Division of Immunology and Genome Biology, Medical Institute of Bioregulation, Kyushu University, Fukuoka, Japan.
Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Kyushu University, Fukuoka, Japan.
Nat Commun. 2024 Jun 20;15(1):5004. doi: 10.1038/s41467-024-49375-x.
The differentiation of B cells into plasma cells is associated with substantial transcriptional and epigenetic remodeling. H3.3 histone variant marks active chromatin via replication-independent nucleosome assembly. However, its role in plasma cell development remains elusive. Herein, we show that during plasma cell differentiation, H3.3 is downregulated, and the deposition of H3.3 and chromatin accessibility are dynamically changed. Blockade of H3.3 downregulation by enforced H3.3 expression impairs plasma cell differentiation in an H3.3-specific sequence-dependent manner. Mechanistically, enforced H3.3 expression inhibits the upregulation of plasma cell-associated genes such as Irf4, Prdm1, and Xbp1 and maintains the expression of B cell-associated genes, Pax5, Bach2, and Bcl6. Concomitantly, sustained H3.3 expression prevents the structure of chromatin accessibility characteristic for plasma cells. Our findings suggest that appropriate H3.3 expression and deposition control plasma cell differentiation.
B 细胞向浆细胞的分化与大量转录和表观遗传重塑有关。H3.3 组蛋白变体通过非复制依赖性核小体组装标记活性染色质。然而,其在浆细胞发育中的作用仍不清楚。本文中,我们发现,在浆细胞分化过程中,H3.3 下调,H3.3 的沉积和染色质可及性发生动态变化。通过强制表达 H3.3 阻止 H3.3 下调会以 H3.3 特异性序列依赖的方式损害浆细胞分化。在机制上,强制表达 H3.3 抑制浆细胞相关基因(如 Irf4、Prdm1 和 Xbp1)的上调,并维持 B 细胞相关基因(Pax5、Bach2 和 Bcl6)的表达。同时,持续的 H3.3 表达阻止了浆细胞特征性的染色质可及性结构。我们的研究结果表明,适当的 H3.3 表达和沉积控制着浆细胞的分化。