Harrison W. Gabel

Somatic misexpression of germline P granules and enhanced RNA interference in retinoblastoma pathway mutants

Caenorhabditis elegans homologues of the retinoblastoma (Rb) tumour suppressor complex specify cell lineage during development. Here we show that mutations in Rb pathway components enhance RNA interference (RNAi) and cause somatic cells to express genes and elaborate perinuclear structures normally limited to germline-specific P granules. Furthermore, particular gene inactivations that disrupt RNAi reverse the cell lineage transformations of Rb pathway mutants. These findings suggest that mutations in Rb pathway components cause cells to revert to patterns of gene expression normally restricted to germ cells. Rb may act by a similar mechanism to transform mammalian cells.

Disruption of DNA-methylation-dependent long gene repression in Rett syndrome

Disruption of the MECP2 gene leads to Rett syndrome (RTT), a severe neurological disorder with features of autism. MECP2 encodes a methyl-DNA-binding protein that has been proposed to function as a transcriptional repressor, but despite numerous mouse studies examining neuronal gene expression in Mecp2 mutants, no clear model has emerged for how MeCP2 protein regulates transcription. Here we identify a genome-wide length-dependent increase in gene expression in MeCP2 mutant mouse models and human RTT brains. We present evidence that MeCP2 represses gene expression by binding to methylated CA sites within long genes, and that in neurons lacking MeCP2, decreasing the expression of long genes attenuates RTT-associated cellular deficits. In addition, we find that long genes as a population are enriched for neuronal functions and selectively expressed in the brain. These findings suggest that mutations in MeCP2 may cause neurological dysfunction by specifically disrupting long gene expression in the brain.

Activity-dependent phosphorylation of MeCP2 threonine 308 regulates interaction with NCoR

Rett syndrome (RTT) is an X-linked human neurodevelopmental disorder with features of autism and severe neurological dysfunction in females. RTT is caused by mutations in methyl-CpG-binding protein 2 (MeCP2), a nuclear protein that, in neurons, regulates transcription, is expressed at high levels similar to that of histones, and binds to methylated cytosines broadly across the genome. By phosphotryptic mapping, we identify three sites (S86, S274 and T308) of activity-dependent MeCP2 phosphorylation. Phosphorylation of these sites is differentially induced by neuronal activity, brain-derived neurotrophic factor, or agents that elevate the intracellular level of 3′,5′-cyclic AMP (cAMP), indicating that MeCP2 may function as an epigenetic regulator of gene expression that integrates diverse signals from the environment. Here we show that the phosphorylation of T308 blocks the interaction of the repressor domain of MeCP2 with the nuclear receptor co-repressor (NCoR) complex and suppresses the ability of MeCP2 to repress transcription. In knock-in mice bearing the common human RTT missense mutation R306C, neuronal activity fails to induce MeCP2 T308 phosphorylation, suggesting that the loss of T308 phosphorylation might contribute to RTT. Consistent with this possibility, the mutation of MeCP2 T308A in mice leads to a decrease in the induction of a subset of activity-regulated genes and to RTT-like symptoms. These findings indicate that the activity-dependent phosphorylation of MeCP2 at T308 regulates the interaction of MeCP2 with the NCoR complex, and that RTT in humans may be due, in part, to the loss of activity-dependent MeCP2 T308 phosphorylation and a disruption of the phosphorylation-regulated interaction of MeCP2 with the NCoR complex.

Npas4 Regulates Excitatory-Inhibitory Balance within Neural Circuits through Cell-Type-Specific Gene Programs

The nervous system adapts to experience by inducing a transcriptional program that controls important aspects of synaptic plasticity. Although the molecular mechanisms of experience-dependent plasticity are well characterized in excitatory neurons, the mechanisms that regulate this process in inhibitory neurons are only poorly understood. Here, we describe a transcriptional program that is induced by neuronal activity in inhibitory neurons. We find that, while neuronal activity induces expression of early-response transcription factors such as Npas4 in both excitatory and inhibitory neurons, Npas4 activates distinct programs of late-response genes in inhibitory and excitatory neurons. These late-response genes differentially regulate synaptic input to these two types of neurons, promoting inhibition onto excitatory neurons while inducing excitation onto inhibitory neurons. These findings suggest that the functional outcomes of activity-induced transcriptional responses are adapted in a cell-type-specific manner to achieve a circuit-wide homeostatic response.

