The protease degrading sperm histones post-fertilization in sea urchin eggs is a nuclear cathepsin L that is further required for embryo development.

Proteolysis of sperm histones in the sea urchin male pronucleus is the consequence of the activation at fertilization of a maternal cysteine protease. We previously showed that this protein is required for male chromatin remodelling and for cell-cycle progression in the newly formed embryos. This enzyme is present in the nucleus of unfertilized eggs and is rapidly recruited to the male pronucleus after insemination. Interestingly, this cysteine-protease remains co-localized with chromatin during S phase of the first cell cycle, migrates to the mitotic spindle in M-phase and is re-located to the nuclei of daughter cells after cytokinesis. Here we identified the protease encoding cDNA and found a high sequence identity to cathepsin proteases of various organisms. A phylogenetical analysis clearly demonstrates that this sperm histone protease (SpHp) belongs to the cathepsin L sub-type. After an initial phase of ubiquitous expression throughout cleavage stages, SpHp gene transcripts become restricted to endomesodermic territories during the blastula stage. The transcripts are localized in the invaginating endoderm during gastrulation and a gut specific pattern continues through the prism and early pluteus stages. In addition, a concomitant expression of SpHp transcripts is detected in cells of the skeletogenic lineage and in accordance a pharmacological disruption of SpHp activity prevents growth of skeletal rods. These results further document the role of this nuclear cathepsin L during development.

A new nuclear protease with cathepsin L properties is present in HeLa and Caco-2 cells.

Recently many authors have reported that cathepsin L can be found in the nucleus of mammalian cells with important functions in cell-cycle progression. In previous research, we have demonstrated that a cysteine protease (SpH-protease) participates in male chromatin remodeling and in cell-cycle progression in sea urchins embryos. The gene that encodes this protease was cloned. It presents a high identity sequence with cathepsin L family. The active form associated to chromatin has a molecular weight of 60 kDa, which is higher than the active form of cathepsin L described until now, which range between 25 and 35 kDa. Another difference is that the zymogen present in sea urchin has a molecular weight of 75 and 90 kDa whereas for human procathepsin L has a molecular weight of 38-42 kDa. Based on these results and using a polyclonal antibody available in our laboratory that recognizes the active form of the 60 kDa nuclear cysteine protease of sea urchin, ortholog to human cathepsin L, we investigated the presence of this enzyme in HeLa and Caco-2 cells. We have identified a new nuclear protease, type cathepsin L, with a molecular size of 60 kDa, whose cathepsin activity increases after a partial purification by FPLC and degrade in vitro histone H1. This protease associates to the mitotic spindle during mitosis, remains in the nuclei in binuclear cells and also translocates to the cytoplasm in non-proliferative cells.

Cathepsin L inhibitor I blocks mitotic chromosomes decondensation during cleavage cell cycles of sea urchin embryos.

We have previously reported that sperm histones (SpH) degradation after fertilization is catalyzed by a cystein-protease (SpH-protease). Its inhibition blocks the degradation of SpH in vivo and also aborts sea urchin development at the initial embryonic cell cycles. It remains unknown if this effect is a consequence of the persistence of SpH on zygotic chromatin, or if this protease is involved per-se in the progression of the embryonic cell cycles. To discriminate among these two options we have inhibited this protease at a time when male chromatin remodeling was completed and the embryos were engaged in the second cell cycle of the cleavage divisions. The role of this enzyme in cell cycle was initially analyzed by immuno-inhibiting its SpH degrading activity in one of the two blastomeres after the initial cleavage division, while the other blastomere was used as a control. We found that in the blastomere injected with the anti-SpH-protease antibodies the cytokinesis was arrested, the chromatin failed to decondense after mitosis and BrdU incorporation into DNA was blocked. Since the N-terminal sequence and the SpH protease was homologous to the cathepsin L (Cat L) family of proteases, we subsequently investigated if the deleterious effect of the inhibition of this protease is related to its Cat L activity. In this context we analyzed the effect of Cat L inhibitor I (Z-Phe-Phe-CH(2)F) on embryonic development. We found that the addition of 100 uM of this inhibitor to the embryos harvested at the time of the initial cleavage division (80 min p.i.) mimics perfectly the effects of the immuno-inhibition of this enzyme obtained by microinjecting the anti-SpH-protease antibodies. Taken together these results indicate that the activity of this protease is required for embryonic cell cycle progression. Interestingly, we observed that when this protease was inhibited the chromatin decondensation after mitosis was abolished indicating that the inhibition of this enzyme affects chromosomes decondensation after mitosis.

