Neural crest cells are an embryonic structure unique to vertebrates that gives rise to multiple lineages including the pigment-producing melanocytes. Pigmentation, defined as the placement of pigment in skin, hair, and eyes for coloration, is distinctive because the location, amount, and type of pigmentation provides a visual manifestation of genetic heterogeneity in pathways regulating the pigment-producing cells. The scope of this genetic heterogeneity ranges from normal to pathological pigmentation phenotypes. Clinically, normal human pigmentation encompasses a variety of skin and hair color as well as punctate pigmentation such as melanocytic nevi (moles) or ephelides (freckles), while abnormal human pigmentation exhibits markedly reduced or increased pigment levels, known as hypopigmentation and hyperpigmentation, respectively. Elucidation of the molecular genetics underlying pigmentation has revealed genes important for melanocyte development and function. Furthermore, many pigmentation disorders show additional defects in cells other than melanocytes, and identification of the genetic insults in these disorders has revealed pleiotropism, where a single gene is required for various functions in different cell types. Thus, unraveling the genetics of easily visualized pigmentation disorders has identified molecular similarities between melanocytes and less visible cell types/tissues, arising from a common developmental origin and/or shared genetic regulatory pathways. We utilize a variety of genetic and genomic approaches to discover the etiology of human pigmentation disorders, often focusing on the fact that the developmental mutations disrupting pigmentation are instructive for understanding abnormal pathways governing related disorders. 1. Genomics of melanocyte gene regulation. SOX10 is required for melanocyte development and maintenance, and has been linked to melanoma initiation and progression. However, the molecular mechanisms by which SOX10 guides the appropriate gene expression programs necessary to promote the melanocyte lineage are not fully understood. We employed genetic and epigenomic analysis approaches to uncover novel genomic targets and previously unappreciated molecular roles of SOX10 in melanocytes. Through global analysis of SOX10-binding sites and epigenetic characteristics of chromatin states, we uncover an extensive catalogof SOX10 targets genome-wide. Our findings reveal that SOX10 predominantly engages 'open' chromatin regions and binds to distal regulatory elements, including novel and previously known melanocyte enhancers. Integrated chromatin occupancy and transcriptome analysis suggest a role for SOX10 in both transcriptional activation and repression to regulate functionally distinct classes of genes. We demonstrate that distinct epigenetic signatures and cis-regulatory sequence motifs predicted to bind putative co-regulatory transcription factors define SOX10-activated and SOX10-repressed target genes. Collectively, these findings uncover a central role of SOX10 as a global regulator of gene expression in the melanocyte lineage by targeting diverse regulatory pathways. 2. SOX10 function in vivo. Melanocytes, the pigment-producing cells, arise from multipotent neural crest (NC) cells during embryogenesis. Many genes required for melanocyte development were identified using mouse pigmentation mutants. The variable spotting mouse pigmentation mutant arose spontaneously at the Jackson Laboratory. We identified a G-to-A nucleotide transition in exon 3 of the Ets1 gene in variable spotting, which results in a missense G102E mutation. Homozygous variable spotting mice exhibit sporadic white spotting. Similarly, mice carrying a targeted deletion of Ets1 exhibit hypopigmentation; nevertheless, the function of Ets1 in melanocyte development is unknown. The transcription factor Ets1 is widely expressed in developing organs and tissues, including the NC. In the chick, Ets1 is required for the expression of Sox10, a transcription factor critical for the development of various NC derivatives, including melanocytes. We show that Ets1 is required early for murine NC cell and melanocyte precursor survival in vivo. Given the importance of Ets1 for Sox10 expression in the chick, we investigated a potential genetic interaction between these genes by comparing the hypopigmentation phenotypes of single and double heterozygous mice. The incidence of hypopigmentation in double heterozygotes was significantly greater than in single heterozygotes. The area of hypopigmentation in double heterozygotes was significantly larger than would be expected from the addition of the areas of hypopigmentation of single heterozygotes, suggesting that Ets1 and Sox10 interact synergistically in melanocyte development. Since Sox10 is also essential for enteric ganglia development, we examined the distal colons of Ets1 null mutants and found a significant decrease in enteric innervation, which was exacerbated by Sox10 heterozygosity. At the molecular level, Ets1 was found to activate an enhancer critical for Sox10 expression in NC-derived structures. Furthermore, enhancer activation was significantly inhibited by the variable spotting mutation. Together, these results suggest that Ets1 and Sox10 interact to promote proper melanocyte and enteric ganglia development from the NC.
| Harris, Melissa L; Fufa, Temesgen D; Palmer, Joseph W et al. (2018) A direct link between MITF, innate immunity, and hair graying. PLoS Biol 16:e2003648 |
| Loftus, Stacie K; Baxter, Laura L; Cronin, Julia C et al. (2017) Hypoxia-induced HIF1? targets in melanocytes reveal a molecular profile associated with poor melanoma prognosis. Pigment Cell Melanoma Res 30:339-352 |
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| Fufa, Temesgen D; Harris, Melissa L; Watkins-Chow, Dawn E et al. (2015) Genomic analysis reveals distinct mechanisms and functional classes of SOX10-regulated genes in melanocytes. Hum Mol Genet 24:5433-50 |
| Hwang, Hun-Way; Baxter, Laura L; Loftus, Stacie K et al. (2014) Distinct microRNA expression signatures are associated with melanoma subtypes and are regulated by HIF1A. Pigment Cell Melanoma Res 27:777-87 |
| Fufa, Temesgen D; Pavan, William J (2014) Axing the cancer loop. Pigment Cell Melanoma Res 27:691-3 |
| Watkins-Chow, Dawn E; Cooke, Joanna; Pidsley, Ruth et al. (2013) Mutation of the diamond-blackfan anemia gene Rps7 in mouse results in morphological and neuroanatomical phenotypes. PLoS Genet 9:e1003094 |
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