ABE1075 Sigma-AldrichAnti-WD repeat-containing protein 5 Antibody

The SGF29 protein binds to tri-methylated lysine-4 of histone H3 (H3K4me3), which is a histone modification associated with active promoters. Human SGF29 is a subunit of the histone acetyltransferase module of the SAGA (Spt-Ada-Gcn5 acetyltransferase) and ATAC (Ada-Two-A-containing 2A) co-activator complexes. Previous work revealed that the SAGA complex is recruited to endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress target genes and required for their induction. Here, we report the involvement of SGF29 in the survival of human cells from ER stress. SGF29 knockdown results in impaired transcription of the ER stress genes GRP78 and CHOP. Besides histone H3K14 acetylation, we find that SGF29 is also required for the maintenance of H3K4me3 at these genes, which is already present prior to ER stress. Reduced levels of H3K4me3 in the absence of SGF29 correlate with a decreased association of ASH2L, which is a core component of the SET1/MLL complexes, to GFP78 and CHOP. In conclusion, our results suggest that the H3K4me3-binding protein SGF29 plays a central and dual role in the ER stress response. Prior to ER stress, the protein coordinates H3K4me3 levels, thereby maintaining a 'poised' chromatin state on ER stress target gene promoters. Following ER stress induction, SGF29 is required for increased H3K14 acetylation on these genes, which then results in full transcriptional activation, thereby promoting cell survival.

In mouse skeletal muscles, Pax7 uniquely marks muscle satellite cells and plays some important yet unknown functions at the perinatal stage. To elucidate its in vivo functions, we initiated a yeast two-hybrid screening to look for Pax7-interacting proteins and identified a previously uncharacterized Pax7- and Pax3-binding protein (Pax3/7BP). Pax3/7BP is a ubiquitously expressed nuclear protein, enriched in Pax7+ muscle precursor cells (MPCs), and serves as an indispensable adaptor for Pax7 to recruit the histone 3 lysine 4 (H3K4) methyltransferase (HMT) complex by bridging Pax7 and Wdr5. Knockdown of Pax3/7BP abolished the Pax3/7-associated H3K4 HMT activity and inhibited the proliferation of Pax7+ MPCs from young mice both in culture and in vivo. Id3 and Cdc20 were direct target genes of Pax7 and Pax3/7BP involved in the proliferation of Pax7+ MPCs. Collectively, our work establishes Pax3/7BP as an essential adaptor linking Pax3/7 with the H3K4 HMT to regulate the proliferation of MPCs.

Mixed-lineage leukemia (MLL) is a proto-oncogene frequently involved in chromosomal translocations associated with acute leukemia. These chromosomal translocations commonly result in MLL fusion proteins that dysregulate transcription. Recent data suggest that the MYB proto-oncogene, which is an important regulator of hematopoietic cell development, has a role in leukemogenesis driven by the MLL-ENL fusion protein, but exactly how is unclear. Here we have demonstrated that c-Myb is recruited to the MLL histone methyl transferase complex by menin, a protein important for MLL-associated leukemic transformation, and that it contributes substantially to MLL-mediated methylation of histone H3 at lysine 4 (H3K4). Silencing MYB in human leukemic cell lines and primary patient material evoked a global decrease in H3K4 methylation, an unexpected decrease in HOXA9 and MEIS1 gene expression, and decreased MLL and menin occupancy in the HOXA9 gene locus. This decreased occupancy was associated with a diminished ability of an MLL-ENL fusion protein to transform normal mouse hematopoietic cells. Previous studies have shown that MYB expression is regulated by Hoxa9 and Meis1, indicating the existence of an autoregulatory feedback loop. The finding that c-Myb has the ability to direct epigenetic marks, along with its participation in an autoregulatory feedback loop with genes known to transform hematopoietic cells, lends mechanistic and translationally relevant insight into its role in MLL-associated leukemogenesis.

E2F1 is a key positive regulator of human cell proliferation and its activity is altered in essentially all human cancers. Deregulation of E2F1 leads to oncogenic DNA damage and anti-oncogenic apoptosis. The molecular mechanisms by which E2F1 mediates these two processes are poorly understood but are important for understanding cancer progression. During the G1-to-S phase transition, E2F1 associates through a short DHQY sequence with the cell-cycle regulator HCF-1 together with the mixed-lineage leukaemia (MLL) family of histone H3 lysine 4 (H3K4) methyltransferases. We show here that the DHQY HCF-1-binding sequence permits E2F1 to stimulate both DNA damage and apoptosis, and that HCF-1 and the MLL family of H3K4 methyltransferases have important functions in these processes. Thus, HCF-1 has a broader role in E2F1 function than appreciated earlier. Indeed, sequence changes in the E2F1 HCF-1-binding site can modulate both up and down the ability of E2F1 to induce apoptosis indicating that HCF-1 association with E2F1 is a regulator of E2F1-induced apoptosis.

E2F transcriptional regulators control human-cell proliferation by repressing and activating the transcription of genes required for cell-cycle progression, particularly the S phase. E2F proteins repress transcription in association with retinoblastoma pocket proteins, but less is known about how they activate transcription. Here, we show that the human G1 phase regulator HCF-1 associates with both activator (E2F1 and E2F3a) and repressor (E2F4) E2F proteins, properties that are conserved in insect cells. Human HCF-1-E2F interactions are versatile: their associations and binding to E2F-responsive promoters are cell-cycle selective, and HCF-1 displays coactivator properties when bound to the E2F1 activator and corepressor properties when bound to the E2F4 repressor. During the G1-to-S phase transition, HCF-1 recruits the mixed-lineage leukemia (MLL) and Set-1 histone H3 lysine 4 methyltransferases to E2F-responsive promoters and induces histone methylation and transcriptional activation. These results suggest that HCF-1 induces cell-cycle-specific transcriptional activation by E2F proteins to promote cell proliferation.

The abundant and chromatin-associated protein HCF-1 is a critical player in mammalian cell proliferation as well as herpes simplex virus (HSV) transcription. We show here that separate regions of HCF-1 critical for its role in cell proliferation associate with the Sin3 histone deacetylase (HDAC) and a previously uncharacterized human trithorax-related Set1/Ash2 histone methyltransferase (HMT). The Set1/Ash2 HMT methylates histone H3 at Lys 4 (K4), but not if the neighboring K9 residue is already methylated. HCF-1 tethers the Sin3 and Set1/Ash2 transcriptional regulatory complexes together even though they are generally associated with opposite transcriptional outcomes: repression and activation of transcription, respectively. Nevertheless, this tethering is context-dependent because the transcriptional activator VP16 selectively binds HCF-1 associated with the Set1/Ash2 HMT complex in the absence of the Sin3 HDAC complex. These results suggest that HCF-1 can broadly regulate transcription, both positively and negatively, through selective modulation of chromatin structure.