Skeletal muscle cells have served as a paradigm for understanding mechanisms leading to cellular differentiation. The proliferation and differentiation of muscle precursor cells require the concerted activity of myogenic regulatory factors including MyoD. In addition, chromatin modifiers mediate dynamic modifications of histone tails that are vital to reprogramming cells toward terminal differentiation. Here, we provide evidence for a unique dimension to epigenetic regulation of skeletal myogenesis. We demonstrate that the lysine methyltransferase G9a is dynamically expressed in myoblasts and impedes differentiation in a methyltransferase activity-dependent manner. In addition to mediating histone H3 lysine-9 di-methylation (H3K9me2) on MyoD target promoters, endogenous G9a interacts with MyoD in precursor cells and directly methylates it at lysine 104 (K104) to constrain its transcriptional activity. Mutation of K104 renders MyoD refractory to inhibition by G9a and enhances its myogenic activity. Interestingly, MyoD methylation is critical for G9a-mediated inhibition of myogenesis. These findings provide evidence of an unanticipated role for methyltransferases in cellular differentiation states by direct posttranslational modification of a transcription factor.

Quantification of Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) cell-free DNA (cfDNA) is commonly used in clinical settings as a circulating biomarker in nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC), but there has been no comparison with circulating tumour cells (CTCs).Our study aims to compare the performance of CTC enumeration against EBV cfDNA quantitation through digital PCR (dPCR) and quantitative PCR. 74 plasma samples from 46 NPC patients at baseline and one month after radiotherapy with or without concurrent chemotherapy were analysed. CTCs were captured by microsieve technology and enumerated, while three different methods of EBV cfDNA quantification were applied, including an in-house qPCR assay for BamHI-W fragment, a CE-IVD qPCR assay (Sentosa ® ) and a dPCR (Clarity ™ ) assay for Epstein-Barr nuclear antigen 1 (EBNA1). EBV cfDNA quantitation by all workflows showed stronger correlation with clinical stage, radiological response and overall survival in comparison with CTC enumeration. The highest detection rate of EBV cfDNA in pre-treatment samples was seen with the BamHI-W qPCR assay (89%), followed by EBNA1-dPCR (85%) and EBNA1-qPCR (67%) assays. Overall, we show that EBV cfDNA outperforms CTC enumeration in correlation with clinical outcomes of NPC patients undergoing treatment. Techniques such as dPCR and target selection of BamHI-W may improve sensitivity for EBV cfDNA detection.Nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) is a malignant cancer of the nasopharynx, which is particularly common in parts of Southern China, South East Asia and North Africa 1 . Due to high rates of Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) nucleic acid detection in NPC, non-invasive approaches to diagnosis have focused on EBV as a target [2][3][4] . Post-treatment Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) cell-free DNA (cfDNA) levels have been demonstrated to correlate with NPC prognosis and recurrence 5,6 . EBV cfDNA can be quantified in the form of EBV single-copy genes; EBNA1, LMP2 and Pol-1, or multiple-repeat fragments; BamHI-W 7 . As there are six to twenty copies of BamHI-W per EBV genome 8 , higher sensitivity is expected in BamHI-W quantification assays. However, the variability of BamHI-W copy numbers in different EBV isolates has been considered a challenges in assay comparison and standardization between laboratories 7, 8 . CTCs represent a circulating biomarker which has been extensively studied in many cancer types including breast, lung and colorectal cancer [9][10][11][12] . Due to challenges including platform costs and standardization, much

Lysine methyltransferase G9a interacts with the transcription factor Sharp-1 and enhances transcriptional repression of muscle promoters. RNAi-mediated reduction of G9a expression or inhibition of its activity rescues myogenic differentiation in Sharp-1–overexpressing cells.

SHARP1, a basic helix-loop-helix transcription factor, is expressed in many cell types; however, the mechanisms by which it regulates cellular differentiation remain largely unknown. Here, we show that SHARP1 negatively regulates adipogenesis. Although expression of the early marker CCAAT/enhancer binding protein b (C/EBPb) is not altered, its crucial downstream targets C/EBPa and peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor c (PPARc) are downregulated by SHARP1. Protein interaction studies confirm that SHARP1 interacts with and inhibits the transcriptional activity of both C/EBPb and C/EBPa, and enhances the association of C/EBPb with histone deacetylase 1 (HDAC1). Consistently, in SHARP1-expressing cells, HDAC1 and the histone methyltransferase G9a are retained at the C/EBP regulatory sites on the C/EBPa and PPARc2 promoters during differentiation, resulting in inhibition of their expression. Interestingly, treatment with troglitazone results in displacement of HDAC1 and G9a, and rescues the differentiation defect of SHARP1-overexpressing cells. Our data indicate that SHARP1 inhibits adipogenesis through the regulation of C/EBP activity, which is essential for PPARc-ligand-dependent displacement of co-repressors from adipogenic promoters.

Skeletal muscle cells have served as a paradigm for understanding mechanisms leading to cellular differentiation. Formation of skeletal muscle involves a series of steps in which cells are committed towards the myogenic lineage, undergo expansion to give rise to myoblasts that differentiate into multinucleated myotubes, and mature to form adult muscle fibers. The commitment, proliferation, and differentiation of progenitor cells involve both genetic and epigenetic changes that culminate in alterations in gene expression. Members of the Myogenic regulatory factor (MRF), as well as the Myocyte Enhancer Factor (MEF2) families control distinct steps of skeletal muscle proliferation and differentiation. In addition, -growing evidence indicates that chromatin modifying enzymes and remodeling complexes epigenetically reprogram muscle promoters at various stages that preclude or promote MRF and MEF2 activites. Among these, histone deacetylases (HDACs), histone acetyltransferases (HATs), histone methyltransferases (HMTs) and SWI/SNF complexes alter chromatin structure through post-translational modifications to impact MRF and MEF2 activities. With such new and emerging knowledge, we are beginning to develop a true molecular understanding of the mechanisms by which skeletal muscle development and differentiation is regulated. Elucidation of the mechanisms by which epigenetic regulators control myogenesis will likely provide a new foundation for the development of novel therapeutic drugs for muscle dystrophies, ageing-related regeneration defects that occur due to altered proliferation and differentiation, and other malignancies.