Heskett Michael B, Vouzas Athanasios E, Johnstone Brian, Freese Krister P, Yates Phillip A, Copenhaver Philip F, Spellman Paul T, Gilbert David M, Thayer Mathew J
Division of Hematology Oncology, Departments of Medicine and Human Genetics, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles.
San Diego Biomedical Research Institute, 3525 John Hopkins Court, San Diego, CA 92121.
bioRxiv. 2025 Aug 18:2025.08.13.670061. doi: 10.1101/2025.08.13.670061.
Autosomal monoallelic gene expression and asynchronous replication between alleles are well-established features of imprinted genes and genes regulated by allelic exclusion. Inactivation/Stability Centers (I/SCs) are recently described autosomal loci that exhibit epigenetic regulation of allelic expression and replication timing, with differences that can be comparable to those observed between the active and inactive X chromosomes . Here we characterize hundreds of autosomal loci with allele-specific epigenetic regulation of replication timing and gene expression, defining them as I/SCs. I/SCs are approximately 1 megabase in size and can contain both protein-coding and noncoding genes. In different single cell derived clones, these genes may be expressed from a single allele, the opposite allele, both alleles, or not expressed at all. This stochastic, yet mitotically stable, pattern indicates that the choice of which allele is expressed is independent of parent of origin and independent of the expression status of the other allele. Similarly, alleles within I/SCs show varying replication timing, either earlier or later, that is also independent of the other allele. Additionally, we find corresponding I/SCs in the mouse genome that display conserved synteny with human I/SCs. This allele-restricted regulation creates extensive cellular mosaicism through a stable epigenetic mechanism. This mosaicism impacts numerous dosage-sensitive genes associated with human diseases such as Parkinson, epilepsy, deafness, and impaired intellectual development.
常染色体单等位基因表达以及等位基因之间的异步复制是印记基因和受等位基因排斥调控的基因的既定特征。失活/稳定性中心(I/SCs)是最近描述的常染色体位点,其表现出对等位基因表达和复制时间的表观遗传调控,其差异可与活性和失活X染色体之间观察到的差异相媲美。在这里,我们对数百个常染色体位点进行了表征,这些位点具有复制时间和基因表达的等位基因特异性表观遗传调控,将它们定义为I/SCs。I/SCs大小约为1兆碱基,可包含蛋白质编码基因和非编码基因。在不同的单细胞衍生克隆中,这些基因可能从单个等位基因、相反等位基因、两个等位基因表达,或者根本不表达。这种随机但有丝分裂稳定的模式表明,表达哪个等位基因的选择独立于亲本来源,也独立于另一个等位基因的表达状态。同样,I/SCs内的等位基因显示出不同的复制时间,要么更早要么更晚,这也独立于另一个等位基因。此外,我们在小鼠基因组中发现了与人类I/SCs具有保守同线性的相应I/SCs。这种等位基因限制调控通过稳定的表观遗传机制产生广泛的细胞镶嵌现象。这种镶嵌现象影响许多与帕金森病、癫痫、耳聋和智力发育受损等人类疾病相关的剂量敏感基因。