MicroRNA-183 family conservation and ciliated neurosensory organ expression

SUMMARY MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are an integral component of the metazoan genome and affect posttranscriptional repression of target messenger RNAs. The extreme phylogenetic conservation of certain miRNAs suggests their ancient origin and crucial function in conserved developmental processes. We demonstrate that highly conserved miRNA‐183 orthologs exist in both deuterostomes and protostomes and their expression is predominant in ciliated ectodermal cells and organs. The miRNA‐183 family members are expressed in vertebrate sensory hair cells, in innervated regions of invertebrate deuterostomes, and in sensilla of Drosophila and C. elegans. Thus, miRNA‐183 family member expression is conserved in possibly homologous but morphologically distinct sensory cells and organs. The results suggest that miR‐183 family members contribute specifically to neurosensory development or function, and that extant metazoan sensory organs are derived from cells that share genetic programs of common evolutionary origin.

Reading the unique DNA methylation landscape of the brain: Non-CpG methylation, hydroxymethylation, and MeCP2

DNA methylation at CpG dinucleotides is an important epigenetic regulator common to virtually all mammalian cell types, but recent evidence indicates that during early postnatal development neuronal genomes also accumulate uniquely high levels of two alternative forms of methylation, non-CpG methylation and hydroxymethylation. Here we discuss the distinct landscape of DNA methylation in neurons, how it is established, and how it might affect the binding and function of protein readers of DNA methylation. We review studies of one critical reader of DNA methylation in the brain, the Rett syndrome protein methyl CpG-binding protein 2 (MeCP2), and discuss how differential binding affinity of MeCP2 for non-CpG and hydroxymethylation may affect the function of this methyl-binding protein in the nervous system.

Identification of small RNA pathway genes using patterns of phylogenetic conservation and divergence

Genetic and biochemical analyses of RNA interference (RNAi) and microRNA (miRNA) pathways have revealed proteins such as Argonaute/PIWI and Dicer that process and present small RNAs to their targets. Well validated small RNA pathway cofactors, such as the Argonaute/PIWI proteins show distinctive patterns of conservation or divergence in particular animal, plant, fungal, and protist species. We compared 86 divergent eukaryotic genome sequences to discern sets of proteins that show similar phylogenetic profiles with known small RNA cofactors. A large set of additional candidate small RNA cofactors have emerged from functional genomic screens for defects in miRNA- or siRNA-mediated repression in C. elegans and D. melanogaster1,2 and from proteomic analyses of proteins co-purifying with validated small RNA pathway proteins3,4. The phylogenetic profiles of many of these candidate small RNA pathway proteins are similar to those of known small RNA cofactor proteins. We used a Bayesian approach to integrate the phylogenetic profile analysis with predictions from diverse transcriptional coregulation and proteome interaction datasets to assign a probability for each protein for a role in a small RNA pathway. Testing high-confidence candidates from this analysis for defects in RNAi silencing, we found that about half of the predicted small RNA cofactors are required for RNAi silencing. Many of the newly identified small RNA pathway proteins are orthologues of proteins implicated in RNA splicing. In support of a deep connection between the mechanism of RNA splicing and small RNA-mediated gene silencing, the presence of the Argonaute proteins and other small RNA components in the many species analysed strongly correlates with the number of introns in that species.Genetic and biochemical analyses of RNA interference (RNAi) and microRNA (miRNA) pathways have revealed proteins such as Argonaute and Dicer as essential cofactors that process and present small RNAs to their targets. Well-validated small RNA pathway cofactors such as these show distinctive patterns of conservation or divergence in particular animal, plant, fungal and protist species. We compared 86 divergent eukaryotic genome sequences to discern sets of proteins that show similar phylogenetic profiles with known small RNA cofactors. A large set of additional candidate small RNA cofactors have emerged from functional genomic screens for defects in miRNA- or short interfering RNA (siRNA)-mediated repression in Caenorhabditis elegans and Drosophila melanogaster, and from proteomic analyses of proteins co-purifying with validated small RNA pathway proteins. The phylogenetic profiles of many of these candidate small RNA pathway proteins are similar to those of known small RNA cofactor proteins. We used a Bayesian approach to integrate the phylogenetic profile analysis with predictions from diverse transcriptional coregulation and proteome interaction data sets to assign a probability for each protein for a role in a small RNA pathway. Testing high-confidence candidates from this analysis for defects in RNAi silencing, we found that about one-half of the predicted small RNA cofactors are required for RNAi silencing. Many of the newly identified small RNA pathway proteins are orthologues of proteins implicated in RNA splicing. In support of a deep connection between the mechanism of RNA splicing and small-RNA-mediated gene silencing, the presence of the Argonaute proteins and other small RNA components in the many species analysed strongly correlates with the number of introns in those species.

