Limb-bud and heart (LBH) is a novel key transcriptional regulator of vertebrate development. However, the molecular mechanisms upstream of LBH and its role in adult development are unknown. Here we show that in epithelial development, LBH expression is tightly controlled by Wnt signaling.

Maintenance of stem/progenitor cell-progeny relationships is required for tissue homeostasis during normal turnover and repair. Wnt signaling is implicated in both maintenance and differentiation of adult stem/progenitor cells, yet how this pathway serves these dichotomous roles remains enigmatic. We previously proposed a model suggesting that specific interaction of ␤-catenin with either of the homologous Kat3 co-activators, p300 or CREB-binding protein, differentially regulates maintenance versus differentiation of embryonic stem cells. Limited knowledge of endogenous mechanisms driving differential ␤-catenin/co-activator interactions and their role in adult somatic stem/progenitor cell maintenance versus differentiation led us to explore this process in defined models of adult progenitor cell differentiation. We focused primarily on alveolar epithelial type II (AT2) cells, progenitors of distal lung epithelium, and identified a novel axis whereby WNT5a/protein kinase C (PKC) signaling regulates specific ␤-catenin/co-activator interactions to promote adult progenitor cell differentiation. p300/␤-catenin but not CBP/␤-catenin interaction increases as AT2 cells differentiate to a type I (AT1) cell-like phenotype. Additionally, p300 transcriptionally activates AT1 cell-specific gene Aqp-5. IQ-1, a specific inhibitor of p300/␤-catenin interaction, prevents differentiation of not only primary AT2 cells, but also tracheal epithelial cells, and C2C12 myoblasts. p300 phosphorylation at Ser-89 enhances p300/␤-catenin interaction, concurrent with alveolar epithelial cell differentiation. WNT5a, a traditionally non-canonical WNT ligand regulates Ser-89 phosphorylation and p300/␤-catenin interactions in a PKC-dependent manner, likely involving PKC. These studies identify a novel intersection of canonical and non-canonical Wnt signaling in adult progenitor cell differentiation that has important implications for targeting ␤-catenin to modulate adult progenitor cell behavior in disease.

Elucidation of the epigenetic basis for cell-type specific gene regulation is key to gaining a full understanding of how the distinct phenotypes of differentiated cells are achieved and maintained. Here we examined how epigenetic changes are integrated with transcriptional activation to determine cell phenotype during differentiation. We performed epigenomic profiling in conjunction with transcriptomic profiling using in vitro differentiation of human primary alveolar epithelial cells (AEC). This model recapitulates an in vivo process in which AEC transition from one differentiated cell type to another during regeneration following lung injury. Interrogation of histone marks over time revealed enrichment of specific transcription factor binding motifs within regions of changing chromatin structure. Cross-referencing of these motifs with pathways showing transcriptional changes revealed known regulatory pathways of distal alveolar differentiation, such as the WNT and transforming growth factor beta (TGFB) pathways, and putative novel regulators of adult AEC differentiation including hepatocyte nuclear factor 4 alpha (HNF4A), and the retinoid X receptor (RXR) signaling pathways. Inhibition of the RXR pathway confirmed its functional relevance for alveolar differentiation. Our incorporation of epigenetic data allowed specific identification of transcription factors that are potential direct upstream regulators of the differentiation process, demonstrating the power of this approach. Integration of epigenomic data with transcriptomic profiling has broad application for the identification of regulatory pathways in other models of differentiation.

The identification of multipotent mammary stem cells (MaSCs) has provided an explanation for the unique regenerative capacity of the mammary gland throughout adult life. However, it remains unclear what genes maintain MaSCs and control their specification into the two epithelial lineages: luminal and basal. LBH is a novel transcription co-factor in the WNT pathway with hitherto unknown physiological function. LBH is expressed during mammary gland development and aberrantly overexpressed in aggressive 'basal' subtype breast cancers. Here, we have explored the in vivo role of LBH in mammopoiesis. We show that in postnatal mammary epithelia, LBH is predominantly expressed in the Lin − CD29high CD24 + basal MaSC population. Upon conditional inactivation of LBH, mice exhibit pronounced delays in mammary tissue expansion during puberty and pregnancy, accompanied by increased luminal differentiation at the expense of basal lineage specification. These defects could be traced to a severe reduction in the frequency and self-renewal/ differentiation potential of basal MaSCs. Mechanistically, LBH induces expression of key epithelial stem cell transcription factor ΔNp63 to promote a basal MaSC state and repress luminal differentiation genes, mainly that encoding estrogen receptor α (Esr1/ERα). Collectively, these studies identify LBH as an essential regulator of basal MaSC expansion/maintenance, raising important implications for its potential role in breast cancer pathogenesis.