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Molecular and Cellular Biology, February 2006, p. 843-851, Vol. 26, No. 3
0270-7306/06/$08.00+0 doi:10.1128/MCB.26.3.843-851.2006
Copyright © 2006, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.
Michiel Vermeulen,1,
Arie B. Brinkman,1
Wieteke A. M. Hoeijmakers,1
Adrian Cohen,1
Edwin Lasonder,1,2 and
Hendrik G. Stunnenberg1*
Department of Molecular Biology, Nijmegen Center for Molecular Life Sciences, Radboud University, 6500 HB Nijmegen, The Netherlands,1 Center for Molecular and Biomolecular Informatics, Toernooiveld 1, 6525 ED Nijmegen, The Netherlands2
Received 20 August 2005/ Returned for modification 18 September 2005/ Accepted 16 November 2005
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Several MBD proteins have been reported to interact with histone deacetylases (HDACs) as well as histone methyltransferases. MeCP2 has been described to interact with the Sin3/HDAC corepressor complex (18) and Brahma (13), as well as with the histone H3 lysine-9 methyltransferase Suvar 3-9 (12), although these interactions may not be stable since MeCP2 is mostly present inside the cell as a monomer (12, 18, 19, 26). MBD2 and MBD3 have been identified as core subunits of the Mi-2/NuRD complex (9, 27), whereas Kaiso is part of the HDAC-containing N-CoR complex that plays an important role in transcription regulation by nuclear hormone receptors (27, 42, 44). Collectively, these findings suggest a functional link between DNA methylation, histone deacetylation, and histone methylation and indicate that these epigenetic events functionally cooperate to regulate transcription and cellular memory.
MBD2 and MBD3 have both been described as subunits of the Mi-2/NuRD complex. It has been proposed that MBD2, which exhibits methyl CpG binding activity, serves to recruit the MBD3-containing Mi-2/NuRD complex to methylated promoters (44). Knockout studies in mice, however, suggest that MBD2 and MBD3 have distinct nonoverlapping functions: whereas knocking out MBD3 results in embryonic lethality, MBD2-knockout mice are viable and display relatively subtle defects (16). Interestingly, Sansom and coworkers recently showed that the absence of MBD2 protects against intestinal tumorigenesis (32). Thus, although biochemical evidence suggests that MBD2 and MBD3 are part of the same complex, the knockout studies suggest that both proteins have specific or maybe partially overlapping functions.
To gain insights into the protein composition and function of MBD2 and MBD3, we generated stable cell lines expressing tagged versions of these proteins. Purification of the protein complexes revealed that MBD2 and MBD3 are not copurifying but are mutually exclusive. In addition to known Mi-2/NuRD subunits, a 12-kDa protein called DOC-1 was identified as a novel core subunit of both the MBD3 and MBD2 complexes. Furthermore, PRMT5 and its associated cofactor MEP50 were found to copurify with and methylate MBD2 in vitro. Finally, PRMT5 and its H4R3 histone methyltransferase activity were shown to be recruited with MBD2 to CpG islands in a methylation-sensitive manner in vivo, suggesting an unexpected role for an arginine methyltransferase in repression by MBD2. Collectively, these findings provide evidence that MBD2/NuRD and MBD3/NuRD define two distinct protein complexes with different biochemical and functional properties.
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To create a Strep-tagII (2TEV) Myc 2x hemagglutinin (HA) cassette, the 2TEV Myc cassette from pZXN was PCR amplified using a forward primer containing an EcoRI site and a Strep-tagII epitope and a reverse primer with an EcoRI overhang and two HA sites. This fragment was ligated into EcoRI-digested vector psg5-HA TBP. The cassette was PCR amplified again with a forward primer containing a BamHI restriction site and a reverse primer containing one new HA epitope and a NotI restriction site. This PCR product was digested with BamHI and NotI and ligated into BamHI/NotI-digested plasmid pcDNA5/FRT/TO/C-TAP (kind gift from Bernard Luscher) to generate pcDNA5/FRT/TO/stII(2TEV)myc tripleHA. MBD2 was PCR amplified using primers containing NotI and Xho1 restriction sites and ligated into the NotI and XhoI site of pcDNA5/FRT/TO/stII(2TEV)myc tripleHA.
