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Chromatin, which consists of DNA and associated proteins, contains genetic information and is a mechanical component of the nucleus. Heterochromatic histone methylation controls nucleus and chromosome stiffness, but the contribution of heterochromatin protein HP1α (CBX5) is unknown. We used a novel HP1α auxin-inducible degron human cell line to rapidly degrade HP1α. Degradation did not alter transcription, local chromatin compaction, or histone methylation, but did decrease chromatin stiffness. Single-nucleus micromanipulation reveals that HP1α is essential to chromatin-based mechanics and maintains nuclear morphology, separate from histone methylation. Further experiments with dimerization-deficient HP1αI165Eindicate that chromatin crosslinking via HP1α dimerization is critical, while polymer simulations demonstrate the importance of chromatin-chromatin crosslinkers in mechanics. In mitotic chromosomes, HP1α similarly bolsters stiffness while aiding in mitotic alignment and faithful segregation. HP1α is therefore a critical chromatin-crosslinking protein that provides mechanical strength to chromosomes and the nucleus throughout the cell cycle and supports cellular functions.

The eukaryotic nucleus is structurally and functionally organized, as reflected in the distribution of its protein and DNA components. The genome itself is segregated into euchromatin and heterochromatin that replicate in a distinct spatio-temporal manner. We used a combination of fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) and DamID to investigate the localization of the early and late replicating components of the genome in a lymphoblastoid cell background. Our analyses revealed that the bulk of late replicating chromatin localizes to the nuclear peripheral heterochromatin (PH) in a chromosome size and gene density dependent manner. Late replicating DNA on small chromosomes exhibits a much lower tendency to localize to PH and tends to associate with alternate repressive subcompartments such as pericentromeric (PCH) and perinucleolar heterochromatin (PNH). Furthermore, multicolor FISH analysis revealed that late replicating loci, particularly on the smaller chromosomes, may associate with any of these 3 repressive subcompartments, including more than one at the same time. These results suggest a functional equivalence or redundancy among the 3 subcompartments. Consistent with this notion, disruption of nucleoli resulted in an increased association of late replicating loci with peripheral heterochromatin. Our analysis reveals that rather than considering the morphologically distinct PH, PCH and PNH as individual subcompartments, they should be considered in aggregate as a functional compartment for late replicating chromatin.

The β-globin locus control region (LCR) is necessary for high-level β-globin gene transcription and differentiation-dependent relocation of the β-globin locus from the nuclear periphery to the central nucleoplasm and to foci of hyperphosphorylated Pol II “transcription factories” (TFys). To determine the contribution of individual LCR DNaseI hypersensitive sites (HSs) to transcription and nuclear location, in the present study, we compared β-globin gene activity and location in erythroid cells derived from mice with deletions of individual HSs, deletions of 2 HSs, and deletion of the whole LCR and found all of the HSs had a similar spectrum of activities, albeit to different degrees. Each HS acts as an independent module to activate expression in an additive manner, and this is correlated with relocation away from the nuclear periphery. In contrast, HSs have redundant activities with respect to association with TFys and the probability that an allele is actively transcribed, as measured by primary RNA transcript FISH. The limiting effect on RNA levels occurs after β-globin genes associate with TFys, at which time HSs contribute to the amount of RNA arising from each burst of transcription by stimulating transcriptional elongation.

Chromosomal Mapping The conformation of the genome in the nucleus and contacts between both proximal and distal loci influence gene expression. In order to map genomic contacts, Lieberman-Aiden et al. (p. 289 , see the cover) developed a technique to allow the detection of all interactions between genomic loci in the eukaryotic nucleus followed by deep sequencing. This technology was used to map the organization of the human genome and to examine the spatial proximity of chromosomal loci at one megabase resolution. The map suggests that the genome is partitioned into two spatial compartments that are related to local chromatin state and whose remodeling correlates with changes in the chromatin state.

Recent studies of nuclear organization have shown an apparent correlation between the localization of genes within the interphase nucleus and their transcriptional status. In several instances, actively transcribed gene loci have been found significantly looped away from their respective chromosome territories (CTs), presumably as a result of their expression. Here, we show evidence that extrusion of a gene locus from a CT by itself is not necessarily indicative of transcriptional activity, but also can reflect a poised state for activation. We found the murine and a wild-type human β-globin locus looped away from their CTs at a high frequency only in a proerythroblast cell background, prior to the activation of globin transcription. Conversely, a mutant allele lacking the locus control region (LCR), which is required for high-level globin expression, was mostly coincident with the CT. The LCR may thus be responsible for the localization of the globin locus prior to activation. Replacement of the LCR with a B-cell-specific regulatory element, while also extruding the globin locus, brought it closer to the repressive centromeric heterochromatin compartment. We therefore suggest that the looping of gene loci from their CTs may reflect poised and repressed states, as well as the previously documented transcriptionally active state.

