BAP1 deubiquitinase is a potent repressor of fetal hemoglobin biosynthesis

Human globin gene production transcriptionally “switches” from fetal to adult synthesis shortly after birth, and is controlled by macromolecular complexes that enhance or suppress transcription by cis-elements scattered throughout the locus. The DRED repressor is recruited to the ε- and γ-globin promoters by the orphan nuclear receptors TR2 (NR2C1) and TR4 (NR2C2) to engender their silencing in adult erythroid cells. Here we found that nuclear receptor corepressor-1 (NCoR1) is a critical component of DRED that acts as a scaffold to unite the DNA binding and epigenetic enzyme components (e.g. DNMT1 and LSD1) that elicit DRED function. We also describe a potent new regulator of γ-globin repression: the deubiquitinase BAP1 is a component of the repressor complex whose activity maintains NCoR1 at sites in the β-globin locus, and BAP1 inhibition in erythroid cells massively induces γ-globin synthesis. These data provide new mechanistic insights through the discovery of novel epigenetic enzymes that mediate γ-globin gene repression.