A fragment encoding part of the RG stretch of MBD2 (EGARGGGRGRGR) containing BamHI and EcoRI overhangs was cloned in plasmid pGEX2T (Amersham Pharmacia Biotech). Full-length MBD2, MBD lacking the RG stretch, and MBD3 were PCR amplified with primers containing BamHI and EcoRI overhangs and cloned in BamHI/EcoRI-digested pGEX2T. Primer sequences are available upon request.
Cell culture and stable cell lines. MCF7, HEK 293, HeLa, Phoenix, and 293 FLP cells were maintained in Dulbecco's modified Eagle's medium (Invitrogen) supplemented with 10% fetal calf serum, 100 µg of penicillin per ml, and 100 U of streptomycin per ml (Invitrogen) at 37°C in 5% CO2. For 5-aza-2'-deoxycytosine (AzaDc) treatment MCF7 cells were seeded at low density and treated with 1 µM of AzaDc for 72 h. Retroviral stable cell lines were generated according to the following procedure. Phoenix amphotropic packaging cells (2.5 x 106 cells) were seeded on a 9-cm dish and transfected 24 h later with 20 µg of retroviral plasmid pZXN-MBD2a or pZXN-MBD2 lacking the RG stretch or pZXN-MBD3 using the calcium phosphate method. After 48 h virus-containing supernatant was filtered through a 0.22-µm-pore-size filter. HeLa or 293 cells (105 each) were seeded in a six-well plate and transduced with 3 ml filtered virus supernatant in the presence of 8 µg/ml of Polybrene for two infectious rounds of 24 h. Cells were then incubated for 24 h in normal medium. The polyclonal population of cells was then selected with 1 µg/ml of puromycin. Clones were then selected, grown in isolation, and screened for recombinant protein expression.
A double stable cell line expressing tagged MBD2 and MBD3 was generated according to the following procedure. 293 FLP cells were transfected using the calcium phosphate method on a 9-cm dish with 2 µg of pcDNA5/FRT/TO/stII(2TEV)myc tripleHA-MBD2 and 18 µg of POG44. After 36 h cells were selected with 100 µg/ml hygromycin. Subsequently, clones were derived and screened for recombinant protein expression and zeocin sensitivity. One good clone was then transduced with virus containing pZXN-MBD3 and was double selected with 100 µg/ml hygromycin and 1 µg/ml of puromycin.
Protein purification. Cell pellets were resuspended in lysis buffer (420 mM KCl, 20% glycerol, 20 mM HEPES, pH 7.9, 0.2 mM EDTA, 5 mM MgCl2, 0.1% Triton X-100, 10 mM ß-mercaptoethanol, 1 mM phenylmethylsulfonyl fluoride [PMSF], and complete protease inhibitors [Roche]) and homogenized by 20 strokes with a type B pestle. Extracts were then incubated for 1 hour in a rotation wheel at 4°C to extract nuclear proteins. Lysates were subsequently clarified by ultracentrifugation at 100,000 x g. Whole-cell extracts were aliquoted, snap frozen, and stored at 80°C until further usage.
Whole-cell extracts derived from tandem affinity purification (TAP)-tagged cell lines were diluted with 2 volumes binding buffer (150 mM NaCl, 20 mM Tris-HCl, pH 8.0, 0.1% NP-40, 1 mM dithiothreitol [DTT], 1 mM PMSF, and complete protease inhibitors [Roche]) and then incubated with immunoglobulin G (IgG) Sepharose beads (Pharmacia) for 2 h at 4°C in a rotation wheel. Beads were then washed three times with 10 bead volumes of wash buffer (500 mM NaCl, 20 mM Tris-HCl, pH 8.0, 0.5% NP-40, 1 mM DTT, and 1 mM PMSF) and twice with 10 bead volumes of TEV cleavage buffer (150 mM NaCl, 20 mM Tris-HCl, pH 8.0, 0.1% NP-40, 1 mM DTT, and 0.5 mM EDTA). Beads were then resuspended in 1 bead volume TEV cleavage buffer containing TEV protease and incubated overnight at 4°C in a rotation wheel. TEV eluates were precleared with protein A beads (Pharmacia) and then subjected to immunoprecipitation using Myc antibody (9E11). Immunoprecipitates were washed three times with 10 bead volumes of wash buffer and twice with 10 bead volumes of peptide elution buffer (100 mM KCl, 20% glycerol, 20 mM HEPES KOH, pH 7.9, 0.2 mM EDTA, 0.1% NP-40, 5 mM DTT, and 0.5 mM PMSF). Protein complexes were eluted from the beads by incubation in peptide elution buffer containing 2 mg/ml of Myc peptide at 28°C for 30 min in a thermoshaker. The elution step was carried out twice, and both eluates were pooled.
