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At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMedDate not supplied

[Electron microscope study of chromatin in hepatocyte nuclei during the first hours after partial hepatectomy. V. Changes in the relative area of condensed chromatin and the density of chromatin fibril packing in the ultrathin sections].

The degree of chromatin condensation was studied on ultrathin cell sections of guinea pig hepatocytes during the prereplicative period after partial hepatectomy. Three time points were chosen for analysis namely 2,5, 5 and 9 hrs after operation since they show marked increasing (2.5 hrs), decreasing (5 hrs) and repeated increasing (9 hrs) of the amount of ethidium bromide binding to chromatin. The degree of chromatin condensation was determined by measuring the area occupied by condensed chromatin and also by measuring the number of chromatin fibrils per a certain length. The condensed chromatin with varying localization in the nucleus were studied separately. The changes of nucleoplasmic chromatin were most pronounced: at 2.5 and 9 hrs after operation the decrease of the relative area and of the density of chromatin fibrils package was observed; these parameters were near to control at 5 hrs after operation. In general the changes in nucleoplasmic chromatin were correlated with the changes of the activity of the chromatin in the whole nucleus. The decondensation of the perimembranous chromatin was manifested in the decrease of its area and was expressed only at 9 hrs after operation. The perinucleolar chromatin was found to show the gradual decondensation which was manifested mainly by the decrease of its relative area. Thus the condensed chromatin seems to be a labile structure which undergoes essential changes in the process of the exit of the hepatocytes from G0-stage of the cell cycle, during the prereplicative period.

Animals↗

PubMed2002

Organization of higher-level chromatin structures (chromomere, chromonema and chromatin block) examined using visible light-induced chromatin photo-stabilization.

The method of chromatin photo-stabilization by the action of visible light in the presence of ethidium bromide was used for investigation of higher-level chromatin structures in isolated nuclei. As a model we used rat hepatocyte nuclei isolated in buffers which stabilized or destabilized nuclear matrix. Several higher-level chromatin structures were visualized: 100nm globules-chromomeres, chains of chromomeres-chromonemata, aggregates of chromomeres-blocks of condensed chromatin. All these structures were completely destroyed by 2M NaCl extraction independent of the matrix state, and DNA was extruded from the residual nuclei (nuclear matrices) into a halo. These results show that nuclear matrix proteins do not play the main role in the maintenance of higher-level chromatin structures. Preliminary irradiation led to the reduction of the halo width in the dose-dependent manner. In regions of condensed chromatin of irradiated nucleoids there were discrete complexes consisting of DNA fibers radiating from an electron-dense core and resembling the decondensed chromomeres or the rosette-like structures. As shown by the analysis of proteins bound to irradiated nuclei upon high-salt extraction, irradiation presumably stabilized the non-histone proteins. These results suggest that in interphase nuclei loop domains are folded into discrete higher-level chromatin complexes (chromomeres). These complexes are possibly maintained by putative non-histone proteins, which are extracted with high-salt buffers from non-irradiated nuclei.

Animals↗

PubMed2000

[The study of chromatin and chromosome structure on preparations of interphase nucleus derivatives resulting from nuclear wall removal.III Structural heterogeneity of chromatin and argyrophilic zone of the nucleolus in stretched membrane-free nuclei and chromatin bodies from human peripheral lymphocytes].

Viewed by light microscopy, the majority of lymphocytes in smears of human peripheral blood display a deep staining (with any chromatin- or DNA-specific dye) of the nucleus consisting of densely aggregated chromatin in addition to one or several small nucleoli with a dot- or spot-like argyrophilic zone. Amembraneous nuclei and "free chromatin" structures were isolated from intact lymphocytes gently treated with Triton X-100. Surface stretching of both these nuclei and structures, shortly fixed in methanol--glacial acetic acid (3:1), resulted in spatial separation of thin and thick chromatin or argyrophilic fibres, nucleoli, intranuclear bodies, polymorphous aggregations of chromatin or argyrophilic fibres and incidentally observed splitted or beaded thick chromatin fibres and the chromocenter. The light microscopic pattern of chromatin fibres of stretched amembraneous nuclei, isolated from peripheral lymphocytes, well compares with that of deconvolved images of intact lymphocyte nucleus obtained with optical tomography.

