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Molecular and Cellular Biology, October 2000, p. 7572-7582, Vol. 20, No. 20
Departments of
Pathology,1 Genetics and
Development,2 Biochemistry and Molecular
Biophysics,5 and
Medicine,7 Columbia University College
of Physicians and Surgeons, New York, New York 10032; Institute
of Immunology and Molecular Genetics, Karlsruhe D-76133,
Germany3; Institute of Molecular
Biology and Genetics and Department of Molecular Biology, Seoul
National University, Seoul 151-742, Korea4;
and Molecular Biology Program, Memorial Sloan-Kettering
Cancer Center, New York, New York 100216
Received 17 February 2000/Returned for modification 12 April
2000/Accepted 12 July 2000
We have previously described a SWI/SNF-related protein complex (PYR
complex) that is restricted to definitive (adult-type) hematopoietic
cells and that specifically binds DNA sequences containing long
stretches of pyrimidines. Deletion of an intergenic DNA-binding site
for this complex from a human A number of different macromolecular
complexes have been described in recent years that activate or repress
specific mammalian gene expression by remodeling chromatin (3,
20). Among these are SWI/SNF-related complexes, also known as BAF
complexes, which are very large (0.5- to 2-MDa) assemblies of up to 11 protein subunits, many of which are highly conserved from yeasts to
humans (3, 20, 41). These complexes act as molecular
machines, utilizing the energy of ATP to disrupt repressive chromatin
structures and facilitate gene activation, presumably by permitting the
binding of transcription factors to DNA regulatory elements that would otherwise be inaccessible (7, 26). Mammalian SWI/SNF
complexes contain a SNF2 family helicase-ATPase subunit, either BRM or
BRG1, that is probably critical for their ATP-dependent nucleosome
disruption activity (21, 26, 27, 36, 54), accompanied by
BRG1-associated factors (BAFs), actin-related proteins, and We have previously described a SWI/SNF-related complex, the PYR
complex, that binds a long pyrimidine-rich sequence between the human
fetal and adult
0270-7306/00/$04.00+0
Copyright © 2000, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.
An Ikaros-Containing Chromatin-Remodeling Complex
in Adult-Type Erythroid Cells
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ABSTRACT
Top
Abstract
Introduction
Materials and Methods
Results
Discussion
References
-globin locus construct results in
delayed human
- to
-globin switching in transgenic mice,
suggesting that the PYR complex acts to facilitate the switch. We now
show that PYR complex DNA-binding activity also copurifies with
subunits of a second type of chromatin-remodeling complex,
nucleosome-remodeling deacetylase (NuRD), that has been shown to have
both nucleosome-remodeling and histone deacetylase activities. Gel
supershift assays using antibodies to the ATPase-helicase subunit of
the NuRD complex, Mi-2 (CHD4), confirm that Mi-2 is a component of the
PYR complex. In addition, we show that the hematopoietic
cell-restricted zinc finger protein Ikaros copurifies with PYR complex
DNA-binding activity and that antibodies to Ikaros also supershift the
complex. We also show that NuRD and SWI/SNF components coimmunopurify
with each other as well as with Ikaros. Competition gel shift
experiments using partially purified PYR complex and recombinant Ikaros
protein indicate that Ikaros functions as a DNA-binding subunit of the
PYR complex. Our results suggest that Ikaros targets two types of
chromatin-remodeling factors
activators (SWI/SNF) and repressors
(NuRD)
in a single complex (PYR complex) to the
-globin locus in
adult erythroid cells. At the time of the switch from fetal to adult
globin production, the PYR complex is assembled and may function to
repress
-globin gene expression and facilitate
- to
-globin switching.
![]()
INTRODUCTION
Top
Abstract
Introduction
Materials and Methods
Results
Discussion
References
-actin
(4, 40, 54, 55, 59). These complexes are found in
association with chromatin and are known to bind DNA structures
resembling nucleosomes (42, 53, 59). By contrast, other
chromatin-remodeling complexes with both nucleosome-remodeling and
histone deacetylase activities (nucleosome-remodeling deacetylase
[NuRD] complexes) that contain the SNF2-related helicase-ATPase Mi-2
(CHD4) (44), histone deacetylases 1 and 2, and RbAp46/48
have also been described, and they are thought to function in
chromatin-mediated gene repression (24, 51, 57, 58).
