Person:
Shen, Li

Profile Picture

Email Address

AA Acceptance Date

Birth Date

Research Projects

Organizational Units

Job Title

Last Name

Shen

First Name

Li

Name

Shen, Li
Author's Publications: search.filters.isAuthorOfPublication.17d027e2-5398-40aa-9259-4a245ba4b632

Search Results

Now showing 1 - 8 of 8
  • Thumbnail Image
    Publication
    Tet1 controls meiosis by regulating meiotic gene expression
    (2012) Yamaguchi, Shinpei; Hong, Kwonho; Liu, Rui; Shen, Li; Inoue, Azusa; Diep, Dinh; Zhang, Kun; Zhang, Yi
    Meiosis is a germ cell-specific cell division process through which haploid gametes are produced for sexual reproduction1. Prior to initiation of meiosis, mouse primordial germ cells (PGCs) undergo a series of epigenetic reprogramming steps2,3, including global erasure of DNA methylation on the 5-position of cytosine (5mC) at CpG4,5. Although several epigenetic regulators, such as Dnmt3l, histone methyltransferases G9a and Prdm9, have been reported to be critical for meiosis6, little is known about how the expression of meiotic genes is regulated and how their expression contributes to normal meiosis. Using a loss of function approach, here we demonstrate that the 5mC-specific dioxygenase Tet1 plays an important role in regulating meiosis in mouse oocytes. Tet1 deficiency significantly reduces female germ cell numbers and fertility. Univalent chromosomes and unresolved DNA double strand breaks are also observed in Tet1-deficient oocytes. Tet1 deficiency does not greatly affect the genome-wide demethylation that takes place in PGCs but leads to defective DNA demethylation and decreased expression of a subset of meiotic genes. Our study thus establishes a function for Tet1 in meiosis and meiotic gene activation in female germ cells.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Publication
    Tet3 and DNA Replication Mediate Demethylation of Both the Maternal and Paternal Genomes in Mouse Zygotes
    (Elsevier BV, 2014) Shen, Li; Inoue, Azusa; He, Jin; Liu, Yuting; Lu, Falong; Zhang, Yi
    With the exception of imprinted genes and certain repeats, DNA methylation is globally erased during preimplantation development. Recent studies have suggested that Tet3-mediated oxidation of 5-methylcytosine (5mC) and DNA replication-dependent dilution both contribute to global paternal DNA demethylation, but demethylation of the maternal genome occurs via replication. Here we present genome-scale DNA methylation maps for both the paternal and maternal genomes of Tet3-depleted and/or DNA replication-inhibited zygotes. In both genomes, we found that inhibition of DNA replication blocks DNA demethylation independently from Tet3 function and that Tet3 facilitates DNA demethylation largely by coupling with DNA replication. For both genomes, our data indicate that replication-dependent dilution is the major contributor to demethylation, but Tet3 plays an important role, particularly at certain loci. Our study thus defines the respective functions of Tet3 and DNA replication in paternal DNA demethylation and reveals an unexpected contribution of Tet3 to demethylation of the maternal genome. •Tet3 only partially mediates paternal DNA demethylation•DNA replication is the major contributor to paternal DNA demethylation•Tet3-dependent DNA demethylation also occurs on the maternal genome•Zygotic gene activation is independent of Tet3 activity Using genome-scale DNA methylation analyses of manually isolated paternal and maternal pronuclei, Zhang and colleagues show that zygotic demethylation of both genomes is mediated by Tet3 and DNA replication, with the latter as the major contributor.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Publication
    Single-base resolution analysis of active DNA demethylation using methylase-assisted bisulfite sequencing
    (Nature Publishing Group, 2014) Wu, Hao; Wu, Xiaoji; Shen, Li; Zhang, Yi
    Active DNA demethylation in mammals involves TET-mediated iterative oxidation of 5-methylcytosine (5mC)/5-hydroxymethylcytosine (5hmC) and subsequent excision repair of highly oxidized cytosine bases 5-formylcytosine (5fC)/5-carboxylcytosine (5caC) by thymine DNA glycosylase (TDG). However, quantitative and high-resolution analysis of active DNA demethylation activity remains challenging. Here, we describe M.SssI methylase-assisted bisulfite sequencing (MAB-seq), a method that directly maps 5fC/5caC at single-base resolution. Genome-wide MAB-seq allows systematic identification of 5fC/5caC in Tdg-depleted embryonic stem cells, thereby generating a base-resolution map of active DNA demethylome. A comparison of 5fC/5caC and 5hmC distribution maps indicates that catalytic processivity of TET enzymes correlates with local chromatin accessibility. MAB-seq also reveals strong strand asymmetry of active demethylation within palindromic CpGs. Integrating MAB-seq with other base-resolution mapping methods enables quantitative measurement of cytosine modification states at key transitioning steps of the active DNA demethylation cascade and reveals a regulatory role of 5fC/5caC excision repair in this step-wise process.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Publication
