- Chen, Lei-Lei;
- Lin, Huai-Peng;
- Zhou, Wen-Jie;
- He, Chen-Xi;
- Zhang, Zhi-Yong;
- Cheng, Zhou-Li;
- Song, Jun-Bin;
- Liu, Peng;
- Chen, Xin-Yu;
- Xia, Yu-Kun;
- Chen, Xiu-Fei;
- Sun, Ren-Qiang;
- Zhang, Jing-Ye;
- Sun, Yi-Ping;
- Song, Lei;
- Liu, Bing-Jie;
- Du, Rui-Kai;
- Ding, Chen;
- Lan, Fei;
- Huang, Sheng-Lin;
- Zhou, Feng;
- Liu, Suling;
- Xiong, Yue;
- Ye, Dan;
- Guan, Kun-Liang
The TET2 DNA dioxygenase regulates gene expression by catalyzing demethylation of 5-methylcytosine, thus epigenetically modulating the genome. TET2 does not contain a sequence-specific DNA-binding domain, and how it is recruited to specific genomic sites is not fully understood. Here we carried out a mammalian two-hybrid screen and identified multiple transcriptional regulators potentially interacting with TET2. The SMAD nuclear interacting protein 1 (SNIP1) physically interacts with TET2 and bridges TET2 to bind several transcription factors, including c-MYC. SNIP1 recruits TET2 to the promoters of c-MYC target genes, including those involved in DNA damage response and cell viability. TET2 protects cells from DNA damage-induced apoptosis dependending on SNIP1. Our observations uncover a mechanism for targeting TET2 to specific promoters through a ternary interaction with a co-activator and many sequence-specific DNA-binding factors. This study also reveals a TET2-SNIP1-c-MYC pathway in mediating DNA damage response, thereby connecting epigenetic control to maintenance of genome stability.