Temporally discordant chromatin accessibility and DNA demethylation define short- and long-term enhancer regulation during cell fate specification

Summary: Chromatin and DNA modifications mediate the transcriptional activity of lineage-specifying enhancers, but recent work challenges the dogma that joint chromatin accessibility and DNA demethylation are prerequisites for transcription. To understand this paradox, we established a highly resolv...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Lindsey N. Guerin, Timothy J. Scott, Jacqueline A. Yap, Annelie Johansson, Fabio Puddu, Tom Charlesworth, Yilin Yang, Alan J. Simmons, Ken S. Lau, Rebecca A. Ihrie, Emily Hodges
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2025-05-01
Series:Cell Reports
Subjects:
Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2211124725004516
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1849312986130284544
author Lindsey N. Guerin
Timothy J. Scott
Jacqueline A. Yap
Annelie Johansson
Fabio Puddu
Tom Charlesworth
Yilin Yang
Alan J. Simmons
Ken S. Lau
Rebecca A. Ihrie
Emily Hodges
author_facet Lindsey N. Guerin
Timothy J. Scott
Jacqueline A. Yap
Annelie Johansson
Fabio Puddu
Tom Charlesworth
Yilin Yang
Alan J. Simmons
Ken S. Lau
Rebecca A. Ihrie
Emily Hodges
author_sort Lindsey N. Guerin
collection DOAJ
description Summary: Chromatin and DNA modifications mediate the transcriptional activity of lineage-specifying enhancers, but recent work challenges the dogma that joint chromatin accessibility and DNA demethylation are prerequisites for transcription. To understand this paradox, we established a highly resolved timeline of their dynamics during neural progenitor cell differentiation. We discovered that, while complete demethylation appears delayed relative to shorter-lived chromatin changes for thousands of enhancers, DNA demethylation actually initiates with 5-hydroxymethylation before appreciable accessibility and transcription factor occupancy is observed. The extended timeline of DNA demethylation creates temporal discordance appearing as heterogeneity in enhancer regulatory states. Few regions ever gain methylation, and resulting enhancer hypomethylation persists long after chromatin activities have dissipated. We demonstrate that the temporal methylation status of CpGs (mC/hmC/C) predicts past, present, and future chromatin accessibility using machine learning models. Thus, chromatin and DNA methylation collaborate on different timescales to shape short- and long-term enhancer regulation during cell fate specification.
format Article
id doaj-art-da9310094aa94ba2b4f727d1f2d88d06
institution Kabale University
issn 2211-1247
language English
publishDate 2025-05-01
publisher Elsevier
record_format Article
series Cell Reports
spelling doaj-art-da9310094aa94ba2b4f727d1f2d88d062025-08-20T03:52:52ZengElsevierCell Reports2211-12472025-05-0144511568010.1016/j.celrep.2025.115680Temporally discordant chromatin accessibility and DNA demethylation define short- and long-term enhancer regulation during cell fate specificationLindsey N. Guerin0Timothy J. Scott1Jacqueline A. Yap2Annelie Johansson3Fabio Puddu4Tom Charlesworth5Yilin Yang6Alan J. Simmons7Ken S. Lau8Rebecca A. Ihrie9Emily Hodges10Department of Biochemistry, Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, Nashville, TN 37232, USADepartment of Biochemistry, Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, Nashville, TN 37232, USADepartment of Biochemistry, Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, Nashville, TN 37232, USABiomodal, Chesterford Research Park, Cambridge CB10 1XL, UKBiomodal, Chesterford Research Park, Cambridge CB10 1XL, UKBiomodal, Chesterford Research Park, Cambridge CB10 1XL, UKDepartment of Cell and Developmental Biology, Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, Nashville, TN 37232, USA; Epithelial Biology Center, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN 37232, USA; Center for Computational Systems Biology, Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, Nashville, TN 37232, USADepartment of Cell and Developmental Biology, Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, Nashville, TN 37232, USA; Epithelial Biology Center, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN 37232, USA; Center for Computational Systems Biology, Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, Nashville, TN 37232, USADepartment of Cell and Developmental Biology, Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, Nashville, TN 37232, USA; Epithelial Biology Center, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN 37232, USA; Center for Computational Systems Biology, Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, Nashville, TN 37232, USA; Department of Surgery, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN 37232, USA; Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN 37232, USADepartment of Cell and Developmental Biology, Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, Nashville, TN 