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Nature Jul 2022Gonadal development is a complex process that involves sex determination followed by divergent maturation into either testes or ovaries. Historically, limited tissue...
Gonadal development is a complex process that involves sex determination followed by divergent maturation into either testes or ovaries. Historically, limited tissue accessibility, a lack of reliable in vitro models and critical differences between humans and mice have hampered our knowledge of human gonadogenesis, despite its importance in gonadal conditions and infertility. Here, we generated a comprehensive map of first- and second-trimester human gonads using a combination of single-cell and spatial transcriptomics, chromatin accessibility assays and fluorescent microscopy. We extracted human-specific regulatory programmes that control the development of germline and somatic cell lineages by profiling equivalent developmental stages in mice. In both species, we define the somatic cell states present at the time of sex specification, including the bipotent early supporting population that, in males, upregulates the testis-determining factor SRY and sPAX8s, a gonadal lineage located at the gonadal-mesonephric interface. In females, we resolve the cellular and molecular events that give rise to the first and second waves of granulosa cells that compartmentalize the developing ovary to modulate germ cell differentiation. In males, we identify human SIGLEC15 and TREM2 fetal testicular macrophages, which signal to somatic cells outside and inside the developing testis cords, respectively. This study provides a comprehensive spatiotemporal map of human and mouse gonadal differentiation, which can guide in vitro gonadogenesis.
Topics: Animals; Cell Lineage; Chromatin; Female; Germ Cells; Granulosa Cells; Humans; Immunoglobulins; Macrophages; Male; Membrane Glycoproteins; Membrane Proteins; Mice; Microscopy, Fluorescence; Ovary; PAX8 Transcription Factor; Pregnancy; Pregnancy Trimester, First; Pregnancy Trimester, Second; Receptors, Immunologic; Sex Differentiation; Single-Cell Analysis; Testis; Transcriptome
PubMed: 35794482
DOI: 10.1038/s41586-022-04918-4 -
Journal of Medical Genetics Sep 1964
Review
Topics: Animals; Autoradiography; Bombyx; Cell Division; Cell Nucleus; Chromosome Aberrations; Chromosome Disorders; Chromosomes; DNA; Down Syndrome; Fibroblasts; Genetics, Medical; Glucosephosphate Dehydrogenase Deficiency; Glucosephosphates; Humans; Klinefelter Syndrome; Mammals; Mouth Mucosa; Neutrophils; Poultry; Research; Sex Chromatin; Thymidine; Trisomy; Turner Syndrome
PubMed: 14205986
DOI: 10.1136/jmg.1.1.50 -
Sexual Development : Genetics,... 2021At embryonic day (E) 10.5, prior to gonadal sex determination, XX and XY gonads are bipotential and able to differentiate into either a testis or an ovary. At this... (Review)
Review
At embryonic day (E) 10.5, prior to gonadal sex determination, XX and XY gonads are bipotential and able to differentiate into either a testis or an ovary. At this point, they are transcriptionally and morphologically indistinguishable. Sex determination begins around E11.5 in the mouse when the supporting cell lineage commits to either Sertoli or granulosa cell fate. Testis-specific factors such as SRY and SOX9 drive differentiation of bipotential-supporting cells into the Sertoli cell pathway, whereas ovary-specific factors like WNT4 and FOXL2 guide differentiation into granulosa cells. It is known that these 2 pathways are mutually antagonistic, and repression of the alternative fate is critical for maintenance of the testis or ovary programs. While we understand much about the transcription factor networks guiding the process of sex determination, it is only more recently that we have begun to understand how this process is epigenetically controlled. Studies in the past decade have demonstrated the importance of the chromatin state for gene expression and cell fate commitment, with histone modifications and DNA accessibility having a direct role in gene regulation. It is now clear that the chromatin state during sex determination is dynamic and likely critical for the establishment and/or maintenance of the transcriptional programs. Prior to sex determination, supporting cells have similar chromatin structure and histone modification profiles, reflecting the bipotential nature of these cells. After differentiation to Sertoli or granulosa cells, the chromatin state acquires sex-specific profiles. The proteins that regulate the deposition of histone modifications or the opening of compact chromatin likely play an important role in Sertoli and granulosa cell fate commitment and gonad development. Here, we describe studies profiling the chromatin state during gonadal sex determination and one example in which depletion of Cbx2, a member of the Polycomb Repressive Complex 1 (PRC1), causes male-to-female sex reversal due to a failure to repress the ovarian pathway.
