Recent advances in genomic research have revealed the existence of a large number of transcripts devoid of protein-coding potential in multiple organisms 1-8. While the functional role for long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) has been best defined in epigenetic phenomena such as X inactivation and imprinting, different classes of lncRNAs may have varied biological functions 8-13. We and others have identified a class of lncRNAs, termed ncRNA-activating (ncRNA-a), that function to activate their neighboring genes using a cis-mediated mechanism 5,14-16. To define the precise mode by which such enhancer-like RNAs function, we depleted factors with known roles in transcriptional activation and assessed their role in RNA-dependent activation. Here we report that depletion of the components of the co-activator complex, Mediator, specifically and potently diminished the ncRNA-induced activation of transcription in such a heterologous reporter assay. In vivo, Mediator is recruited to ncRNA-as target genes, and regulates their expression. We show that ncRNA-as interact with Mediator to regulate its chromatin localization and kinase activity toward histone H3 serine 10. Mediator complex harboring disease causing MED12 mutations 17,18 displays diminished ability to associate with activating ncRNAs. Chromosome conformation capture (3C) confirmed the presence of DNA looping between the ncRNA-a loci and its targets. Importantly, depletion of Mediator subunits or ncRNA-as reduced the chromatin looping between the two loci. Our results identify the human Mediator complex as the transducer of activating ncRNAs and highlight the importance of Mediator and activating ncRNAs association in human disease.

Eukaryotic genomes are organized into active (euchromatic) and inactive (heterochromatic) chromatin domains. Post-translational modifications of histones (or 'marks') are key in defining these functional states, particularly in promoter regions. Mutual regulatory interactions between these marks--and the enzymes that catalyse them--contribute to the shaping of this epigenetic landscape, in a manner that remains to be fully elucidated. We previously observed that asymmetric di-methylation of histone H3 arginine 2 (H3R2me2a) counter-correlates with di- and tri- methylation of H3 lysine 4 (H3K4me2, H3K4me3) on human promoters. Here we show that the arginine methyltransferase PRMT6 catalyses H3R2 di-methylation in vitro and controls global levels of H3R2me2a in vivo. H3R2 methylation by PRMT6 was prevented by the presence of H3K4me3 on the H3 tail. Conversely, the H3R2me2a mark prevented methylation of H3K4 as well as binding to the H3 tail by an ASH2/WDR5/MLL-family methyltransferase complex. Chromatin immunoprecipitation showed that H3R2me2a was distributed within the body and at the 3' end of human genes, regardless of their transcriptional state, whereas it was selectively and locally depleted from active promoters, coincident with the presence of H3K4me3. Hence, the mutual antagonism between H3R2 and H3K4 methylation, together with the association of MLL-family complexes with the basal transcription machinery, may contribute to the localized patterns of H3K4 tri-methylation characteristic of transcriptionally poised or active promoters in mammalian genomes.

The acetyl-transferase Tip60 might influence tumorigenesis in multiple ways. First, Tip60 is a co-regulator of transcription factors that either promote or suppress tumorigenesis, such as Myc and p53. Second, Tip60 modulates DNA-damage response (DDR) signalling, and a DDR triggered by oncogenes can counteract tumour progression. Using E(mu)-myc transgenic mice that are heterozygous for a Tip60 gene (Htatip) knockout allele (hereafter denoted as Tip60+/- mice), we show that Tip60 counteracts Myc-induced lymphomagenesis in a haplo-insufficient manner and in a time window that is restricted to a pre- or early-tumoral stage. Tip60 heterozygosity severely impaired the Myc-induced DDR but caused no general DDR defect in B cells. Myc- and p53-dependent transcription were not affected, and neither were Myc-induced proliferation, activation of the ARF-p53 tumour suppressor pathway or the resulting apoptotic response. We found that the human TIP60 gene (HTATIP) is a frequent target for mono-allelic loss in human lymphomas and head-and-neck and mammary carcinomas, with concomitant reduction in mRNA levels. Immunohistochemical analysis also demonstrated loss of nuclear TIP60 staining in mammary carcinomas. These events correlated with disease grade and frequently concurred with mutation of p53. Thus, in both mouse and human, Tip60 has a haplo-insufficient tumour suppressor activity that is independent from-but not contradictory with-its role within the ARF-p53 pathway. We suggest that this is because critical levels of Tip60 are required for mounting an oncogene-induced DDR in incipient tumour cells, the failure of which might synergize with p53 mutation towards tumour progression.