Sperm nucleosomes disassembly is a requirement for histones proteolysis during male pronucleus formation.

We had previously reported that a cysteine-protease catalyzes the sperm histones (SpH) degradation associated to male chromatin remodeling in sea urchins. We found that this protease selectively degraded the SpH leaving maternal cleavage stage (CS) histone variants unaffected, therefore we named it SpH-protease. It is yet unknown if the SpH-protease catalyzes the SpH degradation while these histones are organized as nucleosomes or if alternatively these histones should be released from DNA before their proteolysis. To investigate this issue we had performed an in vitro assay in which polynucleosomes were exposed to the active purified protease. As shown in this report, we found that sperm histones organized as nucleosomes remains unaffected after their incubation with the protease. In contrast the SpH unbound and free from DNA were readily degraded. Interestingly, we also found that free DNA inhibits SpH proteolysis in a dose-dependent manner, further strengthening the requirement of SpH release from DNA before in order to be degraded by the SpH-protease. In this context, we have also investigated the presence of a sperm-nucleosome disassembly activity (SNDA) after fertilization. We found a SNDA associated to the nuclear extracts from zygotes that were harvested during the time of male chromatin remodeling. This SNDA was undetectable in the nuclear extracts from unfertilized eggs and in zygotes harvested after the fusion of both pronuclei. We postulate that this SNDA is responsible for the SpH release from DNA which is required for their degradation by the cysteine-protease associated to male chromatin remodeling after fertilization.

Nuclear cysteine-protease involved in male chromatin remodeling after fertilization is ubiquitously distributed during sea urchin development.

Previously we have identified a cysteine-protease involved in male chromatin remodeling which segregates into the nuclei of the two blastomeres at the first cleavage division. Here we have investigated the fate of this protease during early embryogenesis by immunodetecting this protein with antibodies elicited against its N-terminal sequence. As shown in this report, the major 60 kDa active form of this protease was found to be present in the extracts of chromosomal proteins obtained from all developmental stages analyzed. In morula and gastrula the 70 kDa inactive precursor, which corresponds to the major form of the zymogen found in unfertilized eggs, was detected. In plutei larvas, the major 60 kDa form of this enzyme was found together with a higher molecular weight precursor (90 kDa) which is consistent with the less abundant zymogen primarily detected in unfertilized eggs. As reported here, either the active protease or its zymogens were visualized in most of the embryonic territories indicating that this enzyme lacks a specific pattern of spatial-temporal developmental segregation. Taken together our results indicate that this protease persists in the embryo and is ubiquitously distributed up to larval stages of development, either as an active enzyme and/or as an inactive precursor. These results suggest that this enzyme may display yet unknown functions during embryonic development that complement its role in male chromatin remodeling after fertilization.

Microinjection of an antibody against the cysteine-protease involved in male chromatin remodeling blocks the development of sea urchin embryos at the initial cell cycle.

We reported recently that the inhibition of cysteine-proteases with E-64-d disturbs DNA replication and prevents mitosis of the early sea urchin embryo. Since E-64-d is a rather general inhibitor of thiol-proteases, to specifically target the cysteine-protease previously identified in our laboratory as the enzyme involved in male chromatin remodeling after fertilization, we injected antibodies against the N-terminal sequence of this protease that were able to inhibit the activity of this enzyme in vitro. We found that injection of these antibodies disrupts the initial zygotic cell cycle. As shown in this report in injected zygotes a severe inhibition of DNA replication was observed, the mitotic spindle was not correctly bipolarized the embryonic development was aborted at the initial cleavage division. Consequently, the injection of these antibodies mimics perfectly the effects previously described for E-64-d, indicating that the effects of this inhibitor rely mainly on the inhibition of the cysteine-protease involved in male chromatin remodeling after fertilization. These results further support the crucial role of this protease in early embryonic development.

