GSE109166
EZH2 Reduction Is an Essential Mechanoresponse for the Maintenance of Super-enhancer Polarization
Despite the ubiquitous mechanical cues at both spatial and temporal dimensions, cell identities and functions are largely immune to the everchanging mechanical stimuli. To understand the molecular basis of this epigenetic stability, we interrogated compressive force elicited transcriptomic changes in mesenchymal stem cells purified from human periodontal ligament (PDLSCs), and identified H3K27me3 and E2F signatures populated within up- and weakly down-regulated genes respectively. Consistently, expressions of several E2F family transcription factors and EZH2, as core methyltransferase for H3K27me3, decreased in response to mechanical stress, which were attributed to force induced redistribution of RB from nucleoplasm to lamina. Importantly, although epigenomic analysis on H3K27me3 landscape only demonstrated correlating changes at one group of mechanoresponsive genes, we observed a genome-wide destabilization of super-enhancers along with aberrant EZH2 retention. These super-enhancers were tightly bounded by H3K27me3 domain on one side and exhibited attenuating H3K27ac deposition and flattening H3K27ac peaks after force exposure, analogous to increased H3K27ac entropy or decreased H3K27ac polarization. Interference of force induced EZH2 reduction could drive nuclear actin filaments dependent collision between EZH2 and super-enhancers and functionally compromise the multipotency of PDLSC following mechanical stress. These findings together unveil a specific contribution of EZH2 reduction for maintenance of super-enhancer stability and cell identity in mechanoresponse. Overall design: ChIP-seq analysis in PDLSC