistein.We evaluated the transcriptional response to genistein in Ishikawa cells and investigated the effects of genistein on GR-mediated target genes.We used Ishikawa cells as a model system to identify novel targets of genistein and the synthetic glucocorticoid dexamethasone through whole genome microarray analysis. Common gene targets were defined and response patterns verified by quantitative real-time reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction. The mechanism of transcriptional antagonism was determined for select genes.Genistein regulated numerous genes in Ishikawa cells independently of estradiol, and the response to coadministration of genistein and dexamethasone was unique compared with the response to either estradiol or dexamethasone alone. Furthermore, genistein altered glucocorticoid regulation of GR target genes. In a select set of genes, co-regulation by dexamethasone and genistein was found to require both GR and ERα signaling, respectively.Using Ishikawa cells, we observed that exposure to genistein resulted in distinct changes in gene expression and unique differences in the GR transcriptome.

Aquaporin (AQP) 9 transports glycerol and water, and belongs to the aquaglyceroporin subfamily. Insulin acts as a negative regulator of AQP9, and FOXO1 has the ability to mediate the regulatory effects of insulin on target gene expression. The aim of the present study was to determine whether insulin‑induced repression of AQP9 involved an epigenetic mechanism. HepG2 human hepatocyte cells were treated with 500 µM insulin for different durations. AQP9 mRNA expression levels were determined by quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR), and histone H3 acetylation, phosphorylation and methylation at the insulin responsive element (IRE) of the AQP9 promoter was assessed using chromatin immunoprecipitation coupled with qPCR. The effects of lentiviral FOXO1 overexpression on AQP9 expression levels and H3 modifications at the AQP9 promoter were also determined. The insulin treatment resulted in a significant and time‑dependent reduction in AQP9 mRNA expression levels in HepG2 cells, as compared with untreated cells (P<0.05). In the insulin‑treated cells, the levels of H3 acetylation and phosphorylation were significantly reduced (P<0.05), but the level of H3 methylation was increased. Enforced expression of FOXO1 increased AQP9 mRNA and protein expression levels in HepG2 cells. Furthermore, FOXO1 overexpression promoted H3 acetylation and phosphorylation, and reduced H3 methylation at the IRE locus of the AQP9 promoter. These data provide, to the best of our knowledge, the first evidence that insulin‑induced transcriptional suppression of AQP9 expression in hepatocytes involves FOXO1‑mediated H3 modifications at the IRE locus in the promoter.

Several neurodevelopmental disorders (NDDs) are caused by mutations in genes expressed in fetal brain, but little is known about these same genes in adult human brain. Here, we test the hypothesis that genes associated with NDDs continue to have a role in adult human brain to explore the idea that NDD symptoms may be partially a result of their adult function rather than just their neurodevelopmental function. To demonstrate adult brain function, we performed expression analyses and ChIPseq in human neural stem cell(NSC) lines at different developmental stages and adult human brain, targeting two genes associated with NDDs, SATB2 and EHMT1, and the WNT signaling gene TCF7L2, which has not been associated with NDDs. Analysis of DNA interaction sites in neural stem cells reveals high (40-50 %) overlap between proliferating and differentiating cells for each gene in temporal space. Studies in adult brain demonstrate that consensus sites are similar to NSCs but occur at different genomic locations. We also performed expression analyses using BrainSpan data for NDD-associated genes SATB2, EHMT1, FMR1, MECP2, MBD5, CTNND2, RAI1, CHD8, GRIN2A, GRIN2B, TCF4, SCN2A, and DYRK1A and find high expression of these genes in adult brain, at least comparable to developing human brain, confirming that genes associated with NDDs likely have a role in adult tissue. Adult function of genes associated with NDDs might be important in clinical disease presentation and may be suitable targets for therapeutic intervention.