Activation of γ-globin gene expression by GATA1 and NF-Y in hereditary persistence of fetal hemoglobin

Abstract

Hereditary persistence of fetal hemoglobin (HPFH) ameliorates β-hemoglobinopathies by inhibiting the developmental switch from γ-globin (HBG1/HBG2) to β-globin (HBB) gene expression. Some forms of HPFH are associated with γ-globin promoter variants that either disrupt binding motifs for transcriptional repressors or create new motifs for transcriptional activators. How these variants sustain γ-globin gene expression postnatally remains undefined. We mapped γ-globin promoter sequences functionally in erythroid cells harboring different HPFH variants. Those that disrupt a BCL11A repressor binding element induce γ-globin expression by facilitating the recruitment of transcription factors NF-Y to a nearby proximal CCAAT box and GATA1 to an upstream motif. The proximal CCAAT element becomes dispensable for HPFH variants that generate new binding motifs for activators NF-Y or KLF1, but GATA1 recruitment remains essential. Our findings define distinct mechanisms through which transcription factors and their cis-regulatory elements activate γ-globin expression in different forms of HPFH, some of which are being recreated by therapeutic genome editing.