We have conducted a genomewide investigation into the enzymatic specificity, expression profiles, and binding locations of four histone deacetylases (HDACs), representing the three different phylogenetic classes in fission yeast ( Schizosaccharomyces pombe ). By directly comparing nucleosome density, histone acetylation patterns and HDAC binding in both intergenic and coding regions with gene expression profiles, we found that Sir2 (class III) and Hos2 (class I) have a role in preventing histone loss; Clr6 (class I) is the principal enzyme in promoter‐localized repression. Hos2 has an unexpected role in promoting high expression of growth‐related genes by deacetylating H4K16Ac in their open reading frames. Clr3 (class II) acts cooperatively with Sir2 throughout the genome, including the silent regions: rDNA, centromeres, mat2/3 and telomeres. The most significant acetylation sites are H3K14Ac for Clr3 and H3K9Ac for Sir2 at their genomic targets. Clr3 also affects subtelomeric regions which contain clustered stress‐ and meiosis‐induced genes. Thus, this combined genomic approach has uncovered different roles for fission yeast HDACs at the silent regions in repression and activation of gene expression.

Epigenetic modifications contribute to the etiology of type 2 diabetes. We performed genome-wide methylome and transcriptome analysis in liver from severely obese men with or without type 2 diabetes and non-obese men to discover aberrant pathways underlying the development of insulin resistance. Results were validated by pyrosequencing. We identified hypomethylation of genes involved in hepatic glycolysis and insulin resistance, concomitant with increased mRNA expression and protein levels. Pyrosequencing revealed the CpG-site within ATF-motifs was hypomethylated in four of these genes in liver of severely obese non-diabetic and type 2 diabetic patients, suggesting epigenetic regulation of transcription by altered ATF-DNA binding. Severely obese non-diabetic and type 2 diabetic patients have distinct alterations in the hepatic methylome and transcriptome, with hypomethylation of several genes controlling glucose metabolism within the ATF-motif regulatory site. Obesity appears to shift the epigenetic program of the liver towards increased glycolysis and lipogenesis, which may exacerbate the development of insulin resistance.

Significance: While broad efforts toward getting an overview of immune cell and soluble factor alterations in COVID-19 are under way, a deep and comprehensive understanding of the mononuclear phagocyte system, including circulating progenitors, is still largely lacking. This study provides a reference for the mononuclear phagocyte response to SARS-CoV-2 infection and unravels mononuclear phagocyte dysregulations associated with severe COVID-19.

Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) is an aggressive clinical subtype accounting for up to 20% of all breast cancers, but its malignant determinants remain largely undefined. Here, we show that in TNBC the overexpression of Fra-1, a component of the transcription factor AP-1, offers prognostic potential. Fra-1 depletion or its heterodimeric partner c-Jun inhibits the proliferative and invasive phenotypes of TNBC cells in vitro. Similarly, RNAi-mediated attenuation of Fra-1 or c-Jun reduced cellular invasion in vivo in a zebrafish tumor xenograft model. Exploring the AP-1 cistrome and the AP-1–regulated transcriptome, we obtained insights into the transcriptional regulatory networks of AP-1 in TNBC cells. Among the direct targets identified for Fra-1/c-Jun involved in proliferation, adhesion, and cell–cell contact, we found that AP-1 repressed the expression of E-cadherin by transcriptional upregulation of ZEB2 to stimulate cell invasion. Overall, this work illuminates the pathways through which TNBC cells acquire invasive and proliferative properties. Cancer Res; 74(14); 3983–94. ©2014 AACR.