Chromatin compaction around neural differentiation gene Pax6 in mouse embryos is ERK1/2 dependent

To determine whether ERK1/2 signalling regulates chromatin organisation at neural differentiation gene loci in vivo, we exposed whole mouse embryos (E8.5) to the small molecule MEK inhibitor (MEKi) PD184352 or vehicle-only DMSO control for one hour (Fig 1B). The efficiency of ERK1/2 inhibition was determined by quantifying levels of phosphorylated ERK1/2 (42 and 44 kDa) in whole protein extracts from MEKi- and DMSO-treated embryos (Fig 1C and 1C’ and S1 Data). This regime was then used to measure chromatin compaction around the Pax6 locus using FISH with fosmid probes hybridising either side of the locus [37] (Fig 1D). Chromatin compaction was assessed by measuring interprobe distance in Pax6 transcribing neural tube cells and in CLE cells where Pax6 has yet to be expressed (Fig 1D’ and 1D” and S1 Data). In untreated embryos, the interprobe distance was greater in neural tube than in CLE nuclei (Fig 1D’ and 1D” and S1 Data). Similar observations were made in the DMSO-treated embryos (Fig 1D’ and 1D” and S1 Data) and these two control conditions were not significantly different, suggesting that DMSO exposure did not alter chromatin organisation. By contrast, the Pax6 locus was more open in CLE nuclei of MEKi-treated embryos compared to both controls (Fig 1D’ and 1D” and S1 Data). This decompaction correlated with a 1.7-fold decrease in the number of base pairs per nm compared to controls. These findings indicate that ERK1/2 activity promotes chromatin compaction at this neural differentiation gene locus and that active ERK1/2 is acutely required for this action in the embryo.

Polycomb-mediated histone modification H3K27me3 marks the neural differentiation gene Pax6 in vivo

To determine whether PRCs regulate chromatin compaction around the Pax6 locus in vivo, we carried out chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP) for the PRC-mediated histone modification H3K27me3. Mouse embryo microdissection was performed to enrich for the caudal region at E8.5 for ChIP-qPCR (Fig 1E and see Methods). The Pax6 transcription start site (TSS) was marked by high levels of H3K27me3 indicative of polycomb activity and consistent with repression of this gene in the CLE (Fig 1E’ and S1 Data). Similar levels were also detected at the known PRC target HoxD11 [86–88], which is also not expressed in the mouse CLE at E8.5 [89]. By contrast, known PRC targets transcribed in the CLE, HoxA7, and HoxB1 [90] exhibited minimal levels of H3K27me3 at their TSSs. This was similar to levels detected at a control intergenic region and the house-keeping gene GAPDH indicative of a lack of polycomb activity at these loci (Fig 1E’ and S1 Data). Together, these data demonstrate that polycomb activity at target genes is selective in vivo and identify Pax6 as a polycomb target in caudal tissue. This raises the question of whether ERK1/2 activity directs polycomb occupancy and chromatin compaction and thus determines the onset of neural gene transcription.

PAX6 locus decompaction correlates with polycomb protein dissociation, H3K27me3 loss, and transcription onset in an in vitro model of human spinal cord differentiation

To test this, we developed an in vitro system to study neural differentiation during the generation of the spinal cord. We reasoned that the use of human ESCs, with the slower progression to neural progenitor cell identity, would provide a better temporal resolution of mechanisms mediating neural differentiation. To this end, we directed the differentiation of human ESCs towards spinal cord using a protocol established previously [91,92] (Fig 2A and see Methods). This involved the generation of NMP-like cells on day 3 (NMP-L D3) (characterised by the coexpression of BRA and SOX2, which are analogous to NMP cells in the mouse CLE) and their differentiation into PAX6 expressing neural progenitors by day 8 (NP D8), which also transcribed the known PRC target HOXD11 (Fig 2B–2B” and S2 Data). Detailed analysis of this differentiation revealed low level onset of PAX6 on D6, anticipating the robust expression detected on D8 (Fig 2B”’). This neural differentiation was further slowed by not including exogenous retinoic acid, which acts in part by inhibiting FGF/ERK signalling; this modification allowed us to test the ability of MEK inhibition/loss of ERK1/2 activity to promote neural differentiation (Fig 2A and see Methods). Having established this assay, we next asked whether changes in chromatin compaction that we observe around the Pax6 locus in mouse embryo also occur at PAX6 during human neural differentiation in vitro (Fig 1D). FISH was carried out in NMP-L (D3) and NPs (D8) cells, and the distances between the PAX6-flanking probes were measured (Fig 2C–2C” and S2 Data). This revealed a significant increase in interprobe distance in NPs (D8) compared to NMP-Ls (D3) (Fig 2C’ and 2C” and S2 Data). This indicates that the regulation of chromatin compaction is a conserved mechanism operating during neural differentiation that can be recapitulated and examined in vitro.

Download:

• PPT
  PowerPoint slide
• PNG
  larger image
• TIFF
  original image

Fig 2. In vitro differentiation of human ESC-derived NMP-L cells to NPs reveals locus decompaction correlates with dissociation of polycomb repressive complexes and transcriptional onset at PAX6.

(A) Schematic of differentiation regime used to generate first NMP-like cells (NMP-L (D3)) and then spinal cord progenitors (NPs (D8)) from human ESCs (D1 = Day 1. (B-B”‘) Transcription levels of BRA, SOX2, HOXD11, and PAX6 assessed by RT-qPCR in undifferentiated cells (hESCs), NMP-Ls (D3), and NPs (D8) for PAX6 additionally on day 5 (D5) and day 6 (D6) of differentiation (n = 3 independent experiments, indicated with circles, triangles, and diamonds, error bars = SEM) (S2 Data). (C-C”) FISH to assess chromatin compaction around the PAX6 locus in NMP-L (D3) and NP (D8). Two probes flanking the target locus (interprobe distance ca. 51 kb) were hybridised and labelling visualised in DAPI-stained nuclei (blue, outlined with white dashed line). Interprobe distance measurements in >50 nuclei in NMP-Ls and NPs in 3 individual experiments (n = > 150 nuclei/cell type, Mann–Whitney test/rank-sum test, *** p ≤ 0.001) (S2 Data). (D-D”‘) ChIP-qPCRs investigating polycomb repressive complex occupancy (Ring1B/PRC1 and Jarid2/PRC2) and the histone modifications H3K27me3 and H3K4me3 in NMP-L and NP cells (note, D8 Jarid2 is below IgG control) (n = 3 independent experiments, each indicated by circles), bar = average, error bar = SEM, * p ≤ 0.01, t test (S2 Data). ChIP-qPCR, chromatin immunoprecipitation quantitative PCR; ESC, embryonic stem cell; FISH, fluorescent in situ hybridisation; IgG, immunoglobulin G; NMP-L, NMP-like; NP, neural progenitor; RT-qPCR, reverse transcription quantitative PCR.