Endogenous immunoprecipitation assays were performed with HeLa nuclear extract in stringency conditions similar to those for the TAP tag procedure. Antibodies used were MBD3 (IBL, Japan) and MBD2 07-198 (Upstate Biotechnology).
Protein analysis by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS). Purified protein complexes were loaded on sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS)-polyacrylamide gels and run briefly to get rid of detergent and the excess of the peptide used for the elution. The gel lane was then fixed, cut in small pieces, and subsequently reduced and alkylated. Proteins were digested overnight with trypsin (Promega) and eluted from the gel with trifluoroacetic acid. Peptide identification experiments were performed using a nano-high-pressure liquid chromatography Agilent 1100 nanoflow system connected online to a 7-Tesla linear quadrupole ion trap-Fourier transform (FT) mass spectrometer (Thermo Electron, Bremen, Germany) essentially as described previously (28).
ChIP assay. MCF7 cells were cross-linked with 1% formaldehyde for 15 min at room temperature, and chromatin was prepared as described previously (3, 41) but excluding CsCl purification. Chromatin was sonicated to an average size of 500 bp. Chromatin derived from 1 million cells was used for each immunoprecipitation in incubation buffer (1% Triton X-100, 150 mM NaCl, 1 mM EDTA, pH 8.0, 0.5 mM EGTA, pH 8.0, 10 mM Tris, pH 8.0, 1 mg/ml bovine serum albumin, and protease inhibitors). Four micrograms of the following antibodies was used for immunoprecipitations: PRMT5 12-303 (Upstate Biotechnology), MBD2 IMG-147 (Imgenex), MBD3 (IBL, Japan), MTA2 PC656 (Oncogene), and anti-dimethyl-histone H4 (Arg3) (07-213) (Upstate Biotechnology). After overnight incubation at 4°C immunoprecipitates were washed twice with 0.1% SDS, 1% Triton X-100, 0.1% deoxycholate, 0.15 M NaCl, 1 mM EDTA, 10 mM Tris (pH 8.0), 0.5 mM EGTA; once with 0.1% SDS, 1% Triton X-100, 0.1% deoxycholate, 0.5 M NaCl, 1 mM EDTA, 10 mM Tris (pH 8.0), 0.5 mM EGTA; once with 0.25 M LiCl, 0.5% deoxycholate, 0.5% NP-40, 1 mM EDTA, 10 mM Tris (pH 8.0), 0.5 mM EGTA; and twice with 1 mM EDTA, 10 mM Tris (pH 8.0), 0.5 mM EGTA. Immunocomplexes were eluted from the beads by adding 1% SDS, 0.1 M NaHCO3 followed by incubation at room temperature for 15 min. Protein-DNA cross-links were reversed in 0.2 M NaCl at 65°C for 4 h, after which DNA was isolated by phenol-chloroform extraction. Real-time quantitative PCR analyses were performed to assess recruitment of the proteins to specific sites. The relative occupancy was derived from the percent recovery of a specific CpG island against the percent recovery of a control BMX region. Means and standard deviations were then calculated from chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP) experiments performed from three independent chromatin isolations.
In vitro methylation assay. Whole-cell extracts derived from the MBD2 stable cell line or wild-type HEK 293 cells were diluted with 3 volumes of IPP150 (150 mM NaCl, 20 mM Tris HCl, pH 8.0, 0.1% NP-40, 1 mM DTT, and 1 mM PMSF) and incubated with IgG Sepharose beads for 2 h at 4°C in a rotation wheel. Beads were washed three times with 10 bead volumes of IPP150 and then incubated with 1 bead volume of PRMT5 incubation buffer (20 mM HEPES, pH 7.6, 500 mM NaCl, 1 mM MgCl2) in the presence of 0.25 µCi of S-[14C]adenosylmethionine (Amersham). Glutathione S-transferase (GST)-PAH2, GST-MBD2, GST-MBD2 lacking the RG stretch, GST-MBD3, and GST-EGARGGGRGRGR were expressed and purified as described previously (22). These purified proteins were incubated in PRMT5 incubation buffer supplemented with 0.25 µCi of S-[14C]adenosylmethionine (Amersham) in the presence of purified MBD2 complex or a purified Drosophila melanogaster fraction highly enriched for PRMT5/MEP50/USP7 (37). After 2 h of incubation at 30°C products were separated on a 12% SDS-polyacrylamide gel. The gel was then dried and exposed on a phosphoscreen (Bio-Rad) to identify methylated proteins.
