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Thesis Synthetic Activation of Aberrantly Silenced Genes in Diseases HAFNER, Nicolas Abstract DNA methylation influences the accessibility of DNA to transcription factors (TFs). Aberrant hypermethylation and subsequent inhibition of tumor suppressor gene (TSG) promoters is a hallmark in many cancers. Reactivation of TSGs in cancer cells by targeted demethylation of their promoters is an attractive therapeutic approach. A recently identified class of TFs, called super pioneer factors (SPFs), can bind to methylated DNA, leading to demethylation. Here, we explore the possibility of reactivation of methylated promoters of TSGs, by recruitment of SPFs via CRISPR/Cas9-mediated insertion of their binding motifs. To find additional therapeutic targets for epigenome editing, we investigated the epigenetic profile of various adipose tissues. Here, we performed methylome and transcriptome analysis on visceral adipose tissue in mice after and before treatment with cold and antibiotics. Reference HAFNER, Nicolas. Synthetic Activation of Aberrantly Silenced Genes in Diseases. Thèse de doctorat : Univ. Genève, 2020, no. Sc. Vie 49 DOI : 10.13097/archive-ouverte/unige:141767 URN : urn:nbn:ch:unige-1417679 Available at: http://archive-ouverte.unige.ch/unige:141767 Disclaimer: layout of this document may differ from the published version. 1 / 1 UNIVERSITÉ DE GENÈVE FACULTÉ DE MÉDECINE Section de médecine fondamentale Département de médecine génétique et développement Professeur Rabih Murr SYNTHETIC ACTIVATION OF ABERRANTLY SILENCED GENES IN DISEASES THÈSE présentée aux Facultés de médecine et des sciences de l’Université de Genève pour obtenir le grade de Docteur ès sciences en sciences de la vie, mention Sciences biomédicales Par Nicolas Hafner de Mannheim (Allemagne) Thèse N o 49 GENÈVE 2019 IIFE SCIENCES PhD SCHOOL GENEVA DocroRAT Ès scrENcES EN ScTENCES DE LAVTE DES FACUITÉs DE MÉoEcINE ET DES SCIENCES MENTToN ScTENCES BroMÉorcnlrs Thèse de Mr Nicolas HAFNER intitulée: < Synthetic Activation of Aberrantly Silenced Genes in Diseases r> Les Facultés de médecine et des sciences, sur le préavis de Monsieur Rabih MURR, professeur assistant et directeur de thèse (Département de Biologie Moléculaire), Monsieur David SHORE, professeur (Unité des Produits Naturels Bioactifs), Monsieur Mirko TRAJKOVSKI, professeur ordinaire (Département de Physiologie Cellulaire et Métabolisme), Monsieur Zdenko HERCEG (Centre lnternational de Recherche sur le Cancer, Lyon, France) autorisent I'impression de la présente thèse, sans exprimer d'opinion sur les propositions qui y sont énoncées. Genève, le 20 février 2020 Thèse - 49 Le Le Décanat Faculté de médecine Faculté des sciences N.B. - La thèse doit porter la déclaration précédente et remplir les conditions énumérées dans les "lnformations relatives aux thèses de doctorat à I'Université de Genève". a FACULTE DE MEDECINE UNIVERSITE FACULTÉ DEs SCIENCES DE GENEVE Table of Contents Abbreviations ............................................................................................................................ V Acknowledgements ............................................................................................................... VIII Abstract ..................................................................................................................................... X Résumé .................................................................................................................................... XII 1 Introduction ........................................................................................................................ 1 1.1 Epigenetics and the Regulation of Gene Expression ................................................... 1 1.1.1 From Information to Function: Gene Expression and its Regulation .................. 1 1.1.2 The Biology of Transcription Factors .................................................................. 7 1.1.3 Chromatin and Epigenetics ................................................................................ 12 1.1.4 The 3D Architecture of the Genome .................................................................. 15 1.1.5 Accessing Nucleosomal DNA ............................................................................ 19 1.1.6 Histone Modifications ........................................................................................ 27 1.1.7 DNA Methylation ............................................................................................... 32 1.2 CRISPR ..................................................................................................................... 66 1.2.1 Exploits from an Ancient War ........................................................................... 66 1.2.2 Harnessing CRISPR for Genome Editing .......................................................... 72 1.2.3 No Cutting Needed: dCas9-Effectors ................................................................. 75 1.2.4 Opportunities and Challenges ............................................................................ 79 2 Aim of the Thesis ............................................................................................................. 83 3 Results .............................................................................................................................. 85 II 3.1 Reactivation of Epigenetically Silenced Tumor Suppressor Genes with Super Pioneer Transcription Factors .......................................................................................... 85 3.1.1 Validation of the Experimental Approach by Targeting TSGs with dCas9- TET1 87 3.1.2 Phenotypic Changes Subsequent to Targeted p16 Reactivation .................. 92 3.1.3 Insertion of the CTCF motif into TSG Promoter Regions ........................... 96 3.1.4 Insertion of SPF motifs into a Methylation Reporter ................................. 102 3.2 Cell Fate of Adipose Tissues: New Targets for Epigenome Editing ................. 110 3.2.1 Identification of Differentially Expressed Genes and Differentially Methylated Regions Upon Browning in VAT Adipocytes ........................................ 112 3.2.3 Differentiation of 3T3L1-preadipocytes under the Influence of 5-aza ...... 120 4 Discussion ...................................................................................................................... 123 4.1 Experimental Approach ........................................................................................ 123 4.2 Interpretation of the Results ................................................................................. 130 4.3 Outlook and Perspectives ...................................................................................... 133 5 Materials and Methods ................................................................................................... 137 5.1 Cell Culture.............................................................................................................. 137 5.2 Treatment of Dazl-Snrpn-GFP V6.5 mESCs with 5-azacytidine ............................ 137 5.3 Cloning of guide RNAs ........................................................................................... 137 5.4 Lentivirus Production and Transduction ................................................................. 139 5.5 SPF Motif Insertion with CRISPR/Cas9 ................................................................. 141 5.6 Genotyping .............................................................................................................. 143 III 5.7 Bisulfite Conversion, PCR, and Sequencing ........................................................... 144 5.8 RNA Extraction and qPCR ...................................................................................... 144 5.9 Protein Extraction and Western Blot ....................................................................... 146 5.10 Cell Counting Assay ............................................................................................ 147 5.11 Live Cell Imaging ................................................................................................ 148 5.12 Cell Cycle Analysis of Live Cells ........................................................................ 148 5.13 Senescence β-Galactosidase Staining .................................................................. 148 5.14 Flow Cytometry of Dazl-Snrpn Reporter Cells ................................................... 149 5.15 Animal Housing and CAx Treatment .................................................................. 149 5.16 Whole Genome Bisulfite Sequencing .................................................................. 149 5.17 RNA Sequencing ................................................................................................. 150 5.18 Differentiation of 3T3-L1 Pre-Adipocytes .......................................................... 151 6 References ...................................................................................................................... 152 IV Abbreviations 3C Chromosome conformation capture 4C Circular 3C 5-mC 5-methylcytosine A Adenine aa Amino acid AAV Adeno-associated virus BAT Brown adipose tissue bp Base pair BMI Body-mass index BS Bisulfite sequencing C Cytosine Cas CRISPR associated protein CAx Cold/antibiotics treatment CDK Cyclin-dependent kinase cDNA Cyclic DNA CGI CpG island ChIP Chromatin immunoprecipitation Cidea Cell death activator CpG Cytosine followed by a guanine CRE Cis-regulatory