https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.3000221.g002

To elucidate how chromatin compaction is regulated at the PAX6 locus, we interrogated PRC occupancy over developmental time using ChIP-qPCR in NMP-L (D3) cells versus NPs (D8). We assessed the occupancy of the core PRC1 protein Ring1B (which is required in the embryonic mouse epiblast that contains NMPs, while Ring1A loss affects only later development) [74] and for PRC2, Jarid2 (as the latter is highly expressed in the NMP containing caudal lateral epiblast and newly forming neural progenitors in chick [93] and mouse embryos (S1 Fig)). Together with H3K27me3, this analysis established that PRC proteins are present at the TSS and along the gene body of PAX6 and at the TSS of known PRC target HOXD11 in NMP-L (D3) cells. By contrast, reduced occupancy was detected at PAX6 and HOXD11 in NPs (D8) (while baseline detection in the gene desert region (Gw10) and the housekeeping gene GAPDH remained unchanged) (Fig 2D-D” and S2 Data). Strikingly, analysis of the active histone modification H3K4me3 revealed no change at the HOXD11 or PAX6 TSSs during neural differentiation (Fig 2D” and S2 Data). This suggests that polycomb-mediated repression is a major activity restricting PAX6 gene expression in the NMP-L cells, and not the low levels of H3K4me3. Together, these findings demonstrate that site-specific deposition of PRC at PAX6 is transient and that its removal correlates with chromatin decompaction at this locus, characteristic of the neural progenitor cell state.

Progressive global increase in neural gene accessibility during in vitro human differentiation

While these data indicate that PRC loss precedes neural gene transcription, it remained unclear whether the regulation of chromatin accessibility is specific for PAX6 or reflects a general mechanism that mediates onset of neural gene transcription. To address this, we performed a global analysis of the chromatin accessibility landscape using ATAC-seq [94], as cells differentiated into NPs (D8) from the NMP-L (D3) state. This involved differentiation of NMP-L (D3) cells (as in Fig 2A) and sampling cell populations at intervals (D5, D6, and D8). Analysis of the chromatin configuration across the PAX6 locus revealed increased accessibility at multiple sites, some as early as D5 and most prominent by D6 (Fig 3A). These early increases in chromatin accessibility prefigure reduction in PRC protein occupancy at the PAX6 locus detected by ChIP-qPCR, which only becomes significant by D8 (Fig 3B and 3B’ and S3 Data; and also see Fig 2D and 2D’). In contrast to the declining trend in levels of Jarid2 occupancy during differentiation, H3K27me3 levels at the PAX6 TSS and along the gene body remained unchanged between D5 and D7 (Fig 3B’), only dropping later at D8 (Fig 2D”). Thus, a reducing trend in PRC occupancy, likely reflecting differentiation progression of some cells, is observed concurrent with increased chromatin accessibility, while loss of H3K27me3 appears to be a later step that coincides with robust PAX6 transcription.

Download:

• PPT
  PowerPoint slide
• PNG
  larger image
• TIFF
  original image

Fig 3. Progressive increase in human neural gene accessibility during in vitro differentiation.

(A) ATAC-seq peak tracks in NMP-L (D3), D5, D6, and NP (D8) cells for the genomic regions of PAX6, grey boxes are peaks within the gene body, black boxes, peaks outside of the gene body and red box genomic region of a known PAX6 enhancer. (B-B”) ChIP-qPCR for Jarid2, Ring1B, and H3K27me3 on D5, D6, and D7, note by D7 Jarid2 signal falls below detection (n = 3 independent experiments, each indicated by circles), bar = average, error bars = SEM, although there is a declining trend for Jarid2, there are no significant differences between samples, t test (S3 Data). (C-C’) Metaprofiles comparing chromatin accessibility in NMP-L (D3) and NP (D8) cells along the gene body genome-wide (C) and focussed on genes associated with increased accessibility in NPs (D8) (neural sites, C’) compared to NMP-L (S3 Data). (D) Venn diagram representing distribution of genomic regions more accessible in NPs (D8) (neural sites) compared to NMP-L (D3) and their appearance over time (D5 and D6). Comparison of accessible regions and associated genes on D5 and after D5 revealed approximately 19% of genes had additional accessible regions, while the majority were found in newly accessible genes, similarly 40% of D6 genes with additional regions became more accessible in NP (D8). (E) GO term analysis of genes associated with neural sites compared to NMP-L (D3) and genes associated with more accessible chromatin regions on D5 and D6 out of the neural sites (S3 Data). (F-F’) ATAC-seq peak tracks in NMP-L (D3), D5, D6, and NP (D8) cells for the genomic regions of RARB (E) and GLI3 (E’), grey boxes are peaks within the gene body. ChIP-qPCR, chromatin immunoprecipitation quantitative PCR; GO, gene ontology; NMP-L, NMP-like; NP, neural progenitor.

https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.3000221.g003

Genome-wide comparison of accessibility patterns across TSSs and gene bodies in D5, D6, and D8 cells revealed that although overall accessibility levels remained relatively constant over time, a clear peak in accessibility appeared at D6 of differentiation (Fig 3C). Detailed analysis comparing D3 and D8 identified 7,877 regions with increased, and 11,603 regions with decreased accessibility (analysis performed with diffReps with thresholds FDR ≤0.01 and log2FC ≥1). The regions of increased accessibility correlated with known active enhancer and promoter marks such as H3K4me1 and H3K27ac detected in human embryonic spinal cord and brain (data from the ENCODE regulatory element database [95]; see S2 Fig and S4 Data). We termed these regions “neural sites” and further analysis revealed that these were located in introns (7,003), exons (333), promoter/TSSs (199), TTS (175), and intergenic regions (167), while additional comparison with ENCODE datasets for human neurons and hESCs identified overlaps between neural sites and peaks for the transcriptional coactivator p300, indicating that recruitment of this histone acetyltransferase is a potential mechanism for these changes in chromatin accessibility. Overall, we found that neural sites were associated with 4,001 genes (S1 Table) and that accessibility increased across the TSS and body of these genes over time, with accessibility peaking at D6 (Fig 3C’ and S3 Data). The changes included additional chromatin opening across genes already accessible at D3 as well as new genes with increased accessibility by D8 (Fig 3D).