Cell Nucleus↗

PubMed1976

Chromatin structure: a property of the higher structures of chromatin and in the time course of its formation during chromatin replication.

The action of a number of enzymes and metals on one nuclear preparation were interpreted in terms of the existence of a fragile but highly DNAase-I resistant feature of chromatin superstructure. The generation of this DNAase-I resistance feature of chromatin was then followed during normal DNA synthesis in the regenerating rat liver by following the disappearance of a transitory DNAase-I susceptible state. This transitory, DNAase-I susceptible state appears to be extremely similar to the post-synthetic, DNAase-I susceptible state that has been described in He La32.

Animals↗

PubMed2000

[The study of chromatin and chromosome structure on preparations of interphase nucleus derivatives resulting from nuclear wall removal. IV. Structural heterogeneity of stretched chromatin in membrane-free cell nuclei from human peripheral lymphocytes].

Densely aggregated chromatin of mature human or animal peripheral lymphocytes is inaccessible for structural investigation on preparations of both intact cell and conventionally spread chromatin. Giemsa- and DAPI-positive "free chromatin" structures, in addition to amembraneous nuclei, were isolated from intact lymphocytes gently treated with Triton-X-100. Surface stretching of both these nuclei and structures, shortly fixed in methanol-glacial acetic acid (3:1), revealed three main types of these "free chromatin" structures: dense chromatin structures (DCS), loose chromatin structures (LCS) and nuclear spreads (NS). The share of each nuclear derivative may be shifted by changing either detergent concentration and(or) the time of incubation in detergent solution. Each DSC consists of condensed "residual" nucleus, similar in from and size with an intact lymphocyte nucleus, and involves 1-15 uni- or olygonemic chromatin sprouts of different length. LSC contain heterogeneously loosened spindle-shape or drop-like nuclei, being several times longer and wider than DCS-nuclei, and 1-3 long uni- or olygonemic chromatin tail-pieces and incidentally observed lateral chromatin sprouts. The majority of LCS contain either a chromocenter of different number of end-to-end associated spindle-shape domains of condensed chromatin. The latter reached 2-5 x 1.5 microns being cross-striated or spiral in structure. NS represent spread chromatin fibrillar structures varying from 150 to 500 microns in length and from 1.5 to almost 50 microns in width. NS consist of 0.3-0.4 micron smooth and 0.4-0.8 micron beaded chromatin fibres. Thin fibres produce web-like domains of NS. and thick fibres form olygonemic bundles or end-to-end association of unit chromatin fibres within NS. Some portion of thick unit fibres of NS gave rise to local splitting into two thin fibres with a similar bead patterns. Thick argyrophilic fibers of the nucleolus also displayed a beaded structure and commonly spread hand-in-hand with the basic chromatin fibre aggregations.

Cell Nucleus↗

PubMed1997

Structure of active chromatin: higher-order folding of transcriptionally active chromatin in control and hypothyroid rat liver.

