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Molecular and Cellular Biology, February 2003, p. 1334-1340, Vol. 23, No. 4
0270-7306/03/$08.00+0 DOI: 10.1128/MCB.23.4.1334-1340.2003
Copyright © 2003, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.
Division of Hematology, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia,1 University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 191042
Received 5 September 2002/ Returned for modification 14 October 2002/ Accepted 21 November 2002
| ABSTRACT |
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| INTRODUCTION |
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- and ß-globin genes (1, 8, 12, 22, 26, 28; for a review, see reference 5). Histone acetylation at the globin gene clusters is regulated throughout ontogeny, with the highest levels of acetylation found at the actively transcribed globin genes at a given stage of development. Additional peaks of histone acetylation are observed at the DNase I-hypersensitive sites of the ß-globin locus control region (LCR) (8, 22, 28). The LCR, which in the human ß-globin locus spans more than 17 kb and resides
6 kb upstream of the closest embryonic ß-like globin gene, is required for high-level expression of all ß-like globin genes (for reviews, see references 7, 14, 21, and 24). In transgenic mice, the LCR confers high-level expression of linked transgenes in a position-independent, copy number-dependent manner, suggesting a role in regulating chromatin structure. However, deletion of the murine and human LCR indicated that, while required for globin gene expression, it is dispensable for the formation of an open chromatin domain and for generalized histone hyperacetylation throughout the globin gene locus (2, 27-29). These results suggest that additional, perhaps redundant, sequences outside the LCR might contribute to the regulation of chromatin structure at the ß-globin locus. Erythroid-specific acetylation at the ß-globin gene cluster is believed to be mediated at least in part by erythroid transcription factors that bind to the LCR and the globin gene promoters. Candidate factors include GATA-1, NF-E2, and EKLF. The observation that all of these factors associate with the histone acetyltransferases CBP/p300 (4, 6, 9, 17, 35) led to a model in which these proteins synergize in the recruitment of CBP/p300, thereby establishing a characteristic pattern of histone acetylation at the globin gene locus (for a review, see reference 3). In agreement with this model, interference with CBP/p300 function through forced expression of the adenoviral protein E1A inhibited erythroid cell differentiation and globin gene expression (4). The apparent simplicity of this model was challenged by a recent report showing that, in murine erythroid cells, NF-E2 is dispensable for histone acetylation at the LCR, which contains conserved and functional NF-E2 binding sites (18). In contrast, NF-E2 is required for high levels of histone acetylation at the ß-globin gene promoter (18). These results raised the question as to which erythroid transcription factors mediate histone acetylation at the LCR and raised the possibility that histone acetylation is controlled by distinct mechanisms at the globin promoters and the LCR.
GATA-1 is a zinc finger transcription factor essential for normal development of erythroid cells, megakaryocytes, and eosinophils (references 15 and 34 and references therein). Functionally important GATA-1 binding sites are present at the globin gene promoters and the DNase I-hypersensitive sites (HS) 1 through 4 at the LCR, and GATA-1 binds to these regions in erythroid cells in vivo (16, 19). In this study we examined the role of GATA-1 in modulating histone acetylation at the globin gene locus. Using chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP) experiments, we measured histone acetylation at the LCR and the adult ß-major globin gene promoter, comparing erythroid precursor cells that lack GATA-1 with those in which GATA-1 activity had been restored. We found that GATA-1 stimulates acetylation of both histones H3 and H4 at the LCR and the ß-major globin gene promoter. Time course experiments further demonstrated a correlation between GATA-1 occupancy at GATA elements, recruitment of CBP, histone acetylation, and globin gene expression. Together, these results suggest that one essential function of GATA-1 is to establish an erythroid-specific pattern of histone hyperacetylation at the globin gene cluster and very likely other erythroid-expressed genes.
| MATERIALS AND METHODS |
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ChIP assay. ChIP assays were performed as described elsewhere (8) with the following modifications: cells were fixed in 0.4% formaldehyde in phosphate-buffered saline (PBS) at room temperature, and chromatin was sonicated to sizes between 500 and 1,000 bp. Two additional high-salt washes were performed following immunoprecipitations, using 20 mM Tris (pH 8.1), 2 mM EDTA, 500 mM NaCl, 1% Triton X-100, 0.01% sodium dodecyl sulfate. Samples were eluted twice in 100 µl (instead of 150 µl) of elution buffer, and the final volume was brought to 400 µl in Tris-EDTA.