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FIG. 1. TAP-MBD2 and TAP-MBD3 assemble into a functional Mi-2/NuRD-like complex. (A) Superose 6 gel filtration of whole-cell extracts derived from stable cell lines expressing TAP-MBD2 or TAP-MBD3. Fractions were analyzed by Western blotting using a ProtA antibody. The void of the column is indicated between fractions 7 and 8. (B) Nucleosomal templates reconstituted with recombinant histones were acetylated by the Saccharomyces cerevisiae SAGA or NuA4 complex and subsequently incubated with the TAP-MBD2 or TAP-MBD3 complex in the absence or presence of Trypticase soy agar (38). The amount of H3 or H4 acetylation was determined by Western blotting using antibodies against diacetylated histone H3 Lys-9,14 or tetra-acetylated H4, respectively. The binding of the MBD2 and MBD3 complex to the nucleosomal templates was determined by Western blotting using a Myc and an HDAC2 antibody. (C) Electrophoretic mobility shift assays using purified MBD2 and MBD3 complex were performed on the GAM12 probe as described previously (27). Shifted methylated probe is indicated with an arrow. Free probe is indicated with an asterisk.
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MBD2 and MBD3 are mutually exclusive. Previous studies have reported that MBD2 and MBD3 are part of the same complex (9). Silver staining of the purified MBD2 and MBD3 complexes revealed a protein of approximately 35 kDa that is lacking in the MBD2 preparation (Fig. 2A, marked with an arrow). Western blotting identified this protein as MBD3 and revealed the absence of MBD3 in the MBD2 complex (Fig. 2B, compare lanes 1 and 2). The absence of MBD3 in the MBD2 preparation cannot be explained by a shortage of endogenous MBD3 in 293 cells (Fig. 2B, lane 3). These data suggest that MBD2 and MBD3 are not part of the same complex but that they may even be mutually exclusive. If MBD2 and MBD3 are, however, present as a heterodimer in the Mi-2/NuRD complex, overexpression of one of the MBDs could cause a shift from an MBD2/MBD3 heterodimer population to an MBD2/MBD2 or MBD3/MBD3 homodimer population. To assess this possibility, we generated a stable cell line expressing MBD2 and MBD3 with different tag combinations. MBD3 was tagged with a ProtA domain and a Myc epitope, whereas MBD2 was tagged with a Strep-tagII and an HA epitope. Western blotting shows that both of these proteins are expressed in the stable cell line (Fig. 2C, lane 6). Purification of ProtA-Myc-MBD3 on IgG beads resulted in purification of MBD3 (Fig. 2C, lane 3); tagged MBD2 could not be detected in the immunoprecipitate. Similarly, purification of Strep-tagII-HA-MBD2a on streptactin beads resulted in purification of MBD2, whereas ProtA-Myc-MBD3 did not copurify (Fig. 2C, lane 1). HDAC1 copurified with tagged MBD2 as well as MBD3, indicating that both tagged proteins assemble in a functional complex. To further substantiate these observations, immunoprecipitation experiments against endogenous MBD2 and MBD3 in HeLa cells were performed (Fig. 2D). Immunoprecipitation of MBD2 resulted in purification of MBD2 but not of MBD3. Similarly, immunoprecipitation of MBD3 resulted in purification of two polypeptides whereas MBD2 did not copurify. Based on their relative migration we presume these two polypeptides to be MBD3 and the smaller variant MBD3L2 lacking the MBD. Collectively these experiments strongly suggest that MBD2 and MBD3 are mutually exclusive.
