Differential acetylation of histone H4 lysine during development of in vitro fertilized,cloned and parthenogenetically activated bovine embryos

The oocyte is remarkable in its ability to remodel parental genomes following fertilization and to reprogram somatic nuclei after nuclear transfer (NT). To characterise the patterns of histone H4 acetylation and DNA methylation during development of bovine gametogenesis and embryogenesis, specific antibodies for histone H4 acetylated at lysine 5 (K5), K8, K12 and K16 residues and for methylated cytosine of CpG dinucleotides were used. Oocytes and sperm lacked the staining for histone acetylation, when DNA methylation staining was intense. In IVF zygotes, both pronuclei were transiently hyper-acetylated. However, the male pronucleus was faster in acquiring acetylated histones, and concurrently it was rapidly demethylated. Both pronuclei were equally acetylated during the S to G2-phase transition, while methylation staining was only still observed in the female pronucleus. In parthenogenetically activated oocytes, acetylation of the female pronucleus was enriched faster, while DNA remained methylated. A transient de-acetylation was observed in NT embryos reconstructed using a non-activated ooplast of a metaphase second arrested oocyte. Remarkably, the intensity of acetylation staining of most H4 lysine residues peaked at the 8-cell stage in IVF embryos, which coincided with zygotic genome activation and with lowest DNA methylation staining. At the blastocyst stage, trophectodermal cells of IVF and parthenogenetic embryos generally demonstrated more intense staining for most acetylated H4 lysine, whilst ICM cells stained very weakly. In contrast methylation of the DNA stained more intensely in ICM. NT blastocysts showed differential acetylation of blastomeres but not methylation. The inverse association of histone lysine acetylation and DNA methylation at different vital embryo stages suggests a mechanistically significant relationship. The complexities of these epigenetic interactions are discussed.     

Trichostatin A improves histone acetylation in bovine somatic cell nuclear transfer early embryos

Epigenetic aberrancies likely preclude correct and complete nuclear reprogramming following somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT), and may underlie the observed reduced viability of cloned embryos. In the present study, we tested the effects of the histone deacetylase inhibitor (HDACi), trichostatin A (TSA), on development and histone acetylation of cloned bovine preimplantation embryos. Our results indicated that treating activated reconstructed SCNT embryos with 50 nM TSA for 13 h produced eight-cell embryos with levels of acetylation of histone H4 at lysine 5 (AcH4K5) similar to fertilized counterparts and significantly greater than in control NT embryos (p < 0.005). Further, TSA treatment resulted in SCNT embryos with preimplantation developmental potential similar to fertilized counterparts, as no difference was observed in cleavage and blastocyst rates or in blastocyst total cell number (p > 0.05). Measurement of eight selected developmentally important genes in single blastocysts showed a similar expression profile among the three treatment groups, with the exception of Nanog, Cdx2, and DNMT3b, whose expression levels were higher in TSA-treated NT than in in vitro fertilized (IVF) embryos. Data presented herein demonstrate that TSA can improve at least one epigenetic mark in early cloned bovine embryos. However, evaluation of development to full-term is necessary to ascertain whether this effect reflects a true increase in developmental potential.     

Enhanced histone acetylation in somatic cells induced by a histone deacetylase inhibitor improved inter-generic cloned leopard cat blastocysts

