SUMMARY
The small nuclear RNA (snRNA) genes have been widely used as a model system for understanding transcriptional regulation due to the unique aspects of their promoter structure, selectivity for either RNA Polymerase (Pol) II or III, and because of their unique mechanism of termination that is tightly linked with the promoter. Recently, we identified the Little Elongation Complex (LEC) in Drosophila that is required for the expression of Pol II-transcribed snRNA genes. Here, using Drosophila and mammalian systems, we provide genetic and molecular evidence that LEC functions in at least two phases of snRNA transcription: an initiation step requiring the ICE1 subunit, and an elongation step requiring ELL.
INTRODUCTION
The promoter structure of the human snRNA genes can be distinguished from the promoters of protein-coding genes and other non-coding RNAs transcribed by Pol II by a proximal sequence element (PSE) and an enhancer-like distal sequence element (DSE) (Hernandez, 2001). The PSE is required for basal transcription and recruits the multi-subunit snRNA activator protein complex (SNAPc). The DSE enhances the transcription of snRNA genes and typically consists of an octamer (POU2F1/Oct-1) binding site and a ZNF143 (hStaf) binding site (Jawdekar and Henry, 2008; Murphy et al., 1992; Yoon et al., 1995). snRNA genes can be transcribed by either Pol II or Pol III. Slight differences in snRNA promoter elements may put SNAPc into different conformations that can be differentially recognized by Pol II or Pol III (Kim et al., 2010).
Unlike pre-mRNAs, snRNAs are not spliced or polyadenylated. The snRNA 3’ end formation is dependent on a conserved 3’ box, which directs the processing of the snRNA through the Integrator complex (Baillat et al., 2005; Cuello et al., 1999; Kunkel and Pederson, 1985). The function of the 3’ box is promoter-specific as it is only recognized when transcribed from an snRNA promoter (Hernandez and Weiner, 1986). Many of the factors that have been found to affect snRNA expression are found to primarily affect 3’-end processing (Baillat et al., 2005; Egloff et al., 2007; Ezzeddine et al., 2011; Medlin et al., 2005).
In mammals, the carboxyl-terminal repeat domain (CTD) of the largest subunit of RNA Pol II is comprised of 52 tandem repeats of the heptapeptide Tyr1-Ser2-Pro3-Thr4-Ser5-Pro6-Ser7, which can undergo reversible phosphorylation at Serine 2, Serine 5, and Serine 7 in vivo. Serine 5 phosphorylation is catalyzed by the CDK7 subunit of TFIIH at the initiation stage, which allows the CTD to interact with and activate factors that cap the 5’ end of the nascent RNA (Ho and Shuman, 1999; Trigon et al., 1998). Subsequent phosphorylation of Serine 2 by the positive transcription elongation factor b (P-TEFb), comprising CDK9 and Cyclin T1/T2, is associated with productive transcriptional elongation and 3’ end processing for mRNA genes, but is only required for the 3’ end processing of snRNA genes (Buratowski, 2009; Jacobs et al., 2004; Medlin et al., 2003). CTD phosphorylation at Serine 7 is required for recruitment of the Integrator complex to the snRNA genes and is, therefore, required for 3’ end formation of snRNAs in vivo (Egloff et al., 2007; Egloff et al., 2010).
ELL, a common translocation partner of the mixed-lineage leukemia (MLL) gene in acute myeloid leukemia, was biochemically identified as a single polypeptide from rat liver extracts that could stimulate transcription elongation in vitro and was later shown to associate with transcriptionally active loci in vivo (Eissenberg et al., 2002; Gerber et al., 2001; Shilatifard et al., 1996; Thirman et al., 1994). Recently, we identified two distinct ELL-containing complexes, the Super Elongation Complex (SEC) and the Little Elongation Complex (LEC) (Smith and Shilatifard 2013). SEC is comprised of the ELL family member ELL2, the MLL translocation partners AFF1 and AFF4, either AF9 or ENL, and the CTD kinase P-TEFb (Lin et al., 2010; Luo et al., 2012). SEC, as one of the most active forms of P-TEFb (Luo et al., 2012), is required for several normal cellular functions such as the induction of HSP70 by heat shock and the response of developmental genes to environmental signals, as well as for the misregulation of HOX genes in MLL-AFF1 transformed cells (Lin et al., 2010), and for the activation of HIV transcription (He et al., 2010; Sobhian et al., 2010).
