Nucleosomes structure and dynamics: effect of CHAPS

Dynamics of nucleosomes and spontaneous unwrapping of DNA are fundamental property of the chromatin enabling access to nucleosomal DNA for regulatory proteins. Probing of such dynamics of nucleosomes performed by single molecule techniques revealed a large scale dynamics of nucleosomes including their spontaneous unwrapping. Dissociation of nucleosomes at low concentrations is a complicating issue for studies with single molecule techniques. In this paper, we tested the ability of 3-[(3-Cholamidopropyl)dimethylammonio]-l-propanesulfonate (CHAPS) to prevent dissociation of nucleosomes. The study was performed with mononucleosome system assembled with human histones H2A, H2B, H3 and H4 on the DNA substrate containing sequence 601 that provides the sequencespecific assembly of nucleosomes. We used Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) to directly identify nucleosomes and analyze their structure at the nanometer level. These studies showed that in the presence of CHAPS at millimolar concentrations, nucleosomes, even at sub-nanomolar concentrations, remain intact over days compared to a complete dissociation of the same nucleosome sample over 10 min in the absence of CHAPS. Importantly, CHAPS does not change the conformation of nucleosomes as confirmed by the AFM analysis. Moreover, 16 µM CHAPS stabilizes nucleosomes in over one hour incubation in the solution containing as low as 0.4 nM in nucleosomes. The stability of nucleosomes is slightly reduced at physiological conditions (150 mM NaCl), although the nucleosomes dissociate rapidly at 300 mM NaCl. The sequence specificity of the nucleosome in the presence of CHAPS decreased suggesting that the histone core translocates along the DNA substrate utilizing sliding mechanism.     

A quantitative model of nucleosome dynamics

The expression, replication and repair of eukaryotic genomes require the fundamental organizing unit of chromatin, the nucleosome, to be unwrapped and disassembled. We have developed a quantitative model of nucleosome dynamics which provides a fundamental understanding of these DNA processes. We calibrated this model using results from high precision single molecule nucleosome unzipping experiments, and then tested its predictions for experiments in which nucleosomes are disassembled by the DNA mismatch recognition complex hMSH2-hMSH6. We found that this calibrated model quantitatively describes hMSH2-hMSH6 induced disassembly rates of nucleosomes with two separate DNA sequences and four distinct histone modification states. In addition, this model provides mechanistic insight into nucleosome disassembly by hMSH2-hMSH6 and the influence of histone modifications on this disassembly reaction. This model''s precise agreement with current experiments suggests that it can be applied more generally to provide important mechanistic understanding of the numerous nucleosome alterations that occur during DNA processing.     

NAP1-Assisted Nucleosome Assembly on DNA Measured in Real Time by Single-Molecule Magnetic Tweezers

While many proteins are involved in the assembly and (re)positioning of nucleosomes, the dynamics of protein-assisted nucleosome formation are not well understood. We study NAP1 (nucleosome assembly protein 1) assisted nucleosome formation at the single-molecule level using magnetic tweezers. This method allows to apply a well-defined stretching force and supercoiling density to a single DNA molecule, and to study in real time the change in linking number, stiffness and length of the DNA during nucleosome formation. We observe a decrease in end-to-end length when NAP1 and core histones (CH) are added to the dsDNA. We characterize the formation of complete nucleosomes by measuring the change in linking number of DNA, which is induced by the NAP1-assisted nucleosome assembly, and which does not occur for non-nucleosomal bound histones H3 and H4. By rotating the magnets, the supercoils formed upon nucleosome assembly are removed and the number of assembled nucleosomes can be counted. We find that the compaction of DNA at low force is about 56 nm per assembled nucleosome. The number of compaction steps and associated change in linking number indicate that NAP1-assisted nucleosome assembly is a two-step process.     

Closing the Gap between Single Molecule and Bulk FRET Analysis of Nucleosomes

Nucleosome structure and stability affect genetic accessibility by altering the local chromatin morphology. Recent FRET experiments on nucleosomes have given valuable insight into the structural transformations they can adopt. Yet, even if performed under seemingly identical conditions, experiments performed in bulk and at the single molecule level have given mixed answers due to the limitations of each technique. To compare such experiments, however, they must be performed under identical conditions. Here we develop an experimental framework that overcomes the conventional limitations of each method: single molecule FRET experiments are carried out at bulk concentrations by adding unlabeled nucleosomes, while bulk FRET experiments are performed in microplates at concentrations near those used for single molecule detection. Additionally, the microplate can probe many conditions simultaneously before expending valuable instrument time for single molecule experiments. We highlight this experimental strategy by exploring the role of selective acetylation of histone H3 on nucleosome structure and stability; in bulk, H3-acetylated nucleosomes were significantly less stable than non-acetylated nucleosomes. Single molecule FRET analysis further revealed that acetylation of histone H3 promoted the formation of an additional conformational state, which is suppressed at higher nucleosome concentrations and which could be an important structural intermediate in nucleosome regulation.     