The objective was to determine whether alterations of histone acetylation status in donor cells affected inter-generic SCNT (igSCNT)-cloned embryo development. Leopard cat cells were treated with trichostatin A (TSA; a histone deacetylase inhibitor) for 48 h, and then donor cells were transferred into enucleated oocytes from domestic cats. Compared to non-treated cells, the acetylated histone 3 at lysine 9 (AcH3K9) and histone 4 at lysine 5 (AcH4K5) in the TSA group increased for up to 48 h (P < 0.05). The AcH3K9 signal ratios of igSCNT group was higher than control group 3 h after activation (P < 0.05). Treatment with TSA significantly increased total cell number of blastocysts (109.1 ± 6.9 vs. 71.8 ± 2.9, mean ± SEM), with no significant effects on rates of cleavage or blastocyst development (71.1 ± 2.8 vs. 67.6 ± 2.9 and 12.2 ± 2.6 vs. 11.0 ± 2.6, respectively). When igSCNT cloned embryos were transferred into a domestic cat oviduct and recovered after 8 d, blastocyst development rates and total cell numbers were greater in the TSA-igSCNT group (20.7 ± 3.0% and 2847.6 ± 37.2) than in the control igSCNT group (5.7 ± 2.2% and 652.1 ± 17.6, P < 0.05). Average total cell numbers of blastocysts were approximately 4.4-fold higher in the TSA-igSCNT group (2847.6 ± 37.2, n = 10) than in the control group (652.1 ± 17.6, n = 8; P < 0.05), but were ∼2.9-fold lower than in vivo cat blastocysts produced by intrauterine insemination (8203.8 ± 29.6, n = 5; P < 0.001). Enhanced histone acetylation levels of donor cells improved in vivo developmental competence and quality of inter-generic cloned embryos; however, fewer cells in blastocysts derived from igSCNT than blastocysts produced by insemination may reduce development potential following intergeneric cloning (none of the cloned embryos were maintained to term).     

Dynamic reprogramming of histone acetylation and methylation in the first cell cycle of cloned mouse embryos

Epigenetic reprogramming is thought to play an important role in the development of cloned embryos reconstructed by somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT). In the present study, dynamic reprogramming of histone acetylation and methylation modifications was investigated in the first cell cycle of cloned embryos. Our results demonstrated that part of somatic inherited lysine acetylation on core histones (H3K9, H3K14, H4K16) could be quickly deacetylated following SCNT, and reacetylation occurred following activation treatment. However, acetylation marks of the other lysine residues on core histones (H4K8, H4K12) persisted in the genome of cloned embryos with only mild deacetylation occurring in the process of SCNT and activation treatment. The somatic cloned embryos established histone acetylation modifications resembling those in normal embryos produced by intracytoplasmic sperm injection through these two different programs. Moreover, treatment of cloned embryos with a histone deacetylase inhibitor, Trichostatin A (TSA), improved the histone acetylation in a manner similar to that in normal embryos, and the improved histone acetylation in cloned embryos treated with TSA might contribute to improved development of TSA-treated clones. In contrast to the asymmetric histone H3K9 tri- and dimethylation present in the parental genomes of fertilized embryos, the tri- and dimethylations of H3K9 were gradually demethylated in the cloned embryos, and this histone H3K9 demethylation may be crucial for gene activation of cloned embryos. Together, our results indicate that dynamic reprogramming of histone acetylation and methylation modifications in cloned embryos is developmentally regulated.     

Enhancing somatic nuclear reprogramming by Oct4 gain-of-function in cloned mouse embryos

Cloned mouse embryo development to blastocyst stage correlates positively with the expression level of Oct4 (Pou5f1) at the morula stage, as reported previously by our laboratory. However, whether this correlation is based on a cause-effect relationship has remained unclear. To address this question, we artificially increased the level of Oct4 prior and subsequent to somatic cell nuclear transfer, by microinjection of Oct4 mRNA into ooplasts and by transgenic Oct4 induction at the morula stage, respectively. We observed higher developmental rates of cloned embryos to blastocyst when higher levels of Oct4 were superimposed with the initial reprogramming events; whereas increasing Oct4 at later stages of preimplantation development did not have a significant effect on developmental rates. Our results show that supplemental Oct4 facilitates oocyte-mediated reprogramming only during the first cleavages, implying that the higher Oct4 level observed in developmentally competent cloned morulae is a readout of reprogramming events that successfully took place earlier.     

Cross-talk between histone modifications in response to histone deacetylase inhibitors: MLL4 links histone H3 acetylation and histone H3K4 methylation

Histones are subject to a wide variety of post-translational modifications that play a central role in gene activation and silencing. We have used histone modification-specific antibodies to demonstrate that two histone modifications involved in gene activation, histone H3 acetylation and H3 lysine 4 methylation, are functionally linked. This interaction, in which the extent of histone H3 acetylation determines both the abundance and the "degree" of H3K4 methylation, plays a major role in the epigenetic response to histone deacetylase inhibitors. A combination of in vivo knockdown experiments and in vitro methyltransferase assays shows that the abundance of H3K4 methylation is regulated by the activities of two opposing enzyme activities, the methyltransferase MLL4, which is stimulated by acetylated substrates, and a novel and as yet unidentified H3K4me3 demethylase.     