PCRs of input DNA and immunoprecipitated DNA were performed in parallel in the presence of [
-32P]dCTP. The products were separated by acrylamide gel electrophoresis and quantified using a PhosphorImager and the ImageQuant software (Molecular Dynamics). The band intensity of each PCR was plotted as a percentage fraction of the band intensity of the input PCR (unprecipitated DNA). Comparing the input with the precipitated chromatin normalizes for variations in the input signal that may arise from variations in chromatin preparations. All PCRs were calibrated to reflect a linear relationship between sample content and PCR product. PCR primers spanning the ß-major globin gene promoter, HS1, -2, -3, and -4, the embryonic globin genes
y and ßH1, and the necdin gene (Table 1) were exactly as described previously (8). All ChIP experiments were controlled by analyzing in parallel samples containing no chromatin, no antibody, nonimmune rabbit IgG as control for anti-acetyl H3, and rabbit nonimmune serum as control for anti-acetyl H4. While all controls were performed in each experiment, they are shown only in Fig. 1 due to space limitations.
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Northern blotting. Total RNA was extracted using Trizol (Invitrogen). Equal amounts of RNA were loaded into each lane, separated on a 1.2% agarose gel, and transferred onto a nitrocellulose membrane. The membrane was probed with a full-length 32P-labeled ß-major globin cDNA probe.
| RESULTS AND DISCUSSION |
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6-fold and
3-fold, respectively, at the ß-major gene promoter (Fig. 1A). To determine whether GATA-1 also regulates histone acetylation at the LCR, PCR primer pairs were used to amplify sequences corresponding to HS3 of the LCR. The results showed that GATA-1-ER also stimulated acetylation of histones H3 (3.5-fold) and H4 (2.4-fold) at this site (Fig. 1B). At HS2, GATA-1-ER activation led to a 4.3-fold and 2.8-fold stimulation in acetylation of histones H3 and H4, respectively, while at HS4 the increases were 3-fold and 1.5-fold in H3 and H4 acetylation, respectively (Fig. 1C and D). Finally, preliminary data suggest that GATA-1 also augments acetylation of histones H3 and H4 at HS1 (data not shown). Thus, GATA-1 appears to be limiting for histone acetylation at the ß-globin gene promoter and throughout the LCR, consistent with the presence of GATA-1 protein at these sites in vivo (19). In general, GATA-1-ER-induced changes in histone acetylation were more pronounced at the ß-major gene promoter than the LCR. Given the abundance of transcription factor binding sites at the LCR, this might reflect partial compensation of acetyltransferase-recruiting activity by other transcriptional regulators. Consistent with this notion is the observation that histone acetylation levels in the absence of GATA-1 are higher at the LCR than at the ß-major promoter. Of note, the levels of histone acetylation in the absence of estradiol were similar to those observed in estradiol-treated parental cells lacking GATA-1. Thus, in the absence of estradiol, GATA-1-ER appears to be inactive despite the presence of GATA-1-ER protein (see Fig. 5A).
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Fusion of transcription factors to the LBD of the ER might affect their function, since the LBD forms ligand-dependent interactions with transcription coactivators, some of which possess histone acetyltransferase activity (25). Thus, we determined whether the biological function of GATA-1 is altered due to the presence of the ER LBD. In contrast to the effects of estradiol, tamoxifen treatment not only fails to induce coactivator recruitment by the ER LBD but also triggers recruitment of corepressor complexes (11, 30). Hence, properties conferred to GATA-1 by the ER portion would be revealed by phenotypic and molecular differences upon treatment with tamoxifen instead of estradiol. When G1E GATA-1-ER cells were treated with tamoxifen, cells underwent differentiation, cell cycle arrest, and globin gene induction in a manner similar to that observed upon estradiol treatment (see Fig. 4 and data not shown), consistent with previous results (10, 31, 33). ChIP experiments performed with tamoxifen-treated G1E GATA-1-ER cells showed a comparable increase in histone H3 and H4 acetylation at the ß-major globin gene promoter (Fig. 2) and the HS3 of the LCR (data not shown) compared to that with estradiol-treated cells. Thus, the effects of GATA-1-ER on cellular differentiation and histone acetylation are the result of the action of the GATA-1 moiety and not of the ER portion. This interpretation is further supported by the observation that GATA-1 and GATA-1-ER have the same biological activities in G1E cells (33) and primary differentiating erythroid cells (13). Moreover, GATA-1 and GATA-1-ER show the same DNA binding characteristics at the ß-globin locus in vivo (19). Taken together, these results are consistent with GATA-1 being a critical regulator of histone acetylation at the LCR and ß-globin promoter. However, it is possible that GATA-1 provides essential transcriptional activation functions in addition to its ability to recruit acetyltransferase activity to the locus.