    Haploinsufficiency, but Not Defective Paternal 5mC Oxidation, Accounts for the Developmental Defects of Maternal Tet3 Knockouts
    (Elsevier BV, 2015) Inoue, Azusa; Shen, Li; MATOBA, Shogo; Zhang, Yi
    Paternal DNA demethylation in mammalian zygotes is achieved through Tet3-mediated iterative oxidation of 5-methylcytosine (5mC) coupled with replication-dependent dilution. Tet3-mediated paternal DNA demethylation is believed to play important roles in mouse development given that Tet3 heterozygous embryos derived from Tet3-deficient oocytes exhibit embryonic sublethality. Here, we demonstrate that the sublethality phenotype of the Tet3 maternal knockout mice is caused by haploinsufficiency but not defective paternal 5mC oxidation. We found that Tet3 heterozygous progenies derived from heterozygous father or mother also exhibit sublethality. Importantly, wild-type embryos reconstituted with paternal pronuclei that bypassed 5mC oxidation develop and grow to adulthood normally. Genome-scale DNA methylation analysis demonstrated that hypermethylation in maternal Tet3 knockout embryos is largely diminished by the blastocyst stage. Our study thus reveals that Tet3-mediated paternal 5mC oxidation is dispensable for mouse development and suggests the existence of a compensatory mechanism for defective 5mC oxidation in preimplantation embryos.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Publication
    Ikbkap/Elp1 Deficiency Causes Male Infertility by Disrupting Meiotic Progression
    (Public Library of Science, 2013) Lin, Fu-Jung; Shen, Li; Jang, Chuan-Wei; Falnes, Pål Ø.; Zhang, Yi
    Mouse Ikbkap gene encodes IKAP—one of the core subunits of Elongator—and is thought to be involved in transcription. However, the biological function of IKAP, particularly within the context of an animal model, remains poorly characterized. We used a loss-of-function approach in mice to demonstrate that Ikbkap is essential for meiosis during spermatogenesis. Absence of Ikbkap results in defects in synapsis and meiotic recombination, both of which result in increased apoptosis and complete arrest of gametogenesis. In Ikbkap-mutant testes, a few meiotic genes are down-regulated, suggesting IKAP's role in transcriptional regulation. In addition, Ikbkap-mutant testes exhibit defects in wobble uridine tRNA modification, supporting a conserved tRNA modification function from yeast to mammals. Thus, our study not only reveals a novel function of IKAP in meiosis, but also suggests that IKAP contributes to this process partly by exerting its effect on transcription and tRNA modification.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Publication
    Genome-wide analysis reveals TET-and TDG-mediated 5-methylcytosine oxidation dynamics
    (BioMed Central, 2013) Shen, Li; Wu, Hao; Diep, Dinh; D’Alessio, Ana C; Fung, Alan; Zhang, Kun; Zhang, Yi
  • Thumbnail Image
    Publication
    5mC and 5hmC dynamics during PGC reprogramming and role of Tet1 in female meiosis
    (BioMed Central, 2013) Yamaguchi, Shinpei; Hong, Kwonho; Liu, Rui; Shen, Li; Inoue, Azusa; Diep, Dinh; Zhang, Kun; Zhang, Yi
  • Thumbnail Image
    Publication
    Dynamics of 5-methylcytosine and 5-hydroxymethylcytosine during germ cell reprogramming
    (Nature Publishing Group, 2013) Yamaguchi, Shinpei; Hong, Kwonho; Liu, Rui; Inoue, Azusa; Shen, Li; Zhang, Kun; Zhang, Yi
    Previous studies have revealed that mouse primordial germ cells (PGCs) undergo genome-wide DNA methylation reprogramming to reset the epigenome for totipotency. However, the precise 5-methylcytosine (5mC) dynamics and its relationship with the generation of 5-hydroxymethylcytosine (5hmC) are not clear. Here we analyzed the dynamics of 5mC and 5hmC during PGC reprograming and germ cell development. Unexpectedly, we found a specific period (E8.5-9.5) during which both 5mC and 5hmC levels are low. Subsequently, 5hmC levels increase reaching its peak at E11.5 and gradually decrease until E13.5 likely by replication-dependent dilution. Interestingly, 5hmC is enriched in chromocenters during this period. While this germ cell-specific 5hmC subnuclear localization pattern is maintained in female germ cells even in mature oocytes, such pattern is gradually lost in male germ cells as mitotic proliferation resumes during the neonatal stage. Pericentric 5hmC plays an important role in silencing major satellite repeat, especially in female PGCs. Global transcriptome analysis by RNA-seq revealed that the great majority of differentially expressed genes from E9.5 to 13.5 are upregulated in both male and female PGCs. Although only female PGCs enter meiosis during the prenatal stage, meiosis-related and a subset of imprinted genes are significantly upregulated in both male and female PGCs at E13.5. Thus, our study not only reveals the dynamics of 5mC and 5hmC during PGC reprogramming and germ cell development, but also their potential role in epigenetic reprogramming and transcriptional regulation of meiotic and imprinted genes.