Gene ontology (GO) term analysis of the genes associated with regions of increased accessibility on D5, D6, and D8 revealed terms related to neural development and showed a progression with more genes associated with these terms over time (Fig 3E and S3 Data, gene list S2 Table). Focussing on the GO term Neurogenesis, we selected 2 key neural progenitor genes, in addition to PAX6, and examined the ATAC-seq signal in detail around their gene bodies. Chromatin accessibility around RARB and GLI3 showed an increase similar to that associated with PAX6 as early as D5 (Fig 3F and 3F’). Overall, these findings indicate that coordinated regulation of chromatin accessibility is a general mechanism that mediates the onset of neural gene transcription, while analysis of PRC occupancy dynamics at the exemplar PAX6 locus identifies this repression complex as a target of such regulation.

ERK1/2 dephosphorylation induces precocious neural gene transcription and polycomb protein dissociation

In chick and mouse embryos, FGFR inhibition elicits precocious Pax6 transcription [20,37], and loss of such signalling [37] or downstream ERK1/2 activity (this study) also decompacts this gene locus in mouse embryo caudal lateral epiblast. We therefore next tested whether loss of ERK1/2 signalling similarly accelerates human neural differentiation from NMP-L (D3) cells in vitro and if such signalling regulates polycomb protein occupancy. To address this, NMP-L (D3) cells were generated and exposed to MEKi or DMSO during subsequent neural differentiation (Fig 4A and 4B) and PAX6 transcript levels analysed by reverse transcription quantitative PCR (RT-qPCR). This revealed precocious PAX6 transcription beginning at D5 and peaking at D6 in the presence of MEKi (Fig 4C and S5 Data). This correlated with changes in polycomb protein occupancy and activity by D6, where MEKi exposure resulted in decreased Ring1B and H3K27me3 at the PAX6 and control locus HOXD11 (Fig 4D and 4D’ and S5 Data) (while ChIP-PCR for Jarid2 provided low signal at D6, which may reflect decreased levels of Jarid2 protein in NPs; S3A and S3B Fig and S6 Data). Importantly, these changes coincide with maximum precocious PAX6 transcription elicited by inhibition of ERK1/2 signalling (Fig 4C and S5 Data).

Download:

• PPT
  PowerPoint slide
• PNG
  larger image
• TIFF
  original image

Fig 4. ERK1/2 dephosphorylation induces precocious PAX6 expression, reduced polycomb protein occupancy and H3K27me3 at this locus and increases accessibility of hundreds of neural differentiation genes.

(A) Differentiation protocol generating NMP-L (D3) cells and spinal cord NPs by D8 and additional treatment with vehicle control DMSO or MEKi (PD184352) every 24 hours from D3 for the duration of the differentiation protocol. (B) Western blot confirming that exposure to MEKi lead to reduced ERK1/2 phosphorylation after 24 hours in differentiation conditions (D3-D4). (C) PAX6 transcript levels in NMP-L (D3), in control conditions (WT and DMSO) or in MEKi-treated cells on D5 and D6 and NP(D8) determined by RT-qPCR (n = 3 independent experiments indicated by circles, triangles, and diamonds, bar = average, error bars = SEM) (S5 Data). (D-D’) ChIP-qPCR for Ring1B and H3K27me3 on D6 note H3K27me3 below detection in MEKi conditions (n = 3 independent experiments indicated with circles, bar = average, error bars = SEM, * = p ≤ 0.05, t test, S5 Data). (E-E’) Venn diagrams representing distribution of genomic regions that become more accessible on D5 (E) and D6 (E’) in control condition and MEKi-treated cells compared to NMP-L (not restricted to regions accessible in NPs (D8)) as well as more accessible regions on D8. (F-F’) GO term analysis of genes associated with more accessible chromatin in D5 (F) and D6 (F’) in control condition and MEKi-treated cells compared to NMP-L (S5 Data). (G-G”) ATAC-seq peak tracks in NMP-L, D5 DMSO and MEKi, D6 DMSO and MEKi, and NP (D8) cells for the genomic regions of DCX (G), GABRB2 (G’), and PAX6 (G”), grey boxes outline peaks within the gene body, black boxes peaks outside of the gene body and red box genomic region of a known PAX6 enhancer, example comparisons between peaks in MEKi and DMSO conditions indicated with black arrowhead pairs. Note MEKi exposure does not alter levels of Ring1B protein while it promotes neural differentiation (S4 Fig). ChIP-qPCR, chromatin immunoprecipitation quantitative PCR; GO, gene ontology; MEKi, MEK inhibitor; NMP-L, NMP-like; NP, neural progenitor; RT-qPCR, reverse transcription quantitative PCR; WT, wild type.

https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.3000221.g004

ERK1/2 dephosphorylation impacts polycomb occupancy without altering global Ring1B levels or ERK2 association with chromatin

These findings identify ERK1/2 signalling as a regulator of PRC occupancy and transcription of a key neural gene. This might involve mechanisms that influence the activity of PRC proteins but could be mediated by regulation of PRC protein expression. As Ring1B occupancy is significantly reduced by D6 (Fig 4D’ and S5 Data), we assessed levels of Ring1B by western blot during differentiation from hESCs. This revealed a sharp decline as hESCs become NMP-L cells and a further small decrease in Ring1B as NMP-L (D3) cells become NPs (D8) (S4A and S4B Fig and S7 Data). This raised the possibility that reduction in global levels of Ring1B contribute to reduced PRC occupancy and that loss of ERK signalling might accelerate differentiation by reducing Ring1B expression. To test whether ERK signalling regulates Ring1B levels, we repeated our initial experiment treating cells with MEKi for 3 days (D3-D6 as in Fig 4A). This regime reduced pERK1/2 and induced precocious PAX6 expression (S4C and S4D Fig and for comparison, also see Fig 4C and S7 Data) but did not alter Ring1B protein levels. This indicates that ERK signalling decline does not impact PRC occupancy by regulating expression or turnover of Ring1B.

A more direct mechanism by which ERK1/2 signalling might regulate PRC occupancy has been proposed in mouse ESCs. Here, ChIP-seq experiments revealed that ERK1/2 activity promotes ERK2 occupancy at developmental genes, in addition to the recruitment of polycomb proteins at such genes in an ERK2-dependent manner [82]. Using ChIP-qPCR and the same ERK2 antibody used and validated in [82], we surveyed ERK2 occupancy during differentiation from NMP-L (D3) cells. ERK2 was detected at TSSs of PAX6, HOXD11 and the constitutively expressed control gene GAPDH (S6A Fig). Although ERK2 occupancy at PAX6 and HOXD11 declined during differentiation (S4G Fig and S7 Data), inhibition of ERK1/2 activity revealed no difference in ERK2 occupancy between treated and control samples (S4H and S4H’ Fig and S7 Data). These findings suggest that a decline in ERK1/2 activity, and not its association with chromatin, regulates PRC occupancy at the exemplar neural gene PAX6 in this cellular context.

