Sin3a regulates the developmental progression through morula-to-blastocyst transition via Hdac1

Suppressor interacting 3a (Sin3a) is a scaffold component of the chromatin repressive complex Sin3/histone deacetylase (Hdac). Sin3a has been shown as a hub gene driving preimplantation development in both mice and humans. However, its precise functions during preimplantation development remain unclear. Here, we show that the embryos arrested at morula stage upon specific depletion of Sin3a in mouse early embryos. Given the reduced cell number in Sin3a-depleted embryos, blocked cell proliferation is observed, likely because of the increased level of Trp53 acetylation at lysine 379. Moreover, we found that Sin3a depletion reduces Cdx2 and Tir Na Nog (Nanog), suggesting a failure of the first cell fate decision. In addition, we noted a striking increase of genome-wide DNA methylation, likely attributed to the increased nuclear DNA methyltransferase 1 observed in Sin3a-depleted embryos. Notably, RNA sequencing analyses showed 717 genes are differentially expressed, and Gene Ontology analysis of down-regulated genes (e.g., Hdac1) revealed top enriched terms involving protein deacetylation. Consistently, we confirmed a significant decrease of Hdac1 mRNA and protein abundance. Importantly, the development and Trp53 acetylation in Sin3a-depleted embryos could be rescued by expression of Hdac1 but not Hdac2. In summary, our results indicate a vital role of Sin3a in safeguarding the developmental progression through the morula-to-blastocyst transition via Hdac1.-Zhao, P., Li, S., Wang, H., Dang, Y., Wang, L., Liu, T., Wang, S., Li, X., Zhang, K. Sin3a regulates the developmental progression through morula-to-blastocyst transition via Hdac1.