Zachary A. Gurard-Levin

Histone Chaperones: Assisting Histone Traffic and Nucleosome Dynamics

The functional organization of eukaryotic DNA into chromatin uses histones as components of its building block, the nucleosome. Histone chaperones, which are proteins that escort histones throughout their cellular life, are key actors in all facets of histone metabolism; they regulate the supply and dynamics of histones at chromatin for its assembly and disassembly. Histone chaperones can also participate in the distribution of histone variants, thereby defining distinct chromatin landscapes of importance for genome function, stability, and cell identity. Here, we discuss our current knowledge of the known histone chaperones and their histone partners, focusing on histone H3 and its variants. We then place them into an escort network that distributes these histones in various deposition pathways. Through their distinct interfaces, we show how they affect dynamics during DNA replication, DNA damage, and transcription, and how they maintain genome integrity. Finally, we discuss the importance of histone chaperones during development and describe how misregulation of the histone flow can link to disease.

A Specific Function for the Histone Chaperone NASP to Fine-Tune a Reservoir of Soluble H3-H4 in the Histone Supply Chain

Proper genome packaging requires coordination of both DNA and histone metabolism. While histone gene transcription and RNA processing adequately provide for scheduled needs, how histone supply adjusts to unexpected changes in demand remains unknown. Here, we reveal that the histone chaperone nuclear autoantigenic sperm protein (NASP) protects a reservoir of soluble histones H3-H4. The importance of NASP is revealed upon histone overload, engagement of the reservoir during acute replication stress, and perturbation of Asf1 activity. The reservoir can be fine-tuned, increasing or decreasing depending on the level of NASP. Our data suggest that NASP does so by balancing the activity of the heat shock proteins Hsc70 and Hsp90 to direct H3-H4 for degradation by chaperone-mediated autophagy. These insights into NASP function and the existence of a tunable reservoir in mammalian cells demonstrate that contingency is integrated into the histone supply chain to respond to unexpected changes in demand.

Histone lysine methylation and chromatin replication

In eukaryotic organisms, the replication of the DNA sequence and its organization into chromatin are critical to maintain genome integrity. Chromatin components, such as histone variants and histone post-translational modifications, along with the higher-order chromatin structure, impact several DNA metabolic processes, including replication, transcription, and repair. In this review we focus on lysine methylation and the relationships between this histone mark and chromatin replication. We first describe studies implicating lysine methylation in regulating early steps in the replication process. We then discuss chromatin reassembly following replication fork passage, where the incorporation of a combination of newly synthesized histones and parental histones can impact the inheritance of lysine methylation marks on the daughter strands. Finally, we elaborate on how the inheritance of lysine methylation can impact maintenance of the chromatin landscape, using heterochromatin as a model chromatin domain, and we discuss the potential mechanisms involved in this process.

Subfunctionalization via Adaptive Evolution Influenced by Genomic Context: The Case of Histone Chaperones ASF1a and ASF1b

Gene duplication is regarded as the main source of adaptive functional novelty in eukaryotes. Processes such as neo- and subfunctionalization impact the evolution of paralogous proteins where functional divergence is frequently key to retain the gene copies. Here, we examined antisilencing function 1 (ASF1), a conserved eukaryotic H3-H4 histone chaperone, involved in histone dynamics during replication, transcription, and DNA repair. Although yeast feature a single ASF1 protein, two paralogs exist in most vertebrates, termed ASF1a and ASF1b, with distinct cellular roles in mammals. To explain this division of tasks, we integrated evolutionary and comparative genomic analyses with biochemical and structural approaches. First, we show that a duplication event at the ancestor of jawed vertebrates, followed by ASF1a relocation into an intron of the minichromosome maintenance complex component 9 (MCM9) gene at the ancestor of tetrapods, provided a different genomic environment for each paralog with marked differences of GC content and DNA replication timing. Second, we found signatures of positive selection in the N- and C-terminal regions of ASF1a and ASF1b. Third, we demonstrate that regions outside the primary interaction surface are key for the preferential interactions of the human paralogs with distinct H3-H4 chaperones. On the basis of these data, we propose that ASF1 experienced subfunctionalization shaped by the adaptation of the genes to their respective genomic context, reflecting a case of genomic context-driven escape from adaptive conflict.

Histone modifications and a choice of variant: a language that helps the genome express itself.

Covalent post-translational modifications on histones impact chromatin structure and function. Their misfunction, along with perturbations or mutations in genes that regulate their dynamic status, has been observed in several diseases. Thus, targeting histone modifications represents attractive opportunities for therapeutic intervention and biomarker discovery. The best approach to address this challenge is to paint a comprehensive picture integrating the growing number of modifications on individual residues and their combinatorial association, the corresponding modifying enzymes, and effector proteins that bind modifications. Furthermore, how they are imposed in a distinct manner during the cell cycle and on specific histone variants are important dimensions to consider. Firstly, this report highlights innovative technologies used to characterize histone modifications, and the corresponding enzymes and effector proteins. Secondly, we examine the recent progress made in understanding the dynamics and maintenance of histone modifications on distinct variants. We also discuss their roles as potential carriers of epigenetic information. Finally, we provide examples of initiatives to exploit histone modifications in cancer management, with the potential for new therapeutic opportunities.

