Cell cycle regulation of human histone H1 mRNA.

A cloned genomic DNA fragment containing a human histone H1 gene has been used to analyze histone H1 gene expression in two human cell lines (HeLa S3 and WI-38). The cellular abundance of histone H1 mRNA was compared with that of core (H2A, H2B, H3, and H4) histone mRNAs as a function of the cell cycle: core and H1 histone mRNA levels are related both to each other and to the apparent rate of DNA synthesis and are rapidly destabilized after DNA synthesis inhibition. The use of three synchronization protocols, and of transformed and normal diploid cells in culture, suggests that the detected core and H1 histone mRNA levels are regulated by similar mechanisms in continuously dividing human cell lines and nondividing cells stimulated to proliferate.