The inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD) are chronic, relapsing and remitting diseases of the gastrointestinal tract. There are two main types of IBD: Crohn’s disease (CD) and ulcerative colitis (UC). The prevalence of IBD is highest in the western world, approximately 100-200 people per 100,000 are affected. In recent years there has been a marked increase in the incidence of CD and UC, in both adults and children (Henderson et al., 2012; Molodecky et al., 2012). This is particularly relevant in Scotland where recent research shows that there has been a 79% increase in the number of cases of paediatric IBD since the 1990’s (Henderson et al., 2012). A yeast 2 hybrid screen identified TLE1as an interacting partner of the known CD susceptibility gene; Nucleotide- binding oligomerisation protein 2 (Nod2). An initial genome wide association study (GWAS) also found an association between the rs6559629 SNP, located in Tle1 and ileal CD (p =3.1 x 10-5) and showed that carriage of the Tle1 risk allele increases the effects of Nod2 mutations in CD. TLE1 functions as a transcriptional co repressor in a variety of different cellular and developmental pathways The work presented in this thesis investigates the potential role of TLE1 in CD. This has been approached using four different strategies: sequencing TLE1 in CD patients and controls, analysing the effects of knocking down TLE1 on genome wide expression, investigating whether the known IBD susceptibility protein XBP1 binds to a predicted binding site in TLE1 and investigating TLE1 levels and localisation in human intestinal samples from CD patients and controls Sequencing TLE1 exons and introns 15/16 and 16/17 in a Scottish cohort of 24 CD patients and healthy controls identified a number of potentially pathogenic exonic and intronic SNPs. Two exonic SNPs and thirteen intronic SNPs were identified and these were further investigated in larger Scottish (203 CD cases, 190 HC) and European cohorts (6,333 CD cases and 15,056 HC) but were not present at statistically significantly different frequencies. Secondly, the effects of TLE1 knock down on genome wide expression were analysed using an Illumina HT12 expression chip. The results showed that TLE1 knock down significantly altered expression of 19 loci (Bonferroni) and 526 loci (FDR). Four of the 19 Bonferroni significant loci are potentially involved in CD: RIOK1 (p=4.3×10-3), SGPL1 (p=4.3×10-3), TUSC3 (p=1.8×10-2) and CCND1 (p=2.7×10-3). Furthermore, expression of SGPL1 and RIOK1 were shown to be differentially expressed at the mRNA level between inflamed patients and controls. The third approach investigates a predicted binding site for the known IBD susceptibility gene, XBP1 in TLE1 which was identified using the Haploreg program. This work shows, using chromatin immunoprecipitation, that exogenous XBP1 does not appear to bind to this predicted binding site. Finally, TLE1 expression was analysed in human intestinal resection samples from patients of known NOD2 status. This work shows that TLE1 and NOD2 are expressed in Paneth cells, however TLE1 expression is not altered in patients carrying CD associated NOD2 variants. In this work TLE1 sequence, expression and potential interacting proteins have been analysed. The results presented suggests multiple mechanisms by which TLE1 may be influencing susceptibility to CD including: the unfolded protein response (TUSC3), S1P signalling and ribosome biogenesis. They also implicate TLE1 in Paneth cell function alongside NOD2. The exact means by which TLE1 may play a role in IBD pathogenesis has yet to be fully elucidated.

