Cited by 302Genomics and Chromatin DynamicsChromatin Remodeling and CancerPluripotent Stem Cells Research

The DOI matches its Crossref record; 66 of the 66 references it cites were found in a registry or an index; none of the 59 sources its claims cite is checked for support yet.

YY1 and CTCF orchestrate a 3D chromatin looping switch during early neural lineage commitment

Open access

Abstract

CTCF is an architectural protein with a critical role in connecting higher-order chromatin folding in pluripotent stem cells. Recent reports have suggested that CTCF binding is more dynamic during development than previously appreciated. Here, we set out to understand the extent to which shifts in genome-wide CTCF occupancy contribute to the 3D reconfiguration of fine-scale chromatin folding during early neural lineage commitment. Unexpectedly, we observe a sharp decrease in CTCF occupancy during the transition from naïve/primed pluripotency to multipotent primary neural progenitor cells (NPCs). Many pluripotency gene-enhancer interactions are anchored by CTCF, and its occupancy is lost in parallel with loop decommissioning during differentiation. Conversely, CTCF binding sites in NPCs are largely preexisting in pluripotent stem cells. Only a small number of CTCF sites arise de novo in NPCs. We identify another zinc finger protein, Yin Yang 1 (YY1), at the base of looping interactions between NPC-specific genes and enhancers. Putative NPC-specific enhancers exhibit strong YY1 signal when engaged in 3D contacts and negligible YY1 signal when not in loops. Moreover, siRNA knockdown of Yy1 specifically disrupts interactions between key NPC enhancers and their target genes. YY1-mediated interactions between NPC regulatory elements are often nested within constitutive loops anchored by CTCF. Together, our results support a model in which YY1 acts as an architectural protein to connect developmentally regulated looping interactions; the location of YY1-mediated interactions may be demarcated in development by a preexisting topological framework created by constitutive CTCF-mediated interactions.

Overview

AI snapshot

Written from the paper’s full text.

TL;DR

During early neural lineage commitment, CTCF occupancy is globally pruned from pluripotent stem cells to multipotent neural progenitor cells (NPCs), while NPC-specific enhancer–gene loops are instead anchored by YY1. The paper proposes that YY1-mediated NPC looping interactions arise within a preexisting constitutive CTCF-anchored topological framework.

Key findings

  • CTCF binding decreases stepwise across ES 2i, ES serum, and NPCs: 56,138, 50,185, and 28,860 sites, respectively, with 60,688 unique sites total. Of these, 26,435 were constitutive, 8,832 were “2i only,” 20,068 were “2i+Serum,” and only 1,119 were “NPC-only”; CTCF gene expression and protein levels also decreased in NPCs.
  • 5C analysis identified 141 constitutive loops, 46 “2i+Serum” loops lost in NPCs, and 75 NPC-only loops. “2i+Serum” loops were enriched for “2i+Serum” CTCF sites, and the pluripotency-specific Sox2–ES enhancer loop broke concurrently with CTCF loss.
  • NPC-only loops were not enriched for NPC-only CTCF binding: almost 40% of NPC-only interactions lacked CTCF anchoring, versus <5% of constitutive and <10% of “2i+serum” interactions. Instead, YY1 was strongly enriched at NPC-only loops and at NPC-specific enhancers engaged in 3D contacts, with negligible YY1 signal at NPC-specific enhancers not in loops.
  • YY1 sites were less constitutive than CTCF sites (36%, 39%, and 25% constitutive across ES serum, NPCs, and pro-B cells; n = 3,474). NPC-specific enhancers were enriched in NPC-only loops when bound by YY1 without CTCF, but not when bound by CTCF without YY1. Yy1 siRNA knockdown produced >50% reduction in Yy1 expression/protein, disrupted the Sox2–enhancer loop, decreased Sox2 expression, and also reduced Klf4 and Zfp462 looping and Nes/Olig1/Olig2 expression.

Methods

  • ChIP-seq was performed for CTCF in mouse ES 2i, ES serum, and NPCs, with ENCODE mouse brain CTCF data reanalyzed; RNA-seq and Western blot assessed CTCF expression/protein. YY1 and H3K27ac ChIP-seq datasets were also analyzed.
  • 5C with high-throughput sequencing generated fine-scale chromatin architecture maps at ~4- to 12-kb matrix resolution across >7 Mb of the mouse genome, using n = 2 biological replicates and reanalyzed published 5C libraries. A new computational pipeline used donut and lower-left background filters, logistic-distribution P-values, interaction scores, and seven looping classes; top five dynamic classes had empirical FDR <15%.
  • Yy1 knockdown in NPCs used Dharmacon siRNA pools at 20 nM for 78 h, followed by Western blot, qPCR, and 3C/5C analysis.

