Ectopic MYBL2-Mediated Regulation of Androglobin Gene Expression

Abstract

Androglobin (ADGB) is a highly conserved and recently identified member of the globin superfamily. Although previous studies revealed a link to ciliogenesis and an involvement in murine spermatogenesis, its physiological function remains mostly unknown. Apart from FOXJ1-dependent regulation, the transcriptional landscape of the ADGB gene remains unexplored. We, therefore, aimed to obtain further insights into regulatory mechanisms governing ADGB expression. To this end, changes in ADGB promoter activity were examined using luciferase reporter gene assays in the presence of a set of more than 475 different exogenous transcription factors. MYBL2 and PITX2 resulted in the most pronounced increase in ADGB promoter-dependent luciferase activity. Subsequent truncation strategies of the ADGB promoter fragment narrowed down the potential MYBL2 and PITX2 binding sites within the proximal ADGB promoter. Furthermore, MYBL2 binding sites on the ADGB promoter were further validated via a guide RNA-mediated interference strategy using reporter assays. Chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP)-qPCR experiments illustrated enrichment of the endogenous ADGB promoter region upon MYBL2 and PITX2 overexpression. Consistently, ectopic MYBL2 expression induced endogenous ADGB mRNA levels. Collectively, our data indicate that ADGB is strongly regulated at the transcriptional level and might have functions beyond ciliogenesis.