-globin-like genes (38, 39) (Fig. 1). PYR complex DNA-binding activity is
specific to definitive (adult-type) hematopoietic cells and is both DNA
sequence and DNA length dependent (39). Gel supershift
assays and mass spectrometric sequence analysis of DNA affinity column
fractions indicate that the PYR complex contains at least four known
SWI/SNF subunits: INI1 (BAF47), BAF57, BAF60a, and BAF170
(39). Although the exact function of the PYR complex is
unknown, we have shown that deletion of an intergenic PYR
complex-binding site from a human
-globin locus construct results in
delayed human fetal-to-adult globin gene switching in transgenic mice,
suggesting that in erythroid cells, the PYR complex may act to
facilitate this genetic switch (39) (Fig. 1).

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FIG. 1.
Map of the
-globin locus on human chromosome 11. The
PYR complex binds to a 250-bp pyrimidine-rich sequence (rectangle
Y · R) located between the fetal (
) and adult (
and
)
-globin-like genes.
-Globin locus control region (LCR) DNase
I-hypersensitive sites 1 through 4 are indicated by downward arrows.
We now show that, in addition to the previously described SWI/SNF proteins, PYR complex DNA-binding activity also copurifies with the hematopoietic cell-specific DNA-binding factor Ikaros and with a number of NuRD complex subunits, including the ATPase-helicase subunit of the NuRD complex, Mi-2. Antibodies to Mi-2 and Ikaros both supershift PYR complex DNA-binding activity in gel shift assays, and Mi-2 and Ikaros coimmunoprecipitate from both crude murine erythroleukemia (MEL) cell nuclear extract and chromatography fractions containing partially purified PYR complex. In addition, we show that NuRD and SWI/SNF components coimmunopurify from these fractions, indicating that they are present in a single complex.
In competition gel shift experiments using partially purified PYR complex and recombinant Ikaros protein, the PYR complex exhibits the same DNA sequence specificity as Ikaros. Furthermore, we show that DNA-dependent ATPase, histone deacetylase, and ATP-dependent nucleosome-remodeling activities also copurify with PYR complex DNA-binding activity. Taken together with our earlier observations, these data suggest that the PYR complex is a single complex containing SWI/SNF and NuRD subunits that is targeted to DNA by Ikaros and that this Ikaros-targeted chromatin-remodeling complex may function in the control of the developmental switch from fetal to adult globin synthesis.
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MATERIALS AND METHODS |
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Purification of PYR complex and mass-spectrometric-sequence
analysis.
The PYR complex was initially purified from MEL nuclear
extract in five chromatographic steps as previously described
(39). The final purification step utilized a
sequence-specific DNA affinity column prepared from a concatenated
double-stranded oligonucleotide (
60ym) containing the PYR
complex-binding site with a YY1 site mutated within it (sense strand
[5' to 3'],
GATCCTCTCTCTTCCCCTCTTCCTTCCTTCCTTTCCTTATTTCTTCCTCCTCTTTCCCTC). DNA-affinity column fractions containing PYR complex activity (as
determined by gel shift assay using radiolabeled
60ym probe) were
pooled, electrophoresed on sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS)-4 to 15%
gradient polyacrylamide gel, and electroblotted onto a nitrocellulose
membrane. Bands identified by Ponceau S staining were eluted from the
membrane and processed for internal sequence analysis as previously
described (9, 29, 39). The resulting peptide pools were
analyzed by matrix-assisted laser-desorption ionization (MALDI),
reflectron time-of-flight (ReTOF) mass spectrometry (MS), and
electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS) in conjunction
with collision-induced fragmentation as previously described
(39). Selected mass values from the MALDI-ReTOF experiments were taken to search a protein-nonredundant database (EBI, Hinxton, United Kingdom) using the PeptideSearch algorithm (30).
MS/MS spectra were inspected for y" ion series, and the resultant
information was transferred to the SequenceTag program and used as a
search string (31). Any protein identification thus obtained
was verified by comparing the computer-generated fragment ion series of
the predicted tryptic peptide with the experimental MS/MS data. In additional experiments, the DNA-cellulose column fractions containing the peak PYR activity were pooled and run on a Superose 6 column (Amersham Pharmacia), and the fractions were analyzed.
