Yicheng Long

We are hiring an Assistant Professor of Biochemistry and Biophysics at Weill Cornell Medicine. Come join our collaborative research environment with state-of-the-art facilities in NYC! Application review starts Oct 22.
biochem.weill.cornell.edu/join-our-fac...

Assistant Professor-Basic Science - New York City, New York (US) job with Weill Cornell Medicine | 12845084 WCM invites applications for a tenure-track Assistant Professor position in the newly established Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics.

Our department at Weill Cornell is hiring a junior faculty member in the broad field of fundamental biomedical science. Please spread the word. Job ad here: www.nature.com/naturecareer...

Enhancer remodeling by OTX2 directs specification and patterning of mammalian definitive endoderm Correct patterning of emerging tissues in the developing embryo is essential for the formation of functional organ systems. Using genetic tools for controlled protein depletion, Ee et al. identify the...

Excited to share our new study in @cp-devcell.bsky.social dissecting how the brain-associated transcription factor OTX2 drives anteriorization of the mammalian gut by enhancer remodeling using stem cell-based models. #development #enhancers #patterning #stemcells

www.cell.com/developmenta...

Distinct specificity and functions of PRC2 subcomplexes in human stem cells and cardiac differentiation Much et al. reveal that the PRC2 subcomplexes PRC2.1 and PRC2.2 play distinct roles in the epigenetic repression of developmental genes in human stem cells. Interactions between the PRC2 core and its accessory proteins, DNA, and H3K36me3 dictate PRC2 activity and, ultimately, modulate cardiac differentiation and function.

Online Now: Distinct specificity and functions of PRC2 subcomplexes in human stem cells and cardiac differentiation Online now:

The project is spearheaded by our wonderful research associate Christian Much along with a dream team - grad student Sandy Rajkumar, postdoc Liming Chen, technician John Cohen and our amazing collaborator Dr. Geoff Pitt @geoffrey-pitt.bsky.social & Aravind Gade in his lab @weillcornell.bsky.social.

We also dived into the three mutually exclusive PRC2.1 complexes. Surprisingly, PHF19 antagonizes the role of MTF2 on regulating PRC2 occupancy and H3K27me3 deposition. MTF2 loss-of-function mutants also phenocopies the cardiomyocyte differentiation phenotype of the loss of PRC2.1 line.

PRC2.1 and PRC2.2 exhibits opposing function in cardiomyocyte differentiation, potentially through their specificity on key transcription factor and ion channel genes. Interestingly, loss of PRC2.1 accelerates differentiation and increases spontaneous action potential frequency.

Loss of PRC2.1 or PRC2.2 in hPSCs by separation-of-function mutants led to loss of H3K27me3 in a gene-specific manner. For example, the H3K27me3 peaks at BARHL1 and ARV1 are specifically deposited by PRC2.1 and PRC2.2, respectively. This specificity is observed genome wide.

Distinct specificity and functions of PRC2 subcomplexes in human stem cells and cardiac differentiation Much et al. reveal that the PRC2 subcomplexes PRC2.1 and PRC2.2 play distinct roles in the epigenetic repression of developmental genes in human stem cells. Interactions between the PRC2 core and its ...

Excited to share our work on the specificity of PRC2 subcomplexes in stem cell and differentiation. We show that PRC2.1 and PRC2.2 exhibit distinct H3K27 methylation specificity in human pluripotent stem cells and opposing role in differentiation. Now online at Mol Cell: www.cell.com/molecular-ce...

We are excited to share our new preprint demonstrating that nucleic acid interactions with SUZ12 constrain PRC2 activity, establishing a kinetic buffer essential for targeted gene silencing and revealing vulnerabilities in diffuse midline gliomas.
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

It provides compelling evidence that the PRC2 subcomplexes act non-redundantly and regulate lineage-specific gene expression through distinct macromolecular interactions. Thanks to our collaborator and neighbor Dr. Geoff Pitt @geoffrey-pitt.bsky.social !

We use a human pluripotent stem cell model and a serial of CRISPR-mediated separation‐of‐function mutants to reveal that distinct Polycomb Repressive Complex 2 (PRC2) subcomplexes (PRC2.1 and PRC2.2) differentially deposit H3K27me3 and oppositely affect cardiomyocyte differentiation.

Macromolecular interactions dictate Polycomb-mediated epigenetic repression The dynamic regulation of epigenetic states relies on complex macromolecular interactions. PRC2, the methyltransferase complex responsible for depositing H3K27me3, interacts with distinct accessory pr...

Excited to share a preprint from my lab on distinct specificity and functions of PRC2 subcomplexes: www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

Thanks for the recognition and kind words, Matthias!