Phosphorylation of TET2 by AMPK is indispensable in myogenic differentiation

BACKGROUND: TET-mediated oxidation of 5-mC participates in both passive and active DNA demethylation, which exerts a significant influence on diverse biological processes. Mass spectrometry has identified multiple phosphorylation sites of TET2. However, the functions of these phosphosites and their corresponding kinases are mostly unknown. RESULTS: Here, we showed that AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) phosphorylates murine TET2 at the serine residue 97 (S97), and the phosphorylation enhances TET2 stability through promoting its binding to 14-3-3β. AMPK ablation resulted in decreased global 5-hmC levels at the myotube stages, severe differentiation defects of C2C12 cells and significantly, total loss of expression of Pax7. Genome-wide analyses revealed increased DNA methylation at genic and enhancer regions of AMPK-null myoblasts and myotubes. Using CRISPR/Cas9 technology, we showed that a novel enhancer, which is hypermethylated in AMPK-null cells, regulates Pax7 expression. The phospho-mimicking mutant, TET2-S97E, could partly rescue the differentiation defect in AMPK-ablated C2C12 cells. CONCLUSIONS: Together, our data demonstrated that AMPK is a critical regulator of myogenesis, partly through phosphorylating TET2. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (10.1186/s13072-019-0281-x) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.