La transcription fidèle d’un gène lors de son activation nécessite l’assemblage d’un ensemble de protéines autour du promoteur. Parmi ces protéines, le complexe TFIIH joue un rôle central et important au travers de ses sous-unités enzymatiques. Des mutations dans les sous-unités XPB, XPD et p8/TTD-A de TFIIH conduisent à trois maladies autosomiques récessives distinctes : xeroderma pigmentosum (XP), parfois associés avec le syndrome de Cockayne (XP/CS) et la trichothiodystrophie (TTD). En étudiant différentes mutations dans ces trois sous unités de TFIIH, nous avons montré que chaque mutation analysée conduit à une dérégulation transcriptionnelle spécifique du gène RARβ2, gène cible des RAR. L’intégrité architecturale et enzymatique de TFIIH conditionne le bon recrutement du complexe TFIIH et également des facteurs de réparation par excision de nucléotides (NER). TFIIH muté perturbe leur recrutement et par conséquence compromet le remodelage de la chromatine médiée par les facteurs NER tels que les modifications post-traductionnelles (PTMs) des histones, l’induction des cassures de l’ADN, la déméthylation de l’ADN et les boucles de chromatine. Par conséquence, en plus de ses activités enzymatiques, TFIIH forme une plate-forme afin de recruter les facteurs NER et orchestres les fonctions connexes de la transcription. Cette pénétrance variable parmi les mutants donne lieu à un gradient de phénotype observé chez les patients TTD, XP ou XP/CS. / Fidelity in transcription of the gene requires assembly of set of proteins around the promoter,upon gene activation. The TFIIH complex is central among these proteins and plays a key role through its enzymatic subunits. Mutations in TFIIH subunits XPB, XPD and p8/TTD-A leads to three distinct autosomal recessive disorders: xeroderma pigmentosum (XP), sometimes associated with Cockayne’s syndrome (XP/CS) and trichothiodystrophy (TTD). By studying the different mutation in these three subunits of TFIIH from mentioned genetic disease models, we have shown that each mutation analyzed led to a specific transcriptional dysregulation of theRAR-target gene RAR 2. The architectural and enzymatic integrity of TFIIH condition the appropriate recruitment of TFIIH complex and further the arrival of the Nucleotide ExcisionRepair (NER) factors. By disturbing their recruitment, mutated TFIIH consequently compromised the chromatin remodeling mediated by NER factors such as histones posttranslational modifications (PTMs), DNA breaks induction, DNA demethylation and genelooping. Hence it can be concluded that in addition to its enzymatic activities, TFIIH provide a platform to recruit the NER factors and orchestrates the related functions in transcription. Such varying penetrance among mutants gives rise to a phenotype gradient as observed in TTD, XPor XP/CS patients.

Os cromossomos politênicos da glândula salivar dos dípteros proporcionam condições excepcionalmente favoráveis à observação, em microscopia óptica, da estrutura da cromatina bem como da atividade gênica. Neste trabalho, a distribuição de modificações epigenéticas e de marcadores associados à atividade de transcrição foi estudada em cromossomos politênicos de larvas Rhynchosciara americana em condições normais de crescimento e também submetidas a tratamentos que levam ao estresse, um dos quais (anestesia por éter dietílico) realizado pela primeira vez nesta espécie. Na recuperação do estresse por anestesia, o locus do gene hsp70 apareceu transcricionalmente ativo embora, frequentemente, a marcação de RNA polimerase II não ocupava todo o volume do pufe como ocorre usualmente na resposta ao estresse por choque térmico, sugerindo descondensação parcial do locus. A localização cromossômica da proteína Sex-lethal, postulada como um fator de splicing genérico em espécies da família Sciaridae, foi estudada pela primeira vez em larvas submetidas ao estresse. A ausência da mesma em loci cromossômicos que estão ativos em transcrição em condições estressantes sugere que Sex-lethal não seja um fator de splicing genérico. Além disto, a localização desta proteína em regiões transcricionalmente inativas durante o estresse sugere que Sex-lethal cumpra funções ainda não descritas. Entre os dados de localização de histona H3 metilada em lisina 4, marcador epigenético usualmente associado à transcrição, destacou-se a forte marcação de uma região particular dentro da secção cromossômica A-9. Esta região, entretanto, apresenta sinais muito fracos de anti-híbrido DNA/RNA e de RNA polimerase II, sugerindo atividade transcricional muito baixa ou ausente. Observou-se também que o marcador epigenético conservado de heterocromatina, H3me3K9 (histona H3 trimetilada em lisina 9), não está presente na mesma; mas, por outro lado, detectou-se na região sinal significativo da proteína da heterocromatina de Sciara coprophila. Com o objetivo de conhecer sequências de DNA presentes na região, foi produzida uma biblioteca