The preinitiation complex (PIC) for transcriptional initiation by RNA polymerase (Pol) II is composed of general transcription factors that are highly conserved. However, analysis of ChIP-seq ...datasets reveals kinetic and compositional differences in the transcriptional initiation process among eukaryotic species. In yeast, Mediator associates strongly with activator proteins bound to enhancers, but it transiently associates with promoters in a form that lacks the kinase module. In contrast, in human, mouse, and fly cells, Mediator with its kinase module stably associates with promoters, but not with activator-binding sites. This suggests that yeast and metazoans differ in the nature of the dynamic bridge of Mediator between activators and Pol II and the composition of a stable inactive PIC-like entity. As in yeast, occupancies of TATA-binding protein (TBP) and TBP-associated factors (Tafs) at mammalian promoters are not strictly correlated. This suggests that within PICs, TFIID is not a monolithic entity, and multiple forms of TBP affect initiation at different classes of genes. TFIID in flies, but not yeast and mammals, interacts strongly at regions downstream of the initiation site, consistent with the importance of downstream promoter elements in that species. Lastly, Taf7 and the mammalian-specific Med26 subunit of Mediator also interact near the Pol II pause region downstream of the PIC, but only in subsets of genes and often not together. Species-specific differences in PIC structure and function are likely to affect how activators and repressors affect transcriptional activity.
We measured half-lives of 21,248 mRNA 3′ isoforms in yeast by rapidly depleting RNA polymerase II from the nucleus and performing direct RNA sequencing throughout the decay process. Interestingly, ...half-lives of mRNA isoforms from the same gene, including nearly identical isoforms, often vary widely. Based on clusters of isoforms with different half-lives, we identify hundreds of sequences conferring stabilization or destabilization upon mRNAs terminating downstream. One class of stabilizing element is a polyU sequence that can interact with poly(A) tails, inhibit the association of poly(A)-binding protein, and confer increased stability upon introduction into ectopic transcripts. More generally, destabilizing and stabilizing elements are linked to the propensity of the poly(A) tail to engage in double-stranded structures. Isoforms engineered to fold into 3′ stem-loop structures not involving the poly(A) tail exhibit even longer half-lives. We suggest that double-stranded structures at 3′ ends are a major determinant of mRNA stability.
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•New method for measuring mRNA half-lives of mRNA isoforms in yeast•Genome-wide identification of mRNA stabilization and destabilization elements•Identification of polyU stretches as mRNA stabilization elements•A new role for the poly(A) tail and secondary structure in mRNA stability
A new method for profiling mRNA stability genome wide reveals structural elements accounting for the wide-range of mRNA isoform stability in yeast. 3′ end stem-loop structures appear particularly effective for mRNA stabilization.
HBO1 histone acetylase is important for DNA replication licensing. In human cells, HBO1 associates with replication origins specifically during the G1 phase of the cell cycle in a manner that depends ...on the replication licensing factor Cdt1, but is independent of the Cdt1 repressor Geminin. HBO1 directly interacts with Cdt1, and it enhances Cdt1-dependent rereplication. Thus, HBO1 plays a direct role at replication origins as a coactivator of the Cdt1 licensing factor. As HBO1 is also a transcriptional coactivator, it has the potential to integrate internal and external stimuli to coordinate transcriptional responses with initiation of DNA replication.