Topics: Animals; Chromatin; Female; Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental; Gonads; Male; Mice; Polycomb Repressive Complex 1; SOX9 Transcription Factor; Sex Determination Processes; Sex Differentiation; Testis
PubMed: 34753132
DOI: 10.1159/000520007 -
Clinical Cancer Research : An Official... Nov 2020Biological sex profoundly conditions organismal development and physiology, imposing wide-ranging effects on cell signaling, metabolism, and immune response. These... (Review)
Review
Biological sex profoundly conditions organismal development and physiology, imposing wide-ranging effects on cell signaling, metabolism, and immune response. These effects arise from sex-specified differences in hormonal exposure, and from intrinsic genetic and epigenetic differences associated with the presence of an XX versus XY chromosomal complement. In addition, biological sex is now recognized to be a determinant of the incidence, presentation, and therapeutic response of multiple forms of cancer, including cancers not specifically associated with male or female anatomy. Although multiple factors contribute to sex-based differences in cancer, a growing body of research emphasizes a role for differential activity of X- and Y-linked tumor-suppressor genes in males and females. Among these, the X-linked and , and their Y-linked paralogs / and encode lysine demethylases. These epigenetic modulators profoundly influence gene expression, based on enzymatic activity in demethylating H3K27me3 and H3K4me3, and nonenzymatic scaffolding roles for large complexes that open and close chromatin for transcription. In a growing number of cases, mutations affecting these proteins have been recognized to strongly influence cancer risk, prognosis, and response to specific therapies. However, sex-specific patterns of mutation, expression, and activity of these genes, coupled with tissue-specific requirement for their function as tumor suppressors, together exemplify the complex relationship between sex and cancer vulnerabilities. In this review, we summarize and discuss the current state of the literature on the roles of these proteins in contributing to sex bias in cancer, and the status of clinical agents relevant to their function.
Topics: Chromatin Assembly and Disassembly; Female; Genes, Tumor Suppressor; Genes, X-Linked; Genes, Y-Linked; Histone Demethylases; Humans; Male; Minor Histocompatibility Antigens; Neoplasms; Nuclear Proteins; Prognosis; Sex Characteristics
PubMed: 32732223
DOI: 10.1158/1078-0432.CCR-20-1741 -
Biology of Sex Differences Feb 2022Birds exhibit a unique asymmetry in terms of gonad development. The female left gonad generates a functional ovary, whereas the right gonad regresses. In males, both...
BACKGROUND
Birds exhibit a unique asymmetry in terms of gonad development. The female left gonad generates a functional ovary, whereas the right gonad regresses. In males, both left and right gonads would develop into testes. How is this left/right asymmetry established only in females but not in males remains unknown. The epigenetic regulation of gonadal developmental genes may contribute to this sex disparity. The modification of histone tails such as H3K27ac is tightly coupled to chromatin activation and gene expression. To explore whether H3K27ac marked chromatin activation is involved in the asymmetric development of avian gonads, we probed genome-wide H3K27ac occupancy in left and right gonads from both sexes and related chromatin activity profile to the expression of gonadal genes. Furthermore, we validated the effect of chromatin activity on asymmetric gonadal development by manipulating the chromatin histone acetylation levels.
METHODS
The undifferentiated gonads from both sides of each sex were collected and subjected to RNA-Seq and H3K27ac ChIP-Seq experiments. Integrated analysis of gene expression and active chromatin regions were performed to identify the sex- and situs-specific regulation and expression of gonadal genes. The histone deacetylase inhibitor trichostatin A (TSA) was applied to the undifferentiated female right gonads to assess the effect of chromatin activation on gonadal gene expression and cell proliferation.
RESULTS
Even before sex differentiation, the gonads already show divergent gene expression between different sexes and between left/right sides in females. The sex-specific H3K27ac chromatin distributions coincide with the higher expression of male/female specification genes in each sex. Unexpectedly, the H3K27ac marked chromatin activation show a dramatic difference between left and right gonads in both sexes, although the left/right asymmetric gonadal development was observed only in females but not in males. In females, the side-specific H3K27ac occupancy instructs the differential expression of developmental genes between the pair of gonads and contributes to the development of left but not right gonad. However, in males, the left/right discrepancy of H3K27ac chromatin distribution does not drive the side-biased gene expression or gonad development. The TSA-induced retention of chromatin acetylation causes up-regulation of ovarian developmental genes and increases cell proliferation in the female right gonad.
