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Bryan M Turner

Publications and source records attributed to Bryan M Turner.

10 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2003

X-linked genes in female embryonic stem cells carry an epigenetic mark prior to the onset of X inactivation.

We use chromatin immunoprecipitation to show that genes on the two active X chromosomes in undifferentiated, XX female embryonic stem cells (ES cells) are marked by hyperacetylation of all core histones, hyper(di)methylation of H3 lysine 4 and hypo(di)methylation of H3 lysine 9, compared with autosomal genes or genes on the single active X in XY male cells. The mark is found on both coding and promoter regions. On differentiation, and after the onset of X inactivation, the mark is reversed on the inactive X, whose genes show extreme hypoacetylation of all four core histones, hypo(di)methylation of H3K4 and hyper(di)methylation of H3K9. The mark is retained on the active X in female ES cells for at least several days of differentiation, but is not present in adult females. The selective marking of X-linked genes in female ES cells in a way that distinguishes them from the equivalent genes in males, is unprecedented. We suggest that the mark forms part of a chromatin-based mechanism that restricts X-inactivation to cells with more than one X chromosome.

Acetylation↗
PubMed2003

Immunoprecipitation of native chromatin: NChIP.

Chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP) is widely used in many fields to analyze the distribution of specific proteins, or their modified isoforms, across defined DNA domains. ChIP procedures fall into two main categories, namely, those that use native chromatin prepared by nuclease digestion (designated NChIP), and those that use chromatin in which DNA and proteins are crosslinked, either chemically or with UV light (designated XChIP). Each procedure has its own advantages and drawbacks. Here, we outline the methods currently in use in our laboratory to isolate and immunoprecipitate native chromatin from cultured cells, and to isolate and analyze immunoprecipitated protein and DNA.

Animals↗
PubMed2003

Histone modifications in Arabidopsis- high methylation of H3 lysine 9 is dispensable for constitutive heterochromatin.

N-terminal modifications of nucleosomal core histones are involved in gene regulation, DNA repair and recombination as well as in chromatin modeling. The degree of individual histone modifications may vary between specific chromatin domains and throughout the cell cycle. We have studied the nuclear patterns of histone H3 and H4 acetylation and of H3 methylation in Arabidopsis. A replication-linked increase of acetylation only occurred at H4 lysine 16 (not for lysines 5 and 12) and at H3 lysine 18. The last was not observed in other plants. Strong methylation at H3 lysine 4 was restricted to euchromatin, while strong methylation at H3 lysine 9 occurred preferentially in heterochromatic chromocenters of Arabidopsis nuclei. Chromocenter appearance, DNA methylation and histone modification patterns were similar in nuclei of wild-type and kryptonite mutant (which lacks H3 lysine 9-specific histone methyltransferase), except that methylation at H3 lysine 9 in heterochromatic chromocenters was reduced to the same low level as in euchromatin. Thus, a high level of H3methylK9 is apparently not necessary to maintain chromocenter structure and does not prevent methylation of H3 lysine 4 within Arabidopsis chromocenters.

Arabidopsis↗
PubMed2002

Molecular and cytogenetic analysis of the spreading of X inactivation in X;autosome translocations.

We have performed detailed studies of the spreading of X inactivation in five unbalanced human X;autosome translocations. Using allele-specific RT-PCR we observed long-range silencing of autosomal genes located up to 45 Mb from the translocation breakpoint, directly demonstrating the ability of X inactivation to spread in cis through autosomal DNA. Spreading of gene silencing occurred in either a continuous or discontinuous fashion in different cases, suggesting that some autosomal DNA is resistant to the X inactivation signal. This spread of inactivation was accompanied by, but not dependent upon, CpG island methylation. Observations of late-replication, histone acetylation and histone methylation show that X inactivation can spread in the absence of cytogenetic features normally associated with the inactive X. However, the distribution of histone modifications which distinguish the inactive X are more accurate cytogenetic measures of the spread of X inactivation than late-replication. Overall, despite remarkable variation in the spread of X inactivation among the five cases there was good correlation between the pattern of gene silencing and the attenuation of clinical phenotype associated with each partial autosomal trisomy. We discuss our observations in the context of hypotheses which address the spread of X inactivation.

Cell Line, Transformed↗
PubMed2002

Human CD34+ hematopoietic progenitor cells hyperacetylate core histones in response to sodium butyrate, but not trichostatin A.

