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CTCF demarcates chromatin domains

ABSTRACT: Insulators are DNA elements, which prevent inappropriate interactions between the neighboring regions of the genome. They can be functionally classified as either enhancer blockers or domain barriers. CTCF (CCCTC binding factor) is the only known major insulator binding protein in the vertebrates and has been shown to bind many enhancer-blocking elements. However, it is not clear whether it plays a role in chromatin domain barriers between active and repressive domains. Here, we used ChIP-Seq to map the genome-wide binding sites of CTCF in three cell types and identified significant binding of CTCF to the boundaries of repressive chromatin domains marked by H3K27me3. Although we find an extensive overlapping of CTCF binding sites across the three cell types, its association with the domain boundaries is cell type-specific. We further show that the nucleosomes flanking CTCF binding sites are well positioned and associated with histone H2AK5 acetylation (H2AK5ac). Interestingly, we found a complementary pattern between the repressive H3K27me3 and the active H2AK5ac regions, which are separated by CTCF. Our findings indicate that CTCF may play important roles in the barrier activity of insulators and provide a resource for further investigation of the CTCF function in organizing chromatin in the human genome.

ORGANISM(S): Homo sapiens

PROVIDER: GSE12889 | GEO | 2008/10/20

SECONDARY ACCESSION(S): PRJNA110881

REPOSITORIES: GEO

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Project description:Histone modifications associated with gene silencing typically mark large contiguous regions of the genome forming repressive chromatin domain structures. Since the repressive domains exist in close proximity to active regions, maintenance of domain structure is critically important. This study shows that nickel, a nonmutagenic carcinogen, can disrupt histone H3 lysine 9 dimethylation (H3K9me2) domain structures genome-wide, resulting in spreading of H3K9me2 marks into the active regions, which is associated with gene silencing. Our results suggest inhibition of DNA binding of the insulator protein CCCTC-binding factor (CTCF) at the H3K9me2 domain boundaries as a potential reason for H3K9me2 domain disruption. These findings have major implications in understanding chromatin dynamics and the consequences of chromatin domain disruption during pathogenesis. Investigations into the genomic landscape of histone modifications in heterochromatic regions have revealed histone H3 lysine 9 dimethylation (H3K9me2) to be important for differentiation and maintaining cell identity. H3K9me2 is associated with gene silencing and is organized into large repressive domains that exist in close proximity to active genes, indicating the importance of maintenance of proper domain structure. Here we show that nickel, a nonmutagenic environmental carcinogen, disrupted H3K9me2 domains, resulting in the spreading of H3K9me2 into active regions, which was associated with gene silencing. We found weak CCCTC-binding factor (CTCF)-binding sites and reduced CTCF binding at the Ni-disrupted H3K9me2 domain boundaries, suggesting a loss of CTCF-mediated insulation function as a potential reason for domain disruption and spreading. We furthermore show that euchromatin islands, local regions of active chromatin within large H3K9me2 domains, can protect genes from H3K9me2-spreadingM-bM-^@M-^Sassociated gene silencing. These results have major implications in understanding H3K9me2 dynamics and the consequences of chromatin domain disruption during pathogenesis.

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CTCF demarcates chromatin domains

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