Gel shift and gel supershift assays.
Nuclear extracts were
prepared from tissue culture cells as previously described (8,
38). For mouse tissues, nuclei were isolated by pelleting through
a sucrose cushion (15), and nuclear extracts were then
prepared using a miniextract protocol (43). Large-scale
cultures of MEL cells were prepared by the National Institutes of
Health (NIH) Cell Culture Center (Coon Rapids, Minn.). Recombinant
glutathione S-transferase (GST)-Ikaros fusion protein, which contains the four N-terminal zinc fingers required for optimal DNA binding, has been described previously (11, 17). Gel
shift and gel supershift assays using MEL crude nuclear extract were performed with 5 µg of nuclear extract and 2 µg of double-stranded poly(dI-dC) as previously described (38, 39). For gel shifts using chromatography fractions or GST-Ikaros, double-stranded poly(dG-dC), instead of poly(dI-dC), was used in empirically determined amounts as nonspecific competitor DNA. Probes and competitor DNAs (sense strand, 5' to 3') used were
99, CCT CCA TCC CTT CCA TCC TCT
CTC TTC CCC TCT TCC TTC CTT CCT TTC TCC ATT TCT TCC TCC TCT TTC CCT CAA
TCC TTC CTT TTG GAT ATG CTC ATG;
60ym (shown above); IKBS4, AAT TCT
CAG CTT TTG GGA ATG TAT TCC CTG TCAG (34); and YY1, ACG TCG
CTC CGC GGC CAT CTT GGC GGC TGGT. Antibodies were generously provided
by Stephen Smale and Bradley Cobb (University of California, Los
Angeles; monoclonal and polyclonal Ikaros), Gerald Crabtree (Stanford
University; BAF57, BAF60a, BAF170, and BRG1), Katia Georgopoulos
(Harvard University; monoclonal Mi-2), Ganjam Kalpana (Albert Einstein
Medical College; INI1) and Michael Bustin (NIH; HMG-1). Antibodies to
actin, HDAC2, and YY1 were obtained commercially from Santa Cruz
Biotechnology (Santa Cruz, Calif.). Antibody to RbAp46/48 was obtained
commercially from GeneTex (San Antonio, Tex.).
Photoactivated cross-linking.
Photoactivated UV
cross-linking experiments used a 5-bromodeoxyuridine (BrdU; Life
Technologies)-substituted
99 probe. This was prepared by Klenow
polymerization using a mixture of BrdU, dATP, dGTP, and
[
-32P]dCTP with an M13 reverse-sequencing primer
(Stratagene) on single-stranded template prepared from a pBluescript II
(SK+) phagemid (Stratagene) with
99 subcloned into its
EcoRI site (pBSII-
99). The single-stranded pBSII-
99
template was prepared using M13 helper phage according to the
manufacturer's instructions (Stratagene). After polymerization, the
double-stranded DNA was digested with EcoRI, and the
radiolabeled BrdU-
99 was purified on a 5% nondenaturing
polyacrylamide gel. DNA-binding assays for UV cross-linking experiments
were the same as for gel shift assays except for the use of
105 to 106 cpm of BrdU-substituted
99 as a
probe. After the DNA-binding reactions, cross-linking was carried out
by spotting the reactions on cling wrap and irradiating on a 302-nm UV
transilluminator (Spectroline) for 4 to 8 min at room temperature.
Reactions were then adjusted to 2 mM CaCl2 and 10 mM
MgCl2 and digested with 1 U of micrococcal nuclease
(Boehringer Mannheim Biochemicals) and 1 µg of DNase I (Worthington
Biochemical) for 30 min at 37°C to remove excess probe from the
DNA-protein complexes. EDTA was then added to a final concentration of
10 mM, and samples were precipitated by the addition of 4 volumes of
ice-cold acetone. Pellets were resuspended in Laemmli sample buffer
(Bio-Rad), heated to 95°C for 5 min, and electrophoresed on precast
Tris-HCl polyacrylamide gels (Bio-Rad).