plasmidial produzida a partir de microdissecção cromossômica do sub-setor de A-9 seguida de DOP-PCR. O produto de amplificação foi usado como sonda em hibridação in situ e marcou, além da região microdissecada, extremidades cromossômicas não centroméricas, indicando que estas regiões compartilham sequências repetitivas. Algumas puderam ser identificadas após o seqüenciamento, tais como repetições em tandem e elementos genéticos móveis enquanto que outras não apresentaram similaridade significativa com sequências disponíveis em bancos de dados. Os dados obtidos sugerem que o sub-setor de A-9 analisado assemelha-se à heterocromatina, porém composta de uma combinação aparentemente não usual de marcadores epigenéticos / Polytene chromosomes of dipteran salivary glands provide optimal visualization of chromatin structure as well as gene activity at the cytological level. In this work, the distribution of epigenetic and transcription-associated markers was studied in polytene chromosomes of Rhynchosciara Americana larvae, either under during normal growth or stressful treatments, one of which (anaesthesia by ether) has been observed for the first time in this species. During the recovery from the anesthesia, the hsp70 gene locus was transcriptionally active although RNA polymerase II detection did not occupied the entire volume of the puff -as usually happens during the heat shock response-, suggesting partial puff decondensation. The chromosomal localization of the sciarid Sex-lethal protein, which was supposed to be a general splicing factor, was studied for the first time in stressed larvae and was not detected in transcriptionally active loci. Hence, the Sex-lethal protein may not be a general splicing factor. Moreover, Sex-lethal localization in transcriptionally inactive regions during stress situations suggests it plays still unknown roles. Antibodies to histone H3 methylated at lysine 4 -an epigenetic marker of transcription- labeled strongly at a particular region within chromosome section A-9. This region, in contrast, displays very low levels of both DNA/RNA hybrid and RNA polymerase II, suggesting, if any, poor transcriptional activity. Interestingly, the conserved epigenetic heterochromatin marker H3me3K9 (histone H3 trimethylated at lysine 9) is not significantly present in this region, even though the Sciara coprophila heterochromatin protein was clearly detected. In order to sample DNA sequences contained in this region, a plasmid library was produced by performing a microdissection of A-9 sub-section followed by DOP-PCR. The total microdissection product was used as a probe, and hybridized, in addition to the microdissected region, to non-pericentric chromosome ends, indicating that repetitive sequences are shared by these regions. Some sequences could be identify, after sequencing, such as tandem repeats and mobile elements, but others failed to display significant similarity to sequences deposited in databases. The results suggest that the sub-section analyzed resembles heterochromatin but being composed of an apparently unusual combination of epigenetic markers

Heterochromatin assembly in fission yeast (Schizosaccharomyces pombe) requires conserved components that mediate RNA interference (RNAi) directed methylation of histone H3 on lysine 9 (H3K9). Fission yeast heterochromatin is mainly found at centromeres, telomeres, and the mating-type locus. At centromeres, transcripts from repetitive elements are processed to siRNAs and RNAi promotes chromatin modification by recruiting the Clr4 methyltransferase. RNAi is not required to maintain silent chromatin at the mating-type locus. This RNAi-directed form of centromeric heterochromatin provides an ideal system for in vivo screening to allow the identification of compounds that inhibit the activity of proteins involved in RNA silencing, chromatin modification and heterochromatin assembly in fission yeast and may inhibit conserved proteins in other organisms. A dominant selectable marker gene system at fission yeast centromeres that reports loss of heterochromatin integrity by increased resistance to G418 in 96-well plate format liquid cultures was developed. The resulting strain was used to screen a nontargeted chemically diverse compound library in vivo to identify compounds that disrupt the integrity of RNAi-directed heterochromatin. Two compounds, Emi1 and Emi14, were identified and found to cause a significant decrease in the level of H3K9 methylation on the outer repeats at fission yeast centromeres. Growth in the presence of Emi1 or Emi14 also caused a reduction in H3K9 methylation levels at the mating-type locus, suggesting that they do not act through RNAi. Consistent with this, Emi1 and Emi14 did not cause a decrease in centromeric siRNA levels. Analyses therefore suggest that Emi1 and Emi14 do not disrupt RNAi but that they inhibit downstream events in chromatin modification and heterochromatin