mut-16 and other mutator class genes modulate 22G and 26G siRNA pathways in Caenorhabditis elegans

Argonaute-associated siRNAs and Piwi-associated piRNAs have overlapping roles in silencing mobile genetic elements in animals. In Caenorhabditis elegans, mutator (mut) class genes mediate siRNA-guided repression of transposons as well as exogenous RNAi, but their roles in endogenous RNA silencing pathways are not well-understood. To characterize the endogenous small RNAs dependent on mut class genes, small RNA populations from a null allele of mut-16 as well as a regulatory mut-16(mg461) allele that disables only somatic RNAi were subjected to deep sequencing. Additionally, each of the mut class genes was tested for a requirement in 26G siRNA pathways. The results indicate that mut-16 is an essential factor in multiple endogenous germline and somatic siRNA pathways involving several distinct Argonautes and RNA-dependent RNA polymerases. The results also reveal essential roles for mut-2 and mut-7 in the ERGO-1 class 26G siRNA pathway and less critical roles for mut-8, mut-14, and mut-15. We show that transposons are hypersusceptible to mut-16–dependent silencing and identify a requirement for the siRNA machinery in piRNA biogenesis from Tc1 transposons. We also show that the soma-specific mut-16(mg461) mutant allele is present in multiple C. elegans laboratory strains.

The exonuclease ERI-1 has a conserved dual role in 5.8S rRNA processing and RNAi

The exonuclease ERI-1 negatively regulates RNA interference in Caenorhabditis elegans and Schizosaccharomyces pombe, and is required for production of some C. elegans endogenous small interfering RNAs. We show that ERI-1 performs 3′ end processing of the 5.8S ribosomal RNA in both C. elegans and S. pombe. In C. elegans, two protein isoforms of ERI-1 are localized to the cytoplasm, and each has distinct functions in ribosomal RNA processing and negative regulation of RNA interference.

DNA methylation in the gene body influences MeCP2-mediated gene repression

Significance Mutations in the methyl-CpG binding protein 2 (MECP2) lead to the severe neurological disorder Rett syndrome, but our understanding of how MeCP2 regulates gene expression in the brain has been limited. Recently we uncovered evidence that MeCP2 controls transcription of very long genes with critical neuronal functions by binding a unique form of DNA methylation, enriched in neurons. Here, we provide evidence that MeCP2 represses transcription by binding within transcribed regions of genes. We show that this repressive effect is proportional to the total number of methylated DNA binding sites for MeCP2 within each gene. Our findings suggest a model in which MeCP2 represses transcription of long neuronal genes that contain many methylated binding sites by impeding transcriptional elongation. Rett syndrome is a severe neurodevelopmental disorder caused by mutations in the methyl-CpG binding protein gene (MECP2). MeCP2 is a methyl-cytosine binding protein that is proposed to function as a transcriptional repressor. However, multiple gene expression studies comparing wild-type and MeCP2-deficient neurons have failed to identify gene expression changes consistent with loss of a classical transcriptional repressor. Recent work suggests that one function of MeCP2 in neurons is to temper the expression of the longest genes in the genome by binding to methylated CA dinucleotides (mCA) within transcribed regions of these genes. Here we explore the mechanism of mCA and MeCP2 in fine tuning the expression of long genes. We find that mCA is not only highly enriched within the body of genes normally repressed by MeCP2, but also enriched within extended megabase-scale regions surrounding MeCP2-repressed genes. Whereas enrichment of mCA exists in a broad region around these genes, mCA together with mCG within gene bodies appears to be the primary driver of gene repression by MeCP2. Disruption of methylation at CA sites within the brain results in depletion of MeCP2 across genes that normally contain a high density of gene-body mCA. We further find that the degree of gene repression by MeCP2 is proportional to the total number of methylated cytosine MeCP2 binding sites across the body of a gene. These findings suggest a model in which MeCP2 tunes gene expression in neurons by binding within the transcribed regions of genes to impede the elongation of RNA polymerase.