Induction of histone H1(0) differs with different treatments among different cell lines.

Histone H1(0) is an H1 subfraction whose level on the chromatin is inversely correlated with the mitotic index of the cell. We investigated the increase in H1(0) in 6 cell lines when cell division was blocked by 4 methods: 5 mM butyrate, 2% DMSO, serum withdrawal or density inhibition. The 6 cell lines (HeLa S1 and S3, CHO, 3T6, NIE-115 and Vero) responded differently to the treatments as regards the amount of increase in H1(0) and comparisons among the lines reveal no obvious similarities between the lines in the differential effects of the various treatments on H1(0) levels.