Dynamic gene regulation by nuclear colony-stimulating factor 1 receptor in human monocytes and macrophages
NATURE COMMUNICATIONS
Authors: Bencheikh, Laura; Diop, M'Boyba Khadija; Riviere, Julie; Imanci, Aygun; Pierron, Gerard; Souquere, Sylvie; Naimo, Audrey; Morabito, Margot; Dussiot, Michael; De Leeuw, Frederic; Lobry, Camille; Solary, Eric; Droin, Nathalie
Abstract
Despite their location at the cell surface, several receptor tyrosine kinases (RTK) are also found in the nucleus, as either intracellular domains or full length proteins. However, their potential nuclear functions remain poorly understood. Here we find that a fraction of full length Colony Stimulating Factor-1 Receptor (CSF-1R), an RTK involved in monocyte/macrophage generation, migrates to the nucleus upon CSF-1 stimulation in human primary monocytes. Chromatin-immunoprecipitation identifies the preferential recruitment of CSF-1R to intergenic regions, where it co-localizes with H3K4me1 and interacts with the transcription factor EGR1. When monocytes are differentiated into macrophages with CSF-1, CSF-1R is redirected to transcription starting sites, colocalizes with H3K4me3, and interacts with ELK and YY1 transcription factors. CSF-1R expression and chromatin recruitment is modulated by small molecule CSF-1R inhibitors and altered in monocytes from chronic myelomonocytic leukemia patients. Unraveling this dynamic non-canonical CSF-1R function suggests new avenues to explore the poorly understood functions of this receptor and its ligands.
UHRF1 Controls Thymocyte Fate Decisions through the Epigenetic Regulation of EGR1 Expression
JOURNAL OF IMMUNOLOGY
Authors: Zhang, Yiwen; Chen, Yingshi; Ma, Rong; Jiang, Yawen; Liu, Jun; Lin, Yingtong; Chen, Siqi; Xia, Mengying; Zou, Fan; Zhang, Junsong; Pan, Ting; Wang, Lie; Wei, Lai; Zhang, Hui
Abstract
Thymocyte differentiation is a highly complex process that is accompanied by epigenetic changes. Ubiquitin-like containing PHD ring finger 1 (UHRF1) is a critical epigenetic modifier involved in various cellular processes. In this study, we demonstrated that it is highly expressed in T cell precursors of the thymus. Further, its deficiency results in significantly reduced thymocyte cellularity and thymus size in mice. Through systematic analysis based on single-cell RNA sequencing, we found that UHRF1 deficiency thwarts alpha beta T cell lineage development, whereas biasing gamma delta T lineage differentiation dampens the progression of immature single-positive cells. UHRF1 deficiency promotes the IL-17 secreting and ROR gamma t expression in gamma delta T cell, indicating a T gamma delta 17 phenotype. Further, the analysis of gene-regulatory networks demonstrated that UHRF1 controls the expression of early growth response 1 (EGR1). UHRF1 interacts with DNA methyltransferase 1 (DNMT1) at the CpG promoter region of Egr1 loci and affects the nearby chromatin modifications of H3K9me3 and H3K4me3. Taken together, our results demonstrate that UHRF1 is a key factor that mediates the epigenetic regulation of EGR1 and, consequently, thymocyte fate decisions.