ATRX Plays a Key Role in Maintaining Silencing at Interstitial Heterochromatic 
Loci and Imprinted Genes

Voon, Hsiao P.J.; Hughes, Jim R.; Rode, Christina; De La Rosa-Velázquez, Inti A.; Jenuwein, Thomas; Feil, Robert; Higgs, Douglas R.; Gibbons, Richard J.

doi:10.1016/j.celrep.2015.03.036

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ATRX Plays a Key Role in Maintaining Silencing at Interstitial Heterochromatic Loci and Imprinted Genes

MPS-Authors

De La Rosa-Velázquez, Inti A.
Department of Epigenetics, Max Planck Institute of Immunobiology and Epigenetics, Max Planck Society;

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Jenuwein, Thomas
Department of Epigenetics, Max Planck Institute of Immunobiology and Epigenetics, Max Planck Society;

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https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2211124715003058?via%3Dihub
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Citation

Voon, H. P., Hughes, J. R., Rode, C., De La Rosa-Velázquez, I. A., Jenuwein, T., Feil, R., et al. (2015). ATRX Plays a Key Role in Maintaining Silencing at Interstitial Heterochromatic Loci and Imprinted Genes. Cell Reports, 11, 405-418. doi:10.1016/j.celrep.2015.03.036.

Cite as: https://hdl.handle.net/someHandle/test/escidoc:904165

Abstract

Histone H3.3 is a replication-independent histone variant, which replaces histones that are turned over throughout the entire cell cycle. H3.3 deposition at euchromatin is dependent on HIRA, whereas ATRX/Daxx deposits H3.3 at pericentric heterochromatin and telomeres. The role of H3.3 at heterochromatic regions is unknown, but mutations in the ATRX/Daxx/H3.3 pathway are linked to aberrant telomere lengthening in certain cancers. In this study, we show that ATRX-dependent deposition of H3.3 is not limited to pericentric heterochromatin and telomeres but also occurs at heterochromatic sites throughout the genome. Notably, ATRX/H3.3 specifically localizes to silenced imprinted alleles in mouse ESCs. ATRX KO cells failed to deposit H3.3 at these sites, leading to loss of the H3K9me3 heterochromatin modification, loss of repression, and aberrant allelic expression. We propose a model whereby ATRX-dependent deposition of H3.3 into heterochromatin is normally required to maintain the memory of silencing at imprinted loci.