Methods for the analysis of histone H3 and H4 acetylation in blood

LBH589 is one of the many histone deacetylase inhibitors (HDACi) that are currently in clinical trial. Despite their wide-spread use, there is little literature available describing the typical levels of histone acetylation in untreated peripheral blood, the treatment and storage of samples to retain optimal measurement of histone acetylation nor methods by which histone acetylation analysis may be monitored and measured during the course of a patient’s treatment. In this study, we have used cord or peripheral blood as a source of human leukocytes, performed a comparative analysis of sample processing methods and developed a flow cytometric method suitable for monitoring histone acetylation in isolated lymphocytes and liquid tumors. Western blotting and immunohistochemistry techniques have also been addressed. We have tested these methods on blood samples collected from four patients treated with LBH589 as part of an Australian Children’s Cancer Clinical Trial (CLBH589AAU03T) and show comparable results when comparing in vitro and in vivo data. This paper does not seek to correlate histone acetylation levels in peripheral blood with clinical outcome but describes methods of analysis that will be of interest to clinicians and scientists monitoring the effects of HDACi on histone acetylation in blood samples in clinical trials or in related research studies.     

Identification of five sites of acetylation in alfalfa histone H4.

Radioactive acetylation in vivo of plant histone H4 of alfalfa, Arabidopsis, tobacco, and carrot revealed five distinct forms of radioactive, acetylated histone. In histone H4 of eukaryotes ranging from fungi to man, acetylation is restricted to four lysines (residues 5, 8, 12, and 16) possibly caused by a quantitative methylation of lysine-20. Chemical and proteolytic fragmentation of the amino terminally blocked alfalfa H4 protein, dynamically acetylated by radioactive acetate in vivo, allowed protein sequencing and identification of selected peptides. Peptide identification was facilitated by analyzing fully characterized calf histone H4 in parallel. Acetylation in vivo of alfalfa histone H4 was restricted to the lysines in the amino-terminal domain of the protein, residues 1-23. Lysine-20 was shown to be free of methylation, as in pea histone H4. This apparently makes lysine-20 accessible as a novel target for histone acetylation. The in vivo pattern of lysine acetylation (16 greater than 12 greater than 8 greater than or equal to 5 = 20) revealed a preference for lysines -16 and -12 without an apparent strict sequential specificity of acetylation.     

Methods for the analysis of histone H3 and H4 acetylation in blood

LBH589 is one of the many histone deacetylase inhibitors (HDACi) that are currently in clinical trial. Despite their wide-spread use, there is little literature available describing the typical levels of histone acetylation in untreated peripheral blood, the treatment and storage of samples to retain optimal measurement of histone acetylation nor methods by which histone acetylation analysis may be monitored and measured during the course of a patient’s treatment. In this study, we have used cord or peripheral blood as a source of human leukocytes, performed a comparative analysis of sample processing methods and developed a flow cytometric method suitable for monitoring histone acetylation in isolated lymphocytes and liquid tumors. Western blotting and immunohistochemistry techniques have also been addressed. We have tested these methods on blood samples collected from four patients treated with LBH589 as part of an Australian Children’s Cancer Clinical Trial (CLBH589AAU03T) and show comparable results when comparing in vitro and in vivo data. This paper does not seek to correlate histone acetylation levels in peripheral blood with clinical outcome but describes methods of analysis that will be of interest to clinicians and scientists monitoring the effects of HDACi on histone acetylation in blood samples in clinical trials or in related research studies.     

hMOF histone acetyltransferase is required for histone H4 lysine 16 acetylation in mammalian cells

