GSE51800
NOTCH1/RBPJ complexes drive target gene expression through dynamic interactions with super-enhancers
The main oncogenic driver in T-lymphoblastic leukemia (T-LL) is NOTCH1, which activates genes by forming chromatin-associated Notch transcription complexes. Gamma-secretase (GSI) inhibitor treatment prevents NOTCH1 nuclear localization, but most genes with NOTCH1 binding sites are insensitive to GSI. Here, we demonstrate that fewer than 10% of NOTCH1 binding sites show dynamic changes in NOTCH1 occupancy when T-LL cells are toggled between the Notch-on and –off states with GSI. Dynamic NOTCH1 sites are functional, being highly associated with Notch target genes, are located mainly in distal enhancers, and frequently overlap with RUNX1 binding. In line with the latter association, we show that expression of IL7R, a gene with key roles in normal T cell development and in T-LL, is coordinately regulated by Runx factors and dynamic NOTCH1 binding to distal enhancers. Like IL7R, most Notch target genes and associated dynamic NOTCH1 binding sites co-occupy chromatin domains defined by constitutive binding of CCCTC binding factor (CTCF), which appears to restrict the regulatory potential of dynamic NOTCH1 sites. More remarkably, the majority of dynamic NOTCH1 sites lie in super-enhancers, distal elements with exceptionally broad and high levels of H3K27ac. Changes in Notch occupancy produces dynamic alterations in H3K27ac levels across the entire breadth of super-enhancers and in the promoters of nearby Notch target genes. These findings link regulation of super-enhancer function to NOTCH1, a master regulatory factor and potent oncoprotein in the context of immature T cells, and delineate a generally applicable roadmap for identifying functional Notch sites in cellular genomes. Overall design: NOTCH1/RBPJ complexes binding dynamics in human T-LL