Immunoprecipitations. Immunoprecipitations were carried out essentially as previously described (18), with a few modifications. NP-40 was added to MEL cell nuclear extract (10 µl) or extract from reactive yellow 3-agarose fraction 67 (Ikaros peak activity; 30 µl) to a final concentration of 0.01%, and the samples were then incubated with 0.5 µl of mouse monoclonal antibody at 4°C for 1 h. Immune complexes were precipitated by the addition of Protein A/G PLUS beads (Santa Cruz Biotechnology), which were then washed three times with TM-100 (20 mM Tris, 5 mM MgCl2, 20% glycerol, 0.1 M NaCl, 0.5 mM phenylmethylsulfonyl fluoride, 1 mM dithiothreitol [DTT], pH 7.5) with 0.1% NP-40. Proteins were then eluted from the beads by boiling in Laemmli sample buffer (Bio-Rad) and electrophoresed on sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS)-polyacrylamide gels. Western blots were performed as previously described (18) by electroblotting onto a polyvinylidene difluoride membrane (Bio-Rad) and screening with rabbit polyclonal anti-Mi-2 antibody (1:3,000 dilution) or Ikaros antibody. Bands were visualized using a goat-anti-rabbit chemiluminescent detection kit (Amersham Pharmacia). Similar results were obtained using MEL nuclear extract both with and without preclearing with Protein A/G PLUS beads (18).
Immunoaffinity chromatography. An anti-BAF57 immunoaffinity column was prepared using rabbit polyclonal antiserum raised against a recombinant maltose-binding protein (MBP)-BAF57 fusion protein expressed from the plasmid pMBP-BAF57, which was generously provided by Gerald Crabtree (Stanford University). The MBP-BAF57 fusion protein was expressed in Escherichia coli and purified using a pMBP protein expression kit (New England BioLabs). The anti-BAF57 antiserum was raised commercially by Cocalico Biologicals. Antibody was coupled to protein A-agarose and cross-linked using a commercial kit (protein A orientation kit; Pierce, St. Louis, Mo.) according to the manufacturer's instructions. An anti-Mi-2 immunoaffinity column was prepared using antigen-purified goat anti-Mi-2 antibody obtained commercially (Santa Cruz Biotechnology). This antibody was coupled to protein G-agarose and cross-linked using a commercial kit (Protein G PLUS orientation kit; Pierce). Immunoaffinity chromatography experiments were carried out at 4°C. DTT or protease inhibitors were not added to buffers used for immunoaffinity chromatography experiments. DNA-cellulose-purified PYR complex (0.5 ml) was diluted in 3 volumes of buffer TM 100 and recycled over a 0.5-ml immunoaffinity column for at least 1 h. The column was then washed with two column volumes of TM 100. This initial wash was pooled with the unbound material and designated flowthrough. The column was then washed twice more with two column volumes of TM 100 (washes 0.1A and 0.1B) and twice with two column volumes of TM 500 (20 mM Tris, 5 mM MgCl2, 20% glycerol, 0.5 M NaCl [pH 7.5]), designated washes 0.5A and 0.5B, and then eluted with three column volumes of 0.1 M glycine (pH 2.5). The pH 2.5 glycine eluate was mixed with 1/10 volume of 1 M Tris (pH 8.0) immediately following collection. Samples were precipitated with trichloroacetic acid, resuspended in Laemmli sample buffer, boiled for 5 min, and electrophoresed on SDS-polyacrylamide minigels (Bio-Rad). Gels were analyzed by silver stain (Plus One kit, Amersham Pharmacia) and Western blotting.
ATPase assays.
For each reaction (20-µl total volume), 4 µl of column fraction was incubated in EMSA buffer (10 mM Tris-7.5,
50 mM NaCl, 5 mM MgCl2, 20% glycerol, 1 mg of bovine serum
albumin per ml, 1 mM DTT, 0.5 mM phenylmethylsulfonyl fluoride)
containing 2 µM ATP, 1 µCi [
-32P]ATP, and 5 µg
of substrate, either calf thymus DNA (Roche), purified histones
(Roche), or chicken erythrocyte chromatin (49), at 37°C
for 30 min. Reactions were stopped by the addition of 1 µl of 0.5 M
EDTA, and 1 µl of each reaction was spotted onto a polyethyleneimine
cellulose thin-layer-chromatography plate (Sigma). Thin-layer
chromatography plates were then developed for 45 min with 1 M formic
acid-0.5 M LiCl, air dried, and analyzed on a Molecular Dynamics STORM scanner.
