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GENOME-WIDE ANALYSIS OF TRANSCRIPTION FACTORS ASCL1 AND PTF1A IN DEVELOPMENT AND CANCER APPROVED BY SUPERVISORY COMMITTEE Jane E. Johnson, Ph.D. Gang. Yu, Ph.D. Q. Richard Lu, Ph.D. Tae-Kyung Kim, Ph.D. DEDICATION I dedicate this to my mother and wife, for their love and devotion, and their endless support throughout my life. GENOME-WIDE ANALYSIS OF TRANSCRIPTION FACTORS ASCL1 AND PTF1A IN DEVELOPMENT AND CANCER by MARK DOMINIC BORROMEO DISSERTATION Presented to the Faculty of the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements For the Degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas Dallas, Texas December, 2013 Copyright by Mark Dominic Borromeo, 2013 All Rights Reserved GENOME-WIDE ANALYSIS OF TRANSCRIPTION FACTORS ASCL1 AND PTF1A IN DEVELOPMENT AND CANCER Mark Dominic Borromeo, Ph.D. The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas, 2013 Jane E. Johnson, Ph.D. Cell fate specification in the developing embryo relies on combinations of transcription factors to regulate tissue specific gene programs. Many of the same transcription factors can be found in multiple tissue types and are crucial for their development, and at other times these same factors can be misused in disease states. The basic helix-loop-helix (bHLH) factors Ascl1 and Ptf1a are examples of factors that give rise to and function in multiple tissues. Ascl1 and Ptf1a are essential for generating the correct number and sub-type of neurons in multiple regions of the nervous system. In addition, Ptf1a is required in the developing pancreas for both its formation and maturation, while Ascl1 is crucial for tumor v growth in malignant small cell lung carcinoma (SCLC). It is unknown if Ascl1 and Ptf1a directly regulate different genes programs in these disparate tissues. Furthermore, Ptf1a and Ascl1 are members of same transcription factor family, which recognize and bind a similar DNA sequence. How these two factors achieve specificity of DNA binding and gene target selection in vivo is unknown. These questions have long been unanswered due in part to the lack of known direct transcriptional targets. Thus, to understand how Ascl1 and Ptf1a function in these processes, the direct transcriptional targets were identified genome-wide in the multiple tissues using ChIP-Seq and RNA-Seq. Overwhelmingly, Ascl1 and Ptf1a directly regulate different gene programs important for each tissue. Within a given tissue, the specificity of Ascl1 and Ptf1a function is partly explained by their differences in E-box sequence preferences. Ptf1a and Ascl1 are co-expressed in a subset of cells in the dorsal neural tube, and comparative analysis of their binding sites show that they bind a common E- box. However, Ptf1a can also bind a distinct E-box, which is found enriched in binding sites unique to Ptf1a. However, analysis of Ascl1 binding in SCLC and Ptf1a binding in the developing pancreas, shows that their E-box preferences change and does not reflect the same type of E-box they bind in the neural tube. Mechanisms in addition to E-box specificity are likely in use because tissue specific binding coincides with tissue-specific chromatin accessibility and enrichment of lineage-specific transcription factor binding motifs. Thus, Ascl1 and Ptf1a make use of different tissue-specific co-factors to regulate tissue-specific genes. This study provides insights into how a single factor can regulate the transcription of different genes in different tissue types, and how two related E-box binding proteins regulate distinct genes. ACKNOWLEDGEMENT This dissertation would not have been possible without the support and guidance from my friends, family, and colleagues. I would like to acknowledge my mentor Dr. Jane Johnson, for her endless support and guidance throughout my graduate school career. Because of Dr. Johnson’s patience and dedication towards teaching her students, I feel prepared to take on any challenge that I may face during my next phase of my scientific career. I have learned through Dr. Johnson that there is no shortcut or substitute for good quality of work, and that good work will always earn the highest respect and appreciation from your colleagues. I would like to thank the members of my dissertation committee: Drs. Gang Yu, Richard Lu, and Tae-Kyung Kim. Together they have provided me with both technical and biological insight that was crucial for the success of my projects. I was privileged to work with so many talented scientists on several different projects and I would like to thank all of them for sharing their knowledge and assisting me at the lab bench. I would specially like to thank members of the Ray MacDonald, John Minna, and Francois Guillemot Labs. Finally, I would like to give special thanks to all the past and present members of the Jane Johnson lab. I was blessed to be surrounded by so many gifted scientists that were willing to pass their knowledge on to me. Without their training and helpful discussion I would not have succeeded. vii TABLE OF CONTENTS DEDICATION ....................................................................................................... II ABSTRACT ........................................................................................................... V ACKNOWLEDGEMENT .................................................................................. VII TABLE OF CONTENTS ................................................................................... VIII PRIOR PUBLICATIONS .................................................................................... XI LIST OF FIGURES ............................................................................................ XII LIST OF APPENDIX ......................................................................................... XV LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS ............................................................................ XVI KEY WORDS .................................................................................................. XVII CHAPTER ONE ..................................................................................................................... 1 INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................ 1 Tissue-specific gene regulation through cis-regulatory elements ..................................... 1 Sequence specific binding of transcription factors ........................................................... 4 Class II bHLH transcription factors bind a degenerate E-box sequence ......................... 6 Tissue-specific bHLH and HD factors specify somatosensory neurons in the dorsal spinal cord ......................................................................................................................... 7 Ascl1 and Ptf1a have opposing roles in neuronal subtype specification in the dorsal spinal cord ......................................................................................................................... 8 Ptf1a and Ascl1 give rise to multiple tissue types outside the neural tube ..................... 10 Ptf1a specifies GABAergic neurons in multiple regions of the nervous system and is also require for pancreas development ........................................................................... 11 Ptf1a forms a trimeric complex with E-protein and Rbpj to activate transcription ........ 12 Direct Transcriptional Targets of Ptf1a .......................................................................... 13 Ascl1 has neurogenic, oncogenic and gliogenic functions in the nervous system ......... 13 Transcriptional Targets of Ascl1 .................................................................................... 15 THESIS RATIONALE AND GOALS ............................................................................... 15 CHAPTER TWO .................................................................................................................. 21 Transcription Factor Network Specifying Inhibitory versus Excitatory Neurons in the Dorsal Spinal Cord ............................................................................................................... 21 INTRODUCTION .............................................................................................................. 21 MATERIALS AND METHODS ........................................................................................ 23 RESULTS ........................................................................................................................... 28 Ascl1 and Ptf1a bind largely distinct sites within neural tube chromatin and have distinct E-box sequence preferences ............................................................................... 28 Enrichment of non-E-box transcription factor motifs within Ascl1 and Ptf1a bound genomic regions .............................................................................................................. 30 Ascl1 and Ptf1a have opposite actions in neuronal subtype specification...................... 32 Homeodomain neuronal specification factors are direct downstream targets of Ascl1 and Ptf1a ................................................................................................................................ 35 Ascl1 directly regulates genes involved in multiple processes of neurogenesis ............ 38 Ptf1a directly represses the glutamatergic fate and