DPY30 acts as an ASH2L-specific stabilizer to stimulate the enzyme activity of MLL family methyltransferases on different substrates

Dumpy-30 (DPY30) is a conserved component of the mixed lineage leukemia (MLL) family complex and is essential for robust methyltransferase activity of MLL complexes. However, the biochemical role of DPY30 in stimulating methyltransferase activity of MLL complexes remains elusive. Here, we demonstrate that DPY30 plays a crucial role in regulating MLL1 activity through two complementary mechanisms: A nucleosome-independent mechanism and a nucleosome-specific mechanism. DPY30 functions as an ASH2L-specific stabilizer to increase the stability of ASH2L and enhance ASH2L-mediated interactions. As a result, DPY30 promotes the compaction and stabilization of the MLL1 complex, consequently increasing the HKMT activity of the MLL1 complex on diverse substrates. DPY30-stabilized ASH2L further acquires additional interfaces with H3 and nucleosomal DNA, thereby boosting the methyltransferase activity of the MLL1 complex on nucleosomes. These results collectively highlight the crucial and conserved roles of DPY30 in the complex assembly and activity regulation of MLL family complexes.