Limitations

  • Stated: the authors cannot rule out that heterogeneity in ENCODE brain tissues contributed to the aggregate CTCF decrease, though their NPC cultures were >90% SOX2 positive. The role of YY1 in ES cells remains unclear because of possible greater ES reliance on CTCF, different ChIP methods between ES and NPC YY1 datasets, or a different regulatory role for YY1 in the two cell types.
  • Stated: technical issues with poor library complexity prevented high-complexity 5C maps at Olig1, Olig2, and Nes after Yy1 knockdown; for those loci, only expression reductions were observed.
  • Evident: 5C covered selected regions (>7 Mb) rather than the whole genome, and the Yy1 perturbation was an siRNA knockdown with >50% reduction rather than a complete knockout, so some conclusions about YY1’s architectural role remain correlative or partial.

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Integrity signals

Registry

Crossref · 10.1101/gr.215160.116

Cites

66 of 66 references verified0 citation errors · 0 not checkable

Statistics

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Verification

Claims the paper makes

0 of 59 cited sources checked · 0 supported · 0 flagged

  • It may state two separate claims as one. 32
  • Probably not a substantial claim. 35
  • The quote only partly states this claim. 1
62 of 62
  • The paper relies on this without support.

    The 5C interrogated regions are representative of genome-wide 3D chromatin architecture.

    “We generated fine-scale chromatin architecture maps (∼4- to12-kb matrix resolution) across >7 Mb of the mouse genome surrounding key developmentally regulated genes with Chromosome-Conformation-Capture-Carbon-Copy (5C) and high-throughput sequencing.”
  • The paper relies on this without support.

    Putative NPC-specific enhancers are bona fide regulatory enhancers.

    “we parsed our putative genome-wide NPC-specific enhancers (Supplemental Methods) into those that engage in “NPC-only” loops (Fig. 5F) and those that do not participate in long-range interactions (Fig. 5G).”
  • The paper relies on this without support.

    CTCF binding is anti-correlated with DNA methylation.

    “Because CTCF binding is anti-correlated with DNA methylation, we posit that a notable proportion of the large class (n = ∼20,000) of “2i+serum” CTCF sites might be methylated during the initial establishment of the neural lineage and subsequently remain methylated and unbound through terminal differentiation in the developing/maturing brain.”
  • The paper relies on this without support.

    The putative NPC-specific enhancers marked by H3K27ac are functional enhancers that regulate the associated genes.

    “In NPCs, putative enhancer(s) marked by NPC-specific H3K27ac connect to both Olig1 and Olig2 in a rosette-like structure, and these genes show markedly increased expression in NPCs compared to ES 2i/ES serum (Fig. 6B–D, magenta arrows).”
  • The paper relies on this without support.

    The Yy1-targeting siRNA specifically reduces YY1 without off-target effects.

    “Transfection of the Yy1-targeting siRNA pool produced a >50% decrease in Yy1 expression and protein levels compared to a control nontargeting pool condition (Fig. 7A,B).”
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Self-check

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  • An siRNA knockdown is called a knockout

    Minor

    The described intervention uses siRNA to reduce Yy1 levels, but the results later call it a Yy1 knockout.

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Metadata

Authors
Beagan, J. A., Duong, M. T., Titus, K. R., Zhou, L., Cao, Z., Ma, J., Lachanski, C. V., Gillis, D. R., & Phillips-Cremins, J. E.
Affiliations
University of Pennsylvania (US)
Venue
Genome Research
Published
2017-05-23
Volume
27
Issue
7
Pages
1139-1152
ISSN
  • 1088-9051 (ISSN-L)
  • 1549-5469
OpenAlex
W2616964127
Cited by
299
References
66
Citations by year
2026: 19 · 2025: 32 · 2024: 24 · 2023: 33 · 2022: 36 · 2021: 46 · 2020: 38 · 2019: 30 · 2018: 36 · 2017: 5
Type
posted content
Language
en
Open access
Licence
cc-by-nc
Locations
  • Genome Research (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • HighWire Press Open Archive (submittedVersion)
Funders
  • The New York Stem Cell Foundation
  • Alfred P. Sloan Foundation
  • NIH Director's New Innovator Award from the National Institute of Mental Health (1DP2MH11024701)
  • 4D Nucleome (NIH) Common (1U01HL12999801)
  • NSF-NIGMS (1562665)
  • National Science Foundation (DGE-1321851)
Topics
  • Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Molecular Biology › Genomics and Chromatin Dynamics
  • Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Molecular Biology › Chromatin Remodeling and Cancer
  • Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Molecular Biology › Pluripotent Stem Cells Research
Keywords
CTCF, YY1, neural progenitor cells, enhancer-promoter interactions, chromatin structure, pluripotency, zinc finger proteins, chromatin looping
MeSH terms
Human Embryonic Stem Cells, CCCTC-Binding Factor, Cell Differentiation, Cell Line, Chromatin, Enhancer Elements, Genetic, Humans, Chromatin Assembly and Disassembly, YY1 Transcription Factor, Genome-Wide Association Study, Neural Stem Cells

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