Protein Section, Laboratory of Metabolism, National Cancer Institute, US National Institutes of Health, 9000 Rockville Pike, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA.
J Cell Sci. 2010 Jul 1;123(Pt 13):2207-17. doi: 10.1242/jcs.058271. Epub 2010 Jun 8.
Cell migration is a fundamental process that is necessary for the development and survival of multicellular organisms. Here, we show that cell migration is contingent on global condensation of the chromatin fiber. Induction of directed cell migration by the scratch-wound assay leads to decreased DNaseI sensitivity, alterations in the chromatin binding of architectural proteins and elevated levels of H4K20me1, H3K27me3 and methylated DNA. All these global changes are indicative of increased chromatin condensation in response to induction of directed cell migration. Conversely, chromatin decondensation inhibited the rate of cell migration, in a transcription-independent manner. We suggest that global chromatin condensation facilitates nuclear movement and reshaping, which are important for cell migration. Our results support a role for the chromatin fiber that is distinct from its known functions in genetic processes.
细胞迁移是多细胞生物发育和生存所必需的基本过程。在这里，我们表明细胞迁移依赖于染色质纤维的整体浓缩。划痕实验诱导的定向细胞迁移导致 DNaseI 敏感性降低、结构蛋白与染色质结合的改变以及 H4K20me1、H3K27me3 和甲基化 DNA 水平升高。所有这些全局变化都表明，染色质的整体浓缩增加是响应定向细胞迁移的诱导而发生的。相反，染色质解浓缩以转录独立的方式抑制细胞迁移的速度。我们认为，整体染色质浓缩有助于核运动和重塑，这对于细胞迁移很重要。我们的结果支持染色质纤维的作用与其在遗传过程中的已知功能不同。