Investigation have been carried out into the salt-induced higher-order folding in the transcriptionally active chromatin region of rat liver nuclei by nuclease digestion, sedimentation and CD. The sensitivity of active chromatin in nuclei to micrococcal nuclease was suppressed by raising the ionic strength from 25 to 90 mM, indicating the occurrence of salt-induced condensation. The rate of sedimentation of fractionated inactive chromatin fragments of both moderate (approximately 3.5 kbp) and large (approximately 8.8 kbp) size increased maximally to the same extent, while that of active chromatin fragments was dependent on their size. The rate of sedimentation of moderately sized active chromatin fragments (approximately 5.5 kbp) showed a maximal 15% increase at 90 mM ionic strength. In contrast, a large increase (at least 60%) in the sedimentation rate of large active chromatin fragments (approximately 21 kbp) was observed at 65 mM ionic strength. A reasonable degree of higher-order folding was observed in large active chromatin fragment even at 25 mM ionic strength. On considering the percentage increase in sedimentation rate as a measure of the higher-order folding of chromatin, a different type of higher-order folding was observed in active chromatin fragments. Although the percentage increase in sedimentation decreased from 40 to 24% with an increase in the size of active chromatin from approximately 3 to approximately 9 kbp, a further increase in size up to 16 kbp brought the percentage increase back to 40%. CD studies agreed with the conclusions drawn from sedimentation studies. Active chromatin from hypothyroid rats showed similar folding behaviour, but the order of folding was slightly lower than for control active chromatin, at all sizes.

Animals↗

PubMed2006

The ISWI and CHD1 chromatin remodelling activities influence ADH2 expression and chromatin organization.

Nucleosome remodelling complexes play a key role in gene activation in response to environmental changes by driving promoter chromatin to reach an accessible configuration. They also mediate genome-wide chromatin organization, although their role in processes other than activation-related chromatin remodelling are poorly understood. The Saccharomyces cerevisiae ADH2 gene represents an excellent model for understanding the role of chromatin structure and remodelling in gene regulation. Following glucose depletion, highly positioned promoter nucleosomes are destabilized leading to strictly regulated kinetics of transcriptional activation. Nevertheless, no chromatin remodelling activities responsible for establishing or remodelling ADH2 chromatin structure have been identified to date. Here we show that the absence of the Isw1 and Chd1 ATP-dependent chromatin remodelling activities delays the maximal expression of ADH2 without impairing the chromatin remodelling that occurs upon activation. Instead, a destabilized chromatin structure on the ADH2 coding and termination region is observed in the absence of Isw1 or Chd1 in repressing conditions. The specific Isw1 complex involved in this nucleosome repositioning is Isw1b because the deletion of Ioc2 and Ioc4, but not of Ioc3, causes the same phenotype as the deletion of Isw1. Moreover, the lack of Chd1 combined with the absence of Isw1 and Isw2 impairs nucleosome spacing along the ADH2 gene, and genome-wide in S. cerevisiae. Thus, the ISWI and Chd1 remodelling factors are not only involved in transcription-related chromatin remodelling, but also are required to maintain a specific chromatin configuration across the yeast genome.

Adenosine Triphosphatases↗

PubMed1976

Identification of nonhistone chromatin proteins in chromatin subunits.

Rat liver chromatin was digested by micrococcal nuclease. More than 80% of the enzyme-digested chromatin could be recovered after centrifugation. Treatment with sodium deoxycholate and Triton X-100 at concentrations of 0.5% in the final chromatin suspension gave a higher recovery. Chromatin subunits were fractionated on a 5-30% linear sucrose density gradient. Approximately 35% of the chromatin subunits could be recovered from the gradient. Chromatin subunits and their DNA fragments were identified by gel electrophoresis and ultracentrifugation. The presence of nonhistone chromatin proteins (NHCP) in chromatin subunits was demonstrated by the following criteria: (i) Quantitative analysis showed that the mass ratio of histone to NHCP, in the presence or absence of detergents, was 1:0,25 or 1:0.1, respectively. (ii) After the removal of acid-soluble protein from the subunits, it was found that most of the phenol-soluble NHCP were similar to total chromatin NHCP. However, four major fractions of these phenol-soluble NHCP were found to be enriched in the subunits as identified by two-dimensional polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. (iii) Experiments using an exchange of isotope-labeled and nonlabeled chromatin showed that NHCP were tightly bound to the chromatin subunits.

Animals↗

PubMed2002

Effects of fast neutrons on chromatin: dependence on chromatin structure.