We have developed a strategy to introduce in vitro-methylated DNA into defined chromosomal locations. Using this system, we examined the effects of methylation on transcription, chromatin structure, histone acetylation, and replication timing by targeting methylated and unmethylated constructs to marked genomic sites. At two sites, which support stable expression from an unmethylated enhancer-reporter construct, introduction of an in vitro-methylated but otherwise identical construct results in specific changes in transgene conformation and activity, including loss of the promoter DNase I-hypersensitive site, localized hypoacetyla- tion of histones H3 and H4 within the reporter gene, and a block to transcriptional initiation. Insertion of methylated constructs does not alter the early replication timing of the loci and does not result in de novo methylation of flanking genomic sequences. Methylation at the promoter and gene is stable over time, as is the repression of transcription. Surprisingly, sequences within the enhancer are demethylated, the hypersensitive site forms, and the enhancer is hyperacetylated. Nevertheless, the enhancer is unable to activate the methylated and hypoacetylated reporter. Our findings suggest that CpG methylation represses transcription by interfering with RNA polymerase initiation via a mechanism that involves localized histone deacetylation. This repression is dominant over a remodeled enhancer but neither results in nor requires region-wide changes in DNA replication or chromatin structure.

The most upstream hypersensitive site (HS) of the β-globin locus control region (LCR) in humans (5′ HS 5) and chickens (5′ HS 4) can act as an insulating element in some gain of function assays and may demarcate a β-globin domain. We have mapped the most upstream HSs of the mouse β-globin LCR and sequenced this region. We find that mice have a region homologous to human 5′ HS 5 that is associated with a minor HS. In addition we map a unique HS upstream of 5′ HS 5 and refer to this novel site as mouse 5′ HS 6. We have also generated mice containing a targeted deletion of the region containing 5′ HS 5 and 6. We find that after excision of the selectable marker in vivo, deletion of 5′ HS 5 and 6 has a minimal effect on transcription and does not prevent formation of the remaining LCR HSs. Taken together these findings suggest that the most upstream HSs of the mouse β-globin LCR are not necessary for maintaining the β-globin locus in an active configuration or to protect it from a surrounding repressive chromatin environment.

The beta-globin locus control region (LCR) is a complex regulatory element that is essential for the appropriate red cell-specific expression of all cis-linked beta-globin genes. Of the five hypersensitive sites that define the LCR, only 5'HS2 has been shown to augment gene expression in vitro in both transient and stable assays, as well as in transgenic mice. Thus, 5'HS2 has been assumed to be an important element for the function of the LCR in vivo. We have utilized homologous recombination in murine embryonic stem (ES) cells and phenotypic analysis in derived mice to investigate the function of 5'HS2 in its normal chromosomal position in the murine beta-globin locus. Replacement of 5'HS2 with a selectable marker gene (delta HS2 + neo) causes a 2-5-fold reduction in expression of all of the genes in the locus, and a more pronounced effect (10-12-fold) on the most 5' embryonic globin gene, Ey, when expression of this gene is first detectable during embryogenesis. The mutation produces no alterations in the developmental timing of expression of the globin genes. When homozygous, the deletion/replacement mutation is lethal in utero, with the embryos dying during the stage of yolk sac and early fetal liver erythropoiesis. To distinguish phenotypic effects resulting from the deletion of 5'HS2 from those attributable to insertion of the selectable marker, the selectable marker was removed by expressing the FLP site-specific recombinase in ES cells harboring the homologous recombination event. Mice derived from these ES cells (delta HS2 delta neo) demonstrated nearly full expression of all the beta-like globin genes on the mutated chromosome. These results indicate that although 5'HS2 demonstrates significant regulatory activities in a variety of assays, deletion of this element from the endogenous beta-globin locus has no significant effect on the timing or extent of expression of the locus. In addition, this result emphasizes that when using homologous recombination to analyze complex regulatory elements in vivo, the inserted selectable marker must be removed to avoid influencing the phenotype of the mutation.