Histone deacetylase assays. [3H]acetyllysine-labeled histones were prepared from 2 × 109 MEL cells following a previously published protocol (5), with a specific activity of approximately 2,000 cpm/µg. For each reaction (50-µl total volume), 5 µl of column fraction was incubated in EMSA buffer with 5 µl (approximately 20 µg) of labeled histones at 37°C for 30 min. The reactions were then stopped by the addition of 50 µl of stop solution (0.24 M acetic acid-1.42 M HCl) and extracted with 200 µl of ethyl acetate. A 100-µl portion of the organic phase was then assayed for released [3H]acetate using a liquid scintillation counter. For each experiment, average values were calculated from a minimum of two measurements for each fraction.
Nucleosome-remodeling assays.
Mononucleosomes were assembled
by octamer transfer from donor chromatin prepared from HeLa cells as
described previously (50). The beta interferon (IFN-
)-110
DNA template used is a 158-bp XbaI-ClaI
restriction fragment of plasmid-110CAT and contains the enhancer region
of the IFN-
gene (48). Remodeling of mononucleosomes was
assayed in 25-µl DNase I footprinting reactions. For DNase I
footprinting, 1 µl of DNA-cellulose column fraction, 2.5 µl of
20-mg/ml bovine serum albumin (Roche), 2.5 µl of 1-µg/µl
double-stranded poly(dG-dC) competitor DNA (Amersham Pharmacia),
106 cpm of reconstituted mononucleosome probe, and 2.5 µl
of 10× footprinting buffer (100 mM Tris [pH 7.5], 150 mM HEPES [pH
7.9], 0.5 M NaCl, 50 mM MgCl2, 10 mM DTT, 50% glycerol)
were incubated at room temperature for 30 min in the presence or
absence of 4 mM ATP. Subsequently, the reactions were digested with
DNase I (Worthington) for 5 min on ice, and DNase I digestion was
stopped with the addition of 2.5 M ammonium acetate and 2.5 µg of
salmon sperm DNA. The reactions were then extracted with
phenol-chloroform-isoamyl alcohol and precipitated with ethanol. The
purified DNA was then separated on a 6% sequencing gel.
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RESULTS |
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PYR complex DNA-binding activity is associated with SWI/SNF subunits, Mi-2, and the hematopoietic cell-restricted zinc finger protein Ikaros. We previously reported the purification of the PYR complex from MEL nuclear extract and its identification as a SWI/SNF-related complex by MS sequence analysis and gel supershift assays (39). These experiments indicated that PYR complex contains at least four known SWI/SNF components (BAFs): BAF57, INI1 (BAF47), BAF60a, and BAF170. A histone deacetylase complex subunit, RbAp46/48, was also found to have copurified with PYR complex activity but could not be confirmed as a subunit by gel supershift (39).
We have now identified a number of additional proteins by sequence analysis in the same DNA affinity-purified fractions. These proteins include the SNF2 family helicase-ATPase Mi-2, two additional BAFs (SRG3 and an actin-related protein similar to BAF53), an additional histone deacetylase complex subunit (HDAC2), a high-mobility group protein (HMG-1), and cytoplasmic actin (Table 1). We used gel supershift assays to test whether these proteins are components of the PYR complex or had simply copurified with it. As seen in Fig. 2, antibodies to Mi-2 and SRG3 (mouse BAF155) give clear supershifts, indicating that they are in fact PYR complex components. Antibodies to actin and HMG-1 result in negative supershifts, suggesting that they are not part of the complex. It should be noted, however, that a negative supershift does not rule out the presence of a protein in the complex, since the epitopes recognized by the antibody may be inaccessible due to the presence of other subunits of the complex.
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The PYR complex and recombinant Ikaros protein have similar
DNA-binding specificities.
The known ability of Ikaros to bind DNA
in a sequence-specific manner suggested that Ikaros might function, at
least in part, as a DNA-binding subunit of the PYR complex. To
determine the size of the PYR complex subunit (or subunits) that
contact DNA, we performed photoactivated cross-linking experiments
using a BrdU-substituted PYR DNA-binding site probe,
99, described
previously (38). These experiments indicate that the PYR
complex has a 60- to 70-kDa DNA-binding subunit (Fig.
3A). This is comparable to the size of
the largest Ikaros isoform, Ikaros-1, which has a molecular mass of 65 kDa.