assembly. Cells lacking RNAi due to loss of Dicer (dcr1Δ) or cells lacking the histone deacetylase (HDAC) Sir2 (sir2Δ) retain significant but lower levels of H3K9 methylation on the centromeric outer repeats. When dcr1Δ or sir2Δ cells were grown in the presence of Emi1 or Emi14 a further reduction in H3K9 methylation levels was observed on the outer repeats. This mimics the effect of combining clr3Δ with dcr1Δ or sir2Δ and suggests that Emi1 and Emi14 may interfere with SHREC function. SHREC is a chromatin remodelling complex that includes the HDAC Clr3 and the chromatin remodeler Mit1 and is known to contribute to heterochromatin integrity. Expression profiling performed on Emi1 and Emi14 treated cells confirmed the previous results. The changes in gene expression following Emi1 and Emi14 treatment were compared to known mutants defective in heterochromatin integrity. The profile of expression changes following Emi14 treatment was found to correlate with alterations in the expression pattern observed in cells with SHREC components deleted. No correlation with mutants lacking other HDACs or RNAi components was detected. Emi1 had a weaker correlation with defective SHREC function and thus may also partially inhibit the SHREC complex. Murine erythroleukemia (MEL) cells harbouring a silenced eGFP reporter transgene were used to assess whether Emi1 and Emi14 also affect silencing in mammalian cells. Emi1 was found to disrupt silencing at the eGFP reporter and this correlated with a decrease in H3K9 methylation. Structurally related analogues of Emi1 and Emi14 were selected and tested in the fission yeast assay. Interpretation of the obtained structure-activity relationships allowed identification of the chemical moieties key to Emi1 and Emi14 activity. Overall, an approach was developed to identify two novel small molecule inhibitors of a well-characterized chromatin modification pathway. The SHREC complex was identified as the putative target of these two compounds and structurally related active analogues were identified for them. Importantly, one of the compounds was also active in mammalian cells, highlighting the usefulness of this approach in identifying compounds that affect higher organisms.

Le variant d'histone CENP-A est le facteur responsable de la détermination épigéné- tique du centromère. Il permet le recrutement de nombreuses protéines centromériques, et constitue ainsi la brique fondatrice du kinétochore. Il possède un domaine amino-terminal non structuré dont la fonction précise reste encore à élucider, bien qu'il soit déjà établi chez certaines espèces que ce domaine est requis pour le bon fonctionnement du cen- tromère et conséquemment le bon déroulement de la mitose. Nous avons construit des lignées cellulaires humaines exprimant stablement diverses formes mutantes de CENP-A, qui nous ont permis de réaliser des expériences de pseudogénétique en supprimant l'ex- pression de la protéine CENP-A endogène. Nous observons une augmentation drastique du taux de défauts de ségrégation des chromosomes et de cellules plurinucléées dans des cellules exprimant uniquement le domaine globulaire de CENP-A, ce qui est en accord avec les données de la littérature et confirme l'importance du domaine amino-terminal. Un phénotype similaire est observé dans des cellules exprimant une protéine CENP-A entière mais dont le domaine amino-terminal n'est pas phosphorylable. Nos résultats montrent l'implication de la phosphorylation de la sérine de CENP-A dans le bon déroulement de la mitose, et suggèrent que la fonction mitotique du domaine amino-terminal est centrée sur cette seule phosphorylation. / The histone variant CENP-A is the epigenetic factor responsible for centromere deter- mination. It allows the recruitment of a handful of centromeric proteins, and thus acts as the primary foundation for the kinetochore. It comprises an unstructured amino-terminal domain to which no precise function has yet been assigned, although it is established in some species that the mere presence of that domain is required for proper centromere func- tion and thus successful completion of mitosis. We have established several human cell lines stably expressing GFP-tagged CENP-A constructs, allowing us to perform pseudoge- netic experiments by siRNA-mediated silencing of the endogenous CENP-A. Our results show a dramatic increase of mitotic defects and plurinuclear cells when cells express only the globular domain of CENP-A; this is in accordance with the litterature and confirms the importance of the amino-terminal tail. More importantly, a similar increase of mitotic defects is observed when cells express a full-length, but non-phosphatable, CENP-A. Our results show the involvement of the phosphatable serine 7 of CENP-A in the successful completion of mitosis, and may suggest that the role of the whole amino-terminal tail of CENP-A could be reduced to this single phosphorylation event.