ERK1/2 dephosphorylation induces global increase in chromatin accessibility at neural sites and predicted changes in occupancy of transcription factors that mediate transition to a neural identity

To determine whether changes to ERK1/2 activity broadly impact chromatin accessibility in cells transitioning to a neural identity, we performed ATAC-seq on cells at D5 and D6 exposed to MEKi or DMSO conditions during differentiation from D3 NMP-L cells (Fig 4A). A comparison of all regions opening between NMP-L (D3) and D5 in control (2,653 regions) and MEKi conditions (3,977 regions, associated with 417 newly accessible genes, and 368 more accessible genes), identified 2,193 regions with additional chromatin accessibility following MEKi treatment (Fig 4E and S3 Table). Many of the MEKi-induced regions of increased accessibility belonged to the previously defined neural sites (1,176) (Fig 3C’), while a further (1,436) regions were unique to MEKi treatment and not included in neural sites (Fig 4E). Analysis of D6 control and MEKi datasets revealed a similar pattern, with 3,508 additional regions of increased accessibility induced by MEKi (associated with 593 newly accessible genes and 437 genes acquiring additional accessibility) (Fig 4E’), with many coinciding with neural sites (1,587), and a further 1,921 regions were detected outside of control D6 and D8 data sets (Fig 4E’ and see below).

To interpret the genome-wide chromatin accessibility changes induced by MEKi, we analysed the GO biological processes associated with the gene cohorts linked to regions of increased accessibility. Strikingly, MEKi treatment on D5 corresponded to an increased representation of genes associated with neural development terms (Fig 4F and S5 Data). Moreover, at D6 of MEKi treatment, genes associated with later neural development, such as synapse organisation, were specifically increased (Fig 4F and S5 Data). We therefore analysed the GO terms for genes associated with more accessible regions that were unique to the MEKi data sets on D5 and D6 and found a strong enrichment towards later neuronal differentiation (see S3 Table for list of genes associated with loci of increased accessibility due to MEKi treatment). This suggests that MEKi treatment leads to increased global accessibility at neural differentiation genes and an accelerated progression to a more advanced differentiation cell state, consistent with MEKi-induced precocious PAX6 transcription and loss of Ring1B across this locus shown by ChIP-PCR by D6 (Fig 4C, 4D, and 4D’ and S5 Data). Moreover, examining the peaks detected by ATAC-seq at individual genes (DCX, GABRB2, and PAX6) supported these conclusions, showing an increase over time and that this was advanced with MEKi treatment assessed on D5 (arrowheads in Fig 4G–4G”).

To assess how MEKi treatment might advance neural differentiation, we next analysed its impact on the repertoire of transcription factors (TFs) found at open chromatin sites. For this, we carried out genomic footprinting, a computational approach that predicts TF occupancy from ATAC-seq data on the basis of the Tn5 transposase integration frequency detected at base-pair resolution, combined with motif enrichment [85]. We assessed all accessible regions detected by ATAC-seq at D5 and D6, comparing control versus MEKi-treated conditions. This revealed an enrichment in neural TFs in MEKi conditions, notably SOX factors [96] at D5, as well as TFAP2A by D6, indicative of a neural crest-like signature [97]. By contrast CDX/HOX factors, associated with the NMP-L state [98], were found in control conditions (Fig 5A and 5B and S8 Data). These data suggest that MEKi exposure promotes global changes in the binding of TFs that mediate the transition to a neural identity. Moreover, a MEKi-induced increase in SOX factor binding at D5 occurs prior to precocious PAX6 expression on D6, suggesting that neural TF binding is an earlier distinct step that precedes neural gene transcription.

Download:

• PPT
  PowerPoint slide
• PNG
  larger image
• TIFF
  original image

Fig 5. Bioinformatic analyses predict engagement of SOX factors following MEKi exposure and reveal distinct gene pathways occupied by RING1B in NMPs.

Top ten TFs identified by genomic footprinting of regions of increased accessibility detected by ATAC-seq following exposure to MEKi or control (WT) conditions on (A) D5 and (B) D6 (S8 Data); GO biological processes detected by GREAT; (C) that are associated with genomic intervals that change in Ring1B occupancy as detected by ChIP-seq between day 0 hESCs and day 3 NMPs-L cells (see Method); and associated with neural sites occupied by (D) Ring1B (purple—enriched for neural and patterning genes) and (D’) non-Ring1B in NMP-L cells. GO, gene ontology; hESC, human ESC; MEKi, MEK inhibitor; NMP, neuromesodermal progenitor; NMP-L, NMP-like; NP, neural progenitor; TF, transcription factor; WT, wild type.

https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.3000221.g005

Changing patterns of Ring1B occupancy correlate with establishment of the NMP-L cell state and show that ERK1/2 decline regulates PRC and other mechanisms to increase chromatin accessibility at neural genes

To uncover the global relationship between PRC-occupied genes and subsequent sites of increased accessibility, we next undertook ChIP-seq with Ring1B in hESCs and D3 NMP-L cells. Comparison of Ring1B genome-wide occupancy in these two cell states revealed a striking pattern of change, with 1,827 sites detected as differential. Most of these sites (1,148) were decreased in NMP-L cells in comparison with hESCs, with a smaller set (679) constituting newly occupied sites in NMP-L cells. Such change in occupancy pattern further supports the conclusion that reduced Ring1B at the PAX6 locus (Fig 4D and S5 Data) is not simply a consequence of overall decline in Ring1B protein levels during differentiation. Moreover, GO analysis of genes associated with these differentially Ring1B occupied sites included many terms associated with spinal cord development and neural differentiation (Fig 5C). This establishment of a new pattern of genome wide Ring1B occupancy in the NMP-L (D3) cells that is aligned with spinal cord development supports the idea that the NMP cell state represents competency for differentiation into this tissue and suggests that this is linked to regulation of polycomb occupancy.