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60ym
(39). These binding activities are competed by increasing
amounts of unlabeled
60ym DNA and DNA from a previously reported
Ikaros-binding-site probe, IKBS4 (33) but not by unlabeled YY1-binding-site DNA. Unlabeled
60ym DNA competes somewhat more strongly than IKBS4 for both the PYR complex and GST-Ikaros, suggesting that it is a higher-affinity-binding site for both the PYR complex and
GST-Ikaros than IKBS4. Similar results are obtained when the identical
experiment is carried out using labeled IKBS4 probe (Fig. 3B, lower
panel). Both GST-Ikaros and the PYR complex bind to IKBS4, and their
binding is competed away with unlabeled
60ym and IKBS4, but not with
unlabeled YY1-binding-site, DNA. In other experiments with
DNA-cellulose-purified PYR complex, anti-Ikaros antibody supershifts
the binding of the PYR complex to both the
60ym and IKBS4 probes,
confirming that the DNA-binding activity seen in the DNA-cellulose
fraction includes Ikaros (Fig. 3C). Anti-Mi-2 antibody also supershifts
the complex bound to both IKBS4 and
60ym, showing that PYR complex
DNA-binding activity in DNA cellulose-purified fractions is associated
with both Ikaros and Mi-2.
PYR complex DNA-binding activity copurifies with Ikaros, NuRD, and
SWI/SNF subunits from MEL nuclear extract.
To confirm the results
of the supershift experiments and to determine what proportions of the
Ikaros, SWI/SNF, and NuRD proteins in MEL nuclear extract are
associated with the PYR complex, we repurified the complex in four
chromatographic steps (Fig. 4A). The four column steps resulted in a
greater than 1,000-fold purification of the PYR complex, as determined
by total protein quantitation by spectrophotometry and DNA-binding
activity on a gel shift assay. Column fractions were tested for PYR
complex DNA-binding activity by gel shift assay and for the presence of
Ikaros, SWI/SNF, and NuRD subunits by Western blotting. By silver
staining the material obtained after the final Superose 6 column step
was comparable in purity to that obtained by DNA-affinity
chromatography (data not shown).
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Ikaros, Mi-2, and SWI/SNF proteins coimmunopurify from MEL
chromatography fractions.
To determine whether Ikaros, Mi-2, and
SWI/SNF proteins are physically associated in MEL nuclear extract by
using a method other than gel supershift assays and conventional
chromatography, we performed coimmunoprecipitations on both MEL crude
nuclear extract (data not shown) and chromatography fractions
containing partially purified PYR complex, using antibodies to Mi-2 and
Ikaros (Fig. 5A). As seen in the left
panel of Fig. 5, monoclonal antibodies to Mi-2 and Ikaros both
precipitate Ikaros isoforms 1 and 2 (47), which are detected
as 65- and 55-kDa bands, respectively, by Western blotting with
polyclonal anti-Ikaros antiserum. As a control, antibody to the
lymphocyte-restricted Ikaros family member Aiolos does not precipitate
Ikaros from DNA cellulose-purified PYR complex. Similar results are
seen in the reverse experiment, in which monoclonal antibodies to Mi-2
and Ikaros both precipitate Mi-2, detected as a 220-kDa band by Western
blotting with anti-Mi-2 antiserum (Fig. 5A, right). In the control
lane, antibody to Aiolos does not precipitate Mi-2. The results
indicate that Ikaros and Mi-2 are in physical association in both crude
MEL nuclear extract and in chromatography fractions containing PYR
complex DNA-binding activity, in support of our observations with gel
supershift experiments.
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in particular Ikaros isoform 2
bind strongly to
the anti-BAF57 column after extensive washes to eliminate nonspecific
binding. Both BRG1 and Mi-2 also bind specifically to the column with
somewhat lower affinity. Using the anti-Mi-2 column, we see strong
specific binding of Mi-2 (some of which remains bound to the column),
Ikaros, HDAC2, and three SWI/SNF proteins (BRG1, BAF155, and BAF57
[Fig. 5C]). Taken together with the results of the supershift,
conventional chromatography, and immunoprecipitation experiments, these
results indicate that in MEL cells Ikaros is closely associated with
SWI/SNF and NuRD proteins in a single complex.
