Gene-specific mechanisms direct glucocorticoid-receptor-driven repression of inflammatory response genes in macrophages

Abstract

The glucocorticoid receptor (GR) potently represses macrophage-elicited inflammation, however, the underlying mechanisms remain obscure. Our genome-wide analysis in mouse macrophages reveals that pro-inflammatory paused genes, activated via global negative elongation factor (NELF) dissociation and RNA Polymerase (Pol)2 release from early elongation arrest, and non-paused genes, induced by de novo Pol2 recruitment, are equally susceptible to acute glucocorticoid repression. Moreover, in both cases the dominant mechanism involves rapid GR tethering to p65 at NF-kB-binding sites. Yet, specifically at paused genes, GR activation triggers widespread promoter accumulation of NELF, with myeloid cell-specific NELF deletion conferring glucocorticoid resistance. Conversely, at non-paused genes, GR attenuates the recruitment of p300 and histone acetylation, leading to a failure to assemble BRD4 and Mediator at promoters and enhancers, ultimately blocking Pol2 initiation. Thus, GR displays no preference for a specific pro-inflammatory gene class; however, it effects repression by targeting distinct temporal events and components of transcriptional machinery.

Document Details

Document Type
Pub Defense Publication
Publication Date
Feb 09, 2018
Source ID
10.7554/elife.34864

Entities

People

  • Bin Zhang
  • Bowranigan Tharmalingam
  • Bradley Benjamin
  • David A. Rollins
  • Dinesh K Deochand
  • Inez Rogatsky
  • Li Yu
  • Maddalena Coppo
  • Maria A Sacta
  • Rong Li
  • Xiaoyu Hu
  • Yurii Chinenov

Organizations

  • American College of Rheumatology Research and Education Foundation
  • Hospital for Special Surgery
  • Ministry of Science and Technology of the People's Republic of China
  • National Institutes of Health
  • National Natural Science Foundation of China
  • Tsinghua University
  • United States Department of Defense
  • University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio
  • Weill Cornell Medicine

Tags

Fields of Study

  • Biology

Readers

  • Molecular Biology and Genetics
  • Molecular and genetic basis of cancer.