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Role of histone H2A ubiquitination in Polycomb silencing
- Hengbin Wang1,
- Liangjun Wang2,
- Hediye Erdjument-Bromage3,
- Miguel Vidal4,
- Paul Tempst3,
- Richard S. Jones2 &
- …
- Yi Zhang1
Naturevolume 431, pages873–878 (2004)Cite this article
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Abstract
Covalent modification of histones is important in regulating chromatin dynamics and transcription1,2. One example of such modification is ubiquitination, which mainly occurs on histones H2A and H2B3. Although recent studies have uncovered the enzymes involved in histone H2B ubiquitination4,5,6 and a ‘cross-talk’ between H2B ubiquitination and histone methylation7,8, the responsible enzymes and the functions of H2A ubiquitination are unknown. Here we report the purification and functional characterization of an E3 ubiquitin ligase complex that is specific for histone H2A. The complex, termed hPRC1L (human Polycomb repressive complex 1-like), is composed of several Polycomb-group proteins including Ring1, Ring2, Bmi1 and HPH2. hPRC1L monoubiquitinates nucleosomal histone H2A at lysine 119. Reducing the expression of Ring2 results in a dramatic decrease in the level of ubiquitinated H2A in HeLa cells. Chromatin immunoprecipitation analysis demonstrated colocalization of dRing with ubiquitinated H2A at the PRE and promoter regions of theDrosophila Ubx gene in wing imaginal discs. Removal of dRing in SL2 tissue culture cells by RNA interference resulted in loss of H2A ubiquitination concomitant with derepression ofUbx. Thus, our studies identify the H2A ubiquitin ligase, and link H2A ubiquitination to Polycomb silencing.
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Acknowledgements
We thank J. Kim for help with mass spectrometry. This work was supported by NIH grants to Y.Z., R.S.J. and P.T.
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Authors and Affiliations
Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics, Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, 27599-7295, USA
Hengbin Wang & Yi Zhang
Department of Biological Sciences, Southern Methodist University, Dallas, Texas, 75275, USA
Liangjun Wang & Richard S. Jones
Molecular Biology Program, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, 1275 York Avenue, New York, 10021, New York, USA
Hediye Erdjument-Bromage & Paul Tempst
Departmamento de Desarrollo y Biologia Celular, Centro de Investigaciones Biologicas, Ramiro de Maeztu, 9, E28040, Madrid, Spain
Miguel Vidal
- Hengbin Wang
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- Liangjun Wang
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- Hediye Erdjument-Bromage
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- Miguel Vidal
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- Paul Tempst
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- Richard S. Jones
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- Yi Zhang
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Correspondence toYi Zhang.
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Supplementary information
Supplementary Data
The monoclonal uH2A antibody recognizes uH2A from Drosophila SL2 cells. (DOC 113 kb)
Supplementary Methods
Purification and identification of histone H2A ubiquitin ligase complex. 2. Generation and characterization of Ring2 knock-down cell lines. 3. Extraction of ubiquitinated histones from Drosophila SL2 cells. (DOC 53 kb)
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Wang, H., Wang, L., Erdjument-Bromage, H.et al. Role of histone H2A ubiquitination in Polycomb silencing.Nature431, 873–878 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1038/nature02985
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