During male pronuclei formation chromatin remodeling is uncoupled from nucleus decondensation.

Male pronucleus formation involves sperm nucleus decondensation and sperm chromatin remodeling. In sea urchins, male pronucleus decondensation was shown to be modulated by protein kinase C and a cdc2-like kinase sensitive to olomoucine in vitro assays. It was further demonstrated that olomoucine blocks SpH2B and SpH1 phosphorylation. These phosphorylations were postulated to participate in the initial steps of male chromatin remodeling during male pronucleus formation. At final steps of male chromatin remodeling, all sperm histones (SpH) disappear from male chromatin and are subsequently degraded by a cysteine protease. As a result of this remodeling, the SpH are replaced by maternal histone variants (CS). To define if sperm nucleus decondensation is coupled with sperm chromatin remodeling, we have followed the loss of SpH in zygotes treated with olomoucine. SpH degradation was followed with anti-SpH antibodies that had no cross-reactivity with CS histone variants. We found that olomoucine blocks SpH1 and SpH2B phosphorylation and inhibits male pronucleus decondensation in vivo. Interestingly, the normal schedule of SpH degradation remains unaltered in the presence of olomoucine. Taken together these results, it was concluded that male nucleus decondensation is uncoupled from the degradation of SpH associated to male chromatin remodeling. From these results, it also emerges that the phosphorylation of SpH2B and SpH1 is not required for the degradation of the SpH that is concurrent to male chromatin remodeling.

Inhibition of cysteine protease activity disturbs DNA replication and prevents mitosis in the early mitotic cell cycles of sea urchin embryos.

Recent findings suggested that the role of cysteine proteases would not be limited to protein degradation in lysosomes but would also play regulatory functions in more specific cell mechanisms. We analyzed here the role of these enzymes in the control of cell cycle during embryogenesis. The addition of the potent cysteine protease inhibitor E64d to newly fertilized sea urchin eggs disrupted cell cycle progression, affecting nuclear as well as cytoplasmic characteristic events. Monitoring BrdU incorporation in E64d treated eggs demonstrated that DNA replication is severely disturbed. Moreover, this drug treatment inhibited male histones degradation, a step that is necessary for sperm chromatin remodeling and precedes the initiation of DNA replication in control eggs. This inhibition likely explains the DNA replication disturbance and suggests that S phase initiation requires cysteine protease activity. In turn, activation of the DNA replication checkpoint could be responsible for the consecutive block of nuclear envelope breakdown (NEB). However, in sea urchin early embryos this checkpoint doesn't control the mitotic cytoplasmic events that are not tightly coupled with NEB. Thus the fact that microtubule spindle is not assembled and cyclin B-cdk1 not activated under E64d treatment more likely rely on a distinct mechanism. Immunofluorescence experiments indicated that centrosome organization was deficient in absence of cysteine protease activity. This potentially accounts for mitotic spindle disruption and for cyclin B mis-localization in E64d treated eggs. We conclude that cysteine proteases are essential to trigger S phase and to promote M phase entry in newly fertilized sea urchin eggs.

Cysteine-protease involved in male chromatin remodeling after fertilization co-localizes with alpha-tubulin at mitosis.

We postulated an essential role for a cysteine-protease in sea urchins sperm histones degradation which follows fertilization. We now report the purification of this enzyme, the determination of its N-terminal amino acid sequence and the localization of the protein with antibodies generated against this amino-terminal peptide. The immunofluorescence data confirmed the presence of this enzyme in the nucleus of unfertilized eggs. After fertilization labeling is observed both in female and male pronuclei suggesting a rapid recruitment of the enzyme to the male pronuclei. Interestingly, we have found that this cysteine-protease persists in the nucleus of the zygotes during S phase of the cell cycle and co-localizes with alpha-tubulin that organizes the mitotic spindle during the initial embryonic cell division.

Chromatin remodeling during sea urchin early development: molecular determinants for pronuclei formation and transcriptional activation.

