RRC ID 90117
Author Song M, Wei X, Luo H, Wang J, Ye Y, Qin L, Niu C, Long Y, Wang X, Shao C, Yu M, Gu F, Zhang X, Xu X.
Title A common TBP-binding site mutation elevates fetal hemoglobin levels by competitive globin switching change in β-thalassemia.
Journal Blood Adv
Abstract β-Thalassemia is a common monogenic disorder caused by genetic defects in β-globin genes (HBB) resulting in imbalanced synthesis of α-/β-globin and ineffective erythropoiesis. It has been well documented that patients with β-thalassemia, or even carriers, mostly experience reactivation of fetal hemoglobin (Hb F), but its underlying mechanisms are incompletely understood. We took advantage of a previously established cohort of 1142 patients with β-thalassemia with diverse thalassemic mutations subjected to targeted next-generation sequencing. Genotype-phenotype association studies demonstrated that the HBB:c.-78A>G had a remarkable effect on the elevation of Hb F levels compared with other β-thalassemic mutations. To experimentally validate this conclusion, the ribonucleoprotein transfection complex through homology-directed repair by electroporation was performed, from which we observed a consistent increase of Hb F expression in both HUDEP-2 and primary CD34+ cell lines. Furthermore, chromatin immunoprecipitation-quantitative polymerase chain reaction, dual-luciferase reporter assay, and circular chromosome conformation capture (4C) assays validated a decreased occupancy of the HBB TATA box by TATA-binding protein (TBP), leading to boosted expression of γ-globin genes by enhanced interaction between locus control regions (LCRs) and γ-globin gene promoters. The patient-based investigation and experimental validations presented in this study might lead to a better understanding of stage-specific globin-gene expression mediated by competitive binding of distal enhancers (LCRs).
Volume 9(13)
Pages 3159-3169
Published 2025-7-8
DOI 10.1182/bloodadvances.2024013695
PII 536599
PMID 40197981
PMC PMC12242447
MeSH Binding Sites Female Fetal Hemoglobin* / genetics Fetal Hemoglobin* / metabolism Humans Male Mutation* Protein Binding TATA-Box Binding Protein* / genetics TATA-Box Binding Protein* / metabolism beta-Globins* / genetics beta-Globins* / metabolism beta-Thalassemia* / genetics beta-Thalassemia* / metabolism gamma-Globins / genetics
Resource
Human and Animal Cells HUDEP-2(RCB4557)