title: The histone demethylase Jmjd3 sequentially associates with the transcription factors Tbx3 and Eomes to drive endoderm differentiation.
abstract: Stem cell differentiation depends on transcriptional activation driven by lineage-specific regulators as well as changes in chromatin organization. However, the coordination of these events is poorly understood. Here, we show that T-box proteins team up with chromatin modifying enzymes to drive the expression of the key lineage regulator, Eomes during endodermal differentiation of embryonic stem (ES) cells. The Eomes locus is maintained in a transcriptionally poised configuration in ES cells. During early differentiation steps, the ES cell factor Tbx3 associates with the histone demethylase Jmjd3 at the enhancer element of the Eomes locus to allow enhancer-promoter interactions. This spatial reorganization of the chromatin primes the cells to respond to Activin signalling, which promotes the binding of Jmjd3 and Eomes to its own bivalent promoter region to further stimulate Eomes expression in a positive feedback loop. In addition, Eomes activates a transcriptional network of core regulators of endodermal differentiation. Our results demonstrate that Jmjd3 sequentially associates with two T-box factors, Tbx3 and Eomes to drive stem cell differentiation towards the definitive endoderm lineage.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095-7073, USA.
authors.forename: Apriliana E R
authors.initials: AE
authors.lastname: Kartikasari
authors.forename: Josie X
authors.initials: JX
authors.lastname: Zhou
authors.forename: Murtaza S
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Kanji
authors.forename: David N
authors.initials: DN
authors.lastname: Chan
authors.forename: Arjun
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Sinha
authors.forename: Anne
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Grapin-Botton
authors.forename: Mark A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Magnuson
authors.forename: William E
authors.initials: WE
authors.lastname: Lowry
authors.forename: Anil
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Bhushan
mesh_terms: D028341:Activins / Q000378:metabolism; D000818:Animals; D002454:Cell Differentiation / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology*; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D053595:Embryonic Stem Cells / Q000166:cytology / Q000502:physiology*; D004707:Endoderm / Q000166:cytology* / Q000196:embryology / Q000378:metabolism; D004742:Enhancer Elements, Genetic; D025461:Feedback, Physiological; D018507:Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental; D006801:Humans; D056484:Jumonji Domain-Containing Histone Demethylases / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D051379:Mice; D011401:Promoter Regions, Genetic; D012319:RNA Polymerase II / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D012694:Serine / Q000378:metabolism; D051899:Smad2 Protein / Q000378:metabolism; D020825:T-Box Domain Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: C491198:Eomes protein, mouse; D051899:Smad2 Protein; C497783:Smad2 protein, mouse; D020825:T-Box Domain Proteins; C491460:Tbx3 protein, mouse; C422405:activin A; D028341:Activins; D012694:Serine; D056484:Jumonji Domain-Containing Histone Demethylases; C523761:Kdm6b protein, mouse; D012319:RNA Polymerase II