Stathopoulou Athanasia, Chhetri Jyoti B, Ambrose John C, Estève Pierre-Olivier, Ji Lexiang, Erdjument-Bromage Hediye, Zhang Guoqiang, Neubert Thomas A, Pradhan Sriharsa, Herrero Javier, Schmitz Robert J, Ooi Steen K T
Department of Cancer Biology, UCL Cancer Institute, London WC1E 6BT, UK.
Bill Lyons Informatics Centre, UCL Cancer Institute, London WC1E 6BT, UK.
Nucleic Acids Res. 2017 Sep 19;45(16):9398-9412. doi: 10.1093/nar/gkx695.
In mammals, faithful inheritance of genomic methylation patterns ensures proper gene regulation and cell behaviour, impacting normal development and fertility. Following establishment, genomic methylation patterns are transmitted through S-phase by the maintenance methyltransferase Dnmt1. Using a protein interaction screen, we identify Microprocessor component DROSHA as a novel DNMT1-interactor. Drosha-deficient embryonic stem (ES) cells display genomic hypomethylation that is not accounted for by changes in the levels of DNMT proteins. DNMT1-mediated methyltransferase activity is also reduced in these cells. We identify two transcripts that are specifically upregulated in Drosha- but not Dicer-deficient ES cells. Regions within these transcripts predicted to form stem-loop structures are processed by Microprocessor and can inhibit DNMT1-mediated methylation in vitro. Our results highlight DROSHA as a novel regulator of mammalian DNA methylation and we propose that DROSHA-mediated processing of RNA is necessary to ensure full DNMT1 activity. This adds to the DROSHA repertoire of non-miRNA dependent functions as well as implicating RNA in regulating DNMT1 activity and correct levels of genomic methylation.
在哺乳动物中,基因组甲基化模式的忠实遗传确保了适当的基因调控和细胞行为,影响正常发育和生育能力。建立之后,基因组甲基化模式通过维持甲基转移酶Dnmt1在S期进行传递。通过蛋白质相互作用筛选,我们鉴定出微处理器组件DROSHA是一种新型的DNMT1相互作用蛋白。缺乏Drosha的胚胎干细胞(ES细胞)表现出基因组低甲基化,这不能用DNMT蛋白水平的变化来解释。这些细胞中DNMT1介导的甲基转移酶活性也降低。我们鉴定出两种在缺乏Drosha而非缺乏Dicer的ES细胞中特异性上调的转录本。这些转录本中预测形成茎环结构的区域由微处理器加工处理,并且在体外能够抑制DNMT1介导的甲基化。我们的结果突出了DROSHA作为哺乳动物DNA甲基化的新型调节因子,并且我们提出DROSHA介导的RNA加工对于确保完整的DNMT1活性是必要的。这增加了DROSHA非依赖于miRNA的功能种类,同时也表明RNA在调节DNMT1活性和正确的基因组甲基化水平中发挥作用。