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FIG. 2. MBD2 and MBD3 are mutually exclusive. (A) Silver-stained gel of purified MBD2 and MBD3 complexes from HEK 293 cells. MBD3 is indicated with an arrow. (B) Purified TAP-MBD2 and TAP-MBD3 complexes as well as whole-cell extracts derived from HEK 293 or HeLa cells were analyzed by Western blotting using an MBD3 antibody. (C) Immunoprecipitation of MBD2 and MBD3 using Strep-tactin or IgG beads, respectively. Lanes: 1, Strep purification on stII-3HA-MBD2 ProtA-Myc-MBD3 extract; 2, Strep purification on HEK 293 wild-type extract; 3, IgG purification on stII-3HA-MBD2 ProtA-Myc-MBD3 extract; 4, IgG purification on HEK 293 wild-type extract; 5, input HEK 293 extract; 6, input stII-3HA-MBD2 ProtA-Myc-MBD3 extract. Eluted proteins were analyzed by Western blotting using an HA or ProtA antibody. Probing the blot with an HDAC1 antibody reveals coprecipitation of HDAC1 with MBD2 and MBD3. (D) Immunoprecipitation of endogenous MBD2 and MDB3. Whole-cell extracts from HeLa cells were subjected to immunoprecipitation using antibodies against MBD3 (IBL, Japan) or MBD2 (Upstate Biotechnology). Western blotting was performed using the same antibodies.
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TABLE 1. FT-MS/MS analysis of the purified MBD2 and MBD3 complex
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and Mi-2ß were identified in both the MBD2 and MBD3 complexes. These proteins have previously been characterized by the Schreiber lab as Mi-2/NuRD components CHD3 and CHD4, respectively (35). At present we do not know whether these two isoforms are forming heterodimers or whether Mi-2
and Mi-2ß are assembled into distinct complexes. In both complexes, RbAp48 and -46 and HDAC1 and -2, the catalytic module for nucleosomal deacetylation activity, were identified. Furthermore, the highly related p66
and p66ß proteins were identified in both complexes as described previously (5). We did not identify peptides matching the histone demethylase LSD1, which has been reported to interact with the Mi-2/NuRD complex (34). A 12-kDa protein called cdk2-associated protein 1 was identified as a novel Mi-2/NuRD component of both the MBD2 and MBD3 complexes. cdk2-associated protein 1 or DOC-1 (deleted in oral cancer 1) is a putative tumor suppressor reported to be inactivated during oral carcinogenesis and colon cancer (36, 43). Furthermore the MBD2 but not the MBD3 eluate contained a large number of peptides matching the arginine methyltransferase PRMT5 as well as its associated protein called MEP50. Finally, several peptides matching different importin
nuclear transport proteins were identified. These proteins were absent in the MBD3 complex, suggesting a specific interaction with MBD2. The association between MBD2 and importins may indicate that MBD2 shuttles between the cytoplasm and the nucleus.
Strikingly all three MTA proteins, MTA1, -2, and -3, as well as two MTA splice variants were identified in the MBD2 and MBD3 complex (Table 1). It has been suggested that MTA proteins display tissue-specific differential expression giving rise to distinct Mi-2/NuRD complexes (4, 11, 21, 44). Surprisingly, a large number of different posttranslational modifications were identified in all major NuRD subunits (unpublished data). A previous study characterized phosphorylation sites in Mi-2
, Mi-2ß, p66
, p66ß, HDAC1, and HDAC2 (1). We confirmed the presence of these phosphorylation sites in the NuRD complex and in addition identified a plethora of new sites in the latter as well as in MBD2, MTA1, MTA2, and MTA3. Several posttranslational modifications were detected in conserved domains, and these might therefore have a role in regulating protein-protein or protein-DNA interactions or in fine-tuning of enzymatic activities. Furthermore
90% of these modifications occurred in highly conserved residues, supporting a role for these modifications throughout evolution.
