TY - JOUR
T1 - Mammalian linker-histone subtypes differentially affect gene expression in vivo
AU - Alami, Raouf
AU - Fan, Yuhong
AU - Pack, Stephanie
AU - Sonbuchner, Timothy M.
AU - Besse, Arnaud
AU - Lin, Qingcong
AU - Greally, John M.
AU - Skoultchi, Arthur I.
AU - Bouhassira, Eric E.
PY - 2003/5/13
Y1 - 2003/5/13
N2 - Posttranslational modifications and remodeling of nucleosomes are critical factors in the regulation of transcription. Higher-order folding of chromatin also is likely to contribute to the control of gene expression, but the absence of a detailed description of the structure of the chromatin fiber has impaired progress in this area. Mammalian somatic cells contain a set of H1 linker-histone subtypes, H1 (0) and H1a to H1e, that bind to nucleosome core particles and to the linker DNA between nucleosomes. To determine whether the H1 histone subtypes play differential roles in the regulation of gene expression, we combined mice lacking specific H1 histone subtypes with mice carrying transgenes subject to position effects. Because position effects result from the unique chromatin structure created by the juxtaposition of regulatory elements in the transgene and at the site of integration, transgenes can serve as exquisitely sensitive indicators of chromatin structure. We report that some, but not all, linker histones can attenuate or accentuate position effects. The results suggest that the linker-histone subtypes play differential roles in the control of gene expression and that the sequential arrangement of the linker histones on the chromatin fiber might regulate higher-order chromatin structure and fine-tune expression levels.
AB - Posttranslational modifications and remodeling of nucleosomes are critical factors in the regulation of transcription. Higher-order folding of chromatin also is likely to contribute to the control of gene expression, but the absence of a detailed description of the structure of the chromatin fiber has impaired progress in this area. Mammalian somatic cells contain a set of H1 linker-histone subtypes, H1 (0) and H1a to H1e, that bind to nucleosome core particles and to the linker DNA between nucleosomes. To determine whether the H1 histone subtypes play differential roles in the regulation of gene expression, we combined mice lacking specific H1 histone subtypes with mice carrying transgenes subject to position effects. Because position effects result from the unique chromatin structure created by the juxtaposition of regulatory elements in the transgene and at the site of integration, transgenes can serve as exquisitely sensitive indicators of chromatin structure. We report that some, but not all, linker histones can attenuate or accentuate position effects. The results suggest that the linker-histone subtypes play differential roles in the control of gene expression and that the sequential arrangement of the linker histones on the chromatin fiber might regulate higher-order chromatin structure and fine-tune expression levels.
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U2 - 10.1073/pnas.0736105100
DO - 10.1073/pnas.0736105100
M3 - Article
C2 - 12719535
AN - SCOPUS:0037609662
SN - 0027-8424
VL - 100
SP - 5920
EP - 5925
JO - Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
JF - Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
IS - 10
ER -