Epigenetics and gene expression

Home departments Molecular Biology Epigenetics and gene expression

Research areas:

      -Chromatin Remodeling Complexes and Epigenetics.
      -Chromatin Remodeling and Transcription Elongation.
      -SWI/NF Complex and cancer.


Chromatin Remodeling Complexes and Epigenetics.

Chromatin is the network where the metabolism of DNA occurs, including transcription, replication, repair and recombination. All the enzymatic machineries that have to reach the DNA for these processes require the previous concourse of chromatin remodelling complexes that open the chromatin. Furthermore, the inheritance of gene transcription states depends on the existence of epigenetic marks (chemical modifications) in the chromatin and DNA that are not erased during mitosis. Chromatin remodelling processes are carried out by two large families of chromatin remodelling machineries: i) Enzymes that covalently modify histones (acetyltransferase and deacetylase of histones, methylases, demethylases kinases and histone phosphatases) and ii) ATP-dependent chromatin remodelling machines. Alterations of this machinery result in congenital malformations and cancer. During the last 10 years our group have been studding different aspects of chromatin remodeling in several model systems. Currently some of our projects involve research on CHD8, a DNA-dependent ATPase implicated in control of cell proliferation and apoptosis, and the LSD1 histone demethylase complex involved in cell differentiation and cancer.




Chromatin Remodeling and transcription elongation.

Many recent works have shown that nucleosomes are stably positioned at the beginning of the genes and within exons. Another of our research projects try to elucidate how chromatin remodeling machines help RNA Polymerase II to cross nucleosomes during transcription elongation.
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SWI/NF Complex and cancer.

The SWI/SNF complex was the first identified chromatin remodeling machines.  In mammals this complex has recently been linked to growth control and cancer development. In fact heterozygous mutants of the hSNF5/INI1 gene, encoding one of the subunits of the human SWI/SNF complex, develop an aggressive type of paediatric cancer named “malignan rhabdoid tumor”. We are studding the role of the nucleo-cytoplasm traffic of this protein.


Selected Publications:

J.C. Reyes, C. Muchardt, and M. Yaniv. 1997. Components of the human SWI/SNF complex are enriched in active chromatin and are associated with the nuclear matrix. Journal of Cell Biology. 137: 263-274.    

C. Muchardt, B. Bourachot, J.C. Reyes and M. Yaniv. 1998. ras transformation is associated with decreased expression of the brm/SNF2alpha ATPase from the mammalian SWI-SNF complex. EMBO Journal. 17:223-231.    

J.C. Reyes, J. Barra, C. Muchardt, A. Camus, C. Babinet and M. Yaniv. 1998. Altered control of cellular proliferation in the absence of mammaliam brahma (SNF2alpha). EMBO Journal. 17: 6979-6991.    

J.C. Reyes. 2001. PML and COP1 - Two proteins with much in common. Trends in Biochemical Science. 26:18-20.    

C.T. Baumann, H. Ma, R. Wolford, J.C. Reyes, P. Maruvada, C. Lim, P. M. Yen, M.R. Stallcup, and G.L. Hager. 2001. The glucocorticoid receptor interacting protein 1 (GRIP1) localizes in discrete nuclear foci that associate with ND10 bodies and are enriched in components of the 26S proteasome. Molecular Endocrinology. 15:485-500.     

J.C. Reyes and U. Grossniklaus. 2003. Diverse Functions of Polycomb Group Proteins during Plant Development. Seminars in Cell & Developmental Biology. 14:77-84.   

S. Farrona, L. Hurtado, J. Bowman and J.C. Reyes. 2004. The Arabidopsis thaliana SNF2 homolog AtBRM controls shoot development and flowering. Development. 131:4965-4975.   

J.C. Reyes. 2006. Chromatin remodelers that control plant development. Current Opinion in Plant Biology. 9:21-27.                         

S. Farrona, L. Hurtado, and J.C. Reyes. 2007. A nucleosome interaction module is required for normal function of Arabidopsis thaliana brahma. Journal of Molecular Biology. 373:240-250.   

R. March-Díaz, M. García-Domínguez J. Lozano-Juste, J. León, F.J. Florencio and J.C. Reyes. 2008. Histone h2a.z and homologs of components of the SWR1 complex control immunity in Arabidopsis. Plant Journal. 53:475-487.   

M. García-Domínguez, R. March-Díaz and J.C. Reyes. 2008. The PHD and the SP-RING domain are required for AtSIZ-mediated SUMOylation of the bromodomain protein GTE3. Journal of Biological Chemistry, 283:21469-21477.       

Rodríguez-Paredes, M. Ceballos-Chávez, M. Esteller, M. García-Domínguez and J.C. Reyes. 2009. The chromatin remodeling factor CHD8 interacts with elongating RNA polymerase II and controls expression of the cyclin E2 gene. Nucleic Acids Research, 37:2449-2460.

R. March-Díaz and J. C. Reyes. 2009. The beauty of being a variant: H2A.Z and the SWR1 complex in plants. Molecular Plant, 2:565-577.   

E. Aichinger, C.B. Villar, S. Farrona, J.C. Reyes, L. Hennig and C. Köhler. 2009. CHD3 proteins and Polycomb group proteins antagonistically determine cell identity in Arabidopsis. PLoS Genetics, 5(8):e1000605.       

M. García-Domínguez and J. C. Reyes. 2009. SUMO association with repressor complexes, emerging routes for transcriptional control. Biochimica et Biophysica Acta, 1789:451-459.

A. Subtil-Rodríguez and J. C. Reyes. 2010. BRG1 helps RNA polymerase II to overcome a nucleosomal barrier during elongation, in vivo.
EMBO Report. 11:751-757                               

S. Farrona, L. Hurtado, R. March-Díaz, R.J. Schmitz, F. J. Florencio, F. Turck, R. Amasino and J.C. Reyes. 2011. Brahma is required for proper expression of the floral repressor FLC in Arabidopsis. PLoS One. 6(3):e17997.                               

A. Subtil-Rodríguez and J. C. Reyes. 2011. To cross, or not to cross the nucleosome, that is the elongation question. RNA Biology. 8: 389 - 393