37232, USA; Department of Pediatrics – Section of Neurology, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, CO 80045, USADepartment of Biochemistry, Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, Nashville, TN 37232, USA; Center for Computational Systems Biology, Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, Nashville, TN 37232, USA; Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN 37232, USA; Vanderbilt Genetics Institute, Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, Nashville, TN 37232, USA; Corresponding authorSummary: Chromatin and DNA modifications mediate the transcriptional activity of lineage-specifying enhancers, but recent work challenges the dogma that joint chromatin accessibility and DNA demethylation are prerequisites for transcription. To understand this paradox, we established a highly resolved timeline of their dynamics during neural progenitor cell differentiation. We discovered that, while complete demethylation appears delayed relative to shorter-lived chromatin changes for thousands of enhancers, DNA demethylation actually initiates with 5-hydroxymethylation before appreciable accessibility and transcription factor occupancy is observed. The extended timeline of DNA demethylation creates temporal discordance appearing as heterogeneity in enhancer regulatory states. Few regions ever gain methylation, and resulting enhancer hypomethylation persists long after chromatin activities have dissipated. We demonstrate that the temporal methylation status of CpGs (mC/hmC/C) predicts past, present, and future chromatin accessibility using machine learning models. Thus, chromatin and DNA methylation collaborate on different timescales to shape short- and long-term enhancer regulation during cell fate specification.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2211124725004516CP: Molecular biologyCP: Developmental biology
spellingShingle Lindsey N. Guerin
Timothy J. Scott
Jacqueline A. Yap
Annelie Johansson
Fabio Puddu
Tom Charlesworth
Yilin Yang
Alan J. Simmons
Ken S. Lau
Rebecca A. Ihrie
Emily Hodges
Temporally discordant chromatin accessibility and DNA demethylation define short- and long-term enhancer regulation during cell fate specification
Cell Reports
CP: Molecular biology
CP: Developmental biology
title Temporally discordant chromatin accessibility and DNA demethylation define short- and long-term enhancer regulation during cell fate specification
title_full Temporally discordant chromatin accessibility and DNA demethylation define short- and long-term enhancer regulation during cell fate specification
title_fullStr Temporally discordant chromatin accessibility and DNA demethylation define short- and long-term enhancer regulation during cell fate specification
title_full_unstemmed Temporally discordant chromatin accessibility and DNA demethylation define short- and long-term enhancer regulation during cell fate specification
title_short Temporally discordant chromatin accessibility and DNA demethylation define short- and long-term enhancer regulation during cell fate specification
title_sort temporally discordant chromatin accessibility and dna demethylation define short and long term enhancer regulation during cell fate specification
topic CP: Molecular biology
CP: Developmental biology
url http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2211124725004516
work_keys_str_mv AT lindseynguerin temporallydiscordantchromatinaccessibilityanddnademethylationdefineshortandlongtermenhancerregulationduringcellfatespecification
AT timothyjscott temporallydiscordantchromatinaccessibilityanddnademethylationdefineshortandlongtermenhancerregulationduringcellfatespecification
AT jacquelineayap temporallydiscordantchromatinaccessibilityanddnademethylationdefineshortandlongtermenhancerregulationduringcellfatespecification
AT anneliejohansson temporallydiscordantchromatinaccessibilityanddnademethylationdefineshortandlongtermenhancerregulationduringcellfatespecification
AT fabiopuddu temporallydiscordantchromatinaccessibilityanddnademethylationdefineshortandlongtermenhancerregulationduringcellfatespecification
AT tomcharlesworth temporallydiscordantchromatinaccessibilityanddnademethylationdefineshortandlongtermenhancerregulationduringcellfatespecification
AT yilinyang temporallydiscordantchromatinaccessibilityanddnademethylationdefineshortandlongtermenhancerregulationduringcellfatespecification
AT alanjsimmons temporallydiscordantchromatinaccessibilityanddnademethylationdefineshortandlongtermenhancerregulationduringcellfatespecification
AT kenslau temporallydiscordantchromatinaccessibilityanddnademethylationdefineshortandlongtermenhancerregulationduringcellfatespecification
AT rebeccaaihrie temporallydiscordantchromatinaccessibilityanddnademethylationdefineshortandlongtermenhancerregulationduringcellfatespecification
AT emilyhodges temporallydiscordantchromatinaccessibilityanddnademethylationdefineshortandlongtermenhancerregulationduringcellfatespecification