Analysis of histone posttranslational modifications from nucleolus-associated chromatin by mass spectrometry

Close to the edge: Heterochromatin at the nucleolar and nuclear peripheries

Chromatin is a dynamic structure composed of DNA, RNA, and proteins, regulating storage and expression of the genetic material in the nucleus. Heterochromatin plays a crucial role in driving the three-dimensional arrangement of the interphase genome, and in preserving genome stability by maintaining a subset of the genome in a silent state. Spatial genome organization contributes to normal patterns of gene function and expression, and is therefore of broad interest. Mammalian heterochromatin, the focus of this review, mainly localizes at the nuclear periphery, forming Lamina-associated domains (LADs), and at the nucleolar periphery, forming Nucleolus-associated domains (NADs). Together, these regions comprise approximately one-half of mammalian genomes, and most but not all loci within these domains are stochastically placed at either of these two locations after exit from mitosis at each cell cycle. Excitement about the role of these heterochromatic domains in early development has recently been heightened by the discovery that LADs appear at some loci in the preimplantation mouse embryo prior to other chromosomal features like compartmental identity and topologically-associated domains (TADs). While LADs have been extensively studied and mapped during cellular differentiation and early embryonic development, NADs have been less thoroughly studied. Here, we summarize pioneering studies of NADs and LADs, more recent advances in our understanding of cis/trans-acting factors that mediate these localizations, and discuss the functional significance of these associations.

Quantitative Immunofluorescence Analysis of Nucleolus-Associated Chromatin

The nuclear distribution of eu- and heterochromatin is nonrandom, heterogeneous, and dynamic, which is mirrored by specific spatiotemporal arrangements of histone posttranslational modifications (PTMs). Here we describe a semiautomated method for the analysis of histone PTM localization patterns within the mammalian nucleus using confocal laser scanning microscope images of fixed, immunofluorescence stained cells as data source. The ImageJ-based process includes the segmentation of the nucleus, furthermore measurements of total fluorescence intensities, the heterogeneity of the staining, and the frequency of the brightest pixels in the region of interest (ROI). In the presented image analysis pipeline, the perinucleolar chromatin is selected as primary ROI, and the nuclear periphery as secondary ROI.