Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41851118›Full record

ArticleNature communications2026

Polycomb repressive-deubiquitinase complex safeguards oocyte epigenome and female fertility by restraining Polycomb activity.

Jinwen Kang, Peiyao Liu, Shoko Ichimura, Lauryn Cook, Mengwen Hu, Satoshi H Namekawa, Zhiyuan Chen

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Nature communications, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
2citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

2 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Review
  2. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

7 authors.

Jinwen KangReproductive Sciences Center, Division of Developmental Biology, Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, OH, USA.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-2620-9286
Peiyao LiuReproductive Sciences Center, Division of Developmental Biology, Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, OH, USA.
Shoko IchimuraReproductive Sciences Center, Division of Developmental Biology, Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, OH, USA.
Lauryn CookReproductive Sciences Center, Division of Developmental Biology, Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, OH, USA.ORCID http://orcid.org/0009-0001-5233-3857
Mengwen HuDepartment of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics, University of California, Davis, CA, USA.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-7480-6432
Satoshi H NamekawaDepartment of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics, University of California, Davis, CA, USA.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-1052-943X
Zhiyuan ChenReproductive Sciences Center, Division of Developmental Biology, Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, OH, USA. zhiyuan.chen@cchmc.org.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-6756-1895

Funding

Understanding functions of LTR retrotransposon activation in preimplantation developmentR01HD118540 · NICHD · CINCINNATI CHILDRENS HOSP MED CTR · PI Zhiyuan Chen · 2025 to 2026
$804k
Genomic and functional analyses of Polycomb group proteins in mouse preimplantation developmentR00HD104902 · NICHD · CINCINNATI CHILDRENS HOSP MED CTR · PI CHEN, ZHIYUAN · 2023 to 2025
$670k
NICHD NIH HHS R00 HD104902NICHD NIH HHS R01 HD118540
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Mouse oocytes exhibit a unique chromatin landscape characterized by broad H3K27ac and H3K27me3 domains, demarcating euchromatin and facultative heterochromatin, respectively. However, the mechanisms underlying this non-canonical landscape remain elusive. Here we report BAP1, a core component of the Polycomb Repressive-Deubiquitinase (PR-DUB) complex, as a key negative regulator of Polycomb activity during oogenesis. BAP1 restricts pervasive H2AK119ub1 accumulation and protects oocyte-specific broad H3K27ac, particularly within gene-poor regions, from ectopic H3K27me3 deposition. While PR-DUB has been linked to gene repression, in oocytes BAP1 primarily promotes transcription and contributes minimally to Polycomb-mediated silencing. BAP1-dependent transcriptional activation during oogenesis is essential for oocyte developmental competence, maternal-to-zygotic transition, and female fertility. Notably, ectopic H3K27me3 domains established in BAP1-deficient oocytes persist in preimplantation embryos but are resolved after implantation, and loss of maternal BAP1 does not impair either canonical or non-canonical genomic imprinting. Together, these findings reveal a critical role for PR-DUB in safeguarding the oocyte epigenome by protecting euchromatin from ectopic Polycomb activity, rather than enforcing transcriptional repression.

Indexed as

FertilityOocytesPolycomb-Group ProteinsTumor Suppressor ProteinsUbiquitin ThiolesteraseAnimalsEpigenesis, GeneticFemaleGene Expression Regulation, DevelopmentalHistonesMiceOogenesisBAP1 protein, mouseHistonesPolycomb-Group ProteinsTumor Suppressor ProteinsUbiquitin Thiolesterase

Identifiers

PMID41851118
PMCPMC13153255

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.