Coordinated genomic control of ciliogenesis and cell movement by RFX2

Abstract

The mechanisms linking systems-level programs of gene expression to discrete cell biological processes in vivo remain poorly understood. In this study, we have defined such a program for multi-ciliated epithelial cells (MCCs), a cell type critical for proper development and homeostasis of the airway, brain and reproductive tracts. Starting from genomic analysis of the cilia-associated transcription factor Rfx2, we used bioinformatics and in vivo cell biological approaches to gain insights into the molecular basis of cilia assembly and function. Moreover, we discovered a previously un-recognized role for an Rfx factor in cell movement, finding that Rfx2 cell-autonomously controls apical surface expansion in nascent MCCs. Thus, Rfx2 coordinates multiple, distinct gene expression programs in MCCs, regulating genes that control cell movement, ciliogenesis, and cilia function. As such, the work serves as a paradigm for understanding genomic control of cell biological processes that span from early cell morphogenetic events to terminally differentiated cellular functions.Cells that have hundreds of tiny hair-like structures called cilia on their surface have important roles in our airways and also in the brain and reproductive system. By beating in a coordinated manner, the cilia cause fluid to flow in a particular direction. The development of these multiciliated cells is a complex process in which genes are expressed as proteins, with this gene expression being regulated by other proteins called transcription factors.In invertebrates the development of the cilia is controlled by transcription factors from the RFX family, which also appear to be important for development of cilia in vertebrates. However, the details of this process—in particular, the identities of the genes that are involved and how their functions are related—are not well understood in vertebrates.Chung et al. have sought to remedy this by analyzing the network of genes whose expression is controlled by the transcription factor Rfx2 in vertebrates. The results showed that the genes controlled by Rfx2 were involved in all aspects of cilia, including several genes that are known to be mutated in diseases caused by abnormal cilia. Chung et al. also identified genes that were not previously thought to be relevant to cilia.As multiciliated cells are developing, but before they can generate cilia, they must first migrate from the bottom of the epithelium, the layer of tissue in which they function, to the top of this layer. Chung et al. found that Rfx2 was also involved in this process.The approach taken by Chung et al.—which involved a combination of RNA sequence analysis, examination of Rfx2 binding sites on chromosomes, computational predictions of protein interactions and in vivo cellular imaging—could be used to perform similar systems-level analyses of other developmental and biological processes.