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RNA m5C oxidation by TET2 regulates chromatin state and leukaemogenesis
Open accessAbstract
Mutation of tet methylcytosine dioxygenase 2 (encoded by TET2 ) drives myeloid malignancy initiation and progression 1–3 . TET2 deficiency is known to cause a globally opened chromatin state and activation of genes contributing to aberrant haematopoietic stem cell self-renewal 4,5 . However, the open chromatin observed in TET2-deficient mouse embryonic stem cells, leukaemic cells and haematopoietic stem and progenitor cells 5 is inconsistent with the designated role of DNA 5-methylcytosine oxidation of TET2. Here we show that chromatin-associated retrotransposon RNA 5-methylcytosine (m 5 C) can be recognized by the methyl-CpG-binding-domain protein MBD6, which guides deubiquitination of nearby monoubiquitinated Lys119 of histone H2A (H2AK119ub) to promote an open chromatin state. TET2 oxidizes m 5 C and antagonizes this MBD6-dependent H2AK119ub deubiquitination. TET2 depletion thereby leads to globally decreased H2AK119ub, more open chromatin and increased transcription in stem cells. TET2- mutant human leukaemia becomes dependent on this gene activation pathway, with MBD6 depletion selectively blocking proliferation of TET2 -mutant leukaemic cells and largely reversing the haematopoiesis defects caused by Tet2 loss in mouse models. Together, our findings reveal a chromatin regulation pathway by TET2 through retrotransposon RNA m 5 C oxidation and identify the downstream MBD6 protein as a feasible target for developing therapies specific against TET2 mutant malignancies.
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TL;DR
TET2 oxidizes chromatin-associated retrotransposon RNA m5C, and TET2 loss increases m5C that is read by MBD6 to recruit PR-DUB/BAP1, deubiquitinate H2AK119ub, open chromatin, and activate leukaemogenic genes. Targeting MBD6 reverses Tet2-loss phenotypes in mouse HSPCs and impairs TET2-mutant leukaemia cell growth and xenograft progression.
Key findings
- In mES cells, Tet2 KO increased chromatin accessibility and global transcription; WT Tet2, but not catalytically dead HxD, restored repression in Tet2-KO but not Pspc1-KO cells, implicating PSPC1-dependent RNA oxidation.
- caRNA m5C is a TET2 substrate: Tet2 KO increased caRNA m5C and decreased hm5C; m5C peaks were enriched in repeat RNA, especially LTR/LINE families such as IAP. Nsun2 depletion reduced caRNA m5C by approximately 70% and closed chromatin; dCas13–TET2-CD targeting IAP reduced RNA m5C and increased local DNA 5mC.
- MBD6 reads m5C RNA and recruits PR-DUB: H2AK119ub ranked top among correlated marks; approximately 37% of ATAC–seq peaks were marked with H2AK119ub, H2AK119ub was downregulated in around 89% of those regions after Tet2 KO, and approximately 85% of regions with higher ATAC signals overlapped H2AK119ub loss. Mbd6 KD reversed chromatin opening and H2AK119ub loss.
- In vivo, Tet2−/− + shNC HSPC chimerism reached around 50% at 6 months versus around 5% with shMbd6; Mbd6 KD rescued splenomegaly and replating/differentiation defects. MBD6 KD blocked proliferation of TET2-mutant SKM-1 and TET2-KO K-562/THP-1 cells; in NSG xenografts, TET2-KO + shMBD6 recipients survived longer (reported ranges 125–135 days or 163–220 days).
Methods
- Mouse mES cells (WT, Tet2-KO, Pspc1-KO), mouse HSPCs (Lin−KIT+), human leukaemia cell lines (SKM-1, K-562, THP-1 and others), NSG xenotransplantation, and competitive BM transplantation assays.
- Assays included ATAC–seq/ATAC–see, RNA-seq/caRNA-seq, m5C meRIP–seq, UHPLC–MS/MS, RNA bisulfite amplicon sequencing, meDIP–seq, CUT&Tag, CLIP/PAR-CLIP, EMSA, dCas13/dCas9 tethering, ASO treatment, proliferation/colony formation, and flow cytometry.
- Main analyses used spike-in-normalized genome-wide data, differential expression/accessibility/methylation, correlation analyses, and survival comparisons; most experiments used n = 3 biological replicates unless otherwise noted.
Limitations
- The paper states that whether the oxidation product hm5C further promotes caRNA degradation remains to be investigated.
- Evident from the text: mechanistic and in vivo evidence comes mainly from mouse mES cells/HSPCs and human leukaemia cell lines/xenografts, not primary TET2-mutant patient samples.
- Evident from the text: MBD6 KD also suppressed transplanted TET2 WT human cells in vivo, so selectivity for TET2-mutant disease is not absolute; the study focused on MBD6, although MBD5 may have important roles in other cell types.