Chromatography fractions with PYR complex DNA-binding activity have
chromatin-remodeling and histone deacetylase activities.
The
presence of SWI/SNF and NuRD components in the PYR complex indicates
that the purified complex should exhibit a number of activities
associated with chromatin-remodeling complexes. SWI/SNF complexes are
known to have DNA-dependent ATPase activity and have been shown to
remodel nucleosome templates in the presence of ATP (46).
NuRD complexes display both of these activities as well as a histone
deacetylase activity (58). We tested fractions from the
DNA-cellulose column for their ability to remodel mononucleosome templates in the presence or absence of ATP. Remodeling activity, characterized by a combination of enhanced and diminished DNase I
hypersensitivity with the addition of ATP, is detected in the 0.3 and
0.4 M NaCl fractions (Fig. 6A),
corresponding to the pattern of PYR complex DNA-binding activity off
that column (Fig. 4C).
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DISCUSSION |
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We report here the further characterization of the PYR complex, both structurally and functionally, in adult erythroid cells. Most importantly, we show that the PYR complex contains the hematopoietic cell-specific zinc finger DNA-binding protein Ikaros and that the PYR complex and recombinant Ikaros protein bind DNA with similar sequence specificity. These data indicate that Ikaros is a DNA-binding subunit of the PYR complex.
Ikaros gene function has been shown to be required for normal T- and B-cell development (12, 52). Ikaros has four N-terminal DNA-binding zinc fingers and two C-terminal zinc fingers; the C-terminal fingers permit homo- and heterodimerization of Ikaros isoforms (13, 28, 47). A number of different Ikaros isoforms have been identified, all of which are products of alternative RNA splicing, and different Ikaros isoforms are found in different hematopoietic cell lineages (23). Ikaros has recently been shown to be associated with two chromatin-remodeling complexes in lymphoid cells, a SWI/SNF-like complex and a NuRD complex containing Mi-2 (22). Ikaros has not previously been shown to be present in chromatin-remodeling complexes in erythroid cells. The complexes in lymphocytes are thought to function via the promoters and enhancers of lymphoid cell-specific genes (10, 11, 28). To our knowledge, ours is the first report to show that an Ikaros-containing chromatin-remodeling complex interacts with intergenic DNA sequences.
Ikaros in lymphocytes has been shown to occur in complexes with related
lymphocyte-restricted proteins, Helios (16) and Aiolos
(22, 35). It is possible that in erythroid cells Ikaros is
in a complex with a similar Ikaros-like protein and/or perhaps with
erythroid-specific factors such as GATA-1. GATA-1 has a strong binding
site near the PYR complex-binding site between the fetal and adult
-globin-like genes (38), but it is not clear whether GATA-1 cooperatively binds with PYR complex to this region.
More recently, defective and/or deficient Ikaros protein production has been shown to cause erythroid as well as lymphoid cell defects in Ikaros-knockout mice (37). In these studies, it has been shown that Ikaros-null mice have aberrant erythroid colony activity and that other knockout mice with a dominant negative phenotype have severe anemia (12, 37, 52). Hemoglobin switching in these mice has not been investigated. Hematopoietic stem cell activity in Ikaros-knockout mice is also significantly decreased (37). These results are indicative of pleiotropic effects of Ikaros in hematopoietic cells, consistent with our data presented here and with other observations indicating the presence of high-molecular-weight Ikaros-containing complexes in megakaryocytic and granulocytic cells as well (unpublished observations).
In this paper, we have also shown that the ATPase-helicase subunit of
the NuRD complex, Mi-2, is a component of the PYR complex. Mi-2 has a
variety of interesting protein motifs in addition to its SNF2 family
helicase-ATPase domain. These include paired chromo (chromatin
organization modifier) domains, two plant homeodomain fingers, and Myb-
and HMG-like motifs (56). Many chromo domain-containing proteins, such as Polycomb and heterochromatin-associated protein 1 (HP1) in Drosophila spp., function in
heterochromatin-mediated gene silencing (6). Plant
homeodomain fingers have been described in both positive and negative
regulators of chromatin-mediated transcriptional regulation, and they
are believed to be involved in protein-protein interactions
(1). Mi-2 has been identified in protein complexes in human
cells that have both ATP-dependent nucleosome remodeling and histone
deacetylase activities, and they are thought to function in
chromatin-mediated transcriptional repression (22, 25, 51, 57,
58). Our previous observations in transgenic mice (39)
that deletion of the PYR complex-binding site delays fetal-to-adult
globin gene switching could be explained by the targeting of a
repressive complex to the region of the fetal genes late in
development. This could allow the locus control region to interact with
the adult
-globin genes by default, facilitating
-globin gene
expression. The possibility that a complex with histone deacetylase
activity might inhibit human
-globin gene expression is also
consistent with the observation that sodium butyrate, a potent
inhibitor of histone deacetylase, is known to enhance
-globin gene
expression in adult erythroid cells (19, 32).