To assess the significance of Ring1B occupancy in NMP-L (D3) cells, we next compared all such sites (D3 consensus sites) to our previously (ATAC-seq defined) neural sites, which exhibit increased accessibility from D3 to D8. This revealed that a subset of neural sites (22%, 1,698/7,877) are occupied by Ring1B in the NMP-L cell population, while GO term analysis revealed enrichment for neural and anterior-posterior patterning associated with these Ring1B bound sites (Fig 5D and 5D’), linking PRC occupancy in NMP-L (D3) cells to neural differentiation. On the other hand, Ring1B occupancy was not predictive of which neural sites would show increased accessibility following exposure to MEKi: Only a subset of neural sites opening in response to MEKi were bound by Ring1B on D5 (258/1,176, 15%, includes PAX6) and D6 (373/1,587, 21.9%, includes PAX6 as well). This suggests that MEKi increases chromatin accessibility at canonical PRC and non-PRC-occupied sites.

To test whether Ring1B occupancy in NMP-L cells correlates with the binding of specific TFs, we further performed genomic footprinting on the Ring1B-bound subset and compared this with all other neural sites but found no differences in the factors enriched. However, comparison of predicted TF occupancy in MEKi and control conditions revealed that loss of ERK1/2 activity promoted the engagement of SOX family TFs (D5) and TFAP2 family TFs (D6) regardless of association with Ring1B. These findings indicate that while a decline in ERK1/2 signalling promotes increased accessibility at neural gene loci and promotes engagement of neural TFs, only a subset of the newly accessible loci was formerly occupied by Ring1B. Moreover, these data suggest that the activity of individual TF proteins such as SOX2 and SOX3 is subject to multiple regulatory mechanisms at different genomic sites. Overall, these data show that decline in ERK signalling broadly impacts accessibility at neural genes, can regulate PRC occupancy, and selectively promotes neural TF engagement signatures at neural gene loci.

Transient ERK1/2 dephosphorylation in NMP-L cells induces dissociation of both Jarid2 and Ring1B and chromatin decompaction at the PAX6 locus but does not alter H3K27me3 nor elicit transcription

In the mouse embryo, we found that exposure to MEKi led to decompaction of chromatin around the locus of our exemplar neural progenitor gene Pax6, within one hour (Fig 1). However, it was not practical to dissect and collect sufficient caudal embryonic tissue to assess the impact of loss of ERK1/2 signalling on PRC protein occupancy or the timing of such events. We therefore used human NMP-L cells to dissect the dynamics of such changes at the PAX6 locus. Exposure to MEKi for 3 hours (in the presence of FGF, which maintains the NMP-L cell state) reduced dpERK1/2 levels (S5A–S5B’ Fig and S9 Data); however, ChIP-qPCR revealed no change in Ring1B nor H3K27me3 occupancy (S5C–S5E and S9 Data). Moreover, MEKi exposure did not alter transcription of PAX6, HOXD11, nor JARID2 (S5F-S5F” Fig and S9 Data). This short exposure was therefore insufficient to disassemble the PRC1 (Ring1B) complex or remove the H3K27me3 mark in the context of NMP-L (D3) cells.

We next assessed the consequences of loss of ERK1/2 activity at a later time point, exposing NMP-L (D3) cells to MEKi for 12 hours and conducting the same panel of ChIP-qPCR experiments (Fig 6A). At the end of this period, ERK1/2 phosphorylation levels had now returned to control levels (Fig 6B and 6B’ and S10 Data), indicative of transient MEKi effectiveness in the presence of exogenous FGF, although other consequences of reduced ERK1/2 activity, such as increased PKB phosphorylation, were still apparent (S6 Fig and S11 Data): This regime therefore delivered a transient inhibition of ERK1/2 activity for at least 3 hours. Moreover, after 12 hours, reduced Jarid2 and Ring1B occupancy were clearly apparent at PAX6 and HOXD11 loci in exposed cells (while control genomic regions possessed only low level H3K27me3 and Ring1B and Jarid2, which did not change with MEKi treatment) (Fig 6C–6C’ and S10 Data). Importantly, none of the gene loci analysed exhibited a change in H3K27me3 levels (Fig 6C” and S10 Data) nor did the loss of both PRC1 and PRC2 proteins correlate with transcription of PAX6 or HOXD11 nor with reduced JARID2 transcripts (Fig 6D–6D” and S10 Data). These data indicate that a transient reduction in ERK1/2 signalling is sufficient to trigger loss of both PRC2 and PRC1 proteins.

Download:

• PPT
  PowerPoint slide
• PNG
  larger image
• TIFF
  original image

Fig 6. Transient ERK1/2 dephosphorylation induces dissociation of Jarid2 and Ring1B and chromatin decompaction in NMP-L cells at the PAX6 locus but does not reduce H3K27me3 nor elicit transcription.

(A) Differentiation protocol used to generate NMP-L (D3) cells and additional treatment with vehicle control DMSO or MEKi for 12 hours. (B-B’) Representative western blot of cell lysates probed with antibodies against total (panERK1/2) and dual-phosphorylated-ERK1/2 (dpERK1/2) and LiCOR quantification data (n = 3 independent experiments, error bar = SEM) (S10 Data). (C-C”) ChIP-qPCRs investigating the histone modification H3K27me3 and polycomb repressive complex occupancy in NMP-L (D3) cells treated with MEKi or DMSO for 12 hours (n = 3 individual experiments indicated with circles, bar = average, * = p ≤ 0.05, t test) (S10 Data). (D-D”) Transcription levels of PAX6, HOXD11, and JARID2 assessed by RT-qPCR in undifferentiated cell (hESCs), NMP-L cells untreated, vehicle control (DMSO) treated or MEKi treated (n = 3 individual experiments, no significant differences between samples, t test) (S10 Data). (E-E’) FISH to assess chromatin compaction around the PAX6 locus in NMP-Ls untreated and treated with DMSO or MEKi for 12 hours. Two probes flanking the target locus (interprobe distance ca. 51 kb) were hybridised and visualised by differential labelling nuclei (outlined with white dashed line) visualised with DAPI (blue). Interprobe distance measurements in >50 nuclei in the three conditions in three individual experiments (n = > 150 nuclei/cell type, Mann–Whitney test/rank-sum test, *** p ≤ 0.001) (S10 Data), this decompaction correlated with a 2.5-fold decrease in number of base pairs per nm compared to both controls (untreated NMP-L (D3): 205 bp/nm, DMSO NMP-L (D3): 218 bp/nm and MEKi NMPL (D3): 87 bp/nm). ChIP-qPCR, chromatin immunoprecipitation quantitative PCR; MEKi, MEK inhibitor; NMP-L, NMP-like; RT-qPCR, reverse transcription quantitative PCR.

https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.3000221.g006

To determine the significance of this loss, we assessed whether 12-hour MEKi exposure also altered chromatin accessibility around the PAX6 locus using FISH. Significant decompaction of this region was found in MEKi-treated cells compared with both DMSO and untreated controls (Fig 6E–6E’ and S10 Data). These findings correlate PRC loss with a distinct increase in chromatin accessibility across this key neural progenitor gene. This loss of PRC occupancy appears to represent the gating mechanism for the initiation of neural progenitor gene expression since the resumption of ERK1/2 activity (by 12 hours) did not reinstate PRC binding. Moreover, these data demonstrate that removal of H3K27me3 is not required for such chromatin reorganisation; indeed, the regulation of this histone modification appears molecularly distinct from the initial effects of ERK1/2 dephosphorylation and correlates with later transcriptional onset (Fig 6C–6C” compare Fig 2D–2D”). These distinct steps in regulation of the exemplar gene PAX6 are summarised in Fig 7.