Cells positive for the cell surface marker CD34 from bone marrow or umbilical cord blood form a subset of quiescent, hematopoetic precursors that can establish human hematopoesis in immunodeficient mice and can progress down various differentiation pathways in vitro. They provide a valuable model system in which progression from quiescent to cycling to differentiated states can be linked to changes in chromatin and histone modification. We have used the deacetylase inhibitor sodium butyrate to show that turnover of histone H4 acetates is rapid and comparable in quiescent and cycling CD34+ cells from human umbilical cord blood (CD34+ UBC). Surprisingly, the widely used inhibitor trichostatin A (TSA) had little (cycling cells) or no (quiescent cells) effect on H4 acetylation in CD34+ UBC. Among five cell types examined, CD34+ UBC were unique in expressing all (putative) deacetylases tested (HDAC1, -2, -3, -4, -6, -7, and -8 and SIRT1-4), but no single deacetylase correlated with their TSA resistance. Also, HDAC1, -2, -3, and -6 complexes isolated from CD34+ UBC by immunoprecipitation were all inhibited by TSA in vitro. Thus, TSA resistance of CD34+ UBC is not due to acquired or intrinsic TSA resistance of their deacetylases and may reflect an enhanced ability to process the drug.

Acetylation↗
PubMed2002

Cellular memory and the histone code.

The histone tails on the nucleosome surface are subject to enzyme-catalyzed modifications that may, singly or in combination, form a code specifying patterns of gene expression. Recent papers provide insights into how a combinatorial code might be set and read. They show how modification of one residue can influence that of another, even when they are located on different histones, and how modifications at specific genomic locations might be perpetuated on newly assembled chromatin.

Histones↗
PubMed2002

Inhibition of histone deacetylases alters allelic chromatin conformation at the imprinted U2af1-rs1 locus in mouse embryonic stem cells.

Most loci that are regulated by genomic imprinting have differentially methylated regions (DMRs). Previously, we showed that the DMRs of the mouse Snrpn and U2af1-rs1 genes have paternal allele-specific patterns of acetylation on histones H3 and H4. To investigate the maintenance of acetylation at these DMRs, we performed chromatin immunoprecipitation on trichostatin-A (TSA)-treated and control cells. In embryonic stem (ES) cells and fibroblasts, brief (6-h) TSA treatment induces global hyperacetylation of H3 and H4. In ES cells only, TSA led to a selective increase in maternal acetylation at U2af1-rs1, at lysine 5 of H4 and at lysine 14 of H3. TSA treatment of ES cells did not affect DNA methylation or expression of U2af1-rs1, but was sufficient to increase DNase I sensitivity along the maternal allele to a level comparable with that of the paternal allele. In fibroblasts, TSA did not alter U2af1-rs1 acetylation, and the parental alleles retained their differential DNase I sensitivity. At Snrpn, no changes in acetylation were observed in the TSA-treated cells. Our data suggest that the mechanisms regulating histone acetylation at DMRs are locus and developmental stage-specific and are distinct from those effecting global levels of acetylation. Furthermore, it seems that the allelic U2af1-rs1 acetylation determines DNase I sensitivity/chromatin conformation.

Acetylation↗
PubMed2002

Human class I histone deacetylase complexes show enhanced catalytic activity in the presence of ATP and co-immunoprecipitate with the ATP-dependent chaperone protein Hsp70.

Antibodies to histone deacetylases (HDACs) have been used to immuno-isolate deacetylase complexes from HeLa cell extracts. Complexes shown to contain HDAC1, HDAC3, HDAC6, and HDAC1+2 as their catalytic subunits have been used in an antibody-based assay that detects deacetylation of whole histones at defined lysines. The class II deacetylase HDAC6 was inactive in this assay, but the three class I enzymes deacetylated all histone lysines tested, although with varying efficiency. In comparison to HDAC1, HDAC3 preferentially deacetylated lysines 5 and 12 of H4 and lysine 5 of H2A. H4 tails in purified mononucleosomes were refractory to deacetylation by both HDAC1 and HDAC3, unless ATP was added to the reaction mix. Surprisingly, ATP also consistently enhanced cleavage of free, non-nucleosomal histones, but not small peptides, by both enzyme complexes. We found no evidence that ATP operates by phosphorylation of components of the HDAC complex, but have shown that HDACs 1, 2, and 3 all co-immunoprecipitate with the ATP-dependent chaperone protein Hsp70. Another common ATP-dependent chaperone, Hsp90, was absent from all HDAC complexes tested, whereas Hsp60 associated with HDAC1 only. We suggest that Hsp chaperone proteins enhance the deacetylase activity of HDAC complexes by ATP-dependent manipulation of protein substrates.

Acetylation↗