Gernot Längst

Nucleosome Movement by CHRAC and ISWI without Disruption or trans-Displacement of the Histone Octamer

The chromatin accessibility complex (CHRAC) belongs to the class of nucleosome remodeling factors that increase the accessibility of nucleosomal DNA in an ATP-dependent manner. We found that CHRAC induces movements of intact histone octamers to neighboring DNA segments without facilitating their displacement to competing DNA or histone chaperones in trans. CHRAC-induced energy-dependent nucleosome sliding may, in principle, explain nucleosome remodeling, nucleosome positioning, and nucleosome spacing reactions known to be catalyzed by CHRAC. The catalytic core of CHRAC, the ATPase ISWI, also mobilized nucleosomes at the expense of energy. However, the directionality of the CHRAC- and ISWI-induced nucleosome movements differed drastically, indicating that the geometry of the native complex modulates the activity of its catalytic core.

NoRC - A novel member of mammalian ISWI-containing chromatin remodeling machines

Transcription by RNA polymerase I on nucleosomal templates requires binding of the transcription termination factor TTF‐I to a cognate site 160 bp upstream of the transcription start site. Binding of TTF‐I is accompanied by changes in the chromatin architecture which suggests that TTF‐I recruits a remodeling activity to the rDNA promoter. We have cloned a cDNA that encodes TIP5 (TTF‐I‐interacting protein 5), a 205 kDa protein that shares a number of important protein domains with WSTF (Williams syndrome transcription factor) and hAcf1/WCRF180, the largest subunits of human chromatin remodeling complexes hCHRAC and WCRF. TIP5 co‐localizes with the basal RNA polymerase I transcription factor UBF in the nucleolus and is associated with SNF2h. The cellular TIP5–SNF2h complex, termed NoRC (nucleolar remodeling complex), induces nucleosome sliding in an ATP‐ and histone H4 tail‐dependent fashion. The results suggest that NoRC is a novel nucleolar chromatin remodeling machine that may serve a role in the regulation of the rDNA locus.

ISWI Is an ATP-Dependent Nucleosome Remodeling Factor

The ATPase ISWI is a subunit of several distinct nucleosome remodeling complexes that increase the accessibility of DNA in chromatin. We found that the isolated ISWI protein itself was able to carry out nucleosome remodeling, nucleosome rearrangement, and chromatin assembly reactions. The ATPase activity of ISWI was stimulated by nucleosomes but not by free DNA or free histones, indicating that ISWI recognizes a specific structural feature of nucleosomes. Nucleosome remodeling, therefore, does not require a functional interaction between ISWI and the other subunits of ISWI complexes. The role of proteins associated with ISWI may be to regulate the activity of the remodeling engine or to define the physiological context within which a nucleosome remodeling reaction occurs.

Initial Genomics of the Human Nucleolus

We report for the first time the genomics of a nuclear compartment of the eukaryotic cell. 454 sequencing and microarray analysis revealed the pattern of nucleolus-associated chromatin domains (NADs) in the linear human genome and identified different gene families and certain satellite repeats as the major building blocks of NADs, which constitute about 4% of the genome. Bioinformatic evaluation showed that NAD–localized genes take part in specific biological processes, like the response to other organisms, odor perception, and tissue development. 3D FISH and immunofluorescence experiments illustrated the spatial distribution of NAD–specific chromatin within interphase nuclei and its alteration upon transcriptional changes. Altogether, our findings describe the nature of DNA sequences associated with the human nucleolus and provide insights into the function of the nucleolus in genome organization and establishment of nuclear architecture.

Critical Role for the Histone H4 N Terminus in Nucleosome Remodeling by ISWI

ABSTRACT The ATPase ISWI can be considered the catalytic core of several multiprotein nucleosome remodeling machines. Alone or in the context of nucleosome remodeling factor, the chromatin accessibility complex (CHRAC), or ACF, ISWI catalyzes a number of ATP-dependent transitions of chromatin structure that are currently best explained by its ability to induce nucleosome sliding. In addition, ISWI can function as a nucleosome spacing factor during chromatin assembly, where it will trigger the ordering of newly assembled nucleosomes into regular arrays. Both nucleosome remodeling and nucleosome spacing reactions are mechanistically unexplained. As a step toward defining the interaction of ISWI with its substrate during nucleosome remodeling and chromatin assembly we generated a set of nucleosomes lacking individual histone N termini from recombinant histones. We found the conserved N termini (the N-terminal tails) of histone H4 essential to stimulate ISWI ATPase activity, in contrast to other histone tails. Remarkably, the H4 N terminus, but none of the other tails, was critical for CHRAC-induced nucleosome sliding and for the generation of regularity in nucleosomal arrays by ISWI. Direct nucleosome binding studies did not reflect a dependence on the H4 tail for ISWI-nucleosome interactions. We conclude that the H4 tail is critically required for nucleosome remodeling and spacing at a step subsequent to interaction with the substrate.

