Abstract
The transcription factor early B-cell factor 2 (EBF2) is an essential mediator of brown adipocyte commitment and terminal differentiation. However, the mechanisms by which EBF2 regulates chromatin to activate brown fat-specific genes in adipocytes were unknown. ChIP-seq (chromatin immunoprecipitation [ChIP] followed by deep sequencing) analyses in brown adipose tissue showed that EBF2 binds and regulates the activity of lineage-specific enhancers. Mechanistically, EBF2 physically interacts with the chromatin remodeler BRG1 and the BAF chromatin remodeling complex in brown adipocytes. We identified the histone reader protein DPF3 as a brown fat-selective component of the BAF complex that was required for brown fat gene programming and mitochondrial function. Loss of DPF3 in brown adipocytes reduced chromatin accessibility at EBF2-bound enhancers and led to a decrease in basal and catecholamine-stimulated expression of brown fat-selective genes. Notably, Dpf3 is a direct transcriptional target of EBF2 in brown adipocytes, thereby establishing a regulatory module through which EBF2 activates and also recruits DPF3-anchored BAF complexes to chromatin. Together, these results reveal a novel mechanism by which EBF2 cooperates with a tissue-specific chromatin remodeling complex to activate brown fat identity genes.
Original language | English |
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Journal | Genes & Development |
Volume | 31 |
Issue number | 7 |
Pages (from-to) | 660-673 |
Number of pages | 14 |
ISSN | 0890-9369 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 1 Apr 2017 |
Externally published | Yes |
Keywords
- Adipogenesis/genetics
- Adipose Tissue, Brown/cytology
- Animals
- Basic Helix-Loop-Helix Transcription Factors/physiology
- Cell Lineage/genetics
- Cells, Cultured
- Chromatin/metabolism
- Chromatin Assembly and Disassembly
- Chromosomal Proteins, Non-Histone/metabolism
- DNA-Binding Proteins/genetics
- Gene Expression Regulation
- Histones/metabolism
- Mice
- Mice, Inbred C57BL
- Mice, Knockout
- Transcription Factors/genetics
- Transcription, Genetic