PRMT5 associates with and symmetrically dimethylates MBD2. PRMT5 was detected by FT-MS/MS in the MBD2 complex but was absent from the MBD3 peptide eluate, which was confirmed by Western blotting (Fig. 3A). Inspection of the amino acid sequence of the subunits of the MBD2 complex revealed that MBD2 has a long stretch of RG repeats N terminal to the MBD (Fig. 3B), whereas RG repeats are not present in MBD3 or in other subunits. Since the RG motif is a substrate for PRMT5 (10), we tested whether the MBD2 RG stretch is a substrate for PRMT5. Incubating purified MBD2 complex in the presence of S-[14C]adenosylmethionine resulted in a single radioactive band migrating at the position of TAP-tagged MBD2 in the gel (Fig. 3C). To substantiate these observations, we fused full-length MBD2 or the RG stretch of MBD2 to GST and tested whether the purified MBD2 complex containing PRMT5 could methylate these fusion proteins. As shown in the left panel in Fig. 3D, the MBD2 complex was able to specifically methylate these recombinant substrates but not a GST-PAH2 control. To evaluate whether PRMT5 specifically methylates the RG stretch of MBD2, MBD2 lacking the RG stretch or MBD3 was fused to GST and incubated with purified MBD2 complex. As shown in the right panel in Fig. 3D, the MBD2 complex was able to specifically methylate the RG stretch of MBD2 but not MBD3 or MBD2 lacking the RG stretch. A control for the methylation reaction using a purified PRMT5-containing fraction from Drosophila displayed activity similar to that of the MBD2 complex, thus confirming the specificity of PRMT5 in this assay. In addition, a search for posttranslationally modified peptides in the FT-MS/MS run of the purified MBD2 complex indeed revealed a peptide containing three dimethyl arginine residues (unpublished data). Taken together, these experiments strongly suggest that PRMT5 methylates MBD2 on several arginine residues located in the RG-rich amino acid stretch immediately upstream of the MBD of MBD2 in vitro.
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FIG. 3. PRMT5 interacts with and methylates the N-terminal RG-rich repeat of MBD2. (A) Purified TAP-MBD2 and TAP-MBD3 complexes were analyzed by Western blotting using a PRMT5 antibody. (B) Sequence of MBD2 with the RG repeats being underlined. (C) In vitro methylation of purified MBD2 complex upon incubation with S-[14C]adenosylmethionine. Methylated protein is indicated with an arrow. Free label is indicated with an asterisk. MBD2 complex was purified using IgG beads. The left panel depicts a Western blot analysis of the purified MBD2 complex or a 293 control purification using anti-ProtA-horseradish peroxidase antibody. The arrow shows TAP-tagged MBD2. (D) (Left panels) In vitro methylation of recombinant GST-RG(n) and GST-MBD2 in the presence of S-[14C]adenosylmethionine and a purified PRMT5/MEP50 fraction (middle panel) or the purified MBD2 complex (top panel). GST-PAH2 was used as a negative control. (Right panels) In vitro methylation of recombinant GST-RG(n), GST-MBD2 lacking the RG stretch, and GST-MBD3 in the presence of S-[14C]adenosylmethionine and a purified PRMT5/MEP50 fraction (middle panel) or the purified MBD2 complex (top panel). Free label is indicated with an asterisk. Loading controls for GST-PAH2, GST-RG(n), GST-MBD2, GST MBD2 lacking the RG stretch, and GST-MBD3 are shown in the bottom panels. (E) Silver-stained gel of purified N-terminally truncated MBD2 complex from HEK 293 cells. The table shows the FT-MS/MS analysis with all identified proteins and their respective peptide numbers and percent sequence coverage.
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proteins were present. However, peptides matching either PRMT5 or MEP50 were not identified (Fig. 3E). Western blotting confirmed that PRMT5 was present in crude extracts but absent in the truncated MBD2 eluate (data not shown). Taken together these results strongly suggest that PRMT5 interacts with the N-terminal RG-rich stretch of MBD2 and methylates this RG stretch. PRMT5 is recruited to chromatin by MBD2. To assess whether PRMT5 plays a role on chromatin with MBD2, we performed chromatin immunoprecipitation experiments on endogenous proteins in MCF7 breast carcinoma cells. Different CpG island targets which were previously shown to be methylated and bound by MBD proteins in MCF7 cells were analyzed (7, 24, 25) (Fig. 4A). Chromatin immunoprecipitation using MTA2, MBD2, and MBD3 antibodies followed by real-time quantitative PCR analysis revealed the recruitment of these proteins to two CpG islands, one located close to the first exon of P14ARF and a second CpG island located before the first exon of P16INK4a (Fig. 4B). Several other tested CpG islands did not recruit MTA2, MBD2, and MBD3. Next, we performed ChIPs using an antibody against PRMT5, and this revealed the recruitment of PRMT5 to the P14ARF and P16INK4a CpG islands. These results provide a functional link between MBD2 and the arginine methyltransferase PRMT5 in vivo.