Download:

• PPT
  PowerPoint slide
• PNG
  larger image
• TIFF
  original image

Fig 7. Model of steps leading to engagement of the neural differentiation programme at exemplar gene PAX6.

In chick and mouse embryos, decline in FGF and downstream effector kinase ERK1/2 signalling takes place as NMP cells commence neural differentiation, mediated by rising levels of retinoid (RA) signalling, which represses Fgf8 (reviewed in [25]). Mouse NMPs are characterised by phosphorylated ERK1/2 (dpERK1/2) and compact chromatin across the exemplar neural differentiation gene Pax6, which is decorated with the PRC2 gene silencing mark H3K27me3. In human NMP-L cells, PRC2 (Jarid2) and PRC1 (Ring1B) occupy the locus and H3K27me3 is accompanied by gene activation associated histone modification H3K4me3, identifying this as a bivalent locus poised for transcription. During differentiation, loss of ERK1/2 signalling leads to chromatin decompaction across PAX6 in mouse embryo NMPs and in human NMP-L cells, where it is accompanied by loss of PRCs (PRC2 and PRC1). There is also evidence that levels of PRC2 protein Jarid2 decline during neural differentiation. Loss of ERK1/2 activity results in genome-wide increase in chromatin accessibility across neural genes, involving regulation of PRC and other chromatin accessibility complexes, opening sites that become bound by neural TFs (SOX family), detected prior to PAX6 transcription. The gene silencing histone mark H3K27me3 persists after PRC2 is lost and is removed coincident with transcription onset: ERK1/2 regulation of chromatin accessibility and neural TF binding appears distinct from this later step, which may depend on retinoid signalling, known to be required for PAX6 transcription in mouse and chick embryos. As transient loss of ERK1/2 activity removes PRC2 and PRC1 and these complexes are not reinstated on resumption of ERK1/2 signalling, decline in ERK1/2 activity and so PRC occupancy (and other chromatin remodelling complexes) acts as a gating mechanism that confers differentiation directionality as well as synchronising accessibility for neural TF binding and so engagement of the neural differentiation programme. FGF, fibroblast growth factor; NMP, neuromesodermal progenitor; NMP-L, NMP-like; RA, retinoic acid; PRC, polycomb repressive complex; TF, transcription factor.

https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.3000221.g007

Embryo dissection and hanging drop culture

All animal husbandry and procedures were approved by the UK Government Home Office and were in accordance with European Community Guidelines (directive 86/609/EEC) under project licence number 6004454. CD1 mouse embryos collected at embryonic stage E8.5 were dissected in warm medium (DMEM-F12 with 10% FBS, Gibco) and one half of the litter exposed to MEK inhibitor (PD184532, MEKi, 3 μM final concentration, Enzo Life Sciences) and the other half exposed to vehicle control DMSO (equal volume, 1:4,000). Each embryo was placed in a drop of medium in the lid of a 35-mm plate, which was flipped over onto its base, resulting in a hanging drop [115]. Embryos were cultured in a humid chamber at 37°C and 5% CO₂ for 1 hour. For FISH, embryos were fixed immediately after 1 hour in hanging drop culture and processed as detailed below. For ChIP-qPCR, embryos were placed on ice in cold culture medium and the caudal region explants microdissected as shown in Fig 1E, before being collected and fixed with formaldehyde (Sigma-Aldrich, 1%, 10 minutes, RT) and quenched with glycine (0.125 M, 5 minutes, RT) and snap frozen until the ChIP procedure.

Whole embryo in situ hybridisation

Mouse embryos for whole embryo in situ hybridisation were dissected at required stages (E8.5 to E13.5), fixed overnight in cold paraformaldehyde, and processed using standard protocols. Sequences for the Jarid2 transcript variants were obtained from the database NCBI (NM_001205043.1, NM_021878.3, and NM_001205044.1), and primers (5′ GAGGAGGAAGAAGACAAA 3′; 5′ CATGGAGAATGGCTTAGC 3′) designed to amplify the region homologous to the sequence used for the Jarid2 probe in the chicken [93]. The sequence was PCR amplified under standard conditions and annealing temperature of 55°C. The PCR product was purified using the QIAquick Gel Extraction kit (QIAgen, Cat. #28704) following manufacturer’s instructions and cloned into a StrataClone PCR Cloning Vector (pSC-A-amp/kan) (Strata Clone PCR Cloning kit, Agilent Technologies, Cat. #240205–5) according to manufacturer’s instructions. A positive white colony was picked for plasmidial DNA analysis (MaxiPrep—QIAfilter Plasmid Maxi Kit Qiagen, Cat. #12263) and presence of the insert was confirmed by sequencing. The plasmid was then used to generate a probe for Jarid2 expression analysis in the mouse embryo.

Cell culture of human ESCs

Work with hESCs was undertaken in approval of the UK Stem Cell Bank steering committee (licence number SCSC14-29). Human ES cells (H9, WiCell) were authenticated by short tandem repeat (STR) DNA profiling. Cell banks were tested for sterility by direct inoculation of conditioned medium into tryptic soya broth and soya bean casein broth, and no contamination was observed; mycoplasma testing was carried out by DAPI staining of fixed cultures and with mycoalert mycoplasma detection kit (Lonza). Cell lines were tested to check for the uniform expression of pluripotency markers (Oct4, Sox2, Nanog, SSEA-3, SSEA-4, TRA-1-60, and TRA-1-81) and absence of differentiation markers (SSEA-1, HNF-3 beta, beta-III-tubulin, and smooth muscle alpha-actinin) by immunofluorescence.