ELL in Drosophila is also found as part of LEC, containing ICE1, ICE2, and EAF. This complex has been shown to specifically regulate the transcription of Pol II-dependent snRNA genes in Drosophila. In mammalian cells, LEC colocalizes with coilin in subnuclear bodies (Polak et al., 2003; Smith et al, 2011). Coilin is found in both Cajal bodies and histone locus bodies. Cajal bodies contain small nuclear ribonucleoprotein particles (snRNPs) and small nucleolar ribonucleoprotein particles (snoRNPs) and are thought to be the sites of maturation of these particles (Kiss, 2004). Histone locus bodies contain the U7 snRNP that participates in histone mRNA 3’ end processing (Nizami et al., 2010).
Here, employing genetic and biochemical methods we characterize the molecular properties of LEC in human cells, and provide evidence that the LEC has dual functions in regulating snRNA gene transcription: ICE1 is required for promoting Pol II occupancy at snRNA genes, while the ELL subunit facilitates transcriptional elongation control of snRNA genes.
RESULTS
Functional Conservation of LEC subunits from Drosophila to Human
We previously reported that an ELL-containing complex in Drosophila, termed LEC, is required for snRNA gene transcription by Pol II. Furthermore, biochemical purifications of human ELL and the knockdown of ELL in mouse ES cells suggested that LEC is conserved in mammals. In order to define LEC's molecular composition and functional significance in mammalian cells, we purified LEC subunits ICE1 and ICE2 from human cells and determined their interactors using mass spectrometric methods (Figure S1A-C). In addition to finding that ELL, ICE1, and ICE2 form a complex similar to what we found in Drosophila, we also found ZC3H8 to be a novel interactor of LEC (Figure S1A-C). ZC3H8 appears to be a bona fide component of LEC in humans as evidenced by colocalization with LEC subunits in subnuclear bodies, and by coimmunoprecipitation studies (Figure S1D-F).
To formally demonstrate that snRNA genes are direct targets of human LEC, we employed ChIP-seq to map the genome-wide distribution of LEC subunits and RNA Pol II in HCT116 cells. We find that all subunits of LEC occupy Pol II-transcribed snRNA genes (Figure 1A-C). The specificity of LEC for Pol II-transcribed snRNA genes is also demonstrated by the high correlation among LEC components at these genes (Figure 1D-G). We further defined high-confidence enriched peak regions for LEC subunits using MACS (FDR < 0.05 and a fivefold enrichment over input) to determine putative binding sites for the complex subunits genome-wide. There were 63 regions in the genome where all subunit peak regions overlapped, corresponding to the promoter regions (±50 bp) of 28 snRNA genes (Table S1). This high fraction of snRNA-bound genes further demonstrates the genome-wide specificity of LEC for snRNAs (p < 2.2 e-16) as tested against finding a similar fraction of snRNA genes from the random sampling (n=100,000) of 63 regions of the genome. As previously suggested by our mouse ES studies (Smith et al., 2011), LEC-bound genes are not strongly bound by SEC components such as AFF4 (Figure S1G).
In order to determine whether human LEC subunits contribute to snRNA transcription, we carried out the shRNA-mediated knockdown of ICE1, ICE2, and ZC3H8 in HCT116 cells and the RNA-seq of total RNA depleted for rRNA. Knockdown of ICE1 led to a general reduction of snRNA transcription (Figure 1H-J and Figure S1H) similar to what we observed previously for ELL RNAi in mouse ES cells (Smith et al., 2011). Although ICE1 and ELL are generally required for snRNA transcription by Pol II, we have been unable to find significant global defects in snRNA gene expression after depletion of ICE2 and ZC3H8 (data not shown), suggesting that these subunits function either in context-specific situations or in other steps of snRNA biogenesis. Therefore, we have focused our mechanistic studies of LEC function on defining the role of the ICE1 and ELL subunits in snRNA transcription.
ICE1 is a scaffold for LEC formation and targeting to subnuclear bodies containing coilin
The LEC was previously shown to co-localize with coilin in the subnuclear bodies of HeLa cells (Polak et al., 2003; Smith et al., 2011), while the SEC components such as AFF4 do not (Smith et al., 2011). To define the role of ICE1 in LEC targeting, we used transient transfection with a series of EGFP-tagged ICE1 deletion constructs and assayed protein localization in HeLa cells. Antibodies to coilin were used to mark Cajal and histone locus bodies. We found that the N-terminal 500 amino acids of ICE1 were necessary and sufficient for GFP accumulation in these bodies (Figure 2A). The only predicted domain in this region is a coiled-coil structure spanning between amino acids 23 to 186. The coiled coil is a common structural motif mediating self-interaction and/or interaction with other proteins (Wolf et al., 1997).
