H3K27me3 timely dictates uterine epithelial transcriptome remodeling and thus transformation essential for normal embryo implantation.

Abstract

Uterine luminal epithelia (LE), the first layer contacting with the blastocyst, acquire receptivity for normal embryo implantation. Besides the well-accepted transcriptional regulation dominated by ovarian estrogen and progesterone for receptivity establishment, the involvement of epigenetic mechanisms remains elusive. This study systematically profiles the transcriptome and genome-wide H3K27me3 distribution in the LE throughout the preimplantation. Combining genetic and pharmacological approaches targeting the PRC2 core enzyme Ezh1/2, we demonstrate that the defective remodeling of H3K27me3 in the preimplantation stage disrupts the differentiation of LE, and derails uterine receptivity, resulting in implantation failure. Specifically, crucial epithelial genes, Pgr, Gata2, and Sgk1, are transcriptionally silenced through de novo deposition of H3K27me3 for LE transformation, and their sustained expression in the absence of H3K27me3 synergistically confines the nuclear translocation of FOXO1. Further functional studies identify several actin-associated genes, including Arpin, Tmod1, and Pdlim2, as novel direct targets of H3K27me3. Their aberrantly elevated expression impedes the morphological remodeling of LE, a hindrance alleviated by treatment with cytochalasin D which depolymerizes F-actin. Collectively, this study uncovers a previously unappreciated epigenetic regulatory mechanism for the transcriptional silencing of key LE genes via H3K27me3, essential for LE differentiation and thus embryo implantation.