Cancer stem-like cells (CSCs) are a highly tumorigenic cell type present as a minority population in developmentally diverse tumors and cell lines. Using a genetic screen in an inducible model of CSC ...formation in a breast cell line, we identify microRNAs (miRNAs) that inhibit CSC growth and are down-regulated in CSCs. Aside from the previously identified miR-200 family, these include the miR-15/16 (miR-16, miR-15b) and miR-103/107 (miR-103, miR-107) families as well as miR-145, miR-335, and miR-128b. Interestingly, these miRNAs affect common target genes that encode the Bmi1 and Suz12 components of the polycomb repressor complexes as well as the DNA-binding transcription factors Zeb1, Zeb2, and Klf4. Conversely, expression of the CSC-modulating miRNAs is inhibited by Zeb1 and Zeb2. There is an inverse relationship between the levels of CSC-regulating miRNAs and their respective targets in samples from triple-negative breast cancer patients, providing evidence for the relevance of these interactions in human cancer. In addition, combinatorial overexpression of these miRNAs progressively attenuates the growth of CSCs derived from triple-negative breast cancers. These observations suggest that CSC formation and function are reinforced by an integrated regulatory circuit of miRNAs, transcription factors, and chromatin-modifying activities that can act as a bistable switch to drive cells into either the CSC or the nonstem state within the population of cancer cells.
Cytokines are extracellular proteins that convey messages between cells by interacting with cognate receptors at the cell surface and triggering signaling pathways that alter gene expression and ...other phenotypes in an autocrine or paracrine manner. Here, we show that the calcium-dependent cytokines S100A8 and S100A9 are recruited to numerous promoters and enhancers in a model of breast cellular transformation. This recruitment is associated with multiple DNA sequence motifs recognized by DNA binding transcription factors that are linked to transcriptional activation and are important for transformation. The cytokines interact with these transcription factors in nuclear extracts, and they activate transcription when artificially recruited to a target promoter. Nuclear-specific expression of S100A8/A9 promotes oncogenic transcription and leads to enhanced breast transformation phenotype. These results suggest that, in addition to its classical cytokine function, S100A8/A9 can act as a transcriptional coactivator.
Eukaryotic promoter regions are frequently divergently transcribed in vivo, but it is unknown whether the resultant antisense RNAs are a mechanistic by-product of RNA polymerase II (Pol II) ...transcription or biologically meaningful. Here, we use a functional evolutionary approach that involves nascent transcript mapping in S. cerevisiae strains containing foreign yeast DNA. Promoter regions in foreign environments lose the directionality they have in their native species. Strikingly, fortuitous promoter regions arising in foreign DNA produce equal transcription in both directions, indicating that divergent transcription is a mechanistic feature that does not imply a function for these transcripts. Fortuitous promoter regions arising during evolution promote bidirectional transcription and over time are purged through mutation or retained to enable new functionality. Similarly, human transcription is more bidirectional at newly evolved enhancers and promoter regions. Thus, promoter regions are intrinsically bidirectional and are shaped by evolution to bias transcription toward coding versus non-coding RNAs.
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•Promoter region transcription directionality decreases in a foreign environment•Newly evolved promoter regions equally produce transcription in both directions•The ground state of promoter region directionality is bidirectional•DNA sequences and proteins co-evolve to promote directional transcription
Promoter regions are intrinsically bidirectional and are shaped by evolution to bias transcription of coding transcripts, while suppressing non-coding antisense transcription.
Nucleosome deposition occurs on newly synthesized DNA during DNA replication and on transcriptionally active genes via nucleosome-remodeling complexes recruited by activator proteins and elongating ...RNA polymerase II. It has been long believed that histone deposition involves stable H3-H4 tetramers, such that newly deposited nucleosomes do not contain H3 and H4 molecules with their associated histone modifications from preexisting nucleosomes. However, biochemical analyses and recent experiments in mammalian cells have raised the idea that preexisting H3-H4 tetramers might split into dimers, resulting in mixed nucleosomes composed of "old" and "new" histones. It is unknown to what extent different genomic loci might utilize such a mechanism and under which circumstances. Here, we address whether tetramer splitting occurs in a locus-specific manner by using sequential chromatin immunoprecipitation of mononucleosomes from yeast cells containing two differentially tagged versions of H3 that are expressed "old" and "new" histones. At many genomic loci, we observe little or no nucleosomal cooccupancy of old and new H3, indicating that tetramer splitting is generally infrequent. However, cooccupancy is detected at highly active genes, which have a high rate of histone exchange. Thus, DNA replication largely results in nucleosomes bearing exclusively old or new H3-H4, thereby precluding the acquisition of new histone modifications based on preexisting modifications within the same nucleosome. In contrast, tetramer splitting, dimer exchange, and nucleosomes with mixed H3-H4 tetramers occur at highly active genes, presumably linked to rapid histone exchange associated with robust transcription.