H9 hESCs cells were maintained in TESR medium on Geltrex (Thermo Fisher Scientific)-coated dishes (10 μg cm⁻²) and provided for experiments by the Human Pluripotent Stem Cell Facility of the University of Dundee. For differentiation, cells were plated on Geltrex-coated dishes (20 μg cm⁻²) at a density of 4 × 10³ cells cm⁻² and allowed to attach overnight. To generate NMP-L cells, ES media was removed, and cells were cultured with neurobasal medium (Gibco) supplemented with N2, B27, GlutaMAX (final concentration for each 1×, Gibco), 20 ng/ml bFGF (Peprotech), and 3 μM CHIR99021 (Tocris Bioscience) for 3 days (after [13]). To generate neural progenitor cells (NPs) from these NMP-Ls, bFGF and CHIR99021 were removed from the medium, cells were then cultured from day 2 to day 4 in medium further supplemented with BMP and TGFβ inhibitors (Noggin [50 ng/ml], Peprotech and SB431542 [10 μM], Tocris Bioscience). NMP-L cells were generated on day 3 and this was routinely confirmed by RT-qPCR using primers for BRACHYURY/T and SOX2. NMP-L cells were differentiated into NPs in neurobasal medium supplemented with N2, B27, and GlutaMAX (with day 4 containing BMP and TGFβ inhibitors) for up to day 8, and neural differentiation of posterior NPs was confirmed by RT-qPCR using primers for PAX6 and HOXD11. This protocol is identical to that we describe in [91] to make hNMP-Like cells, but here, differentiation of NMP-L cells into NPs was undertaken without addition of exogenous retinoic acid from day 4 (protocol schematic; Fig 4A). Treatment with MEKi (PD184352 [3 μM], Tocris Bioscience)/DMSO or DMSO alone (equal volume) was administered with the culture medium in a dilution of 1:4,000 for transcript-level analysis and ChIP-qPCR experiments, additional revision experiments reported in S4A–S4F Fig used the MEKi PD032590 at 3 μM or DMSO at 1:4,000, MEKi was introduced in regimes as described in each experiment. In ATAC-seq experiments, PD184352, MEKi /DMSO, or DMSO alone (equal volume) at 1:20,000 was administered with the culture medium.

Fluorescence in situ hybridisation (FISH)

The mouse Pax6 fosmid pair (WIBR-1 Mouse Fosmid Library, Whitehead Institute/MIT Center for Genomic Research) and the human PAX6 BAC clone pair (WIBR2 Human Library; see S4 Table) were prepared using a standard Mini-prep protocol. Using Nick transcription, the fosmids and BAC clones were labelled with Digoxigenin11dUTP and Biotin-16-dUTP. Unincorporated nucleotides were removed with Quick Spin G50 Sephadex columns (Roche) and labelled probes quantified by dot blotting. Embryos were exposed for short term to MEKi or vehicle control DMSO by 1 hour hanging drop culture, then fixed (4% PFA, overnight), washed, and dehydrated through a methanol series before being cleared in xylene and embedded in paraffin for sectioning (7 μm). The FISH protocol on mouse tissue was adapted from [116]. Coverslips with sections containing neural tube or caudal lateral epiblast tissue were heated to 65°C for 30 minutes, then xylene washed (4 × 10 minutes each) and rehydrated through an ethanol series to dH₂0. The coverslips were microwaved for 20 minutes in 0.1 M citrate buffer (pH 6.0), then left to cool and washed in dH₂0. For probe hybridisation, 150 ng each of the labelled probes together with 15 μg mouse Cot1 DNA and 5 μg sonicated salmon sperm DNA were denatured and incubated overnight at 37°C. After a series of washes, the probes were detected using FITC-conjugated anti-Digoxigenin antibody (1:20, Roche) amplified with anti-sheep Alexa Fluor 488 (1:100, Molecular Probes) and biotinylated anti-Avidin (1:100) together with Alexa streptavidin 594 (1:500, Molecular Probes); nuclei were counterstained with DAPI, coverslips were mounted with Slowfade Gold (Molecular Probes) and imaged on a Deltavision (Applied Precision).

For FISH on human ESC–derived cells, cells were directly grown and differentiated on glass coverslips coated with Geltrex and cells were untreated, exposed to DMSO or MEKi in DMSO as above. After a short fixation (10 minutes, 4% formaldehyde, RT), the coverslips were washed in 0.05% Triton X100/PBS (3 × 5 minutes, RT). For permeabilisation, the coverslips were incubated in 0.5% Triton X100/PBS for 10 minutes, then transferred to 20% glycerol/PBS for 1 hour at 4°C and then repeatedly dipped in liquid nitrogen until completely frozen, let to thaw, and soaked in 20% glycerol/PBS again (6 repeats). After the last snap freezing, the coverslips were washed in 0.05% Triton X100/PBS (3 × 5 minutes, RT), rinsed and incubated in 0.1 N HCl (10 minutes, RT), and washed in 0.05% Triton x100/PBS (3 × 5 minutes, RT) again. To equilibrate, coverslips were washed in 2xSSC before prehybridisation (50% Formamide in 2xSSC) for 30 minutes at RT. For probe hybridisation, the same probe mix as for the FISH on mouse material was used (except probes specific for the human Pax6 locus). The probes were denatured on a heat block at 75°C for 3 minutes before hybridisation (overnight, 37°C, humid chamber). The coverslips were then washed, and probes were detected using the same antibody reactions as for the FISH on mouse samples; nuclei were counterstained with DAPI, coverslips were mounted with Slowfade Gold and imaged using a widefield Deltavision Microscope. Using OMERO insight regions of interest (ROIs) were selected over at least 3 z-sections. The 3D interprobe distances in ROIs were measured using a custom script called OMERO mtools [117], by segmenting the objects from the background and calculating the distance between the centroids as d in μm. For ease of comparison, the ratio of number of base pairs per nm was calculated using the interprobe distance known in bp and measured in nm.

Chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP)

For each IP and control IP, 25 μL of dynabeads coated with protein A (Invitrogen) were used. Beads were washed 3 times in blocking buffer (0.1% BSA in PBS) and resuspended in blocking buffer containing the antibody for immunoprecipitation or an equal amount of unspecific IgG (for antibody source information, see S5 Table) and incubated for 2 to 3 hours at 4°C. Beads were then washed twice in blocking buffer, resuspended in blocking buffer, and stored at 4°C until immunoprecipitation.