Quantitative analysis of single-molecule force spectroscopy on folded chromatin fibers

Single-molecule techniques allow for picoNewton manipulation and nanometer accuracy measurements of single chromatin fibers. However, the complexity of the data, the heterogeneity of the composition of individual fibers and the relatively large fluctuations in extension of the fibers complicate a structural interpretation of such force-extension curves. Here we introduce a statistical mechanics model that quantitatively describes the extension of individual fibers in response to force on a per nucleosome basis. Four nucleosome conformations can be distinguished when pulling a chromatin fiber apart. A novel, transient conformation is introduced that coexists with single wrapped nucleosomes between 3 and 7 pN. Comparison of force-extension curves between single nucleosomes and chromatin fibers shows that embedding nucleosomes in a fiber stabilizes the nucleosome by 10 k_BT. Chromatin fibers with 20- and 50-bp linker DNA follow a different unfolding pathway. These results have implications for accessibility of DNA in fully folded and partially unwrapped chromatin fibers and are vital for understanding force unfolding experiments on nucleosome arrays.     

Asymmetry and polarity of nucleosomes in chicken erythrocyte chromatin.

Nucleosome dimers containing, on average, a single molecule of histone H5 have been isolated from chicken erythrocyte nuclei and the associated DNA fragments cloned and sequenced. The average sequence organization of at least one of the two nucleosomes in the dimers is highly asymmetric and suggests that the torsional, as well as the axial, flexibility of DNA is a determinant of nucleosome positioning. On average the nucleosome dimer is a polar structure containing linker DNA of variable lengths. The sequences associated with H5 containing nucleosomes and core particles are sufficiently different to indicate that removal of histone H5 (or H1) from chromatin may result in the migration of the histone octamer and a consequent exposure of sites for regulatory proteins.     

Enhanced DNA repair synthesis in hyperacetylated nucleosomes

We have investigated the level of "early" DNA repair synthesis in nucleosome subpopulations, varying in histone acetylation, from normal human fibroblasts treated with sodium butyrate. We find that repair synthesis occurring during the first 30 min after UV irradiation is significantly enhanced in hyperacetylated mononucleosomes. Nucleosomes with an average of 2.3 acetyl residues/H4 molecule contained approximately 1.8-fold more repair synthesis than nucleosomes with an average of 1.5 or 1.0 acetyl residues/H4 molecule. Fractionation of highly acetylated nucleosomes by two-dimensional gel electrophoresis yielded an additional 2.0-fold enrichment of repair synthesis in nucleosomes containing 2.7 acetyl residues/H4 molecule as compared to nucleosomes containing 1.9 acetyl residues/H4 molecule. This enhanced repair synthesis is associated primarily with nucleosome core regions and does not appear to result from increased UV damage in hyperacetylated chromatin. In addition, the distribution of repair synthesis within nucleosome core DNA from hyperacetylated chromatin is nonrandom, showing a bias toward the 5' end which is similar to that obtained for bulk (unfractionated) chromatin. These results provide strong evidence that enhanced repair occurs within nucleosome cores of hyperacetylated chromatin in butyrate-treated human cells. Finally, pulse-chase experiments demonstrate that the association of enhanced repair synthesis with hyperacetylated nucleosomes is transient, lasting only about 12 h after UV damage.     

Chromatin remodeling activities act on UV-damaged nucleosomes and modulate DNA damage accessibility to photolyase

Nucleosomes inhibit DNA repair in vitro, suggesting that chromatin remodeling activities might be required for efficient repair in vivo. To investigate how structural and dynamic properties of nucleosomes affect damage recognition and processing, we investigated repair of UV lesions by photolyase on a nucleosome positioned at one end of a 226-bp-long DNA fragment. Repair was slow in the nucleosome but efficient outside. No disruption or movement of the nucleosome was observed after UV irradiation and during repair. However, incubation with the nucleosome remodeling complex SWI/SNF and ATP altered the conformation of nucleosomal DNA as judged by UV photo-footprinting and promoted more homogeneous repair. Incubation with yISW2 and ATP moved the nucleosome to a more central position, thereby altering the repair pattern. This is the first demonstration that two different chromatin remodeling complexes can act on UV-damaged nucleosomes and modulate repair. Similar activities might relieve the inhibitory effect of nucleosomes on DNA repair processes in living cells.     

