title: Testis-specific transcriptional regulators selectively occupy BORIS-bound CTCF target regions in mouse male germ cells.
abstract: Despite sharing the same sequence specificity in vitro and in vivo, CCCTC-binding factor (CTCF) and its paralog brother of the regulator of imprinted sites (BORIS) are simultaneously expressed in germ cells. Recently, ChIP-seq analysis revealed two classes of CTCF/BORIS-bound regions: single CTCF target sites (1xCTSes) that are bound by CTCF alone (CTCF-only) or double CTCF target sites (2xCTSes) simultaneously bound by CTCF and BORIS (CTCF&BORIS) or BORIS alone (BORIS-only) in germ cells and in BORIS-positive somatic cancer cells. BORIS-bound regions (CTCF&BORIS and BORIS-only sites) are, on average, enriched for RNA polymerase II (RNAPII) binding and histone retention in mature spermatozoa relative to CTCF-only sites, but little else is known about them. We show that subsets of CTCF&BORIS and BORIS-only sites are occupied by several testis-specific transcriptional regulators (TSTRs) and associated with highly expressed germ cell-specific genes and histone retention in mature spermatozoa. We also demonstrate a physical interaction between BORIS and one of the analyzed TSTRs, TATA-binding protein (TBP)-associated factor 7-like (TAF7L). Our data suggest that CTCF and BORIS cooperate with additional TSTRs to regulate gene expression in developing male gametes and histone retention in mature spermatozoa, potentially priming certain regions of the genome for rapid activation following fertilization.
authors.affiliation: Molecular Pathology Section, Laboratory of Immunogenetics, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Rockville, MD 20852, USA.
authors.forename: Samuel
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Rivero-Hinojosa
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN 47405, USA.
authors.forename: Sungyun
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kang
authors.affiliation: Molecular Pathology Section, Laboratory of Immunogenetics, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Rockville, MD 20852, USA.
authors.forename: Victor V
authors.initials: VV
authors.lastname: Lobanenkov
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN 47405, USA.
authors.forename: Gabriel E
authors.initials: GE
authors.lastname: Zentner
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000076246:CCCTC-Binding Factor / Q000378:metabolism*; D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins / Q000378:metabolism*; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation; D057809:HEK293 Cells; D006657:Histones / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D009687:Nuclear Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D009928:Organ Specificity; D011485:Protein Binding; D000071701:Regulatory Factor X Transcription Factors / Q000378:metabolism; D013087:Spermatids / Q000378:metabolism; D013094:Spermatozoa / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism*; D035381:TATA-Binding Protein Associated Factors / Q000378:metabolism; D013737:Testis / Q000378:metabolism*; D035362:Transcription Factor TFIID / Q000378:metabolism; D014157:Transcription Factors / Q000378:metabolism; D014158:Transcription, Genetic; D000092468:Bromodomain Containing Proteins
chemical_list: D000076246:CCCTC-Binding Factor; D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins; D006657:Histones; D009687:Nuclear Proteins; D000071701:Regulatory Factor X Transcription Factors; D035381:TATA-Binding Protein Associated Factors; D035362:Transcription Factor TFIID; D014157:Transcription Factors; C486694:Brd4 protein, mouse; D000092468:Bromodomain Containing Proteins; C499208:Ctcfl protein, mouse; C484417:Rfx2 protein, mouse; C000598119:TAF7L protein, mouse