We have examined the relationship between nuclear localization and transcriptional activity of the endogenous murine β-globin locus during erythroid differentiation. Murine fetal liver cells were separated into distinct erythroid maturation stages by fluorescence-activated cell sorting, and the nuclear position of the locus was determined at each stage. We find that the β-globin locus progressively moves away from the nuclear periphery with increasing maturation. Contrary to the prevailing notion that the nuclear periphery is a repressive compartment in mammalian cells, βmajor-globin expression begins at the nuclear periphery prior to relocalization. However, relocation of the locus to the nuclear interior with maturation is accompanied by an increase in βmajor-globin transcription. The distribution of nuclear polymerase II (Pol II) foci also changes with erythroid differentiation: Transcription factories decrease in number and contract toward the nuclear interior. Moreover, both efficient relocalization of the β-globin locus from the periphery and its association with hyperphosphorylated Pol II transcription factories require the locus control region (LCR). These results suggest that the LCR-dependent association of the β-globin locus with transcriptionally engaged Pol II foci provides the driving force for relocalization of the locus toward the nuclear interior during erythroid maturation.

The locus control region (LCR) was thought to be necessary and sufficient for establishing and maintaining an open β-globin locus chromatin domain in the repressive environment of the developing erythrocyte. However, deletion of the LCR from the endogenous locus had no significant effect on chromatin structure and did not silence transcription. Thus, the cis-regulatory elements that confer the open domain remain unidentified. The conserved DNaseI hypersensitivity sites (HSs) HS-62.5 and 3′HS1 that flank the locus, and the region upstream of the LCR have been implicated in globin gene regulation. The flanking HSs bind CCCTC binding factor (CTCF) and are thought to interact with the LCR to form a “chromatin hub” involved in β-globin gene activation. Hispanic thalassemia, a deletion of the LCR and 27 kb upstream, leads to heterochromatinization and silencing of the locus. Thus, the region upstream of the LCR deleted in Hispanic thalassemia (upstream Hispanic region [UHR]) may be required for expression. To determine the importance of the UHR and flanking HSs for β-globin expression, we generated and analyzed mice with targeted deletions of these elements. We demonstrate deletion of these regions alone, and in combination, do not affect transcription, bringing into question current models for the regulation of the β-globin locus.

Recent studies of nuclear organization have shown an apparent correlation between the localization of genes within the interphase nucleus and their transcriptional status. In several instances, actively transcribed gene loci have been found significantly looped away from their respective chromosome territories (CTs), presumably as a result of their expression. Here, we show evidence that extrusion of a gene locus from a CT by itself is not necessarily indicative of transcriptional activity, but also can reflect a poised state for activation. We found the murine and a wild-type human beta-globin locus looped away from their CTs at a high frequency only in a proerythroblast cell background, prior to the activation of globin transcription. Conversely, a mutant allele lacking the locus control region (LCR), which is required for high-level globin expression, was mostly coincident with the CT. The LCR may thus be responsible for the localization of the globin locus prior to activation. Replacement of the LCR with a B-cell-specific regulatory element, while also extruding the globin locus, brought it closer to the repressive centromeric heterochromatin compartment. We therefore suggest that the looping of gene loci from their CTs may reflect poised and repressed states, as well as the previously documented transcriptionally active state.