The effects of fast neutrons (10-100 Gy) on chromatin extracted from normal (liver of Wistar rats) and tumor (Walker carcinosarcoma maintained on Wistar rats) tissues were compared. The spectroscopic assays used were (i) chromatin intrinsic fluorescence, (ii) time-resolved fluorescence of chromatin - proflavine complexes, and (iii) fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) between dansyl chloride and acridine orange coupled to chromatin. For both normal and tumor chromatin, the intensity of intrinsic fluorescence specific for acidic and basic proteins decreased with increasing dose. The relative contributions of the excited-state lifetime of proflavine bound to chromatin were reduced upon fast-neutron irradiation, indicating a decrease in the proportion of chromatin DNA available for ligand binding. The Forster energy transfer efficiencies were also modified by irradiation. These effects were larger for chromatin from tumor tissue. In the range 0-100 Gy, fast neutrons induced alterations in DNA and acidic and basic proteins, as well as in global chromatin structure. The radiosensitivity of chromatin extracted from tumor tissue seems to be higher than that of chromatin extracted from normal tissue, probably because of its higher euchromatin (loose)--heterochromatin (compact) ratio.

Algorithms↗

PubMedDate not supplied

[Structure of the interphase chromatin in Bursaria truncatella macronucleus. I. Electron microscopic and autoradiographic study of the structural chromatin changes during differentiation and growth after division].

The structure of interphase chromatin from isolated individual macronuclei of Bursaria truncatella was studied at different moments after cell division. During the period 0,5-3 hours after division most of the macronuclear chromatin is represented by loose agglomerations of decondensed chromatin, where transcription complexes can be seen. The maximum quantity of decondensed chromatin is observed 0,5-1,5 hours after cell division. During the period 1,5-3 hours after the division the part of decondensed chromatin decreases along with the increase of the quantity of dense chromatin organized in chromatin clumps 0,12-0,18 mu in diameter. In completely developed vegetative cells nearly all the chromatin has the structure of closely packed chromatin clumps. Electronmicroscopic autoradiography data show that chromatin clumps are transcriptionally inert, whereas all the transcription processes take place in decondensed chromatin agglomerations. The structure of transcription complexes of B. truncatella macronucleus is discussed in detail.

Animals↗

PubMed1979

Chromatin substructure: an electron microscopic study of thin-sectioned chromatin subjected to sequential protein extraction and water swelling procedures.

Electron microscopic observations and measurements were made on thin-sectioned chromatin fibers and fibrils obtained from nuclei of mature chicken erythrocytes. The nuclei were isolated in low ionic strength gum arabic and octanol then extracted sequentially with (1) 0.14 M NaCl, (2) 0.25 N HCl, (3) buffer saturated phenol, (4) hot 5% SDS and 0.14 M 2-mercaptoethanol and, (5) 0.4 N NaOH. The amount of nuclear protein removed at each of the first four extraction steps was 1, 86, 3 and 11% of the total, respectively. Each extract was characterized by electrophoretic profiles. At each extraction the chromatin was fixed by adding large quantities of a mixture of equal volumes of sodium cacodylate buffered 8% (w/v) glutaraldehyde (pH 6.8) and 2% OsO4 (w/v), directly into (1) an aliquot of the chromatin in extraction fluid, and (2) an aliquot of the chromatin after water washing and swelling. Three size classes of chromatin structure were seen in thin sections prepared for high resolution transmission electron microscopy and stained with uranyl acetate and lead citrate. A thick fiber of about 25 + nm diameter was the predominant large fiber seen in freshly isolated nuclei or in nuclei after salt extraction. This 25 + nm fiber has a substructure consisting of 3.2-5.2 nm diameter fibrils. After water swelling of such freshly isolated or salt extracted nuclei a fiber of about 10 nm diameter was the predominant large fiber instead of the 25 nm diameter fiber. The HCl extraction step which is known to remove histones, caused the disappearance of both the 25 nm and the 10 nm fibers. High magnification (600,000 x) micrographs of the chromatin at all procedural steps, except the last NaOH step, reveal the fibril to be omnipresent. This fibril tends to decrease somewhat in diameter during the protein extraction steps to a 2.5 nm diameter fibril after the hot SDS extraction. A fibril of 2.5 nm diameter is expected of naked double helical DNA stained with a positive stain. The NaOH, which is known to denature DNA, completely destroyed the remaining fibril. We inerpret our results to indicate that the larger chromatin fiber seen in micrographs of thin-sectioned chromatin has a fibrillar substructure which probably represents a double coil of native DNA which may have a thin protein coating of its own. The latter fibril may in turn be wrapped around a hydrophobic histone domain, perhaps reflected in the 10 nm diameter fiber which is seen upon swelling of the chromatin. This 10 nm diameter fiber is thought to be further packaged by folding into the 25 + nm diameter chromatin fiber most frequently reported in thin sections of eukaryotic cell nuclei in situ.