The DNA chaperone HMGB1 facilitates ACF/CHRAC‐dependent nucleosome sliding

Nucleosome remodelling complexes CHRAC and ACF contribute to chromatin dynamics by converting chemical energy into sliding of histone octamers on DNA. Their shared ATPase subunit ISWI binds DNA at the sites of entry into the nucleosome. A prevalent model assumes that DNA distortions catalysed by ISWI are converted into relocation of DNA relative to a histone octamer. HMGB1, one of the most abundant nuclear non‐histone proteins, binds with preference to distorted DNA. We have now found that transient interaction of HMGB1 with nucleosomal linker DNA overlapping ISWI‐binding sites enhances the ability of ACF to bind nucleosomal DNA and accelerates the sliding activity of limiting concentrations of remodelling factor. By contrast, an HMGB1 mutant with increased binding affinity was inhibitory. These observations are consistent with a role for HMGB1 as a DNA chaperone facilitating the rate‐limiting DNA distortion during nucleosome remodelling.

dMi‐2 and ISWI chromatin remodelling factors have distinct nucleosome binding and mobilization properties

Mi‐2 and ISWI, two members of the Snf2 superfamily of ATPases, reside in separate ATP‐dependent chromatin remodelling complexes. These complexes differ in their biochemical properties and are believed to perform distinct functions in the cell. We have compared the remodelling activity of recombinant Drosophila Mi‐2 (dMi‐2) with that of recombinant ISWI. Both proteins are nucleosome‐stimulated ATPases and promote nucleosome mobilization. However, dMi‐2 and ISWI differ in their interaction with nucleosome core particles, in their substrate requirements and in the direction of nucleosome mobilization. We have used antibodies to immobilize a complex containing dMi‐2 and the dRPD3 histone deacetylase from Drosophila embryo extracts. This complex shares the nucleosome‐stimulated ATPase and nucleosome mobilization properties of recombinant dMi‐2, demonstrating that these activities are maintained in a physiological context. Its functional properties distinguish dMi‐2 from both SWI2/SNF2 and ISWI, defining a new family of ATP‐dependent remodelling machines.

DNMT1 but not its interaction with the replication machinery is required for maintenance of DNA methylation in human cells.

DNA methylation plays a central role in the epigenetic regulation of gene expression in vertebrates. Genetic and biochemical data indicated that DNA methyltransferase 1 (Dnmt1) is indispensable for the maintenance of DNA methylation patterns in mice, but targeting of the DNMT1 locus in human HCT116 tumor cells had only minor effects on genomic methylation and cell viability. In this study, we identified an alternative splicing in these cells that bypasses the disrupting selective marker and results in a catalytically active DNMT1 protein lacking the proliferating cell nuclear antigen–binding domain required for association with the replication machinery. Using a mechanism-based trapping assay, we show that this truncated DNMT1 protein displays only twofold reduced postreplicative DNA methylation maintenance activity in vivo. RNA interference–mediated knockdown of this truncated DNMT1 results in global genomic hypomethylation and cell death. These results indicate that DNMT1 is essential in mouse and human cells, but direct coupling of the replication of genetic and epigenetic information is not strictly required.

ISWI Induces Nucleosome Sliding on Nicked DNA

The ATPase ISWI is the molecular motor of several remodeling factors that trigger nucleosome sliding in vitro. In search for the underlying mechanism, we found that unilateral binding of ISWI to a model nucleosome correlated with directional movement of the nucleosome toward the enzyme. It has been proposed that ISWI might loosen histone-DNA interactions through twisting DNA. However, nucleosome sliding assays on nicked DNA substrates suggest that propagation of altered twist is not involved. Surprisingly, nicks in the linker DNA in front of the nucleosome facilitate sliding. These data suggest that the rate of nucleosome sliding is limited by a conformational change other than twisting, such as the formation of a short loop, of DNA at the entry into the nucleosome.

Acf1, the largest subunit of CHRAC, regulates ISWI-induced nucleosome remodelling

The chromatin accessibility complex (CHRAC) was originally defined biochemically as an ATP‐dependent ‘nucleosome remodelling’ activity. Central to its activity is the ATPase ISWI, which catalyses the transfer of histone octamers between DNA segments in cis. In addition to ISWI, four other potential subunits were observed consistently in active CHRAC fractions. We have now identified the p175 subunit of CHRAC as Acf1, a protein known to associate with ISWI in the ACF complex. Interaction of Acf1 with ISWI enhances the efficiency of nucleosome sliding by an order of magnitude. Remarkably, it also modulates the nucleosome remodelling activity of ISWI qualitatively by altering the directionality of nucleosome movements and the histone ‘tail’ requirements of the reaction. The Acf1–ISWI heteromer tightly interacts with the two recently identified small histone fold proteins CHRAC‐14 and CHRAC‐16. Whether topoisomerase II is an integral subunit has been controversial. Refined analyses now suggest that topoisomerase II should not be considered a stable subunit of CHRAC. Accordingly, CHRAC can be molecularly defined as a complex consisting of ISWI, Acf1, CHRAC‐14 and CHRAC‐16.