Methylation of histone H3 lysine 9 occurs during translation

Histone post-translational modifications are key contributors to chromatin structure and function, and participate in the maintenance of genome stability. Understanding the establishment and maintenance of these marks, along with their misregulation in pathologies is thus a major focus in the field. While we have learned a great deal about the enzymes regulating histone modifications on nucleosomal histones, much less is known about the mechanisms establishing modifications on soluble newly synthesized histones. This includes methylation of lysine 9 on histone H3 (H3K9), a mark that primes the formation of heterochromatin, a critical chromatin landmark for genome stability. Here, we report that H3K9 mono- and dimethylation is imposed during translation by the methyltransferase SetDB1. We discuss the importance of these results in the context of heterochromatin establishment and maintenance and new therapeutic opportunities in pathologies where heterochromatin is perturbed.

The histone chaperone HJURP is a new independent prognostic marker for luminal A breast carcinoma

Breast cancer is a heterogeneous disease with different molecular subtypes that have varying responses to therapy. An ongoing challenge in breast cancer research is to distinguish high‐risk patients from good prognosis patients. This is particularly difficult in the low‐grade, ER‐positive luminal A tumors, where robust diagnostic tools to aid clinical treatment decisions are lacking. Recent data implicating chromatin regulators in cancer initiation and progression offers a promising avenue to develop new tools to help guide clinical decisions.

Chromatin regulators as a guide for cancer treatment choice

The limited capacity to predict a patients response to distinct chemotherapeutic agents is a major hurdle in cancer management. The efficiency of a large fraction of current cancer therapeutics (radio- and chemotherapies) is influenced by chromatin structure. Reciprocally, alterations in chromatin organization may affect resistance mechanisms. Here, we explore how the misexpression of chromatin regulators—factors involved in the establishment and maintenance of functional chromatin domains—can inform about the extent of docetaxel response. We exploit Affymetrix and NanoString gene expression data for a set of chromatin regulators generated from breast cancer patient-derived xenograft models and patient samples treated with docetaxel. Random Forest classification reveals specific panels of chromatin regulators, including key components of the SWI/SNF chromatin remodeler, which readily distinguish docetaxel high-responders and poor-responders. Further exploration of SWI/SNF components in the comprehensive NCI-60 dataset reveals that the expression inversely correlates with docetaxel sensitivity. Finally, we show that loss of the SWI/SNF subunit BRG1 (SMARCA4) in a model cell line leads to enhanced docetaxel sensitivity. Altogether, our findings point toward chromatin regulators as biomarkers for drug response as well as therapeutic targets to sensitize patients toward docetaxel and combat drug resistance. Mol Cancer Ther; 15(7); 1768–77. ©2016 AACR.

High-resolution visualization of H3 variants during replication reveals their controlled recycling

DNA replication is a challenge for the faithful transmission of parental information to daughter cells, as both DNA and chromatin organization must be duplicated. Replication stress further complicates the safeguard of epigenome integrity. Here, we investigate the transmission of the histone variants H3.3 and H3.1 during replication. We follow their distribution relative to replication timing, first in the genome and, second, in 3D using super-resolution microscopy. We find that H3.3 and H3.1 mark early- and late-replicating chromatin, respectively. In the nucleus, H3.3 forms domains, which decrease in density throughout replication, while H3.1 domains increase in density. Hydroxyurea impairs local recycling of parental histones at replication sites. Similarly, depleting the histone chaperone ASF1 affects recycling, leading to an impaired histone variant landscape. We discuss how faithful transmission of histone variants involves ASF1 and can be impacted by replication stress, with ensuing consequences for cell fate and tumorigenesis.Epigenetic modifications are a key contributor to cell identity, and their propagation is crucial for proper development. Here the authors use a super-resolution microscopy approach to reveal how histone variants are faithfully transmitted during genome duplication, and reveal an important role for the histone chaperone ASF1 in the redistribution of parental histones.

PP32 and SET/TAF-Iβ proteins regulate the acetylation of newly synthesized histone H4

Abstract Newly synthesized histones H3 and H4 undergo a cascade of maturation steps to achieve proper folding and to establish post-translational modifications prior to chromatin deposition. Acetylation of H4 on lysines 5 and 12 by the HAT1 acetyltransferase is observed late in the histone maturation cascade. A key question is to understand how to establish and regulate the distinct timing of sequential modifications and their biological significance. Here, we perform proteomic analysis of the newly synthesized histone H4 complex at the earliest time point in the cascade. In addition to known binding partners Hsp90 and Hsp70, we also identify for the first time two subunits of the histone acetyltransferase inhibitor complex (INHAT): PP32 and SET/TAF-Iβ. We show that both proteins function to prevent HAT1-mediated H4 acetylation in vitro. When PP32 and SET/TAF-Iβ protein levels are down-regulated in vivo, we detect hyperacetylation on lysines 5 and 12 and other H4 lysine residues. Notably, aberrantly acetylated H4 is less stable and this reduces the interaction with Hsp90. As a consequence, PP32 and SET/TAF-Iβ depleted cells show an S-phase arrest. Our data demonstrate a novel function of PP32 and SET/TAF-Iβ and provide new insight into the mechanisms regulating acetylation of newly synthesized histone H4.