Obesity accounts for a substantial and growing burden of global disease, leading to high morbidity and mortality in type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and certain cancers. Brown adipose tissue (BAT) dissipates energy as heat and has been proposed as a therapeutic target to combat obesity. The unique thermogenic capacity of BAT is primarily conferred by uncoupling protein 1 (Ucp1) , which dissipates energy by uncoupling the proton motive force from ATP generation. To identify novel transcriptional regulators of Ucp1, we performed an unbiased CRISPR/Cas9-based chromatin immunoprecipitation assay (enChIP) and identified H2A.Z as a novel trans-acting factor recruited to the promoter and enhancer of Ucp1 by β3-adrenergic receptor (β3-AR) stimulation. H2A.Z is an essential and evolutionary conserved histone variant of the canonical histone H2A. Knockdown of H2A.Z in brown adipocytes led to lower β3-AR-induced Ucp1 level and impeded the expression of other known thermogenic genes (e.g., Cidea, Pgc1a) , leading to impaired cellular thermogenesis. Mechanistically, by profiling the genome-wide distribution of H2A.Z via ChIP-seq, we observed H2A.Z was enriched at promoter and enhancer of Ucp1 upon β3-AR stimulation, which is consistent with the enChIP result. Intriguingly, we found that the average occupancy of H2A.Z in the promoter and enhancer regions of other β3-AR-upregulated genes (e.g., Zfp516, Vdr, Pck1, Gys2) was also higher than that in non-stimulated condition, indicating a global regulatory role of H2A.Z in the thermogenic program in response to β3-AR stimulation. Additionally, in the enhancer regions of β3-AR-induced genes, we also detected an increased level of H2A.Z acetylation, which is a mark of active chromatin and confers an open chromatin conformation. Taken together, these findings reveal the essential role of H2A.Z-mediated chromatin organization in BAT thermogenic function. Disclosure Y.Zhang: None. R.Zheng: None. C.Wang: None. J.Darcy: None. K.Chen: None. Y.Tseng: Consultant; Cellarity. Funding National Institutes of Health (R01DK102898)
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
hi@scite.ai
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.