Eukaryotic nuclear DNA is folded with histone and non-histone proteins into chromatin, a nucleoprotein structure regulated by histone post-translational modifications and substitution with histone variants. Chromatin mediates processes such as DNA damage repair, cell differentiation, gene silencing, and centromere specification. Mistaken inheritance of chromatin-mediated gene silencing, for instance, can cause both aberrant development and cancer. Gene silencing at pericentromeres and centromeres, which can be attained through obstruction of transcription as well as through recruitment of specific RNA-degrading proteins, is essential for centromere specification. However, the molecular mechanisms of these processes are not yet thoroughly understood, and therefore they will be the focus of this thesis. A structure termed heterochromatin, for which the essential hallmark is histone H3 lysine 9 methylation (H3K9me), preferentially assembles at repetitive DNA such as pericentric regions, playing roles in transcriptional silencing, recombination suppression, and chromosome segregation. The RNA interference (RNAi) machinery is required for heterochromatin assembly over DNA repeats in diverse organisms by targeting histone-modifying activities. Surprisingly, RNA splicing factors are also required for this process. A widely-held model derived from studies in fission yeast is that splicing factors provide a platform for siRNA generation independently of their splicing activity. Here, we discovered the requirement of four non-essential splicing factors for pericentric heterochromatin assembly, allowing us to more clearly address the role of splicing in heterochromatin assembly. Sequencing total cellular RNA from the strongest of these mutants, cwf14Δ, showed intron retention in mRNAs of several RNAi factors, which correspond to strong reduction in levels of a central RNAi protein, Argonaute. Moreover, introducing cDNA versions of RNAi factors significantly restores pericentric heterochromatin in splicing mutants. We also found that mutation of splicing factors affects telomeric heterochromatin, and replacement of mis-spliced factor tpz1+ with its cDNA partially rescued heterochromatin defects at telomeres in splicing mutants. Thus proper splicing of RNAi and shelterin factors contributes to heterochromatin assembly at pericentric regions and telomeres. In addition to post-translational modifications, chromatin silencing can be regulated by histone variants such as H2A.Z. The incorporation of H2A.Z into chromatin regulates chromatin structure and gene expression. The Swr1 chromatin remodeling complex deposits H2A.Z in budding yeast and mammals. Here we characterize a novel component of the fission yeast Swr1 complex, Msc1, which is a Jumonji domain protein frequently associated with histone demethylation. We found that Msc1 is required for Swr1-mediated incorporation of H2A.Z into chromatin at gene promoters. We demonstrated that H2A.Z is required for the expression of CENP-C, which in turn regulates centromere silencing and chromosome segregation. Together, these results show that chromatin silencing at pericentromeres and centromeres is mediated by splicing factors and H2A.Z, respectively, to promote proper regulation of other chromatin factors, thus ensuring faithful chromosome segregation.

The plasticity of cells in a multicellular organism is progressively lost during differentiation. This loss is reflected in studies involving the ectopic misexpression of fate-specifying or terminal selector transcription factors (TFs). These TFs can efficiently activate target genes in undifferentiated cells, but lose this ability as cells differentiate. While this phenomenon of cell fate restriction is widely observed, the mechanisms orchestrating it are poorly understood. In this thesis, I have used the ubiquitous overexpression of Zn-finger-TF CHE-1 as a tool to understand the mechanisms that restrict cell fate in Caenorhabditis elegans. When CHE-1 is ubiquitously expressed at embryonic stages, it activates target gene expression in many cell types, while in adults it can only act in a few neurons. To uncover factors that inhibit plasticity of all other adult cells, I first performed an RNAi screen against chromatin-associated factors. Using this approach I found that the removal of either the PRC2 complex, which deposits the H3K27me3 mark, or loss of proteins that indirectly regulate domains of H3K27me3, allows CHE-1 and two other terminal selector TFs to activate target genes in the germline. These data show that the correct distribution of H3K27me3 is crucial for the restriction of germ cell fate. I next took a candidate approach to identify genes that regulate fate restriction in other cell types. We hypothesized that terminal selector TFs themselves, in addition to specifying cellular identity by controlling large gene sets, may also act to inhibit plasticity. To test this, I first assayed the activity of CHE-1 in mutants of COE-TF unc-3, the terminal selector for a subset of cholinergic motor neurons (MNs). I found that in contrast to wildtype MNs, unc-3 mutant MNs remain plastic as CHE-1 can induce expression of target genes in these cells even at the adult stage. This phenotype is also observed in four of six additional terminal selector mutants tested. I further found that the removal of met-2, a protein required for H3K9 methylation, or mes-2, a PRC2 component, also makes differentiated cholinergic MNs amenable to the activity of CHE-1. Preliminary evidence suggests that met-2 may act in the same pathway as unc-3. These results raise the exciting possibility that selector TFs play a role in restricting cell fate by organizing the heterochromatin domains in differentiated cells. Overall, in this work I provide functional evidence to show that specific chromatin-modifying enzymes restrict the fate of germ cells and that both fate-specifying TFs and chromatin-modifying enzymes are required for the fate restriction in neurons.