In order to determine if ICE1 is required for colocalization of the LEC subunits with coilin, we depleted HeLa cells of ICE1 with two different shRNAs, each co-expressed in a bicistronic transcript with GFP to allow for marking shRNA expressing cells (Figure 2B-2E and Figure S2A and S2C). Reduced ICE1 staining in the nucleoplasm and subnuclear bodies, as well as reduced mRNA levels were observed, demonstrating the efficiency of these two shRNAs (Figure S2A and S2B). Coilin localization remained normal (Figure S2C). Knockdown of ICE1 led to loss of ICE2, ELL, and ZC3H8 from coilin-containing subnuclear bodies (Figure 2B-E) without affecting the protein levels of these subunits (Figure S2D). ICE1 appears to be central for formation of LEC, as all subunits can be isolated with either N-terminal (ELL) or C-terminal (ZC3H8 and ICE2) fragments of ICE1 (Figure S1B). Furthermore, the association of ICE2 with ELL and ZC3H8 was reduced after ICE1 depletion in HCT116 cells (Figure S2E). This scaffolding function of ICE1 may involve a dimerization of ICE1 through the amino-terminal coiled coil motif, as the Flag-tagged ICE1 N-terminal domain was able to associate with full-length ICE1 (Data not shown). Together, these findings demonstrate that ICE1 is a key protein for LEC complex formation and for targeting LEC's localization with coilin in subnuclear bodies in cells (Figure 2F).
ICE1 mediates LEC recruitment and Pol II occupancy at snRNA genes
In order to understand ICE1's role in targeting LEC to chromatin in Drosophila, we turned to the giant polytene chromosomes of third instar larval salivary glands. ICE1 is expressed at a very low, or undetectable, level in this tissue, while ELL is concentrated with the Serine 2 phosphorylated form of Pol II at numerous sites including many puff sites indicative of high levels of transcription (Figure S3A-C) (Gerber et al., 2001). We expressed ICE1 using the Gal4-UAS system and a salivary gland-specific driver. In the presence of Gal4, ICE1 protein approached the levels normally found in ovaries (Figure S3A). Polytene squash preparations show that ICE1 and ELL co-accumulate at sites of snRNA genes when ICE1 is overexpressed (Figure 3A-B). However, these sites are not enriched for the Serine 2 phosphorylated form of Pol II (Figure S3D). Remarkably, new sites of strong Pol II staining, which correspond to the sites of strong ICE1 and ELL staining, can be observed in the ICE1 overexpressing glands when using the 8WG16 monoclonal antibody that recognizes the unphosphorylated CTD of Pol II (Figure 3C and S3E).
To further explore a possible role of ICE1 in influencing Pol II occupancy at a higher resolution, we performed RNAi knockdown of ICE1 in Drosophila S2 cells followed by ChIP-seq with antibodies recognizing total Pol II (Figures 4A and 4B). We find Pol II occupancy significantly reduced at LEC-bound snRNA genes in S2 cells, such as U11, without affecting Pol II occupancy at nearby protein-coding genes (Figure 4A and S4A). We also found that the LEC-bound snRNA genes were significantly reduced in Pol II occupancy genome-wide as compared to all Pol II-bound protein-coding genes (Wilcox; one-tailed; p = 7.603e-10; Figure 4B). To test the evolutionarily conserved role for ICE1 in the recruitment of Pol II to snRNA genes from Drosophila to human, we also performed Pol II ChIP-seq in HCT116 cells after depletion of ICE1 with shRNA. Pol II occupancy is significantly reduced at LEC-bound snRNA genes in human cells in the absence of ICE1 (Wilcox; one-tailed; p= 1.091e-12; Figure 4C and 4D). However, depletion of ICE2 or ZC3H8 has no major effect on Pol II residency on snRNA genes (Figure S4B). Depletion of ICE1 leads to reduced occupancy of the ICE2, ELL and ZC3H8 subunits of LEC at snRNA genes (Figure 4E and 4F).