Animals↗

PubMed1980

DNA synthesis in isolated chromatin. Nature of activities, and relationship to kinetics of DNA polymerase release from chromatin DNA.

Chromatin isolated from Ehrlich ascites tumor cells showed two DNA synthetic activities differing in sensitivity to N-ethylmaleimide. For studies on the nature of activities and relationship to kinetics of DNA polymerase, a new method was developed for detecting the activity of DNA polymerase released from chromatin DNA during DNA synthesis in vitro. The activity of DNA polymerase released was measured in a reaction mixture for DNA synthesis using exogenously added poly(dA-dT) as a template-primer in the presence of actinomycin D. Evidence that the DNA polymerase released was actually involved in DNA synthesis of chromatin was obtained in experiments using chromatin isolated from cells treated with various concentrations of 1-beta-D-arabinofuranosylcytosine and chromatin from adult mouse liver. The experiments showed that chromatin isolated from cells in which only small amount of DNA polymerase was engaged in DNA synthesis released a negligible amount of DNA polymerase, especially N-ethylmaleimide-sensitive polymerase. Kinetic analysis of DNA polymerase during chromatin DNA synthesis by the new method suggested that KCl at the optimal concentration (10-20 mM) for the N-ethylmaleimide-sensitive chromatin activity enhanced the binding of the N-ethylmaleimide-sensitive DNA polymerase to chromatin DNA. From the findings that addition of actinomycin D or omission of dNTPs from the preincubation mixture prevents this binding, it is suggested that the binding of DNA polymerase is followed by the DNA chain synthesis and that the DNA polymerase involved in this reaction is N-ethylmaleimide sensitive. Data on the effect of KCl on the rate of chromatin DNA synthesis and on the size of the DNA chain favor this assumption.

Animals↗

PubMed1987

Perturbation of chromatin structure in the region of the adult beta-globin gene in chicken erythrocyte chromatin.

An EcoRI chromatin fragment containing the adult beta-globin gene and flanking sequences, isolated from chicken erythrocyte nuclei, sediments at a reduced rate relative to bulk chromatin fragments of the same size. We show that the specific retardation cannot be reversed by adding extra linker histones to native chromatin. When the chromatin fragments are unfolded either by removing linker histones or lowering the ionic strength, the difference between globin and bulk chromatin fragments is no longer seen. The refolded chromatin obtained by restoring the linker histones to the depleted chromatin, however, exhibits the original sedimentation difference. This difference is therefore due to a special property of the histone octamers on the active gene that determines the extent of its folding into higher-order structure. That it is not due to the differential binding of linker histones in vitro is shown by measurements of the protein to DNA ratios using CsCl density-gradients. Both before and after selective removal of the linker histones, the globin gene fragment and bulk chromatin fragments exhibit only a marginal difference in buoyant density. In addition, we show that cleavage of the EcoRI fragment by digestion at the 5' and 3' nuclease hypersensitive sites flanking the globin gene liberates a fragment from between these sites that sediments normally. We conclude that the hypersensitive sites per se are responsible for the reduction in sedimentation rate. The non-nucleosomal DNA segments appear to be too long to be incorporated into the chromatin solenoid and thus create spacers between separate solenoidal elements in the chromatin, which can account for its hydrodynamic behaviour.