Gene expression is regulated at various levels, such as transcription, RNA transport and translation. Additionally, it has been shown that chromatin structure, location and dynamics also have an important role in gene expression control. While active gene regions are strongly associated with an open chromatin structure at the surface of the chromosome territory (CT) and a location in the nuclear interior, inactive gene regions seem to be related with a closed structure within the CT and a position at the nuclear periphery. However, it is still unclear how these features are regulated. Importantly, malfunction of gene regulation can impact on health and longevity. Therefore, the aim of this project was to investigate the correlation of gene expression and chromatin organisation both in single gene loci and the MHC gene cluster. The MHC locus has the highest gene density in mammalian cells and contains genes that can be reprogrammed by pro-inflammatory cytokines. The original goal of this project was to label the MHC locus by the Lac operator/repressor (LacO/LacI) approach in order to study chromatin dynamics in living cells using labelled CTs as reference for genome mobility. The thymidine analogue EdU, that can be used to label CTs, was analysed for its effects on cell cycle progression and survival, and revealed to have a strong negative impact on the cells' well-being. In the end, the LacO/LacI-recognition system for live-cell imaging did not succeed, thus FISH analyses were carried out to study chromatin dynamics in snap-shots. The location and structure of the hybridised gene regions were analysed in response to gene activation and inactivation during ESC differentiation to neuroepithelial progenitors (NPs). Single-gene focused experiments were performed using the cell line specific genes, Oct4 and Sox1, together with Gapdh as a housekeeping gene. Even though, the results showed less changes between the days of differentiation on the Gapdh locus, the gene expression profiles for the cell line specific genes did not match with the hypothesised chromatin organisation (see above). However, investigations on the gene-dense MHC locus showed structural chromatin changes that correlated with the activation of genes in this region. Interestingly, ESC treated with TNFalpha were unable to activate NF-kappaB signalling, probably due to the lack of a functional IKK complex. In summary, this project was focussing on the regulation of gene expression by the chromatin architecture and revealed complex chromatin dynamics that are likely to be affected by the sum of genes in a genome region, rather than a single gene.

Systemic lupus erythematosus is an autoinflammatory disorder driven by the development of autoantibodies to self-nucleic acids, in particular to DNA and to chromatin. Loss-of-function mutations of the secreted deoxyribonuclease DNASE1L3 have been implicated in the development of aggressive familial lupus. In addition, recent genome-wide association studies have linked a hypomorphic variant of DNASE1L3 to sporadic lupus. Studies in the lab determined that Dnase1l3-deficient mice develop rapid autoantibody responses against dsDNA and chromatin, and at older ages this leads to a lupus-like inflammatory disease. These disease manifestations were completely independent of the intracellular DNA sensor STING, which has been implicated in other examples of self-DNA driven autoinflammatory diseases. My project focused on developing assays to track the activity of DNASE1L3, as well as identifying the endogenous source of self-DNA normally processed by DNASE1L3. Using mouse models that allow the depletion of specific cell populations, we found that circulating DNASE1L3 is produced by hematopoietic cells, in particular by CD11c+ dendritic cells and by tissue macrophages. Taking into account the unique properties of DNASE1L3, we discovered that this enzyme is uniquely able to digest chromatin contained within and on the surface of apoptotic microparticles. Loss of DNASE1L3 activity in circulation results in elevated levels of DNA in plasma, in particular within microparticles. Microparticles are extensively bound by anti-chromatin autoantibodies isolated from both murine models of lupus as well as prototypical human clones. In addition, Dnase1l3-deficient mice have high levels of circulating IgG that bind to microparticles from young ages, and these titers increased as disease progressed in aged animals. Pretreatment of microparticles with DNASE1L3 largely abrogated this binding, demonstrating that DNASE1L3 directly reduces the immunogenicity of microparticles. We also studied two human patients with null mutations in DNASE1L3, and observed increased DNA circulating in plasma and, in particular, in their microparticles, demonstrating a conserved role for DNASE1L3 in mice and humans. Finally, we obtained plasma samples from a cohort of patients with sporadic SLE, and found that roughly 80% had circulating IgG that avidly bound microparticles. Roughly half of this group failed to bind to microparticles that had been pretreated with DNASE1L3, and this DNASE1L3-sensitive group also presented with lower levels of DNASE1L3 activity. We conclude that extracellular chromatin associated with microparticles acts as a potential self-antigen capable of causing loss of tolerance to self-DNA and inflammatory disease in both mice and humans. The secretion of a DNA-processing enzyme thus represents a novel, conserved tolerogenic mechanism by which dendritic cells restrict autoimmunity.