Evidence that ELL enhances transcriptional elongation of snRNA genes by Pol II
The ELL gene was initially identified as one of the translocation partners of MLL found in hematological malignancies (Rowley, 1998; Thirman et al., 1994). Human and Drosophila ELL were demonstrated to function as Pol II elongation factors capable of increasing the catalytic rate of transcription elongation by reducing transient pausing in vitro (Gerber et al., 2001; Shilatifard, 1998; Shilatifard et al., 1996), but no direct in vivo evidence exists that ELL specifically affects the elongation step of transcription by Pol II. Although snRNA genes are relatively short, sustaining their high rates of transcription may require the elongation activity of ELL. In order to better understand ELL's in vivo role on Pol II's activity, we performed Pol II ChIP-seq after ELL RNAi knockdown in Drosophila S2 cells. In contrast to what is seen with ICE1 knockdown, no significant global change in Pol II occupancy is observed at snRNA genes after ELL RNAi (Wilcox; two-tailed; p=0.4004; Figure S5A). However, occasionally a modest reduction in the Pol II ChIP-seq levels at some snRNA genes after ELL RNAi knockdown can be observed (Figure 5A, red boxes).
Although Pol II levels appeared relatively unaffected by loss of ELL, we noticed that when the Pol II signal at snRNA genes is scaled to the maximum of each condition, a shift in the Pol II distribution towards the 5’ end of the gene in the absence of ELL could be observed (Figure 5B, right panels). The Pol II shift is also seen at the small nucleolar RNA (snoRNA) genes that are transcribed by Pol II (Figure 5C), without any obvious reduction in Pol II levels at these genes (Figure S5B). Pol II transcribed genes that are not targets of LEC, such as Sc2 and Baldspot (Figure 5A, green boxes), do not show a shift in the Pol II distribution after ELL RNAi knockdown (Figure S5C). We made two measurements to quantify the degree and specificity of the Pol II shift for snRNA genes after ELL knockdown. For both methods, we annotated the nearest Pol II enriched region for the wild-type and ELL knockdown, if an enriched peak region was found within 100 bp of the annotated transcription start site in the wild-type. We then computed the positions of the summit and the center of density for each peak region. In order to determine a shift, we oriented each transcript start site 5’ to 3’ and computed the shift in base pairs between both the summits and centers of density, respectively. We sought to compare the shift in Pol II peak behavior between the LEC-bound snRNAs and 1,000 random Pol II-bound genes (Figure 5D). We found significant changes in the shift distribution for the LEC-bound genes compared to the random Pol II-bound genes (Wilcox test; one-tailed; summit p = 0.002412; center p = 0.008095).
LEC can regulate genes that are co-transcribed by Pol II and Pol III
Recently, Hernandez and colleagues performed ChIP-seq in IMR90Tert cells for the subunits of Pol II and Pol III, and for the subunits of SNAPc that binds the core promoters of both Pol II and Pol III-transcribed snRNA genes (James Faresse et al., 2012). They were able to identify seven unannotated Pol II transcribed regions that were bound by SNAPc, suggesting that they were controlled similarly to snRNA genes. Six of these Unknown #1-7 genes are also enriched for Pol II in HCT116 cells (Table S2). We measured Pol II occupancy in the wild-type and ICE1 RNAi knockdown HCT116 cells and saw that all six lose Pol II occupancy in the knockdown cells (Table S2), similar to what we found with annotated snRNAs.
The James Faresse et al. study also reported that one gene, RPPH1, is transcribed by both Pol II and Pol III in IMR90Tert cells. The RPPH1 gene expresses the H1 RNA, the 340 nucleotide catalytic component of the RNase P involved in tRNA maturation (Bartkiewicz et al., 1989). We find that LEC subunits and Pol II are enriched at the RPPH1 gene in HCT116 cells (Figure 6A). Furthermore, H1 RNA levels are reduced when ICE1 is depleted (Figure 6B). Pol II occupancy on RPPH1 is also reduced by ICE1 depletion (Figure 6C). However, Pol III occupancy at RPPH1, or at a gene exclusively transcribed by Pol III, RNY1, is not affected by ICE1 knockdown (Figure 6D). Together these data support the conclusion of James Faresse et al., which showed that Pol II and Pol III are non-redundant for the transcription of the RPPH1 gene.
