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Abstract PR/SET domain-containing (PRDM) proteins are metazoan-specific transcriptional regulators that play diverse roles in mammalian development and disease. Several members such as PRDM1, PRDM14 and PRDM9, have been implicated in germ cell specification and homoeostasis and are essential to fertility-related processes. Others, such as PRDM14, PRDM15 and PRDM10 play a role in early embryogenesis and embryonic stem cell maintenance. Here, we describe the first PRDM family member with a maternal effect. Absence of maternal Prdm10 results in catastrophic failure of oocyte-to-embryo transition and complete arrest at the 2-cell stage. We describe multiple defects in oocytes, zygotes and 2-cell stage embryos relating to the failure to accumulate PRDM10 target gene transcripts in the egg. Transcriptomic analysis and integration of genome-wide chromatin-binding data reveals new and essential PRDM10 targets, including the cytoskeletal protein encoding gene Septin11. We demonstrate that the failure to express maternal Septin11, in the absence of maternal PRDM10, disrupts Septin-complex assembly at the polar body extrusion site in MII oocytes. Our study sheds light into the essentiality of maternal PRDM10, the requirement of the maternal Septin-complex and the likely evolutionary conservation of this regulatory axis in human female germ cells.

The transcriptional regulator PRDM15 is expressed at low levels in normal tissues but overexpressed in B-cell lymphomas. Here, the authors show that PRDM15 depletion does not affect adult somatic cell homeostasis but leads to a metabolic crisis which impairs B-cell lymphomagenesis.

PRDM family members are transcriptional regulators involved in cell identity and fate determination. Here, the authors characterize PRDM10 and show that it functions to ensure global translation efficiency during early embryonic development.

High spliceosome activity is a dependency for cancer cells, making them more vulnerable to perturbation of the splicing machinery compared to normal cells. To identify splicing factors important for prostate cancer (PCa) fitness, we performed pooled shRNA screens in vitro and in vivo. Our screens identified heterogeneous nuclear ribonucleoprotein M (HNRNPM) as a regulator of PCa cell growth. RNA- and eCLIP-sequencing identified HNRNPM binding to transcripts of key homeostatic genes. HNRNPM binding to its targets prevents aberrant exon inclusion and backsplicing events. In both linear and circular mis-spliced transcripts, HNRNPM preferentially binds to GU-rich elements in long flanking proximal introns. Mimicry of HNRNPM-dependent linear-splicing events using splice-switching-antisense-oligonucleotides was sufficient to inhibit PCa cell growth. This suggests that PCa dependence on HNRNPM is likely a result of mis-splicing of key homeostatic coding and non-coding genes. Our results have further been confirmed in other solid tumors. Taken together, our data reveal a role for HNRNPM in supporting cancer cell fitness. Inhibition of HNRNPM activity is therefore a potential therapeutic strategy in suppressing growth of PCa and other solid tumors.

Cell cycle progression and lipid metabolism are well-coordinated processes required for proper cell proliferation. In liver diseases that arise from dysregulated lipid metabolism, hepatocyte proliferation is diminished. To study the outcome of CDK1 loss and blocked hepatocyte proliferation on lipid metabolism and the consequent impact on whole-body physiology, we performed lipidomics, metabolomics, and RNA-seq analyses on a mouse model. We observed reduced triacylglycerides in liver of young mice, caused by oxidative stress that activated FOXO1 to promote the expression of Pnpla2/ATGL. Additionally, we discovered that hepatocytes displayed malfunctioning β-oxidation, reflected by increased acylcarnitines (ACs) and reduced β-hydroxybutyrate. This led to elevated plasma free fatty acids (FFAs), which were transported to the adipose tissue for storage and triggered greater insulin secretion. Upon aging, chronic hyperinsulinemia resulted in insulin resistance and hepatic steatosis through activation of LXR. Here, we demonstrate that loss of hepatocyte proliferation is not only an outcome but also possibly a causative factor for liver pathology.

The liver possesses a remarkable regenerative capacity based partly on the ability of hepatocytes to re-enter the cell cycle and divide to replace damaged cells. This capability is substantially reduced upon chronic damage, but it is not clear if this is a cause or consequence of liver disease. Here, we investigate whether blocking hepatocyte division using two different mouse models affects physiology as well as clinical liver manifestations like fibrosis and inflammation. We find that in P14 Cdk1Liv-/- mice, where the division of hepatocytes is abolished, polyploidy, DNA damage, and increased p53 signaling are prevalent. Cdk1Liv-/- mice display classical markers of liver damage two weeks after birth, including elevated ALT, ALP, and bilirubin levels, despite the lack of exogenous liver injury. Inflammation was further studied using cytokine arrays, unveiling elevated levels of CCL2, TIMP1, CXCL10, and IL1-Rn in Cdk1Liv-/- liver, which resulted in increased numbers of monocytes. Ablation of CDK2-dependent DNA re-replication and polyploidy in Cdk1Liv-/- mice reversed most of these phenotypes. Overall, our data indicate that blocking hepatocyte division induces biological processes driving the onset of the disease phenotype. It suggests that the decrease in hepatocyte division observed in liver disease may not only be a consequence of fibrosis and inflammation, but also a pathological cue.

Abstract Background Gene bodies of vertebrates and flowering plants are occupied by the histone variant H3.3 and DNA methylation. The origin and significance of these profiles remain largely unknown. DNA methylation and H3.3 enrichment profiles over gene bodies are correlated and both have a similar dependence on gene transcription levels. This suggests a mechanistic link between H3.3 and gene body methylation. Results We engineered an H3.3 knockdown in Arabidopsis thaliana and observed transcription reduction that predominantly affects genes responsive to environmental cues. When H3.3 levels are reduced, gene bodies show a loss of DNA methylation correlated with transcription levels. To study the origin of changes in DNA methylation profiles when H3.3 levels are reduced, we examined genome-wide distributions of several histone H3 marks, H2A.Z, and linker histone H1. We report that in the absence of H3.3, H1 distribution increases in gene bodies in a transcription-dependent manner. Conclusions We propose that H3.3 prevents recruitment of H1, inhibiting H1’s promotion of chromatin folding that restricts access to DNA methyltransferases responsible for gene body methylation. Thus, gene body methylation is likely shaped by H3.3 dynamics in conjunction with transcriptional activity.

In animals, replication-coupled histone H3.1 can be distinguished from replication-independent histone H3.3. H3.3 variants are enriched at active genes and their promoters. Furthermore, H3.3 is specifically incorporated upon gene activation. Histone H3 variants evolved independently in plants and animals, and it is unclear whether different replication-independent H3.3 variants developed similar properties in both phyla. We studied Arabidopsis H3 variants in order to find core properties of this class of histones. Here we present genome-wide maps of H3.3 and H3.1 enrichment and the dynamic changes of their profiles upon cell division arrest. We find H3.3 enrichment to positively correlate with gene expression and to be biased towards the transcription termination site. In contrast with H3.1, heterochromatic regions are mostly depleted of H3.3. We report that, in planta, dynamic changes in H3.3 profiles are associated with the extensive remodeling of the transcriptome that occurs during cell differentiation. We propose that H3.3 dynamics are linked to transcription and are involved in resetting covalent histone marks at a genomic scale during plant development. Our study suggests that H3 variants properties likely result from functionally convergent evolution.