In an inducible oncogenesis model, the miR-200 family is inhibited during CSC formation but not transformation, and inhibition of miR-200b increases CSC formation. Interestingly, miR-200b directly ...targets Suz12, a subunit of a polycomb repressor complex (PRC2). Loss of miR-200 during CSC formation increases Suz12 expression, Suz12 binding, H3-K27 trimethylation, and Polycomb-mediated repression of the E-cadherin gene. miR-200b expression or Suz12 depletion blocks the formation and maintenance of mammospheres, and in combination with chemotherapy suppresses tumor growth and prolongs remission in mouse xenografts. Conversely, ectopic expression of Suz12 in transformed cells is sufficient to generate CSCs. The miR-200b-Suz12-cadherin pathway is important for CSC growth and invasive ability in genetically distinct breast cancer cells, and its transcriptional signature is observed in metastatic breast tumors. The interaction between miR-200 and Suz12 is highly conserved, suggesting that it represents an ancient regulatory mechanism to control the growth and function of stem cells.
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► Inhibition of miR-200 family is required for cancer stem cell (CSC) formation ►Suz12, a direct target of miR-200b, represses Cdh1 and is required for CSC growth ►Ectopic expression of Suz12 induces CSC proliferation ► miR-200b and Suz12 expression inversely correlated in patient tumors
The YAP and TAZ paralogs are transcriptional co-activators recruited to target sites by TEAD proteins. Here, we show that YAP and TAZ are also recruited by JUNB (a member of the AP-1 family) and ...STAT3, key transcription factors that mediate an epigenetic switch linking inflammation to cellular transformation. YAP and TAZ directly interact with JUNB and STAT3 via a WW domain important for transformation, and they stimulate transcriptional activation by AP-1 proteins. JUNB, STAT3, and TEAD co-localize at virtually all YAP/TAZ target sites, yet many target sites only contain individual AP-1, TEAD, or STAT3 motifs. This observation and differences in relative crosslinking efficiencies of JUNB, TEAD, and STAT3 at YAP/TAZ target sites suggest that YAP/TAZ is recruited by different forms of an AP-1/STAT3/TEAD complex depending on the recruiting motif. The different classes of YAP/TAZ target sites are associated with largely non-overlapping genes with distinct functions. A small minority of target sites are YAP- or TAZ-specific, and they are associated with different sequence motifs and gene classes from shared YAP/TAZ target sites. Genes containing either the AP-1 or TEAD class of YAP/TAZ sites are associated with poor survival of breast cancer patients with the triple-negative form of the disease.
Metformin, a first-line diabetes drug linked to cancer prevention in retrospective clinical analyses, inhibits cellular transformation and selectively kills breast cancer stem cells (CSCs). Although ...a few metabolic effects of metformin and the related biguanide phenformin have been investigated in established cancer cell lines, the global metabolic impact of biguanides during the process of neoplastic transformation and in CSCs is unknown. Here, we use LC/MS/MS metabolomics (>200 metabolites) to assess metabolic changes induced by metformin and phenformin in an Src-inducible model of cellular transformation and in mammosphere-derived breast CSCs. Although phenformin is the more potent biguanide in both systems, the metabolic profiles of these drugs are remarkably similar, although not identical. During the process of cellular transformation, biguanide treatment prevents the boost in glycolytic intermediates at a specific stage of the pathway and coordinately decreases tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle intermediates. In contrast, in breast CSCs, biguanides have a modest effect on glycolytic and TCA cycle intermediates, but they strongly deplete nucleotide triphosphates and may impede nucleotide synthesis. These metabolic profiles are consistent with the idea that biguanides inhibit mitochondrial complex 1, but they indicate that their metabolic effects differ depending on the stage of cellular transformation.
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