No abstract

bRestores TBP function 1 (Rtf1) is generally considered to be a subunit of the Paf1 complex (PAF1C), a multifunctional protein complex involved in histone modification and transcriptional or posttranscriptional regulation. Rtf1, however, is not stably associated with the PAF1C in most species except Saccharomyces cerevisiae, and its biochemical functions are not well understood. Here, we show that human Rtf1 is a transcription elongation factor that may function independently of the PAF1C. Rtf1 requires "Rtf1 coactivator" activity, which is most likely unrelated to the PAF1C or DSIF, for transcriptional activation in vitro. A mutational study revealed that the Plus3 domain of human Rtf1 is critical for its coactivator-dependent function. Transcriptome sequencing (RNA-seq) and chromatin immunoprecipitation studies in HeLa cells showed that Rtf1 and the PAF1C play distinct roles in regulating the expression of a subset of genes. Moreover, contrary to the finding in S. cerevisiae, the PAF1C was apparently recruited to the genes examined in an Rtf1-independent manner. The present study establishes a role for human Rtf1 as a transcription elongation factor and highlights the similarities and differences between the S. cerevisiae and human Rtf1 proteins. Restores TBP (TATA box-binding protein) function 1 (Rtf1) was identified as a suppressor of a TBP mutant in Saccharomyces cerevisiae (1). Subsequent genetic and biochemical studies in yeast have shown that Rtf1 functions as a component of the polymerase-associated factor 1 (Paf1) complex (PAF1C) containing Paf1, Ctr9, Leo1, and Cdc73 (2-5). The PAF1C is a multifunctional protein complex whose primary role is to facilitate histone modifications, such as H2B monoubiquitination at K123 and H3 methylation at K4 and K79 (6-12). The PAF1C also plays important roles in transcription elongation through chromatin, as well as on naked DNA (13-16). Furthermore, the PAF1C is involved in transcription termination and 3= processing of polyadenylated and nonpolyadenylated .Paf1, Ctr9, Leo1, Cdc73, and Rtf1 are highly conserved in eukaryotes; however, the subunit compositions of the PAF1C vary among species. Purification of the PAF1C from human HeLa cells yielded a five-subunit complex lacking Rtf1 but containing Ski8 as an additional subunit (22,26,27). Similarly, coimmunoprecipitation studies in zebrafish, Drosophila, and Schizosaccharomyces pombe showed that PAF1C homologs in these species lack a stably associated Rtf1 subunit (28-30). At the functional level, however, Rtf1 and other PAF1C subunits have a number of similarities. For example, knockout or knockdown of Rtf1 and other PAF1C subunits results in similar defects in histone modifications in all the species examined (27,28,31). At the organismal level, inhibition of Rtf1 and other PAF1C subunits causes similar defects in epidermal morphogenesis in Caenorhabditis elegans and in somitogenesis and cardiomyocyte development in zebrafish (29,32,33). Rtf1 and Paf1 colocalize with each other and with RNA polymerase II (RNAPII) in...

No abstract

Regenerative medicine is a tool to compensate for the shortage of lungs for transplantation, but it remains difficult to construct a lung in vitro due to the complex three-dimensional structures and multiple cell types required. A blastocyst complementation method using interspecies chimeric animals has been attracting attention as a way to create complex organs in animals, but successful lung formation has not yet been achieved. Here, we applied a reverse-blastocyst complementation method to clarify the conditions required to form lungs in an Fgfr2b-deficient mouse model. We then successfully formed a rat-derived lung in the mouse model without generating a mouse line by applying a tetraploid-based organ-complementation method. Importantly, rat lung epithelial cells retained their developmental timing even in the mouse body. This result provides useful insights regarding the need to overcome the barrier of species-specific developmental timing in order to generate functional lungs in interspecies chimeras.

No abstract