DNA damage from both normal metabolic activities and environmental factors such as UV and radiation can cause as many as 1 million individual lesions to the DNA per cell per day (Lodish et al 2004). Cells respond to this continuous damage by employing many, highly efficient DNA repair mechanisms and undergo apoptosis when normal DNA repair fails. Of the many types of DNA damage that can occur, double strand breaks (DSBs) are the most toxic (Featherstone & Jackson 1999). A single unrepaired DSB is enough to induce cellular apoptosis and several mechanisms have developed to repair DSBs. The recognition, signalling and repair of DSBs involve large multi-­‐subunit complexes that bind to both the DNA and modified histone tails, which require modification of the chromatin in order to access their bind sites and function effectively (Allard et al 2004). Consequently several chromatin-­‐remodelling proteins have been implicated in DSB repair (van Attikum et al 2004, Chai et al 2005). LSH (Lymphoid specific helicase) is a putative chromatin-­‐remodelling enzyme that interacts with DNA methyltransferases and has been connected to DNA methylation (Myant & Stancheva, 2008). Knockouts of LSH or its homologues in A. thaliana and M. musculus show a reduction in DNA methylation of 60-­‐70% (Jeddeloh et al 1999, Dennis et al 2001). However in addition to this phenotype, knockout A. thaliana also have an increased sensitivity to DNA damage (Shaked et al 2006). A homologue of LSH has also been identified in S. cerevisiae, which interacts with known repair proteins (Collins et al 2007) and may be involved in DSB repair. Although the majority of Lsh-­‐/-­‐ mice die shortly after birth, 40% of the line produced by Sun et al survive and show unexplained premature aging (Sun et al 2004). As premature aging is a hallmark of increased acquisition of DNA damage there is the possibility of a conserved role for LSH in mammalian DNA damage repair. Here I show that LSH depleted mammalian cells have an increased sensitivity specifically to DSB inducing agents and show increased levels of apoptosis. Further analysis shows that cells lacking LSH repair DSBs slower, indicating a novel role for LSH in mammalian repair of DSB. I performed an in depth analysis of the DSB defects in LSH depleted cells in an attempt to elucidate the function of LSH in DSB repair. I found that LSH depleted cells can correctly recognise DSBs but recruit downstream signalling and repair factors, such as γH2AX, less efficiently. I show that reduced recruitment of downstream DSB repair factors is not accompanied by extended cell cycle checkpoint signalling. This suggests that LSH depleted cells continue through the mitosis with unrepaired DSBs, which most likely leads to apoptosis and the increased sensitivity to DSB inducing agents. These experiments also showed that recruitment of DSB signalling and repair factors is not impaired equally at all breaks, and I present a model system created to quantitatively compare individually breaks between WT and LSH depleted cells to identify DSB that require LSH for efficient repair. I also preformed an analysis of Lsh-­/-­ MEFs containing WT or catalytic null mutant LSH rescue constructs and I show that WT but not catalytic null LSH can restore efficient DSB repair. These studies identify a novel role for LSH in mammalian DSB repair and demonstrate the importance of its catalytic activity.