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![Fig. 2 Tet2 depletion led to elevated caRNA m5C methylation and abundance, resulting in local chromatin opening. a, The RNA m5C levels and 5-hydroxylmethylcytosine levels in the chromatin-associated fraction. m5C/C and hm5C/C values were obtained by normalizing absolute concentrations of m5C and hm5C to C. b, The average profile and heat map of the m5C level in WT mES cells, along with the corresponding ATAC–seq signals in WT and Tet2-KO mES cells on repeat RNA. The left colour bar shows meRIP signal and the right colour bar shows ATAC–seq signal. c, The m5C enrichment at various repeat RNA families. The size of each dot corresponds to the number of loci (subfamilies in ERVK or L1 shown) that were m5C methylated in WT mES cells. Exact loci numbers are indicated in parentheses. SINE, short interspersed nuclear element. d, Cumulative curve showing the log2-transformed fold change in repeat RNA expression after Tet2 KO. Repeat RNAs were grouped on the basis of their m5C enrichment quantified by log2[IP/input] using m5C meRIP-seq data. No m5C, log2[IP/input] < 1; low, 1 ≤ log2[IP/input] < 2; medium: 2 ≤ log2[IP/input] < 3; high, log2[IP/input] ≥ 3. e, Local RNA m5C and DNA 5mC changes at IAP loci at different timepoints after DOX-induced dCas13–TET2-CD tethering. P values were determined by comparing values at the corresponding timepoints with values at 0 h, individually. qPCR, quantitative PCR. For d, the box plots show the median (centre line), the upper and lower quartiles (box limits) and 1.5× the interquartile range (whiskers). For a and e, data are mean ± s.d. P values were calculated using two-tailed unpaired t-tests with Welch’s correction (a and e). NS, P > 0.05. n = 3 biological replicates (a and e). The depicted genome-wide data represent an integration of three biological replicates. Source Data](/paper-figures/d19c6b6bd2bd4ea3bb189f04b0d1cafa/rna-m5c-oxidation-by-tet2-regulates-chromatin-state-and-leukaemogenesis-figure-2.jpg)








![Extended Data Fig. 6 MBD6 preferentially binds to m5C-modified RNA and regulates chromatin H2AK119ub levels. a, Sequence alignment of human MBD family proteins (MBD1-6 and MeCP2) showing differences in the MBD region. b, Validation of Flag-MBD5 or Flag-MBD6 overexpressing mESCs using RT-qPCR. Averaged transcript expressions were indicated. Comparisons against “WT” group. c, Representative gel image quantifying nucleic acids crosslinked to MBD5 or MBD6. Comparisons against “RNase-, DNase-” group. d, EMSA showing the binding preferences of the purified MBD domain of MBD6 fused to maltose binding protein (MBP) with C, m5C, or hm5C-containing oligonucleotide probes. The purity of the single-stranded probe (ss probe) and double-stranded probe (ds probe) was validated by electrophoresis. Gradient for MBP-MBD protein was 0, 0.1, 0.5, 2.5, 12, 50, and 100 μM. e, EMSA showing that ASXL1 binding to MBD6 does not affect MBD6-m5C binding. MBD6 MBD domain (amino acid 1–100 fused by MBP-His) and ASXL1 ASXH domain (amino acid 1509–1541 fused by His-SUMO) were used. f, m5C abundance in MBD5 and MBD6 enriched RNA. g, Overlap between the RNA binding sites of MBD5 and MBD6. h-j, Repeat RNA expression (h), H2AK119ub (i) or caRNA m5C (j) level upon Mbd5 or Mbd6 KD. Comparisons against “siNC” group. k, IAP RNA lifetime upon Tet2 KO or Mbd6 KD in mESCs. l, qPCR results assessing Mbd6 or Nsun2 RNA abundance in mESCs. Comparisons against “siNC” groups. m, Chromatin openness measured by DNase-TUNEL assay upon Nsun2 or Mbd6 KD. n-r, Spike-in calibrated ATAC-seq signals in WT (WT [siNC]) and Tet2 KO (Tet2 KO [siNC]) mESCs, as well as Mbd6 KD (Tet2 KO siMbd6) and Nsun2 KD (Tet2 KO siNsun2) in Tet2-KO mESC cells. Metagene profile at genes regulated by different RNA polymerases (n), protein-coding genes (o), overall signal (p,q), or clustered ATAC peaks (r) were shown. s, Correlation fold changes in spike-in calibrated ATAC-seq signals in Tet2 KO versus WT mESCs, and comparing Nsun2 KD or Mbd6 KD with control Tet2 KO mESCs. t, Venn diagram displaying the significantly up-regulated ATAC-seq peaks in Tet2 KO compared with WT mESC cells, and down-regulated ATAC-seq peaks in Nsun2 KD or Mbd6 KD compared with control mESC cells following Tet2 KO. Bar (b,c,f,h-j,l,p) or line centre (k) represents mean and whiskers s.d. P values, two-tailed unpaired t test with Welch’s correction (b,c,f,h-l), two-tailed t-distribution with n-2 degrees of freedom (s). NS, P > 0.05. n = 3 biological replicates (b-f,h-r). The depicted genome-wide data represent an integration of three biological replicates. Source Data](/paper-figures/de31630368fb49e3953ff5b1a0ebde19/rna-m5c-oxidation-by-tet2-regulates-chromatin-state-and-leukaemogenesis-figure-11.jpg)




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123 Own result · 27 Own interpretation · 24 Own method · 19 Check pending · 7 Not checked yet · 1 No full text of the sources
A result the paper reports from its own data — it cites no other source for it, so there is none to check. The quote shows it is in the paper.
