Transcription factor competition at the γ-globin promoters controls hemoglobin switching

BCL11A, the major regulator of HbF(α(2)γ(2)) level, represses γ-globin expression through direct promoter binding in adult erythroid cells in a switch to adult-type HbA (α(2)β(2)). To uncover how BCL11A initiates repression, we used CRISPR/Cas9, dCas9, dCas9-KRAB, and dCas9-VP64 screens to dissect the γ-globin promoters and identified an activator element near the BCL11A binding site. Using CUT&RUN and base editing, we demonstrate that a proximal CCAAT box is occupied by the activator NF-Y. BCL11A competes with NF-Y binding through steric hindrance to initiate repression. Occupancy of NF-Y is rapidly established upon BCL11A depletion, and precedes γ-globin derepression and LCR-globin loop formation. Our findings reveal that the switch from fetal-to-adult globin gene expression within the >50 kb β-globin gene cluster is initiated by competition between a stage-selective repressor and a ubiquitous activating factor within a remarkably discrete region of the γ-globin promoters.