Reversible histone acetylation plays an important role in regulation of chromatin structure and function. Here, we report that the human orthologue of Drosophila melanogaster MOF, hMOF, is a histone H4 lysine K16-specific acetyltransferase. hMOF is also required for this modification in mammalian cells. Knockdown of hMOF in HeLa and HepG2 cells causes a dramatic reduction of histone H4K16 acetylation as detected by Western blot analysis and mass spectrometric analysis of endogenous histones. We also provide evidence that, similar to the Drosophila dosage compensation system, hMOF and hMSL3 form a complex in mammalian cells. hMOF and hMSL3 small interfering RNA-treated cells also show dramatic nuclear morphological deformations, depicted by a polylobulated nuclear phenotype. Reduction of hMOF protein levels by RNA interference in HeLa cells also leads to accumulation of cells in the G(2) and M phases of the cell cycle. Treatment with specific inhibitors of the DNA damage response pathway reverts the cell cycle arrest caused by a reduction in hMOF protein levels. Furthermore, hMOF-depleted cells show an increased number of phospho-ATM and gammaH2AX foci and have an impaired repair response to ionizing radiation. Taken together, our data show that hMOF is required for histone H4 lysine 16 acetylation in mammalian cells and suggest that hMOF has a role in DNA damage response during cell cycle progression.     

Incomplete reactivation of Oct4-related genes in mouse embryos cloned from somatic nuclei

The majority of cloned animals derived by nuclear transfer from somatic cell nuclei develop to the blastocyst stage but die after implantation. Mouse embryos that lack an Oct4 gene, which plays an essential role in control of developmental pluripotency, develop to the blastocyst stage and also die after implantation, because they lack pluripotent embryonic cells. Based on this similarity, we posited that cloned embryos derived from differentiated cell nuclei fail to establish a population of truly pluripotent embryonic cells because of faulty reactivation of key embryonic genes such as Oct4. To explore this hypothesis, we used an in silico approach to identify a set of Oct4-related genes whose developmental expression pattern is similar to that of Oct4. When expression of Oct4 and 10 Oct4-related genes was analyzed in individual cumulus cell-derived cloned blastocysts, only 62% correctly expressed all tested genes. In contrast to this incomplete reactivation of Oct4-related genes in somatic clones, ES cell-derived cloned blastocysts and normal control embryos expressed these genes normally. Notably, the contrast between expression patterns of the Oct4-related genes correlated with efficiency of embryonic development of somatic and ES cell-derived cloned blastocysts to term. These observations suggest that failure to reactivate the full spectrum of these Oct4-related genes may contribute to embryonic lethality in somatic-cell clones.     

Comprehensive analysis of dynamics of histone H4 acetylation in mitotic barley cells

Nucleosomal histones are covalently modified at specific amino acid residues. In the case of histone H4, four lysines (K5, K8, K12, and K16) are acetylated. In the current studies, we examined the dynamics of histone H4 acetylation at K8 and K12 in mitotic barley cells using a three-dimensional immunofluorescent method. Based on the results and previous studies on the dynamics of K5 and K16 acetylation, we provide a comprehensive view of the dynamics of H4 acetylation. Interphase nuclei exhibit strong acetylation in the centromeric region at K5, K8 and K12. In the case of K12, strong acetylation at nucleolar organizing regions was observed from prophase to anaphase. The dynamics of K12 were closely related to those of K5. On the other hand, K8 exhibited a pattern of almost uniform acetylation from prophase to telophase and strong acetylation in distal regions of chromosomes at both metaphase and anaphase, which is very similar to the dynamics of K16 acetylation. Thus, it appears that there is pair-wise acetylation of K12 and K5 in the nucleolar organizing regions and of K8 and K16 in the gene-rich regions. Together, these results suggest that pair-wise dynamics of H4 acetylation regulate chromosomal structure and function during the cell cycle.     

DNA methylation, histone H3 methylation, and histone H4 acetylation in the genome of a crustacean.

In this work, we used antibodies against histone H3 trimethylated at lysine 9 (H3K9m3); against histone H4 acetylated at lysines 5, 8, 12, and 16 (H4ac); and against DNA methylated at 5C cytosine (m5C) to study the presence and distribution of these markers in the genome of the isopod crustacean Asellus aquaticus. The use of these 3 antibodies to immunolabel spermatogonial metaphases yields reproducible patterns on the chromosomes of this crustacean. The X and Y chromosomes present an identical banding pattern with each of the antibodies. The heterochromatic telomeric regions and the centromeric regions are rich in H3K9m3, but depleted in m5C and H4ac. Thus, m5C does not seem to be required to stabilize the silence of these regions in this organism.