We were also surprised that a U6 gene, U6-26, was identified in our list of genes that are co-occupied by all LEC subunits (Figure S6A and Table S1). The U6-26 gene was also found to have the second highest enrichment of Pol II among the list of Pol III-class snRNA genes that were identified by James Faresse and colleagues (Figure S6A and Table S2). Importantly, both ICE1 and Pol II levels are reduced at U6-26 after ICE1 knockdown (Figure S6B and Table S2), further demonstrating that the presence of SNAPc with Pol II is sufficient to identify a LEC-regulated gene.
DISCUSSION
In the present study, we have demonstrated the functional conservation of the Little Elongation Complex (LEC) between flies and humans and have provided evidence that it has roles in both the recruitment and elongation stages of Pol II-dependent snRNA gene transcription. ICE1 is required for complex assembly and for Pol II occupancy at snRNA genes. ELL is required for Pol II elongation as indicated by a 5’ shift in the Pol II distribution at snRNA genes. The function(s) of the other subunits are currently unknown, suggesting that LEC could function as a multi-functional tool (Figure 7) with some subunits functioning at distinct steps or in a context-dependent manner.
In ICE1 knockdown cells from flies or mammals, Pol II occupancy is specifically reduced at snRNA genes (Figure 4) and expressing ICE1 in Drosophila salivary glands leads to new Pol II recruitment to snRNA genes (Figure 3). In the case of ELL knockdown, we did not observe a global reduction in Pol II occupancy at snRNA genes (Figure S5A). Instead, we noticed a shift in Pol II to the 5’ end of the snRNA genes after ELL RNAi (Figures 5B and 5C). Due to the small size of snRNA genes, and since Pol II peaks well into the snRNA gene body, we were not able to use traditional calculations of traveling ratios to describe a change in polymerase distribution along the transcription unit (Wade and Struhl, 2008). Therefore, we developed two metrics to quantify our observed shift, one based on the position of the peak summit of Pol II, and another, which determined the base position at the center of the density of the total Pol II signal around the snRNA gene. Comparing these measurements in wild-type and RNAi conditions allowed us to obtain statistical support for our hypothesis that ELL could play a role in either Pol II release from the start site or in facilitating Pol II processivity in gene bodies (Figure 5D).
The function of ICE2 and ZC3H8 within LEC are currently unknown. ICE2 is conserved in both human and fly LEC, while ZC3H8 has no obvious ortholog in Drosophila. ZC3H8 is comprised of a charged domain and three putative C(3)H-type zinc fingers and belongs to a family of proteins implicated in RNA binding and 3’ end processing. We previously noted that ICE2 is related to proteins that bind the 5’ ends of RNA (Margelevicius et al., 2010). Another protein implicated in LEC function is USPL1. A divergent relative of USPL1, CG8229, was found associated with Drosophila LEC; and a proteomics study found that overexpressed USPL1 co-purified with ICE1 and ELL in human cells (Smith et al., 2011; Sowa et al., 2009). Recently, USPL1 was demonstrated to be a sumo isopeptidase with non-catalytic, but essential functions in cell proliferation and coilin body formation, despite being expressed at very low levels (Schulz et al., 2012). All LEC components localize to coilin-stained bodies. Coilin is found in both Cajal bodies, sites of snRNP maturation and recycling (Kiss, 2004), and histone locus bodies, which are sites of U7 snRNP-dependent histone mRNA 3’ end processing (Nizami et al., 2010). Interestingly, both knockdown of USPL1 (Sowa et al., 2009) and overexpression of the first 200 amino acids of ICE1 (Figure 2A) resulted in the mislocalization of coilin to nucleoli, further suggesting interdependent functions between USPL1, LEC, and coilin-positive subnuclear bodies. Since knockdown of ICE2 and ZC3H8 did not appear to have a major effect on snRNA expression levels, and since these proteins colocalize with ICE1 and ELL (both at snRNA genes and with coilin), we speculate that LEC could regulate snRNP biogenesis from transcription through snRNP maturation and recycling, as described below.