For ChIP on human ES cells, the cells were grown and differentiated in 10 cm culture dishes at 37°C and 5% CO₂. Cells were fixed with formaldehyde (Sigma-Aldrich, 1%, 10 minutes, RT) and quenched with glycine (0.125 M, 5 minutes, RT). Cells were then washed 3 times with PBS and harvested by scraping into protein low bind Eppendorf tubes and centrifuged (4,000 x g, 10 minutes, 4°C). The pellets were snap frozen on dry ice and stored at −80°C. For the chromatin preparation, the cell pellet was resuspended in lysis buffer (50 mM Tris–HCl (pH 8.1); 10 mM EDTA (pH 8); 1% SDS and protease inhibitor), vortexed, and incubated (10 minutes on ice). Chromatin fragments of approximately 500 to 1,000 bp were generated by sonication with a probe sonicator (Vibra-Cell, Sonics 8 cycles, 30 seconds on, 30 seconds off, 30% amplitude). Sonicated lysate was diluted (1:5) in dilution buffer (20 mM Tris–HCl (pH 8.1); 150 mM NaCl; 2 mM EDTA (pH 8) 1% Triton X100 and protease inhibitor) and centrifuged (20 minutes, full speed, 4°C). The supernatant was transferred into a fresh tube. DNA concentration was determined with NanoDrop 2000 Spectrophotometer.

For ChIP of chromatin associated proteins 100 μg of chromatin and ChIP of histone modifications 25 μg of chromatin were diluted to a final volume in 1 mL, added to the already prepared bead-antibody complexes, and incubated (overnight, 4°C, rotating). An input for each ChIP (10% of ChIPed amount) was kept at −20°C. The next day, beads were washed 5 times in wash buffer (100 mM Tris (pH 8.8); 0.5 M LiCl; 1% NP40, 1% NaDoc and protease inhibitor) and then rinsed and washed in 1x TE (10 mM Tris and 1 mM EDTA (pH 8)). To elute, the beads were resuspended in elution buffer (50 mM Tris–HCl (pH 8); 10 mM EDTA (pH 8); 1% SDS) and incubated (15 minutes, 65°C, 1,400 rpm). The eluate was spun down quickly, and the supernatant was transferred into a fresh tube. Formaldehyde crosslinking was reversed by incubation at 65°C and 700 rpm for 6 hours. The input sample was diluted with elution buffer (1:1) and crosslinking reversed. All samples were then diluted with TE (1:1), and RNA and proteins were digested (RNAse, Sigma-Aldrich, 30 minutes, 37°C and proteinase K, Sigma-Aldrich, 90 minutes 45°C). DNA was recovered by Phenol/Chloroform extraction (Phenol:Chloroform:Isoamylalcohol, 25:24:1 (pH 8), Sigma-Aldrich) and washed with Chloroform:Isoamylalcohol (24:1, Amresco) and then precipitated in 96% ice cold ethanol, with 3 M SodiumAcetate and linear polyacrylamide (5 mg/mL, Ambion) overnight at 80°C. Precipitated DNA was washed with 70% ice cold ethanol, and pellet was air dried before resuspension in nuclease free water.

A similar protocol was used to ChIP material from caudal mouse explants. Thirty fixed and snap frozen caudal explants were pooled and resuspended in lysis buffer, vortexed, and dissociated by pipetting before incubating on ice for 10 minutes and sonication. The lysate was diluted in dilution buffer, centrifuged (20 minutes, maximum speed, 4°C), and the supernatant was transferred into a new tube (and the DNA concentration determined by NanoDrop 2000 Spectrophotometer 0.25 μg of chromatin were used to immunoprecipitate with 3 μg of the rabbit anti H3K27me3 antibody (Millipore) previously bound to dynabeads overnight at 4°C). After that, the same procedure of washing, eluting, uncrosslinking, and precipitation of DNA was used. For quantification of specifically immunoprecipitated DNA, quantitative real-time PCR was performed (PerfeCTa SYBR Green SuperMix for iQ, Quanta Biosciences or Brilliant III Ultra-Fast QPCR Master Mix, Agilent Technologies). Each sample was analysed in 3 biological replicates, and each biological replicate was analysed in technical triplicates using primer pairs in S6 Table.

Transcription-level analysis by reverse transcription quantitative PCR (RT-qPCR)

For RNA extraction, human ES cells were grown and differentiated in 24-well plates. Cells were washed with PBS before being collected in 350 μL of lysis buffer from the Qiagen RNeasy Mini Kit, and RNA was prepared according to manufacturer’s protocol. An on-column DNA digest with RQ1 RNase-Free DNase (Promega) was performed (RT, 15 minutes). cDNA was generated from 500 μg purified RNA with the ImProm-II Reverse Transcription System (Promega) primed by random primers. The Aria Mx real-time PCR system with the Brilliant III Ultra-Fast QPCR Master Mix (Agilent Technologies) was used to quantify the transcript levels. Each sample was analysed in biological triplicate, and each biological replicate was run in technical triplicates (for primers, see S7 Table). The relative transcription level of a gene was normalised to that of GAPDH using the Pfaffl method [118], and GAPDH levels were checked by normalisation to HPRT1.

Western blotting

A minimum of 4 stage E8.5 mouse embryos or human ES cells grown in a 6-well plate were lysed in lysis buffer (LB Nuc+ all), kept on ice for 30 minutes while vortexing every 5 minutes, and centrifuged (16,000 x g,4°C, 20 minutes). The supernatant was transferred into a new tube and protein concentration determined by Bradford assay. Approximately 50 μg of protein were separated on a 4% to 12% precast Gel (Invitrogen) in 1x MES buffer (Invitrogen) next to a size marker before blotting on onto a PVDF membrane in transfer buffer (25 mM Tris, 190 mM glycine, 20% methanol). To minimise variances, every sample was loaded at least twice on the same gel and blotted onto a membrane at the same time. After blotting the membrane halved and one half was processed with a pan antibody and an antibody for the loading control α-Tubulin and the other half with a phosphorylation specific antibody and the loading control antibody. Membranes were first blocked in 3% BSA in TBST for at least 2 hours at RT, before incubation with primary antibody (S8 Table) overnight. After washing in TBST (3 × 10 minutes, RT), the membrane was incubated with secondary antibodies (see S8 Table; 90 minutes, RT). Following TBST washes, signals were visualised by scanning on LICOR Odyssey system. Band intensity measurements were performed for quantification. The loading controls were used to normalise for minor differences in loading before the phosphorylated ERK1/2 or PKB levels were compared to the pan ERK1/2 and PKB levels of the same samples. Ring1B and Jarid2 western blotting was performed as described above except HRP-conjugated anti-species secondary antibodies were used and proteins were detected using enhanced chemiluminescence (ECL, GE Healthcare) and exposure to X-ray film. Anti-beta-actin and anti-GAPDH antibodies were used as loading controls. For antibody source information, see S8 Table and S1 Raw Images for western blot images.

ATAC-seq

ATAC-seq data analysis