AsianScientist (May 30, 2017) – The histone code, which alters the transcriptional state of genes, has been linked to the differentiation of stem cells into vascular cells. These findings, published in Nucleic Acids Research, clarify how blood vessels are formed, information required to advance regenerative medicine.
Regenerative medicine has made remarkable progress due to research with embryonic stem (ES) cells and induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells. However, the mechanism of how blood vessels are constructed from these undifferentiated cells has not yet been clarified.
During the creation of new blood vessels, the vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) protein differentiates stem cells into vascular endothelial cells and stimulates them to create new blood vessels. Researchers at Kumamoto University added VEGF to undifferentiated ES cells and tracked the behavior of the entire genome and epigenome changes over time in vitro.
Using ES cells developed at Kyoto University’s Institute for Frontier Medical Sciences, the research group collected RNA and histones of each cell immediately after VEGF stimulation (0 hours), before differentiation (6 hours), during differentiation (12 – 24 hours), and after differentiation (48 hours). They then comprehensively analyzed the changes in the whole genome and epigenome using next generation deep sequencing.
In the process of blood vessel differentiation, the function of the protein ETS variant 2 (ETV2), which determines the differentiation into vascular endothelium, was first induced within 6 hours of differentiation stimulation. The protein GATA2, which binds to ETV2 and supports vascular endothelial differentiation, was induced immediately thereafter.
Transcription factors SOX and FLI1, both important for endothelial differentiation, were induced between 12 and 24 hours. At 48 hours, after differentiation into vascular endothelium was determined, a system of transcription was established in which genes unique to vascular endothelial differentiation were induced.
Furthermore, an examination of the histone code revealed that the regulatory genomic region of the transcription factors (ETS/GATA/SOX) was found to have gradually switched from a “brake histone mark,” which suppresses transcription, to an “accelerator histone mark,” which activates transcription, while in the process of differentiating into the vascular endothelium. This finding challenges the previous assumption that both accelerator and brake histone marks coexist in the transcription factor regulatory region.
In addition, when these transcription factors lose their function, terminal differentiation into the vascular endothelium (completion of differentiation) is completely suppressed, and genes that are key to differentiation into vascular endothelial cells as well as transcription factors that maintain the undifferentiated state are adversely induced. Collectively, the transcription factors (ETS/GATA/SOX) not only induce vascular endothelial differentiation, but also suppress regression to an undifferentiated state and differentiation into other ectodermal or endoderm-derived cells.
The researchers expected that the knowledge of the functions of these transcription factors, when combined with gene editing techniques, will allow for the efficient regeneration of blood vessels.
The article can be found at: Kanki et al. (2017) Dynamically and Epigenetically Coordinated GATA/ETS/SOX Transcription Factor Expression is Indispensable for Endothelial Cell Differentiation .
———
Source: Kumamoto University; Photo: Shutterstock.
Disclaimer: This article does not necessarily reflect the views of AsianScientist or its staff.
