ELF3 activated by a superenhancer and an autoregulatory feedback loop is required for high-level HLA-C expression on extravillous trophoblasts

Autor: Sarika Kshirsagar, Sai Ma, Qin Li, Jack L. Strominger, Jason D. Buenrostro, Fang Wang, Tamara Tilburgs, Torsten B. Meissner, Ziming Du, Motonari Uesugi
Rok vydání: 2021
Předmět:
0301 basic medicine
Small interfering RNA
Indoles
HLA-C
superenhancer
Adamantane
MED1
Mediator Complex Subunit 1
0302 clinical medicine
Immunology and Inflammation
autoregulatory feedback loop
Pregnancy
RNA
Small Interfering

Promoter Regions
Genetic

Feedback
Physiological

Multidisciplinary
Mediator Complex
Chemistry
Gene Expression Regulation
Developmental

Azepines
Biological Sciences
Cell biology
Chromatin
Trophoblasts
DNA-Binding Proteins
Enhancer Elements
Genetic

030220 oncology & carcinogenesis
embryonic structures
Abortion
Legal

Female
Protein Binding
Signal Transduction
Primary Cell Culture
Regulatory Factor X Transcription Factors
HLA-C Antigens
Cell Line
03 medical and health sciences
Coactivator
Humans
(+)-JQ1
Gene
Transcription factor
Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-ets
Promoter
Triazoles
ELF3
Pregnancy Trimester
First

030104 developmental biology
HLA-B Antigens
Chromatin immunoprecipitation
Immunity
Maternally-Acquired

Transcription Factors
Zdroj: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
ISSN: 1091-6490
Popis: Significance Several techniques have identified ELF3 as particularly important in regulating trophoblast-specific HLA-C expression. This results from a single-nucleotide difference in the promotor of the HLA-C gene at the RFX5 binding site that creates an ELF3 binding site not found in the HLA-A or HLA-B promoters. We discovered a superenhancer and a positive autoregulatory feedback loop that promotes expression of the ELF3 gene in trophoblasts. Disruption of either the superenhancer by (+)-JQ1 or interference with the positive-feedback loop by wrenchnolol decreased ELF3 levels, and thus HLA-C expression. Aberrations of this complex regulatory system could be involved in control of infection, miscarriage, preterm birth, preeclampsia, as well as parturition in normal pregnancy and in development of choriocarcinoma.
HLA-C arose during evolution of pregnancy in the great apes 10 to 15 million years ago. It has a dual function on placental extravillous trophoblasts (EVTs) as it contributes to both tolerance and immunity at the maternal–fetal interface. The mode of its regulation is of considerable interest in connection with the biology of pregnancy and pregnancy abnormalities. First-trimester primary EVTs in which HLA-C is highly expressed, as well as JEG3, an EVT model cell line, were employed. Single-cell RNA-seq data and quantitative PCR identified high expression of the transcription factor ELF3 in those cells. Chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP)-PCR confirmed that both ELF3 and MED1 bound to the proximal HLA-C promoter region. However, binding of RFX5 to this region was absent or severely reduced, and the adjacent HLA-B locus remained closed. Expression of HLA-C was inhibited by ELF3 small interfering RNAs (siRNAs) and by wrenchnolol treatment. Wrenchnolol is a cell-permeable synthetic organic molecule that mimics ELF3 and is relatively specific for binding to ELF3’s coactivator, MED23, as our data also showed in JEG3. Moreover, the ELF3 gene is regulated by a superenhancer that spans more than 5 Mb, identified by assay for transposase-accessible chromatin using sequencing (ATAC-seq), as well as by its sensitivity to (+)-JQ1 (inhibitor of BRD4). ELF3 bound to its own promoter, thus creating an autoregulatory feedback loop that establishes expression of ELF3 and HLA-C in trophoblasts. Wrenchnolol blocked binding of MED23 to ELF3, thus disrupting the positive-feedback loop that drives ELF3 expression, with down-regulation of HLA-C expression as a consequence.
Databáze: OpenAIRE