Animals↗

PubMed2004

Chromatin architecture of the human genome: gene-rich domains are enriched in open chromatin fibers.

We present an analysis of chromatin fiber structure across the human genome. Compact and open chromatin fiber structures were separated by sucrose sedimentation and their distributions analyzed by hybridization to metaphase chromosomes and genomic microarrays. We show that compact chromatin fibers originate from some sites of heterochromatin (C-bands), and G-bands (euchromatin). Open chromatin fibers correlate with regions of highest gene density, but not with gene expression since inactive genes can be in domains of open chromatin, and active genes in regions of low gene density can be embedded in compact chromatin fibers. Moreover, we show that chromatin fiber structure impacts on further levels of chromatin condensation. Regions of open chromatin fibers are cytologically decondensed and have a distinctive nuclear organization. We suggest that domains of open chromatin may create an environment that facilitates transcriptional activation and could provide an evolutionary constraint to maintain clusters of genes together along chromosomes.

Cell Line↗

PubMed1985

Differences in the condensation of chromatin by individual subfractions of histone H1: implications for the role of H1(0) in the structural organization of chromatin.

The effectiveness of histone H1 subfractions H1-1 and H1(0) in inducing the ordered condensation of chromatin was examined by thermal denaturation, circular dichroism, electric birefringence, orientation mechanism, and orientational relaxation time measurements. Soluble rat liver chromatin was stripped of H1 by dissociation in 500 mM NaCl and long fragments of chromatin were subsequently reassociated with purified individual H1 subfractions for ratios of 1 and 2 mol of H1 per nucleosome. H1 subfractions behave differently with respect to their interactions with DNA in chromatin: although the orientation mechanisms of reconstituted chromatins are identical, H1(0) induces a less efficient protection of DNA than H1-1, as shown by nuclease digestion and by the length of free extended linker DNA determined by electric birefringence. This corresponds to a more extended structure of H1(0)-reconstituted chromatin as judged by the value of relaxation time. One can imagine that the replacement of H1 by H1(0) leads to a different structure or stability of the chromatin, confering a certain degree of flexibility of this region. This may be related to the functional role of H1(0) in DNA replication or transcription and may explain metabolic and evolutionary differences among H1 subfractions as recently suggested by Lennox [Lennox, R. W. (1984) J. Biol. Chem. 259, 669-672]. The extent of condensation when H1-depleted chromatin is overloaded with histones is probably a function of the electrostatic interactions between the basic C-terminal tails of histones and chromatin. Electric birefringence also reveals differences between native and reconstituted chromatins that are overlooked by several other criteria.

Animals↗

PubMed1977

The structure of chromatin: interaction of ethidium bromide with native and denatured chromatin.