Neuropathic pain is a debilitating clinical problem and difficult to treat. Nerve injury causes a long-lasting reduction in K+ channel expression in the dorsal root ganglion (DRG), but little is known about the epigenetic mechanisms involved. Here we show that nerve injury increased H3K9me2 occupancy at Kcna4, Kcnd2, Kcnq2 and Kcnma1 promoters but did not affect DNA methylation levels of these genes in DRGs. Nerve injury increased activity of G9a, histone deacetylases and EZH2, but only G9a inhibition consistently restored K+ channel expression. Selective G9a knockout in DRG neurons completely blocked K+ channel silencing and chronic pain development after nerve injury. Remarkably, RNA sequencing analysis revealed that G9a inhibition not only reactivated 40 of 42 silenced K+ channel genes but also normalized 638 genes down- or up-regulated by nerve injury. Thus G9a plays a dominant role in transcriptional repression of K+ channels and in acute-to-chronic pain transition after nerve injury.

We report the genome-wide mapping of ORC1 binding sites in mammals, by chromatin immunoprecipitation and parallel sequencing (ChIP-seq). ORC1 binding sites in HeLa cells were validated as active DNA replication origins (ORIs) using Repli-seq, a method that allows identification of ORI-containing regions by parallel sequencing of temporally ordered replicating DNA. ORC1 sites were universally associated with transcription start sites (TSSs) of coding or noncoding RNAs (ncRNAs). Transcription levels at the ORC1 sites directly correlated with replication timing, suggesting the existence of two classes of ORIs: those associated with moderate/high transcription levels ($1 RNA copy/cell), firing in early S and mapping to the TSSs of coding RNAs; and those associated with low transcription levels (<1 RNA copy/cell), firing throughout the entire S and mapping to TSSs of ncRNAs. These findings are compatible with a scenario whereby TSS expression levels influence the efficiency of ORC1 recruitment at G 1 and the probability of firing during S.[Supplemental material is available for this article.] DNA replication is a highly orchestrated process that ensures fidelity of genomes during duplications, as well as their adaptation to variations in cell division, DNA damage, and, in metazoa, chromatin changes associated with development and differentiation. It initiates from multiple chromosomal loci, called replication origins (ORIs), which are selected in the G 1 phase of the cell cycle by sequential recruitment of the origin recognition complex (ORC), CDC6, CDT1, and the MCM complex (the pre-replicative complex; pre-RC). Selected pre-RCs are then sequentially activated during the S phase, following a tight temporally ordered program (Mechali 2010).In Saccharomyces cerevisiae, ORIs contain a 12-bp consensus for ORC binding (Bell and Stillman 1992). Genome-wide analyses of ORIs by chromatin immunoprecipitation and parallel sequencing (ChIP-seq) using anti-ORC or -MCM antibodies showed that this consensus is essential but not sufficient for origin activity and identified other features that influence selection and replication timing, including transcription and/or chromatin structure (Eaton et al. 2010). In metazoa, instead, pre-RC does not exhibit sequence specificity, and the number of potential ORIs is considerably larger, following a process of selection that differs according to cell type, functional status, or stress conditions (Mechali 2010).These further levels of complexity allow DNA replication to adapt to the unique expression patterns of individual cell types. Little is known, however, about the regulation of ORI selection and replication timing in metazoa.