PUBLICATION

Pericentromeric hypomethylation elicits an interferon response in an animal model of ICF syndrome

Authors
Rajshekar, S., Yao, J., Arnold, P.K., Payne, S.G., Zhang, Y., Bowman, T.V., Schmitz, R.J., Edwards, J.R., Goll, M.
ID
ZDB-PUB-181130-8
Date
2018
Source
eLIFE   7: (Journal)
Registered Authors
Bowman, Teresa, Goll, Mary
Keywords
DNA methylation, ICF Syndrome, chromosomes, gene expression, interferon response, pericentromeres, zebrafish
Datasets
GEO:GSE116352, GEO:GSE116358, GEO:GSE116359, GEO:GSE116360
MeSH Terms
  • Animals
  • Centromere*
  • DNA Methylation*
  • Disease Models, Animal
  • Face/abnormalities*
  • Face/pathology
  • Gene Knockout Techniques
  • Immunity, Innate
  • Immunologic Deficiency Syndromes/pathology*
  • Interferons/metabolism*
  • Zebrafish
PubMed
30484769 Full text @ Elife
Abstract
Pericentromeric satellite repeats are enriched in 5-methylcytosine (5mC). Loss of 5mC at these sequences is common in cancer and is a hallmark of Immunodeficiency, Centromere and Facial abnormalities (ICF) syndrome. While the general importance of 5mC is well-established, the specific functions of 5mC at pericentromeres are less clear. To address this deficiency, we generated a viable animal model of pericentromeric hypomethylation through mutation of the ICF-gene ZBTB24. Deletion of zebrafish zbtb24 caused a progressive loss of 5mC at pericentromeres and ICF-like phenotypes. Hypomethylation of these repeats triggered derepression of pericentromeric transcripts and activation of an interferon-based innate immune response. Injection of pericentromeric RNA is sufficient to elicit this response in wild-type embryos, and mutation of the MDA5-MAVS dsRNA-sensing machinery blocks the response in mutants. These findings identify activation of the innate immune system as an early consequence of pericentromeric hypomethylation, implicating derepression of pericentromeric transcripts as a trigger of autoimmunity.
This article has been through an editorial process in which the authors decide how to respond to the issues raised during peer review. The Reviewing Editor's assessment is that all the issues have been addressed (see decision letter).
Genes / Markers
Figures
Show all Figures
Expression
Phenotype
Mutations / Transgenics
Human Disease / Model
Sequence Targeting Reagents
Fish
Antibodies
Orthology
Engineered Foreign Genes
Mapping