Human fragile site FRA16B DNA excludes nucleosomes in the presence of distamycin

Human fragile sites are weak staining gaps in chromosomes generated by specific culture conditions. The short CGG repeating DNA derived from folate-sensitive fragile sites has been shown to exclude single nucleosomes. To test whether this nucleosome exclusion model provides a general molecular mechanism for the formation of fragile sites, a different class of fragile site, the 33-base pair AT-rich repeating DNAs derived from the rare distamycin-inducible site, FRA16B, was examined for its ability to assemble single nucleosomes and nucleosome arrays using in vitro nucleosome reconstitution methods. The FRA16B DNA fragments strongly exclude nucleosome assembly only in the presence of distamycin, and increasing the number of 33-bp repeats increases the effect of distamycin in the destabilization of the nucleosome formation, suggesting a common mechanism for the formation of fragile sites.     

RSC unravels the nucleosome

RSC and SWI/SNF chromatin-remodeling complexes were previously reported to generate a stably altered nucleosome. We now describe the formation of hybrids between nucleosomes of different sizes, showing that the stably altered structure is a noncovalent dimer. A basis for dimer formation is suggested by an effect of RSC on the supercoiling of closed, circular arrays of nucleosomes. The effect may be explained by the interaction of RSC with DNA at the ends of the nucleosome, which could lead to the release 60--80 bp or more from the ends. DNA released in this way may be trapped in the stable dimer or lead to alternative fates such as histone octamer transfer to another DNA or sliding along the same DNA molecule.     

SWI/SNF- and RSC-catalyzed nucleosome mobilization requires internal DNA loop translocation within nucleosomes

The multisubunit SWI/SNF and RSC complexes utilize energy derived from ATP hydrolysis to mobilize nucleosomes and render the DNA accessible for various nuclear processes. Here we test the idea that remodeling involves intermediates with mobile DNA bulges or loops within the nucleosome by cross-linking the H2A N- or C-terminal tails together to generate protein "loops" that constrict separation of the DNA from the histone surface. Analyses indicate that this intranucleosomal cross-linking causes little or no change in remodeling-dependent exposure of DNA sequences within the nucleosome to restriction enzymes. However, cross-linking inhibits nucleosome mobilization and blocks complete movement of nucleosomes to extreme end positions on the DNA fragments. These results are consistent with evidence that nucleosome remodeling involves intermediates with DNA loops on the nucleosome surface but indicate that such loops do not freely diffuse about the surface of the histone octamer. We propose a threading model for movement of DNA loops around the perimeter of the nucleosome core.     

Unique positioning of reconstituted nucleosomes occurs in one region of simian virus 40 DNA

A direct end label method was used to study the positioning of nucleosome arrays on several long (greater than 2200 base pairs) SV40 DNA fragments reconstituted in vitro with core histones. Comparison of micrococcal nuclease cutting sites in reconstituted and naked DNA fragments revealed substantial differences in one DNA region. When sufficient core histones were annealed with the DNA to form closely spaced nucleosomes over most of the molecule, a uniquely positioned array of four nucleosomes could be assigned, by strict criteria, to a 610-base pair portion of the SV40 "late region," with a precision of about +/- 20 base pairs. In some other DNA regions, a number of alternative nucleosome positions were indicated. The uniquely positioned four-nucleosome array spanned the same 610 nucleotides on two different DNA fragments that possessed different ends. Removal of a DNA region that had contained a terminal nucleosome of the array, by truncation of the fragment before reconstitution, did not affect the positioning of the other three nucleosomes. As the core histone to DNA ratio was lowered, evidence for specific positioning of nucleosomes diminished, except within the region where the four uniquely positioned nucleosomes formed. This region, however, does not appear to have a higher affinity for core histones than other regions of the DNA.     

Nucleotide sequence-directed mapping of the nucleosomes

The concept of sequence-dependent deformational anisotropy of DNA proposed earlier is further elaborated and a computational procedure is developed for the sequence-directed mapping of the nucleosomes along chromatin DNA nucleotide sequences. The deformational anisotropy is found to be nonuniform along the molecule of the nucleosomal DNA, suggesting that the DNA superhelix in the nucleosome is slightly oval rather than circular in projection. The number of superhelical turns in the nucleosome core particle is estimated to be 2.0 +/- 0.2. Preliminary mapping of the nucleosomes in various chromatin DNA sequences yields the distribution of linker lengths which shows several minima separated by about 10 base-pairs. This is explained by sterical exclusion effects due to overlapping of the nucleosomes in space when some specific linker lengths are chosen. The mapping procedure described is tested by comparing its results with all the most accurate experimental mapping data reported so far. The comparison demonstrates that the exact positions of all the nucleosomes appear to be determined exclusively by the nucleotide sequences.     

Functional role of extranucleosomal DNA and the entry site of the nucleosome in chromatin remodeling by ISW2

A minimal amount of extranucleosomal DNA was required for nucleosome mobilization by ISW2 as shown by using a photochemical histone mapping approach to analyze nucleosome movement on a set of nucleosomes with varied lengths of extranucleosomal DNA. ISW2 was ineffective in repositioning or mobilizing nucleosomes with 相似文献