Transcriptional activation of specific genes is initiated after fertilization by the interaction of specific transcription factors with its cognate sequences in the chromatin context, thereby leading to a concerted and coordinated program which determines early development. Remodeling of the sperm chromatin after fertilization is a fundamental event for transcriptional activation and expression of the paternally inherited genome. The transitions in chromosomal proteins, as well as the mechanisms that participate in these transitions, have been investigated only to a limited extent as compared to the signal transduction patterns that govern egg activation or the dynamics and structural changes accompanying sperm nuclear membrane dissociation-association following insemination. In this review, we will discuss the remodeling of sperm chromatin that follows fertilization. We will emphasize the transitions of chromosomal proteins, as well as the post-translational modifications associated with these transitions. The molecular mechanisms that may be participating in these events will also be analyzed. We will further discuss the mechanisms that govern chromatin remodeling and the role of specific transcription factors in the control of the transcriptional program during sea urchin early development.

Regulation of the bone-specific osteocalcin gene by p300 requires Runx2/Cbfa1 and the vitamin D3 receptor but not p300 intrinsic histone acetyltransferase activity.

p300 is a multifunctional transcriptional coactivator that serves as an adapter for several transcription factors including nuclear steroid hormone receptors. p300 possesses an intrinsic histone acetyltransferase (HAT) activity that may be critical for promoting steroid-dependent transcriptional activation. In osteoblastic cells, transcription of the bone-specific osteocalcin (OC) gene is principally regulated by the Runx2/Cbfa1 transcription factor and is stimulated in response to vitamin D(3) via the vitamin D(3) receptor complex. Therefore, we addressed p300 control of basal and vitamin D(3)-enhanced activity of the OC promoter. We find that transient overexpression of p300 results in a significant dose-dependent increase of both basal and vitamin D(3)-stimulated OC gene activity. This stimulatory effect requires intact Runx2/Cbfa1 binding sites and the vitamin D-responsive element. In addition, by coimmunoprecipitation, we show that the endogenous Runx2/Cbfa1 and p300 proteins are components of the same complexes within osteoblastic cells under physiological concentrations. We also demonstrate by chromatin immunoprecipitation assays that p300, Runx2/Cbfa1, and 1alpha,25-dihydroxyvitamin D(3) receptor interact with the OC promoter in intact osteoblastic cells expressing this gene. The effect of p300 on the OC promoter is independent of its intrinsic HAT activity, as a HAT-deficient p300 mutant protein up-regulates expression and cooperates with P/CAF to the same extent as the wild-type p300. On the basis of these results, we propose that p300 interacts with key transcriptional regulators of the OC gene and bridges distal and proximal OC promoter sequences to facilitate responsiveness to vitamin D(3).

Conservative segregation of maternally inherited CS histone variants in larval stages of sea urchin development.

Three sets of histone variants are coexisting in the embryo at larval stages of sea urchin's development: the maternally inherited cleavage stage variants (CS) expressed during the two initial cleavage divisions, the early histone variants, which are recruited into embryonic chromatin from middle cleavage stages until hatching and the late variants, that are fundamentally expressed from blastula stage onward. Since the expression of the CS histones is confined to the initial cleavage stages, these variants represent a very minor proportion of the histones present in the plutei larvae, whereas the late histone variants are predominant. To determine the position of these CS in the embryonic territories, we have immunolocalized the CS histone variants in plutei larvas harvested 72 h post-fertilization. In parallel, we have pulse labeled the DNA replicated during the initial cleavage cycle with bromodeoxyuridine (BrdU) and its position was further determined in the plutei larvas by immunofluorescence. We have found that the CS histone variants were segregated to specific territories in the plutei. The position in which the CS histone variants were found to be segregated was consistent with the position in which the DNA molecules that were replicated during the initial cleavage divisions were localized. These results strongly suggest that a specification of embryonic nuclei occurs at the initial cleavage divisions which is determined by a chromatin organized by CS histone variants.

Interaction of the 1alpha,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 receptor at the distal promoter region of the bone-specific osteocalcin gene requires nucleosomal remodelling.

