The success of new therapies hinges on our ability to understand their molecular and cellular mechanisms of action. We modified BET bromodomain inhibitors, an epigenetic-based therapy, to create functionally conserved compounds that are amenable to click chemistry and can be used as molecular probes in vitro and in vivo. We used click proteomics and click sequencing to explore the gene regulatory function of BRD4 (bromodomain containing protein 4) and the transcriptional changes induced by BET inhibitors. In our studies of mouse models of acute leukemia, we used high-resolution microscopy and flow cytometry to highlight the heterogeneity of drug activity within tumor cells located in different tissue compartments. We also demonstrate the differential distribution and effects of BET inhibitors in normal and malignant cells in vivo. This study provides a potential framework for the preclinical assessment of a wide range of drugs.

Heterochromatin protein 1 (HP1) proteins, recognized readers of the heterochromatin mark methylation of histone H3 lysine 9 (H3K9me), are important regulators of heterochromatin-mediated gene silencing and chromosome structure. In Drosophila melanogaster three histone lysine methyl transferases (HKMTs) are associated with the methylation of H3K9: Su(var)3-9, Setdb1, and G9a. To probe the dependence of HP1a binding on H3K9me, its dependence on these three HKMTs, and the division of labor between the HKMTs, we have examined correlations between HP1a binding and H3K9me patterns in wild type and null mutants of these HKMTs. We show here that Su(var)3-9 controls H3K9me-dependent binding of HP1a in pericentromeric regions, while Setdb1 controls it in cytological region 2L:31 and (together with POF) in chromosome 4. HP1a binds to the promoters and within bodies of active genes in these three regions. More importantly, however, HP1a binding at promoters of active genes is independent of H3K9me and POF. Rather, it is associated with heterochromatin protein 2 (HP2) and open chromatin. Our results support a hypothesis in which HP1a nucleates with high affinity independently of H3K9me in promoters of active genes and then spreads via H3K9 methylation and transient looping contacts with those H3K9me target sites.

Variation in the number of individual chromosomes (chromosomal aneuploidy) or chromosome segments (segmental aneuploidy) is associated with developmental abnormalities and reduced fitness in all species examined; it is the leading cause of miscarriages and mental retardation and a hallmark of cancer. However, despite their documented importance in disease, the effects of aneuploidies on the transcriptome remain largely unknown. We have examined the expression effects of seven heterozygous chromosomal deficiencies, both singly and in all pairwise combinations, in Drosophila melanogaster. The results show that genes in one copy are buffered, i.e. expressed more strongly than the expected 50% of wild-type level, the buffering is general and not influenced by other monosomic regions. Furthermore, long genes are significantly more highly buffered than short genes and gene length appears to be the primary determinant of the buffering degree. For short genes the degree of buffering depends on expression level and expression pattern. Furthermore, the results show that in deficiency heterozygotes the expression of genes involved in proteolysis is enhanced and negatively correlates with the degree of buffering. Thus, enhanced proteolysis appears to be a general response to aneuploidy.

Long non-coding RNAs contribute to dosage compensation in both mammals and Drosophila by inducing changes in the chromatin structure of the X-chromosome. In Drosophila melanogaster, roX1 and roX2 are long non-coding RNAs that together with proteins form the male-specific lethal (MSL) complex, which coats the entire male X-chromosome and mediates dosage compensation by increasing its transcriptional output. Studies on polytene chromosomes have demonstrated that when both roX1 and roX2 are absent, the MSL-complex becomes less abundant on the male X-chromosome and is relocated to the chromocenter and the 4th chromosome. Here we address the role of roX RNAs in MSL-complex targeting and the evolution of dosage compensation in Drosophila. We performed ChIP-seq experiments which showed that MSL-complex recruitment to high affinity sites (HAS) on the X-chromosome is independent of roX and that the HAS sequence motif is conserved in D. simulans. Additionally, a complete and enzymatically active MSL-complex is recruited to six specific genes on the 4th chromosome. Interestingly, our sequence analysis showed that in the absence of roX RNAs, the MSL-complex has an affinity for regions enriched in Hoppel transposable elements and repeats in general. We hypothesize that roX mutants reveal the ancient targeting of the MSL-complex and propose that the role of roX RNAs is to prevent the binding of the MSL-complex to heterochromatin.