IRF2 ChIP seq in mouse intestinal stem cells (ISCs)

To examine whether IRF2, a negative regulator of IFN signaling, constitutively represses IFN signaling by binding IFN-inducible gene loci in ISCs, we performed a genome-wide chromatin immunoprecipitation/DNA sequencing (ChIP-Seq) analysis of IRF2 in Lgr5 ISCs. We identified 381 binding peaks in these cells, including well-known IFN-inducible genes. Motif analysis showed significant enrichment of consensus-binding motifs for IRF transcription factors within these peaks. Within IRF2-occupied genes in ISCs, we identified 204 of experimentally validated IFN-inducible genes from Interferome database, and 10.8% of them were overlapped with the genes upregulated by type I IFN stimulation in ISCs. These findings indicated for the first time that IRF2 constitutively bound and repressed the sterile IFN signaling at the level of ISCs. Lgr5 ISCs prepared from five Lgr5ki mice were snap-frozen and shipped to Active Motif. Active Motif performed ChIP-seq according to their procedures using an anti-IRF2 antibody.