Zfp296 negatively regulates H3K9 methylation in embryonic development as a component of heterochromatin

The Cys2/His2-type zinc finger protein Zfp296 has been implicated in stem cell pluripotency and tumor pathogenesis. However, its mechanisms remain elusive. Here, we demonstrated that a Zfp296 deficiency in mice impairs germ-cell development and embryonic growth. Zfp296 was intracellularly localized to heterochromatin in embryos. A GST-Zfp296 pull-down experiment using ES cell nuclear extract followed by LC-MS/MS showed that Zfp296 interacts with component proteins of heterochromatin (such as HP1, Dnmt1, Dnmt3b, and ATRX) and the NuRD complex. We focused on H3K9 methylation as a hallmark of heterochromatin, and found that Zfp296 overexpression in cultured cells reduces the Suv39h1-mediated H3K9 methylation. Consistent with this finding, in Zfp296 −/− mouse embryos, we observed a global increase in H3K9 methylation in a developmental stage-dependent manner, and showed, by ChIP-qPCR, that the H3K9me3 levels at major satellite repeats were elevated in Zfp296 −/− embryos. Our results demonstrate that Zfp296 is a component of heterochromatin that affects embryonic development by negatively regulating H3K9 methylation.