Pol II-dependent spliceosomal snRNAs are modified to carry a 5’-terminal monomethylguanosine (m7G) cap structure and short non-polyadenylated 3’ end sequences (Kiss, 2004). These precursor snRNAs are exported to the cytoplasm and assembled with Sm proteins into snRNPs through the Survival of the Motor Neuron (SMN) protein complex (Kiss, 2004). During snRNP assembly, trimming of ca. 10 nt of the 3’ end of the snRNA can occur (Kiss, 2004). Hypermethylation of the 5’-cap (2,2,7-trimethylguanosine, m3G) also occurs in the cytoplasm and acts as a signal for nuclear import (Kiss, 2004). The snRNPs are then transported into Cajal bodies where the snRNAs can be further modified (i.e. site-specific pseudouridylation and 2’-O-methylation directed by the small Cajal body-specific RNAs (scaRNAs))(Kiss, 2004). The LEC, with putative 5’ RNA and 3’ RNA-binding proteins, and ICE1-dependent colocalization with the Cajal body component coilin, could be regulating or monitoring some of these processes. Evidence that snRNP biogenesis is under feedback regulation comes from a zebrafish study where mutation of SART3, a snRNP4/6 recycling factor, led to an increased expression of a variety of proteins involved in snRNP biogenesis, including ICE1 and USPL1 (Trede et al., 2007). Coilin was recently found to mark not only Cajal bodies, but also histone locus bodies that function in histone 3’ end processing (Nizami et al., 2010). This processing is dependent on the U7 snRNP (Mowry and Steitz, 1987), whose RNA component is one of the direct targets of LEC in Drosophila and humans. LEC might travel with snRNAs from their site of synthesis to their site of final maturation or function in Cajal and histone locus bodies. We postulate that the LEC subunits with unknown functions may participate in some of these processes.
ELL was originally described as an in vitro Pol II elongation processivity factor, but recent studies have implicated the related factor ELL2 as regulating the release of promoter- proximal paused Pol II as part of the active P-TEFb complex SEC (Lin et al., 2010). However, the snRNA genes appear to be relatively independent of the Serine 2 phosphorylation of the CTD (Medlin et al., 2005). Therefore, at snRNA genes, ELL's ability to suppress transient pausing and backtracking by Pol II, as demonstrated in vitro, could be employed in vivo to maintain the high levels of transcription characteristic of this class of genes.
The past several years have seen a growth in the study of the elongation stage of transcription, and the diversity of elongation factors and their function is just beginning to be appreciated (Smith and Shilatifard, 2013). The recent growth in the study of transcription elongation has been brought about by genome-wide approaches, which have the ability to demonstrate the generality of transcription elongation factor function beyond a few model genes, while also revealing the specificity of elongation factors for specific classes of genes within the whole genome. Recently developed nascent RNA sequencing strategies should facilitate detailed molecular studies of the mechanistic properties of diverse transcription elongation factors and how they function in vivo.
EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURES
Antibodies
Human Pol II (N-20) monoclonal antibody and Pol III antibody (SC-21574) were purchased from Santa Cruz; 8WG16 anti-CTD (MMS-126R) and H5 Ser2P-CTD (MMS-129R) monoclonals were purchased from Covance. Anti-coilin antibody was purchased from Abcam (ab11822). M2 Flag antibody was purchased from Sigma. Beta-tubulin monoclonal (E-7) was purchased from the Developmental Studies Hybridoma Bank. Full-length recombinant ZC3H8 protein, ICE1-CT (aa 1872-2266) and ICE2 NT (aa 1-261) were bacterially expressed as His–tag fusion proteins in pET-16b. Antibodies against ELL1, AFF4, dICE1, dELL, actin, and dRpb1 have been described previously (Lin et al., 2011; Lin et al., 2010; Smith et al., 2011).
ChIP-qPCR and ChIP-seq
For mammalian cells, 5x107 cells (ChIP-seq) or 1x107 (ChIP qPCR) were used for each ChIP assay according to previously described protocols (Lee et al., 2006). Briefly, HCT116 cells were crosslinked with 1% formaldehyde for 10 min at room temperature with rotation, and then crosslinking was quenched by the addition of glycine. Fixed chromatin was sonicated on a Misonix 3000 and used for immunoprecipitation with the indicated antibody. Isolated DNA was analyzed by qPCR using SYBR green on a MyIQ thermal cycler (BioRad). ChIP-seq in Drosophila S2 cells was performed similarly, except that 3x108 S2 cells were used per sample. ChIP-sequencing libraries were prepared with Illunina's Tru-seq DNA sample prep kit. Sequencing data were retrieved through the default Illumina pipeline using Casava V1.8. Reads were aligned to the human genome (UCSC hg19) or fly genome (UCSC dm3) using the Bowtie aligner V0.12.7 allowing uniquely mapping reads only with up to three mismatches to be aligned to the genome (Langmead et al., 2009). Gene annotations are from ENSEMBL 67 for fly and ENSEMBL 69 for human.
