0000000000135144
AUTHOR
Angela Garding
JNK ‐dependent gene regulatory circuitry governs mesenchymal fate
The epithelial to mesenchymal transition (EMT) is a biological process in which cells lose cell-cell contacts and become motile. EMT is used during development, for example, in triggering neural crest migration, and in cancer metastasis. Despite progress, the dynamics of JNK signaling, its role in genomewide transcriptional reprogramming, and involved downstream effectors during EMT remain largely unknown. Here, we show that JNK is not required for initiation, but progression of phenotypic changes associated with EMT. Such dependency resulted from JNK-driven transcriptional reprogramming of critical EMT genes and involved changes in their chromatin state. Furthermore, we identified eight no…
Mapping gene regulatory circuitry of Pax6 during neurogenesis.
AbstractPax6 is a highly conserved transcription factor among vertebrates and is important in various aspects of the central nervous system development. However, the gene regulatory circuitry of Pax6 underlying these functions remains elusive. We find that Pax6 targets a large number of promoters in neural progenitors cells. Intriguingly, many of these sites are also bound by another progenitor factor, Sox2, which cooperates with Pax6 in gene regulation. A combinatorial analysis of Pax6-binding data set with transcriptome changes in Pax6-deficient neural progenitors reveals a dual role for Pax6, in which it activates the neuronal (ectodermal) genes while concurrently represses the mesoderma…
The transcriptome of mouse central nervous system myelin
AbstractRapid nerve conduction in the CNS is facilitated by insulation of axons with myelin, a specialized oligodendroglial compartment distant from the cell body. Myelin is turned over and adapted throughout life; however, the molecular and cellular basis of myelin dynamics remains elusive. Here we performed a comprehensive transcriptome analysis (RNA-seq) of myelin biochemically purified from mouse brains at various ages and find a surprisingly large pool of transcripts enriched in myelin. Further computational analysis showed that the myelin transcriptome is closely related to the myelin proteome but clearly distinct from the transcriptomes of oligodendrocytes and brain tissues, suggesti…
NFATc1 Is Transcriptionally Activated in Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia (CLL) By Promotor DNA-Hypomethylation Which Correlates with in-Vitro Vulnerability to Calcineurin Inhibitors
Abstract Chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), the most frequent adult leukemia in Western countries, is characterized by progressive accumulation of mature, monoclonal B lymphocytes in blood, bone marrow, and lymphoid tissues. In the pathogenesis and treatment of CLL, B cell receptor (BCR) signaling plays a crucial role, and aberrations in downstream pathways that become activated in CLL need to be better defined. One downstream target of BCR signaling is NFATc1, a transcription factor with a high oncogenic and transforming potential. Employing a genome-wide comparative DNA methylation analysis the NFATc1 5’ region was identified to be DNA hypomethylated in CLL patient samples. The pilot ser…
Direct pericyte-to-neuron reprogramming via unfolding of a neural stem cell-like program
Ectopic expression of defined transcription factors can force direct cell-fate conversion from one lineage to another in the absence of cell division. Several transcription factor cocktails have enabled successful reprogramming of various somatic cell types into induced neurons (iNs) of distinct neurotransmitter phenotype. However, the nature of the intermediate states that drive the reprogramming trajectory toward distinct iN types is largely unknown. Here we show that successful direct reprogramming of adult human brain pericytes into functional iNs by Ascl1 and Sox2 encompasses transient activation of a neural stem cell-like gene expression program that precedes bifurcation into distinct…