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Estradiol treatment not only facilitates DNA binding of GATA-1-ER but also appears to stabilize the fusion protein (Fig. 5A). Accumulation of GATA-1-ER protein over time slightly preceded the increase in histone acetylation (compare with Fig. 3), suggesting that GATA-1 is directly responsible for the increases of histone acetylation at the ß-globin gene locus.
GATA-1 occupancy at the ß-globin locus in vivo correlates with histone acetylation. The above studies suggest that GATA-1 functions by recruiting acetyltransferase activity to the globin locus. To test whether GATA-1-ER binding to the ß-globin locus correlates with increased levels of histone acetylation, we determined the kinetics of GATA-1-ER binding to the LCR and the ß-globin gene promoter in vivo. ChIP experiments with anti-GATA-1 antibodies showed that GATA-1-ER binding to HS3 can be detected as early as 3 h following estradiol treatment (Fig. 6A), suggesting that GATA-1-ER occupancy precedes the rise in histone acetylation. Very similar results were observed at the ß-major globin promoter (data not shown). These results strongly suggest that GATA-1 directly recruits histone acetyltransferase activity to the ß-globin locus.
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Low levels of globin gene expression are observed in primary GATA-1-deficient erythroblasts (32) and in G1E cells without GATA-1 (Fig. 4). In agreement with these findings, we observed that histone acetylation at the globin locus in nonrescued G1E cells was elevated when compared to the brain-specific necdin gene that is silent in the erythroid lineage (data not shown). This suggests that additional erythroid transcription factors mediate GATA-1-independent histone acetylation at the ß-globin locus. Likely candidates include GATA-2, which is expressed in normal hematopoietic progenitors and is elevated more than 20-fold above normal in GATA-1-deficient erythroblasts. Similar to GATA-1, GATA-2 also interacts with CBP (4). Other factors include EKLF and NF-E2, both of which bind cognate elements within the globin locus and interact with CBP/p300 (6, 9, 17, 35). It appears that the basal level of acetylation observed in the absence of GATA-1 is insufficient to support high-level globin gene expression, consistent with the model that acetylation is limiting for gene transcription. This interpretation is in agreement with the presence of elevated levels of histone acetylation in erythroid cells at silent globin genes and the peaks of acetylation found at the active gene promoters.
While the time course experiments strongly suggest that the effects of GATA-1 and CBP are direct, they do not rule out that the products of certain GATA-1 target genes, such as EKLF and NF-E2, contribute to the recruitment of acetyltransferases to the ß-globin locus. However, an essential role for GATA-1 in this process is further supported by the observation that, in the absence of GATA-1, a substantial amount of NF-E2 is already present at HS2 (19), yet hyperacetylation at HS2 is still GATA-1 dependent. Furthermore, both NF-E2 and EKLF proteins are present in G1E cells lacking GATA-1 and do not undergo substantial increases upon GATA-1 activation (20). Thus, GATA-1 appears to be limiting for acetyltransferase recruitment.
One interesting finding of this study is the observation that GATA-1 appears to mediate acetylation of both histones H3 and H4. Since CBP/p300 acetylate both of these histones in vitro, this supports a model in which CBP/p300 are the acetyltransferases recruited by GATA-1 to the ß-globin locus. While the anti-CBP ChIP experiments confirmed this model, it remains possible that additional acetyltransferases participate in establishing specific patterns of histone acetylation at the globin gene locus. In order to detect any changes in histone acetylation, our ChIP experiments were designed to cast a broad net by using antibodies that recognize most acetylated forms of histones H3 and H4. These antibodies fail to distinguish between the individual acetylated residues within histones H3 and H4. Therefore, a more detailed characterization using specific antibodies against each acetylated lysine residue might reveal whether the acetylated sites exactly match those acetylated by CBP/p300 in vitro. If GATA-1 mediates acetylation of additional lysine residues not targeted by CBP, this might implicate the presence of additional acetyltransferases at the globin locus. Experiments are under way to address these questions.
| ACKNOWLEDGMENTS |
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G.A.B. is supported by NIH grant DK54937, and D.L.L. is supported by NIH training grant T32GM008216.
| FOOTNOTES |
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