In addition to the presence of Ikaros, Mi-2, and several BAF proteins (INI1, BAF57, BAF60a, SRG3, and BAF170) in the PYR complex, we show that a number of other NuRD and SWI/SNF subunits copurify with PYR complex DNA-binding activity. These include NuRD subunits HDAC2 and RbAp46/48 and the SWI/SNF subunit BRG1, which, like Mi-2, is a SNF2 family ATPase-helicase. The gel supershift, conventional and immunoaffinity chromatography, and immunoprecipitation results are most consistent with the presence of Ikaros, SWI/SNF, and NuRD components in a single molecular complex. In particular, the supershift data and the coimmunopurification of SWI/SNF (BAF57, BAF155, and BRG1) and NuRD (Mi-2 and HDAC2) subunits from column fractions containing the PYR complex by gel shift assay support this conclusion. It is, of course, possible that, in vivo, the NuRD and SWI/SNF subunits are each associated with Ikaros in two closely related complexes, one containing SWI/SNF and the other containing NuRD subunits.
It is likely that the control of chromatin structure plays an important
role in the developmental regulation of globin gene expression. A
SNF2 family helicase-ATPase, ATRX, is thought to be a positive
regulator of
-globin gene expression, since naturally occurring
mutations in this gene in humans are associated with
-thalassemia
(14). As a SNF2 homologue, it seems likely that ATRX
functions as part of a complex similar to the one we describe. In
addition, a SWI/SNF-like complex has previously been described in MEL
cells that permits the erythroid transcription factor EKLF to activate
globin gene transcription from a
-globin promoter packaged into
chromatin (2). Also, a heritable state of
-globin silencing similar to Polycomb-mediated repression has been described in
hybrids of MEL cells and mouse embryonic erythroblasts and suggests
that chromatin-mediated gene silencing also occurs at the
-globin
locus (45). Our data suggest that Ikaros may target both
activator (SWI/SNF) and repressor (NuRD) complexes to the
-globin
locus in adult erythroid cells at the time of the switch from fetal to
adult globin production. Taken together with our previous findings in
transgenic mice (39), we propose that Ikaros-targeted chromatin-remodeling complexes appear late in erythroid development and
help to regulate this switch. The further biochemical characterization of the PYR complex, together with experiments studying the erythroid phenotype of Ikaros-knockout mice in more detail, should help to
clarify the specific role of Ikaros in erythroid gene regulation.
| |
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS |
|---|
This work was supported by PHS grants DK25274 and HL28381 from the National Institutes of Health, a grant from the Ahepa Cooley's Anemia Foundation, and NCI grant P30 CA08748. D.W.O. was supported by NIH Clinical Investigator Award DK02260.
We thank the National Cell Culture Center for large-scale MEL cell cultures; Eugene Leung for help with the large-scale preparation of MEL nuclear extracts; Lynne Lacomis, Mary Lui, Anita Grewal, and Scott Geromanos for help with MS analysis; Matthias Mann for the PeptideSearch and SequenceTag programs; Christina Starke and Jason Garyu for technical assistance; Una Terrie Collins for assistance in the preparation of the manuscript; and Stephen Smale, Bradley Cobb, Gerald Crabtree, Katia Georgopoulos, Ganjam Kalpana, and Michael Bustin for generously supplying antibodies.
| |
FOOTNOTES |
|---|
* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Department of Genetics and Development, Hammer Health Sciences Room 1604, 701 West 168th Street, New York, NY 10032. Phone: (212) 305-4186. Fax: (212) 923-2090. E-mail: bank{at}cuccfa.ccc.columbia.edu.
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