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“Approximately 37% of ATAC–seq peaks were marked with H2AK119ub (Extended Data Fig. 5h)”
§ RNA m5C oxidation by TET2 regulates chromatin state and leukaemogenesis > MBD6 binds to RNA m5C to recruit PR-DUB
plain- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
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In the paper
“We observed a negative correlation between changes in enhancer transcription and DNA methylation resulting from Tet2 KO in mES cells, which contrasts with the pattern observed for repeat RNA (Extended Data Fig. 5d).”
§ RNA m5C oxidation by TET2 regulates chromatin state and leukaemogenesis > caRNA m5C oxidation by TET2
plainstates an association- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
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A result the paper reports from its own data — it cites no other source for it, so there is none to check. The quote shows it is in the paper.
In the paper
“Only Nsun2 depletion caused an approximately 70% decrease in caRNA m5C abundance (Extended Data Fig. 3e)”
§ RNA m5C oxidation by TET2 regulates chromatin state and leukaemogenesis > caRNA m5C oxidation by TET2
plainstates a cause- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
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In the paper
“The elevated caRNA expression correlates with DNA hypomethylated regions instead of hypermethylated regions”
§ RNA m5C oxidation by TET2 regulates chromatin state and leukaemogenesis > Main
plainstates an association- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
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In the paper
“Tet2 depletion led to increased caRNA IAP m5C levels (Extended Data Fig. 2f–i)”
§ RNA m5C oxidation by TET2 regulates chromatin state and leukaemogenesis > caRNA m5C oxidation by TET2
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Citations
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5–Methylcytosine in non-communicable and communicable diseases
Kok, S. Y., Zainal, N., AbuBakar, S., & Chin, K. L. (2026) · Asian Pacific Journal of Tropical Biomedicine · doi:10.4103/apjtb.apjtb_400_26
LncRNAs and the cancer epitranscriptome: Mechanisms and therapeutic potential
Maheshwari, C., Nadhan, R., Nath, K., Shreeshapuranik, S. K., Isidoro, C., Song, Y. S., & Dhanasekaran, D. N. (2026) · Cancer Letters · doi:10.1016/j.canlet.2026.218858
Zhang, X., Guo, G., Chen, C., Zhang, L., Sun, L., Ding, W., & Zhang, J. (2026) · Biochimica et Biophysica Acta (BBA) - Reviews on Cancer · doi:10.1016/j.bbcan.2026.189743
Metadata
- Authors
- Zou, Z., Dou, X., Li, Y., Zhang, Z., Wang, J., Gao, B., Xiao, Y., Wang, Y., Zhao, L., Sun, C., Liu, Q., Yu, X., Wang, H., Hong, J., Dai, Q., Yang, F.-C., Xu, M., & He, C.
- Affiliations
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute (US)
- The University of Texas at San Antonio Health Science Center (US)
- Corresponding author
- Xu, Mingjiang
- He, Chuan
- ORCID
- Venue
- Nature
- Published
- 2024-10-02
- Volume
- 634
- Issue
- 8035
- Pages
- 986-994
- ISSN
- 0028-0836 (ISSN-L)
- 1476-4687
- PMC
- PMC11499264
- OpenAlex
- W4403063005
- Semantic Scholar
- 81d7e928494c9361d190cda57390e07758803b5f
- Cited by
- 103
- References
- 65
- Citations by year
- 2026: 53 · 2025: 44 · 2024: 5
- FWCI
- 28.59
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- hybrid
- doi.org
- Locations
- Nature (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- RePEc: Research Papers in Economics (submittedVersion)
- Knowledge@UChicago (University of Chicago) (submittedVersion)
- University of Chicago
- Funders
- National Institutes of Health
- National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (R01HL145883, R01HL146664, R01HL174477)
- National Human Genome Research Institute (RM1HG008935)
- National Cancer Institute (R01CA285299)
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Hematology › Acute Myeloid Leukemia Research
- Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Molecular Biology › Epigenetics and DNA Methylation
- Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Molecular Biology › RNA modifications and cancer
- Keywords
- TET2, 5-methylcytosine oxidation, histone deubiquitination, open chromatin, chromatin regulation, leukemogenesis, myeloid neoplasms, hematopoietic stem cells, hematopoiesis, therapeutic target
- MeSH terms
- Cell Self Renewal, Animals, Chromatin, DNA-Binding Proteins, Female, Hematopoiesis, Histones, Humans, Leukemia, Male, Mutation, Oxidation-Reduction, RNA, Transcription, Genetic, Retroelements, 5-Methylcytosine, Cell Proliferation, Dioxygenases, Mice, Ubiquitination, Carcinogenesis
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