A unified model of human hemoglobin switching through single-cell genome editing.

Nat Commun
Authors
Abstract

Key mechanisms of fetal hemoglobin (HbF) regulation and switching have been elucidated through studies of human genetic variation, including mutations in the HBG1/2 promoters, deletions in the β-globin locus, and variation impacting BCL11A. While this has led to substantial insights, there has not been a unified understanding of how these distinct genetically-nominated elements, as well as other key transcription factors such as ZBTB7A, collectively interact to regulate HbF. A key limitation has been the inability to model specific genetic changes in primary isogenic human hematopoietic cells to uncover how each of these act individually and in aggregate. Here, we describe a single-cell genome editing functional assay that enables specific mutations to be recapitulated individually and in combination, providing insights into how multiple mutation-harboring functional elements collectively contribute to HbF expression. In conjunction with quantitative modeling and chromatin capture analyses, we illustrate how these genetic findings enable a comprehensive understanding of how distinct regulatory mechanisms can synergistically modulate HbF expression.

Year of Publication
2021
Journal
Nat Commun
Volume
12
Issue
1
Pages
4991
Date Published
2021 08 17
ISSN
2041-1723
DOI
10.1038/s41467-021-25298-9
PubMed ID
34404810
Links
Grant list
R56 DK125234 / DK / NIDDK NIH HHS / United States
R01 DK103794 / DK / NIDDK NIH HHS / United States
R01 HL146500 / HL / NHLBI NIH HHS / United States
R01 CA230631 / CA / NCI NIH HHS / United States
R01 DK111430 / DK / NIDDK NIH HHS / United States
HHMI / Howard Hughes Medical Institute / United States