Flag purification and MudPIT analyses
Dignam nuclear extracts were prepared from HEK293FRT cells expressing various Flag-tagged proteins (Dignam et al., 1983). Flag-tagged and their associated proteins were purified on anti-Flag (M2) agarose beads in the presence of Benzonase (Sigma). Trichloroacetic acid-precipitated protein mixtures from the Flag purifications were digested with endoproteinase Lys-C and trypsin (Roche) and analyzed by MudPIT as previously described (Wu et al., 2008).
Immunoprecipitation
HCT116 cells were washed with cold phosphate-buffered saline (PBS) twice and lysed in RIPA buffer (20 mM Tris-HCl [pH 7.4], 150 mM NaCl, 1% NP40, 1% sodium deoxycholate, 0.1% SDS, 1 mM dithiothreitol [DTT]) containing proteinase inhibitors (Sigma) for 30 min at 4°C. After centrifugation at 13,000 rpm for 30 min, the supernatant was incubated with the indicated antibodies and protein A/G PLUS agarose (Santa Cruz) at 4 °C overnight with gentle rotation. The beads were spun down and washed three times with wash buffer (10 mM HEPES [pH7.4], 1 mM MgCl2, 300mM NaCl, 10mM KCl, 0.2%TritonX-100) before boiling in sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) loading buffer.
RNA interference (RNAi), RT-qPCR, and RNA-seq
HCT116 cells were infected with lentivirus harboring either Non-targeting shRNA or ICE1 shRNA in the presence of 8 μg/ml of polybrene (Sigma) for 24 hours (Target sequence for ICE1 sh1: 5’-ATAAGAGTCGTTTGCGAAATA-3’, Target sequence for ICE1 sh2: 5’-GCCTAATCAAGTATCAGTTAT-3’). The infected cells were selected with 2 μg/ml puromycin for an extra 48 h before harvesting the cells for RNA extraction. Total RNA was extracted with Trizol (Invitrogen), treated with DNase I (NEB) for 20 min at room temperature, and precipitated with sodium acetate/ethanol in the presence of 1 μg/ml glycogen and dissolved again in RNase-free water. The expression levels were quantitated with a One-step RT-PCR kit (QIAGEN) on a My IQ Thermocycler (Bio-Rad). Relative expression to housekeeping gene GAPDH was determined by using the comparative cycle threshold method. Drosophila ICE1 and ELL RNAi were performed as previously described (LEC paper) except that S2 cells were grown in SFX serum-free media from HyClone. For RNA-seq, 2 μg of total RNA was depleted of ribosomal RNA with the RiboZero kit (Epicentre) and libraries were made with the TruSeq RNA sample Prep Kit (Illumina).
Immunofluorescence
HeLa cells were transfected with pGIPZ control and ICE1-specific shRNA (Open Biosystem, V2LHS_16118 for sh1 and V3LH3_302918 for sh2), which GFP and shRNA are part of a bicistronic transcript allowing the visual marking of shRNA expressing cells. After 48 h, cells were fixed by 1% paraformaldehyde for 10 min, permeabilized with 0.25% Triton X-100 for 10 min, and blocked with 1% bovine serum albumin before antibody incubations. Drosophila polytene chromosome immunofluorescence was performed as previously described (Eissenberg, 2006). For the ICE1 overexpression experiments, a misexpression line, EP-G2779, was obtained from Bloomington (BL27010) and crossed to the Sgs3-Gal4 driver (BL6870) at 27° C.
Supplementary Material
HIGHLIGHTS.
The Little Elongation Complex (LEC) mediates snRNA transcription in flies and humans.
ICE1 is the central scaffold for the assembly and subcellular localization of LEC.
Pol II's recruitment to snRNA genes requires ICE1.
ELL facilitates proper transcription elongation by Pol II at snRNA genes.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
We thank Rhonda Egidy, Allison Peak, Anoja Perera, and the rest of the Stowers Molecular Biology core for help with Illumina sequencing. We are grateful to the Stowers Tissue Culture core for assistance with the generation and maintenance of cell lines. We thank Laura Shilatifard for editorial assistance. These studies were supported in part by the National Cancer Institute grants R01CA150265 and R01CA089455 to A.S.
Footnotes
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Accession numbers. ChIP-seq and RNA-seq data are available from GEO with accession number GSE47938.
SUPPLEMENTAL INFORMATION. Supplemental Information includes six figures and two supplemental tables.
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