CONCLUSIONS
We revealed that left/right asymmetry in H3K27ac marked chromatin activation exists in both sexes, but this discrepancy gives rise to asymmetric gonadal development only in females. Other mechanisms overriding the chromatin activation would control the symmetric development of male gonads in chicken.
Topics: Acetylation; Animals; Chickens; Chromatin; Epigenesis, Genetic; Female; Gene Expression; Gonads; Histones; Male
PubMed: 35135592
DOI: 10.1186/s13293-022-00415-5 -
Cellular and Molecular Life Sciences :... Sep 2022The transcription factor SOX9 is essential for the development of multiple organs including bone, testis, heart, lung, pancreas, intestine and nervous system. Mutations... (Review)
Review
The transcription factor SOX9 is essential for the development of multiple organs including bone, testis, heart, lung, pancreas, intestine and nervous system. Mutations in the human SOX9 gene led to campomelic dysplasia, a haploinsufficiency disorder with several skeletal malformations frequently accompanied by 46, XY sex reversal. The mechanisms underlying the diverse SOX9 functions during organ development including its post-translational modifications, the availability of binding partners, and tissue-specific accessibility to target gene chromatin. Here we summarize the expression, activities, and downstream target genes of SOX9 in molecular genetic pathways essential for organ development, maintenance, and function. We also provide an insight into understanding the mechanisms that regulate the versatile roles of SOX9 in different organs.
Topics: Campomelic Dysplasia; Chromatin; Disorders of Sex Development; Humans; Male; Mutation; Organogenesis; SOX9 Transcription Factor
PubMed: 36114905
DOI: 10.1007/s00018-022-04543-4 -
Frontiers in Neuroendocrinology Jul 2022Women are at twice the risk for anxiety and depression disorders as men are, although the underlying biological factors and mechanisms are largely unknown. In this... (Review)
Review
Women are at twice the risk for anxiety and depression disorders as men are, although the underlying biological factors and mechanisms are largely unknown. In this review, we address this sex disparity at both the etiological and mechanistic level. We dissect the role of fluctuating sex hormones as a critical biological factor contributing to the increased depression and anxiety risk in women. We provide parallel evidence in humans and rodents that brain structure and function vary with naturally-cycling ovarian hormones. This female-unique brain plasticity and associated vulnerability are primarily driven by estrogen level changes. For the first time, we provide a sex hormone-driven molecular mechanism, namely chromatin organizational changes, that regulates neuronal gene expression and brain plasticity but may also prime the (epi)genome for psychopathology. Finally, we map out future directions including experimental and clinical studies that will facilitate novel sex- and gender-informed approaches to treat depression and anxiety disorders.
Topics: Anxiety Disorders; Brain; Depression; Estrogens; Female; Gonadal Steroid Hormones; Humans; Male
PubMed: 35716803
DOI: 10.1016/j.yfrne.2022.101010 -
Biology of Sex Differences Jul 2022KDM6A is a demethylase encoded by a gene with female-biased expression due to escape from X inactivation. Its main role is to facilitate gene expression through removal...
BACKGROUND
KDM6A is a demethylase encoded by a gene with female-biased expression due to escape from X inactivation. Its main role is to facilitate gene expression through removal of the repressive H3K27me3 mark, with evidence of some additional histone demethylase-independent functions. KDM6A mutations have been implicated in congenital disorders such as Kabuki Syndrome, as well as in sex differences in cancer.
METHODS
Kdm6a was knocked out using CRISPR/Cas9 gene editing in F1 male and female mouse embryonic stem cells (ES) derived from reciprocal crosses between C57BL6 x Mus castaneus. Diploid and allelic RNA-seq analyses were done to compare gene expression between wild-type and Kdm6a knockout (KO) clones. The effects of Kdm6a KO on sex-biased gene expression were investigated by comparing gene expression between male and female ES cells. Changes in H3K27me3 enrichment and chromatin accessibility at promoter regions of genes with expression changes were characterized by ChIP-seq and ATAC-seq followed by diploid and allelic analyses.
