Imprinting represents a curious defiance of normal Mendelian genetics. Mammals inherit two complete sets of chromosomes, one from the mother and one from the father, and most autosomal genes will be expressed equally from maternal and paternal alleles. Imprinted genes, however, are expressed from only one chromosome in a parent-of-origin dependent manner. Because silent and active promoters are present in a single nucleus, the differences in activity cannot be explained by transcription factor abundance. Thus the transcriptional of imprinted genes represents a clear situation in which epigenetic mechanisms restrict gene expression. Therefore imprinted genes are good models for understanding the role of DNA modifications and chromatin structure in maintaining appropriate patterns of gene expression. Further, because of parent-of-origin restricted expression, phenotypes determined by imprinted genes are not only susceptible to mutations of the genes themselves but also to disruptions in the epigenetic programs controlling regulation. Thus imprinted genes are frequently associated with human diseases, including disorders affecting cell growth, development, and behavior. Our Section is investigating a cluster of genes on the distal end of mouse chromosome 7. The syntenic region in humans on chromosome 11p15.5 is conserved in genomic organization and in monoallelic expression patterns. Specifically we are dissecting the molecular basis for the maternal specific expression of the H19 gene and the paternal specific expression of the Igf2 gene. Loss of imprinting mutations in these two genes is associated with Beckwith Wiedemann Syndrome (BWS) and with Wilms tumor. Expression of both H19 and Igf2 is dependent upon a shared set of enhancer elements downstream of both genes. We have identified a 2.4 kb ICR (for Imprinting Control Region) upstream of the H19 promoter. Using conditional deletion and insertional mutagenesis we have identified three functions associated with this element. First, this element acts to distinguish the parental origin of any chromosome into which it is inserted. Specifically, the CpGs within this region become hypermethylated upon paternal inheritance. Second, this element functions as a CTCF-dependent, methylation-sensitive transcriptional insulator. By reorganizing the long-range interactions of nearby promoter and enhancer elements, this insulator is able to direct parental-specific activation of nearby genes. Finally, this ICR also acts as a developmentally regulated silencer element when paternally inherited. Specifically, the methylated ICR induces changes in chromatin structure of neighboring sequences that impacts gene expression. Our current goals are to identify and characterize the protein factors that interact with the ICR and establish the chromatin structures associated with the maternal and paternal chromosomes.? A second focus of our research is to generate mouse models for cardiac arrhythmias. We first focused on uncovering the biological function of the imprinted Kcnq1 gene, located just upstream of Igf2. Kcnq1 has been identified independently by groups looking for genes important in the etiology of BWS, a disease with parent-of-origin inheritance patterns, and for genes important in Long QT syndromes (LQTS) mapping to 11p15.5, a disease with no parent-of-origin effects. We have elucidated the complex developmental regulation of imprinting of this gene so to resolve this apparent paradox. Recently, we have developed a model for inherited LQTS by generating mice deficient in Kcnq1. In vivo ECGs from these mice show abnormal T-wave and P-wave morphologies and prolongation of the QT and JT intervals. However, ECGs of isolated hearts are normal. These changes are indicative of cardiac repolarization defects that are dependent upon some extracardiac signal. Further studies demonstrate that beta-adrenergic stimulation is the primary extracardiac signal and the molecular basis for this effect is being dissected. More recently, we have generated a mouse model for Calsequestrin2 deficiency. We demonstrate that calsequestrin2 is not essential for cardiac calcium storage, which can be maintained by an expansion of the sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR) volume and surface area. Rather, the primary function of calsequestrin appears to be the regulation of the SR Ca2 release channel during conditions of beta-adrenergic stimulation. The loss of calsequestrin2 thus results in premature Ca2 release from the SR, leading to premature contraction of cardiomyocytes, and arrhythmia. We have recently generated and are now analyzing conditional alleles of calsequestrin 2. Using these models we will analyze the effect of late-onset loss of calsequestrin 2 gene function, thus modeling a common human condition. We will also determine the effect of restoration of calsequestrin 2 gene function to animals that have developed in the absence of any active calsequestrin 2 gene. Together these experiments will also help us understand how calsequestin 2 gene activity regulates sarcoplasmic reticulum structure.
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