No abstract

Inactivation of the genes involved in DNA mismatch repair is associated with microsatellite instability (MSI) in colorectal cancer. We report that hypermethylation of the 5 CpG island of hMLH1 is found in the majority of sporadic primary colorectal cancers with MSI, and that this methylation was often, but not invariably, associated with loss of hMLH1 protein expression. Such methylation also occurred, but was less common, in MSI؊ tumors, as well as in MSI؉ tumors with known mutations of a mismatch repair gene (MMR). No hypermethylation of hMSH2 was found. Hypermethylation of colorectal cancer cell lines with MSI also was frequently observed, and in such cases, reversal of the methylation with 5-aza-2-deoxycytidine not only resulted in reexpression of hMLH1 protein, but also in restoration of the MMR capacity in MMR-deficient cell lines. Our results suggest that microsatellite instability in sporadic colorectal cancer often results from epigenetic inactivation of hMLH1 in association with DNA methylation.

Mammalian genomes are pervasively transcribed1,2 to produce thousands of long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs)3,4. A few of these lncRNAs have been shown to recruit regulatory complexes through RNA-protein interactions to influence the expression of nearby genes5–7, and it has been suggested that many other lncRNAs similarly act as local regulators8,9. Such local functions could explain the observation that lncRNA expression is often correlated with the expression of nearby genes2,10,11. However, such correlations have been challenging to dissect12 and could alternatively result from processes that are not mediated by the lncRNA transcripts themselves. For example, some gene promoters have been proposed to have dual functions as enhancers13–16, and the process of transcription per se has been proposed to contribute to gene regulation by recruiting activating factors or remodeling nucleosomes10,17,18. Here we used genetic manipulations to dissect 12 genomic loci that produce lncRNAs and found that 5 of these loci influence the expression of a neighboring gene in cis. Surprisingly, none of these effects required the specific lncRNA transcripts themselves and instead involved general processes associated with their production, including enhancer-like activity of gene promoters, the process of transcription, and the splicing of the transcript. Importantly, such effects were not limited to lncRNA loci: we found that 4 of 6 protein-coding loci similarly influenced the expression of a neighbor. These results demonstrate that ‘crosstalk’ among neighboring genes is a prevalent phenomenon that can involve multiple mechanisms and cis regulatory signals, including a novel role for RNA splice sites. These mechanisms may explain the function and evolution of some genomic loci that produce lncRNAs and broadly contribute to the regulation of both coding and noncoding genes.

Enhancer elements in the human genome control how genes are expressed in specific cell types and harbor thousands of genetic variants that influence risk for common diseases [1][2][3][4] . Yet, we still do not know how enhancers regulate specific genes, and we lack general rules to predict enhancer-Users may view, print, copy, and download text and data-mine the content in such documents, for the purposes of academic research, subject always to the full Conditions of use:

The human DNA mismatch repair gene homologue hMSH2, on chromosome 2p is involved in hereditary non-polyposis colon cancer (HNPCC). On the basis of linkage data, a second HNPCC locus was assigned to chromosome 3p21-23 (ref. 3). Here we report that a human gene encoding a protein, hMLH1 (human MutL homologue), homologous to the bacterial DNA mismatch repair protein MutL, is located on human chromosome 3p21.3-23. We propose that hMLH1 is the HNPCC gene located on 3p because of the similarity of the hMLH1 gene product to the yeast DNA mismatch repair protein, MLH1, the coincident location of the hMLH1 gene and the HNPCC locus on chromosome 3, and hMLH1 missense mutations in affected individuals from a chromosome 3-linked HNPCC family.

Saccharomyces cerevisiae encodes six genes, MSH1-6, which encode proteins related to the bacterial MutS protein. In this study the role of MSH2, MSH3, and MSH6 in mismatch repair has been examined by measuring the rate of accumulating mutations and mutation spectrum in strains containing different combinations of rash2, rash3, and rash6 mutations and by studying the physical interaction between the MSH2 protein and the MSH3 and MSH6 proteins. The results indicate that S. cerevisiae has two pathways of MSH2-dependent mismatch repair: one that recognizes single-base mispairs and requires MSH2 and MSH6, and a second that recognizes insertion/deletion mispairs and requires a combination of either MSH2 and MSH6 or MSH2 and MSH3. The redundancy of MSH3 and MSH6 explains the greater prevalence of brash2 mutations in HNPCC families and suggests how the role of brash3 and hmsh6 mutations in cancer susceptibility could be analyzed.

Gene expression in mammals is regulated by noncoding elements that can impact physiology and disease, yet the functions and target genes of most noncoding elements remain unknown. We present a high-throughput approach that uses CRISPR interference (CRISPRi) to discover regulatory elements and identify their target genes. We assess >1 megabase (Mb) of sequence in the vicinity of 2 essential transcription factors, MYC and GATA1, and identify 9 distal enhancers that control gene expression and cellular proliferation. Quantitative features of chromatin state and chromosome conformation distinguish the 7 enhancers that regulate MYC from other elements that do not, suggesting a strategy for predicting enhancer-promoter connectivity. This CRISPRi-based approach can be applied to dissect transcriptional networks and interpret the contributions of noncoding genetic variation to human disease.

Recent studies have identified stem cells in brain cancer. However, their relationship to normal CNS progenitors, including dependence on common lineage-restricted pathways, is unclear. We observe expression of the CNS-restricted transcription factor, OLIG2, in human glioma stem and progenitor cells reminiscent of type C transit-amplifying cells in germinal zones of the adult brain. Olig2 function is required for proliferation of neural progenitors and for glioma formation in a genetically relevant murine model. Moreover, we show p21(WAF1/CIP1), a tumor suppressor and inhibitor of stem cell proliferation, is directly repressed by OLIG2 in neural progenitors and gliomas. Our findings identify an Olig2-regulated lineage-restricted pathway critical for proliferation of normal and tumorigenic CNS stem cells.