The human β-globin locus provides a model system to study the interplay between chromatin structure and transcriptional regulation. The locus is located on chromosome 11 (11p15.5) and contains five developmentally regulated erythroid cell-specific genes arranged in the order in which they are expressed during development (5′-ɛ-Gγ-Aγ-δ-β-3′) and an upstream regulatory region characterized by five DNase I-hypersensitive sites (HSs; see Fig. ​Fig.1).1). By convention, these 5′HSs are denoted 5′HS1, 5′HS2, etc., with 5′HS1 being the most 3′ and located closest to the ɛ-globin gene. The importance of the upstream regulatory region was established by an analysis of the effects of a naturally occurring deletion which removes 5′HS2 to 5′HS5 and 25 kb of additional sequences 5′ of the HSs (Hispanic thalassemia). The chromosome carrying the deletion was transferred from lymphocytes of the thalassemic patient into murine erythroleukemia (MEL) cells to create the thalassemia line T-MEL. It was found that the mutation abolishes transcription of the adult human β-globin gene, prevents formation of 5′HS1 and other HSs throughout the locus, and renders the chromatin of the locus resistant to DNase I, indicative of a “closed” chromatin structure (19). In addition, the replication timing of the locus is changed from early to late in S phase (19) and a different origin of replication is used, even though the normal origin lies more than 50 kb from the site of the deletion (1, 36). The region containing the five HSs was termed the locus control region (LCR), because of its global effects on the locus. In transgenic mice, the LCR permits the expression of linked genes in all lines independent of the integration site (26), and regions with LCR properties have now been found in numerous other genes (reviewed in reference 35). FIG. 1 Homologous recombination in DT40 cells on a modified human chromosome 11 with the human β-globin locus. The genes of the β-globin locus and the upstream HSs are indicated, as well as the modification introduced into the locus in an earlier ... The properties of the β-globin LCR make it an interesting paradigm to study the global regulation of gene expression over large distances and the role that modulation of chromatin structure plays in transcriptional regulation. A variety of functional assays, including transient- and stable-transfection assays in cell lines and transgenic analyses, have been used in attempts to elucidate the function of the β-globin LCR and its component HSs. In general, these studies have demonstrated that the LCR and its component HSs demonstrate much higher activity in erythroid cells than in other cell types (5, 18, 44, 47, 63) and that for any given activity, the full LCR is more active than any individual component, suggesting interaction or additive effects among the individual sites (11, 18, 46, 55, 60). In addition, 5′HS2 and the full LCR are qualitatively equivalent: both function as classical enhancers in transient-transfection assays, increase the number of expressing clones when stably integrated in cell lines, and confer position independence and high-level expression in transgenic mice (5, 18, 41, 45, 58, 60, 63). In contrast to 5′HS2, both 5′HS3 and 5′HS4 have weak or no enhancer activity in transient-transfection assays but are active in colony assays when stably integrated and in transgenic mice (20, 30, 52, 63). Neither 5′HS1 nor 5′HS5 has appreciable activity in these transfection/transgenic-mouse assays (9, 21, 32). The failure of 5′HS1 to demonstrate activity in these assays is consistent with the lack of phenotypes associated with naturally occurring deletions of 5′HS1 in humans (37) and mice (3a). Although 5′HS5 does not demonstrate enhancer activity in transfection assays, it may play a functional role in the β-globin locus. Hypersensitivity at 5′HS5 is found in many nonerythroid cell lines, whereas 5′HS1 to 5′HS4 are predominantly erythroid cell specific (12, 61), and 5′HS5 is contained on a 2.5-kb restriction fragment which was characterized as one of the potential matrix attachment regions within the β-globin locus (33). In addition 5′HS5 increases the tendency for position-independent transcription of a linked reporter (32, 68) and it has also been reported to block the activation of a promoter when placed between the promoter and an enhancer (39). It has therefore been suggested that 5′HS5 serves as an insulator which shields the locus from neighboring chromatin. This role has also been postulated for HS4 of the chicken β-globin locus, which resembles human 5′HS5 in its broad tissue distribution and its relative position within the locus (8). While transfection and transgenic-mouse experiments have provided important information about the possible functions of the LCR, endogenous genes are regulated in defined chromosomal locations. Thus, analysis of unintegrated or randomly integrated constructs may overestimate, underestimate, or miss aspects of the activities of cis-regulatory elements, particularly those which influence chromatin, replication, and transcription over large distances. To examine how the LCR components interact to regulate the endogenous β-globin locus, we have developed homologous-recombination (HR) strategies for the mutational analysis of the endogenous human β-globin LCR in cell lines. Specifically, we studied the consequences of deleting those HSs of the LCR which are deleted in the Hispanic thalassemia deletion, as well as the consequences of the deletion of 5′HS5 on the chromatin structure and transcription of the β-globin locus. The results of these experiments show that in an erythroid background, the LCR is not required to maintain the open DNase I-sensitive chromatin structure of the locus but is essential for expression of all β-globin genes.

The interphase cell nucleus is structurally and functionally compartmentalized, making the subnuclear position of genes an important determinant of their activity. During cellular differentiation, as tissue-specific expression programs unfold, dynamic reorganization of the nucleus positions sets of genes in active or repressive compartments. The nuclear periphery has emerged as an unusually complex compartment in this process. While it is marked by facultative heterochromatin and has been considered primarily as a repressive compartment, recent work suggests that active genes may also associate with the periphery. Moreover, the nuclear envelope is riddled with nuclear pore complexes, the gateways for molecular exchange between the cytoplasm and the nucleus, resulting in substantial traffic through this compartment. Using murine erythropoiesis as a model system, our recent three dimensional analysis of the positioning of the β-globin locus revealed that, when inactive in undifferentiated embryonic stem cells and erythroid progenitor cells, the locus is positioned predominantly at the nuclear periphery and appears to contact the lamina. This association is lost with progressing erythroid maturation, and the locus is repositioned towards the nuclear interior concomitant with increasing β-globin gene expression. Importantly, however, β-major globin expression begins at the nuclear periphery prior to relocalization, suggesting that associations of the locus at the periphery may shift from repressive to activating complexes. We are investigating the interactions of the β-globin locus with the nuclear periphery by two approaches: Using enhanced imaging permitted by Cryo-ImmunoFISH, we are analyzing the position of the locus relative to specific components of the nuclear lamina and nuclear pore complexes at distinct differentiation stages. In addition, we are probing the physical interactions of the locus with the periphery by biochemical means. To this end we are using ChIP-chip to identify lamina associated proteins binding the β-globin locus and to determine what sequence elements within the locus mediate these interactions. Ultimately these experiments will shed further light on mechanisms regulating β-globin gene expression during erythropoiesis and how stage-specific nuclear localization contributes to this process.

