By Invitation Only
Date: 8 Jan 2019, Tuesday
Time: 11am
Venue: MD6, Level 12 Conference Room (#12-02N)

Updates from:
– Prof. Dan Tenen on MOE Tier 3 grant
– Dr Melissa Fullwood on RNA Epigenomics Core – Personnel updates; LncRNA microarray updates

Scientific Presentation:
Speaker: Wei Wen TEO (Prof Daniel Tenen’s group)
Title: Non-coding RNA Mediates Long-range Regulation of ?-Globin by Inhibiting EZH2

Abstract:
The best established function of EZH2-RNA interaction is gene inactivation. Nevertheless, several lines of evidence indicates that repression might not be the only function of EZH2-RNA interaction .In this study, we investigate the functional role of EZH2-RNA interaction in K562 cells. RIP analysis reveals that EZH2 binds to a non-coding RNA (HBE-ER) transcribed upstream of ?-globin cluster. Depletion of HBE-ER in K562 cells enhances the methyl-transferase activity of EZH2 at the corresponding locus, suggesting a cis-acting role of HBE-ER at the genomic locus. HBE-ER transcript permits the distal chromatin interaction between its locus and the locus control region (LCR) of ?-globin. Paused expression of HBE-ER releases its locus engagement with the LCR, thereby allowing the enhancer to contact with HBE1 promoter. This results in the activation of HBE1 transcription, which is evidenced by the enhanced Pol2 binding at its promoter. The transcription of HBE-ER is negatively regulated by oxygen depletion. In contrast, HBE1 level increases under hypoxia, suggesting an oxygen sensing role for controlling the expression of HBE1 by HBE-ER.