The binding of ethidium bromide, as monitored by fluorescence enhancement, to chromatin prepared by nuclease digestion has been compared with the binding of the dye to sheared chromatin. The nuclease preparation (native chromatin) is characterized by a high affinity region of the Scatchard plot (r = 0-0.025, K1 = 1 X 10(6) M-1), a transition (r = 0.025-0.05), and a low affinity region (r = 0.05-0.12, K2 = 3 X 10(5) M-1). The final amount of ethidium bromide bound per base is 0.12 as compared with 0.20 for free DNA. Sheared chromatin has the two regions of high and low affinity (K1 = 2 X 10(6) M-1, K2 = 5 X 10(5) M-1) as originally shown by Angerer and Moudrianakis (1972), but the transition is much reduced or absent. Binding of the dye to native chromatin is independent of salt at concentrations ranging from 0.2 mM EDTA to 10 mM Tris-Cl, 10 mM NaCl, 0.2 mM EDTA, while sheared chromatin and DNA both bind ethidium bromide electrostatically as well as by intercalation at the low salt concentration, leading to extensive energy transfer. Thus the phosphate groups in native chromatin are unavailable to external cations even at very low salt. Polarization of fluorescence of ethidium bromide intercalated into native chromatin at low r is very high, indicating a highly rigid structure. As r approaches 0.02, there is a very rapid depolarization; at r = 0.03, the polarization is no greater than that of the dye intercalated into DNA. Depolarization is not due to energy transfer. The Scatchard plot derived for the bulk preparation of native chromatin is very similar to the one derived for the monomer nu body. These results indicate that the DNA in native chromatin is in a very rigid form, with its phosphate anions neutralized by structural components, not by free salt. Ethidium bromide intercalation appears partially to disrupt this structure, perhaps by unwinding, leading to slight changes in its properties.

Binding Sites↗

PubMed2004

Global nature of dynamic protein-chromatin interactions in vivo: three-dimensional genome scanning and dynamic interaction networks of chromatin proteins.

Genome structure and gene expression depend on a multitude of chromatin-binding proteins. The binding properties of these proteins to native chromatin in intact cells are largely unknown. Here, we describe an approach based on combined in vivo photobleaching microscopy and kinetic modeling to analyze globally the dynamics of binding of chromatin-associated proteins in living cells. We have quantitatively determined basic biophysical properties, such as off rate constants, residence time, and bound fraction, of a wide range of chromatin proteins of diverse functions in vivo. We demonstrate that most chromatin proteins have a high turnover on chromatin with a residence time on the order of seconds, that the major fraction of each protein is bound to chromatin at steady state, and that transient binding is a common property of chromatin-associated proteins. Our results indicate that chromatin-binding proteins find their binding sites by three-dimensional scanning of the genome space and our data are consistent with a model in which chromatin-associated proteins form dynamic interaction networks in vivo. We suggest that these properties are crucial for generating high plasticity in genome expression.

Animals↗

PubMed1995

Fluorescence image analysis of the MCF-7 cycle related changes in chromatin texture. Differences between AT- and GC-rich chromatin.

This paper reports on quantitative in situ changes in chromatin structure that occur throughout the cell cycle of the human breast cancer epithelial cell line, MCF-7. Texture parameters were measured by image cytometry on nuclei stained by DNA specific fluorochromes. These parameters calculated from the co-occurrence and run length matrices of grey level images were previously shown to be related to condensation, organization and distribution of DNA. In some experiments, cells were triple stained for DNA/Ki-67/PCNA, and compartmentalization in the cycle was ascertained from the Ki-67/PCNA pattern expression. In these experiments, Hoechst dye was used to stain DNA. Chromatin of cells traversing G1 phase progressively decondensed and became homogeneously distributed. In addition, these G1 cells had more condensed chromatin than cells in G0 phase (as determined by Ki-67 negative staining). During the S and G2 phases, chromatin condensation took place and an increasing reticulated organization was quantified. Similar profile of changes in chromatin texture was found in experiments done with cells double stained by AT-specific Hoechst dye and the GC-specific mithramycin dye. GC-rich chromatin texture-associated parameters greatly varied comparing to those of AT-rich chromatin during the G0/G1 phase as well as in the first mid-S phase. Conversely, variation of the AT-associated parameters was much greater in the second half of S phase as compared to the GC-associated parameters that barely varied during this period. This study well establishes the correlation between in situ chromatin texture and proliferation state because the latter is assessed by proliferation-associated antigens. Moreover, changes in chromatin texture are independently ascribed to the AT- and GC-rich regions suggesting that these 2 types of chromatin are involved to different extents in transcriptional and replicational tasks.

Base Composition↗