RESULTS
We report that Kdm6a KO in male and female embryonic stem (ES) cells derived from F1 hybrid mice cause extensive gene dysregulation, disruption of sex biases, and specific parental allele effects. Among the dysregulated genes are candidate genes that may explain abnormal developmental features of Kabuki syndrome caused by KDM6A mutations in human. Strikingly, Kdm6a knockouts result in a decrease in sex-biased expression and in preferential downregulation of the maternal alleles of a number of genes. Most promoters of dysregulated genes show concordant epigenetic changes including gain of H3K27me3 and loss of chromatin accessibility, but there was less concordance when considering allelic changes.
CONCLUSIONS
Our study reveals new sex-related roles of KDM6A in the regulation of developmental genes, the maintenance of sex-biased gene expression, and the differential expression of parental alleles.
Topics: Abnormalities, Multiple; Alleles; Animals; Chromatin; Face; Female; Hematologic Diseases; Histone Demethylases; Histones; Humans; Male; Mice; Vestibular Diseases
PubMed: 35871105
DOI: 10.1186/s13293-022-00452-0 -
Epigenetics Nov 2014Gene transcription is tightly regulated at different levels to ensure that the transcriptome of the cell is appropriate for developmental stage and cell type. The... (Review)
Review
Gene transcription is tightly regulated at different levels to ensure that the transcriptome of the cell is appropriate for developmental stage and cell type. The chromatin state in which a gene is embedded determines its expression level to a large extent. Activation or repression of transcription is typically accomplished by the recruitment of chromatin-associated multisubunit protein complexes that combine several molecular tools, such as histone-binding and chromatin-modifying activities. Recent biochemical purifications of such complexes have revealed a substantial diversity. On the one hand, complexes that were thought to be unique have been revealed to be part of large complex families. On the other hand, protein subunits that were thought to only exist in separate complexes have been shown to coexist in novel assemblies. In this review we discuss our current knowledge of repressor complexes that contain MBT domain proteins and/or the CoREST co-repressor and use them as a paradigm to illustrate the unexpected heterogeneity and tool sharing of chromatin regulating protein complexes. These recent insights also challenge the ways we define and think about protein complexes in general.
Topics: Animals; Chromatin; Co-Repressor Proteins; DNA-Binding Proteins; Drosophila Proteins; Evolution, Molecular; Humans; Multiprotein Complexes; Nerve Tissue Proteins; Protein Structure, Tertiary
PubMed: 25482055
DOI: 10.4161/15592294.2014.971580 -
Molecular Biology and Evolution May 2023In Drosophila melanogaster and D. simulans head tissue, 60% of orthologous genes show evidence of sex-biased expression in at least one species. Of these, ∼39% (2,192)...
In Drosophila melanogaster and D. simulans head tissue, 60% of orthologous genes show evidence of sex-biased expression in at least one species. Of these, ∼39% (2,192) are conserved in direction. We hypothesize enrichment of open chromatin in the sex where we see expression bias and closed chromatin in the opposite sex. Male-biased orthologs are significantly enriched for H3K4me3 marks in males of both species (∼89% of male-biased orthologs vs. ∼76% of unbiased orthologs). Similarly, female-biased orthologs are significantly enriched for H3K4me3 marks in females of both species (∼90% of female-biased orthologs vs. ∼73% of unbiased orthologs). The sex-bias ratio in female-biased orthologs was similar in magnitude between the two species, regardless of the closed chromatin (H3K27me2me3) marks in males. However, in male-biased orthologs, the presence of H3K27me2me3 in both species significantly reduced the correlation between D. melanogaster sex-bias ratio and the D. simulans sex-bias ratio. Male-biased orthologs are enriched for evidence of positive selection in the D. melanogaster group. There are more male-biased genes than female-biased genes in both species. For orthologs with gains/losses of sex-bias between the two species, there is an excess of male-bias compared to female-bias, but there is no consistent pattern in the relationship between H3K4me3 or H3K27me2me3 chromatin marks and expression. These data suggest chromatin state is a component of the maintenance of sex-biased expression and divergence of sex-bias between species is reflected in the complexity of the chromatin status.
Topics: Animals; Female; Male; Drosophila melanogaster; Chromatin; Drosophila simulans; Evolution, Molecular; Drosophila
PubMed: 37116218
DOI: 10.1093/molbev/msad078