1alpha,25-Dihydroxyvitamin D3-mediated transcriptional control of the bone-specific osteocalcin (OC) gene requires the integration of regulatory signals at the vitamin D-responsive element (VDRE) and flanking tissue-specific sequences. The 1alpha,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 receptor (VDR) is a member of the nuclear receptor superfamily and forms a heterodimeric complex with the receptor for 9-cis retinoic acid (RXR) that binds to the VDRE sequence. We have demonstrated previously that changes in chromatin structure at the VDRE region of the rat OC gene promoter accompany transcriptional enhancement in vivo, suggesting a requirement for chromatin remodelling. Here we show that the VDRE in the distal region of the OC gene promoter is refractory to binding of the VDR-RXR complex when organized in a nucleosomal context. Addition of the ligand 1alpha,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 or the presence of other transcription factors, such as YY1 and Runx/Cbfa (core-binding factor alpha), which also bind to sequences partially overlapping or near the VDRE, is not sufficient to render the VDRE accessible. Thus the VDR-RXR, unlike other steroid receptors, such as glucocorticoid receptor, progesterone receptor and thyroid receptor, is unable to bind its target sequence within a nucleosomal context. Taken together these results demonstrate that nucleosomal remodelling is required for in vivo occupancy of binding sites in the distal region of the OC gene promoter by the regulatory factors responsible for 1alpha,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3-dependent enhancement of transcription.

Remodeling of sperm chromatin after fertilization involves nucleosomes formed by sperm histones H2A and H2B and two CS histone variants.

The composition of nucleosomes at an intermediate stage of male pronucleus formation was determined in sea urchins. Nucleosomes were isolated from zygotes harvested 10 min post-insemination, whole nucleoprotein particles were obtained from nucleus by nuclease digestion, and nucleosomes were subsequently purified by a sucrose gradient fractionation. The nucleosomes derived from male pronucleus were separated from those derived from female pronucleus by immunoadsorption to antibodies against sperm specific histones (anti-SpH) covalently bound to Sepharose 4B (anti-SpH-Sepharose). The immunoadsorbed nucleosomes were eluted, and the histones were analyzed by Western blots. Sperm histones (SpH) or alternatively, the histones from unfertilized eggs (CS histone variants), were identified with antibodies directed against each set of histones. It was found that these nucleosomes are organized by a core formed by sperm histones H2A and H2B combined with two major CS histone variants. Such a hybrid histone core interacts with DNA fragments of approximately 100 bp. It was also found that these atypical nucleosome cores are subsequently organized in a chromatin fiber that exhibits periodic nuclease hypersensitive sites determined by DNA fragments of 500 bp of DNA. It was found that these nucleoprotein particles were organized primarily by the hybrid nucleosomes described above. We postulate that this unique chromatin organization defines an intermediate stage of male chromatin remodeling after fertilization.

Reduced CpG methylation is associated with transcriptional activation of the bone-specific rat osteocalcin gene in osteoblasts.

Chromatin remodeling of the bone-specific rat osteocalcin (OC) gene accompanies the onset and increase in OC expression during osteoblast differentiation. In osseous cells expressing OC, the promoter region contains two nuclease hypersensitive sites that encompass the elements that regulate basal tissue-specific and vitamin D-enhanced OC transcription. Multiple lines of evidence indicate that DNA methylation is involved in maintaining a stable and condensed chromatin organization that represses eukaryotic transcription. Here we report that DNA methylation at the OC gene locus is associated with the condensed chromatin structure found in cells not expressing OC. In addition, we find that reduced CpG methylation of the OC gene accompanies active transcription in ROS 17/2.8 rat osteosarcoma cells. Interestingly, during differentiation of primary diploid rat osteoblasts in culture, as the OC gene becomes increasingly expressed, CpG methylation of the OC promoter is significantly reduced. Inhibition of OC transcription does not occur by a direct mechanism because in vitro methylated OC promoter DNA is still recognized by the key regulators Runx/Cbfa and the vitamin D receptor complex. Furthermore, CpG methylation affects neither basal nor vitamin D-enhanced OC promoter activity in transient expression experiments. Together, our results indicate that DNA methylation may contribute indirectly to OC transcriptional control in osteoblasts by maintaining a highly condensed and repressed chromatin structure.