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FIG. 4. MBD2 recruits PRMT5 to chromatin. (A) Schematic representation of the primer sets used in the ChIP experiments. Exons are indicated with black rectangles. CpG islands are indicated in gray. Primer pairs are indicated with arrows. (B) ChIP analysis of MBD2, MBD3, PRMT5, and MTA2 in MCF7 cells. Relative occupancy over a control BMX region is shown. Values are the means with standard deviations of the results from ChIP experiments from three independent chromatin isolations. (C) ChIP analysis of MCF7 cells treated with 5-azacytidine. Immunoprecipitations were performed with antibodies against MBD2, MBD3, MTA2, PRMT5, and anti-dimethyl-histone H4 (Arg3). Relative occupancy over a control BMX region is shown. Values are the means with standard deviations of the results from ChIP experiments from three independent chromatin isolations.
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In conclusion the experiments described in this study indicate that MBD2 and MBD3 assemble in distinct Mi-2/NuRD-like complexes and are mutually exclusive. Furthermore, PRMT5 binds to and methylates MBD2 and is recruited together with an MBD2-containing Mi-2/NuRD complex to CpG islands in a methylation-dependent manner in vivo.
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PRMT5 and the Mi-2/NuRD complex. Liquid chromatography-MS/MS and Western blot analyses revealed the association of the arginine methyltransferase PRMT5 and its associated protein MEP50 with the MBD2/NuRD complex, whereas these proteins were lacking in the MBD3/NuRD complex. Whether PRMT5 is a core subunit of the MBD2/NuRD complex or a protein strongly interacting with the MBD2/NuRD complex remains to be determined. PRMT5 is recruited to the MBD2/NuRD complex via the RG-rich N terminus of MBD2. In addition we provided evidence that PRMT5 can methylate this RG stretch of MBD2. Therefore, we hypothesize that the RG stretch of MBD2 might serve a dual purpose as a substrate and as a docking site for PRMT5. PRMT5 has been shown to function in repression of tumor suppressor genes, presumably by adding repressive arginine methyl marks to the histone H3 and H4 tails (29). In agreement with this we found PRMT5 to colocalize with MBD2 on P14ARF and P16INK4a CpG islands, and this correlates with histone H4R3 dimethylation, thus providing a functional link between PRMT5 and MBD2 in vivo.
Mi-2/NuRD, a family of protein complexes. Since its first description some 7 years ago, the Mi-2/NuRD complex has generally been regarded as one biochemical entity containing a number of core polypeptides. However, our study clearly reveals the presence of MBD2/NuRD and MBD3/NuRD complexes with distinct subunit compositions. Previous observations from a number of labs have revealed the existence of additional Mi-2/NuRD complexes defined for example by different MTA variants, which may allow for a further fine-tuning of different Mi-2/NuRD complexes (4, 11, 21, 33, 44). Finally, in addition to altering protein composition, posttranslational modifications of different Mi-2/NuRD subunits (unpublished data) also may play an important role in regulating its function.
The results described in this study lead us to propose a feed-forward mechanism of repression by different Mi-2/NuRD complexes. The different enzymatic activities gathered within a single protein complex may act synergistically to regulate repression of MBD2 target genes: deacetylation of nucleosomes surrounding the targeting site in combination with the addition of transcriptional repressive arginine methyl marks in the H4 tail by the associated PRMT5 (29). Furthermore, chromatin remodeling catalyzed by the ATPase Mi-2 may occur. The hypoacetylated and arginine methylated nucleosomes surrounding the MBD2/PRMT5 targeting site in turn may provide a binding scaffold for the MBD3/NuRD complex, a complex which has a high affinity for hypoacetylated nucleosomes (data not shown). This results in the co-occurrence of the MBD2/NuRD and MBD3/NuRD complexes on some CpG islands. Further deacetylation of nucleosomes by the MBD3/NuRD complex can then facilitate spreading of deacetylation and maintenance of transcriptional repression. Unraveling the functions unique to each Mi-2/NuRD complex is a challenging task that lies ahead.
This work was supported by grants from The Netherlands proteomics center.
The first two authors contributed equally. ![]()
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