We have investigated the relationships among nuclear positioning, association with RNA polymerase II (PolII) and expression of the murine β-globin locus during erythroid differentiation, as well as the role of the locus control region (LCR) in these processes. Fetal liver cells from wildtype and LCR-deletion mouse strains were stained with a panel of antibodies, and flow cytometry was used to define and isolate cells from four stages of erythropoiesis spanning pro-erythroblasts (stage 1) to orthochromatic normoblasts and nucleated RBC (stage 4). DNA FISH analyses reveal that with increasing erythroid maturation the β-globin locus is less likely to be located in the nuclear periphery. Immuno-FISH demonstrates that PolII speckles initially are spread diffusely throughout the nucleus, with the exception of extreme periphery. With erythroid maturation the number of speckles decline and become more centrally located. Combined DNA FISH /PolII immuno-staining reveals an increase in co-localization of PolII and β-globin alleles during erythroid maturation. These results are consistent with a model in which the locus is more likely to be in the nuclear periphery and away from PolII foci prior to activation, and with maturation, the locus re-locates more centrally and associates with PolII speckles, leading to β-globin activation. To investigate this model, α and β-globin primary transcript FISH were performed and revealed that while β activation lags behind α, both start at stage 2 and increase with maturation. Notably, activation occurs prior to the increased localization of the locus away from the periphery during maturation, suggesting that localization of the locus away from the periphery may be secondary to the redistribution of PolII during erythroid maturation. Analysis of sorted erythroid cells from mice with a targeted deletion of the LCR reveals less co-localization of the β-globin locus and PolII speckles and loss of re-localization away from the periphery during maturation. Moreover, primary transcript FISH analysis of sorted cells from mice lacking the LCR and those carrying a combined deletion of HS 2 and 3 suggests that the LCR affects the likelihood that an allele is expressed, as well as the amount of transcript generated during periods of expression. Taken together our results suggest that the LCR plays a role in locating to, or stabilization of, interactions between the locus and PolII speckles, increasing the probability of β-globin expression, after which the LCR also affects the rate of transcription.

Polyclonal and monoclonal antibodies against rat liver nuclear lamins have been used to evaluate the immunological cross-reactivity of lamins with a given antibody in a variety of animal and plant cells. The results indicated that lamins of all vertebrate cells but not invertebrate cells share at least one antigenic determinant, resulting in immunological cross-reaction with polyclonal antisera to lamina from rat liver. The range of cross-reaction with monoclonal antibody to rat lamins includes all mammalian cells tested but we observed no reaction with other vertebrate and invertebrate cells. Thus, by means of immunological cross-reaction a less stringently conserved pattern is observed for lamins than, for example, cytoskeletal proteins. We have also investigated the fate of the nuclear lamins during meiosis in testes and ovaries of the mouse. Lamins are absent from male meiotic cells and during oogenesis in meiotic prophases.

Malignant melanoma in Xiphophorus fish hybrids is caused by the activity of a dominant oncogene Tu. By combining genetic and molecular approaches, we have isolated the melanoma oncogene. We show that its level of expression correlates with the degree of malignancy of the tumour. The corresponding proto-oncogene is developmentally regulated. The Tu gene codes for a novel receptor tyrosine kinase which is closely related to the receptor for epidermal growth factor.

The murine beta-globin locus control region (LCR) was deleted from its native chromosomal location. The approximately 25 kb deletion eliminates all sequences and structures homologous to those defined as the human LCR. In differentiated ES cells and erythroleukemia cells containing the LCR-deleted chromosome, DNasel sensitivity of the beta-globin domain is established and maintained, developmental regulation of the locus is intact, and beta-like globin RNA levels are reduced 5%-25% of normal. Thus, in the native murine beta-globin locus, the LCR is necessary for normal levels of transcription, but other elements are sufficient to establish the open chromatin structure, transcription, and developmental specificity of the locus. These findings suggest a contributory rather than dominant function for the LCR in its native location.